Grand Master’s Message

This issue of the Voice affords us the opportunity to Masonic education and information has received officially call our Brethren from recess to labor. July special attention, through a renewal in the programand August is a period when most of our lodges go ming of Pythagoras Lodge of Research. Papers and dark and Masonic activity is generally at a minimum. presentations are an integral part of every meeting However, this is also a time to reflect on what has and the lodge is serving as a valuable resource for transpired and to review the plans and programs we papers and speakers. Pythagoras has also initiated set in the beginning of the year so that we may evala forum for our Brethren to contribute short original uate our success in achieving our papers on Masonic subjects, with objectives; and, yes, double our awards for worthy contributions. determination and efforts to assure success in the implementation of our To improve Grand Lodge communiplans for the remainder of the year cations a new and improved online and beyond. calendar is now available on the In reviewing what we have done in are now provided with easy access the first six months of 2007, we have to updated Lodge and Grand every reason to be proud of our Lodge trestle boards and proachievements. Our lodges have grams, including the Grand been busy with new programs, Master’s schedule. improving their ritual work, providing Masonic education through presenTo raise our Masonic profile by tations and discussions in the lodge, engaging in community outreach in and initiating an impressive number a continuous manner, the Grand of quality young candidates. On the Grand Lodge side, we have worked with our lodges and Brethren to complement their Most Worshipful Brother Robert B. Heyat Lodge’s charitable endeavors have focused on several important areas: children, education, youth efforts and provide the necessary support. and veterans. We thank all lodges collectively and Our main objective this year has been “Investing in ners with the Grand Lodge in these activities: the Craft”. To that end, the Grand Lodge has focused on the following issues and areas: • The DC Games of Special Olympics was one of - Proficiency in Ritual Work their families were entertained and fed by more than - Masonic Education 70 volunteers from our lodges and appendant bod- Training of lodge officers ies. Our Grand Lodge was recognized as a major - Masonic communications sponsor and participated in the opening ceremonies - Charity together with Community Outreach of the Games. - Membership development by initiating and retain Grand Lodge web site. All Brethren the members individually who participated as partthe major events, and more than 1200 athletes and ing quality candidates. • Making Sergeant John Kriesel, recipient of the Purple Heart, a Mason at Sight in Walter Reed Army The members of our Work and Lectures Committee Medical Center, on behalf of the Grand Lodge of Minhave been very busy helping the lodges in their ritual nesota, was a highly emotional event which work and they have taken the Grand Lodge School of represented the principle of patriotism in our FraterInstruction to the lodges getting lodge instructors to nity at its finest. Brother John Kriesel was also participate fully in all aspects of the ritual work. elected an honorary member in our Freedom Military

Lodge No. 1775 and was awarded the Medal of Freedom in an inspiring ceremony as part of our Universal Brotherhood Celebration.

• The Masonic Day of Thanksgiving, celebrated for the first time in the beautiful Auditorium of our Scottish Rite Center, with an all-inclusive spiritual program, music and refreshment, and a record participation by our brethren, their family and friends as well as members of our appendant bodies, was the manifestation of our gratitude for the blessings of the Almighty and a source of joy and deep satisfaction for all.

• The Universal Brotherhood Celebration, included the unique and inspiring Universal Lodge and Festive Board, together with the National Masonic Trail Walk, a new and highly successful event marking once again the universality of our Craft by bringing together all our lodges as well as dignitaries from Sister Jurisdictions from the U.S. and abroad.

• The final event on the calendar of the Grand Lodge, before the summer recess, was the 4th of July Parade and Picnic at the Palisades, a community outreach program, showcasing once again the fruits of dedication, organization and hard work by our brethren, serving the Community.

You will find detailed reports on all these activities in the pages of this issue of the Voice of Freemasonry, which in and of itself is a major undertaking and a source of pride for us all to have an official publication of this caliber.

I can not even begin to give credit and recognize individually or collectively all who have put in so much time and labored hard and selflessly to make all these activities and events possible. I salute them all and will strive to find a way of thanking them properly before the year is over.

During the summer recess, the Grand Secretary’s office kept busy with preparations for the fall and winter programs and activities of the Grand Lodge, keeping the constituent lodges and membership in general informed of upcoming events, providing support for the Annual Leadership Conference in September, the Grand Visitations and Annual Communication in October, and the Third Communication in December.

We will have a few more major events in the coming months, such as the Veterans 10K Race and the DC School program. I have also scheduled a number of Grand Visitations to groupings of lodges meeting in the same Masonic temple, and look forward to high attendance and receiving positive reports on their activities and programs.

It is because of your outstanding achievements thus far that I am looking forward to the start of the second half of our Masonic year with renewed enthusiasm and energy, recognizing that we have yet a lot to do to achieve the goals set at the beginning of the year.

Looking further ahead and in continuation of programs and projects to Invest in the Craft, the 9th World Conference of Masonic Grand Lodges will be held next May in our nation’s capital under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Washington, D.C. The organizing committee, led by our Deputy Grand Master, has been hard at work since the beginning of the current year in preparation of what promises to be yet another big step forward in promoting our fraternity across the world, and further enhancing our standing as a premier Grand Lodge in World Freemasonry.

Are you doing your part to help the Craft grow?

The Grand Lodge has done a great deal to get the lodges to be more active in the community and attempt to have the community know us little better. But no amount of public relations can ever take the place of the individual mason. How we act in public, how we treat other people, how we behave toward each other are the most powerful factors in encouraging others to look at our fraternity favorably.

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