Grand Lodge Listening Tour - Dates & Locations!

Dear Brother,

As first reported in the Winter 2011 issue of Trowel, M.W. Richard J. Stewart, Grand Master, assisted by other Grand Lodge leaders, will be conducting Town Hall meetings throughout the jurisdiction.

This is an opportunity for Brothers statewide to share their views on Freemasonry in Massachusetts today. And we want to hear your goals and vision for the future of the fraternity.

What are your thoughts and ideas for moving us "back to the future" and engaging in new initiatives? By listening to members across the Commonwealth, your Grand Lodge leaders will gain a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing our members, our Lodges, and our fraternity.

The dates and locations for the Grand Lodge Listening Tour are:

Thursday, December 15th     New Bedford Masonic Building, 435 County Street
Monday, December 19th     Worcester Masonic Building, 1 Ionic Avenue
Tuesday, January 17th     Newburyport Masonic Building, 31 Green Street
Monday, January 23rd     Brockton Masonic Building, 279 Prospect Street
Tuesday, January 31st     Centerville Masonic Building, 1987 Falmouth Road
Thursday, February 16th     East Longmeadow Masonic Building, 43 Chestnut Street
Tuesday, February 28th     Billerica Masonic Building, 11 Concord Road
Thursday, March 1st     Pittsfield Masonic Building, 116 South Street
Saturday, March 3rd (9 a.m. start)    Boston Masonic Building, 186 Tremont Street

The meetings are free and open to all Massachusetts Freemasons, regardless of degree, but registration is requested. We will have nine regional meetings to give every Mason an opportunity to participate in the discussion. Attire for the events will be coat and tie; aprons and jewels are not to be worn.

The agenda for the program follows:

6:00 p.m.     Welcome, introduction, orientation
6:15 p.m.     Town Hall meeting
7:30 p.m.     Grand Master's Comments
7:45 p.m.     Collation

Please register at MassMasons.org, using the Listening Tour (Town Hall Meeting) stamp. An accurate count of participants helps us manage the cost of these meetings. Brothers not registered in advance will still be welcome if space is available. To give every Massachusetts Mason a chance to participate, please register for only one Town Hall meeting.

Other news!

Have you visited our new members-only information center, MassMasons.org, which premiered in September? This web portal is a great source of information for every Massachusetts Mason. It has many valuable resources and tools for members, Lodges, and Districts, including a statewide calendar of meetings and events, searchable documents, reading and program resources, a Speaker's Bureau, directories, and "where do I find" locator help, even a guide to more than three-dozen breakfasts run by Lodges each month! The first time you visit MassMasons.org you will be asked to register. To do this you will need to provide your Member I.D. Number (M number) on your dues card, and to name the two pillars (from the EA and FC degrees).

The volunteer-led tours of the Boston Masonic building continues to be very successful. Since launching in June, hundreds of visitors from around the world have taken guided tours of our building. To continue to offer this service, and to hopefully expand it in the future, more trained tour guides are needed. If you would like to volunteer as a tour guide or are interested in learning more, please contact Brother H. Robert Huke at 617.426.6040, or rhuke@massfreemasonry.org.

Need to give your loved ones some gift ideas for the Holidays? How about Massachusetts Freemasonry branded apparel and merchandise, http://www.onlinestore.massfreemasonry.net/ ? These high quality, reasonably priced items will display your pride in belonging to the world's oldest and greatest fraternity. Starting at just $10 there is something for every Massachusetts Freemason.
 

186 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111-1095
617.426.6040

http://MassFreemasonry.org