# First Evening In The East



## Warrior1256 (Feb 5, 2018)

Well, tonight will be my first meeting of my mother lodge (St. Matthews 906) that I serve as Master. I am as prepared as I can possibly be but must admit that I am a little nervous. Wish me luck!


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## CLewey44 (Feb 5, 2018)

Brother, good luck to you. Tonight is a first for me too.  I finally was voted favorable and affiliated with the lodge here in Fairport, NY and tonight is the night I sign the book, hand them a check and sit on the sides. 

I hope you have a memorable night and again, best of luck to you.


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## MWS (Feb 5, 2018)

Wonderful! Good luck, brother. Before you know it the year will be up. Enjoy.


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## LK600 (Feb 5, 2018)

Warrior1256 said:


> Well, tonight will be my first meeting of my mother lodge (St. Matthews 906) that I serve as Master. I am as prepared as I can possibly be but must admit that I am a little nervous. Wish me luck!


I have zero doubt you will be great!  If you make a mistake... just blame it on the S.S.


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## Symthrell (Feb 5, 2018)

You will do a great job, you don't need luck! Let us know how it goes sometime later.


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## Bloke (Feb 5, 2018)

Have a great night. Being a bit nervous is great, is shows you are not in a rut and are extending yourself, and your compass


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## Bro. Landry (Feb 5, 2018)

Hope you enjoyed it, I had mines last week.  I was a bit nervous also, sure you nailed it


Sent from my iPhone using My Freemasonry


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## David612 (Feb 5, 2018)

LK600 said:


> I have zero doubt you will be great!  If you make a mistake... just blame it on the S.S.


I didn’t immediately go masonic with the SS initials... 

Good luck brother, I’m sure you will do fantastically


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## chrmc (Feb 6, 2018)

Warrior1256 said:


> Well, tonight will be my first meeting of my mother lodge (St. Matthews 906) that I serve as Master. I am as prepared as I can possibly be but must admit that I am a little nervous. Wish me luck!



Good luck. I remember that I've never sweated as much as when I was in the East for the first time, and wearing the hat. South and West and easy compared to the fact that suddenly a whole lodge is looking at you.


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## Warrior1256 (Feb 6, 2018)

Thank all of you Brothers for the kind words. Things went well. Had a number of visitors and a fine meal of butter beans, corn bread and two different kinds of cake. A great night of fellowship!


CLewey44 said:


> Tonight is a first for me too. I finally was voted favorable and affiliated with the lodge here in Fairport, NY and tonight is the night I sign the book, hand them a check and sit on the sides.


Congratulations Brother.


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## dfreybur (Feb 6, 2018)

The first time I wore the hat was a first degree the first time I was JW.  The first time I wore the hat in a Stated meeting was when the Brother ahead of me in the line was out on business travel late in the year the first time I was SW.  As such my first Stated meeting after Installation I'd already experienced my first times wearing the hat.

I later learned that "business trip" was a deliberate part of training in the line.  Once the officers are close to ready to advance the sitting MW goes out of town late in his year so everyone gets a "dress rehearsal" in advanced chairs.  It's a wise lesson taught to me, so I have done that all 3 years I've been in the East.

We say in the Installation to look well to the East.  When you're there, it means to look well to next year's East.  Now that you've done a Stated meeting one of your projects is to build up the skills of the Brothers in your line.  Working face to face one Brother at a time helps reduce the feeling of pressure from that hat.  That hat weighs tons when it's one the head, yet when we take it off, it's just a hat.

Welcome to the East.  You'll be fine.  Breathe.  In.  Hold it a few seconds.  Out.  Wait a few seconds.  Nice slow deep breaths.


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## Warrior1256 (Feb 6, 2018)

dfreybur said:


> We say in the Installation to look well to the East. When you're there, it means to look well to next year's East. Now that you've done a Stated meeting one of your projects is to build up the skills of the Brothers in your line. Working face to face one Brother at a time helps reduce the feeling of pressure from that hat. That hat weighs tons when it's one the head, yet when we take it off, it's just a hat.


Sound advice. Thank you Brother.


dfreybur said:


> Welcome to the East. You'll be fine. Breathe. In. Hold it a few seconds. Out. Wait a few seconds. Nice slow deep breaths.


Lol...will do.


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## acjohnson53 (Feb 6, 2018)

LK600 said:


> I have zero doubt you will be great!  If you make a mistake... just blame it on the S.S.


lol


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## acjohnson53 (Feb 6, 2018)

WM Warrior every thing will go well. Hats off to you, before you know it you just might get reelected..../G\


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## Scoops (Feb 7, 2018)

Warrior1256 said:


> Well, tonight will be my first meeting of my mother lodge (St. Matthews 906) that I serve as Master. I am as prepared as I can possibly be but must admit that I am a little nervous. Wish me luck!



Congratulations, I hope everything went well!



dfreybur said:


> The first time I wore the hat was a first degree the first time I was JW.  The first time I wore the hat in a Stated meeting was when the Brother ahead of me in the line was out on business travel late in the year the first time I was SW.  As such my first Stated meeting after Installation I'd already experienced my first times wearing the hat.



Just a quick question, are you allowed to sit in the Master's chair as a warden and open/close the lodge and conduct business in your jurisdiction? Here only an Installed Master can sit in the chair.


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## Warrior1256 (Feb 7, 2018)

Scoops said:


> Just a quick question, are you allowed to sit in the Master's chair as a warden and open/close the lodge and conduct business in your jurisdiction? Here only an Installed Master can sit in the chair.


In my lodge the those that can open / close the lodge and conduct business are the WM, SW, JW or a Past Master...in that order.


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## dfreybur (Feb 7, 2018)

Scoops said:


> Just a quick question, are you allowed to sit in the Master's chair as a warden and open/close the lodge and conduct business in your jurisdiction? Here only an Installed Master can sit in the chair.



In my jurisdictions any qualified Brother of that degree can sit in any chair pro tem for that one meeting.  For the pedestal officers being qualified means being able to obligate on one of the degrees so not just any Brother who has delivered his proficiencies can do it.

One or more of the WM/SW/JW must be present for the meeting to open or close a lodge.  Not the same thing as sitting in his own chair.  Pro tem chair appointments are a big part of advancing through the line.

I know of jurisdictions where a previously Installed Master must be present but none of my jurisdictions have that rule.  Often the PMs are half of the members present at any meeting so it would definitely work just fine to have such a rule.


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## Scoops (Feb 7, 2018)

Ah, the differences between jurisdiction.

UGLE considers this list to be the work of an Installed Master



> the Ceremonies of Opening and Closing the Lodge;
> the Ceremony of Initiation down to the end of the entrustment of the candidate with the secrets of the degree;
> the Ceremony of Passing (including the test questions and the subsequent entrustment) down to the end of the entrustment of the candidate with the secrets of the degree;
> the Ceremony of Raising (including the test questions and the subsequent entrustment) down to the end of the main part of the Ceremony, the Traditional History (but not necessarily the explanation of the Tracing Board) and the communication of the full secrets;
> the entire Ceremony of Installation, including the three Addresses, but excluding the Working Tools.



Source: http://www.ugle.org.uk/images/files/Information_Booklet_-_2016_-_Website_Edition_Secured.pdf Pg 20


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## Andy Fracica (Feb 10, 2018)

Congratulations Warrior! 

I sat in the south for the first time (for the full meeting) on January 24th, that was fun. Last week we went on a lodge visit for a Fellow Craft degree they needed a lot of help for that degree so I got the opportunity to sit in the south of their lodge and be part of conferring the FC degree. It was a little never racking but exhilarating at the same time. That was a first for me.


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## Andy Fracica (Feb 10, 2018)

Scoops said:


> Just a quick question, are you allowed to sit in the Master's chair as a warden and open/close the lodge and conduct business in your jurisdiction? Here only an Installed Master can sit in the chair.


Scoops, in our jurisdiction in Indiana, only three people can open a lodge (they must be duly elected officers of that lodge) Worshipful Master, Senior Warden, Junior Warden, in that order. A past master may not open, but if a Warden had to open due to the absence of the WM, he can turn it over to a PM, But the Warden would have to be back in the east to close the lodge.


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## Warrior1256 (Feb 10, 2018)

Andy Fracica said:


> Congratulations Warrior!


Thank you Brother.


Andy Fracica said:


> I sat in the south for the first time (for the full meeting) on January 24th, that was fun.


Congratulations!


Andy Fracica said:


> coops, in our jurisdiction in Indiana, only three people can open a lodge (they must be duly elected officers of that lodge) Worshipful Master, Senior Warden, Junior Warden, in that order.


So if none of those three officers were present the lodge could not legally open and do business?


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## Andy Fracica (Feb 10, 2018)

Warrior1256 said:


> So if none of those three officers were present the lodge could not legally open and do business?



That's correct' legally in Indiana, it has to be the WM, SW, or JW in that order or you can't legally open the lodge - that's not saying that no lodge has ever opened and the secretary filled in the proper names, that wouldn't be square, but stranger things have happened in small town lodges.


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## Bill Lins (Feb 10, 2018)

dfreybur said:


> In my jurisdictions any qualified Brother of that degree can sit in any chair pro tem for that one meeting.  For the pedestal officers being qualified means being able to obligate on one of the degrees so not just any Brother who has delivered his proficiencies can do it.
> 
> One or more of the WM/SW/JW must be present for the meeting to open or close a lodge.  Not the same thing as sitting in his own chair.  Pro tem chair appointments are a big part of advancing through the line.
> 
> I know of jurisdictions where a previously Installed Master must be present but none of my jurisdictions have that rule.  Often the PMs are half of the members present at any meeting so it would definitely work just fine to have such a rule.



Not correct under GLoTX. Here, if the installed WM and Wardens are not present, ONLY a Past Master OF THAT LODGE may open- otherwise the Lodge must remain dark. Further, "being qualified" here means that the officer has passed an examination on his ability to open & close each of the 4 Lodges.


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## Warrior1256 (Feb 11, 2018)

Bill Lins said:


> Here, if the installed WM and Wardens are not present, ONLY a Past Master OF THAT LODGE may open- otherwise the Lodge must remain dark.


Same here.


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