Masters Message March 2023

Hello My Brothers,

Hoping this message finds everyone well. Last month's communication was a nice, relaxed evening as we welcomed our guest speaker Dr. Biagetti who spoke on the alleged Masonic lodge in Newport dating back to 1658. It was a well-attended meeting and a very interesting presentation!

Our stated communication for March will be our Master Mason degree for our two candidates. Please note that we will open the meeting at 5:30 pm to conduct business. From there we will head straight to dinner, then immediately begin our degree afterward. As everyone knows, this is a big presentation. All of us officers and many brothers are working diligently to make sure this performance goes wonderfully. Thank you all!

I briefly touched upon my plan going forward for the rest of the year regarding animal welfare. I am asking those that are able to, please consider making a donation of dry and wet food for both dogs and cats to the lodge. Also needed are cleaning supplies, blankets, towels, cat litter, toys, treats, etc. I also spoke about a simple and easy approach to donating. Many shelters and organizations now have Amazon wish lists. This makes donating a lot easier! The Amazon gift cards can be as little as five dollars, or more if you can. All cards collected will go to the Amazon account. From there, I will purchase the items and they ship directly to the organizations in need. It will be accompanied by a note from Amazon and a personal greeting card that I will send with a message that the donation is from St. Johns Lodge No. 1P Freemasons.

I will post this list of wants and needs on our St. Johns 1P Facebook page as well. Starting this month until the end of our Masonic year, please bring all donations to the lodge. If you choose the gift card option, please hand them directly to me or one of the officers. Thank you in advance!

Please keep an eye out for any animal in need or distress. As their voice, It’s our duty! If you have a story about how you helped an animal, please share that in Lodge, we would love to hear it!

“We can't change the world for animals without changing our ideas about animals. We have to move from the idea that animals are things, tools, machines, commodities, resources here for our use to the idea that as sentient beings they have their own inherent value and dignity.”

Grazie Fratelli Miei ... ... ...

John B. Paliotta
Worshipful Master