95 people attended our fifth installment of our Religion & Culture series. Unbelievable. We were expecting sixty five to seventy. Not bad for a Tuesday night! Over sixty of the attendees were non-masons.
Our attendance for the first five installments of the Religion & Culture series is now well over three hundred.
As is the custom, when a religious topic is discussed, the blessing of the meal is given by the guest speaker or someone of the speaker's faith. Our blessing was given by John J. McManus, that evening's presenter. Being a Catholic, Deacon McManus' blessing was overtly Christian and particularly Catholic. The blessing was well received by all of our guests who were of many different faiths.
The meal was over eight hours in preparation: from a repeat performance of slow smoked beef brisket to grilled asparagus drizzled in olive oil, garlic salt and pepper. Our gathering was quite impressed by the quality of the fare. Many thanks go to members of Fulton Lodge who grilled the asparagus as well as a brother from Tucker lodge who cut the brisket.
As the food was running out, a strange realization crept over the members of Gate City II: the crowd was large!
We opened as quickly as possible and welcomed our guests into the Lodge Hall. They were welcomed by Beaux Pettys who also introduced our guest speaker. Deacon McManus was warmly received by a round of applause. He immediately dug into his presentation.
Deacon McManus' delivery was authoritative, honest and unashamed. His deep voice was augmented by the booming bass of the PA system. His passion for his religion was clear in the uttering of every sentence. Yet his understanding of the differences which separate us from him did not preclude him from mentioning all of the wonderful works of Freemasonry - particularly in the United States. He made note of the fine people present. Not knowing what to expect from "the lion's den", he acknowledged and was appreciative of the warm welcome which he received. We were impressed with everything about Deacon McManus. You will be too. Read his full presentation two blogs down.
Beaux Pettys thanked John J. Macmanus, Fulton, Tucker and Fairburn Lodges. A special "Thank you" was given to DDGM David Herman. After several attempts by other brethren, it was only through David's diligent search for a speaker on this topic that this presentation was made possible. Out guests were also thanked for their support of the Religion & Culture Series.
Afterwards, a joint communication of Fairburn and Gate City was closed in fine form by Fairburn PM Andy Lovas.
Gate City II is an Atlanta Masonic Lodge. We are Free and Accepted Masons working under the jurisdiction of The Grand Lodge of Georgia. We meet at the Atlanta Masonic Center (formerly The Atlanta Masonic Temple) 1690 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30309
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