Alpha Lodge will be hosting our 144th installation of officers on September 11, 2017, and you're wondering, "what is an installation of officers?"
Formal or Casual -- Yes!
The uniform of an Officer of a masonic lodge in Massachusetts is the Tuxedo. Members of the lodge typically wear a suit or shirt, tie, and a jacket to masonic meetings and functions. Our visitors, however, should feel free to wear whatever they consider to be comfortable and respectful within their own views given the occasion.
It's a bit of ceremony
The Freemasons have practiced our craft for many hundreds of years. The ceremony is about accepting the duties, responsibilities, and commitments that the officers of a lodge make to the membership and Freemasonry. It's about honoring your commitments, following reason, treating all others with respect as equals, and it's about upholding these values for the upcoming year during which these elected and appointed officers will be entrusted with the care and direction of the lodge, with the incoming Worshipful Master leading the lodge.
It's a bit of a dinner party
Before the installation, we invite our guests to join us for dinner to enjoy each others' company and conversation. The presiding Master, Worshipful Brother Craig S. Rothman, will address the current officers, members, and guests of Alpha Lodge.
It's a bit of a retirement party
After dinner, we adjourn to the lodge room and conduct a formal retirement ceremony for the officers that served Alpha Lodge for the 2019 masonic year. It's also a bit of a formal event, since it's essentially been the same protocol for a very long time. We thank them for their services.
It's a bit of a welcoming party
We welcome aboard the elected and appointment officers for the 2020 masonic year. Our new officers make a commitment before all to uphold the duties of their office. The responsibilities of a lodge officer are many and include maintaining the finances of the lodge, upholding the customs and traditions of the lodge, planning and executing the upcoming year's mission and goals, having a command of our oral tradition, mostly unaltered from the beginning of the fraternity. In the end, it's very much an inauguration.
It's a bit of a history lesson
Because Freemasonry is steeped in History and because our officers join the ranks of many distinguished predecessors, our master of ceremonies will give a bit of history along with our installation to explain the importance of the events.