FEBRUARY 2019
Welcome to St. Paul’s Lodge Newsletter. This regular monthly communication is intended to keep you, as well as friends of the Lodge, informed of recent activities and upcoming events. Your input and feedback is welcome and appreciated.

GAME DINNER TABLE LODGE MARCH 20, 2019
St. Paul’s Lodge will be holding this year’s Game Dinner Table Lodge on March 20, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. at the lodge. JW Brother Jamie Fisher will be preparing another of his now famous culinary extravaganzas. If you have attended in the past, you know what a great event this is. If you haven’t, you owe yourself a treat. Attendance will be limited to 50 brothers, and tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost is $40.00. Tickets may be obtained by calling WM Pat Iannuzzi at (860) 710-1246 or WB Chuck Harrell at (860) 374-8308. We hope that you will join us for a festive evening of celebration and camaraderie.

RW BROTHER RICKY MCDONNELL
RW Brother Ricky McDonnell recently affiliated with St. Paul’s Lodge No. 11. He was born in Brighton, Sussex England on June 20, 1954. He enlisted in the Royal Marines on June 18, 1972, and, according to Ricky, traveled to some exotic and some not so exotic places. While in the Marines he met and married his wife, Jeanette. He was discharged in 1986, and soon after moved to Scotland where he was initiated into Lodge Douglass 1557 and was subsequently raised on March 1992. Ricky relocated to Derby (pronounced Darby), England in 1994 affiliating with Lodge of Repose in 1995. After traveling throughout much of Europe, Ricky and Jeanette moved to the US where he joined St. Peters Lodge No. 21. He was elected WM there in 2013. Brother Ricky has also served as WM of Housatonic Lodge No. 61, AGM District 2A, and DD District 2A. He is a member of York Rite and Scottish Rite. He and Jeanette live in Bantam. He is pleased to say that he is still on the right side of the grass, and we are most pleased to say “Welcome, Ricky, to St. Paul’s.”

UNION LODGE No. 96 NIGHT
During May, we would like to hold a Union Lodge No. 96 Night to honor and celebrate brothers who were formerly members of Union Lodge in Thomaston. The format and details of this event have yet to be organized, and we need some input from our Union Lodge brothers before moving forward. Please contact WM Pat Iannuzzi with your suggestions (860) 710-1246.

UPCOMING EVENTS

February 6th: S.C. Pot luck Dinner – 6:30 pm. Meeting 7:30 pm.
February 20th: S.C. Buffet Dinner – 6:30 pm. Meeting 7:30 pm. – FC Degree
March 6th: S.C. Pot luck Dinner – 6:30 pm. Meeting 7:30 pm. – EA Degree
March 20th: S.C. Game Dinner Table Lodge – 6:30 pm

A LITTLE MASONIC HISTORY

MASONIC LODGES
The word “Lodge” means both a group of Masons meeting together as well as the room or building in which they meet. Masonic buildings are sometimes called “temples” because the original meaning of the term was a “place of knowledge,” and Masonry encourages the advancement of knowledge. In the early years of Freemasonry, from the 17th through the 18th centuries, it was most common for Masonic Lodges to hold their meetings either in private homes or in the private rooms of public taverns or halls which could be regularly rented out for Masonic purposes. This was the case with St. Paul’s Lodge from its chartering in 1781 up until our Lodge building was acquired in 1885. Meeting in public places was less than ideal; however, as it required the transportation, set-up, and dismantling of increasingly elaborate paraphernalia every time the lodge met. As a result, lodges began to look for permanent facilities, dedicated purely to Masonic use where the bonds of friendship and fellowship could be formed and strengthened. The first Masonic Hall was built in 1765 in Marseille, France. A decade later in May 1775, the cornerstone of what would come to be known as Freemasons’ Hall, was laid in solemn ceremonial in London starting a trend that would continue to the present day. With permanent facilities, the term “Masonic Temple” began to be applied not just to the symbolic formation of the Temple, but also to the physical place in which this took place. Many Masonic buildings were given the title “Masonic Hall,” while others that of “Masonic Lodge.” Today in the U.S., virtually all Masonic meeting places are called “lodges.” There is a great variety among the Masonic lodge buildings in the U.S. Some, like St. Paul’s are devoted solely to Masonic activities. Others contain commercial space which is rented out to provide income. Many, again like St. Paul’s, have been converted from some previous use such as a church, school or private residence while others, especially the ones in larger cities, have been built specifically for Masonic purposes. The size of the various lodges also varies widely. The smallest lodge building in the U.S is Hornitos Lodge No. 98 located in Hornitos, CA. The dimensions of its lodge room are 19 ½ by 29 ½ feet. The building began life as a general store but was purchased in 1873 by the Masons for a lodge hall. It remains an active Masonic lodge meeting place to this day. The largest Masonic lodge building in the World is the Detroit Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan. This immense complex includes a 16-story 210-foot ritual building connected to a 10-story wing for Shriners International by the 7-story Auditorium Building. In between these areas are a 1,586-seat Scottish Rite Cathedral, and a 17,500-square-foot drill hall used for trade shows and conventions. Regardless of its size or design, the Masonic lodge building is the home of almost all lodge meetings and functions and exclusively the place where the degrees of Masonry are performed.