Last July, I posted a story about a Brother in Pennsylvania who was returning from a Windows son function when the motorcycle he and his wife was riding was struck by a bar. The Brother was thrown over 15 feet and was then run over by the car that struck him while backing up.
The injured Brother who was planning on attending the Grand gathering in
August was now bedridden in the hospital trying to recover from his various injuries. In addition to his pain and his disappointment at being able to attend the event with his brethren due to COVID-19, his friends and family were not allowed to visit him while he was in the hospital. The local Masons did their best to help the family during this time of trial but nothing could be done to help the Brother and make him feel emotionally.
One of the Brothers contacted me and ask if I could put out the word and ask Masons from around the world to send lapel pins and challenge pins and lapel pins they could affix to a plaque to let him know his fellow Masons were thinking about him.
Recently I got a note Back from Brother Rich Connelly to give me an update on the brother’s condition.
“From the first of May, we as a chapter have stood by our brother and his wife Sherry.He is finally clear of the infections that were ravaging his body and he is scheduled to have his hips replaced on the 10th of January.
The support that we have given to the two of them would have been a good story by itself however, the Grand Chapter of the Widow’s Sons MRA stepped up as well as many of the Blue lodges in Massachusetts.
But, the part of this that makes it so unique,is when I (with your help) put the word out about the hardware on the board in the picture. I received contributions from all over the country and the world.I wish you were there when we presented it to Brother Todd and his wife Sherry.
There was one medialion that I was unable to find a way to put it on the board,this came from a lodge in Italy.The brother who sent it is the Grand Second Preceptor of DeMolay International.He and I have chatted many times since I became a part of LinkedIn.
I gave Todd the medialion while he was in the hospital.His face lit
up. He has said he was going to figure out how to get the medialion on the board.
I can’t thank you enough for your help with this and I am amazed at the number of brothers who wanted to send donations of a monetary type. I wasn’t looking for anything but the hardware and the look on his face when he saw how many Brothers stepped up to raise his spirits.
Again,thank you for your time and effort on this project,I will be eternally grateful.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brother Rich Connelly
Ancient York lodge and
Ancient Craft Chapter of the Widow’s Sons MRA
WSFFWS”
Brethren, This to me is Freemasonry. It isn’t the fancy aprons or illustrious titles and initials we collect as we travel down life’s road. It is the Brother that we help, the orphan that we provide shoes for, the widow whose home we keep warm the Masonic family we keep in their home during trying times. These are what make us Masons. We have impacted a family’s lives, someone you will never meet in person. Just by fulling an obligation of “sharing something of a metallic kind”
