Winter Garden Lodge Trestleboard for October 2021

Winter Garden Masonic Lodge No. 165 F&AM

Making good men better since 1907

Trestleboard for October 2021

Winter Garden Masonic Lodge No. 165 F&AM meets on the first and third Thursdays monthly at 230 W. Bay Street Winter Garden, FL

October 2021 - Vol. 114, Issue 10

From the East

Greetings from the East my brothers!!!

October is upon us and September saw a very productive month and much more was accomplished at the lodge. We had Guest speakers, Masonic Education, an EA Degree and R:.W:. Jerry Clark presented membership certificates to Brothers Randall Roig and Rodrigo Segovia.

Also noteworthy in September was the Masonic Education. Brother Vlad Mitton did a tremendous presentation about numbers 3, 5 and 7. R:.W:. Keith Albright and W:. Catello talked about the Scottish Rite and W:. Michael Blankinship of Clermont Lodge did a presentation about De Molay with the candle ceremony.

Lodge continues with great attendance. Last meeting of September we had brothers from California and New York visiting us.

The planning for the Fall Festival is going full throttle. Br. McGowan is working hard on that. We are still in need of help with the festival. Please get the information out to anyone and everyone you know and have them contact Brother Ken or Karen. We also need 12 volunteers to take charge of different parts of the event as listed below:

Ticket Sales: 4 /Kid Games:1 /Food area and inside food:2 / Dunk Tank:1/ Overall Sanitation:2 / Actions: 1

I wanted to thank W:. Dwayne and W:. Kramer to the work on the lodge renovation options and estimates. W:. Dwayne presented some options for the renovation and asked for suggestions from brothers. If you know any contractor you want to refer to us, please contact W:. Dwayne. There is also a list of projects with the Tyler.

On September 23, Winter Garden Lodge conferred an EA Degree. Mr. Yari Gaeta and Mr. Glenn Henderson of Mokanna Lodge were initiated to the fraternity. Congratulations to the newly raised brothers!! The degree team did great work !!!

Save the date: On Oct 7th we will having M:. W:. Jeff Foster visiting us. We will be presenting Brother Vlad Mitton with his Gold Card. We also will be presenting W:. Craig and W:. Hatcher their 25yr Mason Certificates.

And on Monday, Oct 25th Winter Garden Lodge will be hosting our First Table Lodge, featuring Keynote Speaker Tali Atala 33rd Past Grand Monarch of the Grottoes of North America. See the flyer below. Make your reservation soon. This event is for EAs, FCs, and MMs. Reserve your seat no later than Oct 18th at www.wintergardenmasoniclodge.org/table-lodge or call 913-957-7651.

I would like to continue to inform you about Directive 5 issued by our Grand Master, Most Worshipful Jeff Foster. Considering these directives, and to help ensure the safety of all attending our meetings, the following changes will be in effect upon our return to regular meetings:

1. Masks should be worn inside the Lodge

2. Temperature Checks will be made of each attendee upon entry

3. Hand Sanitizer will be provided upon entry and at the Tyler’s desk

4. Attendees are to observe social distancing as best as possible while indoors

5. If you feel ill at all, please stay home so no one else gets sick per the Grand Master's Directive No. 6.

The best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to prevent infection by Delta or other variants is to get vaccinated. I strongly recommend all brothers to take the vaccines.

Thank you for your help in keeping everyone safe so that we may continue to stay open and continue our work supporting our community and Brethren.

Finally, I would like to ask the Brethren to please continue to pray for the sick and needy.

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

William Shakespeare

Fraternally,

Luis Oliveira, Worshipful Master

From the West

Greetings, My Brothers!

There is a lot going on at Winter Garden Lodge, as usual, plus a ton going on in our district. Don’t forget to make time to help with our first Table Lodge on Monday, October 25^th. There’s work to be done setting up, meal prep, and more. Many hands make light work. Another BIG event is on the horizon, the Fall Festival and the Arts celebration in November. While that seems a long way off, it will be here before you know it. Our Brother Ken McGowan and his beautiful bride Karen have already put in countless hours to get this important replacement for our Haunted House. Please reach out to Brother Ken if you are willing to lend a hand.

Here are the District Events for October:

Oct 2 Masters & Wardens/Memorial Lodge @ Bahia Shrine This will also include the drawing for our first raffle!

Oct 9&10 Scottish Rite Fall Reunion

Oct 23 Open Books AND MLT at Open Books

Oct 27 District School of Instruction @ Bahia Shrine 6:30 pm

I hope to see you at one or more of these events!

Steve Czerniejewski

Sr. Warden

From the South

Greetings From The South

I hope that as of the publication of this Trestleboard everyone of the Brothers and their families are fine and enjoying great health.

We continue to receive inquiries by persons interested in joining our fraternity. When they visit our lodge please take the time to welcome them and make them feel at home. Encourage them to bring their families on our dinner nights so that they can witness firsthand how Masons love one another.

I am also grateful for all of the suggestions I continue to receive regarding meals, please keep them coming. Our next meal will be on Thursday, October 7th and we will be serving roast beef, rustic potatoes and green salad. Brother McDowell and Brother Pedro spend a lot of time and effort in the preparation of our meals and I thank them for their kind service and dedication.

I would like to remind the brethren that we rely on the generosity of our members in providing meals and ask for a brother to sponsor the meal for any month they choose.

