FROM THE EAST
By Earl C. Million, WM
Brethren:
Before stepping down from the East for the final time, I should like to take a moment to thank all the Brethren of the Lodge for
helping to make my year a pleasant one. In particular, I should like to thank my Officers for the splendid cooperation they
have given me throughout the year. Without a competent line no Master can justly govern a Lodge; I have been more than
fortunate in having such a fine group of assistants.
Before I relinquish the gavel to my successor I would like to express that it is not the material achievements that make a
Master's year comptete; rather it is the inward thrill of comradeship that comes from leading such a fine group of
brethren. I will cherish the friendship that have ripened during my term in office.
A family crisis dictates that I must move to Oklahoma in 1992 to take care of my ailing Mother. I will be thinking of the lodge
often. I may even surrender to the temptation of telephoning the lodge on the second and forth Thursday at 6:25pm central time
to remind you of that fact.
FROM THE WEST
By: G.C. "Jack" Canard, Jr., SW
Brethren and Friends:
On December 27, 1991, Alexandria-Washington Lodge will conduct its 200th installation ceremony, at which time the
officers who have been elected and selected to govern the lodge for Masonic Year 5992 (A.D. 1992) will be installed in their
respective offices.
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On April 28, 1788, Illustrious Brother George Washington was installed as the Charter Master of the lodge. On December 27th, if elected on the
12th, I will be installed as the 135th Master. During the 204 year history of the lodge, prior to 1922, there were 26 Masters who
served for more than one year each. Also, the lodge suspended operations during the Civil War from May 1861 to May 1865. For
me, it will be a profound honor and extreme privilege to serve as one of the Masters of George Washington's Lodge.
The installation ceremony will be an OPEN INSTALLATION, meaning that it is open for attendance by anyone who
desires to attend. Accordingly, I extend a cordial invitation to every person, both Masons and non-Masons alike, who reads this
news letter, and a very special invitation to each of the Masonic Widows of the Lodge to attend this ceremony. The ceremony
will be held at 7:30 pm in the Auditorium of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia.
The ceremony will be preceded by a thirty minute organ recital given by Mrs. Betty Parler, and followed by a reception in the
Dining Room of the memorial, provided by Martha Washington Chapter No.42, Order of the Eastern Star.
To help me plan for the reception and insure that I have sufficient food available for all of the guests attending, I would
very much appreciate it if you would call my "voice mail box," (703) 931-4945, and let me know if you plan to attend. Also, if you
have any questions, please leave a message and I will return your call.
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And for the very special Ladies of the Lodge who may need transportation assistance, please call Worshipful Wardell Thomas,
the Chairman of the Widows Committee (703) 549-6600, or myself and we will arrange transportation for you.
I look forward to greeting you and any guests you bring to the ceremony on December 27th.
NEW FORMAT FOR THE NEWS!
By: G.C. "Jack" Canard, Jr., SW
Starting with the next Trestleboard, which will be published in January 1992, the news that has been presented for
the past 15 months in this Newsletter will be included in an insert in the Trestleboard. This change is being made to facilitate
the preparation and mailing of the Trestleboard. There will be no additional cost for the new format and it will provide a single
document already folded and ready for inserting into the envelope when we receive it from the printer. I feel sure that you
will like the new format.
THE MISSION OF MASONRY
Masonry has her mission to perform. With her traditions reaching back to the earliest times. and her symbols dating
further back than even the monumental history of Egypt extends. she invites all men of all religions to enlist under her
banner and to war against evil. ignorance and wrong.
-Albert Pike
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THE ALEXANDRIA-WASHINGTON MASONIC QUESTION BOX
Q. What precaution should be taken before proposing a candidate?
A. Proposing a candidate is a thing which requires the greatest care and attention. Through an
improper subject, a whole lodge, even the whole society may receive a deep wound. No one dare
propose a person with whom he is not intimately acquainted, and whose conduct he has not had an
opportunity of observing under different circumstances. The person who is about to make a
proposition, must have carefully inquired whether the candidate is influenced by the desire of gain or
self-interest; for he must not look to the order as a means of making money, but rather as a means
of expending it in charitable objects.
Q. Why should Masons take care to observe the dictates of respectability?
A. In referring to the deteriorating condition of the Craft, and the accession which is daily being made
to its numbers, I would observe that the character of a lodge and its grand lodge does not depend
upon the number, but the respectability in the community and dedication of its members to the
institution. It is too often the case that a lodge manifests too great anxiety to swell its numbers, under
the erroneous idea that number constitutes might. It should however, be remembered, that the race
is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. So it is in Masonry; a lodge of a dozen men, of
respectable standing in society, will exert more influence upon the community than five time the
number of doubtful reputation. The latter will be greater in numerical strength, but the former in actual power.
Q. What are the principal rights of a Master Mason in good standing in a Masonic lodge?
A. When an initiate has been raised to "the sublime degree of Master Mason," he becomes, strictly
speaking, under the present regulations of our institution, an active member of the fraternity, invested
with certain rights, and obligated to the performance of certain duties, which are of so extensive and
complicated a nature as to demand a special consideration for each. Of the rights of Master Masons,
the most important are the following: 1) The Right of Membership; 2) The Right of Affiliation; 3) The
Right of Visitation; 4) The Right of Avouchment; 5) The Right of Relief; 6) The Right of Demission;
7) The Right of Appeal; 8) The Right of Burial; 9) The Right of Trial.
Q. What is the final degree of Ancient Craft Masonry?
A. "The Holy Royal Arch Degree is more august, sublime, and important than those which precede
it, and is the summit of ancient Masonry." - Thomas Smith Webb.
It is within the Holy Royal Arch Chapter that the Master Mason discovers the TRUE WORD that
was lost by the death of our ancient Grand Master Hiram Abif. One should understand the symbolic
lodge gives only a substitute word and the completion of the Master Mason's degree in only found
in the Holy Royal Arch.
The degree impresses on our minds a more firm belief of the existence of a Supreme Deity
without beginning of day or end of years, and justly reminds us of the respect and veneration due to
the holy name.
Q. What qualifications should be required of officers of a lodge?
A. This is a matter of great concern, for the officers of a lodge are not only bound to advance the
welfare of their own particular lodge, but whatever may tend to the good of the fraternity in general.
Therefore no man ought to be put in such election, but such as by his own skill and merit is deemed
worthy of performance. He must be well acquainted with all the private and public rules and orders
of the Craft; he ought to be strictly honest, naturally humane, patient in injuries, discreet in
conversation, grave in counsel, constant in amity, and above all faithful in secrecy.
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