Masonic Gavel Used By George Washington For Capitol Cornerstone At Tonight's State of the Union Address

Allyn Cox 1955 mural at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial

by Christopher Hodapp

President Donald Trump's State of the Union message is taking place tonight, and there will be an important Masonic artifact there for this special occasion. 

The famous gavel used by George Washington at the Masonic cornerstone ceremony for the new U.S. Capitol building in 1793 will be displayed on the Speaker's podium in the House of Representatives tonight during the joint session of Congress.

Speaker Mike Johnson requested the gavel be present at the State of the Union address for the first time in history. The gavel is owned by Potomac Lodge No. 5 in Washington, DC.

The ceremony has been depicted several times by artists. The image at the top of this article was painted by Allyn Cox as a massive mural at the George Washington Masonic National Monument in Alexandria, Virginia. Installed in 1955, the mural underwent careful restoration in 2017. Cox also painted another version of the ceremony that is in the Cox Corridor of the U.S. Capitol.

From a press release on the Capitol History website:

 

Today, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society proudly announced that Speaker Mike Johnson will become the first House Speaker in history to display George Washington’s Gavel during the State of the Union Address to Congress. The historic Gavel was first used in 1793 to lay the cornerstone of the United States Capitol building: “The People’s House” and the physical manifestation of our democracy. Since that ceremony, the Gavel has been in the care of Potomac Lodge No. 5, the oldest Masonic Lodge in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Capitol Historical Society worked diligently with the Lodge and Speaker’s Office to enable the Gavel to rest on the rostrum during this year’s Address—marking the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.

“The U.S. Capitol Historical Society would like to thank Speaker Johnson and Potomac Lodge No. 5 for working with us to ensure the display of a historic treasure for this year’s historic Address,” said Roswell Encina, President & CEO of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. “Complementing the State of the Union with George Washington’s Gavel beautifully reflects the importance of preserving and sharing the Capitol’s history; helping Americans connect with the people, places, and traditions that continue to shape our nation. A significant part of the Society’s mission is to bring Congress to the People. During America250, it is especially satisfying to have helped bring the People to Congress.”

In 1793, U.S. President and Master Mason, George Washington, laid the cornerstone of the United States Capitol Building. At the time, a growing schism between “Federalists” and “Republicans” threatened the American experiment in its infancy. Washington therefore lent his prestige to such events as the laying of the Capitol cornerstone to give credence to the new U.S. Government: established in 1789 after our Constitution was ratified.

Allyn Cox painting of the Masonic cornerstone ceremony in the Cox Corridor
of the U.S. Capitol. 

On the morning of September 18, 1793, Washington and a procession of artillery and Masonic lodges crossed the Potomac River to the new Federal City. They did so, a newspaper reported, “with music playing, drums beating, colors flying, and spectators rejoicing.” At the Capitol site, Washington stepped into a dug trench, laid a silver plate onto the ground, and set the cornerstone atop it. He was accompanied by brethren who conducted a Masonic ritual with corn (a symbol of nourishment), wine (a symbol of refreshment), and oil (a symbol of joy). Witnesses then chanted and celebrated until night.

After the ceremony, Washington bestowed the Gavel to Valentine Reintzel, the head of Potomac Lodge No. 5, who assisted that day and cared for the artifact until his death. In the two centuries since, Potomac Lodge No. 5 has been the Gavel’s custodian, loaning it to other cornerstone ceremonies, including the Washington Monument, National Cathedral, and Smithsonian Institution.

<snip>

As Washington himself told Congress in his first State of the Union Address:

“Knowledge is in every Country the surest basis of public happiness…To the security of a free Constitution it contributes in various ways: By convincing those, who are entrusted with the public administration, that every valuable end of Government is best answered by the enlightened confidence of the people: And by teaching the people themselves…to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing the first, avoiding the last, and uniting a speedy, but temperate vigilence against encroachments, with an inviolable respect to the laws.”

In addition to the gavel, another artifact from that same ceremony is owned by Virginia's Alexandria-Washington Lodge 22: a large silver trowel used to symbolically spread the cement of Brotherly Love.

Washington D.C.'s Prince Hall Masonic Temple Retains Tax Status

(Google)

by Christopher Hodapp

With so many stories of Masons losing their century-old, architectural and historically significant temple buildings all over the country, it's gratifying to be able to report actually keeping one. The Prince Hall Masons of Washington D.C. have prevailed in retaining tax-exempt status for their historic building on U Street in the nation's capital. 

