Brethren,

Greetings. By now, you must have heart the good tidings. Two COVID-19 vaccines are heading for emergency approval with 95% effectiveness. The experts are telling us that by the early summer everyone who wants to get vaccinated will eb able to do so. This is a celebration cause. Please continuewith all necessary precautions until then.

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, whether you decide to celebrate with family or not. No matter what you do please be careful and follow the pandemic guidelines for your area.

In the meantime, the Grand Lodge of the State of New York is following the latest third wave guidelinesof the State Of New York. Our lodge will remain virtual for December with a Zoom meeting on Wednesday December 2.

Please note that the Zoom meeting information will be used for all 1st Wednesday of the month meetings (if any), until June 2021.

Looking ahead to the end of the year we will have no in person meetings at the lodge.

Dec 2nd, Zoom Meeting, All Officers and Brothers invited to attend.

The 3rd Wednesday of the month meeting (if any) will be used for officers only Zoom meetings.

We look forward to seeing you at our meetings!

Fraternally,
Andy Papademetriou,
Master, White Plains Lodge No 473


Degree Work, Masonic year 2019/2020, (as of September 23, 2020)

NorthStar program
1. Mr. Robert Javier—Petition Read
2. Mr. Tyler Rutherford-- Petition Read—On hold
3. Mr Luke McGovern

Awaiting the degree of EA
​None

Awaiting the degree of FC
1. Bro. Manuel M. Patalinjug
2. Bro. Nicholas Ferrandino
3. Bro. Alican "John" Bodur
4. Bro. Terrance Roys
5. Bro. Xavier H Garcia
6. Bro. Jacob Maranda
7. Bro. Derick Lee
8. Bro. George Wood
​
Awaiting the sublime degree of MM
1. Bro. Paul Alcin
2. Bro. Dave Brijlall
3. Bro. Ian Goodman
4. Bro. Ricky Maranan
5. Bro. Russ Michel

Awaiting to be Affiliated
1. Bro. Stephen Petty

 The officers for the 2020/2021 year were installed in their respective positions in a public
installation ceremony over ZOOM on Oct 7. W...Matthew Palazola was the installing master and V...W...Raphael Wong was the installing Chaplain. Congratulations to all 2020/2021officers and
thank you for your service to the lodge. A big thank you goes to both of them.

Looking ahead to the end of the year we will have no in person meetings at the lodge.

Nov 4th, Zoom Meetings, All Officers and Brothers invited to attend.
Dec 2nd , Zoom Meeting, All Officers and Brothers invited to attend.
The 3rd Wednesday of the month meeting will be used for officers only Zoom meetings.

It is with a heavy heart that I would like to inform you that FC Brother Folorunsho Davidson, passed to the grand lodge above. Dr. Davidson was initiated 1/16/2019 and passed 2/05/2020 at White Plains Lodge. May his memory be eternal.

We look forward to seeing you at our meetings!

​Fraternally,
Andy Papademetriou, Master

The good news is that our lodge opened its doors with our first meeting of the new year on
Sept 16th, 2020.Officers for 2020/2021 were elected while appointed positions were announced.
Congratulations to all officers elect and thank you for committing to serve our lodge for the coming
year.  A big thank you goes to W. . .Matthew Palazola for conducting the meeting.

We are planning to have a public officer installation on a ZOOM video conference 7:00 pm on
Oct 7th . Please invite family to participate.

As we are resuming our gatherings, the safety of our Brothers is our supreme priority. The current guidelines of the Grand Lodge and the State of New York will be our guide and it is important that we proceed in a responsible and safe manner. As the pandemic continues to evolve through the fall and winter, it is important to be vigilant and be able to adjust our plans accordingly.

In addition to the Installation meeting on October 7, we are planning a second Zoom meeting on October 21, 7:00 pm. Details will be emailed as we get closer to the meeting date.

We look forward to seeing you back at our meetings!

Fraternally,
Andy Papademetriou,
Master, White Plains Lodge No 473

​Brethren,

We have good news! We are re-opening our lodge September 16th, at 7:00 pm. While
closed, we have been working on changes aimed at making our lodge a safe place to meet.
We will have our opening meeting for the year with a summoned communication on
Wednesday September 16, 2020. The purpose of the meeting will be to elect and Install the
officers for 2020/2021. It will be a Master Mason lodge (no EAs and FCs will be admitted).

