December 2023
My Brothers, I trust that we all have enjoyed our Thanksgiving and are beginning to feel the swelling joyfulness of the Holiday Season. As it is the season of giving, we, as Masons, know that the most valuable gift we are capable of giving is our time. Consider your ability to participate in the Lodge’s upcoming agenda, as we are approaching a very pivotal point. Having shaken the cobwebs of a socially-distanced reality, leaving it firmly in the past; the time is nigh to renew our familiar bonds and dwell together, again, for, not only, our own sake, but, for that of our prosperous future. On our Stated Communication on November 1st, the Lodge voted unanimously to amend our by-laws, with immediate effect. Summarized by a few points as follows:
Agenda Plan to attend December 5th Fellow-Crafts will witness the Middle Chamber Lecture at the 2nd Degree at Mt. Masada-Galaxy Lodge in Mt. Kisco, NY. 7:00PM December 6th Stated Communication, Reports of Investigative Committee. Ballot on Petitioners. Festive Board. 7:00 PM December 16th Lodge Holiday Party – Will Take Place in Banquet Hall of Lodge and will be Catered. Exact Start time to be confirmed in forthcoming correspondence. December 20th Agenda is subject to change. Potential for Fellowship Night and Rehearsal of First Degree. December 23rd Holiday Charity will be the Ringing of the Bells for the Salvation Army. Typically, we do an 8 Hour day starting at 8:00 AM and concluding at 4:00 PM. Please reach out to andrewhaight10@gmail.com -or- 914-588-7066 is my mobile. Alternatively, whiteplainslodge@gmail.com January 17th Entered Apprentice Degree. This is a very momentous occasion for White Plains Lodge. The anticipated class of Neophytes is expected to approach the maximum allowable number of Ten Candidates. It is much preferable that a Brother of White Plains Lodge serve as the conductor for these Candidates as the alternative would be to call in Members from another lodge to lead them on their first steps in Masonry. Please make every effort to attend. 7:30 PM Sharp. Refreshment will be available once the Lodge is called to Refreshment after the first Section; Festive Board to follow the conclusion of the Ceremonies. Please take careful notice as the next six weeks will culminate with a massive change for our Lodge. If nothing else, it is our duty to set an elevated standard and tradition when new members join the Lodge. Expect your dues notices to come out in a timely manner. They are available to be paid by check, PayPal, or using the MORI Grand Lodge Database System. Note that there are optional lines for donations to various projects. http://www.whiteplainslodge.org/pay-your-dues.html I truly believe that our work in Masonry reveals the everlasting promise of eternal light, and life, which is so important to the theme of the Season. I pray that our hearts become filled with gladness and our eyes beam brightly with light as we enjoy family, friendship, fraternity, and, most of all, the giving of ourselves, during the very special time of year. I look forward to seeing you all very soon. Yours, in the East, W∴ M∴ Andrew C. Haight II
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Brothers, I hope everyone has had a pleasant and enjoyable summer. Starting in two weeks, on September 20th, 2023, we will return to the quarries at White Plains Lodge to set about a new year. As the summer has progressed, we have been working through the Northstar Candidate Selection Process on a number of individuals who would like to become Masons. I ask that all Petitions be ready for our meeting on 9/20. The meeting will begin promptly at 7:00PM and will be followed by a standard collation in the Banquet Hall. Please RSVP either on Our Lodge Page - White Plains Lodge #473 F. & A.M. (ourlodgepage.com) – or to the Junior Warden – Bro. Dave Brijlall – DaveBrijlall@gmail.com Looking Forward to seeing you on September 20th. Please check out Bro. Jay Hochberg's coverage of the June Installation on his Masonic Blog: The Magpie Mason. With fraternal regards, W.:M:. Andrew C. Haight II (914) 588-7066 Dear Brethren all, I greet you well. More importantly, I’m happy to report that we’re off to a solid start to the Masonic