Shake off the cold and wet with Friendship in February! We’ll enjoy a hearty supper of polenta with roasted garlic, Italian peppers & onions; served with your choice of bolognaise or vegetarian red sauce. Enjoy also caprese salad with fresh mozzarella, basil & tomato, and served with fresh-baked herbed focaccia. Supper will promptly give way to our stated meeting, during which we will be treated to the first-ever presentation of WB Daniel Gray’s lecture, “The Innovators”. Read More
On Wednesday the 24th Friendship Masonic Lodge conferred its first degree of the year and the last of Patrick Reilly’s initiatic experience, as he was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason. Read More
Does liberty have limits?
On one hand, we’re taught that liberty is a principle worthy of the devotion of every Mason. On the other hand, if you look closely at liberty’s possible ramifications, you might develop some mixed feelings. These thoughts bubble up from an illuminating educational event, recently hosted by our lodge and presented by Bro. Kent Smith. It was titled “Liberty and the Libertine”.
Challenge coins are all the rage these days it seems. Really they are the Millennial Freemason’s version of the lapel pin. They let a Brother proudly declare their place in the fraternity and share their own story with others. The Masons of Friendship wanted to do things a little differently though – a challenge coin which cannot be bought and isn’t simply gifted. Ours is earned by accepting a challenge. Any Brother who presents their own unique education at our meetings earns one.
It was a thrill to give out the first challenge coin of 2018 to Brother Kent Smith at our January meeting. Brother Smith delivered a riveting lecture on the shifting meanings of the word “Libertine”, how it informed the formation of the Masonic fraternity, and why we should keep an eye to the older meaning it once bore.
Enough people have asked me and my brothers about each part of our uniform, that I thought I’d go ahead and put it down here in case we get asked again. Of the many traditions Friendship Lodge maintains, one of my favorites is the Worshipful Master providing the uniform for his officers. I enjoy the sense of unity and camaraderie it inspires, while helping to set the tone for that year for all the brothers of the Lodge. Not to mention you’ll probably never find a Mason saying, “no thank you, I’ve already got enough lapel pins”. The fraternity’s fascination with them is one of the eternal mysteries of Freemasonry. Read More