Greetings from the East!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic holiday season with full bellies and full hearts. I know this month I’m going to be dusting off that gym equipment in my basement to work off all the holiday treats that magically seem to show up on my plate.

We’re going to start the new year off with a bang! For our first meeting on Jan. 6th, we’re going to be initiating a new brother into the fraternity. Be on the lookout for an email from Bro. Josh Ruegsegger JW with the cast list. There will be a practice on Wednesday, Jan. 5th at the Welton Temple. I highly recommend those on the list be in attendance for the practice. If you plan on attending dinner please RSVP.

At our second meeting, January 20th,  we’re going to open on the EA but step up the MM degree to hear some proficiencies. Then we’ll step back down to the EA to have a quick, open forum discussion on “The Northeast Corner. Please RSVP for dinner.

The Knights of St. Andrew are hosting their annual “Burns Night Supper” on Saturday, January 29th at the Denver Consistory. If you have never attended one of these dinners, this is an incredibly fun event full of bagpipe music, poetry, and of course…haggis! Spouses/significant others are welcome to attend and if you would like to join in the fun please RSVP with WB Pablo Colomban to get you on the list.

We are honored to help sponsor the 2022 Clays for a Cause Scottish Rite Sporting Clays Classic on May 27th! This is a great cause and promises to be a fun event. You can register and sign up for sponsorship at scottishritesportingclays.com

Fraternally yours,

James Bechtel

Greetings from the East,

The Holiday season is in full swing.  I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving and are preparing for more festivities in December.  Since it appears that it doesn’t snow in Colorado anymore, hopefully, some of the plans get you outside to enjoy the weather.  

On Thursday, December 2nd, we will be having our annual election of officers.  We will also be hearing from the committees with their annual report.  Please plan on attending so you can place your vote to decide on the future of Denver 5.  Dinner will be served at 6:30 pm, with Lodge opening at 7:30. Please RSVP here.

The last meeting of the year will be held on Thursday, December 16th.  This will be our Annual Agape Dinner.  The dinner is open to Masons only and will start at 6:30 pm.  It is crucial that you RSVP to the event at the link below to ensure we have enough food and drink for everyone.  Start working on your toasts Brethren and get ready to celebrate the Craft! Please RSVP here.

Our last event of the year will be our Installation of Officers.  This will take place on Saturday, December 18th with dinner at 6:30 pm, with the Installation to follow.  This is an open Lodge event and is open to the public.  Again, it is crucial that you RSVP to this event at the link below.

Installation RSVP Link

Please note, the Scottish Rite Children’s Christmas party has been canceled. We had planned on having the Denver 5 Child ID kit set up but regretfully, that won’t be happening. Hopefully, we will be able to do this next year as it is a fun event.

It has been a fun year and I have truly enjoyed my year in the East.  I appreciate all of the help and guidance I have received from my Brothers while on this journey.  I think we have accomplished a lot and have done a lot for Freemasonry in Colorado.  All of the PMs kept telling me that the year would go fast and they weren’t kidding.  I look forward to seeing all of the newly installed officers in their new stations and places in January!

Fraternally yours,

Michael Rotert

Greetings from the East!

I’m sure most of you are in the same mindset I am this time of year.  If I’m not at work or a Lodge event, I’ve been outside raking leaves.  The weather has made this annual chore much more tolerable this year.  I’m still struggling with it still being dark at 7am, but we only have one more week of that and then it’ll be dark at 4:30pm.  Not sure which is worse.

Denver 5 has been very busy over the last few weeks! On October 21st, we Raised Brothers Vincent Naranjo and Mitchell Jouse to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason.  The degree teams did excellent work and they were great degrees.  Congratulations to the Brothers!

Denver 5 opened a Lodge on October 27th to hear some proficiencies and practice for receiving the Grand Lodge Officers.  When we arrived, there were different Lodges using every Lodge room in the Welton Temple.  There were degrees being put on in the 4th floor Lodge room, another Lodge was practicing degree work and then we had the last 5th floor Lodge room.  It was so great to see so many Lodges and Brothers doing their work.  It is so great to see that Masonry is alive and well in Denver!

November is a special month for Denver 5.  Our Lodge was established in November of 1859 and November is the month that we celebrate our annual Heritage Night.  This year Heritage Night is being held on November 4th.  We will be receiving the Grand Master of all Masons in Colorado along with members of the Grand Line.  This is an open meeting, which means you are welcome to bring your significant other and your kids.  It’s a great opportunity for them to see the Welton Temple and meet your Brothers and their families.  It is very important that you RSVP for this event to ensure that we have enough food for dinner.  Dinner will be served at 6:30pm with the open Lodge starting at 7:30pm. You can RSVP here.

