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
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
Friends and Brethren all! Ring in the new year with Friendship next Wednesday! We will be enjoying more of Bro. Eric Pease’s expert cookery with a menu of Swedish meatballs, fingerling potatoes and wilted greens. Our lecture for the evening will be delivered by none other than Bro. Kent Smith, who will be presenting his original research on the shifting meaning of “libertine”, and just what its implications should mean for the contemplative Mason.
This lecture will be part of our closed meeting, but both the supper and hours of refreshment and fellowship following the meeting are open. Feel free to stop on by and meet a Mason (or twelve).
When Friendship last met to celebrate the Feast of St. John the Evangelist I was struck by the notion that in a few short hours I would officially take on the mantle of Worshipful Master. Several times since the morning of the 28th I’ve had occasion to call a Brother or two and have always noticed their joyful use of my new title, Worshipful Brother. It’s a trip to make such an abrupt transition, but it is a challenge and an opportunity to serve which I treasure and look forward to, and I thank you all for your support. Every Master before me has given his successor a better set of cards than he himself was dealt, and WB Schuman continued that trend. Read More
A Joint Installation of 2018 Officer’s was held at Kenton Masonic Temple on December 15th for Friendship Masonic Lodge No. 160 and Enlightenment Lodge #228. The event started off with a champagne toast for all present, after the Installation a dinner of quartered roast chicken, braised potatoes, fresh rolls and salad was prepared with fine food for all. Read More
As we approach our coming Fellowcraft degrees this summer I find myself musing on some recurring lessons in our degrees. Most especially of finding balance in all things. The point within a circle admonishes us that our duties will require touching upon both the extremes of left and right, summer and winter, John the Baptist and John the Evangelist; as well as the ideal, middle path of the Volume of Sacred Law. How hard it can be to do just that thing, weigh all sides equally, know the ideal, and still pursue what we think best. A nautical rhyme comes to mind, meant to admonish the sailor to be prudent whenever at sea and in dispute over right of way:
“Here lies the body of Michael O’Day Who died defending his right of way.
He was right, dead right, as he sailed along But just as dead as if he’d been wrong.”
This past month has offered a wealth of Masonic education for me, but I have also been pulled in many directions; in meditating on how to proceed with MWB Art Borland’s order to rescind our recent bylaws change, to mentoring Bro EA Quinn, and most importantly, caring for my 9- weeks-old twins; I have found myself without much time to organize my thoughts. But I would like to share something our beloved Brother Junior Deacon wrote on our Facebook page in June: Read More
At long last, Friendship has made Quinn Hasse a Brother Mason. On Wednesday, May 18 Friendship 160 welcomed out newest Entered Apprentice into the fraternity. That night marked a turning point in his life as well as Friendship Lodge’s as this was the first degree in several years performed entirely with an inhouse cast; with our Junior Warden conferring his first degree and our Super Senior Deacon, Brian Gardes performing in a degree for the first time since his own.
A bright night for everyone indeed and only the first degree of the year! Join us and Brother Quinn for our next Stated Meeting on Wednesday, June 7, and come back for our next EA degree on June 21, when we continue with this great and good work.
