Sorry for the delay in publishing the August newsletter. The webmaster has been out of town recently and was unable to perform the task as soon as he would like. Thank you for your brotherly patience!
Boston Marathon, mile 25, Beacon St., 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As Erika Brannock adjusts to life with new physical challenges after the Boston Marathon bombing, shell have a fully accessible bathroom following renovations by the Freemasons of Maryland.
Brannock, whose left leg was amputated above the knee, will join the masons at their Grand Lodge in Cockeysville today to discuss the project, the same day as the accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is due in court in Boston.
Brannock and her sister and brother-in-law Nicole and Michael Gross, of Charlotte, N.C., were among about 260 people injured in the attack. The family was near the finish line to watch Gross and Brannocks mother, Carol Downing, finish the marathon when the first bomb exploded.
The Square and Compasses. The symbols employed in Co-Freemasonry are mostly identical with those in other orders of Freemasonry. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Being anonymous can lead to the temptation to try to cut corners, to get away with things; it can lead, in other words, to acting un-Masonically. When I wear my Masonic ring or drive my car with its Masonic license plates, or wear a lodge polo shirt, I am putting myself out there as a representation of our fraternity. As Most Worshipful Richard L. Swaney, Past Grand Master of Masons in Illinois, put it, “a Masonic license plate makes you a more polite driver.”
So my Masonic ring matters. Yes, it’s a nice piece of jewelry, but it’s more than that: it’s a sign to others that I’m trustworthy, a good man. So I’ll keep wearing it as a pledge to myself that I’ll remember what my obligation means and act accordingly
Union Lodge 618 AF & AM 