By J. E. C. Rafisura — Sr. Warden
Greetings, brethren. It is a pleasure to be back in the States after being away for 5 weeks. While in the Philippines, I had the chance to connect with a few brothers, some I knew for a long time as friends, and others, newly-minted masons. It’s wonderful to know that wherever we go, as Masons, we are never short of friends. In my case, it required strict discipline to limit nightly invitations for masonic fellowships! For those who have never travelled abroad, I encourage you to travel at least once, and try to connect with our brothers in the area of your destination. For sure, not only it would open up your perspective of the world, but also of our ancient fraternity.
Also, I had a chance to seek extended cable-tows as we were trying to facilitate important paperwork related to the passing of my father-in-law. I thank our brothers on the other side of the globe for their help. No doubt, Freemasonry in the Philippines is very much active and alive. It’s a pleasure to see brotherly love in action! I also thank other non-masonic friends and petitioners (applicants) who quickly volunteered to donate 300 high quality decals for our 100 years anniversary logo.
As we are now in the middle of the third quarter, our lodge had been busy preparing for degree conferrals, including the one to be held at Volcano Lodge. I realized, third quarter is crucial for preparations for next year’s new officers role, along with the pre-qualification process with our Inspector. I myself had been occupied learning my part for next year’s role, and at the same time, learning my third degree ceremony role as current Senior Warden. I could literally feel my brain getting “pretzeled” every time I switch between roles. I have high respect to those before me, being able to gracefully manage what I am going through at the moment. I can feel that the other upcoming officers have also been working hard on their part. To the non-officers and sideliners, I encourage you to support and continue to give encouragements to our officers who had been laboring in order to preserve the ancient craft of Masonry and give the candidates quality degrees. We are in this together and we support each other!
For the month of September, I will share a synopsis report of the proposed amendments of the California Masonic Code as well as the carry-over proposals from last year, to be voted upon during our Annual Communication in October. Also, at the moment, your Centennial Committee is preparing to draw a budget to be proposed during our Stated Meeting either in September or October. This will start the ball rolling for the necessary preparations for next year’s 100th anniversary. As usual, we will continue to monitor the progress of our brothers trying to seek further light. Suitable assistance had been provided and I have no doubt that we will continue to have degree conferrals in the years to come.
I hope to see you in the next Social and Stated Meeting! Keep Safe!