From The East:
As Valentine’s Day is upon us, Brother Brian and I wish to simply tell all of you reading the bulletin, either online or in hand, that we love you. Each of you is special to us, each of you have touched our lives in one way or another, each of you have contributed to our success in the East in your own way.
Thank you, Sisters and Brothers, for all the work that you do every day. Your love of Eastern Star, and the people who are part of it, is priceless.
Next Meeting – Feb 28, 2014
Join us at our next stated meeting at 7:30pm! We will be reading Scholarship Applications (so remember to bring in yours!) and wear something RED in honor of Valentines Day!
The fun “admission fee” for this meeting are HUGGABLES and QUILTS that we can display for our Official Visitation in March!
Sister Sandi Libby was presented with a Grand Representative Appointment by Sister Judi Lewis and Brother Mike Ripberger at our January Meeting (photo courtesy of Joan L. Smith)
Upcoming Events!
Contact the WM, WP, or Sec’y for more information!
Feb 15 Murder Mystery Dinner Theater, 6-7 Social Hour, 7pm Show
Feb 16 Pledge Breakfast, 7:30am-10AM
Feb 16 First Rehearsal for Visitation, 12-3pm
Feb 19 Rising Sun #39 Stated Mtng
Feb 20 Nashua #9 Stated Mtng
Feb 22 Kitchen Training, 9-11am
Feb 23 Old Fashion Degree Rehearsal, 3-5pm
Mar 2 Lunar Knights Group Mtng
Mar 4 Ruth #16 Visitation, 7:30pm
Mar 6 Nashua #9 Stated Mtng
Mar 9 Mr. NH Rainbow, Portsmouth, 1- 5pm
Mar 9 Second Rehearsal for Visitation, 6-8pm
Mar 15 Pilgrim Chapter Cook Off, 12-5pm to benefit Ferguson Sawyer Fund
**NOTE**Per a vote of the Trustees, Pets are not allowed in the Nashua Masonic Temple.
At Our Last Meeting
At our January meeting, we donated $50 to Brother Jeff Brown’s annual bike ride for MS, presented Rob Morris Awards to 4 of our members, and submitted Brother Larry Gullett’s name as a candidate for Worthy Grand Patron! Our collection for the evening was a large assortment of baby items for the Cynthia Day Center, a service project Sister Tatiana Fowler chaired. We were also visited by our Worthy Grand Matron, Sister Judi, and Worthy Grand Patron, Brother Mike – and Brother Mike won the meeting prize!
Fundraising Opportunities!
Help the Chapter continue to reach our goals by attending or assisting in these fundraising endeavors! If you would like to volunteer on our Ways + Means Committee, please contact your WM or Secretary. If you have any fundraiser ideas, please let the Chapter know.
•—Masonic Family T-Shirts: The “Nashua Masonic Family VOLUNTEERS” T-shirts have arrived! If you would like to purchase one, please contact Sister Tracey Thompson at trthomps511@gmail.com. They are $15 each and benefit the 100th Anniversary Fund.
•—Pilgrim Chapter Cook-Off: Tantalize your taste buds in this culinary competition! We will have a Cook Off Fundraiser on Saturday, March 15, from 12-5pm to benefit the Ferguson-Sawyer Relief Fund. Anyone can enter an appetizer, Entrée, or dessert for $10.00 (per entry). All are invited to attend and can judge the cuisine for $10 for 5 tasting cups. There will also be a donation bowl out for anyone who wishes to donate. A panel of qualified judges will make the final determination and the winner of the Cook-Off will receive a trophy and bragging rights for the year! Contact Sister Tracey Thompson for the Entry Form!
•—Gift Card Raffle: We are looking for 10 Gift Cards of $25 each from local business/stores to raffle off during the 2014 Christmas Season. If you would like to donate a $25 Gift Card, please contact Sister Jenny Taylor-Arnold!
