This past Wednesday, we had the pleasure of making Mr. Keatinge…
Brother Keatinge.
It’s a point that some of our brothers make certain to drive home on the night of an Entered Apprentice degree. That specific moment when a man has gone from a friendly fellow, to a candidate, to a brother:
you are now one of us; a member in the oldest and noblest fraternity in the world. You have taken a great step in your personal journey of discovery and development. And we are all eager to work with you and learn together.
Every Mason has a unique, powerful experience going through the degrees, most especially his Entered Apprentice Degree. And always the brethren put their backs into it to give our soon-to-be brother the best, most enlightening and lasting experience. But this particular night was unique in many ways.
Sojourners and Travelers
With our Senior and Junior Deacons still away from home we saw great opportunity for our membership to step up and support this important work. And though we were down Brothers Haase and Peterson, the gallery was well complemented by several travelers:
Worshipful Brother Ordaz reached out to our Worshipful Master some time ago, having heard of his 2019 Friendship Lodge Master’s Challenge, and being eager to take it on.
WB Chase was happy to oblige. And so it was that WB Ordaz served the night as Senior Deacon. And though never before having worked with the brethren of Friendship 160 he fit seamlessly into the crew. Everyone was severely impressed with the precision and deliberateness of his work – WB Chase made a point of mentioning this as he was awarding WB Ordaz his duly earned prize, and thanking him for making the 6-hour journey to participate in this auspicious night.
Also, making Worshipful Brother Ordaz the first Mason who is not a member of Friendship to have met the Master’s Challenge in 2019!
It was also wonderful to get to spend more time with WB Kirsten, who had first appeared in our lodge at our April Stated Communication the week prior, and who shares a common tie with our Junior Warden – finding their place in Oregon Masonry after moving here from the Grand Jurisdiction of Free and Accepted Masons of California.
Working to serve one man – that we might serve all.
Apart from our prestigious visitor, other brothers of note were the Worshipful Master, Chris Chase, who conferred his first EA degree of the year (and first as Master of a Lodge)! The lecture and charge were given by WB Walter Lee (IPM), and WB Leo Schuman once again gave a deeply moving apron presentation.
While there were many bright stars out on Wednesday, it’s important to remember that the brethren assembled for one purpose, and for one specific man. Our candidate – now brother – who was prepared to undergo the transformational work of Freemasonry. Worshipful Brother Schuman likes to say of the degrees:
we assemble a dozen or so men to do the specific work of putting on a grand play, for an audience of one.
Once the degree was completed, we assembled in the dining hall for our traditional toasting of the successful candidate. The first to speak was Brother Keatinge himself, who spoke of the sense of longing for community that inspired him to pursue Freemasonry, and how his many prior visits to Friendship Lodge helped him make his decision to join.
Everyone followed with their own words of encouragement, enthusiasm, and insight. As we dined and drank WB Schuman offered fresh insights from his recent travels in Arizona, and the trove of Masonic experiences he had there. Very notably, WB Hofbauer (35 years a Master Mason) who wished our new brother luck; that in 35 years he too would look back on his long Masonic career and find it to have been as joyful and enriching as he has.
Closing this phase of the night, our Worshipful Master spoke to Brother Keatinge about the non-sectarian nature of Masonic spirituality and how this informs our understanding of both Deity and creation – a subject the two had had many conversations on prior to Brother Keatinge’s joining – and encouraged him to continue to explore the ideas of faith, hope, and charity through this new lens of the Masonic Experience.
