Grand Master’s Proclamation: May 2023 is Public Awareness Month
Tues:5/02
Business Meeting Dinner: 6:30pm
Burlingame Lodge has 4 stated meetings: January, February, August, November.
The remaining months of 2023 will have dinner meetings for fellowship. Attendance requires confirmation by RSVP.
RSVP by phone or text message to the Junior Warden at (650) 270-4925, or respond to the Lodge Emailer
Mon:5/29
Memorial Day [Observed]
5/3: Fallen Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony
5/5-7: Masters & Wardens Retreat (Lake Tahoe)
First and foremost, thank you to all the brothers who continue to support our Tuesday nights. This being the inaugural year of our reduced stated meetings, I’m glad to see that the fellowship among the brethren is indeed alive and well within our halls. Also of note is the abundance of friends of the craft at our social nights. I believe that we will soon be partaking in many more entered apprentice degrees in the near future.
The month of May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We can focus our attention to the contributions of the AAPI community to masonry and California in general. We need not look any further than our own lodge where many members among us are of Asian decent. I urge you, at our next gathering, to learn more about our brothers’ culture. San Francisco has a rich Asian American history and culture. In fact, the Asian Art Museum in the Civic Center of San Francisco is a fantastic resource to immerse in and learn.
On a more somber note, Memorial Day is a day to remember the service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their country. Our lodge is also rich in members who have served in our country’s great military. I would like to thank all our brothers who have, at one point in their lives, donned the uniform and taken arms for our country.
I also encourage our members to participate in the many ceremonies that commemorate Memorial Day. The Hillsborough Memorial Day Parade, for example, will be on May 30th. Be it participate or spectate, involve yourself in this worthwhile event to honor and remember the men and women who died while serving in the US military.
I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Fraternal Love, Vince D. Chan, P.M. Master
A Warm Greeting My Brothers,
Why A.L. (6023) is used as the Masonic Year Dating System vs. A.D. (2023)
There is confusion from time to time about the year designation A.L. on a Masonic document. By way of example, you may have noticed on the front page to each month’s “Trestleboard 400” the dates A.D. 2023 and A.L. 6023 are prominently displayed under the line which sets forth the month, volume, and issue number of the particular bulletin.
In summation, Anno Lucis (A.L.) is Latin for “In the Year of Light”, and is a dating system used in Masonic ceremonial or commemorative proceedings, which is equivalent to the Roman, Julian and eventual Gregorian year of Anno Domini (A.D.) (Latin for “In the Year of the Lord”) plus 4,000 years. Thus, our very own Trestleboard has two dates listed on the cover: A.D. 2023 and A.L. 6023 (2023 + 2,000).
Why is A.L. 4,000 years beyond A.D. and why are there two calendaring systems?
To answer the first question, the reason why Anno Lucis (A. L.) is 4,000 beyond
Anno Domini (“In the year of Our Lord”) is because the date of the world’s creation is generally assumed, from a Biblical standpoint, to be 4,000 years before the birth of the Jesus Christ in the Year 1 AD, and as we know the creation of the world saw its beginning with “Light” or as Masons say “in humble commemoration of that august command: “Let there be Light”.
And this leads to why there are two calendaring systems. Dr. James Anderson, in his 1723 “Constitutions”, refers to the 4,000 year-advanced “Anno Lucis” as “The Year of Masonry” because of the combination of the A.D. dating system, plus the 4,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, and the idea was created to have a Masonic year. The thought was that having a Masonic year gives tribute to the Gregorian year of Anno Domini (A.D.) or Year of our Lord, plus includes an important philosophical element of Freemasonry that 4,000 years before A.D., “Light” was released upon the world according to the Bible. Thus, Masonic tradition has parity with both the operative (A.D.) and speculative (A. L.) worlds in
which Masons see the “Light” by which they perform their labors.
This is why a Mason's Grand Lodge registration certificate has two dates recorded thereon, the Year of Light (or the Year of Masonry) and the near universally accepted Gregorian every day calendar year of A.D. (or Anno Domini the “Year of Our Lord”).
