My Brothers,
As my 4th term as the Worshipful Master of Village Lodge comes to an end, I need to look back on what my Brothers have taught me. Love is the basis of all we do. We talk about Brotherly Love all of the time but what does it mean? As the Pastor of my Church, Dudley Rose, said in his Sunday before Christmas Service, "Love is a Verb" Actions speak louder than words. We must GIVE LOVE for our actions to be real. I know that, over these four terms, I have not always made the right decisions but I hope that no one will ever doubt my Love for my Brothers or My Lodge. While I may disagree with some of the decisions made in the upper levels of Masonry I still believe that we must Love and support each other.

The Lord of my faith said that the greatest Commandment was to Love God with all our heart, soul, and might. And the second was just as important, Love our neighbor as ourselves. Who is our "Neighbor?" In this world we can reach any place on the globe in a matter of a few hours and we can talk to almost anyone in the World in seconds. This makes the whole World our "Neighbors" I am closer to people in many other states and countries than the people who live next to me or across the street. Without my Masonic Family I would have little reason to remain in Florida.

My goal has been and remains, to build Village Lodge into the linchpin stone for the 34th and 35th districts. All buildings must start with a strong foundation. This has been my goal for this last term. While adding new stones are important. Cementing the existing stones with the Masonic Mortar of "Brotherly Love and Affection" is necessary to strengthen what we have.

I admit that I have not been as successful as I would have liked. One of our main "stones" has moved to another building and is, hopefully, continuing to help support and build that Masonic Edifice. Another "stone" became dissatisfied with my efforts and decided to move somewhere else, I hope he finds his way back or at least applies his major talents to another building.

Finally, in this Christmas Message, I pray that the successes we have made will continue to shape our stones into the Perfect Ashlars necessary to build the kind of Lodge which shows the true meaning of "Love."

My time here has not yet finished, I hope to continue to do what I can to support our New Worshipful Master this year and each new Master for many years to come. But as has been truly said, Life is like a roll of paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. Many of us are nearing the end but we ain't gone yet so look to us for help but learn to drive then "take the wheel" and GO FOR IT!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY 2014!

Jim Gregory, WM 2013