Greetings My Brothers,
I write to you this month with a heavy heart. While those who are in regular attendance at St Johns Lodge 1P will already be aware, I am very sad to report that our Brother Senior Deacon Scott Alexander passed away from a short but aggressive illness. His passing has been extremely hard on the Lodge. Scott was a steady and reliable brother in St Johns 1P, a real Mason’s Mason. His brief but meaningful contributions to the Craft, both in St Johns and throughout the jurisdiction, were duly honored at his wake and funeral where so many Brothers and family came to pay their last respects. The officers are particularly grief-stricken, owing to the fraternal bonds we built with Scott in our labors serving the lodge these last several years. He was our brother and friend. We will miss him immensely.
As part of processing our grief, we have taken on the responsibility of memorializing him within St Johns 1P. At our March communication, the lodge unanimously voted to make Scott an Honorary Past Master, an honor rarely bestowed by our lodge. We are planning a large celebration of life event for the end of May, which will also be a fundraiser to continue support for his widow. A new award has been created in his honor, which will be presented in June. As with all great brothers before him, Scott’s legacy will become inextricably entwined with the St Johns 1P story. His name will not soon be forgotten, and we are grateful we can honor him in this way. Part of the challenge in the wake of Scott’s passing has been rearranging the lodge schedule. We were unable to conduct our Master Mason degree in March as planned. We have now scheduled the degree for a special communication on Wednesday, April 9th. We will open at 5:30 PM, have a light meal between the first and second sections, and proceed with the entire degree that evening.
The following week is our April communication on April 16th. We are elated to welcome our District Deputy Grand Master, R:. W:. Stephan H. Saraidarian for his official visitation to our lodge. The program that evening will be a presentation titled “The Importance of Music in Freemasonry” presented by R:.W:. Bro Paul C. Smith from the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire. R:. W:. Paul and I have had lovely conversations about the nature of music in Craft, its role, and the ways in which music shapes our perceptions of Freemasonry. I have no doubt this program will be interesting and informative. We will open lodge at 5:30PM, with dinner, program, and reception of our DDGM to follow. Please make your reservations for dinner soon!
Lastly, take note of the enclosed flyer for our biannual visitation to Euclid Lodge #136, which will be on May 3rd. Please reach out with your reservation as soon as possible. We are very excited for the 40th anniversary of this long-standing tradition, as are our brethren at Euclid!
As is my habit, I will close with some personal thoughts. In these days and weeks following Scott Alexander’s death, I find myself grieving more deeply than expected. Moments of numbness and inertia are quickly followed by anger, then sadness, then an inexplicable peace. My wife reminds me that this is a typical path for grief, which is in turn the price we pay for love. I suppose she is right.
Near the end of the film Forrest Gump, Forrest walks with his beloved Jenny for a time. They soon come upon her childhood home, a place where she experienced significant trauma as a child. Jenny makes her way up the driveway, standing before the dilapidated structure. In an instant, she is overwhelmed by her traumatic experiences in an outpouring of rage, anger, fear, sorrow, and hurt, her lifetime of suppressed raw emotion laid bare. For all the good it does, she channels her rage into throwing rocks at the home, finally collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.
I have thought of this scene often these last few weeks. I consider the ways in which we all experience loss and grief during our time on Earth, how there is no one way to process these experiences. For my part, I have sought comfort with my friends and family, certainly amongst my Masonic brethren. I’ve gone for walks, played my drums more aggressively than usual, and when the weather has allowed it, begun tending to my yard and flower beds in anticipation of spring. I’ve been honest with myself and others about my sadness and grief. There are days when these things help, but there are just as many days where no amount of walking or drumming or gardening makes a difference. As Forrest says, sometimes, I guess there just aren’t enough rocks.
I miss my friend.
Continue to be well, my brothers, and I look forward to seeing you out and about.
W∴Charles Jason Shealy
Worshipful Master, St Johns No 1 Providence
