District 26 Meetup

I just got back from the District 26 meeting in Red Wing. I have visited the town of Red Wing many years ago but I have never visited the Red Wing Lodge. District 26 consists of a lot of single digit Lodges. The Lodges in District 26 are: Dakota #7, Red Wing #8, Faribault #9, Oriental #34, Carnelian #40, Social #48, and my mother Lodge, Corinthian #67. The youngest Lodge in the District, my Lodge, was founded in 1867. Enough about history and down to the meeting.

We began the meeting with introductions by Worshipful Brother Gary who is our new District Representative. WB Gary has really done great things for Red Wing Lodge and his appointment to DR should prove very advantageous for all of us down here.

After the introduction, we were given a presentation from Right Worshipful Brother Tom, the Senior Grand Warden, (who writes a great blog entitled All Things Masonic) concerning the new Kids ID program (in most places, it is called MasoniCHIP) and the Minnesota Masonic Historical Society. I really appreciate the zeal that RWB Tom has for the Craft and I think that he has the vision to move the Craft forward in this state.

The new Kids ID program will be much more complete than any program that we have done in the past. I am sure everyone reading this has received a presentation concerning the CGMMNA-sponsored Masonichip. This program will involve a digital fingerprint scan, DNA swab and a dental impression. This new system will require more time, in fact, 15 minutes to create an ID packet per child. This is a completely different mindset than the numbers driven program of the past. In the future, the program will involve Lodges seeking partners in the community to administer as well as requiring appointments by parents for their children.

The second part of RWB Tom's presentation was about the Minnesota Masonic Historical Society & Museum. If you hae not already visited the Museum, you are really missing out on the history of Minnesota. Many of the incorporators of the Grand Lodge were integral in the formation of Minnesota. The Grand Lodge of Minnesota was the first corporation in the state. The Historical Society offers the services of volunteers to help Lodges in the state with their own records. I will likely be joining the Society very soon.

We also had Brother John give a presentation on Minnesota Masonic Charities. This time, we were able to see a film from the 1950's. The film was made for the Masonic Cancer on the U campus. It was truly fascinating to see the kind of movement that the brothers had to get things done and money collected to build the great work of finding cures for cancer.

Finally, WB Gary gave us news and reports about our District. I am really excited to work with WB Gary and I know he will help my Lodge continue our rate of growth or renewal. All in all, a great conference.