LIPMA hosts Masters, Wardens & Deacons of the District

/in , , , , /by

Attending the meeting held last night, January 29th, 2025, was a pleasure at Riverhead Lodge of the Long Island Past Masters Assoc. (LIPMA). The Suffolk District Team, led by R:.W:. Robert J. Licata, DDGM, brought together the Masters, Wardens, and Deacons of the Suffolk Masonic District for a discussion about reconstituting the Masters, Wardens, and Deacons Assoc. (MWDA).

W:. Terry Maccarone and V:.W:. Jerimiah Campbell did a fantastic job in putting the presentation together and I believe all in attendance took away valuable and actionable advice and guidance.

W:. Dominick Peppaceno and W:. Kevin Geiger whipped up a delicious meal for all attending and there was very little left over.

It is the hope of the LIPMA and the District team that this organization take up the mantle and work together as a whole in the Suffolk Masonic District to improve themselves as well as improve the District. All line officers that expect to be raised to the East, work as a group and not as an island unto themselves. We can depend on each other to cooperate and assist each other in our endeavors. We can all succeed and grow together.

As the current future leaders of the Craft, you should always remember that there is a wealth of knowledge in the District that is always available to offer advice and guidance. From the District Deputy Grand Master and the District Advisor, R:.W:. Bill McCauley to the rest of the District team and Past Masters of the District and of your Lodges.

Washington’s Inauguration and the Bible

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

As Freemasons, most of us are familiar with much or all of the story of WBro. George Washinton’s first Inaugural may be in dispute. Contemporaries who were present reported slightly different versions of the events. It is an understatement to say they were making it up as they went along. The fact is they did make it up as they went, there was no provision in the founding documents at the time on how to install the President of the United States. So how did it come to be?

Well, if we set the scene that was unfolding at the time things may get a little clearer on who could have come up with the appropriate honors and oath of office for the 1st inauguration. On April 14th George Washington was unanimously elected to be the 1st President of the United States of America. After he received the notice of his election on April 16th at his home in Mount Vernon, Washington left for New York. Accompanied by Charles Thompson, his official escort, and Col. David Humphreys, his aide, he traveled through Alexandria, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Trenton, Princeton, New Brunswick, and Bridgetown (now Rahway, NJ).

At these and other places along his route, the artillery roared a salute of honor, and the citizens and officials presented him with marks of affection and honor so that his trip became a triumphal procession. On April 23, he crossed the bay from Bridgetown to New York City in a magnificent barge built especially for the occasion.

Lacking precedents to guide them in their preparations for the first Presidential inaugural, Congress appointed a joint committee to consider the time, place, and manner in which to administer to the President the oath of office required by the Constitution. Certain difficulties in planning and arrangements arose from the fact that Congress was meeting in New York’s former City Hall, rechristened Federal Hall, which was in the process of renovation under the direction of Pierre L’Enfant.

On April 25, Congress adopted the joint committee’s recommendation that the inaugural ceremonies be held the following Thursday, April 30, and that the oath of office be administered to the President in the Representatives’ Chamber. The final report of the committee slightly revised this plan with its recommendation that the oath be administered in the outer gallery adjoining the Senate Chamber, “to the end that the Oath of Office may be administered to the President in the most public manner and that the greatest number of people of the United States, and without distinction, may witness the solemnity.” But what exactly the Oath of Office of the President would be was not clear.

At Federal Hall, Vice President John Adams, the Senate, and the House of Representatives awaited the President’s arrival in the Senate Chamber. After being received by Congress, Washington stepped from the chamber onto the balcony, where he was followed by the Senators and Representatives.

Before the assembled crowd of spectators, Robert Livingston, Chancellor of the State of New York, administered the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” After repeating this oath, Washington kissed the Bible held for him by the Chancellor, who called out, “Long live George Washington, President of the United States,” and a salvo of 13 cannons was discharged. There are some contemporary versions that stated that President Washinton also added the all too familiar “So help me God” to the end, but this is disputed or wasn’t heard by all. However, this makes perfect sense to all Brothers would have heard this or would hear this in the future.

