July 2024

From the East

Matthew Mason - Worshipful Master

Happy Independence Day, Brethren!

I am so happy to be a citizen of the greatest country on earth. While our country may not be perfect, there is no better place to live and raise my family. Having seen so many other countries and great cultures over this summer, I have no doubt about this statement.

Since our Independence Day anniversary falls on our stated meeting day, the Stated Meeting will be on July 11th (6:00 PM dinner, 7:30 PM meeting). Come support our Officers as they continue through their line progression in advanced stations.

Have I mentioned the Table Lodge on August 15th at 6:00 PM yet?

In case you haven’t heard, this stag event consists of food, libations, toasts, and fun…..lots of fun and fellowship. The toasts all come with a few rules that Worshipful Joseph Dongo, PM, will guide you through, and there will be “fines” for violations.

The “fines” are voluntary and small, and ALL the money raised will go to purchasing items needed at the Shriners Hospital school and community re-entry program. Oh yes, there is also a seven-course meal that goes with it.

The Master’s Ball (previously Ladies' Night) is still on September 21st at 6:00 PM. We are being transported to the Polynesian latitudes with a fun luau consisting of a wonderful dinner, some tropical drinks, and maybe even some hula dancing. Please plan to attend with your lady, partner, or just by yourself.

Finally, the month of our independence is a great time to remind you about the upcoming Constitutional Observance Night on September 12th at 6:30 PM. It’s a fun evening of trivia and a reflection on the document that so many other countries have tried to replicate. It is open to all Masons, their families, and guests—more detailed information will come soon.

From the West

Joseph Wallach - Senior Warden

I wish all of you a great Independence Day and a beautiful July.

June was a relatively quiet month, but that is about to change. As Worshipful Matthew Mason has related, our Lodge is about to get quite busy.

More members will progress through their Degrees in the next few months, and our Officers will continue working on next year’s stations.

If anyone is interested in joining our line next year, please give me a call, drop me a note, or send me an email. It is never too late to get involved. We also have many Committees, one sure to fit your particular talents. Again, please let me know.

Speaking of which, please try to come to our upcoming Stated Meeting on July 11th.

Dinner will be served at 6:00 PM in the Banquet Room, followed by the meeting in the Lodge Room.

See you there!

From the South

William Workman - Junior Warden

Summer Greetings, Brethren!

I am currently visiting south of the equator in American Samoa.

Patriotism on this island is unlike anywhere in the mainland U.S. that I have ever witnessed. Red, white, and blue are everywhere on literally everything!

The American Flag is ubiquitous on cars, homes and yards.

One Masonic Lodge here meets on the first Tuesday of every month. The dress code is a black lava lava (a single rectangular cloth worn similarly to a wraparound skirt or kilt), a white shirt, and sandals (Worshipful Matt Mason, this may be a great fit for you!)

Lodge Benjamin Kneubuhl No 441 was founded in August 1974 in American Samoa under the Grand Lodge of New Zealand. It has a membership of fifty-nine and meets in its own rooms, within easy walking distance of the Tradewinds Hotel near Tafuna Airport.

The lodges’ namesake, Benjamin Franklin Kneubuhl, was often called the leader of the "friendly opposition" in the U.S. government of American Samoa. He clashed frequently with U.S. administration policies. He continually pressed for a better standard of living for Samoans, saying members of the younger generation wished to live more like Mainland Americans than Polynesian natives.

This is a poem that appeared in Lodge Benjamin Kneubuhl’s Installation Program in 2016:

This is my Lodge. It is composed of men like me.
I make it what it is.
I want it to be a Lodge that is a lamp
To the path of Freemasonry, a lamp leading
All members to goodness, truth and beauty.
It will be, if I am.
My Lodge will be friendly, if I am.
The chairs will be filled, if I help to fill them.
The Lodge can do great work, if I work.
The Lodge can make generous gifts
To many causes, if I am a generous giver.
Many members will come into its fellowship,
If I bring them.
It will be a Lodge of loyalty, with a noble spirit,
With love and faith.
Therefore, I shall dedicate myself to the task of being
All of the things that I want my Lodge to be.

-- Buford B. Lich

I really connect with this poem in many regards.

Our Masonic Lodge serves as a canvas where we collectively create meaningful experiences, uphold shared values, and lead by example.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

JULY

• 04 DARK Thursday Happy Independence Day!

