From the Worshipful Master

Brothers the ring we all wear and share gives us a lot of pride. It is a symbol of our membership in this great fraternity. Wearing this ring provides me with a daily reminder of the obligations I swore to uphold. My ring has a special place in my heart as it was my father’s ring that he wore until his passing. It gives me comfort knowing that I bring a part of him with me to lodge. I wear my ring with the square and compasses pointed towards me to remind me to square my actions and to treat all men with respect. There is no wrong way to wear this ring but the weight it carries can be toil some. Please remember when you wear yours that you are representing all good men and true. I hope each of you gain as much joy from your ring as I receive from mine.

I want to thank our Sisters and Brothers in the OES and the Daughters in the IOJD for their generous donation to Wayfarers to get the HVAC repaired. We value you as a part of our Masonic Family.

I hope you can all attend our Stated meeting this month as we are being honored by a visit from the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Masons in Arizona. Let’s all give him the respect and welcome he deserves.

I hope that you are doing well and that you will honor me with your attendance at lodge.

Fraternally,

Doug Steele
Worshipful Master

From the Senior Warden

It was not long ago that I was not yet a Mason. As strange as it may seem, not too long ago there was little I knew about Masonry at all, other then I used to think of it as something people largely did in retirement. And while that is true sometimes, it isn’t always, of course. I used to see Masonic rings, and for that matter all accessories bearing a Square and Compass, with some measure of wonder, and perhaps of awe. I had heard stories that the Masons were largely responsible for the doctrine that built this country, and that made for the stuff of legends. So when I see people wearing the ring on the streets, I think of them as part of the same cloth that our Founders were cut from.

I have known our most recent Past Master George Daggett and his family a nearly combined twenty years. It was only a few years ago that I noticed the ring on his hand. I said to him “So you’re a Mason right?” And he replied by asking me what I knew of the Fraternity. At that time very little, but he was willing to sit and explain to me all that he could to a profane member of the community, while at the same time inviting me to the lodge for education night, and other public activities. It was there that I met most of you, and your families, and it was along that road that I fell in love with Masonry, and Wayfarers in particular.

I see the ring as one someone wears to show that they are part of something bigger and brighter then themselves. And showing off that ring advertises to others that you are willing to share your Light with them as well. The ring signifies a rite of passage, one that is not to be taken lightly, and it is something to be proud of. It also shows us all among the Craft that we are all cut from the same cloth, and that we have all been through what “all brothers and fellows have done that have gone this way before.” Had it not been for my friend, and one of my Masonic mentors, having worn the ring, I might not be a member of the Craft today. So strangely, I have the ring to thank for Lighting my way.

I wish you all a great beginning to the Spring season, and I want to remind you all that the Pig Out is coming soon. Please take a moment to purchase tickets online and get a chance to get in on some of the festivities.

I look forward to being in Lodge with you all, and I look forward to what has been a great year thus far moving forward.

Yours in the Craft,

Jason Michlowitz
Senior Warden

From the Junior Warden

Freemasons are a secretive lot, though not as secretive as people would like to believe. However, despite all the misinformation and lies spread about us, there is one truth that remains constant: Masons like their bling.

Necklaces, bracelets, wallets, pocket watches, knives, if you can put a square and compass on it, someone will do so, and we will buy it. I once saw an elderly Mason in a restaurant, wearing a bolo tie with a square and compass the size of a saucer, and I am not even exaggerating.

We especially like our rings.

The Masonic ring is a mark of a Freemason, though we aren’t required to wear them. Outside the USA, there are often rings for each degree; here, though, only Masters wear a ring, and so, the ring is a way to identify a Master Mason. The ring serves other purposes, though.

A Mason’s widow and daughters may wear his jewelry, including his ring. This tells other Masons that a woman is the widow or orphan of a Mason, and may require our aid. And so it identifies not only a Mason, but those he has left behind when he passes.

But to me, the ring serves another purpose: one of solidarity.

Throughout history, dictators and fascists have often suppressed and abolished Masonry; in Germany during World War II, Freemasons were sent, along with all the others people the Nazi party declared anathema, to the concentration camps, branded as “political prisoners.” There are many other times and places where the brothers were suppressed, in the past.

Even now, the fraternity, a group of men brought together by a belief in such ideals as honor, equality, and goodwill, may be looked down upon or suppressed in places. Due to religion, politics, or simply lack of comprehension as to what the fraternity is truly about, there are those who cannot wear a ring in daily life, as we do here.

And so, when you do wear your ring, think of all the Masons who cannot, and know that you represent them, as well.

Fraternally,

Bryan Bullock
Junior Warden