Winter weathers and a low of 20° below zero was no hindrance to the February Scottish Rite Lodge dinner. About 90 Scottish Rite Masons and their ladies attended the Lodge dinner.
After the Culinary Masters served an excellent diner of chicken parmesan with fettuccine, garlic breadsticks, and salad, Venerable Master Mike Stuhr, 32° welcomed Dan Wellendorf, 33°, Deputy to the Supreme Council, and MW Jim Carlton, 32° KCCH, Grand Master of Masons in Nebraska, who spoke about the coming year.
Carl Simmons, 32° led the Knights of St. Andrew knighting ceremony with assistance from T.J. Brumfield, 32° and Rex Waller, 32°. Carl knighted Brothers Mo Krishna, 32°, John Crouch, 32°, Christopher Armbrust, 32°, and Zachary Flott, 32°, and Brett Drake, 32°.
Roger Moore, 32° rose to thank the Scottish Rite for an excellent Reunion this past November. Roger served as Grand Orator in 2021 for the Grand Lodge of Nebraska and was the Class Orator for the November Reunion. He spoke about the universality of Freemasonry which unites Brethren through the universal truths found across all religions. “Although we have different titles, backgrounds, life experiences, these universal truths unite us, rather than serve as an excuse to disagree as it so often seems throughout our history.” Roger called upon Masons to find common ground when so much seeks to divide us.
Members from the November, 2020 Reunion received their Scottish Rite 32° hats in a Capping Ceremony, with their ladies or top-line signers providing the honor of placing their cap on them. Mike Stuhr explained the significance of the caps, and the different colors.
Officers from the Lodge of Perfection presented ladies attending with boxes of brownies by Brownie Bar Omaha.
The February “Ladies Night at the ‘Rite,” is always one of the most popular Lodge dinners of the year, and this year is no exception. All Scottish Rite Masons eagerly await the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while guests remained masked and maintain social distancing, we hope this foretells a good year to come of events at the Scottish Rite!