The Prince Hall Masonic Temple, located at 10th and U Street in D.C., is a historic spot with deep social and cultural roots in the city’s black community. Headquarters of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F&AM, Prince Hall Affiliated, District of Columbia,  this building isn’t just bricks and mortar – it’s a symbol of black business, culture, and social life, dating back to when U Street was known as the “Black Broadway.” Designed by African-American architect Albert Cassell and built between 1922 and 1930 by DC's Prince Hall Masons, the building has served as a restaurant, bowling alley, ballroom, and office space for black-owned businesses. It’s been a hub for social events and community gatherings for generations. Over the years, the area has changed a lot, with gentrification pushing out many longtime residents and businesses, replacing them with new arrivals, but the temple has remained a key landmark.

The D.C. Prince Hall Masons recently faced a huge challenge: keeping ownership of their building and maintaining its tax-exempt status after they made was a seemingly innocuous change: they changed the name of their charity arm, and that meant they had to reapply for the tax exemption. It wasn’t automatic. (The new name is a mouthful: the Prince Hall Free & Accepted Mason and the Order of the Eastern Star Charitable Educational Foundation, or PHFAMOESCEF for short. Really.)

In most states and municipalities, Masonic halls are exempt from paying property taxes because of the long history of charitable works and civic engagement Masons have been known for. Taxing authorities often treat them like churches in that respect. They believe that the Masons contribute far more to their communities than any property taxes on their aging buildings ever could. But note I said MOST states and municipalities – not all. The fortunes and misfortunes of downtown areas have waxed, waned, and waxed again over the last century or more, and many Masonic temples built during the City Beautiful Movement between the 1890s and the 1930s were often erected right downtown or in the earliest suburbs of their era. When those neighborhoods fall on hard times, property taxes go down; but when things get prosperous again, property taxes go up.

According top an article on the Black Enterprise website ("Prince Hall Freemasons Retain Historic Site") when the foundation changed its name in 2022, the tax exemption didn’t just follow it. Marquis McCants, the president and CEO, explained that they had to go through a stack of paperwork and get help from D.C. Council member Brianne Nadeau to reapply for the exemption. They put in the application in 2024 and had to reintroduce it again in 2025. Fortunately, the D.C. Council approved the legislation without controversy, and the temple got to keep its tax-exempt status. This means the foundation can continue to own and operate the building without the financial burden of property taxes. 

(Note to Masonic Temple trustees everywhere: Freemasonry and Masonic lodges are considered exempt from paying federal income tax on revenues as 501(c)10 organizations, but contributions to the lodges cannot be deducted as expenses when calculating your tax liabilities. However, you CAN create a 501(c)3 tax exempt foundation or corporation for the non-fraternal parts of your temple as long as you offer up its use to the general public. That means you can issue tax deductions to those who contribute to the upkeep or improvements of the building's interior and exterior, or infrastructure like plumbing or heating systems, as long as those donations are NOT used for the lodge room itself. Your lodge can't be a 501(c)3, but your building can. Bear in mind – I'm NOT a tax attorney. Consult your accountant before attempting to take my advice on tax issues.)

Prince Hall Freemasonry started in the 1770s when Prince Hall, a free black man in Boston, formed the first Masonic lodge for African Americans after the degrees were conferred upon him and 14 others by the Master of a British traveling military lodge. The Premiere Grand Lodge of England granted a charter to Hall's African Lodge in 1787 after white Massachusetts Masons snubbed them. From that beginning, so-called African Masonry for black men spread into the northeastern states.

In 1818, a group of free black men petitioned the African Grand Lodge of North America in Philadelphia for a warrant to organize African Masonry in the District of Columbia. Social Lodge No. 7 was chartered in the District in 1825 and was made up, at first, of black men who had joined African lodges in Pennsylvania and England. By 1848, the three black lodges in the city formed the Union Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, and Social Lodge became No. 1. As part of a national movement among Prince Hall-descended grand lodges to standardize their pedigree, they changed their name in 1948 to the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F&AM, Prince Hall Affiliated, District of Columbia.

The neo-classical temple on U Street was built thanks to the generosity of Jesse Mitchell, founder of the Industrial Bank of Washington, and Albert Cassell, a local black architect. Over the years, the temple has had some famous members, including former D.C. mayors Marion Barry, Walter E. Washington, Vincent C. Gray, and Anthony Williams. The temple is home to the offices of the grand lodge and the Eastern Star. It contains lodge rooms, and additional facilities to host Grand Lodge sessions and banquets. There are also office rental spaces, and until recently, a CVS Pharmacy was located on the ground floor. At one time there was even a bowling alley in the basement. 

Next to the temple is a plaza featuring the African American Civil War Memorial, dedicated to the 'colored' soldiers who fought to save the Union during the Civil War. A nearby museum contains exhibits about the role of black soldiers during the war.

He's Back – Pike Statue Restored in Washington DC

Photo: Fox News

by Christopher Hodapp - (Revised 10/30/2025, 2:00AM)

The bronze statue of Scottish Rite sage Albert Pike has been restored by the National Parks Service and put back in place in Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C. after being defaced and toppled during George Floyd-related protests in 2020. The restoration was carried out by the NPS under President Trump's executive orders on "Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful" and "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History."

