June 2022 Stated Communication

Brethren,

It was a great time seeing everyone at the May Stated Communication. There were quite a few officers who were unable to attend, so I wanted to thank everyone who was willing to sit in a new station to open and close the Lodge.

The proficiency of everyone in the Lodge, even in different positions, has drastically improved since I joined.It is hard to believe that my time in the East is quickly reaching its halfway point. I am very happy with all we have been able to accomplish thus far and am looking forward to the back half of the year to be even better. I know many of you have been busy and attending Lodge has been out of reach of your cable-tow; however, I encourage all of you to continue to make an effort to attend. During the first half of the year, we have had many interesting, exciting, and informative lectures, and I find myself learning more every time.

I will close by continuing to offer our Wednesday Discord chats at 7:00 PM. We meet regularly and encourage anyone to attend. It is a great way to catch up and talk things Masons. Please reach out to me if you need help connecting.

Sincerely and Fraternally,
WB Stephen Motroni
Worshipful Master

May 2022 Stated Communication

Brethren,

As our Masonic year is in full swing, I would like to say it is such a pleasure to be back in person and see so many of you attending Lodge. In April, we had both a very spirited discussion about Grand Lodge events as well as a great presentation on the “Point within a Circle.” I would always like to encourage each and every one of you, if within reach of your cable-toe, to attend Lodge. We are back to having fellowship before Lodge with delicious meals. Our Junior Warden even fired up the oven and prepared a meal from scratch in the kitchen – something I have not seen since I joined Masonry. We have spirited and lively discussions at every Lodge meeting, and I am reminded about what it means to be a Brother and a Master Mason. We have often gone late into the night continuing our fellowship conversations even after we close the Lodge. We also continue to have our lively discord conversations every Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM where everyone is encouraged to join.

I hope this message finds you well and, for those of you who have not been able to make lodge this year, please try to attend. We would all be happy to see you.

Sincerely and Fraternally,
WB Stephen Motroni
Worshipful Master

April 2022 Stated Communication

Greetings Brethren,

Brethren,

It was a pleasure seeing many of you in the Lodge in March. The discussion Brother David de Hosson put on was amazing, very detailed and captivating. Thank you, David, for putting this all together. As we continue the year, I want to encourage others to attend the Lodge as we will continue to have other presentations and themed fellowship dinner beforehand.

To follow up our wonderful conversation on Irish Masons in March, Brother Michael Arce will be giving a lecture on the dot within the circle. I am looking forward to this, as well as how he is planning on theming that evening's dinner on that topic. We will also be continuing our discussion on moving the Lodge, so please attend if you wish to be part of that process.

Furthermore, I continue to encourage all of you to attend our weekly discord fellowship that occurs online starting at 7:00 P.M. If you wish to attend, please send me a message, and I will get you the link. It is through

this that the Lodge officers, and others, have been meeting regularly to work to improve the Lodge experience. Every brother is welcome!

Sincerely and Fraternally,
WB Stephen Motroni
Worshipful Master

March 2022 Stated Communication

Greetings Brethren,

It was nice seeing many of you back in Lodge in February. For those of you who did not attend, we raised three new men to Entered Apprentice. I wanted to thank everyone involved in the degree as they did a spectacular job! There were many individuals stepping up into rolls they have not done before, and, for that, I am very thankful.

As we approach March, and hopefully warmer weather, I hope to see more of you in Lodge. In March, we are planning on bringing back our fellowship dinner previous to the gavel dropping. I hope many of you can attend either for the fellowship previous to Lodge or Lodge itself.

On a final note, W.B. Jason Lee is planning on attending lodge in March, after which, he will be moving to Germany for 3-5 years. I hope as many of you can come out and wish him good luck. I want to thank W.B. Jason for all his guidance in helping me ascend to the East. To that end, W.B. Jason, I expect you to return to Lodge upon returning from your tour in Germany – we may even be able to slip you back into the line.

Sincerely and Fraternally,
WB Stephen Motroni
Worshipful Master

February 2022 Stated Communication

Greetings Brethren,

I hope this finds you in good health.

I hope all of you are doing well during this difficult time. I am deeply saddened that our stated communication in January had to be canceled. This was not an easy decision, and I thank all that provided their guidance, especially the pillar officers. That being said, it was a pleasure to have all that attended the virtual happy hour in its place – some of you missed out as the festivities went close to midnight. It was nice to see some faces that would otherwise not be able to attend due to other obligations and distance from the lodge. As we look forward to February, we are planning on conferring the Entered Apprentice Degree for some new candidates to our Lodge. I hope that many of you attend to show support. I remember whenI received this degree. There was a good crowd and everyone was excited, both brothers and candidates. I hope we can return that energy to Lodge this coming February.

At this point many of you know about my personal Discord server (Video chat room for the more seasoned members). I want to let everyone know that every Wednesday from 7:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. we meet to catch up. What we do is completely up to who shows up. Sometimes we get into deep philosophical discussions, other times we help each other become better at ritual. If you wish to attend, please let me know. There is a link to follow, and I will need to grant you permission (we can't have any eavesdroppers joining in). I encourage everyone to consider stopping by. Everyone is welcome. I hope to see you all there and in lodge in February!