On Thursday, October 7th, our next Masonic education will be delivered by P.M.W. Jeff Pataglia of Orlando #69 on the 47th problem of Euclid. I would like to extend my gratitude to our Brother Vladimir Mitton on his great presentation on 3, 5 and 7. Please let me know if you would like us to invite any guest speakers to our lodge to make presentations. I will also like to congratulate our newly E/A Brother Yari Gaeta and Brother Jeremy Glenn Henderson of Mokana Lodge #329.

Finally, I would like to ask the brethren to please continue to pray for the sick and needy in 2021.

See you at the Lodge!

Brothers, please remember to stay safe! See you at the lodge!

Jose Morales Jr.

Jr. Warden

Chaplain's Message

I find it amazing that I can be in the lodge, praying to God, giving charges, and not paying attention to what I am saying. How often do we all ignore our God and go our way without Him. Case in point, at the degree given last week we informed our candidates that before entering upon anything important that we should invoke the blessing of God. Before lodge, did I ask for God’s blessing on my work before or during the meeting, NO. I had this. In giving the charge, beforehand did I implore His aid in the laudable undertaking, NO. I had repeated the charge over twenty times that day, I had it on my own. We all saw how that went, I went completely blank in the middle, not just loosing a word or phares but totally blank with no idea where I was or where I was going. Acting on my hubris I did not feel that night that I needed God’s spirit to do my work! We all see how well that went. But the worst was the realization that I had that evening turned my back on my God thinking I could do things alone, shame.

Brothers, we must always seek the help, support, and love that our God offers us at all times. WE must request His aid and presence in all we do. Fortunately for us, we have a God who forgives our trespasses and is always ready to welcome us back into His loving embrace. Please brothers do not make the same mistake that I made that night, always seek your God and rely on Him alone and not yourself.

To contact me call me at 407-620-6250 (leave a message) or email me at ecm@cfl.rr.com

Be blessed and be safe,

W.B. Ed McMullen, Chaplain

From the Secretary

Greetings Brothers,

I hope that you are all doing well. We continue to move forward through 2021 with great resolve and dedication to the craft. We have collected approximately 95% of our dues payments for 2021 year through the end of September.

For those that are still outstanding, I hope that you will be able to pay them soon so that you are not suspended for non-payment of dues. If you are having financial difficulty, please contact me, so that we can arrange some form of payment. We will be sending out late dues notices to those few remaining in October. Thank you for your quick attention to this matter. I will be receiving the new dues notices from Grand Lodge for the 2022 year soon will begin disbursement by the beginning of December.

Our current membership is up to 165 members. We are currently plus 13 members from this time last year. We currently have 2 new petitions for the three degrees in Freemasonry and another Dual petition that are currently being processed. We continue to have a lot of interest in our lodge that is evident by the number of visitors we continue to receive at each meeting.

I would like to send the following Brothers warm Birthday Wishes in the month of October:

Arthur Beach 10/20 John Anderson 10/22 Paul Izzo Jr. 10/29

Kevin Johnson 10/7 Mark Kirkley 10/23 Chris Lingan 10/12

James Morgan 10/3 Bart Patria 10/10 David Suerettan 10/4

Robert Sommers Jr. 10/5 Marvin Wise 10/27 Steven Eckwielen 10/24

Carlos Figueroa 10/26

Lastly, please keep an eye on the Trestle Board, our Facebook page, and website (www.wintergardenmasoniclodge.org) for upcoming events and information. If you have new contact information or a new mailing address, please contact me at 407-435-9198, or email me at gatordoc05@hotmail.com. Thanks again for the opportunity to serve. Remember that we meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month. We are now serving meals at each meeting starting at 6:30 pm. Hope to see you at our next stated communication in October.

Fraternally,

W:.Frank Lopez (2015)

Secretary

Winter Garden Lodge No. 165

Past Master's Corner

Greetings Brothers,

As a past master, I will share some of the differences between NJ and Florida lodges.

The biggest difference is the NJ meeting was more formal, we had fun but by and large, the meets were more staid. A second difference was the honor and respect that was accorded the Worshipful Master. If one wanted to speak he would rise, face the WM and wait for his recognition, the brother would then salute the WM with the sign of the degree and then speak. When finished the brother would then thank the WM then sit.

Brothers did not bring up anything new unless they had run it by the WM before the meeting.

The WM never left his station in the east without taking his gavel which he would slide into the belt of his apron. When the lodge was open the WM never was separated from his gavel.

The WM was not made fun of in the meeting, not because of who he was but because he was the east and the east was revered.

Even the Past Masters followed these guidelines.

Fraternally,

W.B. Ed McMullen, Chaplain

October Calendar of Events

8:00 am – 11:30 am, October 2, 2021 – Masters & Wardens Association Meeting @ Bahia Shrine
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm, October 3, 2021 – Pine Castle Rainbow Assembly #6
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm, October 4, 2021 – Orange Blossom Lodge No. 80
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm, October 4, 2021 – South Seminole Chapter - DeMolay

***Degree practice every Tuesday***

Winter Garden Lodge No. 165 Presents

The First Annual Table Lodge

Winter Garden Lodge No. 165 conferred an Entered Apprentice Degree for Mr. Yari Gaeta and Mr. Glenn Henderson of Mokanna Lodge.

R:.W:. Jerry Clark presented membership certificates to Brothers Rodrigo Segovia and Randall Roig, seen standing with the Worshipful Master.

Not Just a Man. A Mason.

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