year. As you can see from below, we’re hosting events and creating a welcoming atmosphere for all brothers, no matter how long it’s been since they attended lodge. To this end, the trestle board for the remainder of the year is attached to this bulletin and posted on Our Lodge Page. If you haven’t been back to the lodge in a while, I encourage you to give us one night of your time. I’m confident that we’ll help remind you why you joined the craft. At any rate, we started the year with weeks of practice opening/closing the lodge, followed by fellowship nights at local restaurants. We officially kicked off the year in September with an awards night, handing out some overdue service awards. After the meeting we hosted our first festive board where we dedicated/christened the lodge’s Quaich before taking aim with some Masonic fire. In case you missed it: At our October stated meeting we were happy to see PM Papademetriou again and present him
with his PM Certificate. After opening on the MM degree, we called the lodge off and had a short lecture on the Entered Apprentice Degree. We traveled to King Solomon-Beethoven No. 232 for our second meeting in October. I was proud to see our officers jump right in and help open/close the lodge; a testament to our ritual proficiency. Before our November stated meeting, we presented the White Plains Youth Soccer Association with a donation of $1,000. The funds were raised at our joint summer BBQ with John Jay Lodge and matched by additional funds from brothers in our lodge. Our donation will help pay for local kids who can’t afford to pay the club’s dues. The November stated meeting was also District Deputy Grand Master McAloon’s official visit. It was a success, with many brothers showing up to support us, including more that we hadn’t seen in a while. We were honored to have the DDGM deliver the Grand Master’s message and then hosted the lodge’s second festive board after the meeting. A few days later, we had a private tour of the New York Grand Lodge, followed by some food and drinks at a nearby restaurant. I would like to draw your attention to our next stated meeting and festive board on December 7th . We will follow that up with the lodge’s annual Christmas Party on Saturday December 10th (invite to follow shortly). Tickets will be $30 per head for those who’ve already paid their dues and $40 for those who’ve not yet paid their dues. The event will be held at the lodge but we’ve hired a caterer to take care of the service. After the meal we’ll watch the World Cup quarterfinals. Please look for updates from White Plains Lodge on Our Lodge Page and in the WhatsApp chat group. Sincerely & Fraternally, Stephen Petty Worshipful Master Dear Brethren all,
I trust this message finds you all well and I hope you enjoyed the summer as much as I did! After a successful installation and parking lot cookout, I did quite a bit of traveling with my fam- ily. We returned just in time for the joint social with John Jay Lodge on July 24th. We had a good turnout, (close to 50 attendees) for the BBQ/picnic and managed to raise $500 for White Plains Youth Soccer Association. The heat was sweltering that day so we were all thrilled when the ice cream truck arrived. (see photo). Now we’re all looking forward to getting back in the lodge. To this end, I stopped by the temple yesterday to check on the renovations and it looks wonderful! So, what’s the plan? Next Wednesday, August 24th at 6PM we’ll hold an informal walkthrough for the new officers to practice opening and closing the lodge. Afterwards (latest 8PM), we’ll walk over to the Brazen Fox for some fellowship. We’ll maintain this weekly cadence of a Wednesday practice/fellowship up until our first meeting on Wednesday, September 21st at 7PM. The first meeting (Wednesday, September 21st at 7PM) will be an awards night. We’ll try to catch up on handing out some of our overdue service awards. The meeting will be followed by a festive board at 8PM. Please join us to help get the lodge off to a solid start in the new masonic year. Sincerely & Fraternally, WB Stephen Petty restle Board 2022 NorthStar program 1. Mr. Tyler Rutherford-- Petition Read—On hold 2. Mr. Luke McGovern—In NorthStar program 