May 2023 Trestleboard

As members of the Masonic fraternity, we are part of a tradition that has been around for centuries. Our organization has a rich history and a set of values and beliefs that have guided us throughout the years. But it is up to us to ensure that the Masonic fraternity continues to thrive in the future. 

As members, we have a responsibility to uphold the values and principles of Freemasonry. This includes living our lives with integrity, being charitable to those in need, and treating others with respect and kindness. We must also be committed to lifelong learning, seeking knowledge and truth wherever we can find it. 

One way we can continue to uphold these values is by being active and engaging with other members of our lodge. Attending meetings, participating in charitable works, and taking on leadership roles are all important ways that we can contribute to the success of our lodge and the Masonic fraternity as a whole. 

April has now come to an end, and I would like to thank everyone who attended the DeMolay’s pancake breakfast this last Saturday in April. In the month of May, we have our Mini-Golf Tournament, in June, we are having an open house and our Festive Board before the annual breakfast reception for Most Worshipful Brill in July. All of this in addition to our regular meetings and upcoming planned social get-togethers. 

Let’s join together and support each other, support our youth orders and other Masonic bodies, continue to care for each other’s wellbeing, and stand proudly shoulder to shoulder at these and all our events.

The lodge has had quite an eventful first quarter. Several Entered Apprentices have been initiated and are working on their proficiencies. Soon they will be giving their proficiencies in lodge and will be receiving their second degrees. As for social events, we have two upcoming: the Mini Golf tournament on Saturday, May 20th, at Golf-n-Stuff in Ventura, and Bowling with Brothers on Saturday, July 15th, at Harley’s Simi Bowl. I look forward to the degrees and the social events that are planned for the near future. Please attend, participate, and show your support for the Lodge.

The Junior Warden plays an important role in the external relations of the lodge. This includes representing the lodge at other Masonic meetings and events as well as building relationships with other organizations and community groups. 

The Junior Warden is also responsible for overseeing the charitable work of the lodge and ensuring that the lodge is actively involved in supporting the community. That being said, I, along with Master Wolvek, Worshipful Jeremy Cohen, and other Brothers, are working to reach out to the community through various means, such as our 2nd Annual Mamathon Diaper Drive (April 14th-May 14th), a Water Bottle Table at the Cancer Support Community's Annual HopeWalk in June, a CVML Open House for the community (Date TBD), and a Burger for Badge event (Date TBD), just to name a few. 

The purpose of mentioning all of this is to rally all of you to help. We all know how busy life can get, so we certainly don't expect you to be a party of all the events. But we ask that you pick one (or more) of the events and be a part of them. Please see myself, the Master, or Worshipful Cohen to see how you can help make our hope of making these and other future community outreach events a success. Thank you for your time. 

Fraternally your, Brother Bill 

We continue another month with our experiments with Artificial Intelligence (AI), and if you can believe it, we are already in our 7th month of experimentation. After half a year of experimenting, there are certainly many lessons that can be learned. For instance, there are certainly some good things that AI can do for us and our human futures, and it may in fact one day lead to amazing breakthroughs, new industries and jobs, cures for things once thought impossible to cure, reducing the time it takes to discover new things, and so much more. Maybe one day the phrase "not in my lifetime" will be a more distant phrase in the short past. At the same time, we can and should not turn a blind eye to a side of AI that could potentially be used for more sinister purposes. Personally, I feel like all of these avenues are to be deeply explored if this amazing technology is to mature and benefit the ages. And just like the familiar adage in the Spider Man movie goes, "with great power comes great responsibility". 

(This was written by a Human, using Human Intelligence - That's not an AI btw W/B :-)).