Except for taking the oath, the law required no further inaugural ceremonies. But, upon reentering the Senate Chamber, the President read the following address:

 

Click the image for a transcript of the address

After this address, he and the members of Congress proceeded to St. Paul’s Church for divine service. A brilliant fireworks display in the evening ended the official program for this historic day.

What was not widely reported was the Bible on which WBro. Washinton took his oath of office on. When Washinton arrived at Federal Hall that day and Chancelor Livingston was preparing for administering the oath, it was discovered that there was no Bible for WBro. Washinton to place his right hand on while taking the oath. In the group present during this discussion was W:. Jacon Morton, who happened to be the Worshipful Master of St. John’s Lodge No. 1 and was tasked with obtaining the Bible from the Lodge that Chancelor Robert Livingston would hold before WBro. Washington for him to take the oath of office on.  St. John’s Lodge A.Y.M. has retained custodianship of this Altar Bible ever since.

Several Presidents have requested the Washington inaugural Bible to be used at their inauguration. The Bible has since been used for the inaugurations of Warren G. Harding in 1921, Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, Jimmy Carter in 1977, and George H. W. Bush, whose 1989 inauguration was in the bicentennial year of Washington’s. The Bible was also intended to be used for the first inauguration of George W. Bush, but heavy rain didn’t allow it.  However, the Bible was present in the Capitol Building in the care of three Freemasons of St. John’s Lodge, in case the weather got better.

In addition to its duties, the Bible has been used in the funeral processions of Presidents Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The Bible has also been used at the cornerstone laying of the U.S. Capitol, the dedication of the Washington Monument, the centennials of the cornerstone laying of the White House, U.S. Capitol, and the Statue of Liberty, the 1964 World’s Fair as well as the launching of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington. It has also been used at cornerstone ceremonies for Masonic temples in Boston in 1867, Philadelphia in 1869.

In recent years, it has been displayed in New York at the Federal Hall National Memorial, located on the site of Washington’s inauguration, and the New York Historical Society, and in Washington, D.C. at the Smithsonian and the United States Capitol Visitor Center.

How many of us would like to have the honor of taking our obligation(s) on this particular Bible? Well, there is a chance that you can get as close to that as possible. On Monday March 3rd, 2025, you may get your chance!

Join M:.W:. Steve Adam Rubin, Grand Master of Masons at Lynbrook-Massapequa Lodge No. 822 as the George Washinton Inaugural Bible will be there and Masons present will reaffirm their commitment to Freemasonry and a raffle drawing will give someone a chance to kneel before this historic Bible at the Altar.

For more information, please see the event as it is a ticket paid event – Click Here!

Cowans, Eavesdroppers and Scammers, Oh my!

/in , , , , , /by

Brothers,

Over the last few weeks, several messages have come down to the brothers about possible scams, and most recently, a cowan, eavesdropper, or worse, who has been trying to sit in meetings in other states. It’s important to keep our brothers safe from scams and our Lodges free from cowans and eavesdroppers.

Let’s start with scams. We are all pretty much aware of the infamous “Nigerian Prince, government or other” scam. However, these scammers have grown and evolved over time, and their tactics have evolved as well. We, as Masons, are usually of the type that wants to help someone in need, especially a brother Mason. The scammers know this and will use it against their targets. They will craft well-written emails and send them to a hacked e-mail list in the hope that someone will reply that seems sympathetic or at least willing to engage in dialog. This is where the social engineering part comes in.

