Masters Newsletter September 13, 2021

Greetings Brethren,

Come on out this Tuesday for dinner and to socialize and catch up with your fellow Brothers in the Lodge.  If you are feeling lucky, head on up to the parlor for a game of Euchre or to the top floor for a game of pool.  We currently have no degree work scheduled and only have 2 in the system working on their Fellow Craft proficiency.  Now is a great time to bring a friend or coworker to the Lodge to introduce them to Masonry.  Also after the announcements, this having been the 20th Anniversary of the attack on our country, I would like to have Brothers tell their stories as to where they were when they found out the news, how did they find out, etc.  In reading through the timeline of events I was able to reflect back on that day and almost relive that horrific morning.

We have a number of other important upcoming events during this last part of the year and the first of those is our Community Day/Fish Fry on Friday, Sept 24th and Sat Sept 25th.  This event can only succeed with the help of our Brethren.   Without the Brothers coming out to help work the event it makes it very difficult to pull off.  Even if you can only work a few hours it would be a tremendous help and as an added benefit, those who come to work the fish fry also receive a free meal for their services.  The primary responsibility of the Lodge Brothers is the outside tent/drive-thru service as well as running the fryers so you will be outside getting plenty of fresh air and on Saturday you will get to enjoy the live music while you work.  Also, as in the past, we need donations of pop/soda.  Please consider picking up a 12-pack or case of pop and bring it by the Lodge on a Tuesday evening.  We also need to borrow some large coolers if anyone has one or more to lend to the Lodge for this event.  Please ensure your name is somewhere on the cooler so we can get it back to you.  See the end of this newsletter for a message from our Community Day Chairman for further information on this event.

As everyone will recall, this year’s Master Mason class is dedicated to the memory of WB Mark Griffin.  The rocks glasses commissioned to honor the memory of WB Mark Griffin are in and can be purchased from your officers.  These glasses look incredible and are American made!  The price for a single glass will be $10.00, two for $18.00 and a set of 4 will be $35.00.    Make sure to get your glass(es) early to remember the life of such a dedicated Mason and Veteran.

 

Quote of the Week:

 “If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.”

Sandra Dahl
Wife of Flight 93 pilot, Jason Dahl

I don’t think much really needs said here.  We all have seen how this country came together as one UNITED nation during that terrible time.  We can accomplish great things when we learn to remove the hate from our lives.

Millersville 126 News / Dates:

Sep. 14 – Social Evening

  • Dinner 6:00pm

Sep. 21 – TBD

 Sep. 24 – Fish Fry

  • 4:00pm until 8:00pm

Sep. 25 – Community Day/Fish Fry

  • 10:00am until 8:00pm
  • 2 Live bands from roughly Noon until 7pm
  • Vendors on site

  This Week’s Birthdays

Randal Cramer (9/13), Daniel Wilkins (9/14),

 This Week’s Raisings

Thomas Beattie, SR. (9/13), Jeff Ping (9/15), Michael Nelson (9/17), Michael Pendleton (9/18), Larry McLain (9/19), Michael Clark (9/19)

 Master’s Travels

If anyone is planning to travel or visit another Lodge or has been asked to come assist with a degree, please reach out to me and let me know so we can get a few more Brothers to go and make a visit out of it.  Below is the travel opportunities site I go to.  If you see anything there that interests you make sure to let me know.  This is also a great opportunity for Mentors to take their mentees to see some extra degree work to aid in their learning.

We are sitting at 10 different Lodges visited for a total of 590 round trip miles.  We have completed the requirements for both of the Grand Lodge Travel Awards.  That doesn’t mean we are going to stop traveling as I would like to see us go for some of the many traveling implements in the area and bring them home to Millersville.  We will have a bit more upcoming travel soon as we will once again be going dark during July and August, however, we will need to keep our ritual game strong by traveling around and watching and being a part of degrees at other Lodges.

http://masoniccalendar.blogspot.com/

 

Brian Bates

Worshipful Master

Millersville Lodge #126

Mobile: 260-615-8013

Email: tazmanfw@gmail.com

 MESSAGE FROM COMMUNITY DAY CHAIRMAN

Hello Brethren:

It won’t be long and our yearly fundraiser will be here, September 24 and 25. The Millersville Community Day Festival plans are moving along very well. Here are some of the highlights:

  • We have sent a brochure about the event to all the business in the area requesting their sponsorship. Members have been encouraged to solicit sponsors as able.
  • The Brothers and Eastern Star Sisters in our Lodge are really stepping up to staff the needed roles. On Saturday, we will need help with preparing and transporting food, taking orders, assisting with parking, promoting Masonry through working at our table or giving tours, and assisting with vendors. Please consider taking a role in these activities.
  • Randy Snyder has volunteered to oversee the food production activities in the tent. If you can help there, please contact him at rls3108@yahoo.com.
  • Registrations from vendors for the market are coming in but we need more. If you know of someone who would like to participate in our market, please have them connect with me at info@millersvillelodge.org.
  • Entertainment – We will have two professional classic rock bands to provide entertainment throughout the day (six hours or so). Hewitt and Fink are legendary musicians from the Madison IN music scene. Darryl Hewitt is also a Masonic Brother. Wildhart is a very popular local band and plays professionally in the area. If you like classic rock and blues music, you will be in for a real treat.
  • Plan to have a supervised bouncy house for the kids. Charles Moore is working on this. Need someone to help here with supervision on the day of. If you know of anyone that does face painting, please have them contact me at the above email address.
  • May have a magician that will have a booth.
  • Steve Tipton created the Event Flyer for use on social media. Please let us know if you need a copy of this flyer for sharing on social media.
  • The Millersville at Fall Creek Valley neighborhood organization will be posting this flyer in their monthly newsletters prior to the event. They will also be there contributing to the open market and are inviting other community organizations to participate as well.
  • We will be erecting a banner in front of our building well in advance to advertise the event.
  • An event was created for both Millersville pages on Facebook and will be advertised on Nextdoor as well. Please assist us in this effort and forward these event to your friends. The Indiana Grand Lodge has contacted us and they would like to cohost this event. This will allow our FB event to be posted on their page as well. The GL marketing rep has been very helpful!
  • Donations as little as $50 to help cover the cost of this event can be made at the following website address: https://millersvillelodge.org/sponsor/. Please contribute if you are able.

The goal for this event is to accomplish several things for our lodge:

  • Grow our lodge – By reaching out to the community in this way, this event will make Millersville Lodge a destination point for many people in the community on one day of the year. Hopefully, by visiting with us on this day and learning more about Masonry, they will also join us for further fellowship permanently.
  • Raise funds for the Lodge – If we grow our lodge, we will raise funds that way, in addition to sponsorships from our friends and vendors in the market. Hope we sell a ton of food too. The event is free but we will have donation boxes situated throughout the grounds.
  • Build relationships within our community, and
  • Have great fun and fellowship as Brothers and Sisters.

So, we are looking forward to a very productive weekend and a lot of fun. Hopefully the success of this event will shape the fundraising efforts of our Lodge for years to come in a positive way and enhance the relationship with our Community.

Fraternally,

Ron Featherston P.M.