Masters Message November 2023

My Brothers,

Our October communication was nothing short of incredible! The Officers of St Johns Lodge No 1 Providence delivered an amazing Entered Apprentice degree to four candidates. As Master of his Lodge, I couldn’t be any prouder of the exemplary work and am so appreciative of the time and dedication invested to deliver this kind of experience. At the altar, with my own eyes, I saw our candidates experience the WOW: they were deeply impacted, left with awe and now have lots of thoughts and questions. Please join me in welcoming our newest Entered Apprentices to SJ1P: Bro. Richard Lunn, Jr., Bro. Omar Niazi, Bro. Jason Norberg and Bro. Alan Vukas. Thank you, thank you to everyone who made this degree so wonderful. I need to extend special thanks to W:. Bro. Robert Frank from Jenks Lodge for his expertise with lighting (so impactful) and a very special thank you to Bro. Senior Steward, Jeffrey Parker, for taking on an additional lecture in the second part of the degree. Bro. Parker’s lectures were not only inspiring but letter perfect! Encore, you say? Well, we will be holding a special communication on Wednesday, 11/29 to confer the EA degree on two additional candidates. Please come out (again) on 11/29 to support these candidates, our newest EA Brothers as well as the Officers and help us repeat and deliver the WOW! Your contributions and participation are absolutely vital.

Now that I’m done gushing about the degree work, I am pleased to share that the guest speaker for our November communication on 11/15 is R:.W:. Bro. Kirk White. Bro. White was raised in 1992 in White River Lodge #90 in Bethel, Vermont. He served as Master of that lodge as well as Fibonacci Lodge #112 (Vermont's traditional observance lodge). He is Past Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Masons, Past Grand Master of Royal and Select Masters, Deputy Commander of the Grand Commandery, Chief Adept SRICF and has or is serving in leadership in a variety of other Masonic bodies. He is currently in the Vermont progressive grand line as Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Lodge of Vermont. R:.W:. Bro. White holds a BA in Psychology and Religion, an MA in Counseling, and is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist. His particular interest, among many, is initiatic techniques and the psychology of personal transformation and consciousness change. As a side gig, he is also a Vermont legislator.

I’ve asked R:.W:. Bro. White to be our guest speaker to discuss his book, Operative Freemasonry: A Manual for Restoring Light and Vitality to the Fraternity, for two reasons. First, R:.W:. White’s book touches on Masonic Observance which is the thread I’m trying to weave throughout everything we do this year. But secondly, his book addresses several important topics (Prospects, Initiation and Mentorship) which are particularly relevant to us in this moment at SJ1P as we have prospects, candidates and newly initiated Brothers. The timing of his presentation is perfect. In addition to learning more about his manual on Masonic revitalization, I’m hoping R:.W:. Kirk will leave us with some thoughts and considerations in welcoming and educating new Brothers as well as investigating those who wish to join the Fraternity.

Speaking of mentorship - To the Past Masters of SJ1P: as I shared during the Past Masters meeting this summer, I am going to be reaching out to ask for your participation in our classes of instructionbasically a few minutes of your time for a quick meet and greet. What a great way to welcome our newest Brothers and give them the opportunity to meet some Past Masters who have led our prestigious Lodge. This is also a chance for you to share some of the knowledge you have gained in your years and experiences as a Mason. I promise – no preparation required! Not intending any exclusivity, if any brother is interested in participating in this manner during our classes, please contact me. Your participation is absolutely welcomed!

With the holiday season quickly approaching, I wanted to share the dates of a few upcoming events. The SJ1P Holiday Party will be held at Alpine Country Club the evening of Friday, 12/15. Also, the annual SJ1P Basket Assembly/Distribution will take place the morning of Saturday, 12/16 at Scottish Rite.

Lastly, a friendly reminder that a dinner reservation is absolutely required and due the Friday before our communication – this month that is Friday, 11/10 for our Regular Communication and Friday, 11/24 for our Special Communication . You can make your reservation with Brother Senior Steward via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 401.861.1757. The cost of the meal with a reservation remains $10. *IF* we can accommodate a Brother without a reservation the evening of the communication, the cost is $20. A copy of the memo about reservations/catering/costs was recently sent to members. Thank you in advance for your continued cooperation.

If I do not see you in Lodge during the month of November, on behalf of the Officers and myself, I want to extend a Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you and your family!

Fraternally,