SHORING UP OUR FOUNDATION of Instruction, I was honored to lead the logistics while working with our Grand Lodge Physician to institute protocols against this novel virus that people had started to talk about. Anyone who attended will remember swapping handshakes for elbow taps, and our multiple handwashing stations placed in the pathway to the food.
By Adam N. Tager Junior Grand Deacon
W
e all know that Masons are builders. And while most of us lie squarely on the “speculative” as opposed to “operative” side of things, we still understand that every structure, from the humblest of sheds to the most ornate temples, requires a solid foundation, because a crack in the foundation leads to trouble. Just as important though, is the understanding that a foundation cannot be forgotten once a structure is built--they must be routinely surveyed and monitored. If not, they can often become the root causes for destructive structural maladies. The same can be said of our charitable endeavors. This year found our jurisdiction in a new circumstance. The global pandemic prevented us from safely meeting in person, which meant that we had to change how we practice Masonry. It meant that a lot of our typical jurisdictional events such as grand visitations, picnics, schools of instruction, and cultural events were cancelled or severely reduced in scope. Left with time (and to continue the metaphor), a predisposition for building,
34 | THE VOICE OF FREEMASONRY ISSUE 3, 2020
On March 11, as the situation was worsening, the Grand Master instituted virtual weekly meetings of the elected grand lodge officers (executive committee) to continually assess and evaluate masonic activity, leading to Grand Master’s Decisions 2020-3 through 2020-05 that started to build our metaphorical “panic room.”
RWB Adam Tager
the Grand Lodge executive committee (made up of the elected Grand Lodge officers) got to work in the background. We had to shore up the foundation that was built and maintained for the Craft since time immemorial, while also expanding it to accommodate new processes, or a new “structure.” Beginning in February with the first (and unfortunately only) Grand Lodge School
It was on these calls that we envisioned and set up the Joint Masonic COVID Relief Fund, which as of the beginning of September has raised over $160,000 raised and disbursed over $90,000 in financial and material support. I’ve had the honor and privilege to serve as “Deputy COVID Czar” working with RWB Morgan Corr as “COVID Czar” to ensure that our brethren had what they needed. We also started setting up and outlining “reconstitution” procedures for how to come back to lodges safely (at the proper time). Through the leadership of our Deputy Grand Master, RWB Alan Gordon, and his committee led by WB Perry Blatstein, we completely changed how we hosted our leadership conference. Instead of a weekend in-person, the committee worked with a company to professionally produce three manageable online sessions. I was able to use the time to finalize educational resources and roll out template masonic education syllabi and readings that are now posted in Grand View for every Brother’s use.
