September's Message

Greetings Brethren & Ladies of Palmer!

That is right summer is over and we go on with our duties. While it is good to be back in a working mode it is also difficult to say goodbye to that summer refreshment which can often lead to a productive laziness. We accomplished some great things during our refreshment. We held several EA degrees and made improvements to our lodge. We had our annual picnic with other Northwest Masonic Center bodies where the food and spirit was exciting as well as engaging, it was a great turn of event especially for our young ones. Many thanks to the committees who put all of these events together. Their work again demonstrates that Masonry is about fellowship and good will. With the waning of summer it is good to look forward to our next stated meeting to get caught up with everyone’s events: remember we meet on the 26^th at 7:00 pm, with dinner at 6:00.

Unfortunately this summer we also saw the passing of two wonderful and long time brothers: Brother John Bach and Worshipful Brother Jim Urbanski, PM. Their presence will duly be missed. We forge on however celebrating their lives and spirit. We have many irons in the fire as we return to labor: we have our rescheduled Rose Celebration honoring the widows and ladies of Palmer combined with our Past Masters and 25/50 member recognition dinner on September 12^th at 7:00 pm. Fliers should be in your mailbox let me know if you did not get an invitation, our annual Jr. Warden’s Chili cook-off on November 15^th, and we still have several degrees to confer we have to initiate several men who had petitioned our lodge and get them onto the path of enlightenment as well as raising a few more. Brothers again I will need your assistance as we progress with these degrees, we have many parts to fill from the rituals especially in our lectures as time away from the work often leaves us a bit rusty. I readily admit I have difficulty in remembering what is supposed to be said next; as our Brother Secretary can attest I have difficulty remembering what day it is!

I mention this not to highlight my inadequacies but rather to demonstrate that when we are away from things we often let things slip, what armchair philosophers call “out of sight – out of mind” and as things slip away we feel we are too far gone to come back: we do not know the words, the signs, certain points or we have forgotten our tokens. All of these we use as an excuse to allow ourselves to slip further away. But we need not fall away, ironically one of the first lessons we learn as Masons is the one we forget and that is we are a brotherhood a group of men related to one another by our passions and ideals. When President Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark out to explore the uncharted Louisiana Purchase he sent them with a coin or token that was to be shared with the strangers they would encounter. On that coin was engraved two men shaking hands – because he understood that this symbol could only represent peace and friendship to those who could not understand the words.

With that in mind as many of us feel the rusty creak in our bones as we return to labor I with pleasure extend my hand as a symbol of brotherly affection and invite all brothers who have slipped by over time, everyone who feels a bit rusty in their Masonic endeavors, to come to our next stated meeting. There you can refresh yourselves with good and true work.

In Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty

Khristian E. Kay, WM