December, 2017

The last meetings of the year saw the installation of the new officers for the coming year.  Worshipful Brother Gene Bell is planning for the lodge to have a good year.  We have 5 active candidates at the moment so having a candidate for inspection should be no problem.  Grand Lodge has implemented a couple of new programs that are intended to educate the brethren and encourage new members.  A couple of brethren have contacted the lodge to have their dues remitted due to health and financial reasons.  As it stands right now 24 brethren still owe dues.  Some of these brethren will undoubtedly pay them soon.  There are some others, however, that have not paid for a couple of years now and, if they have not contacted us by our January meeting, we will have little choice but to suspend them.  Our dues are still $55, which are just above the average for the state but below what some of our neighboring lodges charge.  We would like to keep them as low as we can so we have to cut costs where we can.  To carry a brother who has not paid his dues costs the lodge $17.45 each in fees to Grand Lodge.  Now, if a brother has the means to buy an endowed membership at $800, he would have to pay his dues once more and then would never have to pay again.  Additionally, after his death the lodge will continue to receive money from his endowment.
We do have a couple of brethren that need our prayers.  WB Al Cloke and WB John McCollum.
We hope to see you in lodge.  Have a wonderful New Year.

November, 2018

The election of officers was held and the new list is to the right on this page.  Two candidates returned fine proficiencies and are ready for the Fellowcraft degree.  The Worshipful Master set November 25 at 6:00 PM for the degrees.  On December 2 at 6:00 PM will be our annual Christmas party at the lodge.  Bring a covered dish and come have some fun with us.  Santa will be there.  The installation of officers will be on December 16 at 7:00 PM prior to our stated meeting.  This will be a closed installation.  Thanksgiving Day the Sixth District will have their annual raising at Amelia Lodge.  Donuts and coffee at 6:00 AM with the degree to start at 7:00 AM.  Breakfast will follow the degree.  That's it for now.  I hope to see you at lodge. 

October, 2017

We currently have 6 Entered Apprentices going through the degrees right now.  Come out and see some good degree work and support the officers.  Our November meeting is when dues are due and it will be the election of officers.  We hope you can be there.

September, 2017

We did a Master Mason degree at our meeting on September 16.  We held it outside at Charlotte Back's property.  Since we do not have a candidate at that stage we did a pro tem.  We did only the business that was necessary so our meeting in October will be a busy one.  We voted on two candidates and will do their Entered Apprentice degrees Saturday, Sept. 23, at 5 PM.  We will be voting on three more petitions in October.  We may also have to make a decision that the lodge does not want to.  The lodge is going to answer appeals for donations for Texas and Florida hurricane victims in the amount of $50 each.  So come out to lodge and support the officers as they wrap up this year and look forward to election of officers in November.  And, as a reminder, dues will also be due then.  A notice will be sent out at the end of the month reminding every member that the dues are still $55.  Your dues card will be reactivated in the database as soon as your dues are paid or we receive word you cannot pay.  If you do not have a blue plastic card please let the secretary know.

Herman Liming

The lodge was saddened by the death of WB Herman Liming, Past Master and 60 year member of Edenton Lodge.  He will be missed by all who knew him.  I will post details of his funeral arrangements when they are available.

August, 2017

At our August meeting we received a visit from our District Education Officer, Ralph Metzger.  He was there to present Al Cloke, our Lodge Education Officer, with an award for completing the Grand Lodge's educational course on the Ancient charges.  Al has been an exceptional LEO and deserves the recognition.  Unfortunately, WB Cloke is having some health issues and will be unable to come to meetings for a while.  Keep him and his family in your prayers.  In other business, the fried bologna booth was cancelled because of lack of participation.  We will try again next year.  We did have our pancake breakfast at Stonelick Lake but a report was not available at this meeting.  Our outdoor meeting will be on September 16 at Charlotte Back's place at 10:00 AM.  If the weather is bad, we will hold the degree at the lodge.  The positions for the MM degree are in the process of being filled.  The chair lift is working well and there will be more information in the upcoming dues notices that will be sent out soon.  We have been able to remit a lot of dues the past few years and will continue to do so for brethren in need, but we cannot afford to continue carrying brethren who do not respond.  I hope to see a lot of you brethren on the 16th. 

July, 2017

We have some great news for those for whom the lodge stairs are a struggle.  A chairlift has been installed and is ready for use.  It was a fairly large expense for the lodge so if you can find it in your heart to donate a few extra dollars to help defray the cost it would be greatly appreciated.  As for the rest of the meeting there was not a lot of business.  An election was had for a brother that petitioned to be reinstated from suspension and he was elected.  The officers are already planning for next year's inspection by practicing every Thursday for the next few months.  They should be more than ready.  Some dates to remember are August 1 in Goshen.  It is National Night Out and the lodge is going to try to make a little money serving fried bologna sandwiches.  On August 12 from 9 to 11 AM the lodge will have a pancake breakfast at the campground at Stonelick Lake to also generate a little income.  If you can help with either event it would be appreciated.  I hope to see you at lodge, maybe riding the lift.

June, 2017

At our June meeting we took care of some business and visited for a while.  Being the beginning of summer, we had several regulars absent.  Our Lodge Education Officer is having leg problems and cannot climb the stairs so he is home recuperating.  Past Grand Master Richard M. Wilson passed away recently.  He was Grand Master at our lodge's 125 year reconsecration.  The trustees are working on improving the kitchen and removing unused items.  They also replaced our old range with a newer one.  It is shaping up well.  They also have contacted an installer and we should have a chair lift ready for our July meeting.  The lodge will be asking for donations to help pay for it.  We also are planning a couple of fundraisers to help also.  We plan to sell fried bologna sandwiches at Goshen's celebration of National Night Out on August 1.  We are also going to try to have another pancake breakfast at the Stonelick Lake campground if we can get it set up.  July 9 at the lodge will be an open house and cookout from 3 PM until ?  Bring a covered dish and a dessert if you like.  Another event you might enjoy is the annual Sixth District family picnic at Sycamore Park in Batavia on June 24 starting at 1:00 PM.  All Masons and their families are welcome. That about covers it for this month.  I hope to see you at lodge.

