A New Lodge Hall Opens in the Old Federal City

A New Lodge Hall

Opens in the Old Federal City

The ties of Federal Lodge No.1 to the Federal City have been present for even longer than Washington DC has functioned as the nation’s capital. Two focal points of the city and of the nation, the White House and the Capitol Building, took form with the guidance and creative talents of the founders of Federal Lodge No.1, the architect and Freemason James Hoban, and the Irish Catholic and Scottish Presbyterian stonemasons who came to the then muddy little village by the Potomac to help build a new seat of government for the United States of America.

After receiving its charter in September of 1793, meetings of Federal Lodge were held continuously at various locations in the city between the President’s House and the Capitol Building until 1984 when the Lodge relocated to the Georgetown Masonic Hall. With its relocation in January of 2009 from the Scottish Rite Center in Adams Morgan to a lodge hall in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Temple at 419 7th Street, NW, in the Penn Quarter, the brethren of the Lodge brought DC Freemasonry

George Reader, Secretary

Federal Lodge No. 1

back to its geographic origins in the old downtown of the nation’s capital. Led by the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Paul D. Gleason, the Grand Lodge joined Federal Lodge No. 1 on April 26, 2010 at a banquet and ceremony marking the official return of Freemasonry to downtown Washington, DC. At the invitation of Federal, the Most Worshipful Grand Master agreed to a formal ceremony to consecrate the new lodge hall coinciding with the Lodge’s previously scheduled Grand Visitation.

As the evening opened, the Craft dined amid roses, candlelight, and chamber music in a setting reminiscent of late 19th or early 20th century Masonic social gatherings. Rather than being catered, the entire meal was organized and prepared by Federal Brethren. Following the banquet and the opening of the Lodge, the evening was a majestic synthesis of brotherhood, music, and ceremony.

The new lodge hall of Federal Lodge No. 1 includes a beautiful imported custom-made carpet depicting the Mosaic pavement.

Grand Master Paul D. Gleason and officers of the Grand Lodge at the consecration of Federal’s new lodge hall on April 26, 2010.

The echoes of Aaron Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man filled the new lodge hall as the officers of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia made their entrance for Grand Visitation. Following Grand Honors for the Most Worshipful Grand Master and the introduction of the Grand Lodge officers in attendance, the Grand Lodge officers assumed their stations and places to the music of Richard Strauss’ Solemn Processional. Most Worshipful Grand Master Gleason thanked Federal for its warm welcome and paid tribute to our Deputy Grand Master, Right Worshipful Brother Jesse Villarreal, on the occasion of his birthday. An impromptu musical tribute of Happy Birthday was offered by the Craft. Right Worshipful Brother Joseph S. Crociata, Senior Grand Warden, offered remarks on how the shared labor of the Federal brethren, in ritual, charity, labor, and brotherhood, exemplify the best tenets of Freemasonry. Thereafter, the newly formed Lodge Choir consisting of Federal Brothers Andrew Broten, Morgan Corr, Ted Kerrick, Steven Orr, Nathan St. Pierre, Ben Whelan-Morin, Mark Wright, and Luke Young, directed by Brother James K. McCully and accompanied by Worshipful Brother Paul Dolinsky, sang the Masonic Hymn of Praise for the Festivities at St. John’s Lodge, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K.148. Part of the verse for this work is translated as follows: Arise, Masons, and sing! Let the world hear us! It is the day to consecrate this song: A great glorious day of honor; A great celebration of Faith and Unity. Most Worshipful Grand Master Gleason then conducted a moving ceremony of dedication that has only rarely occurred in this Grand Jurisdiction in the past thirty years. Between the altar and the East an oblong box covered with white linen representing the Lodge was surrounded by vessels of corn, wine, and oil and three burning tapers. The Deputy Grand Master asked the Most Worshipful Grand Master to dedicate the hall according to ancient form and usage. The Reverend and Worshipful Brother Daniel D. Darko, Grand Chaplain, offered the prayer of consecration that included the words: “May all the proper work of our institution that may be done in this house be such as Thy wisdom may approve and Thy goodness prosper. And graciously be pleased, O Thou Sovereign Architect of the Universe, to bless the Craft wherever dispersed, and make them true and faithful to Thee, to their neighbors and to themselves”.