Robert J. Kempf
Worshipful Master
Harmony Lodge #9 F.& A.M.
2010-2011
Brethren and Friends,
Let me start by wishing you all a very happy and safe holiday season. It is a wonderful thing as the days grow short, to come together with family and friends, put aside our differences, and truly enjoy one another. We are off to a fast start this term, and I would like to thank everyone for the support you have shown thus far, lets keep up the good work. Please take a moment and look at the calendar in your notice or online for dates and times of the many upcoming events. I would also like to give a special thanks to Brother Pat Connor, one of our newest members. Pat has worked tirelessly on the new website and his effort definitely shows.
I would like to bring a couple of small changes to your attention. The first is that I will be holding regular office hours in the Lodge every Monday night this year (with a few exceptions). Please feel free to stop by or call if there is anything you feel needs my attention. The hours will vary slightly from week to week, so please check the calendar on the back of your notice, or on the new website. I’m hoping this new policy will work to everyone’s benefit.
I would also like to bring to your attention our charity program for the year. You may have noticed when you received your notice there was an envelope included. We will continue to donate $250 each month to our selected charity, but we will also give one half of any mailed in donations for the month as well. The remaining half will be use to set up a fund to help our membership in need. It is no secret that things have gotten very hard for many people, and this touches many of our own as well. Perhaps this fund will help fill a widow’s oil tank, or help a brother avoid foreclosure on his home, or feed his children.
Each of us has stood empty-handed before the lodge, and the first charge placed upon us as a mason was to remember this lesson and offer our charity to those less fortunate. I enjoy, as much as anyone, the look of terror on the treasurer’s face each month as the change rings against the collection plate, but I also fear we have in many ways put our amusement ahead of our intention. It is my sincere hope that you will embrace this new program with the zeal it deserves.
Each month our charity project will be listed on the front page of the notice, along with a short description of what purpose it serves. This, I hope, will allow you to judge for yourself the worthiness of the cause. This month’s charity will be “Keep the Heat ON – RI”. This is a local organization dedicated to helping those less fortunate through the winter months by providing grants for gas, oil, and electricity. Their website is listed on the front page if you would like more information. If you have any suggestions for a charity for future months, please contact me.
Finally I would like to add a reminder to anyone bringing an application before the Lodge for membership that they must be turned in and read at the December meeting in order to be balloted upon in January for degrees. Please give any applications to Brother Alan French before the meeting.
Fraternally,
Robert J. Kempf