January and February have been very busy months, but also very enjoyable ones. We have raised three new Master Masons and extend a most hearty and warm welcome to the fraternity to Brothers Mete Yilmaz, Walter LeVerne Margeson II and Samuel Kubiak. I am sure all three of these brothers will be very active in the Lodge.
At the time of this writing, we have conducted two official visits, taking fifteen (15) members to Andrew Jackson Lodge #120 on January 16th, ten (10) members to Potomac Lodge #5 on January 20th, and will visit John Blair Lodge #187 on February 19th. The Master and eighteen (18) brethren from Elmer Timberman Lodge #54 and the Master and six (6) brethren from Skidmore Lodge #237 made a visit to our Stated meeting on January 23rd. It is so enjoyable to share fraternal communications with the brethren from other lodges and I hope that more of the members of the lodge will be able to join us on future visits. Our visits for March are to Federal Lodge #1 in Washington D. C. on the 9th and to Kemper Lodge #64 on the 27th. I will also take the Wardens and Wor. Bro. Archie Lyon with me on March 5th to visit Washington Lodge #21 in New York City.
As this bulletin was printed prior to the Grand Lodge session, I will report on Grand Lodge and on the George Washington Birthday Celebration activities in next months bulletin.
We have a number of significant events which will take place in March. At the first stated on the 12th, we will hear a message from the Honorable David Gray Ross, Circuit Court Judge for the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland, who will present a talk on "The Family of the 90's." Judge Ross has been sitting on the bench for twenty-four (24) years and directs the Family Law activities of the Court. His talk will discuss the changes that have occurred in the "Family Structure and Values" during the 24 year period he has been sitting on the bench. Judge Ross is a member of Collington Lodge #230 in Bowie, Maryland; he is a DeMolay Legion of Honor and served as State Master Counselor of the District of Columbia in 1953 when there were several thousand active DeMolay members; and he is a most dynamic speaker. I assure you that you will not want to miss this meeting and his message.
At our second stated on the 26th, Sir Knight Richard B. Baldwin, Right Eminent Past Grand Commander, Knights Templar of the Commonwealth of Virginia, will speak on the subject of York Right Masonry. Sir Knight Baldwin is currently serves as the Grand Treasurer, Grand Commandery of Virginia, and is also the Illustrious Master, Triangle Council No. 3, Cryptic Masons of the District of Columbia. He also serves as the Provincial Grand Secretary of the Royal Order of Scotland. Members of the Royal Arch Chapter and the Knights Templar are encouraged to wear their uniforms and/or regalia of their respective bodies for this meeting. If you are not a member of the York Rite "appendant bodies," this will be a tremendous opportunity to learn about them.
The officers of the Lodge and their Ladies will attend the Ladies Night Activities of William L. Elkins Lodge #646 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania on March 21st. This is an annual event for the officers and continues the strong fraternal bond between our two Lodges.
On the 31st, in conjunction with the Master's and Warden's Association meeting, there will be a District Ritual School conducted at Kemper Lodge #64 in Falls Church, Virginia. At this school, we will exemplify the Entered Apprentice Degree. The school is open to all Master Masons of the district who desire to attend. Also, I want to remind you that we conduct a Ritual School and Education Session in the Lodge Room every Sunday evening at 7:00pm unless otherwise noted in the Trestleboard. I encourage all members to attend this school and take a part in the Lodge ritual work.
THE 1992 SCOTTISH RITE SPRING REUNION, will be held on two Saturdays, April 25 and May 4, 1992. This is a correction from the February Bulletin which indicated the dates were March 28 and April 4. The fee is $175.00 for members over age 30 and $125.00 for age 30 or less. The deadline for submitting petitions is March 13, 1992. A portion of the fee must be submitted with the petition. Petitions can be obtained from myself or our Secretary. I would be honored to vouch for any member of the lodge who would like to join the Scottish Rite in this class.
BLUE LODGE NIGHT AT ANNANDALE ROYAL ARCH CHAPTER #77: On April 15, 1992, at 8:00pm, Annandale Royal Arch Chapter #77 will hold a "Blue Lodge Night." All Master Masons, to include those who are not Royal Arch Masons, are invited to attend. The guest speaker at this meeting will by Right Worshipful Werner Herman Morlock, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, who will talk about the connection between Royal Arch Masonry and the Blue Lodge degrees.