3. Awaiting the degree of EA 1. Mr. Robert Javier 2. Mr. Luis G. Rios, Jr. Awaiting the degree of FC 1. Bro. Paul Alcin 2. Bro. Nicholas Ferrandino 3. Bro. Terrance Roys 4. Bro. Xavier H Garcia 5. Bro. Jacob Meranda 6. Bro. Derick Lee Lak 7. Bro. Dwight Corey Lewis Awaiting the sublime degree of MM 1. Bro. Russ Michel August-September schedule: Wednesday, August 24, 2022 Practice/Fellowship Wednesday, August 31, 2022 Practice/Fellowship Wednesday, September 7, 2022 Practice/Fellowship Tuesday, September 13, 2022 Fellowship/travel to Kisco No. 708 (to be confirmed) Wednesday, September 21, 2022 Fellowship meeting & Festive Board Wednesday, September 28, 2022 Fellowcraft Degree Rehearsal Greetings Brothers, For any Brothers that are not aware, it is with great sadness to inform you that R...W... James Holden passed away on April 27th. It goes without saying that he was one of the greatest and wis est Brothers to ever be raised in White Plains Lodge. He served as District Deputy Grand Master beginning in 2010, was also the Worshipful Master of our Lodge, and was an incredible leader and presence for many, many years. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go out to his family. He will be dearly missed by all of us. Yes, you read it right! We are having two degrees in two days. The First Degree, next week on June 1st, will be at White Plains Lodge, of course. We should have two, and possibly three candidates being initiated. As we often do, collation will begin early at 6:00 PM and gavel will be at 7:00 PM. Dress will be tuxedos for Officers, suit and tie for Brothers please. Dinner will be $10. Then the day after, Thursday June 2nd, there will be a Third Degree at Wyoming Lodge No. 342 on City Island. City Island Temple is located at 241 City Island Avenue, Bronx 10464. Collation at 6:30 PM gavel to follow.This would be a fantastic opportunity for our newly raised Master Masons to see the degree. If you plan to attend, Please RSVP to JW of Wyoming Lodge, Charlie Krugler at 917-383-6693. Let’s make sure that White Plains 473 is well represented! Last week we had our elections and W... Stephen Petty, will go to the East for the 2022-23 Masonic year. For those that have not met Stephen, he is a husband, father, veteran and Past Master of Barvaria Lodge 935 in Munich, Germany. We will be having a public installation on June 15th . Installation will begin at 7:00 PM followed by a reception, (dinner and drinks), at 8:00 PM. This will likely be my last communication as Worshipful Master. All in all we had a very good year, with some great dinners, our traditional ritual, and some Degree work. Coming to Lodge is a way to get away from all the craziness of the world for a couple of hours, and spend some time with some great Brothers. I have seen some great bonds being made and many good laughs. And, no, ritual is not boring if you ask me. It is soothing, calming and relaxing. Something we can all use these days. There have, of course, been some challenges. Primarily we hope more Brothers decide to come back. Because in this day and age, perhaps more than ever, Masonry and White Plains Lodge is great for one’s mind and soul. I look forward to a fresh start in September, as the Lodge continues to grow stronger and stronger again. And may God bless the victims in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. W...Andrew Lovato Trestle Board 2022 First Degree on 6/1, Third Degree on 6/2 and Public Installation of Officers on 6/15 NorthStar program 1. Mr. Tyler Rutherford-- Petition Read—On hold 2. Mr. Luke McGovern—In NorthStar program—On hold3. Dwight Corey Lewis Awaiting the degree of EA 1. Mr. Robert Javier 2. Mr. Luis G. Rios, Jr. Awaiting the degree of FC 1. Bro. Manuel M. Patalinjug 2. Bro. Nicholas Ferrandino 3. Bro. Terrance Roys 4. Bro. Xavier H Garcia 5. Bro. Jacob Meranda 6. Bro. Derick Lee 7. Bro. George Wood Awaiting the sublime degree of MM 1. Bro. Theodoro P. Maranan, Jr 2. Bro. Russ Michel First and foremost, I would like to thank District Deputy Grand Master R..W...John McAloon for an excellent visit on April 20th. I had a few Brothers tell me afterwards that they enjoyed his message. All the Officers did a great job opening and closing.
