Brethren,

The voice of Martha Washington drifts down from the past, "I little thought, when the war was finished, that any circumstances could possibly have happened which would call the general into public life again…I will not, however, contemplate with too much regret disappointments that were inevitable. Though the general's feelings and my own were perfectly in unison with respect to our predilection for public life, yet I cannot blame him for having acted according to his duties in obeying the voice of his country." Having overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles during the War for Independence, which ended with the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781, George Washington put personal desires aside to serve his country. He presided over the 1787 Constitutional Convention and was unanimously elected president of the newly formed Republic after the Constitution had been approved. On Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 7:30 P.M., a play, "On Fire for Liberty", featuring General Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, will be performed by the American Historical Theatre of Philadelphia at the Grand Lodge. Those wishing to attend may contact either the Worshipful Master or the Grand Lodge to see if any tickets are still available. The 7:30 P.M. business meeting will be dispensed with this evening so that the members may attend this unusual event.

The temple of King Solomon, begun in 964 B.C., took seven and one half years to complete. A description of the building is found in the Bible in I Kings, 6-7 and II Chronicles, 3-4. On either side of the porch entry were two bronze pillars called Boaz and Jachin. The middle chamber was called Hekal, meaning Holy Place. Finally, the inner chamber, or Sanctum Santorum was where the Ark of the Covenant rested. Instrumental in its construction was a man, Hiram, out of Tyre. Two of those found proficient in the Fellowcraft degree catechism will be made Master Masons, in a ceremony designed to teach men to have faith, keep the ideals of morality and virtue and finally, to stand by their promises. The meeting will begin at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, October 21, 2008. Plan to attend not only for the degree work, but to hear Bro. Jim Todhunter, chairman of the Lodge By-Laws Committee, explain to the lodge the proposed changes to the Mt. Moriah Lodge By-Laws. This will be brought to vote at the December 2, 2008 meeting.

Before retiring for bed, President Theodore Roosevelt gazed up at the heavens and commented to his naturalist friend, William Beebe, "That patch of light is the Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda. It is as large as our Milky Way - one of a hundred million galaxies. It consists of one hundred billion suns, each larger than our own sun. Now I think we are small enough. Let's go to bed." The comments of this Master Mason echo down through history to us as we raise two more Fellowcrafts to the degree of Master Mason this evening at a Special Communication on Tuesday, October 28th, beginning at 7:00 P.M.

Fraternally,

Dennis R. Hamlet
Worshipful Master

Dates to Remember (excerpted from A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry compiled by Arthur Edward Waite):

1798 - According to Besuchet, Napoleon Buonaparte was initiated at Valetta in Malta.

1801 - Date alleged by Mackey for the foundation in America of the first Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite at Charleston.

Saturday Oct 25 2008 - Bob Schott, Ned Featherston, John English, and the Schneider family again proudly present their monthly Pancake Panache. Time: 7:30 A.M. 'til 10 A.M. Place: Mt. Moriah Lodge. Masons of the Month are Free!!