June 2004
Brethren:
On April 20th through May 2nd, Star and I had the privilege of attending the Junior Warden's Leadership Retreat. We sincerely thank the Lodge for giving us the opportunity to participate in this informative and inspirational conference sponsored by the California Grand Lodge. We met other Junior Wardens and their wives from other Lodges in Southern California. I was amazed at the number of young brethren that attended this conference. Together we worked on developing a vision for the future of our Lodges with an emphasis on Masonic education, retention of members and the importance of family involement. Star and I met many new friends and are full of ideas to discuss and share with our members.
Speaking of family involvement, I want to remind everybody reading this article that the Annual Lodge Family Picnic will be held on Sunday, August 15th at Rancho Tapo Community Park in Simi Valley. This facility has a large rectangular pavilion including four charcoal barbeques, all reserved for our use on the day of the picnic. There is ample room and shade to handle all of our members, their families and their guests.
This Lodge Picnic is free for all our families and their guests. The Lodge pays the cost of the picnic every year. You must indicate on the Picnic sign-up sheet if you will be attending and how many guests and children you will bring so that we can plan the food purchase and children's gifts accordingly. I also need volunteers to help with transportation of food and supplies to the site, setting up, cooking, clean up and games for the children.
Last month we celebrated Memorial Day, a national holiday to honor the memory those patriots who lost their lives while serving our country in time of need. Colin Powell recently wrote a stirring essay about why memorials matter. The essence of his explanation why it is important for us to erect memorials to those who gave their lives in support of our freedoms is as follows:
"I do not know or care what terrorists and tyrants make of our monuments to our dead. What is important is what the monuments and memorials say to us. They can teach us much about the ideas that unite us in our diversity, the values that sustain us in time of trial, and the dream that inspires generation after generation of ordinary Americans to perform extraordinary acts of service. In short, our monuments and memorials tell us a great deal about America's commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all."
Let us be as dedicated in our commitment as Masons and United States citizens to the perpetuation of our freedoms as those honored dead whom we remembered on Memorial Day.
Fraternally yours,
Junior Warden
