Brethren,

As we near the summer solstice and are reminded of our great patrons, the holy saints John, their willingness to stand

up and be heard, has inspired me.

On Memorial Day, as I marched with seven of our brethren in the Westport parade, I reflected upon my year so far.

We have tried to balance the priority we have as a blue lodge to make new masons with the understandable wishes of

our current brethren, to have short business meetings and extended social functions. This a difficult balancing act and

often this year it seems as if we have lost some attendance because of the rigorous degree schedule.

By the time you read this our Junior Warden, Tony Foote, will have successfully completed not only his first EA

degree as Master, but he will have also already completed his qualification for Master, the degree and his work having

been observed by the district lecturer. We continue to work well together and work for each others' betterment within

the Lodge and in our degree work. I am proud of what we have accomplished in this regard.

When I began this year, my motto, and the theme for the year was to "Make Masonry Relevant." As the pipeline of

candidates grew I needed to be reminded of my obligation to initiate these good men in good time. However, as I

marched down the parade route proudly holding the American flag, I began to wonder, as did the rest of the group, how relevant we are in our home town if only eight of our members were able to march in our hometown parade.

Our Lodge, which was chartered in 1824, has existed in Westport, even before Westport was incorporated. With everything else we do in the Lodge, it seems we have lost our sense of duty to our town. When we are reminded that our Obligations can contain nothing that conflict with our duties to God, our country, our neighbors, or ourselves, we need to remember that our duties to ourselves come after our duties to our neighbors.

When we return from going dim for the summer, Temple Lodge No. 65 of Westport is going to become much more active in our own community. In fact, I am going to require, during the rest of my year that new members of the lodge accompany the officers in the charity work we will be doing. We need to regain our sense of place and begin to give back to our hometown, Westport, CT.

Fraternally,

Wilson Dinielli
Worshipful Master