Some things to look for.
  1. If you receive an e-mail from a Brother, even a Brother that you know personally, that requests you help them with some issue, usually financially; Trust but verify is the best way to handle this. If you know the Brother, call him to find out what the issue is and if it is legitimate.
  2. If the requester has a reason he cannot speak on the phone, be wary. Some scammers are very convincing in messages (e-mails, Instant messages, or text), but cannot talk on the phone because you will know the jig is up.
  3. If the person contacting you insists you send money, typically in an odd way, like gift cards to some other untraceable way.  This is a huge red flag.
The way to spot a scam e-mail or text:
  1. Typically, a scam e-mail or text at a glance will look normal, look closer and you will see some serious grammatical or spelling issues. Scammers do this on purpose. Most would immediately discard the message knowing that the sender is a scammer but if the receiver is willing to overlook these minor errors, they may have a better chance of convincing someone they are who they are not.
  2. Look at the actual e-mail address or sender address. It is easy to “spoof” some emails with a name displayed instead of the actual e-mail address. Once you can see the sender, the scam is exposed.
  3. Look for any cc or bcc in the e-mail. If you see the e-mail or message is to you but also to “Undisclosed Recipients”, again a huge red flag.

There are several good websites that will explain how to spot a scam message if you are unsure have someone you trust have a look at it before you hit reply. Remember scammers will always put emphasis or urgency to the message to stop you from checking on the legitimacy of the scam.

Now on the trickier subject of Cowans and Eavesdroppers:

Back in the day, Lodges has to deal with Cowans more often than you think. This was due to the support network that Masons are famous for. if you were a Brother and taking a long or difficult trip and found yourself stranded you could always contact the local Lodge and they would always help out with a place to stay, a meal maybe event help you out of a cash problem and send you on your way. This is where our dues cards came from. Its wasn’t enough just to say you were a member you needed to prove it through lawful Masonic information. The Cowans had maybe read enough exposes to know some or just enough to get over, but no dues card was a no go.

Over the years and with more and more government social services in place it was not really necessary to “get over” on the Masons for a freebie anymore so dealing with Cowans died down. This was much bigger problem in the 1st half of the 20th century in the US.

Jumping to the 21st century, the problem has slightly risen again, this time not for free “hots and a cot” but for another purpose. This time it seems most of the ones in recent years were about pretenders just wanting to get into a Lodge meeting, like those who explore forbidden buildings. The pretender’s motives may be unclear, but dangerous just the same.

These seems to be a growing group of individuals who think since they have read the books on Freemasonry or even joined a clandestine Lodge or got suckered into membership in the thousands of scam Illuminati sites, that they are members worldwide who can visit any Lodge in the world. The most recent warning comes from the Grand Lodge of Alabama who had a member who renounced his membership yet later turns up in other states and attempts to sit in a Lodge.

We have many statements in our obligations and in Masonic law that every brother should know.  Any strange man that comes to your Lodge should be examined. This could mean several things. The first and foremost is to ask for his dues card. We all received permanent dues cards a few years back. These cards have a QR code on them. A quick scan of the QR code on the card using the Amity phone app also available on Google play, will get you his current status as a Mason. Of course, this is only for US Masons and not every jurisdiction uses them, but most do, many are on the same MORI system that the GLoNY is. Travel outside the US is a discussion for another time.

We all encourage our Brothers to travel and it’s one of the best benefits of being a Brother. However just showing up at a Lodge where nobody knows who you are, well you should not be offended if you are challenged before you are allowed to join the meeting.

This is the Brothers doing their due diligence. There have been a few changes to Masonic Law in recent years with regards to opening/closing on any degree. This some have issue with and some welcomed. But has led to a bit of confusion. Once a gentleman is initialed, given the EA degree, does this give this new Brother right to travel? Once they are put in the system by the secretary, they will receive a dues card in short order or at least their GL number. My opinion on this is no, they are still to be treated like EA’s & FC’s were prior to the changes. This means they should not travel to other lodges by themselves. They need to be vouched for and escorted just like before. All Masters of Lodges should instruct their Sr. Deacons at least as such, well that’s his job after all. I have asked this question before and have gotten different answers, so please check with your DDGM if you need clarification. So, when we open a lodge and the Sr. Deacon’s, Jr. Deacon’s & Tyler’s responsibilities are given, do we pay attention?