Brethren:

This newsletter was written late. I didn’t mean to be late with it but something kept interfering. I’m glad I was late. It gave me a chance to write about something phenomenal.

I got off the airplane Friday afternoon from a business trip and stopped by the Grand Lodge office to pick up some stuff. While there I was reminded of Wasatch Lodge’s Masonic Open House that evening. They rented the whole Salt Lake Masonic Temple so they could give tours as well as a presentation on Masonry to anyone interested. I learned they had close to one hundred reservations so I wished them luck and went home. About 7 PM, DGM Woodward called me and suggested I come back and take a look. I did and what I saw was astounding.

Brethren, by some counts there were close to five hundred men and women in the building – listening to presentations or going on tours or just standing around in small groups asking questions about Masonry to the many Lodge volunteers who were there for the event. The parking lot was completely full and people were parking in the avenues or along 6th and 7th East and walking a block or so to the building. The auditorium was filled for the beginning presentation. The only functions in Utah Masonry that I know of that fill the building to that capacity are the Job’s Daughter’s annual Rally or the annual Grand Lodge Communication, and this open house event may have exceeded the attendance of both those events.

I have long believed that there are hundreds of thousands of individuals in this country who are missing something in their life and who are looking for the various benefits that Masonry has to offer. What I saw only reinforces that belief. It is true that some were there only to see the building and a few “interestingly different” individuals showed up for what reasons we can only guess. However, most were genuinely interested in Masonry and were very appreciative of the chance to attend such an open house. I will be surprised if Wasatch Lodge doesn’t get at least 40 or 50 petitions back from the event. And I should mention that from what I saw, 90+ % of the attendees were under 50 years old and maybe 40 or 50% were under 30.

I am not writing this newsletter simply to spotlight Wasatch Lodge although as Grand Master I certainly commend them for the success of their efforts. Rather, I’m using this as the main topic of this newsletter in the hopes that other lodges in Utah will take it upon themselves to follow this lead and let the public know you exist. Not everybody wants to be a Mason and our Fraternity does not want everybody who wants to be a Mason. However, there are many who would probably love to join the Fraternity if they only knew it existed and how you go about joining it.

And so I offer you the following opinions - take them as you wish:

1. Let the public know you exist as Masons and as a Fraternity.
2. Be prepared to talk about the Fraternity – what it stands for and what it means to you.
3. Maintain your lodges in good working order to preserve Masonry for those who haven’t joined yet.
4. Preserve Masonic Ritual for the benefit of those who come after you.
5. Enjoy your membership in this Fraternity, have fun while you participate and develop your own character using the great teachings this Fraternity has to offer.

And to any lodge in this jurisdiction who would like to put on an open house or some other function to make themselves known in the community, I offer the support of Grand Lodge. We will do everything we can to help you plan, put on and follow up a lodge open house or some other public function that will (as PGM Dave Barron pointed out on numerous occasions during his year in 1998), LET YOUR MASONIC LIGHT SHINE!

A couple other quick items:

Masonic Model Student Assistance Program: Our second MMSAP Program is scheduled for this fall. More than 30 US Grand Lodges are sponsoring this program as their Blue Lodge Charity with increasingly positive results. MMSAP is helping out our school kids by training a core group of school staff on how to recognize and respond to at-risk behavior in kids. If one troubled kid gets recognized and gets help, please know that this. One bad school kid can negatively affect the lives of many of their peers. The beauty of the Masonic Model Student Assistance program is that the benefits of helping a few kids with behavior problems is greatly amplified by eliminating the effect of those few kids on the many.

Brethren, this program still needs your individual and your lodge’s support. The Utah Masonic Foundation for Children certainly can use any financial support you can give but equally important, we can use help in introducing the program into the schools. If you know your school officials well, please don’t hesitate to mention this program to them. If you need help in presenting it, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Lodge Master Builder’s Program:

I hope your lodge is planning to participate in the Master Builder’s Program. This program is designed to focus your lodge energies so that you can better cover the ideas inculcated in the Grand Lodge of Utah’s Mission Statement. Please look at this program and use the rest of the year to fulfill the requirements in the program. Those who fulfill the requirements will be duly recognized at our next annual communication.

Trestleboard

May 6 – GL Visitation to Story, Tintic and Damascus Lodges in Provo 6:30 PM
May 7 – El Kalah Shrine Ceremonial starting at noon at the SLMT
May 14 – All Masonic Charity Fair at the Scottish Rite Children’s Learning Center SLC
May 21 – Salt Lake AREA Masonic Workshop: Midvale Masonic Center 9 AM to 3 PM
This is open to all Masons but especially for those who are members of the lodges based in Provo, Eureka, Tooele, Magna, Vernal, Midvale and Salt Lake. Please make use of these informative workshops. The GL Educational Committee as well as many GL officers work very hard to put on these workshops and the information they present is very useful to all Masons.
May 21 – GL Visitation to Acacia, Progress and Kaibab Lodges – SLMT, 6:30 PM
May 29 – Masonic Lagoon Day: Free entrance to Lagoon, discounted ride tickets. What More Do You Want??? This is not just for the Masonic Youth but also for the Masonic Young at Heart. Come spend time with your Masonic Family, join the picnic and have a good time!!!

Ridge Gilmour, Grand Master