Congratulations from Across the Pond

What follows is abridged remarks by RWB David K Williamson, Assistant Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, to the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia on the occasion of its Bicentennial Celebration Banquet on February 12, 2011.

MW Grand Master, Ladies and Brethren, I am Washington was rather stimulated by Dan Brown’s delighted to be with you to celebrate this last book, The Lost Symbol. In England, media great milestone in your history. MW Grand reaction to it was fickle. Everyone, of course, was Master, I bring warm fraternal greetings and conexpecting Freemasonry to be the villain of the story, gratulations on your Bi-Centenary, from my Grand and that Dan Brown would do to us what he had Master, His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent, and done to Opus Dei and the Roman Catholic Church all the members of the United Grand Lodge of in two previous novels. When it turned out that England. I thank you for Freemasonry was not the the privilege of addressvillain, but that Dan Brown ing you, and to join with had some very positive the family of visiting delthings to say about it, the egations, in thanking you English media lost all interand your brethren for the est and there was very little warmth of your welcome reporting on the subject. and your splendid hospitality. We wish you continued success, happiness and enjoyment as you embark on your third century. One great positive from the publication of The Lost Symbol, is that because of all the pre-publication hype, it was an immediate Although we in England are best seller, and the millions planning for the celebration of people who have read of our Tercentenary in June its positive comments, will 2017, the Bi-Centenary of a have been given a truer picGrand Lodge is a rare event, ture of what Freemasonry and you have much to be is and what we stand for. proud of in your history. In doing my “homework” before coming here, I was struck by the international nature of your membership, and the growing number of your lodges drawing their membership from those who have connections with other parts of the world. As your jurisdiction is “the nation’s capital”, with a large floating international community, that should, perhaps, not surprise me, but it clearly demonstrates that you are very much a part of Masonry Universal! Although our two Grand Lodges are separated by the Atlantic Ocean, we are descended from the same Masonic roots and have a great deal in common. We face the same sort of challenges, one of which, I am sure, is falling membership. The younger generation are surely the key to the future of our fraternal organisation, and indeed, our countries. However, young people today have busy professional lives and limited spare time. We are competing for their memberRWB David K Williamson, Assistant Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England This is my first Masonic visit to Washington, ship with many other organisations and must although I had the great pleasure of ensure that when they join us, they feel visiting several times in my previous that the experience is worthwhile and a existence as a British Airways pilot. good use of their time. They communiIn common with many of your guests, cate electronically, so we have rebuilt our I suspect that my Masonic interest in Grand Lodge website to make it attractive