From the East
Greetings from the East,
I would like give a big congratulations to Brother Dale Jordan, Sr. for being awarded the Hiram Award. As you know the Hiram Award is the highest honor a lodge can bestow on a Brother in Freemasonry, aside from being Master. The recipient is chosen by his fellow brothers and is presented to a Master Mason who has served the Lodge and the Masonic fraternity with devotion over and above the ordinary. Brother Jordan is truly deserving of this honor and I couldn't be happier for him. The ceremony date has yet to be determined but will be announced soon.
Spring is a time of renewal and growth. Growth is a journey we make. We say that Freemasonry takes good men and makes them better. We refer to our journey in the first degrees as putting in the work. Like growing a plant, the best results start from good seeds. As Masons, we begin our journey to learn our craft as an Entered Apprentice and we push our way out of the seed case, a seedling.
We grow by soaking up the nutrients of knowledge from those around us in the craft - our coaches, and brethren - straightening and reaching for the goal we want to achieve: Fellowcraft. Then, as we mature in our work, we flower as new Master Masons and the cycle repeats. We create new life, accepting new candidates who we influence by our hearts and behavior, still young seeds, waiting for the conditions to grow, nourished with Brotherly Love, relief, and truth and the influence of other good Masons in our lodge and fraternity.
We learn about the ashlars in the first degree of Masonry. The rough ashlar represents us as men in our rough and imperfect state. We strive to become a perfect ashlar through hard work, education, and a diligent effort to live an upstanding life. Of course, being a Freemason is much more than simply being industrious. A Freemason is a man who is committed to bettering himself and his community, one who has vowed to help and mentor his brethren to do the same. A Freemason is a man striving to be part of something greater than he is today, the perfect ashlar.
As you enter the Lodge, please take notice that we have added a rough ashlar representation on the right, and as you exit the lodge a perfect ashlar is on the right. I invite you to place your hand on the rough ashlar as you enter as a reminder that all of us are imperfect men. We are here to work to become better. Touch the perfect ashlar as you exit as a reminder of the goal you are working toward. And remember, we should only measure against ourselves and never that of a fellow Mason. Our work may be like our brothers’, but each man’s journey is his own.
Speaking of renewal, we need a little renewal at the lodge. We will have a lodge workday on April 20th. We need to re-bark the landscape around the building and touch up a few things inside. With enough help we can be done by noon. We can start with donuts and coffee and finish with hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch. Please plan to put in a couple of hours.
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Parting Upon the Square,
Stuart J. Stackhouse
Worshipful Master
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From the West
March got off to a good start with our monthly breakfast, attendance was big, and it was great to see so many, Brothers, their families and friends, along with a number of guests. It’s a short window of time to gather, but it was packed full of fun discussions.
Our stated meeting was a lively one, to say the least, with more to follow. Based on some of the business at hand, Brothers will receive, or have already received a letter from the lodge. Which is also a formal Notice, a notice as described by the CMC is as follows:
§100.080. NOTICE: A call issued by the Secretary by order of the Lodge or Master or by other competent authority to attend or perform as specified. Unless the context otherwise requires, any notice to a particular person required or permitted by this Code shall be personally served or shall be deemed to have been delivered, whether actually received or not, three days after deposit in the United States mail, if sent in a sealed envelope by certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, addressed to the recipient at his address of record. All other notices may be sent by first class mail to the recipient at his address of record in a sealed envelope, by insertion in the Lodge bulletin sent by United States mail, by facsimile telecommunication or electronic mail when directed to the recipient’s facsimile number or electronic mail address of record that creates a record that is capable of retention, retrieval and review, and that may thereafter be rendered into clearly legible tangible form. [Amended: 2010.] [Source: Section 22 of the 1991 California Masonic Code.]
If you do not receive this notice, you may want to confirm in iMemeber that your address is up to date. It is important that Brothers receive these notices in a due and timely fashion, in order not to interrupt the business at hand. If you need help navigating iMember, you can reach out to myself or other brothers to assist.
Even though emails are a very good way to get information out there, we still have protocols to follow regarding things such as changing the bylaws, so this Notice is more formal than the standard email and falls within our current guidelines.
Looking forward to seeing you at the April stated dinner, and of course, hope to see you at the breakfast on the 6th.
Fraternally and On the Level,
Noel Lukas
Senior Warden
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NOTICE OF
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS OF NATOMA LODGE NO. 64
Written notice is hereby given that at the Stated Meeting of this Lodge held on March 3, 2024, the following proposed amendments to Section 1 and Section 2 of Article III of the Bylaws were presented in writing and noted upon the minutes of the Lodge:
ARTICLE III
FEES AND DUES
Section 1. The table of fees for this Lodge shall be as follows:
A. For the degrees, the sum of $300.00;
B. For the degrees of Fellow Craft and Master Mason, when the Entered Apprentice degree has been received in another Lodge, the sum of $200.00;
C. For the degree of Master Mason, when the Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft degrees have been received in another Lodge, the sum of $100.00; and
D. For affiliation the sum of $5.00, except that the affiliation fee shall be $5.00 if the Demit accompanying the application is issued by another jurisdiction.
Section 2. The dues of each Mason of this Lodge shall be the sum of $75.00 plus the Per Capita sum approved by Grand Lodge at the immediately preceding Annual Communication, with the total thus determined rounded up to the next higher whole multiple of $5.00, per annum, payable in advance on the first day of January.
MEETING TIME, DATE, AND LOCATION
The proposed amendments will be considered and voted on at the Stated Meeting scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at the:
Charles F. Anderson Masonic Center
1000 Duchow Way
Folsom, California 95630
The amount of the proposed fees and dues may be amended at the aforementioned Stated Meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present.
