As winter deepens it is easy to get lost in negative thoughts. The darkness seems to deepen and the light of Spring seems to be an unobtainable dream. Masonry though offers a light to that darkness. We are Stirring Up Good throughout the state. There is a new electricity in the air surrounding Freemasonry!
Maybe it is the newly installed officer corps and their enthusiasm. Maybe it is all the newly made Masons. Maybe it is all the petitions going out and the continuous degree work. Whatever it is, Masonry is on fire in this jurisdiction!
We have a renewed vigor in working with our youth. Whether your lodge is helping DeMolay, Jobies, FFA, Scouting, a little league team or a 4-H Club, you are making a difference. Our Masonic All-Star Soccer event not only recognizes outstanding talent in both boys’ and girls’ soccer, it offers a workshop for disadvantaged kids. Lodges are participating in Gentleman 101 helping high school boys learn the manners and behaviors needed to attend prom and those manners will stay with them for a lifetime. The hundreds of Scholarships that will help our young people work toward their and our futures.
Your Three Pillars Senior Living Community has once again received national recognition for not only its care of the residents there, but also its care for its employees. The AED’s you have placed around the state just saved their 30th life. We have reached out to families who have been victims of floods, fires, hurricanes, and traffic crashes with a needed hand-up here and there. Masons’ fruit baskets and conversation have been delivered to shut-ins by the local lodges. Our MSA volunteers at our U.S. Military health care facilities are literally our boots on the ground actively Stirring Up Good in very personal, one-on-one ways to assist others.
Lodges are holding dinners and sponsoring events that foster friendship and help us share in Brotherly Love. Firearm competition-shoots, camping trips, deer camp nights, automobile shows, chili cook offs, fishing trips, dinner with spouses, and movie nights have brought us closer together in a spirit of fun.
We are emphasizing civility, charity, and family. As you page through the rest of our Wisconsin Masonic Journal take note of the activities going on, the degree work, and charity all being done by Masons like you.
My Brothers, the light of Freemasonry is shining bright in Wisconsin and YOU have a lot to be proud of!! Don’t just take all the good news for granted – YOU – are changing the world for the better. YOU are doing a lot of things the right way! The Masonic way!
Keep Stirring Up Good and let’s spread the excitement!
Scott E. Pedley
Grand Master
