Freemasons For Dummies: July 2025

Monday, July 07, 2025

Grand Lodge of Texas Issues Disaster Relief Message for Central Texas Floods

Photo: BatesvilleTribune.com

by Christopher Hodapp

The scope of the death and destruction from the horrific floods in Texas over the weekend continues to grow as recovery and relief efforts increase in the region. In the wake of this disaster, Grand Master Rayborn Reader of the Grand Lodge of Texas AF&AM has issued the following message on social media:

Brethren, Family and Friends,

In the wake of the devastating floods that have struck Central Texas, our hearts are heavy with sorrow. Lives have been lost, homes destroyed, and entire communities upended. The loss of young children, families, and neighbors has touched us all deeply.

To those grieving, know that you are not alone. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Masonic family are with you. We mourn with you, and we stand ready to help.

As Masons, we are called to be men of compassion, action, and hope. Now is the time to lift our hands to help, open our hearts to give, and stand together as Brothers, united by faith, fraternity, and charity.

I encourage all who are able to contribute to the ongoing relief efforts. I ask all Texas Masons and those who support our work to stand together in aid of our fellow Texans.

To support relief efforts, donations can be made to the Texas Masonic Charities Foundation:

Online: https://txmcf.org/donate Or go to www.txmcf.org

Checks may be mailed to:

Texas Masonic Charities Foundation

P.O. Box 2156
Waco, TX 76703

Let us demonstrate that the Masonic spirit of Brotherly Love and Relief is not just words—it is action. May the Great Architect of the universe watch over us all, and may He bring comfort and strength to those in need.
Fraternally,
Raborn Reader Jr.
Grand Master 2025
Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F. & A.M.
Note that, as of this time, this is the only officially-operated relief charity of the Grand Lodge of Texas – they have NOT requested a disaster relief program through the Masonic Service Association.

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Legendary brotherhood
With a mythic past
And a visionary future.

Freemasonry is the largest, oldest and best-known gentleman's fraternity in the world. Historically, it is based on the Medieval stonemason guilds who built the great castles and cathedrals of Europe. Mythologically it is founded upon the building of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, as told in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Modern Freemasons likewise use the tools, traditions and terminology of those Biblical stonemasons as allegories for building Temples in the hearts of men, using Solomon as our ideal example of wisdom, justice and faith.

At its core, Freemasonry is simply an attempt to make the world a better place, one man at a time. For each man, it can become as simple or as complicated as he himself desires.

It's said that we are a secret society. We do indeed have secrets—secrets that each individual man has to discover for and about himself.

It's not for everybody. It never has been, and was never meant to be. That's the point.

Maybe it's for you.

Christopher L. Hodapp is the author of Freemasons For Dummies, the international, best-selling introduction to the Masonic fraternity; and Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C..

Prior to joining the Masons and becoming an author, Chris spent 23 years as a commercial filmmaker with Dean Crow Productions in Indianapolis.

Since 2009 he has been on the Board of the Masonic Library & Museum of Indiana, and currently serves as its President and Co-Director.

As a Freemason, Chris is a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge No. 643 and of Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 under the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana; he is a member of Indiana's Schofield Lodge 1818 U.D.; and of Internet Lodge No. 9659 in the Province of East Lancashire of the United Grand Lodge of England. Most recently, he served as the Worshipful Master of the Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research U.D. in Indiana for 2019-21.

In 2018 he was awarded the Caleb B. Smith Medal of Honor by the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana for his "distinguished service to Freemasonry in Indiana and worldwide."

Chris is a 33° Mason in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite (NMJ), Indianapolis Valley. He is a Past Sovereign Master of Imhotep Council No. 434 of the Allied Masonic Degrees. He is a founding member of Levant Preceptory, a medieval Knights Templar period recreation degree team in the York Rite, and he is an officer of the Indiana College of the Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis. He belongs to numerous other Masonic appendant organizations.

Chris is a Fellow of the Philalethes Society. As a Masonic author, in 2012 he was named as Friar No. 101 in the Society of Blue Friars. Chris was also a Founding Fellow of The Masonic Society, and was the founding Editor in Chief of The Journal of The Masonic Society. He was the editor and a contributor in 2004-5 to "Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response to Dwight Smith" by the Knights of the North, a Masonic leadership think-tank focusing on modern lodge solutions. He has written for Indianapolis Monthly, Heredom, Masonic Magazine, Templar History, the Scottish Rite Journal, the Knight Templar Magazine, the Indiana Freemason , the Phylaxis, and numerous other publications.

His most recent Masonic book, Heritage Endures, was published in January 2018 as part of the 200th anniversary of Indiana's Grand Lodge.

Chris is also the co-author with his wife Alice VonKannon of The Templar Code For Dummies and Conspiracy Theories And Secret Societies For Dummies. Together they developed scripts for the History Channel program, Brad Meltzer's Decoded in 2010, and contributed material on conspiracies and secret societies for TruTV and the American Heroes Channel. They have both appeared on National Public Radio, the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and the American Heroes Channel - most recently in the 2024 episode of America's Book of Secrets - The Freemason Factor for History and Prometheus Productions.

Chris and Alice reside in Indianapolis with their canine companions , Sophie the Flying Poodle and Maxwell, the Idiot Circus Doodle, who have them both answering to basic commands. They can frequently be found alarming the wildlife and dazzling the rustiks in their Airstream trailer as they crisscross the country. Appropriately, their newest books together are RVs and Campers For Dummies, released in June 2021; and RV Vacations For Dummies - 7th Edition, released in June 2023.

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