With only one stated communication, November was nevertheless a memorable month for our Lodge. On Saturday the 2nd we celebrated the 250th anniversary of Washington's initiation with a historic joint communication at Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4. Grand Annual Communication followed (visit the Grand Lodge website for the biographies of the Grand Lodge officers). Our Lodge Archivist and three members of the Archives Committee attended the installation as Washington's Trowel rested near the Three Great Lights. Refer to the Grand Lodge Proceedings for a summary of resolutions considered this year. At our stated communication we honored Worshipful John Nicholson for his service as Treasurer, and heard Brother David Crist discuss his military reserve duty in Afghanistan.

On December 12th we will receive the officers' reports and elect new officers. We will also remember the following brethren called to the Celestial Lodge since we closed the Lodge of Sorrow in December, 2001: Harry Babiak, Harry Gilbert Barnes, Carlos Frank Breland, Judson Frederick Coulther, Claude Leon Haynes, Jr., Jesse Burette Holman, and John Longin Kopek. On December 14th we will lay wreaths at Mount Vernon, with our new Grand Master, Most Worshipful Frederick Garrison Martin, III, in attendance. Since this event falls on a Saturday this year, many of you will not be laboring at your usual vocations! Take this stated opportunity to contemplate the glorious works of creation, and to thank the great Creator for our illustrious Brother as we commemorate his raising to the Celestial Lodge.

Subsequent to the publication of this Bulletin, we expect to raise three more men to the sublime degree of Master Mason, bringing to ten those raised for our Lodge this year. Our Senior Deacon, Thomas McMahan, deserves acclaim for his consistent and successful efforts to arrange the officers who have conferred the many degrees this year. Thanks also our Junior Deacon, Thomas Little, and to Worshipful Hamilton "Buck" Pape for coordinating the catechism instruction necessary for these brothers' advancement, and to Worshipful Earl Covey for the many nights he has devoted the Lodge as Instructor of Work.

I am pleased to report that the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association agreed to release the youth groups meeting in the Memorial from future rent payments. This applies to Alexandria-Washington Chapter, Order of DeMolay, and Bethel No. 22, Order of Jobs Daughters. This action was facilitated by a $10,000 donation to the Memorial Foundation, consisting of a $2,500 private donation and $7,500 from the proceeds of Christmas tree sales earned by the DeMolays and Jobies. The Memorial benefits from the immediate investment of capital, and the youth benefit from the freedom to apply future funds to the development of their programs. Many thanks to Worshipful George Seghers and the other officers of the Memorial Association who made this possible.

My brothers, I am honored to have served as Master of our historic Lodge this year. As a result of your efforts, we will receive both the James Noah Hillman Award for Lodge excellence and the Seymour Jonas Levy award for blood donations. My mobilization to active duty with the Air Force in September 2001 added extra challenges for me and for your team of officers. I am pleased that, assisted by many Past Masters and "white apron" brothers, they rose to the occasion for a successful and rewarding year. I thank you for your support, realizing that our success reflects your love of this Lodge rather than an allegiance to its Master. He rules and governs briefly, while the Lodge transcends the generations. As I pass the gavel to a new Master, I am confident that you will support the plans he traces upon the trestle board, that he may have honor and you profit thereby. God bless you always.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Worshipful Master

STATED COMMUNICATIONS - The stated communications of this Lodge shall be held at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial (GWMNM), Alexandria, Virginia on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, except on the fourth Thursday of November and December, on December 27th (the anniversary of Saint John the Evangelist) for installation of officers, at 7:30 pm, and at 4:00 pm on the day observed by governmental regulations or the GWMNM in celebration of George Washington's birthday. When such dates fall on a Sunday, the stated communication shall be held on the Saturday before or the Monday following.

CALLED COMMUNICATIONS - Usually on Mondays as announced herein.

YOUTH MEETINGS AT GWMNM - Alexandria-Washington Chapter, International Order of DeMolay, meets the first and third Sundays at 2 pm in the North Lodge Room. Bethel No. 22, International Order Jobs Daughters, meets the first and third Sundays at 6 pm in the North Lodge Room.

"Plus Lux In Masonicum" JAMES McHENRY STEVENSON Senior Warden and the officers and members of ALEXANDRIA-WASHINGTON LODGE No. 22 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons request the honor of your presence at their Installation of Officers for the Masonic year 6003. The public ceremony will be conducted on Friday, December 27, 2002 At 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Alexandria, Virginia. Black-Tie Optional Reception to follow in the Memorial Assembly Hall.

Saint John the Evangelist, one of two patron saints of Freemasonry in Christian countries, is celebrated on December 27th. His constant admonition, recorded in his Biblical epistles, to the cultivation of brotherly love, and the mystical nature of his apocalyptic visions, have perhaps been the principal reasons for the veneration paid to him by the Craft. Documentary evidence connecting The Evangelist with the Masonic Order begins long after the sixteenth century, before which Saint John the Baptist was exclusively the patron saint of Masonry in Christian countries. The huge mural adorning the north wall of Memorial Hall depicts George Washington and his officers observing Saint John the Evangelist Day at Christ Church in Philadelphia on December 28th, 1778. This special service was conducted by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania for the purpose of raising money for the poor and destitute in Philadelphia. The Grand Lodge of California contributed $50,000 for this mural, completed in 1957, and the one adorning the south wall, showing George Washington laying the Cornerstone of our National Capitol on September 18th, 1793. These murals were painted by Allyn Cox, the renowned artist commissioned by the Truman Administration to paint the pageant of American history on the four great vaulted corridor ceilings on the House side of our national Capitol. In choosing Cox, the early officers of the Memorial Association demonstrated their belief that artistic elegance was essential in creating the murals in Memorial Hall. Some of Cox's other works in the Memorial are found in the Shrine Rooms located on the lower level, and the Royal Arch and Cryptic Rooms in the tower area. During his research into the history depicted by the two murals, Allyn Cox petitioned and became a member of a Lodge in New York.

Compiled from An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, by Albert G. Mackey, page 684, The George Washington Masonic National Memorial, by William Adrian Brown, pages 87, 90 and 91, and a biographical sketch of Allyn Cox by RW Jack Riddell, by Lucian G. Guthrie, Lodge Education Officer

George Washington and Brethren in Saint John's Day Observance,
Christ Church, Philadelphia, December 28, 1778

(1 & 2) Cox and Scull, Deacons (3) Rev. William Smith, D.D., Grand Chaplain (4) J. Coats, Grand Secretary bearing The Book of Constitutions (5) William Ball, Grand Master (6) George Washington (7) John Wood, Deputy Grand Master (8) John Howard, Senior Grand Warden

Photograph transferred by Bro. Art Pierson