I also want to thank all the Past Masters that made it to the Lodge a couple weeks ago for the Past Masters Caucus. Many plans and ideas were put forward, as we look to rebuild. It is very clear that there are plenty of Brothers that care for WP473 very much and want to help out. The more Brothers that can come back to Lodge, the better. Next week on May 4th we will be having a First Degree. We should have two and possibly three candidates going through on this evening. There will be a collation (7:00 PM) that is $10 per Bother. Attire is tuxedos for Officers, tuxedos for the Brothers also, if at all possible. Otherwise, a suit and tie is acceptable. On May 18th will be another Stated Communication where we will be having our elections. There is a collation (7:00 PM) for $10 per Brother. Attire is suit and tie please. All Brothers are always welcome with open arms, no matter how long it has been since you have been back. However, just a reminder that all Brothers attending Lodge are very strongly encouraged to get their vaccination please. I look forward to seeing you soon. Fraternally, W...Andrew Lovato, Master White Plains Lodge 473 Trestle Board 2022 NorthStar program • Mr. Tyler Rutherford-- Petition Read—On hold • Mr. Luke McGovern—In NorthStar program—On hold • Mr. Dwight Corey Lewis Awaiting the degree of EA • Mr. Robert Javier • Mr. Luis G. Rios, Jr. Awaiting the degree of FC • Bro. Manuel M. Patalinjug • Bro. Nicholas Ferrandino • Bro. Terrance Roys • Bro. Xavier H Garcia • Bro. Jacob Meranda • Bro. Derick Lee • Bro. George Wood Awaiting the sublime degree of MM • Bro. Ricky Maranan • Bro. Russ Michel For any Brother that did not see last month’s message, Brother James Holden is quite sick. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Reach out and give him your best wishes. Jim has, of course, been a pillar and invaluable leader for our Lodge for many years. We are all indebted to him for his many years of service to the Craft. May God keep him strong.
Our next meeting on 4/6 will be a Fellowship night. Attire is dress casual, and collation is $10. The meeting on 4/20 will be a Stated Communication and will be the official visit from our District Deputy Grand Master John McAloon. I ask that all the Brothers make their best effort to attend this meeting please. Attire is jacket and tie, and collation is $10. This past Friday, March 25th, was the Grand Lecturer’s Convention in Mt. Kisco. It was a combined evening with the First and Second Westchester-Putnam Districts. Our Grand Lecturer, Richard Friedman, truly did a fantastic job. The main subject of the evening was Degree work, and going from doing a good job to a great job performing the Degrees. He made an argument for the First Degree being the most important, since the Degree is all about the candidates. As this is their first experience with the Ritual and lessons of Free Masonry, if the Brothers don’t take it seriously and don’t do a good job, how is that going to look to the candidate. The whole main section of the First Degree was performed by Brothers from the different Lodges. And RW Friedman, stopped them as they went along, to give advice, meaning and corrections. This, of course, was all done in a respectful and encouraging way, with interesting and great knowledge, and some funny stories as well. I especially want to thank the Brothers from our Lodge that made it, especially one of our Fellowcrafts, Victor Guzman. A big thank you also to Anthony Fella, who stepped in last minute as a Steward for the Degree. He had to hold that arch for an extra long time as RW Friedman was speaking for a bit. Also in attendance were Avery Toledo and Ramon Viruete. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Personally, the Degree work is probably my favorite part of FM, so this was one of the best evenings I’ve had! John Jay is tentatively scheduled to have a Third Degree in just a couple of weeks on April 13th, if a Drama team can be put together. They also meet in White Plains Lodge, and they need some help getting roles filled. A few Brothers, including Dave Brijlal, Andrew Haight and myself will be there. I think Ramon may have said he is also going. Other Lodges are there to help us when we ask, do your best to do the same please. You can reach out to WM Matt Wynn if you are available @ 914-329-9591 or Matthew.Wynn@johnjaymasons.org. We are tentatively scheduled to have a First Degree on May 4th. We will be having rehearsals to prepare for this important evening. We need your help to get new Brothers into our Lodge please. Hopefully even more Brothers decide to come back to the Lodge soon. You are always welcome with open arms, no matter how long it has been since you have been back. However, just a reminder that all Brothers attending Lodge are very strongly encouraged to get their vaccination please. I look forward to seeing you soon. W...Andrew Lovato Trestle Board 2022 NorthStar program • Mr. Tyler Rutherford-- Petition Read—On hold • Mr. Luke McGovern—In NorthStar program—On hold 3. Dwight Corey Lewis Awaiting the degree of EA • Mr. Robert Javier • Mr. Luis G. Rios, Jr. Awaiting the degree of FC • Bro. Manuel M. Patalinjug • Bro. Nicholas Ferrandino • Bro. Terrance Roys • Bro. Xavier H Garcia • Bro. Jacob Meranda • Bro. Derick Lee • Bro. George Wood Awaiting the sublime degree of MM • Bro. Ricky Maranan • Bro. Russ Michel |
W∴M∴ Andrew C. Haight
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