As we enter November and the coming holiday season, we have very much for which to be thankful. We have two new Master Masons in our Lodge, both of whom are making an immediate impact by volunteering their time in the Officers’ corps. We have our families, friends and each other in this incredible Masonic fraternity which extends far outside of our little Lodge to the four corners of the Earth.

I want to extend my warmest personal greetings to each of you and to those whom you love, and hope that you will, together with those who will surround you at your Thanksgiving table, pause, reflect, and give humble thanks to God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon us.

I am thankful for the opportunity to have served Acalanes Fellowship Lodge as Master in 2015, and have been humbled and awed by this year of service. I have learned much, including that I must continue to dedicate myself to the continued search for light in Masonry, and my own personal and professional life.

I am thankful to have known Wor. David Shull, who entered into rest on September 7th, and for the impact he had on me as well as on our Lodge. If you haven’t already done so, please remember to RSVP with Sr. Warden Marion Rogers for our Masonic Memorial Service for Worshipful David coming up on November 14th at the Orinda Masonic Lodge. I am also thankful to have known Wor. Jim Yribarren, who also just entered into rest on November 6th. I did not know Worshipful Jim as well as others in the Lodge, but I know that he made a profound impact on many of us. The Lodge is in a much better place with these two exceptional men having been a part of it.

Congratulations to Bro. Adam Hanin, who was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on October 31st, and a heartfelt thank you to Martinez Masonic Lodge #41 for allowing us to use your beautiful and historical facility to confer this degree. Together with the outstanding work done by our ritual team, it made for an exceptionally memorable day for Adam and for all of us.

We still have seats available for our upcoming Hiram Award presentation and festive board on November 24th as we present Bro. Don Hoskins with the Hiram Award for 2015. Please be sure to RSVP. Friends and family members are all invited as these will be public festivities.

November also brings a very special event to San Francisco: the World Conference of Regular Masonic Grand Lodges. This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet Masons and Grand Lodge officers from around the world, and to join them in education and fellowship. More information is available at the Grand Lodge of California website at www.freemason.org.

I would like to congratulate the newly elected and appointed officers of Acalanes Fellowship Lodge who will be serving the Lodge in 2016, particularly Bro. Marion Rogers who will serve as Master of the Lodge. I am eager and excited to see what this next year will bring. The Installation of Officers will commence at 4:30 pm on Saturday, December 12th, followed by dinner. There is no charge for the Installation dinner; however, your RSVP is required.

Please save the date of December 19th, as this will be our annual Sweethearts Holiday Luncheon at Acalanes Fellowship Lodge. More details to come, but your support is always welcomed to demonstrate to our Sweethearts just how important they are to the Lodge.

As always, if you are a Mason who has been away from Lodge for a while, I invite you to return home to Acalanes Fellowship. No matter how long you have been away, I invite you to renew your relationship with the Fraternity. We are best able to seek Light when the past is united with the present, so that we may all look to the future. I look forward to seeing you at our next Stated Meeting on December 1.