FROM THE EAST
By Earl C. Million, WM
Brethren:
There is still time for you to get your tickets for Ladies Night and help honor the Ladies of our Lodge. We will have a dinner in
the dining room of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial followed by a great show in the auditorium. The
tickets are $12.00 per person and can be purchased from any of the Lodge Officers.
FROM THE WEST
By: G.C. "Jack" Canard, Jr., SW
Brethren:
The long awaited "Telephone Notification Tree" is finally complete, The notification tree works as follows:
When the Master wants to transmit an important message to the members of the Lodge, he will contact four (4) officers of
the Lodge at notification level #1 and direct them to call the members assigned under their branch of the tree and pass on
the message. Each of the officers at level #1 contact the members under their branch of the tree at level #2,
who in turn contact the members under their branch of the tree at level #3, who in turn contact the members under their branch of
the tree at level #4 and pass on the same message. All members at level #4 are at the end if the branch and do not contact any
additional members. There are 289 members of the Lodge included in the telephone tree. If you find that you are not in the
tree and want to be included, contact me and let me know so you can be added. The success of this tree
|
notification system depends on accurate information and each one in the tree accomplishing his individual responsibility. If your
phone number changes. please report this information to me or to our secretary, Brother Godfrey Runaldue. so appropriate
changes can be made to the Lodge Personnel Data Base. The tree includes only members of Alexandria-Washington Lodge
#22. If you know of any brother outside the lodge who should also get the message, such as a report of a death, then you
should contact them direct and let them know.
FROM THE SOUTH
By: Claude H. Harris, Jr., JW
My Brethren:
This year is the 200th anniversary of Brother Wolfgang A. Mozart's death, and many musical events have been
conducted all over the world in his remembrance. It is with pleasure that I announce a production of The Magic Flute to
be staged here in the Memorial on October 19 and 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $25, $17, and $12 for students. It will be a
production by Opera Americana of Alexandria and I have been requested to advise the cast on Masonic symbolism. Please
contact the company direct for further ticket information at (703) 836-0621 or the George Washington Masonic National Memorial at 836-2007.
OFFICIAL VISIT OF THE GRAND HIGH PRIEST
By: Mark Arbeen, Scribe, Mt. Vernon RAC #14
Most Excellent James Warren Smith, Grand High Priest of the
|
Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Virginia will make his official visit to Capitular District 1 on November 23, 1991 at the
Annandale Masonic Temple. All Royal Arch Masons are invited to attend. The night will begin with a dinner at 6:00 pm, served by
the Ladies of the Amaranth. A meeting will follow at 7:30 pm. Tickets for the dinner will be $12.00 per person, see your
Chapter Secretary or one of the Chapter officers for more information. Even if you do not get a ticket to the dinner, come
out and support the District in greeting the Grand High Priest.
Work and Words
By: "The Poet By The Sea"
Some Brothers on the sideline sit,
While others grace the floor,
Some for degree work have no wit,
Yet none need this deplore.
They may have so well learned our creeds
Of Love, Relief, and Truth,
They show them forth in kindly deeds,
And ease the orphan's ruth;
And all may see the light that shines
Above their daily strife,
It is not how you say your lines,
But how you live your life!
Contrariwise. the favored few
Who memorize with ease
May star in everything they do
In putting on degrees;
Yet these should ever keep in mind
That words are not enough,
They have to practice being kind
And really do their stuff
This is a fact we cannot dodge,
So don't puff up with pride
It's not how well you do in Lodge,
But how you do outside!
If three people say you are an ass, put on a bridle.
- Spanish Proverb
|
|
THE ALEXANDRIA-WASHINGTON MASONIC QUESTION BOX
Q. What is the symbolism of meeting on the level?
A. In the Prestonian lectures as practiced in the beginning of the last century, it was said the Masons
met on the square and hoped to part on the level. In the American system of Webb a change was
made, and we were instructed that they "meet on the level and part on the square." And in 1842 the
Baltimore Convention made a still further change, by adding that "They act by the plumb"; and this
formula, although quite modern, is now generally adopted by the lodges in this country. The level is
an emblem of equality, because with God there is no respect of persons, and in his sight all men are
equal, liable to the same infirmities, subject to the same death and judgement. This is the sense in
which Masons understand the quality of members in tiled lodges.
Q. Of what is salt the emblem?
A. In the Helvetian ceremonies of Masonry, salt is added to the corn, wine and oil, because it was a
symbol of the wisdom and learning which characterize Masons' lodges. Pierius makes it an emblem
of hospitality and friendship, and also of fidelity. In the Scriptures, salt is considered as a symbol of
perpetuity and incorruption, and used as a covenant. The formula used by our ancient brethren, when
salt was sprinkled on the foundation-stone of a new lodge was: "May this undertaking, contrived by
wisdom, be executed in strength, and adorned with beauty, so that it may be a house where peace,
harmony, and brotherly love shall perpetually reign."
Q. Could a follower of Buddha be classed as a worshiper of Deity?
A. Speaking broadly, yes; though there are many sects in the Buddhist faith, some of which seem to
be atheistic -yet this may be only seeming, and due to the fact that their conception of God is so
unlike our own. Perhaps. in the real sense, there is no such thing as an atheist. (See Morals and
Dogma, by Pike)
Q. What is the true meaning of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah?
A. No doubt most Masons, especially in Christian lands, identify the Lion of Judah with Christ, as is
their right, and they have the authority and example of Christian symbolism for so doing. But the
symbolism of the Lion is much older than Christianity; like the Cross, and most other symbols
employed by Christianity, having in the Egyptian mythology the same position which the Bull had in
the Mithraic system. It was a symbol of strength, originally, it would seem, of the heat of the sun and
its power to bring about the resurrection of nature in spring. In the Egyptian story it was the lion-god,
with his strong grip, who raised Osiris from the dead.
|
TRUE KNOWLEDGE
---
When you know, to know that you know, and when you do not know, to know that you do not know - that is true knowledge.
- Confucius
|