Masters Message October 2024

Greetings My Brothers,

With the cooling of the air and the turning of the leaves, there is no doubt that it is fall in New England. Personally, this is one of my favorite times of year. The colorful leaves, the brisk bite of the evening breeze, and the option to have pumpkin spice in my coffee, all bring me to a place of gratitude that the fall season is upon us. I hope you are settling into this delightful season as well.

In September, we had a spectacular meeting, where we conducted the usual business of the lodge, enjoyed a meal together, and caught up with each other after the summer break. The Rhode Island School for the Deaf came to visit, and we were pleased to receive them. The program focused on the school’s mission to meet the needs of students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. There was also ample discussion about Deaf culture and how Deaf education is unique from the typical education a hearing person receives. Based on the many, many questions that were asked, it’s safe to say we were as interested in hearing from the school as they were to present to us!

In addition to our charitable gift to their after-school program, we also announced that we will be sponsoring a car wash on October 5th, to be held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral. The car wash will be from 9AM to 1PM, and will allow the students to put some of their own sweat into raising funds for their after school activities. See the flier in this trestle board for additional information. Please plan to come by and have your car cleaned by these hardworking RIS Deaf students!

For our October communication, along with the usual business of the lodge, we will vote on several candidates to receive the degrees. After dinner, we will conduct the EA degree on five candidates who have already been voted on, ending the evening prior to delivering the lectures. We will hold a special communication on Saturday, Oct 19th, where we will conduct the EA degree in its entirety. Those candidates who were voted on during the October 16th meeting will receive the entire degree, with the Wednesday night candidates joining for the lectures, concluding our degree work for the EA. This is a very busy process, but our officers are hard at work ensuring we have a healthy and motivated class of new Masons. It will be a pleasure to bring them into the craft and set them upon their Masonic journey!

I want to take a moment to advertise another important event happening in October. Our Grand Lodge will hold the 100th anniversary of the Grand Lodge building with a cornerstone rededication ceremony. This will be held on Saturday, October 26th, at the Grand Lodge building in East Providence. Specific details will be forthcoming, but please put this on your calendar so that you will be able to attend this very important event for our Grand Lodge.

In November, we expect to host an in-depth presentation from one of the Delta Force operators who was on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, in response to the Black Hawk Down incident during Operation Gothic Serpent. This gentleman has been an acquaintance of mine for some time, and I am thrilled that we will hear this unique story in November, in honor of Veteran’s Day. Stay tuned for more details!

A few weeks ago, my son Andrew and I spent time together building a workbench for the garage. This workbench was modeled after one I already had in the shop, which I built with my father about 10 years ago. As we put the finishing touches on this new workbench, I was struck with the notion that I had not engineered the plan, but simply mimicked my Dad’s work. Just the same, it was inevitable that small changes crept into the new build. Little things, such as using a different wood type for the top boards, or running the shelving surfaces in the opposite direction as Dad had done. I thought it poignant that even in my effort to mimic my father’s good work, it was inevitable that my own touch would appear in the product of my labor. This is true for all of us, is it not, my brothers? As we labor in life, we are ever mindful of our role models, those people who we so admire as to follow in their footsteps. Laudable as this may seem, do not be afraid to deviate when the need arises. This is how our own path reveals itself, and in such moments, may you see the wisdom in following that path.

Fraternally,

W∴Charles Jason Shealy
Worshipful Master, St Johns No 1 Providence