• 09 Monthly Executive Committee Meeting (Zoom) Tuesday 06:30 PM

• 11 Monthly Stated Meeting Dinner (Banquet Room) Thursday 06:00 PM

• 11 Monthly Stated Meeting (Advanced Stations) (LR1) Thursday 07:30 PM

• 18 DARK or Degree Practice (LR1) Thursday 06:30 PM

• 25 DARK or Degree Practice (LR1) Thursday 06:30 PM

• 30 Monthly Executive Committee Meeting (Zoom) Tuesday 06:30 PM

AUGUST

• 01 Monthly Stated Meeting Dinner (Banquet Room) Thursday 06:00 PM

• 01 Monthly Stated Meeting (LR1) Thursday 07:30 PM

• 08 DARK or Degree Practice (LR1) Thursday 07:00 PM

• 15 Table Lodge (Banquet Room) Thursday 06:00 PM

• 21 Officers School of Instruction (LR3) Wednesday 07:00 PM

(Advanced Stations, First Degree)

• 22 DARK or Degree Practice (LR1) Thursday 07:00 PM

• 29 DARK or Degree Practice (LR1) Thursday 07:00 PM

JULY

BIRTHDAYS

05 Kelvin Kimball (Entered Apprentice)
06 Christopher Hamilton (Marshal Arts Instructor)
07 Jon Isaacson (Past Master)
11 Robert Cole (Master Mason)
17 Andrew Wilson (Master Mason)
18 Brandon Jenkins (Senior Deacon)
18 Maury Hicks (Master Mason)
18 Wesley Jackson (Master Mason)
21 Richard Wilson (Past Master)
23 Daniel Mueller (Entered Apprentice)
23 Albert Lazare (Master Mason)
29 Thomas Ansell (Master Mason)

MASTER MASON ANNIVERSARIES

08 Dan Dailey (Past Master) (29 Years)
08 Floyd Tritt (42 Years)
10 Nico Montero (10 Years)
16 Mac Contreras (10 Years)
22 Jerry Livingston-Joy (26 Years)
22 Josh Pane (29 Years)
23 Joshua Djubek (15 Years)
24 Jason Sibbring (Retired Marshal Arts Instructor) (10 Years)
29 Alex Chompff (14 Years)

Washington Lodge No. 20 F. & A. M.

Mission Statement

To practice and promote a way of life that binds like-minded men in a worldwide
brotherhood that transcends all religious, ethnic, cultural, social and educational differences.

Through Masonic principles and tradition, and by the outward expression of these
through its fellowship and compassion, Washington Lodge No.20 Free & Accepted Masons provides ways in which to serve God, family, country, neighbors, and self in an environment that contributes to the enrichment and betterment of its members, mankind, and its communities.

Freemasonry is

Kindness in the home,

Honesty in business,

Courtesy in society,

Fairness in work,

Pity and concern for the unfortunate,

Resistance toward evil,

Help for the weak,

Forgiveness for the penitent,

Love for one another and,

Above all, reverence and love for God.

Freemasonry is many things but

Most of all:

Freemasonry is a way of life.

Masonic Formulas & Rituals

Transcribed by Albert Pike in 1854 and 1855

The source of Albert Pike`s ritual revisions, transcribed from the original copy in the Supreme Council's archives vault.

This never-before-published work includes the complete collection of rituals Albert Pike received when he joined the Scottish Rite in 1853.

After receiving the degrees, Pike borrowed the manuscript rituals and transcribed his own copies over the next two years. He later used these texts to create his revision of the Scottish Rite rituals.

This book answers the question: "What was the Scottish Rite like before Albert Pike?"

Contents include the three Craft Degrees (from an early French source); all Scottish Rite rituals; the Adoniramite Rite; the Degrees of Knighthood; the True Masonry of Adoption (the androgynous 'Adoptive Rite'), and much more.

Includes Pike`s original drawings and Masonic ciphers.

The introduction provides insight into these rituals and the development of the Scottish Rite.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Albert Pike (December 29, 1809 – April 2, 1891) was an American Freemason, author, poet, editor, lawyer, and jurist.

Pike first joined the fraternal Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1840. He next joined a Masonic Lodge, where he became highly active in the organization's affairs.

In 1859, he was elected Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction. He remained Sovereign Grand Commander for the rest of his life, devoting much of his time to developing the Order's rituals.

He published the book Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in 1871, the first of several editions. This helped the Fraternity grow during the nineteenth century.

Pike is still considered an eminent and influential Freemason in the United States, primarily in the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction.

Purchase Book

Shriners Hospital for Children® — Northern California Research