In a statement, the NPS said, "The restoration aligns with federal responsibilities under historic-preservation law and recent executive orders to beautify the nation’s capital and restore pre-existing statues."

Pike was originally placed in this general vicinity across the street from the original Supreme Council headquarters of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite - Southern Jurisdiction in 1901. He lived in the building for many years and the statue was erected to honor his scholarship and long leadership within the fraternity of Freemasonry.

Pike's statue was considered controversial by some because he was compelled by Southern leaders to serve for just five months in the Confederate Army when he lived in Arkansas. But despite press accounts and inflammatory rhetoric to the contrary, this was never a 'confederate statue.' It celebrated his lifetime of accomplishments, prominently highlighting his scholarship in the Scottish Rite. The only reference to his military record appears in the list of his achievements: 'author, poet, scholar, soldier, jurist, orator, philanthropist and philosopher.' And calling him a soldier arguably covers his time in the 1840s spent fighting for the United States in the Mexican American War far more than his time in the Confederate Army. The sculpture does not depict him in a military uniform, nor is he seen even wearing a sword. Instead, he holds in his hand a copy of his masterwork, Morals and Dogma, a vast volume of philosophy, religious ideas, and Masonic idealism.

In previous times, statues were erected to people we called heroes because they were considered role models who accomplished great things, in spite of their flaws. Men like Albert Pike were unique, and he was certainly far greater than the brief episode at the Battle of Pea Ridge, a job he neither sought nor really wanted. And after Pike's Indian troops scalped their Union soldier captives in violation of his orders, he resigned his commission in disgust and went back to practicing law. As for allegations that he was involved in the creation of the post-Civil War Ku Klux Klan, such charges have never been proved by any evidence. Anyone who believes he wrote the KKK's original ceremonial rituals needs to compare them to Pike's actual rituals he created for the Scottish Rite. There is no similarity whatsoever in style or vocabulary.

When H. B. F. McFarland, President of the District Commission, accepted the Pike memorial from the Scottish Rite on behalf of the American people at the 1901 dedication, he addressed Pike's stint in the Confederate Army, saying:

"Although Albert Pike was a soldier in the Civil War, this statue will commemorate him rather as a victor in the honorable rivalries of peace. It is well that you thus add to the comparatively small number of statues in the city of Washington that honor the victories of peace rather than of war."

2026 Masonic Week Feb 4-8: Registration Now Open

by Christopher Hodapp

Registration is already up and running for next February's Masonic Week at the Crystal City Double Tree by Hilton in Arlington, Virginia. Mark your Masonic calendar for February 4th through 8th. 

Held continuously around the Washington DC area ever since 1938, Masonic Week (or more officially known as AMD - Allied Masonic Degrees - Week) is an event that brings together numerous small, generally invitational, Masonic organizations for their annual meetings, officer elections, award presentations, and degree conferrals. Yes, those do go on, but there are also lunches, banquets and lectures, and one of the best Masonic marketplaces anywhere. It's a chance to meet brethren from all over the world who converge here, to make new friendships and rediscover old friends you only see annually.

While the AMD is the largest of the groups meeting in February, there's also the Commemorative Order of St. Thomas of Acon, Sovereign Order of Knights Preceptor, Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests, the Masonic Order of Athelstan, Masonic Order of Pilgrim Preceptors, York Rite Sovereign College, Knight Masons, the Chevaliers Bienfaisant de la Cité Sainte, the Worshipful Society of Free Masons, and the Rough Plaisterers and Bricklayers (the Operatives). Some groups have come and gone over the years — the Masonic Society is now defunct, sadly, and the Rosicrucians have their own annual gathering in Louisville now each November — but there's still loads going on.

Even if you're not part of any of the bodies that meet there officially, there's lots to do, and the organizers will be offering a half-hour Orientation program every morning for newcomers, so you won't feel lost or intimidated by all this. Master Masons can attend meetings and the banquet for the Philalethes Society (the oldest Masonic research organization in America), where there's always a speaker, the Society of Blue Friars (an invitational body of noteworthy Masonic authors that inducts a new friar each year who must give a presentation), the Grand College of Rites (publishers of Collectanea, which publishes and preserves some of the most obscure Masonic-related or derived degree rituals and materials from over the last 300 years). IAnd i you've got the itch to leave Washington with a couple of new degrees under your Masonic apron, there's the Grand Order of the Sword of Bunker Hill (appropriate this year, as it's the 250th anniversary of that famous battle), and it's the 100th year of the Annual Cellar of Ye Antient Order of Corks.