May, 2017

We had a good meeting this month.  A new brother was examined in the Master Mason degree, we discussed putting in a chair lift and some much needed building maintenance is underway.  July 9 at 3 PM is going to be our annual lodge family picnic at the lodge.  Bring a covered dish and the lodge will supply the meat and beverages.  The lodge is also looking at serving fried bologna sandwiches at the National Night Out celebration in Goshen on August 1.  If anyone would like to help it would be appreciated.  Worshipful Brother John Fahey donated an aerial picture of the lodge taken with a drone by his son and framed by his daughter.  We are going to find a prominent place to hang it in the lodge.  We will be picking inspection dates at the next meeting.  The Sixth District is having its annual family picnic on June 24 at Sycamore Park in Batavia.  We will have the chance to meet the one day class candidates from the district there as well.  I hope to see you at lodge.

April, 2017

It was another good turnout for a stated meeting.  Our two one day class members came and received their bibles and aprons.  We reinstated a member off of a dimit.  We hosted a brother from a lodge in Morgantown, WV and examined our latest Master Mason.  As you can see, we have a lot of activity, member-wise.  The carpet that was used in the reconsecration of the lodge in 2010 was framed and presented to the lodge by Bro. Gary Conn of Amelia Lodge.  He did an excellent job and we will find a suitable place to display it.  We also had a report on our More Light Night held on April 1.  Bro. Brian Kerr talked about his journey into Masonry in Scotland and eventually to membership in Amelia Lodge.  The ritual is basically the same but there are more signs and slight differences in wording.  It was a good evening.  The Lodge Education Officer talked about some differences in Masonry in different jurisdiction.  If anyone is interested in playing in the Sixth District golf outing on May 20, contact the secretary for a form.  The cost is $60 a person and includes cart, fees and food.  It is a 4 person scramble format.  I hope to see you at lodge.

March, 2017

There was not a lot of business to take care of at our March meeting.  The "More Light Night" was discussed.  Please see the prior post for more information.  We finally received the dimit of a brother and he is now a member of our lodge.  We also received a petition for reinstatement.  March 25 is the Grand Master's one day class this year.  We have two candidates that are attending as well as some of our brethren taking part in the degree work.  The Lodge Education Officer presented a program on the two paths everyone has to choose from to travel through life.  One is hard, tedious and beset with dangers and temptations.  But at the end is peace and happiness.  The other path is easy, filled with sunshine, music and pleasure.  This path leads to despair and death.  All the great religions speak of these two paths.  Buddhism is eloquent in its view of these paths.  "The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next; he is happy in both.  He is happy when he thinks of the good he has done; he is still more happy when he is on the good path.  Earnestness is the path of immortality (Nirvana).  Thoughtlessness is the path of death.  Those who are in earnest do not die, but those who are in thoughtlessness are as if dead already.  Fools follow vanity.  The wise man keeps earnestness as his best jewel."  These thoughts are around 2600 years old and are still true today.  I hope to see you in lodge.

More Light Night

EDENTON LODGE #332

MORE LIGHT NIGHT

TO BE HELD ON

APRIL 1, 2017 AT 7:00 PM

AT EDENTON LODGE #332

LIGHT REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER IS BRIAN KERR, FORMERLY OF SCOTLAND AND NOW A MEMBER OF AMELIA LODGE #590

OPEN TO MASTER MASONS ONLY DUE TO CONTENT OF PRESENTATION

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE FOR

FELLOWSHIP AND REFRESHMENTS

February, 2017

We started off with a special meeting on Feb. 18 with an Entered Apprentice degree.  Our officers did a fine job.  We closed the lodge and opened at 8:00 after some refreshments downstairs.  We went to refreshment and opened a Fellowcraft degree to examine a brother in that degree.  We then went back to the EA lodge and conducted our regular business.  We then heard from Bro. Rodney Epperson from the Ohio Masonic Home about changes in the services provided to Masons, their widows and orphans.  If you need any help from the home, which includes helping you stay in your home, contact the lodge and more information will be provided.  The upcoming one day class was discussed and our lodge will have 2 candidates there to complete their degrees.  On March 11 at 7:00 PM we will be doing a Master Mason degree on a brother.  The Lodge Education Officer has set up an educational night on April 1 at 7:00 PM to hear from a brother from Scotland about Masonry there.  He is said to be an entertaining speaker.  We are also hoping to get a large turnout of our brethren for Goshen lodge's inspection on April 21.  Since this is the last inspection we could keep the traveling award until the next inspection season.  The lodge is experiencing a burst of enthusiasm.  Come join us.

January, 2017

Our inspection went very well.  You should be proud of your officers.  The candidate got a good degree and all in attendance had a great time.  Edenton set the bar high for the remainder of the inspections.  Our Treasurer, Tom Allen, recited a poem he wrote to honor our veterans.  At our stated meeting WB Mike Hannah from Felicity Lodge gave a talk about fraternal relations between the several Masonic bodies and the Order of the Eastern Star.  It was also announced that there will be a one day class on March 25 this year.  We will have at least a couple of brethren going down to the Cincinnati Masonic Center to receive the degrees.  Before our February meeting we will exemplify the Entered Apprentice degree at 6:00 PM.  We look forward to seeing you at our meetings.