Minnesota York Rite and the Word" Change"

Minnehaha York Rite and the word “Change”

Tom Hendrickson-PGM

Change is a word that brings discomfort, irritation, torment and pain to some Masons. To other Masons, change is a word that brings to mind freshness, new fashioned notions, the unusual or the out of the ordinary comes to mind.

We at Ark Royal Arch Chapter, Omega Council, and Minneapolis Mounted Commandery (otherwise known as the Minnehaha York Rite) are embarking on making a major change in the way that we meet and in the activities that we do.

We will no longer hold twelve monthly standard business meetings with full ritualist openings and closing. No longer will there be twelve monthly readings of bills and who hasn’t paid their dues.

Our formal meetings will be held four times a year with all the usual Masonic traditions. The other eight months we will be meeting, but that time spent will be doing things. We currently are in the process of deciding what those activities will be. Some ideas that have been mentioned so far are: visiting other York Rite Bodies in the state such as Owatonna or St. Peter and having dinner at one of their local known eateries. Another idea is visiting the Masonic Home and bringing refreshments and as well as fellowship with some of our Brothers. Other ideas are playing Bocce Ball, horseback riding or even throwing axes at a local establishment. Of course, we will always have engaging opportunities to learn more about Freemasonry.

I have been told that sometimes Masonic Meetings have the same feeling as being trapped in a high school detention hall. However, you want to describe it, a bad meeting is a waste of time. Time is our greatest gift, so why waste it.

We held a Waffle breakfast last month and that embarked us on this new way of thinking. We had not held a fund raiser for a very long time and this was a new to us. It was a lot of work but we had a lot of fun doing it.

You may wish to watch the Calendar to see what we are up and if you are so inclined, you may want to join us. Your Minnehaha York Rite is a path to further enlightenment but also a path to worthwhile activities and perhaps having some fun in the process. 

Since writing this story there has been a additional development:

The York Rite of Owatonna, Minnesota (which is pictured above) has also been making changes in the way that they meet, and are currently undergoing changes in  their activities very similar to Minnehaha York Rite.