It's also a great opportunity to visit the countless sites, museums and memorials around the Washington DC area. Masons should take advantage of the chance to visit both the Scottish Rite SJ's magnificent House of the Temple (which will be open on Friday, February 6, from 10 AM to 4 PM) and the George Washington Masonic National Memorial (open from Thursday, February 5, to Sunday, February 8, from 9 AM to 5 PM). With some advance planning,  communication and permission, you might even try to visit a meeting Thursday or Friday night at an area Masonic lodge in DC, Virginia or Maryland. 

Visit the Masonic Week website HERE for registration and hotel information. 

Seasoned attendees note that this is a venue change this year. The Crystal City Double Tree by Hilton is located at 300 Army Navy Drive in Arlington, just south of the Pentagon, on the other side of the interstate, which is still only about a 5 minute Uber drive from Reagan National Airport. I'm not seeing much in the way of walking distance restaurants, but that may be deceiving.

I'll add a shameless plug for one of my books here, only because Masons traveling to Washington find it to be extremely helpful when seeking out Masonic-related sites in Washington. Solomon's Builders has descriptions of the lodge halls and important Masonic-related buildings and sites in the Washington area. It's a little dated now (it was published in the Dan Brown Mania period when the whole publishing world wanted to cash in on the post-Da Vinci Code craze), but the historical and geographical information hasn't really changed.

G. Washington Masonic Natl Memorial Wraps Up Major Exterior Restoration

by Christopher Hodapp

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria has been undergoing a major (and painstaking) exterior restoration project for the last eleven years. The monument to Brother George was built over a century ago and suffered from increasing water damage, limestone degradation, and even cracks from a 2011 earthquake. Work started on the iconic 9-story tower in 2014 and has at long last been completed.

An article in the local Zebra publication two weeks ago written and photographed by Brother Shawn Eyer detailed the work that was being done.

Cracks in the stone were sealed with epoxy. All of the original mortar was “raked out,” and each joint was repointed with a long-lasting mixture that allows moisture to escape rather than remain and go through freeze-thaw cycles. Weather-capping was installed. New LED lighting was installed to allow for the tower to be lit in many colors. Efflorescence—lime deposits often visible from the ground—was chipped away. In certain places, significant structural damage was repaired using steel rods. . .

For the last several years now, the work has neared completion with the scaffolding located behind the building, along the outer wall of the Memorial’s theater. Finally, the restoration of the temple was completed last month when workers lowered a newly-carved “Dutchman’s repair” into a niche where the 2011 earthquake had caused the coping to split. Now, that damage is completely invisible, and the integrity of the building is restored from top to bottom.

For the first time in a generation, it is possible to see the building in as stately a condition as that when it was first erected: a beautiful beacon of light with a positive and inspiring message.

 Thanks to Paul Keegan and his crew at Hibernia Masonry.

Albert Pike's Masonic Statue To Be Reinstalled in Washington D.C.

by Christopher Hodapp

The National Parks Service has announced it will restore and re-install the iconic bronze statue of Scottish Rite sage Albert Pike on its former plinth in Washington, DC's Judiciary Square. On June 19, 2020, the statue was toppled by rioters, covered in paint, doused with lighter fluid, and ignited, a victim of the national Confederate-related statue-toppling mania that went on in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

According to a press release from the NPS issued yesterday,

Micro-abrasive cleaning of the Albert Pike statue to remove corrosion 

and paint in order to review the conditions of the bronze prior to repairs 

NPS photo

The restoration aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as recent executive orders to beautify the nation’s capital and re-instate pre-existing statues.

Originally authorized by Congress in 1898 and dedicated in 1901, the statue honors Pike’s leadership in Freemasonry, including his 32 years as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient Rite of Scottish Freemasonry. The statue has been in secure storage since its removal and is currently undergoing restoration by the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center.

This action supports both the Executive Order on Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful and the Executive Order on Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, which direct federal agencies to protect public monuments and present a full and accurate picture of the American past.

Site preparation to repair the statue’s damaged masonry plinth will begin shortly, with crews repairing broken stone, mortar joints, and mounting elements. The NPS is targeting October 2025 for completing the reinstallment of the fully restored statue.

Upon the announcement, Washington D.C.'s longtime non-voting delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton, announced her intention to introduce a new bill in Congress to prevent its reinstallation and to, instead, donate it to a museum, saying, "a statue honoring a racist and a traitor has no place on the streets of D.C."

Before its toppling, detractors had long objected to the statue on the grounds that Pike had owned several slaves when he lived in Arkansas, and served for just five months in the Confederate Army as a Brigadier General before resigning in disgust, making it the only statue of a "former Confederate soldier" in the District. There has also been a longstanding, unsubstantiated allegation that Pike had been a founder of the post-war Ku Klux Klan, claiming he had written their original rituals. And, oof course, there's a whole raft of conspiracy theories about Pike, topped by the absurd notion that he was a Luciferian whose rituals turned Freemasonry into Satanic ceremonies.

