Masters Message May 2024
My Brothers,
April was another incredible month of events for the Brethren, family and friends of St Johns No. 1 Providence. The month began with the Grand Master’s Testimonial Dinner at Harbor Lights. SJ1P then hosted a luncheon for our Special Ladies at Chapel Grille. It was wonderful spending time with some of our Special Ladies to reconnect while enjoying a meal together. Thank you to the SJ1P Stewards, Bros. Jeffrey Parker and Octavio Gomez, for planning such an important and meaningful event. The Officers then traveled to Overseas Lodge where we had the pleasure of bestowing Overseas Lodge with the “Skunk” Award we had recently received from W:. Andy Brown and the Officers from Redwood Lodge. SJ1P then hosted Rainbow and Demolay members for a meal as part of their Progressive Dinner as they journeyed from lodge to lodge throughout the jurisdiction. And finally, we held our monthly communication on Wednesday, 4/17 which was R:.W:. Eric Grist’s last official visitation as a DDGM. What a night it was!! R:.W:. Grist was accompanied by an incredibly large suite (the view from the East was incredible) and when we did a count of all the Brethren, family and friends, we were well over 150. This speaks to the impact both R:.W:. Grist and W:. John Kent have made as they traveled the Districts these past five years. It was also delightful that M:.W:. GM Doug Grant and the Grand Council were also able to attend our communication that evening. The guest speaker for the night was W:. Bro Andrew Hammer author of Observing the Craft. If you haven’t read his book, you should and if you haven’t seen Bro. Andrew present, you should. As I shared in a recent Facebook post, the combination of R:.W:. Grist’s visitation and the presentation from Bro. Hammer made for a night that I will never forget as Master!
May is also shaping up to be a very busy month for SJ1P:
On Sunday, 5/5 St Johns #1 Providence will be attending a religious service at the First Baptist Church in America (75 North Main St. Providence, RI.) The service starts at 11:00 so please plan to arrive at 10:30. Last year we were warmly welcomed into this congregation and because of Bro. SW Jason Shealy, I expect that we will be fostering and building this relationship for years to come.
Our fraternal visitation with our Brothers from Euclid Lodge #136 (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ) is scheduled for Saturday, May 11. We expect that our Brothers from Euclid will arrive around 11am. Come celebrate our strong bonds of fellowship with food, drinks, music and cigars. The third consecutive “chill” visitation will be held in Rhode Island this year at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center. By mutual agreement, there will not be a formal Masonic meeting. In order to ensure that we have enough food and beverages, and to set up the appropriate number of tables and chairs, we need a headcount. Please either email Bro. JW Bob Larrabee at
Our May monthly communication will be held on Wednesday, 5/15 and the presenter for the evening will be W:. Bro. Bryan Cooper who will be presenting his research on the Anti-Masonic Movement and the impact on Rhode Island Freemasonry. Additionally that night, W:. John Paliotta will be receiving the Grand Master’s Award from M:.W:. GM Doug Grant in recognition of his outstanding year of service in the East. For your future planning our June communication presentation will be our service awards. Please plan to join us that evening to help recognize many brothers who have achieved significant years of service in our Craft.
A reminder that a dinner reservation for our monthly communications is absolutely required and due the Friday before our communication – this month that is Friday, 5/10. You can make your reservation for dinner with Brother Senior Steward via email at
I am looking forward to seeing you at our many May events!
Fraternally,
W:. Joseph J. Bernier