Brethren, I hope this message finds you well and that you – and your family and friends – had the opportunity to enjoy the holidays. I am excited to move into this new year and continue moving forward with making good men into great Masons and sharing fellowship with each other.

Due to lockdowns and other restrictions in response to COVID-19, Masonry at North Hollywood Lodge came to an abrupt halt in March of 2020. Unfortunately, this situation prevented us from conferring degrees upon some Brethren ready to advance to higher degrees and candidates waiting to receive their First Degree in Masonry. Finally, at the end of May 2021, we were able to re-open our Lodge and resume our labors. I am proud of every Brother who demonstrated patience and went on to receive their degrees. Over a very busy six months, we were able to get three Entered Apprentices to the degree of Master Mason and initiate four other Entered Apprentices. I look forward to our Entered Apprentices moving on to the higher degrees over the next year. I also look forward to initiating candidates and prospects with whom I have had the pleasure of sharing fellowship with since we re-opened.

The fellowship within the Lodge seems stronger than ever and even persisted through the lockdowns! There is no replacement for spending time together in-person. That not being an option, we leaned on technological solutions to virtually join together. We used video conferencing to participate in socials, business meetings, a book club, and even a hot wing eating contest! This goes to show that adversity cannot keep Masons apart. As most government restrictions disappeared, we were able to get back to in-person business and fellowship. Hopefully, the remaining restrictions expire in the coming year, and we can resume Masonry unrestricted – as it was before 2020. Until then, we will do whatever is necessary to keep Lodge 542 moving forward.

FUN FACT: Lodge 542 has a YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfdRtwORUG5flMHbUHyV8ig. Please subscribe to our channel, and like and share our content. Our goal is to get 100 subscribers. Currently, we have only 55. Growing our active subscribers will increase our visibility online – showing more people our amazing Lodge and how great Freemasonry is, in general.

I wish everyone a safe, happy, and prosperous year to come. Please stop by and visit the Lodge sometime! Check our Lodge Calendar regularly for upcoming events. For those of you who cannot make it in person, we would still love to hear from you via email, social media, or however you can get in touch with us.

Sincerely and Fraternally,

Kirby Burke
Junior Warden