‘Retired Senator made Mason on Sight’

     

Bro. Pat Roberts, retired U.S. Senator in white apron, and MW Jack Kyle Lewis are flanked by four of the Grand Lodge of Virginia’s District Deputy Grand Masters after the Grand Master made Roberts a Mason on Sight last Wednesday at Andrew Jackson Lodge 120 in Alexandria. (I nicked this photo off Shelby’s Facebook.)

A longtime reader—there literally are several of those—saw the post the other day about Naval Lodge, and took the opportunity to tell me about something novel in the Grand Lodge of Virginia.

Last Wednesday, the sixteenth, Grand Master Jack Lewis exercised a prerogative very rarely seen in the jurisdiction by “Making on Sight” retired U.S. Senator Pat Roberts a Mason. He is a member of Andrew Jackson Lodge 120 in Alexandria. This lodge, now in its 170th year, meets inside the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.

Sometimes it is called “at Sight,” and it is found among Mackey’s Landmarks, although not every grand lodge permits it.

There was no mention of this on the Grand Master’s schedule, and I don’t see anything official about it. I was able to find a few mentions on Facebook. I guess we’ll have to wait for the next issue of The Herald. All I know about Sen. Roberts is he represented Kansas in the Senate from 1997 to 2021, and served in the House of Representatives for sixteen years beforehand.

Congratulations to all involved!

The Grand Annual Communication is a few weeks away. Richmond is too far for me, but I hope to attend someday.

     

‘Masonic Research District meeting’

    

Sunday afternoon brought the long-anticipated Zoom meeting of the Grand Lodge of Virginia’s Masonic Research District hosted by District Deputy Grand Master Shelby Chandler.

Virginia has five lodges of Masonic research (with a sixth on the way), and they were grouped into one district several years ago rather than each remaining an oddball within its geographical district. The purpose of this meeting, very prudently, was to allow the District Deputy to present his DDGM program once to all these lodges to avoid taking time away from their chosen presentations during his individual Official Visits. (My lodge, Civil War Lodge of Research 1865, will receive RW Chandler at our July 13 meeting at Jackson Lodge 19 in Delaware, likely the only lodge meeting I’ll be able to attend this year.)

The Grand Master’s Official Visit to the Masonic Research District will be February 3 at George Washington Lodge of Research 1732 at Fredericksburg.

Chandler’s discussion yesterday consisted of a detailed introduction of MW Jack Kayle Lewis, the new (and 178th) Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, including his very impressive resume of academic and professional achievements, plus his family life and other notable points, including his ambitious plans for his term. If you were wondering about the police badge design of Lewis’ Grand Master pin, it is inspired by his many decades in law enforcement.

Then came the designs upon Chandler’s trestleboard. I won’t cover it all, but here are some of the slides he displayed during his talk:

Click to enlarge.

Sorry for the blur.

I am starting to see the wisdom of us New Yorkers having our own DDGM for our four research lodges. (There is interest in starting a fifth in the Hudson Valley.) It is wise to have an ombudsman representing the research lodges to the Grand Lodge, bringing assistance when needed.

Of course we have our own festivities planned for New York, but if you’re in Virginia, get to this one.

I know it’s far off, but add to your calendars the Grand Lodge of Virginia’s Lafayette Bicentennial Gala on October 5.