Sincerely and Fraternally,
Granville C. Canard, Jr.
Worshipful Master
Brethren:
I continue to receive the average of ten (10) Lodge Bulletins back from the post office each month as "returned mail" due to the brethren not notifying me of a change of address. Each time this occurs, we pay the bulk mail rate for the Bulletin when it is originally sent, plus $.35 on each item returned, and when I send it out again after I get the corrected address, it cost another $.29 for the remailing. This is costing the lodge approximately $.90 for each Bulletin returned, and adds up to a significant amount of money. Brethren, please notify me of your new address as soon as it is known, especially those Brethren who change between a summer time and winter time address several times a year. If postal costs to the Lodge continue to rise at the current rate, we will soon be required to consider raising the Lodge dues just to cover the mailing costs.
The Archives Committee of the Lodge, which is charged with the care and preservation of the vast collection of Masonic relics and memorabilia owned by the Lodge, have with the approval of the Lodge produced a near full- size, fine quality lithograph of the Williams portrait which is now on sale at the Souvenir Stand in the Memorial.
Most Wor. Charles H. Callahan wrote the following concerning the Williams portrait in 1923:
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"In 1793, the lodge, by resolution, requested General Washington, then President and living in Philadelphia to sit for this picture, and after obtaining his consent, employed Williams, of that city, to execute the work. Washington approved the likeness, and late in 1794 it was received from the artist and accepted by the lodge. It is a flesh-colored pastel and pronounced by critics to be of superior quality. It is an entirely different conception from anyother painting of the General extant, resembling in cast and feature the original Houdon statue in Richmond, Virginia, and is the only painting from life showing the General in extreme old age and in Masonic regalia. Having been ordered, received and accepted by the neighbors and Masonic contemporaries of the General, men who knew him intimately and were with him in every walk of his eventful life, who had followed his fortunes and shared his adversities in war, had counseled and supported him in peace, and who, when his labors ended, had sorrowfully laid him to his eternal rest, it is beyond reasonable conception that these men would have fostered on a credulous and confiding posterity a spurious picture of their friend and compatriot. An offer of one hundred thousand dollars was not sufficient to induce the Lodge to part with this treasure, and while probably sentiment has enhanced its value in the eyes of the Fraternity beyond its intrinsic worth, past association and its Masonic character prevent the possibility of future disposal. However urgent our wants or flattering the inducement, it will be kept in remembrance of that association for generations of Masons yet to come. The picture is devoid of idealism, the artist's instructions being, "Paint him as he is," and this Mr. Williams appears to have done, bringing out in bold relief several facial marks or blemishes which the General is known to have possessed, and which are shown in a modified form, if at all, by other artists. The disfiguring scar on his left cheek, spoken of by George Washington Parke Custis in his reminiscences, the black mole under his right ear, and the marks of smallpox on his nose and cheeks are all clearly defined and unmistakable, and this fact adds much to the value of the famous pastel and arouses the deepest interest of both historic and art critics." |
The print, which is twenty four inches wide by thirty inches high, is from a color transparency made by Brother Art Pierson, while the portrait was removed from its frame and depository in the Memorial's Replica Lodge Room. It is printed on eighty pound Mohawk Superfine cover material and each print is numbered and recorded by the Lodge. For those desiring to order a print by mail, it will be shipped in a four inch diameter mailing tube by the Lodge's Souvenir Stand. Prints may be ordered from Alexandria-Washington Lodge Souvenir Stand at 101 Callahan Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22301. The prints are $100.00 each, which includes all applicable taxes plus $5.00 postage and handling. A check in that amount, made out to the Lodge, must accompany all requests for mail orders. Under the agreement which exists between the Lodge and the Memorial Association, half of all profits derived from the sale of the prints will be shared with the Memorial Association. Half of the Lodge's share of the profits from the sale of the prints is used to restore and maintain the vast collection of Masonic relics owned by the Lodge which are over two hundred years old.