So, therefore, if a candidate was made a Mason in 1955, the precise date would appear on their Masonic certificate as 1955 A.D., as well as the Anno Lucis date, which would be 5955 A.L. (1955 +4,000). If you’re still with me and not too confused (or bored), Anno Mundi (A.M.) is the Latin for “In the year of the World”. Anno Mundi is a dating system utilized in the Hebrew calendar in which some Masonic degrees abroad are conferred, and is roughly calculated 3,760 years before Anno Domini.
Hello Brethren,
I want to thank all those who’ve been regularly calling me to reserve for our informal social gatherings during the past months of our modified meeting schedule. We’ve had several very nice gentlemen with friends join us recently, with inquiries about our fraternity. We’ve enjoyed good food, great conversation and the promise of growing friendships. I look forward to our brief May meeting to conduct necessary lodge business and allow for another opportunity to gather as friends and break bread together. Please make a reservation through the standard mail-chimp process if you’d like to attend; look for a separate email. Make a special effort to get out and enjoy the great weather, we live in such a beautiful area.
Last month we heard a presentation from
And finally, Anno Ordinis (A.O.) is Latin for “In the year of the Order”. The term is used in Knight Templary and is found by subtracting 1118 from the everyday calendar. 1118 is the year the Catholic military order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon or simply Knights Templar was deemed founded.
And now you know!
Fraternally, Robert O. Whyte Senior Warden
our Stewards, Renato Alferez and Shawn Snowden regarding the Grand Lodge’s “Masons for Mitts Program”, and we dedicated the dinner collection as a donation to this fine cause. Please support our officers as they dedicate their energy to assisting our local youth and fraternal youth groups, there is no greater cause than the future.
Fraternally, Charlie Drechsler, P.M.2 Junior Warden
Asia-Pacific is a vast land area with rich and diverse cultural communities that are thousands of years old. The geographical area encompasses the Asian continent, including the area between Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Korea, Japan, and parts of Russia, andthePacificislandsofMelanesia(New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, FrenchPolynesiaandEasterIsland).
by Marty Cusing, P.M.AsianAmericanandPacificIslanderHeritageMonthintheUnitedStatestracesits rootsto1977when CongressmanFrankHortonofNewYorkintroducedaresolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to proclaim the first ten day of May as Pacific/AsianAmericanHeritageWeek.ThemonthofMaywaschosentorecognize theemigrationofthefirstJapanesetotheUnitedStatesonMay7,1843andmark the anniversary of the completion of transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Chineseimmigrantscomprisedthemajorityoftheworkerswholaidtrackstocompletetherailroad.
U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii introduced a similar resolution in the U.S. Senate. In 1978, Representative Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 1007. ThejointresolutionpassedtheU.S.HouseandSenateandwassignedbyPresident Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978 to become Public Law 95-419. The law authorizedthepresidenttoissueaproclamationdesignatingtheseven-dayperiodbeginningonMay4,1979asAsian/PacificAmericanHeritageWeek.Sincethattime,the recognitionofAsian/PacificAmericanHeritagehasbeenexpandedtothemonth.
AAPI communities also diverse in terms of language, culture, religion, and socioeconomic status. One important aspect of Asian American heritage is the concept of brotherhood or community, as seen in the many masonic lodges in California, and represented in our very own lodgeinBurlingame.InmanyAAPIcultures,the emphasis on collectivism and group identity is strong, with a focus on supporting and looking out for one another. This is reflected in the many community organizations and networks thatexist within AAPI communities, which provide support, resources, and a sense of belongingforindividualsandfamilies.
Understanding and celebrating this diversity is important for building empathy and understanding across AAPI communities and for advocating for policies that promote equity and justiceforall.
In honor of this month, our Master shared a photo of his masonic legacy, WB Art Chan, Past Deputy Grand Master in Guam, who is also his father.
