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Posted: 5/19/2015 10:16:32 PM EDT
I received a call from a past master Saturday asking if I could be sure to make it to lodge tonight. It seems the Most Worshipful Grand Master has pulled our Master, and is assigning a deputy to attend our lodge for the rest of the year. Still not sure as to reason for pulling our WM.

I'm told Grand Lodge is considering pulling our charter due to low attendance and not enough new members working their way through the chairs.
In the past two years since I joined, there have been several new members initiated, passed and raised. Last year I was JD, and chose not to move up this year due to obligations at work. Another brother took my chair. Every chair but the secretary and treasurer got a new brother elected. Some have been in the chairs before, but the elections were held in accordance with ritual and each brother accepted the office he was elected to.

Not sure where the GL is coming from in thinking we have declining membership and/or not enough members rotating through the chairs.
Is it customary for GL to set expectations of a certain amount of brothers rotating through the offices? What sort of shenanigans could our WM have pulled to lose his office?

FWIW, our lodge, and two others are scheduled for reconstitution next week for our 125th anniversary. The timing seems odd to have all of this going on, on the night we should be getting our 125th anniversary coins.

Link Posted: 5/19/2015 10:47:28 PM EDT
[#1]
Link Posted: 5/20/2015 7:44:31 AM EDT
[#2]
How was lodge?  I hope everything got worked out.

ETA:  I just glanced the WA GL constitution and bylaws.  The charges for forfeiting or arresting a charter were fairly basic and reasonable until last year (2014 communication) where a charge was added stating that a charter could be forfeited or arrested from a lodge for "Willful and inexcusable neglect to be represented in the Grand Lodge."  Could this be the reason the GM is citing?
Link Posted: 5/21/2015 8:08:28 PM EDT
[#3]
Lodge went well. I got some details. ( all I wanted to know without too much detail)
Seems the WM got into a pissing match with the secretary over something and it went to arbitration. GL pulled the WM and everyone in a chair moved. A past master from 2013 was designated until our next election, and last years master is in the west.
Our treasurer resigned three months ago over a similar dispute with the WM, and he is now back in lodge although not holding any office.
We probably had the largest attendance since my initiation Tuesday night. The only ones not in attendance were the ones too sick to make it. Sadly, we have a few elder members that aren't doing well.
There was a lot of good fellowship, and the tension just wasn't there like in the past.
Should be pleasant lodge work for the foreseeable future.
Tuesday night was our "Bikes for Books awards night, and we gave 8 deserving kids new bikes for achieving reading goals in school. Each child had to read a number of age appropriate books, with the target set by each of the schools principals. We also had a brother prove up and will be doing a 3rd degree next month before we go dark for the summer.
Last night several of us traveled to another lodge in the district to deliver the ugly gavel "award". the degree work in that lodge was outstanding, and we witnessed a EA perform his PL, as well as a FC performing his PL. Both had excellent coaches, as both of them did outstanding work.
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