Charge of the Month
The A. B. C. of Freemasonry
by Delmar D. Darrah
Copyright 1915
Depiction through Symbols: As you have progressed through masonry you have had presented to you many illustrations and allegories with their attendant explanation. You have perhaps wondered what it is al about. Masonry employs symbolism to teach moral truths and the ceremonies through which you have passed are directed to that particular end. Masonry is a language of signs and symbols. The early man drew charcoal pictures on the side of rocks and recorded his thoughts and ideas. Later on, the same procedure was followed in the teaching of religious and philosophical truths. Masonry has adopted the same method in communicating those things which it desires to impress upon the minds and hearts of men. For example, much might be said to you upon the subject of industry, and lecture after lecture might be given you upon the value of this virtue, but when there is placed before you a picture of a bee hive and you are told that it is a symbol of industry the truth is more indelibly impressed upon your mind and ever afterward when you see a bee hive or a picture of a bee hive there will be associated with it the particular symbolism which it conveys and the lesson will be more intense. Children in the kindergarten are taught the fundamentals of knowledge by the use of real objects which they can see and handle, and by this means their thinking powers are stimulated and developed. A symbol then, ia a visible sign with which a spiritual feeling, emotion or idea is connected. Freemasonryabounds in symbols which are universal in their application and you will never be able to fully appreciate the fraternity until you have studied its veiled doctrines and understand its symbolism.
HISTORICAL NOTE
200 Years Ago
by. Rt. Wor. William A. Brown, Lodge Historian
March 5, 1792 - The two Grand Lodges of Massachusetts met for the last time as separate Grand Lodges, it was during the year that the consolidation into one Grand Lodge was established. They also compiled their Book of Constitutions and officially "Dedicated it to our Illustrious Brother George Washington, the friend of Masonry, of his Country, and of man." (Reference in the introduction of the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, by John Dove, page 11 of the Proceedings.)
March 16, 1792 - Washington sent a letter to Governor Pickney of South Carolina. "I was in hope, that motives of policy, supported by the dire effects of slavery, would have operated to produce a total prohibition of the importation of slaves." The letter went on to tell how the question had agitated many States who were interested in the measure.
Richard LeRoy Young - August 14, 1991
Wynne Gray Alley - January 13, 1992
| Day | Time | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 03/01/1992 | 7:00 pm | Trustees Committee Meeting, Lodge Anti-room |
| Mon 03/02/1992 | 7:00 pm | CALLED COMMUNICATION - Degree Work in the EA, FC or MM Degree |
| Thu 03/05/1992 | 6:30 pm | Official Visit to Washington Lodge #21, New York City |
| Mon 03/09/1992 | 7:30 pm | Official Visit to Federal Lodge #1, Washington, D.C. |
| Thu 03/12/1992 | 7:30 pm | STATED COMMUNICATION - Judicial Night. Program by the Honorable David Gray Ross, Circuit Court Judge, Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland, Presentation on Masonic Education by the Lodge Education Officer |
| Mon 03/16/1992 | 7:00 pm | CALLED COMMUNICATION - Degree Work in the EA, FC or MM Degree |
| Sat 03/21/1992 through Sun 03/22/1992 |
Officers attend Ladies Night activities with William L. Elkins Lodge #646, in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania | |
| Thu 03/26/1992 | 7:30 pm | STATED COMMUNICATION - York Rite Night, Sir Knight Richard B. Baldwin, RE PGC, guest speaker. Masonic Birthday recognition |
| Fri 03/27/1992 | 7:30 pm | Official Visit to Kemper Lodge #64, Falls Church Masonic Temple |
| Mon 03/30/1992 | 7:00 pm | CALLED COMMUNICATION - Degree Work in the EA, FC or MM Degree |
| Tue 03/31/1992 | 7:30 pm | Master's and Warden's Association meeting at Kemper Lodge #64. District Ritual School: Exemplification of the EA Degree |
+ LODGE RITUAL SCHOOL - conducted every Sunday at 7:00pm unless otherwise noted in the Trestleboard. This school will cover work in all degrees and in catechisms. The school is for all members of the Masonic Community and ALL are invited and encouraged to attend.
+ OFFICER PLANNING MEETINGS - conducted in conjunction with the Sunday Night Ritual School.
+ MASONIC BIRTHDAYS - recognized on second stated unless otherwise noted.
+ STATED COMMUNICATIONS - second and fourth Thursday except Thanksgiving; Observance of George Washington's Birthday and Installation on Saint John Day, December 27th.
+ OTHER MEETINGS AT GWMNM - Alexandria-Washington Chapter, Order of DeMolay meets the first and third Monday at 7:00pm in the North Lodge Room; Bethel No. 22, I.O.J.D. meets the first and third Wednesday at 7:00pm in the North Lodge Room.