Category Trestle Board

Greetings Brethren,

We seem to be truly into Fall now and the weather is changing and the year is getting shorter. We still have several activities this month including our Grand Master's visit and a table lodge. I look forward to all of the fraternal relations and time spend together in fellowship.

While we have many things to be thankful for, I would be remiss if I didn't think on the great loss to our lodge of so bright a light as our Worshipful Brother Clark Skinner. The loss of any brother is sad, but it is much greater for a brother when you have had the great pleasure to sit with him in lodge. Clark was already the long time Secretary of the lodge when I joined. He kept Weston going for quite a while and I am sure many of the brothers will feel his loss deeply.

It is certainly a time of change and reflection and I look forward to finishing out a strong year and looking forward to completing my year in the East. It has been an honor to serve Weston Lodge and I look forward to seeing how the officers that come after continue to build the lodge and strengthen the fraternity. I will leave you with this quote from Benjamin Franklin I recently rediscovered:

"May you be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and may every new year find you a better man."

Fraternally,
WM Benjamin Bridge
Worshipful Master

Brethren,

As the summer wraps up, I hope everyone has a chance to rest and relax. We are coming into the second half of the year and there are plenty of things to be excited about. We also have one or two summer activities to keep track of before we start meetings too.

For the summer, we have camping, poker, and a movie afternoon. Camping will be this coming weekend, Friday through Sunday on August 13th - 15th. Please reach out to Millad or Bruce if you are interested. The poker game will move to the wilderness and be part of the camping adventure. Breakfast will be that same Saturday as usual. The following Saturday on August 21st at 4 PM we will have a little movie afternoon at the lodge. I am bringing a popcorn maker and Brother Randy has graciously lent us his projector so that we can have all the snacks and drinks you want to bring. We will be watching National Treasure and have fun with all the silly Masonic references. No need to RSVP, just show up!

As our first month back in the lodge, we will be having several activities. We have Masonic education in one of our first meetings and we plan to have several new petitions coming in. Our Cornerstone Rededication by the lodge will be on September 18th at 12 PM. We will have the Grand Lodge out and be rededicating the lodge for hopefully another 100 years! The public is invited, so feel free to bring guests, prospects, and family. The Past Masters and Widows Luncheon will be on September 25th with details forthcoming. Our Sr. Warden is cooking for what sounds like a terrific meal.

I look forward to seeing everyone back in lodge and a few more months of friendship and brotherly love as the Worshipful Master. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions on activities, and until we meet again may you be well.

Fraternal Greetings,
Bro. Benjamin
Worshipful Master

Brethren,

As we go dark in the lodge, I am appreciative of all we have been able to do and the great things to come later this year. We have another celebration of the lodge on September 11th to come. I will be working actively to get the details sorted out and let you know with enough notice. We have our dinner to celebrate the significant women in the lives of the brothers that support and give us the opportunity to meet together.

In addition we have a special Entered Apprentice Degree that we are conferring on July 7th at 7PM. All of these activities I pray we can attend in person and safely, which seemed less likely just a few months ago. Let us be thankful for the winding down of the pandemic and hope that all of us and ours can continue to be safe in the future. In addition to the activities, we are still working on several fundraising efforts for the lodge. We have this year's challenge coin, any monetary donation directly for the Entryway Refresh, and a raffle and silent auction to come. Sometimes it seems that Masons always have our hands out, but keep in mind this is to build our building and the home of Masonry in Littleton. I am sure the brothers are grateful for all of the efforts and funds that will make this project possible.

Lastly, as the first half of this year winds down, I want to offer a heartfelt gratitude for all of the brothers. I couldn't have asked for better officers, better brothers, and a better year. You have made my year as Master a wonderful experience and I hope that we continue the activities and fellowship in our lodge for many years to come. It has been an honor to serve, and I look forward to a few more months of serving the lodge.

Fraternal Greetings,
Bro. Benjamin
Worshipful Master

Brethren,

We are coming to end of the first half of the year, but with many wonderful things to look forward to before we go dark and next year. We have a table lodge coming up on June 19th, celebrating Masonic authors. We will likely have a movie night at the lodge over the summer. We are planning for the cornerstone rededication and the wives dinner when we get back in the fall. There are lots of blessings for a year where we can finally feel like things are getting back to normal.