Pike was a complex, intellectual and deeply profound man in his day, and attempting to portray him as a "racist and a traitor" ignores just how complex he really was, reducing his lifetime to just two misleading adjectives. And wrapping up such a superficial judgement with lies and conspiracy theories is a deliberate attempt to rewrite history to win likes and clicks.

(See Scottish Rite SJ Grand Archivist Arturo DeHoyos' statement from 2020 about Pike's real writings and activities HERE.)

Pike's statue had first been erected by the Scottish Rite SJ across from the location of their original 'House of the Temple' headquarters. For thirty years, protesters and the press characterized Pike's sculpture as a "Confederate monument," despite the fact that it was never anything of the kind. His statue was not erected by pro-Confederate veterans groups, or by alleged Ku Klux Klan members (it predated the 1920s resurgence of the KKK by many years). The statue was originally erected on a tiny sliver of land between two diverging diagonal streets. The streets and the statue were moved slightly when a new highway on-ramp was built there in the 1950s. The 11-foot tall bronze sculpture by Italian artist Gaetano Trentanove was erected in 1901 and donated to the city by the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction to commemorate their own 100th anniversary. 

Out of their first 90 years, Albert Pike had served as the AASR-SJ's Sovereign Grand Commander for 32 of them—over a third of the Supreme Council's entire lifespan at that time. The original House of the Temple held their headquarters, their auditorium for putting on degrees, their vast and growing library, and Albert Pike lived and died there. So did his TWO successors. That made this particular corner historically significant.

The sculpture did NOT depict Pike as a Confederate soldier, nor did it commemorate or celebrate the five months in which he served as a general in the Confederate army. It was a Masonic representation of Pike's lifetime accomplishments as an author, philosopher, orator, lawyer, historian, polyglot, and a soldier (not only in his brief stint in the Confederate army, but also in the Mexican-American War). He wasn't atop a horse; he had no sword dangling from his belt; there was no declaration of heroship, and no phony bromide about 'healing a divided nation' that are the hallmarks of Civil War statues. Pike stood there with a book in his hand and the inscription Vixit Laborum Ejus Super Stites Sunt Fructus. "He has lived. The fruits of his labors live after him." Yet few - if any - who tore it down had any interest in actually looking up what the fruits of his labors really were.

There were no references to the Confederacy, only that Pike had been a "soldier" and the banner in the hand of the Grecian figure is not a Confederate flag or symbol, but a Scottish Rite one featuring the double-headed eagle. It was purely a Masonic statue and an homage to his life's many accomplishments. Nevertheless, it was felled by the mob and hauled away to an unspecified location by the District's Parks Department.

This morning, an NPR reporter sent me an email asking for a comment about the statue's restoration. Unfortunately, I returned her call too late for her deadline. The last thing any Freemason wants is for this whole controversy to bubble up again and used to fling mud on the fraternity. I've never been of the opinion that Pike needed to be beatified by Masons, and he didn't either, if his own writings were any indication. He once wrote: “When I am dead, I wish my monument to be builded only in the hearts and memories of my Brethren of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and my name to be remembered by them in every country, no matter what language men may speak there, where the light of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite shall shine, and its oracles of Truth and Wisdom be reverently listened to.”

Besides, Washington Masonic sites get enough vandalism from the lunatic crowd without giving them another one. But I despise it when the hysterics go out of their way to spread lies about the fraternity, especially when the truth is easily discovered.

For more than you'll ever want to know about Pike and the statue, see Albert Pike, Statues, History and Hysteria from back in 2017. In the 1980s and 90s, it became something of a crusade for perennial presidential candidate and famed nutcase Lyndon LaRouche to demand its removal.

Every time this particular subject arises, I always add the same post script. In February 1993, the Philalethes magazine published a piece about the Pike statue controversy that was raging back then. It was written by the Reverend Howard L. Woods, a Christian minister who served for ten years as the Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas F&AM. In 1991, he had been invited as the Lecturer for the Philalethes Society, the first Prince Hall Mason ever asked to do so, and still many years before Prince Hall recognition became widespread. GM Woods wrote before more recent scholarship has brought to light more of Pike's writings and verification that Pike did indeed provide his revised Scottish Rite rituals to help the Prince Hall aligned Scottish Rite.*(see note)

The Reverend Grand Master Woods' perspective in 1993 deserves to be repeated now, both for our own members and the general public. It still rings true 32 years later.

The Albert Pike Statue: Let It Stand

There is no love lost between Prince Hall Masons and the memory of the late Albert Pike, Masonic Historian, writer, alleged ritualist for the Ku Klux Klan, but, if Freemasonry is to remain the bulwark of free-thinking people, then, "Let the statue remain!"

