Returning to Lodge – More Than Just Meetings

Posted on Sep 30, 2021 by Brad Meyer

What does Lodge mean to you?  To me, it means many things.  First, it is the building, the physical edifice that we call home in Morgan Hill.  The building has been there for decades and was built by masonic hands, both physically and spiritually.  It’s the building we own and it’s the building we use to serve the greater community that surrounds us. And it’s the building that supports all the other meanings of the term “lodge” that we know.

The term “lodge” also means the organization that meets at that building we call home in Morgan Hill.  We are a Masonic Lodge. We meet on the first Thursday of every month.  It’s the meeting where we conduct the business of our Lodge.  We discuss how we will finance our Lodge.  We pay our Lodge bills.  At the Lodge, we conduct our long-standing ritual and ceremonies during each meeting and during our special occasions where we bring new brothers into the fold and elevate our brothers with new teachings along their journey to become Master Masons.  We also think and talk about how we can better support our brothers and the community we serve.  And we discuss the future of our Lodge.

However, there is a larger meaning to the word “Lodge” for me.  It transcends the physical infrastructure of the Lodge.  It’s bigger than the meetings we attend and the ritual we present.  It exceeds the physical structure that most people who are not Masons see as “the Lodge”. 

To me, the Lodge represents the collection of people that make all the other definitions of the word function.  It’s the collection of men that creates a brotherhood that gives meaning to the Lodge.  It’s the stories we share while breaking bread. It’s the jokes we share.  It’s the smiles and the sharing of sorrow.  It’s working towards the common good.  And it’s the closeness of trust you have with everyone.  To me, that’s another definition of the word Lodge.

As we try to recover from the pandemic that pretty much shutdown the first two definitions of the word “Lodge” we cannot lose sight of the third definition of the term.  We were not able to meet for the longest time.  We were not able to practice our ritual and bring new members into the Lodge.  We were not able to meet face-to-face and enjoy many of the things that most people consider to be “the Lodge”.

Now that has changed.  We are returning to lodge, to that building that has supported us for decades.  We are returning to the meetings that help keep that building up and running and serving the community.  We are returning to the business at hand and bring new brothers into the lodge and elevating our brothers to higher levels of learning.  We are also meeting again and discussing the future of the lodge.

But most importantly we are returning to the brotherhood of brothers getting together and cementing those relationships of goodwill and trust.  We are returning to the enjoyment of each other’s company.  And we are returning to the work of all Masons to build and maintain their “Lodge” however you may define it.

Are you returning to Lodge?