Beyond the fellowship, I am excited about the continued celebration of our 100 year anniversary. My pin this year is specifically a representation to honor the lodge. While the bricks and mortar are what hold the building together, it is the brothers, family, and othe rbodies that make the lodge our home. Celebrating our purpose built edifice is the least we can do for a building that served us so well. We plan a public honors and cornerstone rededication with the Grand Lodge to celebrate. I hope you and your friends and family will join and consider coming early for breakfast on September 11th.

We expect to announce a raffle and some other activities soon. We have some great prizes including a custom etched AR-15 provided by Franktown Firearms. We will also have a silent auction at the Cornerstone Ceremony. All these efforts we are doing to help revitalize the lodge and bring a fresh new and refined look for our entryway. We hope the fund raising efforts will provide us with all the funds we need to get the entryway done next summer. I will personally be active and work towards seeing that the entryway gets done.

Fraternal Greetings,
Bro. Benjamin
Worshipful Master

Brethren,

We just recently celebrated two great milestones. We had the first Master Mason degree of the year and we had our lodge 100th Year Anniversary party. While I wish the party could have been extended to the greater Masonic family, it was wonderful to see so many of our brothers and guests together again. I can't tell you how much it has meant to sit in the East for both of these occasions. I look forward to our more public Cornerstone rededication in September and continuing to celebrate our anniversary.

On that note, I have some disappointing news. With some of the materials being hard to find and the date fast approaching, I have discussed the entryway getting done this summer with the temple board. Unfortunately we agreed that it feels rushed and we want to make sure when we do get it done we do all that we set out to do. We will still be fund raising through out the year and we plan to get everything done the summer after. All the efforts to get the floor will not be wasted, I will personally see that we get everything done. A small delay will still result in an entryway that shows the grandeur of our lodge. We expect to announce a raffle and some other activities soon. As we close out the first half of this year, there are many more things to look forward to in the lodge. We have a table lodge set for the end of this month. The Junior Warden will be sitting in the East in the second meeting in May. We have a few summer activities for the enjoyment of the brothers and family. We will continue to keep everyone informed.

Fraternal Greetings,
Bro. Benjamin
Worshipful Master

Brethren,

We are back to blue brothers, and it is a good place to be. We are now able to be back to almost full strength and are moving forward with our building anniversary party and reopening our lodge breakfast. I ask all brothers continue to take all the recommended precautions while we wrap up this pandemic. I know many of the brothers have had a chance to get vaccinated or are in progress, but you never know who you might pass something to unintentionally. Please be careful until we can remove the restrictions completely.

As we come up to the actual date of our anniversary, I would ask all the brothers to consider the meaning of the date. This is over 100 years in the community; this is 100 years having a dedicated presence in Littleton. Let us be good stewards in the community and peaceable citizens. Let our light shine and show what good men can do. As we prepare to initiate three more candidates let us all hold up the high standards to which we aspire and spread liberally the cement of brotherly love.

Fraternal Greetings,
Bro. Benjamin
Worshipful Master

Brethren,

As things continue to move in a positive direction,we are now entering Yellow restrictions for Arapahoe County.With the new change,we are starting to move back to our normal social calendar and will restart our 2nd Saturday breakfast in March. While things continue to get better, please remember to continue with masks and precautions to keep everyone safe.We are getting continued reports of brothers getting sick and we hope that no family will get seriously ill as vaccines are becoming more widely available.

Beyond eased restrictions, we can look forward to commemorating the year with special activities including a soon to be announced social event in April. Details will be available soon for a gathering for Masons and their guests for the 100th anniversary of the building. In addition, the Temple Board and Worshipful Master are working on a plan to refresh the front entryway. Fundraising and progress will be reported throughout the year. We are at a milestone for our lodge and building and it is a great opportunity for us to remember the brotherly love and our place in the community.

Fraternal Greetings,
Bro. Benjamin
Worshipful Master

Brethren,
As we start our year in earnest, I am happy to say our first meeting was a success and not only did we have a great first meeting, but we were able to pass three brothers. Quite an accomplishment for our first meeting. I am looking forward to a safe and happy lodge attendance. Please keep in mind the guidelines to mask up, and limit numbers. We have been good with the number of brothers in lodge, but may have to restrict them if we grow too much. I look forward to soon allowing all brothers in to lodge as soon as the government restrictions are eased.

Until then we will continue as many activities and meetings as are possible and do our best to reach out to the brethren. I encourage all the brothers to keep in touch and let us know if there is anything we can do to help. Any ideas for safe gatherings and ways to keep in touch are appreciated. We will all get through this together. I hope by the end of the year we will safely be past this pandemic and on to better things in fellowship together.

With Greatest Respect,
Bro. Benjamin
Worshipful Master