QUESTIONS
Please direct questions to the Master, Worshipful Brother Stuart Stackhouse at
(916) 798-0869, or the Secretary, Worshipful Brother Wes Mindermann at
(916) 365-3772.
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From the South
Dear Brothers,
Being a mason demands from us time and obligations which we swear to see them duly executed. Some of them pertain to the responsibilities that, as lodge Officers, we are required to perform. We also have the obligation to be law-abiding citizens and ultimately become exemplary and dignified Masons in the way we act and square with our neighbors and community in general but especially with our beloved family. Fortunately, we are not alone in this journey to become a better man.
Regular and special activities in our Lodge give us the opportunity to meet other brothers and provides us the time to strengthen our bonds in our fraternity. We need your help in the preparation and cleaning up of such activities, like the stated meeting dinners, or our monthly Saturday breakfast, and other special lodge events.
We have been fortunate to have had the help of Natoma Rainbow #90 at the Stated Meeting dinners but they are no longer able to be there all the time. We need you to be part of activities in our lodge. Please contact me or other officers to help during dinner preparation and clean up this next Thursday and for our breakfast on Saturday.
You do not want to miss our April Stated Meeting Dinner on Thursday, April 4, where we will be featuring an Italian feast - Buca di Natoma! Bring your family and friends to join us and RSVP to the Stated Meeting Dinner and Pre-pay for yourselves and guests.
I hope to see all of you at our events. Please contact me if you can help at any of our events this month (310) 291-6399 (text preferred).
By the Plumb,
Pedro Sanchez
Junior Warden
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Join us for April Stated Meeting Dinner, April 4 | |
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Go back in time...
Immerse yourself in the 1850s to the land where Freemasonry came to California with the gold mining Brothers and merchants of the day ...
Natoma Lodge 64, in partnership with Hiram Lodge 25 and Oak Plains Lodge 789, is honored to deliver a Second degree at a secluded, private ranch in Placerville.
It will be followed by a celebratory BBQ dinner at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, just 10 minutes away in Coloma.
This unique degree will be done in 1850s period dress with the period accurate lodge set outside as it would have been back in the day.
We will be privileged to have the pleasure of our Grand Master the Most Worshipful Sean Metroka participating in the degree with other members of the Grand Lodge in attendance.
A nominal fee will be requested to cover the cost of the event. Attendance is limited to 80 attendees. Registration will be sent shortly. Please plan to register as soon as possible to assure your spot and receive directions to the degree.
Make a weekend of it! Camping is available nearby in Coloma and Lotus within minutes of the sites. If you want to immerse yourself in the feel of the era, set up camp on your own. No reservations have been made but space is currently available.
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From Natoma Rainbow Assembly #90
Hello Brothers of Natoma #64,
The Natoma Rainbow Girls had a great time at their Grand Assembly recently, which ran from March 23-26, in Visalia. Natoma #90 had ten girls in attendance.
On Sunday night, during Revelations, Hannah S. was honored with the station of Grand Love and Representative to Arkansas, Indiana and Kentucky. Emma W. was honored with Dean of the Grand Cross of Color and Representative to Connecticut and Rhode Island. It will be a very exciting year ahead for these ladies!
Aubree D. was given the Grand Cross of Color during Monday morning's Grand Cross of Color service. This is IORG's highest honor. This medal is given for exceptional service that goes above and beyond what is usually required. Aubree was also a Grand Marshall for Tuesday's Installation!
Kenna W. was chosen as a Grand Observer for the 2024 Grand Assembly. Kenna did an amazing job in her role.
Congratulations to Aubree, Kenna, Emma and Hannah! The Assembly is very proud of all of our girls! We encourage our Mason friends to visit our meetings. We meet the 1st and 3rd Mondays, monthly at
7 PM.
You all are invited to join us for a night of fun and YUM! We are having a fundraising event coming up that we would love to have you attend on Saturday April 6 starting at 5:30 p.m. RSVP by April 3 to (916) 397-5737. We'll be having another bingo night on May 18, so please mark your calendars to attend.
Thank you all for your support!
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Congratulations, Brethren! | |
The Natoma Lodge calendar is also available to view on the home page of the Natoma Lodge website. On the lodge calendar you have the ability to save events to your personal calendar so you won't miss a beat! Another convenient feature is that you can also scroll ahead to view future months to see what's planned throughout the year. Check it out! | |
RSVP for a day of fishing in the Bay | |
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Ahoy, Brother fishermen and wanna-be fishermen, REGISTER to attend the San Francisco Bay fishing trip on Saturday, May 11. We must fill all the seats on this chartered excursion.
If you've ever wanted to try deep sea fishing, this is a great opportunity with a $40 savings per seat from booking it on your own. Don't wait to reserve your seat for a great day of fun and fellowship on the water - and lots of fish to take home! Don't let this trip be "the one that got away"!
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It was an egg-sellent opportunity to help our community
Natoma #64 brothers, family, friends, and Rainbow were out in force to demonstrate our community support at the annual Folsom Festival of Eggs and egg stuffing pre-event. We stuffed thousands of eggs at the Community Center and while the weather on the BIG day might have been better for ducks rather than bunnies, the early morning rain didn't stop the fun. Children and their parents showed up in raingear and had fun playing our "rabbit hole" game and "Spin the Wheel for prizes" game. Maybe best of all, we met lots of people in the community, including a couple of men interested in the Craft, and a group who want to rent the lodge for a children's chess tournament. Can't wait 'til next year!
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2024 Natoma Lodge No. 64 Officers | |
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