Fraternity, Friendship, and Education

My goals for 2011 as Master of the Lodge - Fraternity, Friendship and Education.

At the end of our Lodge meetings, we should be leaving the company of our brethren with something to ponder in hearts, we should be able to smile to ourselves in the recollection of anecdotes and stories told by each other over a hearty meal or end-of-meeting desert; we should feel secure in the knowledge that we have friends and brothers that we can look across the room at, and know that they will be there for us, and us for them; we should be able to feel that bond of fraternity that rarely exists outside the walls of Freemasonry, and we should have been edified with some tidbit of information that peaks our curiosity and prods us to study and learn.  We are after all here to make ourselves better men.

Yeah, I know....there are a lot of "should s" in that last paragraph....Fraternity and Friendship often go hand in hand, we feel an obligation to each other because we swore we had one; our meetings and events give us the opportunity to spend the time to get to know each other - hopefully to the point of wanting to help out of friendship other than just obligation.  I think the time before and after the meeting is critical in encouraging friendship, there should always be a reason to head to the kitchen, grab a cup of coffee or milk and a slice of Brother Barclay's incredible cheesecake and just BS with the Brethren.  Fraternity comes within the Lodge, during ritual and ceremony, that reminds us of the oaths we took, and the bonds that makes us unique in the world.

Education - not so tough actually, it's simply taking the time to do a little research and share something interesting.  There are countless books and magazines, Lodges of Research, Lodge libraries, and its always interesting what you'll find out if you just ask a brother - which circles you back to Fraternity and Friendship.