Masters Message December 2024

Greetings My Brothers,

I hope your Thanksgiving was delightful, and that you were able to get rest as you celebrated with your families. The concentration of so many civic and religious holidays in the six short weeks between mid-November and the New Year may sometimes cause us to lose sight of the rest which this time is meant to afford us.

Our December lodge schedule is comparatively light. Our annual Holiday Baskets project will be at the Scottish Rite on Saturday, December 14th. Set up begins at 6AM, with baskets to be filled starting at 8AM. Pickup will begin after 9AM, or as soon as the baskets are filled. If you wish to secure a holiday basket, please call Bro Hugo Adames, Jr, or Bro Thom Kumes. They will secure your basket reservation. The deadline to request a basket is December 13th at 5PM.

For our December program, the officers and I will attempt something you don’t often see in Blue Lodge. We will put on a show for you, a rough but fun version of the Charles Dickens holiday classic “A Christmas Carol.” Many of us are part of concordant Masonic bodies where community theater and some light acting are crucial elements of those meetings. While I don’t expect the SJ1P Players to compete with the fine work done by our Scottish Rite brothers, we will certainly do our best to entertain you! I have long appreciated the Masonic overtones found throughout this story, in particular those Masonic virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Our goal is to give you a very truncated and entertaining version of that story, to help us all remember what is truly important in life.

This year, our Holiday Party will be at Quidnessett Country Club, which is a departure from our usual venue at Alpine in Cranston. We will have cocktail hour from 6-7PM, with appetizers and a string quartet for entertainment. Dinner will be served at 7PM, with dueling pianos as our primary entertainment from 7-9PM. The reservation flier for the party was included in last month’s Trestleboard, but you may still make reservations with Brother JW Bill Gouge, through December 6th. Please reach out to him with any questions. I must give special thanks to my wife Betsy for her hard work in helping me plan this party. We are looking forward to a wonderful evening of joy and levity.

Looking slightly ahead to January, our officers will put on the Fellowcraft Degree for our eight Entered Apprentice brothers. Preparations for that degree are well underway, and I have full confidence that both the candidates and brothers on the sidelines will enjoy the degree work very much.

Thank you for your continued support of St Johns 1P. The officers and I wish you a very blessed holiday season, and a prosperous New Year.

Fraternally yours,

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