Like the natures he wrote about, Albert Pike showed the light and dark sides of his own soul, when with one breath he spoke of his willingness to give up his Freemasonry rather than recognize the Negro as a 'Masonic Brother' and with another breath, declared that every man should be free, for a free man is an asset, while a slave is a liability. Mankind is that way, and as long as the statue stands, America and Freemasonry will survive.

Let the statue be torn down and America and Freemasonry will be in jeopardy, for one would have to wonder, "What would be next?" As a Prince Hall Mason, an African American and supposedly free-thinker, I can see a higher power than the mortal mind of Albert Pike guiding his pen as he wrote such beautiful words of life without an occasional helping hand from someone "bigger than you or I."

Let the statue stand, even if it is proven that Albert Pike did write ritual for the Ku Klux Klan; more ignoble deeds have been done by others without sacrifice of their historic heroism.

Let the statue stand as a reminder that the good and evil of men are in equilibrium within us, and we all should strive for perfection now and in the future, not in the past. Let the statue stand!

 --Rev. Howard L. Woods, Grand Master, Prince Hall Masons of Arkansas.

*NOTE: Between 1887 and 1891, Albert Pike happily shared personal, autographed copies of his Scottish Rite Masonic degree rituals with his counterpart, Thornton A. Jackson, in the parallel Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction for black Prince Hall Masons, in order to assist their fledgling organization. Pike's correspondence has not survived, but in writings of the period, Jackson described Pike as his friend. Later comparisons of their two sets of rituals confirmed that the Prince Hall AASR-SJ today remain very close to those Pike wrote in the years before 1887.

Post-riot photos by Brother Efrian Olujimi Dalle

UnXplained Episode: Secret Societies

by Christopher Hodapp

The History network finally got around this week to airing an episode of The UnXplained with William Shatner that I shot a segment for a year ago. Season 7/Episode 9: Secret Societies. 

Thanks again to the kind folks at Prometheus Productions who have kept calling me back for 15 years now, for some inexplicable reason.

The portion on the Freemasons featured bits of me and Arturo De Hoyos that were shot in Washington D.C.'s beautiful Scottish Rite Cathedral (which is not the same thing as the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction's House of the Temple, which sits a few blocks south on 16th Street). Built in 1939, it ha a unique style all its own. If you've never been there, it's well worth a visit.

By the way, for some odd reason, production companies keep crediting Art as the 'Grand Historian' of the Scottish Rite, when he is, in fact, the Grand Archivist.

His other titles are, of course, a big secret...

I will say that this is the third program I've been in hosted by William Shatner, but if you think I've actually been permitted to meet him, or even be in the same room with him, forget it. This was the only way I could say I've made pictures with Shatner.

Masonic Week 2025: Ric Berman Named As Newest Blue Friar, and Philalethes Names Four New Fellows

Friar No. 113 Ric Berman

by Christopher Hodapp

At quite literally the very last minute on Thursday, I flew to Washington D.C. to catch a couple of events at Masonic Week: the Consistory of the Society of Blue Friars, and the Friday night banquet for the Philalethes Society.

The Society of Blue Friars was founded in 1932 for the express purpose of recognizing outstanding Masonic authors throughout the world. Traditionally, the Society convenes each year during Masonic Week in the Washington, D.C. vicinity to induct a new Friar, and its gatherings are open to the public, unless the presenter specifies otherwise. 

Authors like Arthur E. Waite, Harold V.B. Voorhis, Dwight L. Smith, Brent Morris, Allen Roberts, Thomas Jackson, Yasha Beresiner, Alain Bernheim, Robert G. Davis, Alton Roundtree, Mark Tabbert, Shawn Eyer, Michael R. Poll, Robert D. B. Cooper, Josef Wäges, Piers Vaughan and Adam Kendall are just a few prior Blue Friar honorees. In a rare moment of weakness, they even let a Dummy in. (After all - their prior Abbott is an Idiot, so I was in good company.) I was very sorry to have missed last year's Masonic Week festivities, when my friend John Bizzack was named as Friar No. 112.

This year's newest Blue Friar is the extremely prolific Richard ('Ric') Berman, author of numerous historical works about both English and American Freemasonry. Ric concentrates his studies and writings on 18th and 19th century Freemasonry in both the British Isles and America, and if you've never read any of his books, he always brings unique insights as to the social forces going on around the changes in the fraternity at key moments in history.

Some of Friar Berman's books include Schism - the Battle That Forged Freemasonry; Inventing the Future - the 1723 Constitutions; Loyalists & Malcontents - Freemasonry & Revolution in South Carolina and Georgia; and The Grand Lodge of England & Colonial America - America’s Grand Masters, to name just a few.