For now, our lodge will meet as follows:

1. Stated/Summoned Communications, 1st Wednesday of each Month, 7pm – 8:30pm (Oct
2020 through May 2021),

2. Dress Code-Jacket and Tie for Officers and Bros.

3. Bring your own apron. If you do not have one, you can borrow a reusable one from the
lodge that you keep through the pandemic.

4. Officers will keep their aprons and jewels.

5. Officers will be provided with anti-bacterial wipes for cleaning their stations and other
implements.

6. All Bros attending must RSVP. No Exceptions. andypapad@yahoo.com To limit
attendance, lodge doors will be locked by 7:00 PM. If you show up after that time you
will not gain admittance.

7. Social, Virtual ZOOM Meeting 3rd Wednesday of each Month, 7pm – 8:30pm (Oct 2020
through May 2021),

8. No Visitors, White Plains Lodge members only.

9. No Collations. The bar will be closed and there will be no access to the collation room.
While we are thrilled to re-open our lodge, there are several requirements that must be
met and some of them require a great deal of cooperation from you. We therefore respectfully
ask for your cooperation, and pledge to do our part as well.
Looking ahead for the next few months, we have the task of orderly opening of the
lodge and electing and installing new officers for the new masonic year.

Currently, we do not have authorization for any degrees. Brothers waiting for the second and
third degrees must continue their proficiency work to ensure they are ready when we get the
authorization for degrees.

Here are some of the rules we must follow and some other changes you can expect:

• “Acceptable” face coverings, as determined by The New York State Department of
Health (DOH), will be required at all times, upon entering the lodge. Acceptable face coverings
include, according to the DOH, cloth-based face coverings and disposable masks. The DOH says
that bandanas, buffs and gaiters are not acceptable face coverings. If you’re unable to medically
tolerate an acceptable face covering, you must wear a face shield at all times. There are no
other exceptions. Please bring your own face coverings. We will be checking at the door, and by
law we cannot allow entry to anyone without an acceptable face covering.

• All attending must be screened using a questionnaire required and designed by the
DOH. You will be asked if you have:

1. knowingly been in close contact in the past 14 days with anyone who’s tested positive for
COVID-19 or who’s had symptoms of COVID-19;

2. tested positive for COVID-19 through a diagnostic test in the past 14 days;

3. experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 in the past 14 days; or

4. traveled within a state with significant community spread of COVID-19 for longer than 24
hours within the past 14 days. (As of today, there are no restrictions on visitors from Rhode
Island, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, but visit (this link) to see the current list states deemed
to have significant community spread.)

5. We’ll also be checking everyone’s temperature at the door. For everyone’s safety, please
stay home if you have a fever or any other symptoms of COVID-19.

• Practice good hygiene. Hand sanitizer will be available at the front entrance and the
bathrooms for your use. Remember that visibly soiled hands should be washed with soap and
water, since hand sanitizer is not effective on visibly dirty hands. There are sinks in the
bathrooms with soap and water to wash hands.

• We have taken many steps to promote physical distancing. For example, lodge room
occupancy will be capped at 25%. Upon entering the lodge from the main entrance, you will be
asked the CDC mandated questions and your body temperature will be taken with a contactless
thermometer. You will then sign an attendance sheet and proceed to the lodge room. Officers
will take your respective places and stations and bros take their assigned seats.

• The men’s bathroom can accommodate only one person at a time. Close the bathroom
door when in use. The lady’s bathroom can accommodate 2 persons at a time.

• Please bring your own bottled water.

We also encourage you to help keep yourself and your fellow members safe by familiarizing
yourself with, and following, current state guidelines. As these guidelines stress, please do not
visit the lodge if (1) you are sick or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or (2) you do not want to
or cannot wear an acceptable face covering.

We look forward to seeing you back at the lodge!

Fraternally,

Andy Papademetriou, Master White Plains Lodge.

Greetings Brethren All,

Our Lodge went dark early last month, together with almost all lodges in the area. Even though progress has been made in the containment of the epidemic, with the New York City Metro area reaching a plateau in new infections and hospital admissions, we continue to be at the mercy of the virus. We are like the mountaineer who exhales a big sigh of relief when reaching the top, but now has to descent to the foot of the mountain. The descent could be longer than the ascent.

