From the Worshipful Master

This month we ant to share thoughts on the Sun and its importance to our respective positions. As Master of the Lodge, I sit in the east and as we know the Sun also rises in the east.

My interpretation of this importance in Masonry is that we are all in search of “light” which is greater knowledge, information and wisdom. The Sun rises in east bringing light to east first, so that as the Master sitting in the east may receive this wisdom to guide and govern the lodge from a position of strength through knowledge. The Sun is the beginning of all life, we need to the sun to grow our crops, give us warmth, and to be able to see to be production in our day. In correlation to the lodge, we need the Master to set the craft at work, give us comfort in our times of despair, grow our membership, and sustain the life of the lodge by protecting our rituals and traditions, handing down the wisdom and knowledge “light” learned to his successor to sustain the future of the lodge. I’m sure there are many other interpretations of the Sun and how it is important to the position of the Master of the Lodge, but now you have mine.

We have been busy with degree work and have several 3rd degrees coming soon, I hope that you can attend. I hope that you have enjoyed the summer with your family and friends as well. I want to congratulate our own Sarah Naessig on becoming a finalist in the “top ten” at the IOJD Supreme Session for Miss International. Sarah represented Arizona well, and we are all proud of her many accomplishments, and for being a wonderful young lady. The Master “tips his hat” to this young lady.

Fraternally,

Doug Steele
Worshipful Master

From the Senior Warden

As we all know, the Sun sets in the West. The Senior Warden also is stationed in the West. What does this mean? Most Masons remember that the three stations represent not only represent Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty, but also they represent the principal stages of life. The East represents infancy, or childhood, and it is from the East that the Wisdom comes from within the Lodge, and it is one of the Master’s roles to impart that Wisdom to the Craft. The South represents adulthood, and the Junior Warden sits among the Craft as they engage in their labors. But the West represents the elderly, and thus the Sun sets in the West.

It is the Senior Warden’s role to assist the Worshipful Master in the opening and closing of his lodge, and it takes experience in order to do this. While I do not profess to be the most experienced Mason, that is the symbolic idea. The idea that the Senior Warden has been there, and has seen, and can determine who among the Craft belong in a Lodge of a particular Degree, and can engage in helping to teach the ritual to our “younger” members. While it is my duty to learn all that I can from the Master during this year as the presumptive nominee for the next in the role, it is more important that while serving as Senior Warden that I act as a mentor to those “younger” brothers who are going through the degrees, or through the earlier chairs in the line. I take this role very seriously, and I hope that it is to the Lodge’s satisfaction.

Each one of us has different skills to bring to the table, and each one of us has a role to play. The Senior Warden’s role is that of being a senior leader in the Lodge, and at the will and pleasure of the Worshipful Master, acting as his lieutenant to carry out his wishes and direction for the Lodge. Without the experience of the previous chairs, this is not possible. So this is why the West represents being elderly, or more experienced.

We all hope that each and every one of you who read these has had an amazing summer. As the school year begins we will be returning to Degree Work once again and our regular business. I personally hope that all of you have had a fulfilling Summer, and I am looking forward to getting my hands dirty as we close out this thus-far successful year.

Yours in the Craft,

Jason Michlowitz
Senior Warden

From the Junior Warden

The junior warden is represented by a southern sun, the sun when it is considered to be at its highest. This is the time that we take a break to eat and rest, and it the junior warden who conveys this message to the workers, or in this case, the masons in the lodge.

In fact, that is one of the junior warden’s chief jobs: to pass messages to the masons, which he receives from the senior warden, who gets them, in his turn, from the master. Certainly, in a modern lodge, the master could simply announce things to the masons… they can hear him speak. Yet his messages are repeated, in accordance with tradition, rank, and weight of repetition. Hearing the message three times, each time slightly different, ensures that all in the lodge know what is said.

What does all this have to do with the sun, even metaphorically?

The sun in the south is considered to be halfway through the day (theoretically, high noon), and the junior warden is the intermediary between the master and senior warden, and the rest of the lodge. He passes on the master’s wishes, conveyed to him by the senior warden, so the master need not approach each mason and inform them of his message.

The junior warden is the halfway point, like the sun in the south at meridian.

We also say that the sun in the south is beautiful and glorious; and while this may be funny, in reference to an officer, again, there is logic there: as a representative of the master, the one who speaks to the masons, the junior warden must be worthy of their respect. He may not be literally beautiful and glorious, but he should be able to attract and maintain their attention, as he passes on the master’s wishes.

So stands the junior warden in the south.

Fraternally,

Bryan Bullock
Junior Warden