The 571st Stated Meeting of Far East Lodge No. 1, F. & A.M. was held at the Masonic Temple located at 77-12 Honmoku Midorigaoka, Naka-ku, Yokohama on the 3rd day of October 2009.
WB Buda recognized the Distinguished Brethren of this Lodge as listed in the Tyler’s register of this date.
A lodge of MMs was opened in due and ancient form at 13:15 hours with WB Buda, WM in the East, Bro Inomata, SW in the West, and Bro Sagara, JW in the South.
The WM announced that this being our Stated Meeting for the month of October 2009, the first order of business would be the reading of the Minutes of our last Stated Meeting and all subsequent Special Meetings. The Secretary read the Minutes of our Monthly Meeting held on 5th September and they were APPROVED AS READ.
The Treasurer's Report for the month of September was given by Bro. Secretary after which he moved and it was seconded that the report be accepted as read subject to the usual audit. MOTION CARRIED.
The Secretary then read the bills for the period after which he moved and it was seconded that the bills be paid. MOTION CARRIED.
Next was the report of the several committees: All committee reports were negative with the exception of the following:
RECEPTION OF PETITIONS: None.
CORRESPONDENCE: The Secretary announced the G/L Monthly Bulletins on 26 September and approved GLEC Minutes of 26 September had been tacked on the Bulletin Board in the conference room. The Secretary also announced that the Lodge had received an appreciation letter from the Children's Festival Committee, with 2 T-shirts, for the Lodge's donation to the Children's Festival.
CHARITY: Amount of ¥5,701 (5,386 yen + 3.15 USD) was collected from the Brethren present.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None.
NEW BUSINESS:
READING BYE-LAWS: Article II, Section 2 of the Bye-Laws was read by the W Master.
DEMISSION: The WM ordered that WB Jack P. Spiwak's request for demission be granted as the Secretary had checked his dues status and there were no valid objections.
The Lodge Lowered to the First Degree:
FAQ ADDED TO LODGE’S WEBSITE: As this issue concerned all members of Far East Lodge No. 1, WB Buda lowered the Lodge to the First Degree and two EAs and one FC were invited to join the Brethren. With MW Watanabe interpreting into Japanese, WB Buda announced that the growing number of email enquires (some serious, some trivial) to the Lodge was placing a burden on Bro Secretary. As many of the queries were repetitive in nature, WB Buda had added a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section to the untyled area of the Lodge’s website. This FAQ covered the most common questions received from Masons wishing to visit the Lodge, non-Masons desiring to join, and queries from the public about Masonry in general.
Now that the English-language FAQ was in place, the creation of a Japanese-language version was a priority. WB Buda asked for volunteers to help the work of translation the English version. On this, some brethren responded with offers to help and a Japanese translation will be ready by the next Stated Meeting.
MASONIC HALL LTD: WB Buda made a short announcement concerning the completion of the new charter of Masonic Hall Limited.
RESUMPTION OF LABOUR IN THE MM DEGREE: After the EAs and FC had left the Lodge, WB Buda resumed labor in the Third Degree and a discussion was held on Bro. Ogawa's proposal for the creation of a distinctive memento of the Lodge that could be presented to first-time visitors. Bro. Ogawa showed samples of two possible mementoes: a Far East Lodge No. 1 T-shirt and a Far East Lodge No. 1 sticker. Concern was expressed that the production of such mementoes would place a financial burden on Bro. Ogawa and the WM asked Bro. Secretary, as Acting Treasurer, to investigate ways of reimbursing Bro. Ogawa for any costs incurred. Bro. de las Alas offered to explore other, cheaper mementoes and WB Buda asked him to report his findings at our next Stated Meeting.
COMING SCHEDULE: MWB Watanabe outlined a proposal for the Lodge's forthcoming degree schedule and several Brethren confirmed that they would be prepared to present some of the lectures. It was proposed that a Second Degree would be conferred on Bros. Adams and Ishibashi on October 24, and a Third Degree on Bro. Anderson on November 28. The scheduling of a First Degree for Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Yamada would depend on the availability of the two candidates.
After discussion, it was decided to hold a Special Meeting on October 24 to confer the Fellowcraft Degree on Bros Adams and Ishibashi, and possibly Bro. Kraker if he can complete his EA proficiency beforehand. A Special Meeting was also scheduled for November 28, to confer the sublime degree of Master Mason on Bro Anderson.
CLOSING: At 15:15 hours, the WM announced that there being no further business to come before this Lodge of MMs, we would proceed to close. Peace and harmony prevailing, this lodge was closed at 15:25 hours in short form with WB Buda, WM in the East, Bro Inomata, SW in the West, and Bro Sagara, JW in the South.
There were total 19 brethren present of whom 17 (including 1 FC and 2 EAs) were members of this lodge and 2 were visitors from Yuai Lodge No. 11.
APPROVED:
JANUSZ BUDA, PM
Worshipful Master
ATTEST:
KAZUHIRO WATANABE, PGM
Secretary