In our March announcement we closed the lodge until April 30th. The grand lodge announce the cancellation of all activities through May 15, 2020.

This is to inform you that we will follow the Grand Lodge recommendations. There is a good possibility of no meetings through the summer. In this case the current officers will continue in their positions until the lodge reopens.

As of this writing, no active member of White Plains lodge has been fatally afflicted. We pray that it stays like this.

I was deeply saddened on hearing the news of the passing of David Furcayg’s father Ruben. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Furcayg family.

Farewell my brothers and stay strong, stay patient, and most of all stay home.

Fraternally

S & F
W...Andy Papademetriou
Master, White Plains Lodge No. 473 F & A M

Greetings Brethren All,

We are in an unprecedented time with a surreal epidemic in our midst. While the light at the end
of the tunnel is still very dim, we all look forward to the day we will overcome this peril. It is the time for
all of us to reach out, support and keep in touch with each other. Many of our brothers have lost their jobs
and many have fallen ill. Life’s twists and turns are innumerable.

Our Masonic community has reacted in concert with the rest of society in our response to the epidemic. Specifically, our lodge has suspended all masonic activities through the end of April. We cancelled all practices, schools of instruction and communication meetings. The district annual dinner sched-
uled for April 18, has been postponed and the Grand lodge has cancelled the Annual Communication scheduled in May.

Farewell my brothers and stay strong, stay level headed, and most of all, stay home.

S & F
W...Andy Papademetriou
Master, White Plains Lodge No. 473 F & AM

​Greetings Brethren All,

Before we know it, we are into March with only three months to go for the conclusion of the 2019-29 Masonic year!

I would like to inform you that our Marshal Bro Miguel Acuna, DSA underwent heart by-pass surgery at the beginning of February after a heart attack. He is currently at home recovering. He welcomes our calls and visits. I would also like to inform you that Right Worshipful Jim Holden went through eye surgery mid February and he is home recovering. Keep both of our brothers in you thoughts and prayers.

On February 5th we had a Fellow Craft degree where five Bros’ EAs were passed to degree of Fellowcraft. Thanks to all who participated and helped perform the degree.

The new Fellow Crafts are: Bro. Paul Alcin, Bro. Dave Brijlall, Bro. Folorunsho Davidson, Bro. Ricky Maranan, Bro. Russ Michel.

On February 19th we had a Table lodge, which was attended by Bros of WP lodge, and visitors together with the DDGM R...W... Michael D. Grenadier and the Grand Sword Bearer R...W... William Keindl. The delicious food for the evening was prepared for the event by Bro Joe Lasorsa assisted by Bro Mario Hernandez.

Upcoming Lodge events:

•March 4th, 2020, Guest speaker RW David Menegon, Sr. Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge of NY with a lecture on “Patriotism, America, and Freemasonry”

• March 18, 2020, Stated Communication

• April 1, Stated Communication

• April 15, Sublime Degree of Master Mason

Upcoming Masonic events

• March 3, 2020, Tarrytown Masonic Temple, collation 6:30 pm, gavel 8:00 pm, grand lecturer’s convention, with R...W...Richard Friedman, Grand Lecturer of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York. Please contact the master if you would like to join our delegation.

• April 18, District Dinner Dance 2020, 7 pm, The Pleasantville Manor (Pleasantville Country Club), 110 Nannahagan Rd, Pleasantville, NY., Pleasantville, NY. This is an annual event where the winners of Mason of the year from district lodges as well as recipients of the Distinguished Service Award are honored. RSVPs are required and must be made to our Lodge Treasurer W...Matthew Palazola.

The assignments and rehearsal for the upcoming MM degree have been announced. If you have been designated as a participant, please ensure that you attend the rehearsals. If unable to attend contact the Master.

I would like to remind the Bros Entered Apprentices and Bros Fellow Crafts that they need to be attending lodge regularly, while making proficiency. Proficiency and attendance are required to be eligible for the next degree. Make sure you are in contact with Bro. Ramon Viruete of the School of Instruction.

Lastly, if you have not paid your 2020 lodge dues, please do so ASAP.

S & F
W...Andy Papademetriou
Master, White Plains Lodge No. 473 F & A M