From the East

Greetings from the East,

It has been a pleasure to serve Manchester Lodge as Worshipful Master for the past year and a half. Together, we have enjoyed many successful events, welcomed new Brothers into the Fraternity, and completed a gorgeous Lodge renovation. As we welcome Autumn, our return to Lodge will be welcomed by a full calendar to round out the year.

Our very own Right Worshipful Brother Matt Heinrich presented a program on Scottish Rite Freemasonry at the Sept. Blue Lodge Council Meeting, held at Wyllys-St. John’s Lodge in West Hartford.

At our Oct. 9th meeting, Bro. Paige Howarth will discuss the new lodge website, and demonstrate some of the interesting features and resources it provides.

We will be opening our doors on October 13th for an Open House from 10am to 2pm. Please stop by to lend a hand if you are able, and be sure to bring a friend (preferably of lawful age and well-recommended!)

For our next celebration, we will break out the pumpkins and German food to celebrate Oktoberfest. Join us in the Lodge banquet hall at 6:30pm on Oct. 27th. Like last year, this event will be BYOB, and family-friendly.

At our November 27 meeting, we will honor our departed brothers with our annual Memorial Service. Please plan on attending to show respect for our brothers who have laid down their working tools.

Our Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec 11th. This is the meeting where the lodge and Temple Corporation’s budgets are presented and approved, and 2019 officers elected. New England clam chowder will be served after the meeting.

We have many events planned over the next few months which will require brothers to get involved. Please consider helping at one of these events to help ensure it is successful. I am always looking for suggestions on how to improve our lodge. If at any time you have suggestions on how we can enhance our lodge to benefit our craft, please do not hesitate to contact any lodge officer.

Fraternally,
Larry Hokanson
Worshipful Master, Manchester Lodge #73

Lodge Survey Roundup

Bro. Paige Howarth, Senior Warden

As you may recall, our last Trestleboard contained a survey to collect feedback from our lodge members on a variety of topics. Though the response was somewhat lackluster, helpful feedback was offered. It was wonderful to read all submissions, particularly from those Brothers I've not had the pleasure of meeting in person.

We collected 14 responses, representing 13% of our membership at the time of sending. Out of those respondents, six are 50-year members. The average respondent age was 88 (for reference, the current average age of our lodge members is 78.) Four of those Brothers reside out of state.

When asked why a Brother had been absent from Lodge for some time, three reasons were chiefly given: age, location and health. None anticipated a return in their current situation, and many offered regrets and shared positive memories of their time in Lodge.

Most respondents stated that we should consider selling our building. Most felt that current Lodge dues are about right. Brothers also wrote that we should actively consider merging with another lodge. Interestingly, merger was not mentioned in the survey, yet that sentiment was expressed by several brothers.

I would like to underscore a few obvious takeaways:

• We should continue to solicit feedback from Lodge Members, in and out of Lodge, and through the website and/or email.
• Our membership is both aging and dwindling. If we are to increase membership, efforts to bring in new Brothers must correspondingly increase, else the decline will very likely continue.
• Ideas conventionally held as "taboo" or contentious must be openly discussed; topics of merger and sale of the building are worth our serious consideration. The time for those discussions is now.

Many thanks to those of you who responded! Your feedback is incredibly important to the future direction of your Lodge.

New Website Live at Manchester73.com

We are proud to announce the launch of a new and improved Manchester Lodge website. Independently designed, hosted and maintained by Lodge members, this site is intended to provide accurate and up-to-date information and resources to our members, Freemasons at large, and the greater Manchester, CT community. Please visit and bookmark the address: https://manchester73.com.

In addition to promoting our Lodge to our community and prospective members, the website aims to provide resources to Lodge members, including archived Trestleboards, an events calendar and more. A password-protected, secure member portal provides access to documents such as Lodge bylaws and officer contact information.

Account login instructions were sent to Brothers whose email address we have on file. If you did not receive the email, and would like access, please contact me at (860) 617-8875 or by email at paige@graphicsworkshop.net.