Fraternal Greetings, I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful summer. I would first like to thank those of you who were able to volunteer a small portion of your time to help out with the New York Masonic Safety ID program at the State Fair. I believe that it shows a great deal of character to take a small amount of time out of each of your busy schedules in order to ensure the safety of our children in the community and around New York State. Each of you who volunteered will be receiving a personal letter expressing the Lodge’s appreciation for your participation.

September 20th will be our first meeting after coming out of darkness from the summer. We will be having an Open Meeting honoring our Veterans and Sojourners. To those who are new to the Craft, this meeting will honor those members of the Lodge who have been members for 5 years though 60 years (at five-year intervals). A Sojourner is a Brother who is temporarily taking up a residence within our area. Our membership has the distinct honor of individuals who are students at Syracuse University as well as individuals from the military. This meeting is also to honor you.

Our Second Degree will be held on October 4th. We anticipate having six Brothers take the next step in their Masonic journeys as they seek more Light in Masonry. I cordially invite each of you to take a few hours out of your evening to attend this important undertaking and show your support for our new Brothers. If you cannot attend, I would ask each of you to take a few minutes of your time and please show your appreciation to our Brothers with a kind note or letter of support. Stayed tuned; we are getting numerous queries of interest through our website.

As we move forward this year, our Lodge will be initiating a few new programs; The first of which will be called “501 on the Run.” Through this program our Lodge will be making an effort to visit Lodges from around the District as well as other areas in the region. Stay tuned for more details.

Additionally, our Lodge will be creating a Fellowship Fund that will help raise and save money for Masonic events exclusive to the members of our lodge. These events may include wine tours, regional day trips to Masonic points of interests, as well as other fellowship events designed to further cement the bonds of friendship and fellowship of our members and their families.

Stay tuned for further updates here in The Word. Also, check us out on the web at www.SyracuseMasons.com. You can also find instant updates on what is going on in the Lodge by checking out our Facebook page which can be accessed directly off our website or by going to www.facebook.com/SyracuseMasons. There are also many interesting new pages on our companion Historical website at www.omdhs.SyracuseMasons.com. These articles can be found in the Masonic History section of the site. As we near the end of the calendar year the new Dues Cards will be soon be coming. Thank you to those who have kept their dues current; for those still owing, please send your check in before the new ones arrive. I look forward to the coming year and seeing you all in Lodge.

W.’. Kevin L. Razawich
Master