Masonic Joy and the Human Condition: the November Stated Meeting
We started the evening off with the second of three wine tastings for this year. The expert sommelier from 45th Parallel Wines brought three exquisite reds for us to sample and enjoy with our meal. These beautiful fruits of the vine paired phenomenally well with November’s menu of Danish fare, prepared by Bro Eric Pease. He nocked it out of the park again with Frikadelle in a white gravy, glazed carrots & green beans, Kartofflen, and fresh bread. And (of course) neapolitan ice cream for dessert.
Matt from 45th Parallel guided us through the variety of aromas and flavors we were experienceing. His passion and professionalism came clearly to bear and his breif lecture conveyed a great deal to us. Many of the Brothers were excited to learn from the Rioja that Spanish wines are dramatically under-priced compared to other producing regions not inherantly because of their quality, but for the sake of the poor reputation Spanish wines gained in the days of the Franco dictatorship. Evidently, the goal at that time was to make everything at the base level of daily table wine.
The Sacred Ceremonies of the Lodge Began promplty after dinner at 7:30 sharp. Quite a bit of business came to the floor again. Most notably an observance of the passing of Brother David Sherer who had been a member of Friendship Lodge for more than 70 years. That’s not nothing in the span of a human life, nor in the lifespan of a Lodge that is 104 years old; and the Brethren afforded this Brother the most solemn and honorable atention. A more forward-looking issue came up as well – a resolution to amend the bylaws of Friendship Masonic Lodge. Masonic practice requires it be laid aside until the next Stated Meeting, when the assembled Brethren will debate and vote on the resolution.
November is Always Election Time in Masonic Lodges
(left to right) Bro. Jaimes, Bro. Smith, Bro. Chase, WBro. Jim Leonnig, WB Leo Schuman
The Election of Lodge Officers is the focus of each November Stated Meeting. This year we witnessed the harmonious, unanimous election of 2019’s officer corps. Bro. SW Christopher Chase was elected to serve as Worshipful Master, Bro. JW Kent Smith will be ascending to Senior Warden, and our new Brother Jimmy Jaimes will be our new Junior Warden. Worshipful Brothers Jim Loennig and Leo Schuman will reprise their respective roles as Secretary and Treasurer, though WB Loennig has the additional honor of having been separately elected to serve as Worshipful Master of Waverly Lodge in 2019!
For Masonic Education we had the pleasure of hearing Bro. FC Miller-Conley give a brief talk on the respective wages of a Fellowcraft and Entered Apprentice Mason. He made great points about the nature of Masonic work and the mystic tie of our brotherhood, which gave us all a lot to contemplate and discuss.
The Junior Warden’s humorous motion from October was shut down. The motion argued that unexpended budget funds be directed to the purchas of a Maserati, purportedly to be used for officer transportation. The Worshipful Master wisely tabled the motion until November, when he dismissed it entirely. A great laugh was had by all then and after the meeting, during refreshment. No one could believe that Bro. Smith would make good (and then double down) on this – he had been joking since last December that he would make the motion to buy the fancy car at least once, if not at all stated meetings in 2018.
Masonic Brotherhood in Action Outside the Lodge
Following our November meeting, the Brethren of Friendship Lodge paid a visit to Columbia Lodge No. 114. Coming in sufficient numbers to “steal” a gavel, and eager to retrieve the one Columbia stole earlier this year, we were certainly looking forward to a fun night with our good friends. WB Lee and Bro. JW Smith both assisted in counting ballots for Columbia’s own elections, and Bros. Schuman and Chase made fabulous contributions to the esoteric discussions of the night. In the end, Friendship Brothers chose to take Columbia’s Master’s gavel instead of our own. “We gotta keep this friendship alive, ya know?” said WB Lee after choosing.
Several Friendship Masons came to the aid of Brother Jimmie Jaimes, who had just bought his first house! And he needed a few good men (and their strong backs) to help his family with the last big push to load and unload the U-haul.
Bro. Jaimes commented at how blessed he and his wife feel for the life they’ve found in the Pacific Northwest. How everything has started clicking for them and how at home he feels in Friendship.
Care for those away from home
The most timely event out of Lodge this month was the final delivery of tarps from our homeless relief project. Combined budget funds and donations came close to $1,000; which we were able to parlay into roughly 100 additional tarps for Operation Nightwatch, a Portland-area homeless shelter Friendship has partnered with. The Senior and Junior Wardens each traveled to one of Operation Nightwatch’s two locations on the same night as our infamously persistent autumn rains had begun.
Additionally; Brothers Vederman, Miller-Conley, and Ramirez all had their own respective adventures away from Oregon this November – in Ireland, Montana, and Idaho. Each having some wonderful tale to tell or memento to show off when they returned, we had good opportunities for fellowship as we closed out the month.