Sincerely and Fraternally,
WB Stephen Motroni
Worshipful Master

January 2022 Stated Communication

Greetings Brethren,

I hope this finds you well.

A new year is upon us and with that a new line. I want to open my message by thanking those who have helped build our Lodge to where it is today – whether that is our Wardens, whom I am very thankful for, those of you who join us in Lodge when you can, and those who have left your mark building this Lodge. I thank you for making this Lodge what it is today for me to preside over for the next year.

Following that, every year I have a new year’s resolution that I have shared before, but I would like to share again. Every year I pick a topic, theme, or idea I want to learn about. This past year it was learning to be the Master (believe me, it is more than some of you think), another year it was beekeeping, and a year before that it was SQL (a computer code). This next year, I am still figuring out what it will be. I recommend it to all of you.

Pick something you don't know anything about and go learn. Take that knowledge and apply it to better yourself, your family, or your relationship with Deity. No one ever remembers what year they lost that 15lbs, or did not drink liquor for a few months, but learning something new will be with you for the rest of your life. So my one piece of personal advice I give everyone this time of year. Go educate yourself!

Sincerely and Fraternally,
WB Stephen Motroni
Worshipful Master

December 2021 Stated Communication

Brethren,

It is my honor to have served as your Worshipful Master for the past two years. While our plans did not unfold as we expected, we still managed to keep our fraternal engagement alive and even thriving over our time apart. As we focus on the time ahead, I call upon all of you to support your officers of the Lodge and help foster the environment that YOU want at St. John’s.

As I mentioned, geography will separate me from the Lodge for some time; as I will be moving to Germany for a new job sometime in 2022. But my thoughts will always be with my mother-Lodge, and I will visit as often as my cable tow’s length permits.

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Jason Lee
Worshipful Master

Full Trestle Board available here.

November 2021 Stated Communication

What an amazing evening we got to share in celebration of our Lodge’s 175th Anniversary! But overshadowed by the cruise is the no less important voting for 2022 officers which was held the evening before. I would like to be the first to congratulate Bro. Stephen Motroni on his unanimous election to be the Worshipful Master for the upcoming Masonic year!

Over the past two years I have personally been working with the pillar officers to help improve our ritual and understanding of the Masonic processes we all observe. As I transition to my return to the JW station, I look forward to continuing these studies under our new Worshipful Master’s tutelage. I strongly suggest any of you interested in learning more about our craft make the effort to attend!

But perhaps even MORE importantly, we will be hosting actual in person pre-lodge meals at the Takoma Masonic center! Yes, starting with this November Stated we will be sharing pre-lodge fellowship in the form of a meal; so please look to the South for further information and how to RSVP for a meal!

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Jason Lee
Full Trestle Board available here.

October 2021 Stated Communication

Our September Stated Communication found the lodge woefully understaffed, forcing us to open on the 3rd degree and draw-down to the 1st to allow our EA brethren to attend. I commend our officers in attendance for their flexibility, and I implore those who were unexcused; take due notice and govern yourselves accordingly.

WB Karl Gruel, Jr, P.M. receives his 50-years of service award.

Your attendance at the October Stated Communication is even more vital, as we are electing our officers for the 2022 Masonic year. The support of the Lodge is vital in this process, and we sincerely want your participation. Please make every effort to attend!

We are also looking forward to following our elections with the revelry of our 175th anniversary celebration! Many years in the making, this will be an amazing time, and I look forward to seeing many of you there!

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Jason Lee
Worshipful Master

Full Trestleboard available here.

September 2021 Stated Communication

I became a Mason to learn how to tie a bow tie.

Now, it wasn’t exactly that simple, but to dial it down to a sound-bite, that’s what you would get.

The motivation for me was to find an organization that was dedicated to helping its members be better and have a good time doing it. And the tuxedo is an exclamation-mark of clothing; even if you’re going to the drug store in a tux, everyone will assume your next destination is somewhere exciting. But I’ve never been a fan of wearing clip-on ties. So, if I was going to wear a tux, I needed to learn how to tie a bow tie.

And once I became a Mason, I knew the tux would never be a question, because in our lodge the tuxedo is required. It is why we have always endeavored to include fraternity and fellowship in everything that we do, even in our meetings. We’re making it into something special.

But we can’t have either fraternity or fellowship if we do not have attendance.

At our August Stated, we shared in honoring Worshipful Brother Karl Gruel on fifty years as a Mason. His story of becoming a Mason, and the family that is St. John’s Lodge, was both moving and a reminder that the Lodge is what we make of it.

As we move into our September Stated, I must urge you to make every accommodation to attend. We not only want you to join us in Lodge, but we need you there to execute our business and improve our fellowship. Thus, I ask you again, please check the length of your cable tow and circumscribe your actions accordingly. I will be delivering an educational lecture on the etiquette of Freemasonry, so if you’re new (or old and rusty) I look forward to providing instruction and entertainment.

Looking forward to seeing more of you in person!

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Jason Lee
Worshipful Master

Full Trestleboard available here.