PARADISE LODGE #17 A.F.&A.M.

The year 2005 has been fairly good to Paradise Lodge; the number of new members have almost kept pace with deaths and demits, a first-time Master sits in the East, attendance has been up slightly, a number of improvements were made to our facilities, and we have been financially solvent enough to provide over $9000 in Masonic relief, scholarships and youth group support.

 

Our Lodge building has served us well but it needed a little TLC. We held three work parties this year involving over 120 hours of volunteer service by Masons, DeMolay and Job s Daughters and their adult advisors. In March, the upstairs rooms were cleaned up, and many minor repairs were made. In June, our volunteers prepared the kitchen and dining room areas for the major work to be performed over the summer months. We had the dining room and kitchen painted, new countertops and appliances installed, new flooring in the kitchen, and all of the carpets cleaned and re-stretched. In August, we held a third work party to return the furniture to the lodge room and set up the kitchen for use. These work parties were well attended with peace and good fellowship prevailing among the workmen and women. We did a good job creating a more uplifting and functional space in which to gather.

 

The building however, is not the Lodge. The Lodge is the membership in general and more particularly the number of brothers who regularly participate in the work. Of over one hundred members of Paradise Lodge there are typically only 10 to 12 present at the meetings. Although the efforts of these active members are much appreciated, it would be nice to increase the number of this core group. We have been fortunate this year in that our membership did not decline much. We lost five to death and demit, two to NPD, initiated three and gained two by affiliation. These new members are of the highest quality; university students, bringing with them the vitality of youth, intelligent and inquisitive minds. We must look for ways to hold the interest of these new brothers and also, to bring those less active members back into the Lodge on occasion at least. To achieve this, we must take full advantage of our limited time together by planning enjoyable activities as a part of our regular business meetings. Any brother with an idea for an activity, or a philosophical question is invited to present it for open discussion. We will continue to use the Lodge Excellence Award Program for ideas, and try to spend time at each meeting planning future activities. The key is to think ahead, to plan together, and to communicate those plans to all the brethren. Most of all, we must put lots of energy into the esoteric work of Freemasonry.

 

The degree work and the philosophical allegory contained therein is what sets us apart from other fraternal organizations. Every part in our ceremonies from the interrogatories to the raising must be polished, solemn and meaningful. A word-perfect lecture is not as important as having a clear understanding of the meaning of the work and expressing that meaning in a way that makes sense to the candidate. Our ritual must move and inspire the candidate, leaving an indelible impression on his mind that he was there and then made a Mason. The best way to retain our new members is to knock-em-dead with our degree work. (submitted by Dave Savage, WM, Sept 2005)

 

Course Financial management: research paper. . Site of Acquaintances. Us More than 16 million: ukrainian brides . . Sign Signs Cheap Custom car magnets and many more magnet options.