master's message

Brethren,

With September comes the Labor Day celebration. The first proposal of this holiday was for a parade to exhibit the strength and esprit corps of the trend and labor organizations, followed by a festival for workers and their families. Over time speeches by prominent public figures were introduced. Today this has become a day marking the symbolic end of the summer with celebrations frequently involving picnics, barbecues, and water sports. It also provides the last opportunity for families of school-age children to travel before the end of the summer recess. As family should be an important part of our lives, this holiday provides an outstanding opportunity to reflect on the blessings of the families we belong to.

Wisdom Lodge will see much activity this September. The ever important Constitution Observance, organized by Worshipful Levon Keshishian, will once again honor members of the Pasadena Police and Fire Departments along with the presiding judge of our area. We will see one of our Entered Apprentices, Brother Meruzh Agasyan Passed to the Degree of Fellowcraft. As an event of our District, a picnic will be held at the Santa Fe Dam Recreational area. Finally, representatives of your Lodge will travel up to San Francisco near the end of the month for the Grand Lodge Annual Communication.

While on business travel in August, I had the pleasure of attending two overseas Lodge events. The first was an initiation at Earl of Zetland Lodge #231 in Adelaide, South Australia. This is a unique Lodge in that it is composed of many past and present Grand Lodge officers of the jurisdiction. I then attended the initiation of two new members at Lodge University of Sydney #544 in Sydney, New South Wales. It is quite an interesting experience observing degrees in these jurisdictions. While the presentation of the degrees is quite different, the underlying principles presented are the same demonstrating the universal commonality of our great Fraternity. It also was indeed an honor to represent Wisdom Lodge #202 as Master of the Lodge and extend the fraternal greetings of the officers and brethren of the Lodge to the men of these two Lodges that extended such an outstanding welcome.

Fraternally, Mark Berasley