A welcome poetic surprise.

A recently raised mason has approached me to get permission to read a poem he wrote about his experience in lodge.

I'm overjoyed that someone has even thought to do that, and humbled that he would like to share it in our lodge room.

I can't wait to read it myself, and have it read in open lodge.

The importance of the Widow's pin

I was out with a brother last night visiting a few of our recent widows and providing them with a pin similar to the one you see here.

The pin is meant to remind both us and them that they are still connected to Freemasonry, even though our brother is departed. Once family, always family, and in the busy-ness of our own lives we sometimes lose track of that.

On both visits, the surprise was palpable; neither expected that such a show of support would have even come. To me this indicates we might need to do a better job of explaining to our families in general, and our wives in particular, the depth of the fraternal bond that we share with one another. Too often we might come back to complain about the difficulties we might face in lodge, without reminding the ladies in our lives that these are the same as, or at least similar to, the family squabbles we face within our own homes.

So we listened, learned, and helped in a small way to celebrate the life of our departed brother and remind his wife that she always has a place amongst us. All in all it was a very rewarding experience. I'm writing this particularly to any younger brethren that also might be new to this experience. If you have the chance to participate, do it. You'll find that any hesitation you feel will quickly melt away as you learn more about the members of your extended Masonic family.