The Master’s Corner

December 1, 2024

Season’s Greetings Brethren and Members of Houseman Lodge No. 211,

As the sun finally sets on my time in the East, and I prepare to deliver the reigns into the hands of my more than qualified successor, I look back upon my term with some satisfaction. For the most part, the things I had planned on doing this year went off without much of a hitch and thankfully the few events I did create were attended and enjoyed by enough people to make them worth it. It is a strange thing to be Master of a Lodge, similar in a lot of ways to being a manager of a retail store in the Mall during the holidays. Both can be challenging and frustrating at times, yet oddly rewarding at others and you can’t really understand what the job entails unless you’ve actually done it. Stranger still is to be a Master of a Lodge the same year as MEHP of a Royal Arch Chapter, (what was I thinking?) but I managed to pull them both off without the lodge burning down, so I’m happy about that. My success this year was also thanks in no small part to the immeasurable help and support I received along the way from many good and worthy fellows I am honored to call my brothers and my friends. So, for that, I thank you.

For this holiday season, no matter which camp you plant your flag, i.e Festivus, Kwanza, Chanukah, or with Jolly ol’ St. Nicholas I wish you all a joyous time and a prosperous New Year. I also want to congratulate our incoming elected officers, Bros. Kenneth Shinn PM, Kyle Schulz, and Gary Hagins, as they lead our lodge in the upcoming years and towards our Bicentennial coming up in 2027.

May their time in the East be as memorable for them as it’s been for me.

And finally, in the words of Clemente C Moore, “Merry (Happy) Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!”

Sincerely & Fraternally,

Christopher L. Rowan
Worshipful Master