Happy New Year, brothers and friends. I hope the holiday season has treated you all well, and that the new year brings you prosperity and good health. 

We have a big year ahead of us at Acalanes Fellowship, and we’re already well into the swing of Masonic activity, preparing to confer degrees, getting ready for our annual crab feed fundraiser, and looking forward to a calendar full of great events.

Among all the things we’ll be doing this year, we’ll be celebrating the 70th anniversary of one of our three constituent founding lodges: Acalanes Lodge #723 was formed in 1953, and held its first meetings at Acalanes High School here in Lafayette. So, while our original charter as Fellowship Lodge #480 is now 103 years old, it is good to remember the history of all the lodges that came together to create Acalanes Fellowship, and mark this particular milestone with pride.

On the morning of Saturday, January 7, we’ll initiate three new brothers into our Craft. We sent out an invitation to all Masons on our mailing list, but if you would like to join us, please RSVP here beforehand. 

As soon as we finish this weekend’s initiation, we’ll transition to conferring Third Degrees upon six brothers who made tremendous progress in their Masonic journey last year. Look for announcements of these degrees in the weeks ahead, with the first of them happening on Saturday, January 28th, and a steady cadence going into March. All Master Masons in good standing are encouraged to attend.

On Saturday, February 18th, at 5pm, we’ll have our annual crab feed fundraiser, to be held at Orinda Masonic Center again this year. Space is limited, but tickets are available now. Don’t wait to register and join the fun! (And as ever, we’re looking for volunteers to help with everything from setup to cooking to running the front of house. So please reach out to me if you’re able to help.)

We’ve come a long way since the quiet, online-only days of the pandemic, and our lodge is now active and vibrant again. More than a dozen new members have joined our ranks since the pandemic began, and more than half of them have progressed in their degree work already. It’s truly a pleasure to see Acalanes Fellowship so vibrant and full of activity. If you haven’t made it to lodge in a while, I hope you’ll come join us for a meeting or a degree soon.

Robert S. Strohmeyer, PM
Master