January Master’s Message

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral. ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

“It was a beautiful fall evening in 2011 when I formally began my travels from the West; in a small Lodge near my home; surrounded by the mostly unfamiliar faces of men whom I had been told would  soon call me Brother.  Having grown up in an evangelical church I was familiar with the term; and had heard it used more often as a platitude then as a sincere greeting and approbation; so to say the least I was reticent to use the term at first when I interacted with these men.  However in the months to come as we traveled together it became apparent that the term was not used insincerely at all. We were truly Brothers toiling in the quarries together; each of us intent on transforming our pile of rocks into stones fit for use, cemented together in to a common bond.”

I wrote the words above shortly after my initiation as part of a blog that I was building to learn WordPress.  It has been seven years since the day I entered the craft; I have since been passed and raised by those same Brothers. Each man a builder and traveler in his own right. Each building for himself “that house not made with hands” while together traveling towards the rising sun.

Here I sit this evening typing my first installment for our Lodge website as Worshipful Master sitting in the East  looking towards the West; honored and humbled to serve my Brothers.   The first month of my term has been a whirlwind.  Shortly after my installation our lodge was called upon to assist a Brother as he laid his bride to rest. Three days into the new year I was privileged to preside over the initiation of a Entered Apprentice. We completed another successful charitable poker event.  At our first regular communication the Lodge, with the help of the Masonic Charitable Foundation, was able to ease the financial burden of a Brother in need.  And the month has more to come.  We have date night scheduled for this weekend and we will close the month with our “5th Wednesday”  where we will be watching and discussing “Terra Masonica: Around the World in 80 Lodges”

We have a full calendar again this year at Clinton Lodge and I look forward to serving with my fellow officers as we continue in the Excellence that our Craft calls us to.

Fraternally,

Joseph McKelvie, WM

Clinton Lodge #175