Ric Berman addresses the Society of Blue Friars 

(Photo: Billy Hamilton)

When a Friar is named each year, he is expected to present a paper at the Consistory, and Ric spoke on the political and religious background in England in the years leading up to the formation of the Premiere Grand Lodge of England. There had been a great influx of Huguenots (French Anglicans) fleeing severe persecution from France into London just prior to the founding of grand lodge Freemasonry in 1717, and they had been welcomed into the English lodges with open arms. If things had gone just slightly differently, we Masons would have had to learn how to spell John Theophilus Desaguliers instead of James Anderson when referring to the Constitutions. Thank your stars our rituals aren't in French.

Ric holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Cambridge and a Doctorate in History from the University of Exeter. His post-doctoral research was carried out at the University of Oxford's Modern European History Research Centre and as a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he is the author of numerous journal articles and books, and has presented keynote papers globally. A Freemason for more than forty years and twice a Prestonian Lecturer, Ric holds Grand Rank in the United Grand Lodge of England and is a Past Master of three English Lodges, including Quatuor Coronati Lodge # 2076, the premier lodge of Masonic research. He is also an American Freemason, a member and honorary member of lodges in California, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Washington D.C., and a Fellow of the Philalethes Society.

The Mess Over MESH: Grand Lodge of District of Columbia and the MESH Charity Finally Settle Their Long-Running Dispute

Seems like East Coast Masons have been infected off and on by various and sundry ill winds off the Atlantic ever since 2020 when COVID whacked us all. Grand Lodges in New Jersey, DC and South Carolina, along with the Prince Hall GL in Massachusetts all had long, tough, knock-down, drag-out fights internally that started during that irksome annus horribilis. So have the Grand Encampment of the Templars in the USA and the Scottish Rite NMJ. At the very least, it seems that the COVID lockdowns and meeting cancellations were leading to serious mental problems in the fraternity, like one big nervous breakdown…

I've posted here about Texas and South Carolina over the years, but the mud wrestling matches in Grand Lodges of Washington DC, New Jersey, and the Prince Hall brethren in Massachusetts all seemed especially sticky to pick apart, decipher, and most important, fairly and even-handedly explain them. Well, at least for right now anyway, crank up your old Cat Stevens album: the The Peace Train in DC has finally been put back on the track, and there can at last be some rejoicing.

So what the hell happened in DC over the last three years? Grab a pot of coffee or a big bottle of Mountain Dew. I'll try to be brief, but regular readers here know that's impossible.

What Was the Mess with MESH?

The Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia has been going through major turmoil for almost three years over a combined charitable foundation known as Masonic and Eastern Star Home of the District of Columbia Charities, Inc. (known by it’s vaguely Man-From-U.N.C.L.E.-esque acronym, M.E.S.H.), operated, maintained, and administered as a combined fundraising effort between the Grand Lodge of DC and the Eastern Star Home. Its principal mission is to support the Masonic and Eastern Star retirement community in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The fight seems to have erupted after the sitting Grand Master back in 2022, MW Daniel Huertas, apparently referred to the MESH charity as being a "Grand Lodge charity fund." Essentially, the entire mess blew apart after the charity's trustees responded, "Oh, no it isn't!" followed by the Grand Master's retort that, since it was a Masonic-related entity, the Grand Lodge (and, by extension, the Grand Master) had the final say in the Foundation's money, employees, beneficiaries, and operation. 

He subsequently said, "Hold my cocktail for a second, Brother," and promptly ordered an audit of the Fund. And suddenly there were false teeth, tattered cumberbunds, and shreds of ripped toupées flinging everywhere.

In response, the MESH trustees filed a 162-paragraph, 42 page complaint in April 2022, suing the Grand Lodge of D.C. for alleged actions taken by the Grand Lodge and various individuals, disputing the accounting for COVID relief funds collected by MESH in between 2020-21. I know this because someone anonymously sent me a whopping FedEx package containing a copy of the entire file. I accidentally dropped it and almost broke my foot.

NOTE! Let me state right at the outset: my understanding is that there was never any allegation of wrongdoing with the MESH funds. Simply, there was an inordinate butting of the heads over who is in charge of the MESH finances, and who has the right to exercise legal and fiduciary authority over the Foundation.

The Lawsuit

Among the allegations made by MESH in its court filing:

• Because the Grand Lodge had improperly labeled the MESH accounts as its own, it had allegedly “weaponized” the fund.
• That the GM improperly demanded documents related to COVID relief funds, while the MESH trustees asserted that Grand Lodge had no authority to audit MESH.
• That the GM improperly called for a special meeting; that he openly called a Past Grand Master a liar; and that he made improper demands for witnesses to recant their statements and testimony.
• That the GM humiliated the Junior Grand Warden and refused to let him serve in his official capacity. (Allegedly telling him, despite his election, that his services would not be required.)
• That the GL “improperly pursued“ several MESH employees (can they properly pursue one?)
• That an elected MESH representative was improperly removed by the Grand Master, in an abuse of his Masonic suspension super-powers.