Celebrating 92 years of Fraternal Service
Ongoing Programs/Committees and Chairpersons:
• Tabs for Shriners: Sister Joan L. Smith, P.M. at (603)888-0891
• Labels for Education: Sister Judy Porter at (603)882-5854
• Rainbow Girls: Sister Lisa F. Britko, P.M., Mother Advisor at (603)566-5681
• Pledge/Sparkle Girls: Sister Sharon M. Jackson, P.M. at (603)459-8036 or Sister Stacy M. Desrosiers, P.M. at (603) 579-0519
Celebrations, Sickness, and Sympathy
Congratulations to Sister Sandi Libby on receiving a Grand Representative Appointment to Ontario and to Brothers Larry D. Gullett, PP, Robert Bean, III, and Sisters Shelley M. Gullett, PM, Sherry M. Jackson, PM, and Stacy M. Desrosiers, PM on receiving their Rob Morris Awards.
What is the Rob Morris Award? The Rob Morris Membership Program award is given by General Grand Chapter to members who sign petitions, as top line and second line signers, and accrue 300 points. Points are carried over from triennium to triennium. Additional bars are awarded for continued work on Chapter membership.
Get Well Wishes go out to Sister Jean Sudsbury, PM, who is still on the mend after a recent illness; to Brother Jack Caynon who had a recent hospitalization; and to Sister Jo Drown, PM, who is having some mobility issues.
So that none may be forgotten, please notify the Worthy Matron or the Secretary or any glad or sad tidings!
Happy February Birthday/Anniversary
Help us to complete our member database by contacting the Secretary to update your information – we would love to recognize everyone on their birthday or anniversary!
Pilgrim Chapter Members at an Official Visitation of Nashua Assembly #9, I.O.R.G., on Thursday, February 6
Food for Thought
“When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them, you’re inviting a person into your life.” ― Maya Angelou
Memories are a powerful thing.
My first memory of the Nashua Temple was of sitting in the dining room as a Pledge, waiting for the Rainbow Girls to be done with their meeting, and being in awe of them when they came up the stairs in their gowns and crowns and actually said “Hello” to me. My second was of serving my first dinner for the Masons, and not knowing how to set the table. Luckily for me, Sister Jean Sudsbury made up a diagram for the girls that we kept on the wall near the serving area (and I still refer to it to this day).
I remember plenty more dinners, and social events, and meetings and activities that we’ve held over the years in the dining room, but what makes each one special is the memory of whom it was shared with.
Whether you come monthly to a meeting, or every once in a while for an event, you remember those who sat at your table, who ate and drank with you, who shared stories and laughed with you, for many years following. You remember the meal, maybe not exactly how it tasted, but how it, and the whole of the evening, made you feel.
And whether something happened in between that one dinner and another, be it a falling out or a falling in, inviting someone into your life at your table for that brief moment stays with you and fills you with love, joy, and faith.
Next time you are here, you are welcome to sit at my table, and I’ll be glad to share my food and my life with you.
Birthdays
Lisa Britko – 2/3
Ron Carbary – 2/4
Norman Hall – 2/11
Victoria Markarian – 2/4
Anne Senter – 2/17
David C. Thompson, Jr. – 2/15
Special Birthday Wishes to Brother Frank Fenner, Jr. celebrating his 90th Birthday on 2/9!!
Anniversaries
John and Anne Senter – 2/6
JoAnn Vickery- Lister – 2/12
Star Anniversaries
Nancy Bettencourt – 2/27 (56 years)
Judy Fenner – 2/28 (29 years)
Frank Fenner – 2/28 (29 years)
Phyllis Lackie – 2/22 (29 years)
Shirley Nason – 2/27 (16 years)
Leslee Steele – 2/27 (16 years)
Maryellen Brown – 2/20 (16 years)
Roland Petersen – 2/27 (10 years)
Allison Smith – 2/27 (10 years)
Ashley Steele – 2/27 (10 years)
Lisa Strand – 2/27 (10 years)
Guy Martineau – 2/25 (9 years)
Bill Whitney – 2/25 (9 years)
Pilgrim Chapter Visitation
Our Official Visit from our WGM, WGP, and GM is on March 28, 2014. We have an early meeting at 5pm, a dinner of Hamloaf at 6:15pm ($7 per person), Reception for Grand Officers at 7pm, and Visitation starting at 7:30pm.
Rehearsals for the Big Night are Sunday, February 16 – 12-3pm, Sunday, March 9 – 6-8pm, and Sunday, March 23 – 6-8pm. Please let Brother Brian or Sister Tracey know if you are unable to make it to the rehearsals or to Visitation ASAP!
If there is any change in your address, please notify our Secretary so that she May correct her records. So that none May be forgotten, please notify the Worthy Matron