Day 1 of the Minnesota Grand Lodge Commuication

I have been in Duluth since Thursday night and will be reporting on the events I have seen so far. Thursday night, the weather decided to play an interesting game of chicken. There was freezing rain through St. Paul, heavy snow until Pine City and turning into a blowing snow until five miles outside of Duluth where the weather was as peaceful as a dove.
Of course, the weather changed into a torrent of strong snow and heavy winds. At breakfast this morning, the swells from Lake Superior were going over the railing as we watched.
Watching the opening this morning, I was impressed with the pageantry displayed in the Communication. The Grand Provincial Master of Manitoba and other brothers arrived as well as a contingency from the United Grand Lodge of England. I learned many interesting pieces from the Grand Lodge, including the most noteworthy news of the day; the Minnesota Grand Lodge is donating 65 million dollars over 15 years to the University of Minnesota in order to find a cure for cancer. The news that Masonry is still as strong and philanthropic is truly amazing.
During the breakout sessions, I learned of the differences between American and English Freemasonry, which there are many and also went to the specialized meeting concerning Junior Wardens where I have learned that I have to get planning NOW! I have a long row to hoe but I think I will be fine when it is my turn to hold the gavel and I think this breakout session was very helpful in getting me started.
I am off to dinner and will hopefully get some pictures of the event.

Grand Lodge Communication this weekend

I will be attending my first Grand Lodge Communication in Duluth. I will attempt to blog all that I see and learn while I am in Duluth. Hopefully, I will be able to draw on the experience of hundreds of men who run lodges all over the state of Minnesota when it comes my time to be Master of Corinthian Lodge #67. I might also twitter what is going on at the Communication.

What will Dan Brown's book do for Masonry?

I am a very young member of Freemasonry as the title of my blog suggests. Because of my age, I have been asked the question many times before "what young men are seeking from Masonry." One of the issues I see with the new Dan Brown book is that it may paint a picture of Masonry that will give new brothers a different view of what Masonry really is. We have three tenets: Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. If this book intends to make Masonry an "exciting" organization (by exciting, I mean to say that we go around plotting world domination), we may have to become more focused on each candidate's qualifications to prevent thrill seekers. Unfortunately, I am not sure just how much impact this book will have on Fraternity. Of course, it is quite possible that when I am Master, the lodge may be expecting 1950's numbers. We just need to be prepared.

Sweetheart's Night

Renae and I just got back from Sweetheart's Night and we had a lot of fun. Sweetheart's Night is when the Lodge members and their wives or significant others go to a Supper Club in Miesville and have a fun social gathering. I think it is important that we as Masons bring our families into some of our activities and to see what we are all about, namely fellowship and fraternity.

Freenmasonry and the internet age

There is now an internet lodge founded in the UK and under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England. Internet Lodge No. 9569 is a very interesting idea. I find this to be an incredible advancement in Masonic fellowship. We have had Research Lodges for many years and I think that the creation of an Internet Lodge was just the next step in Freemasonry. First, there were military lodges that were completely mobile, then Research Lodges so that men from different lodges could come together to discuss Masonic issues and now we have both the mobility of the internet and the desire to trade information.
I have posted the link of the Internet Lodge on here.