There were a handful of others, but these were the highlights. MESH sought an injunction, declaratory relief, and a whole pile of compensatory cash. But, oddly, there were no individual plaintiffs mentioned in the suit, nor were there any actual allegations of improper masonic discipline, humiliation and discriminatory conduct.

By May of 2022, a Past Grand Master, the sitting Junior Grand Warden, and the chairman of the DC MESH Foundation had all been suspended by the GM. Lodges became frightened of reprisals.

Time passed; 2023 came and went; MW Annas F. Kamera became Grand Master, and he couldn't make much headway at de-escalating the whole thing, either. 

Last Year's Christmas Gift

Events continued to escalate. But four days before Christmas last December, an olive branch appeared in members' email inboxes from the new Grand Master for 2024, MW Jacob Bressman. In it, he asked MESH to withdraw its lawsuit, in return for which he would reinstate all of the Masons involved in the whole mess and attempt to bury the hatchet in no one in particular.

By New Year's Day 2024, there were no announcements of any kind to show anyone had taken the GM up on his offer. MW Bressman was now the third Grand Master in a row to attempt dealing with this train wreck.

Calm Returns To DC, At Least Among Masons

Finally, after three years of yanking dues cards, removing officers from elected positions, the filing of at least one lawsuit, and the expenditure of what must have been an eye-popping amount of cash needlessly spent by both sides on legal fees instead of charity, the warring parties retreated to the back room earlier this month, kissed, and finally made up. 

Not on the lips, mind you, but still quite a fulsome buss on the cheeks, anyway.

The statement from October 17th:

Charters of Lodges In Lebanon Revoked by GM of District of Columbia

by Christopher Hodapp

MW Grand Master Jacob M. Bressman of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia has arrested the charters of all three of their lodges in the Middle Eastern nation of Lebanon. Official Decision No. 2024-4, issued June 24th, revokes the charters of Phoenix Lodge No. 1001, Cadmus Lodge No. 1002, and Cedrus Libani Lodge No. 1003, all located in Beirut, Lebanon.

The Decision states:

"It has come to my attention that Phoenix Lodge No. 1001, Cadmus Lodge No. 1002 and Cedrus Libani Lodge No. 1003, have each demonstrated an inability to work together in fraternal communion-to such an extent that their disharmony warrants action by this Grand Lodge; and. . . have been provided ample opportunity to rectify these issues but have failed to do so. . . 

[snip] 

[These lodges are now] prohibited from holding all communications, conducting visitations to other Lodges, and participating in any Masonic activities-including all appendant bodies-held throughout this or any other Jurisdiction in the World, until such time as this matter is properly resolved."

The decision does clarify in this instance that the members of these three lodges who are in good standing "continue to enjoy their individual privileges and rights as Masons of this jurisdiction."

For such a relatively small country, Freemasonry has had a chaotic history Lebanon. In 1999, authors Kent Henderson and Tony Pope reported in their indispensable book, Freemasonry Universal, that there were at least 18 grand lodges at work within Lebanon at that time; several had just one single lodge and a grand master "appointed for life."

Grand lodges of Scotland, New York and the Grande Loge Nationale Française (GLNF) have all had regularly chartered lodges in that country for decades. Scotland's first lodge in the area was chartered in 1861, back when the region was called Greater Syria, and the Scottish lodges flourished during the period of the Ottoman Empire. The GL of Scotland formed its own own District Grand Lodge of Lebanon in 2012. New York first established lodges in Lebanon in 1924, and created its own District Grand Lodge of Syria-Lebanon back in 1955.

The entry of the GLofDC into Lebanon was a recent development. I believe they chartered their first two lodges there in 2017, which turned into a major controversy that resulted in New York, Scotland and DC all trading accusations and withdrawals of fraternal relations for a few years.

Further mucking up this melange, three of the Grand Lodge of New York's chartered
Lebanon lodges petitioned to form their own grand lodge. A charter to that effect was signed and issued by the Grand Lodge of the F&AM of the State of New York on October 24, 2018 creating the Grand Lodge of the F&AM of Lebanon. 

It's worth pointing out to those unacquainted with the geography, Lebanon sits just west of Syria and north of Israel, abutting the Golan Heights. Increased Hezbollah attacks against Israel from across the border are in danger of escalating the war into Lebanon sooner than later. It is a complex country with a complicated population mix and a history of violent upheavals ever since achieving its post-WWII independence. As desperately needed as Masonry's message of tolerance, cooperation, universal benevolence, and brotherhood may be in this region of the world, the realities of human conflicts aren't always so easy to trowel over with the cement of brotherly love.