Volunteering for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign

Volunteering for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign
Volunteering for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign

Morning Star's New Banner

Morning Star's New Banner
Morning Star's New Banner

The Front View of the Worcester Masonic Center

The Front View of the Worcester Masonic Center
The Front View of the Worcester Masonic Center

Close-Up view of the Worcester Masonic Center

Close-Up view of the Worcester Masonic Center
Close-Up view of the Worcester Masonic Center

MSL's Annual Table Lodge

MSL's Annual Table Lodge
MSL's Annual Table Lodge

Monday, August 31, 2015

Master's Message - September 2015


“There is no more important role in Masonry than that of EXEMPLAR!”


Welcome back Brethren! The summer is drawing to a close and the 2015-16 Masonic year is upon US. This fall looks to be a busy and exciting season for Morning Star Lodge. We have upwards of eight candidates in the application process; eager to receive the degrees and begin their personal journeys in Freemasonry, and for that we are all responsible. Our lodge is blessed with a great team of elected and appointed officers to confer the degrees to our candidates. Along with our commitment to high quality ritual, we are equally committed to fellowship. What makes this experience more fulfilling for both officers and candidates? Having more of OUR brethren on the sidelines.


Morning Star Lodge is not just any lodge; it is our Mother Lodge. It is where our Masonic journey first took shape. It is where we were first brought into the fellowship. It is where we were first enriched in our personal journey as men of faith, fellowship and service. These early experiences were truly transformative for all of us. They began when we received the first degree in Blue Lodge.

Believe it or not, the new generation is seeking that very same experience! Indeed, your personal journey and your daily life may very well be different than that of our newest generation of candidates. You may well believe that you do not have any commonality with today’s candidates and that your attendance would add nothing to their experience, but nothing could be further from the truth. The real truth is that both veteran Mason and new Mason are equally enriched.

Think back to the early days of your Masonic journey; think back to the men who influenced you as a young Mason. Men you could look up to, men you admired for who they were to you and what they represented. Seeing these men in Lodge and getting to know them was a way of connecting with the grandeur of the past while prospering from their wisdom and counsel.

Our Masonic ritual teaches wise and serious truths. However to be effective, those truths must be passed on by men who are truly exemplifying those sacred concepts and practices in their everyday lives. Men like you, present on the sidelines, actively supporting and encouraging the generation that will pass those same truths on to the next by their own example. Indeed all of us are enriched in the very same way. The richness of their journey and your journey is dependent on the depth and breadth of your involvement in those formative times of fellowship.

Looking back, I reflect fondly on the men who fulfilled that role in my early Masonic journey, sideline stalwarts, EXEMPLARS like Herb Johnson, Herbert Berg, Lenny Kuniholm and many others; men I continue to admire and emulate. Though separated by generations, they gave their time and support freely, they gave their experience and wisdom so that I might prosper. They gave friendship and fellowship simply by being present.  I pray that I gave the same to them in some small way; and that we all will continue to give the same freely to the next generation, upholding our obligation as EXEMPLARS on the five points of fellowship!!


Fraternally,
Brother John F. Sullivan, Master