Sunday with the Secretary 5-12-2024

[Daniel Giacomelli]

Brethren,

Hello. I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy Mother’s Day.

I am still thinking about our last Stated Meeting. It was a very awesome time and I think I can speak for everyone in attendance that it was a special evening. The unique opportunity to have a delegation visit us from the Grand Lodge of Lithuania was meaningful.

The day on Wednesday started with a tour of the Masonic Temple. Brother Herman and I were part of a tour group of 33 people. Many of the Brothers from Lithuania had their wives with them. After the tour, we boarded a bus to see some important sites throughout Philadelphia. The last stop was at Pat’s Steaks where Brother Frank Olivieri gave us a brief history of the origins of the steak sandwich and his family’s role in its invention. I think everyone who participated enjoyed seeing the history of Philadelphia. When you see the city from a tourist perspective, you have a much higher level of appreciation for Philadelphia.

Then at 5:30 pm, we all meet again to have a meal in the lower banquet room of the Temple. The food was pretty good and I surprised the Brothers from Lithuania with a cake with their emblem on it. Please see the attached picture.

We also had several men join us for our meal to understand Freemasonry and our Lodge. I think these men are likely to move forward with a petition to join St. Alban Lodge No. 529.

We then moved up to Oriental Hall for the Stated Meeting. We were blessed with the presence of Sam Freeman-DDGM(C). Brother Sam Freeman started the meeting by formally welcoming the Brothers from Lithuania and giving them special pins from the GL. Brother Herman also gave out gifts to the visiting Brothers and Brothers who were celebrating their Masonic Birthdays. We took care of the business of the Lodge also. Darius Laivys(Grand Secretary of the GL of Lithuania) spoke to the Brothers about the origins of Freemasonry in Lithuania and the current status of the various Lodges throughout Lithuania. He was very appreciative of our hospitality and asked that if anyone has plans to be in Lithuania, they should please visit them. Brother Brian Bennett also gave a warm welcome to the Brothers from Lithuania in Lithuanian. Since I don’t speak Lithuanian I can’t tell you what he said but the Brothers from Lithuania sure did seem to like it. We then closed the Lodge and went to the bar to continue the comradery.

Now on to some important business:

We are close to the deadline for scholarship applications. The date to have the applications to me is May 15th. I have received over the last few days a flurry of applications and will soon start the process of reviewing them with Brother James Clancy-DDGM(D)(PM).

We are having a phenomenal meeting in June for our scholarship event. We are going to have a catered meal with entertainment in the Masonic Temple in the Grand Banquet Hall. Then we will conduct the meeting and give out the awards. Then we will return to the Grand Banquet Hall for a Strawberry Festival(dessert). I hope to see you at this meeting. I will let you know the deadline for the RSVP in a later email/communication.
Keep in mind the meeting will be an open meeting so it might be a good time to bring your significant other to get a closer look of our Lodge.

We are going to have an Extra Meeting in June to confer degrees and then go dark for July and August. Paul is planning a social event, once this is finalized I will let you know.

June 1st is the grand Communication in Erie, PA.
July 27th is the Grand Master’s Charity Golf Event.

I hope everyone has a great week. Please see the attached pictures.

Sincerely,

Andrew B. Schure
Secretary of St. Alban Lodge No. 529

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