I hope those who were able to attend the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge in Philadelphia on Dec. 27, 2025, enjoyed the ceremony, Masonic unity and entertainment. I am proud of the fact that we are the oldest and largest Grand Lodge in North America, and I believe our Annual Communications are an opportunity to celebrate our achievements and reinvigorate ourselves for the work ahead. Although it was a whirlwind, I enjoyed the opportunity to take part in this very old and meaningful tradition.

Your Grand Lodge officers have been off to a running start over the last few months. I include this partial list of events to demonstrate their commitment to the membership and the operation of our great fraternity.

• I was honored to visit and address my home lodge, Saucon Lodge No. 469 in Coopersburg. We also presented our R.W. Junior Grand Warden, Brother Eric Downs, and R.W. Grand Secretary, Brother Peter Kraus, at their lodges in Kennett Square and Edinboro, respectively.
• We presented eight new District Deputy Grand Masters across the jurisdiction as the outgoing Deputies passed the torch to their successors.
• I had the opportunity to present a 25-year service emblem to our very healthy and active 104-yearold Brother Bill Lowe, Garfield Lodge No. 599, DuBois. He joined the lodge at 78 years old and has been their Chaplain for many years. Yes, he has the prayers memorized! We also presented an 80-year service award to Brother Warren Strawsnyder, Saucon Lodge No. 469, a World War II veteran, who will celebrate his 101st birthday later this year.
• Not exactly a Grand Lodge function, but we represented the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania at the Annual Punxsutawney Groundhog Day festivities, and I was honored to be named a “Groundhog Ambassador.” It was very cold, but very fun!
• We also represented our Grand Lodge at the North American Conference of Grand Masters, where we had the opportunity to learn from the other jurisdictions and plan for the success of the fraternity across our continent.

We look forward to continuing this pace as we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the impact Freemasonry had on it. All members are encouraged to support the major upcoming events that are described in this issue.

I want to thank all of the committees and brethren who are diligently working on the initiatives we are focusing on to help our lodges to operate more efficiently and position our fraternity for growth.

On the topic of membership growth, I believe we need to focus on improving our membership experience. In 2024, suspensions for non-payment of dues accounted for over 40% of our membership losses. I believe that in most cases, these brothers were either not good candidates for the fraternity to begin with, or they were good men who did not see the value in their membership. As engaged members of this fraternity, we can positively affect both of these situations.

First, we need to “Guard the West Gate” by diligently investigating every new candidate and being willing to say “no” if he is not suitable for the fraternity. If there are questions about a particular candidate’s suitability, a longer investigation and engagement period is a great way to further examine their background and motivations for expressing interest in joining. There is a lot of work required to bring in a new member, and it is wasted if they drop out for non-payment of dues in short order. Also, we need to consider that every member should be the kind of man we are proud to be associated with and willing to call “brother.”

For ideas on how to improve the membership experience, the Membership Engagement and Revitalization Committee is ready to assist. On this front, I am especially enthusiastic in promoting the Master Builder Program. The Master Builder Program is one of the most effective tools we have for engaging new members and preparing future leaders; every completed journey builds stronger lodges and more engaged members. I challenge every lodge to appoint a dedicated mentor and guide every new member through the Master Builder Program. There is no doubt this will boost the quality and retention of our membership in the future.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Robert D. Brink
R.W. Grand Master