Tuesday, October 20, 2009

October 20, 2009 - GOOD DAYS/BAD DAYS

Last night, October 19th, we held our monthly Stated Communications. In my introductory remarks, I observed we all seem to have good days and bad days. In terms of good days, Dunedin Lodge seems to have been blessed over the weekend, for example:

* A Dunedin squad won the 8th Annual SunCoast Masters & Wardens Association Golf Tournament. This is the fourth year in a row Dunedin has brought home the winning trophy.

* A Dunedin Lodge Brother took "Best of Show" in the Palm Harbor Classic Car Show for his 1970 Road Runner.

* A group of Dunedin Brothers attended the annual Fort Clinch Civil War-era outdoor MM degree, hosted by Amelia Lodge No. 47 F.& A.M., just north or Jacksonville. This was the 9th year in a row I attended and, as always, the Brothers of Amelia Lodge did a splendid job.

These were all fun events, all of which raised money for worthy Masonic charities.

But with the good, comes the bad:

* Yesterday I visited a Brother at Tampa General Hospital who just had his second kidney removed due to cancer. Although the operation went well, he developed a clot on his left lung which caused complications and made his blood pressure dangerously low. The Brother is but 60 years old, and it is unknown at this time if he'll make it, but we are all pulling for his recovery.

* Our Chaplain reported that his 17 year old son had to go to the hospital for an MRI. They fear he has brain cancer.

* We were notified that a Brother from out of town had passed away and that it will be necessary for us to conduct the funeral service.

It seems you cannot have the good without the bad. I don't consider myself a super religious person, but I do ask that all Masons keep these Brothers in their prayers. I'm convinced such thought does, in fact, help.

My year in the East is coming to an end in less than 90 days. During my first tour of duty as Worshipful Master I was scrambling at this time to complete projects before the end of the year. This year, the projects are basically done, but we have some minor tasks remaining, primarily fund raising events. My biggest concern is getting our younger members to step up to the plate and take more of an active role in degrees and Lodge business. It seems the younger people are less inclined to learn the work than my generation and this disturbs me greatly. Nonetheless, I will persevere.

Stay tuned!

Until next time.

All the Best,
Tim Bryce, PM, MPS, MMBBFMN
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Dunedin Lodge No. 192 F.& A.M.
http:/www.dunedin192.org/
Dunedin, FL, USA
"For the Good of the Order"

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

October 14, 2009 - RENDEZVOUS & INQUIRIES

Since Dan Brown's book was published, "The Lost Symbol," our Lodge has already received eight inquiries for membership. I attribute this to not only the book, but to the momentum we have developed at the Lodge. Dunedin is now the lodge which everyone likes to visit. The building is in good shape, we have money in the bank, and we have harmony in the Lodge. Now we have people banging on our door to get in. Hmm... I wonder if these elements are all related?

Because of the inquiries and ensuing petitions, we have been doing a lot of investigations lately. Some people like to gloss over investigations and are eager to take in any warm body they can lay their hands on. We don't. We take this all very seriously and we want to be sure that the candidates know what they are getting into, and we want to be assured they will fit in. We do not see the Lodge as nothing more than a pit-stop to the Shrine. If all they want to do is join the Shrine, we encourage them to go to another lodge. It's not that we have anything against the Shrine, but we want Brothers who will maintain their allegiance to the Blue Lodge.

RENDEZVOUS

This past Monday a group of Masons met at the Dunedin Brewery for some libations and Brotherhood. The Brewery is normally closed on Mondays, but since we know the owner, he opened it just for us. This was NOT a Lodge sponsored event, just a fun get-together which is open to Masons, friends, and family. We invited our recently investigated candidates to attend and some accepted our invitation. This afforded them the opportunity to talk to other Masons, as well as allowed us to get to know the candidates better. All in all, it was a win-win situation as everyone had a great time.

Stay tuned!

Until next time.

All the Best,
Tim Bryce, PM, MPS, MMBBFMN
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Dunedin Lodge No. 192 F.& A.M.
http:/www.dunedin192.org/
Dunedin, FL, USA
"For the Good of the Order"