Another tradition at Denver 5 is our Heritage Raising.  The Heritage Raising differs from our normal Raising as we attempt to recreate what it might have been like to be Raised in 1859.  The Heritage Raising will take place on Thursday, November 11th.  Dinner will be served at 6:30pm, with the Lodge opening at 7:30pm to Raise two Brothers.  I have personally been looking forward to this all year.  This event is only open to Master Masons.  Again, it is important that you RSVP for this event.  You can RSVP here. 

Our last meeting in November is on Thursday, November 18th.  This is going to be a quick meeting as it coincides with the Scottish Rite Reunion.  A number of us who help with the Reunion or are taking part in the Reunion will be at the Consistory all day long and I’ve worked the Brothers of the Officer Line hard enough the last couple of months, so we’ll just have a quick business meeting and head over to a local bar to enjoy a beer and some fellowship. Dinner will be served at 6:30pm with the open Lodge starting at 7:30pm. You can RSVP here.

I look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming events and hope everyone has an excellent Thanksgiving holiday!

Michael Rotert W.M.

Greetings from the East!

The leaves aren’t quite falling yet, but you can feel it in the air that Autumn is just around the corner. I am looking forward to some cooler weather, but not to it being dark at 4:30 pm. Enjoy the sun while you can!

September continued to be a very busy month for Denver Lodge No. 5. We passed eight Brothers to the degree of Fellowcraft. This is amazing progress for the Lodge and the Craft! I have challenged our newly passed Brothers to become proficient in October so that we can work on getting them Raised by the end of the year. I want to congratulate all of them and the dedicated D5 Brothers that helped to put on all of these degrees to the high standards that our Lodge is known for!

We have several upcoming events that you should put on your calendar. On October 7th, Brother Bryan Cummings J.W. will be holding the gavel in the East for this meeting. Along with opening and stepping up and down the degrees, we will be hearing some proficiencies. Please make sure to attend this meeting to support your Brothers. As always, you must RSVP here.

Our second Stated Communication of the month is October 21st. We will be performing Master Mason degrees The degree cast is being put together now, so if you would like to be a part of this, please let me know. Please RSVP here.

On November 4th, the Grand Lodge of Colorado will be making an official visit. This will be an open meeting, so please bring your significant other to the event. More details to come. Please RSVP here.

The deadline for putting in your petition for the Scottish Rite Fall Reunion is quickly approaching. The Denver Consistory is excited because this reunion will be the first in-person reunion since the Fall of 2019! The degree teams are working hard to polish their presentations. If you are a proficient Master Mason and are interested in joining the Consistory, please get your petitions submitted. You can now submit a petition online via the form here.

There is a very interesting event that is being put together by the Brothers of Lupton Lodge No. 119 titled, “A Journey through the Stars: The Secrets of Polynesian Navigation”. It will take place on October 17th, 2021, at the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder. If you are interested in attending, you can reserve your seats here.

The events of the world have affected all of us either at work, school, or at home. It is no different for our Lodge. I want to thank every single Brother who has taken time away from their lives to help get things back to “normal” at Lodge. You are all a major asset to your Lodge and your efforts are greatly appreciated!

I hope everyone is ready for Fall and I look forward to seeing you all this month!

Michael Rotert WM

Greetings Brothers and Friends!

I want to thank all of you who attended the first annual Masonica event this past weekend!  We had excellent workshops and presentations given by many different Brothers.  I know I learned a few things this weekend and hope you did as well!  One of the highlights of the evening was receiving an original painting of W.B. Henry P.H. Bromwell.  W.B. Bromwell was a prominent Mason and played a big role in the early days of Denver as well as Denver Lodge 5.  I have in turn donated this painting to the Welton Temple Association so that this historical piece can be properly displayed in the Temple.  The after-dinner entertainment was amazing as W.B. Michael Rossi and Bro. Dan Lamorie presented the play “Defense of the Ruffians”.  I want to thank everyone who helped put on this event and joined us on Saturday!

It is now time to get back to work!  September is almost here and that means that it’s time to put down the sunscreen and dust off your suit and tie.  Lodge meetings are back!  We are going to start our September meetings with a step-up night for Bro. James Bechtel S.W.  He will be opening, stepping up and down, and closing the Lodge.  We will have a handful of proficiencies throughout the night.  Please come join us and support Bro. James while he runs the show this Thursday.  Please RSVP for dinner with Bryan Cummings J.W.

After this meeting, we will have seven proficient EA’s who are excited to be passed to the Fellowcraft degree!  We are going to need to break the degrees up over two nights.  The first night of degrees will be during our September 16th meeting.  We will hold a special on September 18th to complete the rest.   Again, we ask that you RSVP with the Junior Warden for both events.  We hope you can join us and help us in bringing these Brothers more light.

I look forward to seeing you all in Lodge!

Here are some shots from Masonica: