From the East
Happy February my Brothers,
As we move into the 2022 year, the officers are working diligently to prepare for the upcoming initiations. Right now we five candidates in the pipeline, so it’s going to be a busy year of degree work. With that said, I am reaching out to the membership for anyone that would be available/interested in participating in these degrees. We could use support ranging from Junior Steward to the giving of the charge. If you have the time and are interested, please call me direct at 619.302.1223. As you all know, the officers will be working toward their qualifications for 2023 which is a crunch on them as well. So, your help is always appreciated.
I want to thank those that responded to my email last month regarding dues. A number of brothers have not only paid their 2022 dues, but caught up on past year delinquencies. However, we still have 50+ brothers who have yet to pay dues for this year. This means, as of now, you are delinquent for the 2022 Masonic Year. Your dues for the ensuing Masonic year are due on December 31st of the current year. So your 2022 dues should have been submitted to the Secretary by 31 December 2021. Please be faithful to your obligation and support your lodge. If anyone is in a position of being unable to pay their dues PLEASE CONTACT ME DIRECT so we can discuss. Again, 619.302.1223.
On to the activities for February:
• We have at least 3, and maybe 4 EA initiations we will be holding once we can get back to normal activities. Please check the calendar often, your attendance is paramount in welcoming these new brothers into the fold. Let’s show them this is truly a brotherhood they have requested to join.
• There is a Ladies Tea scheduled for February 12th at 11:00 AM in the downstairs dining room. The ladies should have received an invitation from my wife Catheren. If you did NOT receive that invitation, either your address is wrong in the system or it’s not there at all. To ensure you receive future invitations/notices beyond the trestle board, please update your information at Freemason.Org. Or feel free to shoot me an email at dmurray62@me.com with that information and we will ensure you are up to date.
• The February Stated meeting is the 14th. Yes, that is Valentine’s Day, so bring that special someone out for dinner.
• February 25, 26, & 27, we will be camping at the Vista Elks Lodge #1968. We will be with the Al Bahr Shrine camping club. If you are interested in joining us to camp, please contact me ASAP at 619.302.1223 to secure a spot. Camping is $35.00 per night. In addition to the camping, we will be having a potluck BBQ on that Saturday 26th for those who can’t be there for the weekend. It is also my intention going forward to continue with these outings, and for those who do not have a camper, identify campgrounds with Cabins, so they can participate the whole weekend.
Keep an eye out for my mid-month email for updates and advance notice for our March activities.
Dave Murray - Worshipful Master
From The West
Welcome to the month of February my Brothers and friends.
Not much is planned this month within the lodge due to various health concerns but we will be having our Stated Meeting as planned on 14th. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, please ensure that you are keeping yourself and your family safe by washing hands and staying home if you are not feeling well, at all.
With that out of the way, let us talk about the month of February. As we all know, it is the shortest month of the year, but did you know it used to be shorter? February was first added to the Roman calendar in 713 BC. At one point, the month only consisted of twenty three (23) days instead of the twenty eight (28) that we have now. For this change we can thank Julius Caesar, who made the change to the twenty eight (28) days during a normal year and twenty nine (29) days during a leap year.
Chase Murray - Senior Warden
From the South
I’d like to thank everyone who participated in our Annual chili cook-off. There were a lot of Chili’s to choose from and they were all delicious.
This months dinner will be provided by Ranch Catering. The menu is as follows:
Chicken Parmesan, Spinach Lasagna Roll ups w/alfredo sauce, Zucchini blend, Tomato Basil salad, soft garlic bread sticks, and Tiramisu parfait.
Exodus 23:25
You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.
Pete Johnson - Junior Warden (Elect)
Welcome to February. The Masonic Year is in full swing. We have several candidates in the mix and we will be making new Mason’s. I hope many of you can attend the ceremonies and help to celebrate with the ne Brothers! We are meeting at 0800 on the 2nd and 4th Saturday’s of the month at the Lodge for coffee and then breakfast. Our candidates are often there to meet the Brothers. Come join us and get to know these fine men that are looking to join our Fraternity.
I am slowly receiving Dues payments, however, there are still 52 Brothers that are in arrears. Remember, you have an obligation to pay your dues. If you have not made your payment, you are overdue. The dues for 2022 are $118.00. Per our By-Laws, the calculation is $60.00 + per capita rounded up to the nearest dollar. Per capita is $57.25 this year, which gives us our total of $118.00.
If you are in arrears for your dues, you need to pay all that is owed to be brought back in to good standing. As an example, if you pay for 2022 only, and owe for 2021, I cannot send you your 2022 dues card. You are still in arrears and will need to bring your dues up to date first. Please contact the Master or myself to discuss this if you have any questions.
If you are 2 or more years in arrears, you may be suspended for non-payment of dues as per the California Masonic Code, Section 809.370. Suspension for Non Payment of Dues. Neither the Master, I, nor any other Brother in Lodge wishes this to happen!
iMember 2.0 is in full swing. Please go check it out at member.freemason.org. There are many things you can do there such as changing your address, your personal information, locate lodges, find resources and documents. Maintaining your contact information ensures that you will receive all notices that the Lodge sends out in a timely manner. Please go check it out!
If you are financially unable to pay your dues, please contact the Master to discuss.
If you have lost your envelope, you can mail your dues to:
Santa Maria Lodge No. 580,
PO Box 68, Ramona, CA 92065
You can also go to our website, http://www.santamaria580.org, and pay online. If you have paid and have not received your card in a reasonable amount of time, please contact me at 951-970-4294 or secretary@santamaria580.org and I will take care of it.
S/F
Bill Graham, PM - Secretary
Reminder!!
Have you moved? Changed your phone number? Changed your e-mail address? Have you notified the Lodge if you have done any of these things?? In an ongoing effort to ensure that all member get due and timely notice of all Lodge information, it is important that you keep your information updated with us.
I would greatly appreciate it if all of you would log in to member.freemason.org, go to the My Profile section and ensure that all of your address/phone number/e-mail is up to date. This will automatically update the i-member section that I use as the Secretary to for your mailings and other contacts.
Donations to the California Masonic Foundation when you shop Amazon!
Brothers and Families, we all shop often online and from Amazon. Use your Amazon account to make donations to the California Masonic foundation every time you shop.
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How do I shop at AmazonSmile?
To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. You may also want to add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.
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Calendar of Events
Lodge Officer Directory
Master - Dave Murray (Catheren)
Senior Warden - Chase Murray
Junior Warden (Elect) - Peter Johnson
Treasurer - Ken Bychak II, PM (Laura)
Secretary - Bill Graham, PM (Teri)
Chaplain - Don Ruch, PM (Vicki)
Marshal - Bruce Smith, PM (Beverly)
Senior Deacon - Kenneth Bychak (Robyn)
Junior Deacon - Rex McCray
Senior Steward - Bob Weldon, PM (Brenda)
Junior Steward - Cole Dick
Tiler - Mark Lantz
619-302-1223
619-607-2935
858-943-1079
707-328-9617
951-970-4294
619-787-3858
760-788-9475
805-268-6270
760-788-4957
760-789-5254
760-533-3733
858-231-4646
Santa Maria Masonic Building
Association (SMMBA) Directory
President - Peter Krickhuhn, PM
Vice President - Chase Murray
Treasurer - Pete Johnson
Secretary - Dave Murray
Member - Ken Bychak II, PM
Member - Bob Weldon, PM
Member - Don Ruch, PM
Member - Bruce Smith, PM
760-612-1978
619-607-2935
858-843-1079
619-302-1223
707-328-9617
760-789-5254
619-787-3858
760-788-9475