Brethren, with the arrival of August, I begin the fourth quarter of my two-year term as the Masonic Society’s president. There was so much I wanted to accomplish, and the clock’s ticking is egregiously loud now. Anyway, this message is more of an administrative update.
First, I want you to know that Masonic Week 2022 will be a live, in-person event! That means the Masonic Society’s annual banquet will resume its rightful place as the premier affair of the five days of festivities. Update your calendar and plan to be with us on Friday, February 11 at 7 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. No word yet on the menu, dining fee, etc., and we are seeking a brilliant after dinner speaker. More on all that later this year, after the Masonic Week Planning Committee finalizes the logistics. (Also, last month, the voting members of the Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees, meeting virtually, elected to continue hosting Masonic Week at the Hyatt Regency for three additional years, so we all will be meeting there through February 2025.)
And at our meeting next February, you will meet our eighth president: Bro. Oscar Alleyne of New York. Oscar is well known about the apartments of the Temple, serving as a valued and indefatigable leader all around the fraternity, and he recently was elected to membership in Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076 in London. How ’bout that?!
In the nearer future, you can catch me speaking at a few Masonic venues in and around New York City. Currently, I am finishing a presentation titled “How to Research a Masonic Subject,” which I’ll share with the brethren at my two research lodges and AMD council.
Saturday, September 11 at 10 a.m. – New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786, meeting at Hightstown Lodge 41 in Hightstown, New Jersey. Plan to arrive by 9:30 for coffee—and to ensure we don’t accidentally lock you out of the building!
That very night and in that very same place, I’ll do it again for J. William Gronning Council 83 of Allied Masonic Degrees. Only AMD brethren may attend. Council opens at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 28 at 7 p.m. – The American Lodge of Research, meeting in the Colonial Room (tenth floor) of Masonic Hall in New York City. Yes, The ALR is back at labor! After a period of confusion (don’t ask), we installed a new officer line in June, and we resume our regular labors. (And Bro. Oscar was key to getting us reorganized.)
If you cannot join us for any of these meetings, don’t despair! I’ll submit the paper to Bro. Michael Poll, editor in chief of The Journal of the Masonic Society, for possible publication.