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The Voice of Freemasonry: An Organ of Information, Instruction and Inspiration
The Voice of Freemasonry:
Mansour Hatefi, PGM
Grand Secretary
The 200th Anniversary of our Grand Lodge Grand Master, M.W. Morris Franky Hewitt, (a Past affords the opportunity to review, albeit briefly, Master of Potomac Lodge No. 5), and officers of the the birth and growth of The Voice Of FreemaGrand Lodge, on December 27, 1977. Included in this sonry, the official publication of the Grand Lodge, issue was also a brief biography of then W.B. TheoFree and Accepted Masons, of the District of Columdore M. Kahn, as Junior Grand Steward, as a way of bia. This periodical is dispatched to each member of introducing the newest member of the Grand Line to our constituent lodges making it effectively the only the membership; a practice long since discontinued. piece of communication received by every member of this grand jurisdiction. Apart from presenting articles of import and interest as well as timely reports, The Voice, in its present form, serves this Grand Lodge as a valuable communication tool for the dissemination of information to the membership, young and old, active and inactive, wherever dispersed, keeping them abreast of the various events, activities and developments in the jurisdiction. With the arrival of new In this same issue, under the heading of: “A Statement of Purpose”, we read: “With this, the first issue of The Voice of Freemasonry, the Grand Lodge launches into a new field of fraternal service. This publication is designed to be an organ of information, instruction, and inspiration for all who hold allegiance to this Grand Jurisdiction. Comments and contributions, directed to the attention of the editors, care of This publication is designed to be an organ of information, technologies and applications, it’s quality of instruction, and the Grand Secretary, are invited. The deadline appearance and content has evolved greatly over inspiration for all who for news to be included in the next issue is Septhe years – yet the mission tember 1, 1978.” remains the same: to successfully and forthrightly represent and speak for the Freemasons of Washington, D.C., capital city of the United States of America. Engagement in such an undertaking carries with it both a sense of pride and also responsibility. The search for excellence is unending and sometimes invites failures in its attainment. Even so, a quality journal of news and information remains the mark of a vibrant, wellgoverned, and forward-looking institution. However, the next issue of The Voice was not to be published until the winter of 1985, ostensibly due to a lack of funds. M.W. Theodore M. Kahn, the Junior Grand Stewart at the time of the first issue, was then Grand Master and can be credited with the renewal of The Voice. This issue, six pages long, carried the story and images of the installation ceremony of the new Grand Master and Grand Line officers, on the front page and an array of Masonic tidbits in other pages. The hot topic of the day was hold allegiance to this Grand Jurisdiction. The first issue of The Voice of Freemasonry was the SOLOMON II program, borrowed from the Grand published in February 1978. It was a decidedly Lodge of Pennsylvania, in an attempt to remedy the humble beginning, consisting of a simple, four page declining membership malaise, which has generally newsletter in black and white. The front page was continued to this day here and elsewhere, in the dedicated to the election and installation of the United States.
