Far East Lodge No. 1 News

Stated Meeting

Taking the East for his first Stated Meeting as our new Worshipful Master, WB Sagara opened the Lodge in due and ancient form. After the Minutes, Treasurer's Report, and Bills to be Paid had been read and approved without amendment, Bro Asa Kim was tested on his proficiency in the Entered Apprentice degree, Bro Alawn Jordan conducting the examination. At the end of the examination WB Sagara was pleased to declare Bro Kim fully proficient in the First Degree.

MWB Watanabe announced that he was in receipt of a duly completed application for membership from Mr. Tatsuo Wada.

This being the first Stated Meeting under WB Sagara's gavel, and with new officers in most of the chairs of the Lodge, it was decided to discuss the status of the various committees and lay down guidelines for activities in the new year.

WB Sagara and the Officers of Far East Lodge No. 1 for 2012 (WB Inomata, JW, absent)

Although the Lodge has traditionally had a Commitee of Investigation, investigation of petitioners is conducted in secret by members appointed directly by the Worshipful Master. Therefore the existence of this committee is something of an anomaly and it was decided to remove it from the list.

No changes were made in the other committees, but as many of them are inactive due to lack of available members, a decision was made that most minor business matters should be brought up and discussed in open lodge, rather than appointing a committee for the purpose.

Recent years have seen a marked change in the demographic structure of the Lodge. Most petitioners and candidates are now Japanese, and many of them elect to take their proficiency examinations in their mother tongue. Likewise, the Lodge has been conducting much of its ritual in Japanese to help those Brethren whose English is less than fluent.

However, after due deliberation, the Lodge concluded that Far East Lodge No. 1 was founded as an English-speaking lodge and many of its members are bilingual, able to participate in our ceremonies using either Japanese or English. Consequently, our guideline for the coming year would be to conduct as much as possible of our business and ritual in English, switching to Japanese when advisable.

MWB Watanabe gave an update on the health of WB Henry Welsh, who had to leave Japan for hospitalization and treatment for cancer in Honolulu, Hawaii. After five years he has recovered sufficiently to return to Japan and is currently living off-base in Yokosuka and visiting the base hospital for chemotherapy. Because of the financial burden of having to rent accommodation near the base and receive special treatment, MWB Watanabe proposed, and it was seconded and unanimously approved, that the Lodge extend charity to WB Welsh by commutating his regular membership to Life Membership. As WB Welsh is already fully paid up for this year, the Life Membership will begin from 2013.

In addition to the 13 members of the Lodge who attended our February meeting, we were joined by 8 Brethren from Yokosuka Lodge No. 20 and Rising Sun Lodge No. 151, Sagamihara, all of whom were on their way to attend the Installation Ceremony of Kokusai Lodge No. 15 at Yokota.