The Year to Date
Another busy Grand Lodge year is underway for Manito Lodge #246! We started off the year by Honoring our long-serving Masons and holding election of officers at our September stated meeting, followed by the Installation of Officers on September 26. A full slate of 13 officers has been selected for this year, with 3 remaining to be Installed.
VWB Coe Tug Morgan paid the Lodge a visit for our October Stated meeting. He gave a much appreciated presentation about the history of Freemasonry in Washington state. October has also been a busy month for those Manito Masons who are members of the Scottish Rite. The Fall Reunion was held October 22-24 and one our members, Bro. Carlton Oakes, became the newest Scottish Rite Mason from Manito. Three other Manito Masons, VWB Brian Gilbert, WB Larry Coulson and WB Ryan Leonard received their Knight Commander Court of Honour (KCCH) red caps. WB Ryan was also awarded the Grand Master's Achievement Award at the District 27 meeting on October 31.
November's stated meeting at Manito will feature a presentation by Jason Clarke, executive director of the 2nd Harvest Food Bank for its November stated meeting, at which time we will ballot on a Petition for the Degrees for Mr. Randolph Schaefer. Several Manito Masons will participate in the upcoming Fall Ceremonial on November 21.
Remembering 9/11
As we all know, today marks the 8th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As we are getting ready to once again assemble as Masons, I hope everyone will take a moment to pause, reflect and remember that te price of Liberty and freedom is eternal vigilance.
2009-2010 Officer Installations
Manito Lodge #246 will hold its annual Installation of Officers on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 2pm at the Manito Masonic Temple, 2715 S Grand Blvd Spokane, WA 99203.
Longevity Honors Night
Manito Lodge #246 will honor several long-serving Masons during its September stated meeting on Monday, Sept. 14 @ 7:30pm. Dinner will be served prior to the meeting starting at 6:30pm.
A Message From The Master
A MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER
Master’s Message
Welcome to the official Blog of Manito Lodge No. 246, Free & Accepted Masons. It is my sincere hope that you will find this page helpful and informative.
It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve as Master of this Lodge for the past year, during which time we have experienced substantial growth. We have raised two new Master Masons (and more candidates are in waiting) and gained new members through Affiliation and Plural Membership; we have created a fantastic new web site thanks to Bro. Sean Morgan; and we have restored a Manito tradition by hosting our first Grand Master’s visit in 7 years, with another one scheduled for March 2010.
We have awarded a scholarship and Letterman’s jacket to two Rogers High School Junior ROTC cadets; and we have donated to such worthy causes as the 2nd Harvest Food Bank, Toys for Tots, the Scottish Rite Almoner and Shriner’s Hospital for Children. I look forward to building on these successes in the year ahead.
I want to thank those brethren who have served as officers or have sat in the officers chairs the past year. They include Paul Yost (Senior Warden), Herb Valley (Junior Warden), Jim Benthin (Secretary), Brad Hunter (Treasurer), Darrell Burnett (Senior Deacon), Carlton Oakes (Junior Deacon), Dave Stevens (Marshal), Roger Cochran (Musician) and Mike Novak (Tyler). I also want to thank Ed Walther and Jim Benthin for preparing our dinners this past year. It takes a lot of bodies to run a successful Lodge; and Manito wouldn’t have enjoyed the success it has without the efforts of each of these brethren.
The goal of Freemasonry is to take good men and make them better men in all facets of life: Better husbands, better fathers, better sons, better employees or employers, better citizens, better neighbors. Freemasonry is the world’s oldest fraternity. Our membership is very diverse and ranges from contract labor to US presidents. The fraternity came to the United States with the first colonists, and some of the most notable Masons in history include George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, golfer Arnold Palmer, Wendy’s restaurant founder Dave Thomas; former astronaut and US Senator John Glenn, former Senator Bob Dole and former presidents such as Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Gerald Ford. Regardless of one’s occupation or income, political or religious views, all are equal in our fraternity.
Contrary to popular belief, the Freemasonry is not a secret society. One can easily find the names, locations, meeting dates, phone numbers and occasionally e-mail addresses for a Lodge simply by typing in the words “Masonic Grand Lodge of Washington” on search engines such as Yahoo, Google, Comcast, etc.
Freemasonry is not a religious society, but each Mason must believe in a Supreme Being. It doesn’t matter whether that Mason is a Christian who worships God or a Muslim who worships Allah.
In North America the Masonic fraternity gives approximately $3 million a day to charities such as Shriner’s Hospitals, Scottish Rite (Rite Care) Language Centers, Scholarships for Junior ROTC cadets, and food banks, just to name a few.
On this site you’ll find a link to X-Oriente, a Masonic Podcast with younger and prospective Masons as its target audience. In these Podcasts you can get the latest Masonic news from around the world and enjoy a musical annual Christmas special.
Please feel free to contact any of the officers with any questions you might have about Masonry.
With Warmest Regards,
Ryan Leonard
Worshipful Master