The Freemason Next Door

Hill Freemasons sponsoring annual 4th of July Parade on Barracks Row, courtesy of Naval Lodge 4

When my friend invited me to a Ruth Ann Overbeck lecture on the Masons and the Old Naval Lodge on Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, I had no idea where I was going or what I would see, other than finishing up with a drink after the talk. I even went to the Old Naval Hospital by mistake, never having heard of the Naval Lodge, and was told to hightail it to 3rd and  Pennsylvania Avenue SE,  climb numerous flights of stairs and get ready for a lecture on symbols. I’d have a drink in hand in an hour, right?

A somewhat august group — some gray, many earnest — were gathered in the fourth-floor meeting hall with its vaulted ceilings, Egyptian Revival style and Masonic images of pyramids, obelisks and all-seeing eyes, when lecturer Gary Scott, a Freemason himself and Past Master of Naval Lodge No. 4, F.A.A.M., introduced the current Worshipful Master.

I turned for a better look. And then, the Worshipful Master was revealed to me.  He was a friendly, involved Hill Dad of three  better known to me as my friend’s husband. Whoa! Who were these Masons among us and what were they doing below symbols of winged serpents? How do I square this (a masonic -derived phrase) with the fact that they sponsor the 4th of July parade here? I sought to find out.

David Johnson, last year’s Worshipful Master, has been one of the early supporters of this blog  through his web hosting and journalism professorship at American University. “No, The Hill is Home is not a secret Mason project, but, yes, I host it on my servers and built the site and continue to consult with [THIH founder] Kate and everyone else as an aspect of my professional life as a professor of interactive journalism at American University,” Johnson said.

But to find out more about the Masons’ works and life here,  I sought out the most amiable Michael Webb, Worshipful Master of the lodge this year, and Mason of  only four years and asked him how he came to be involved in a secret society.  Did his kids know?  What ancient rituals did he perform when no one was looking?

He patiently explained the Masons are not  a secret society–they have a webpage and a Facebook page, after all.  Rather, they are, “a society with secrets.”

What’s not secret is that lodge members are deeply involved in community projects, especially Hill schools. The Naval Lodge itself was established in the Washington Navy Yard even before the District of Columbia itself was established.

There are about 225 current members of the Naval Lodge here, and many are local dads among us at PTA meetings, school auctions, the coffee shops, Tunnicliff’s, and Frager’s.

Several years ago, after some drifting from the community, a number of devoted community members rose to leadership positions in the lodge and rededicated the organization to reconnecting with the neighborhood. They declared that Hill schools were the key to our community, and, since then, the lodge brothers have raised thousands of dollars to support local schools through annual events like the Back to School Fun Fair and the Barracks Row 4th of July Parade and Family Festival, and Hands On DC.

On May 15th, the brothers of Naval Lodge will roll up their sleeves and put on their work gloves to support the annual Hands-On DC work-a-thon.  The Freemasons of the Nation’s Capital team is the only $10,000 sponsor for the event – made possible by a grant from the Masonic Foundation of the District of Columbia. Members volunteer their time and will also spend a day to spruce up Stuart Hobson Middle School.

And when I saw via his wife’s Facebook page that Michael had shaved his head, little did I know that he was participating in a St. Baldrick’s Day fundraiser event – shaving his head in solidarity with the cancer-stricken children  to raise money for childhood cancer research with the nine “shavees” from the DC Freemasons team who raised a total of $12,577 to help fight the battle against childhood cancer.

Later this month, Naval brothers will participate in the 1st Annual St. John’s Cup 2010 Fundraising Golf Tournament to raise funds for RiteCare – the Childhood Language Disorders Center of Washington, DC.  In June, Naval brothers will participate in the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure.

Freemasons are men only, with  no plans to change that,  and come from all professions and walks of life, just as they come from all creeds and colors. Most here are not masons or stoneworkers, although those that helped build many local buildings in years past, from the Washington Monument to Eastern Market itself were, indeed, members of the brotherhood.

Modern Freemasonry draws lessons from ancient architects and builders that are applied through allegory to guide men to be better “builders” of themselves and the societies they live in, according to Michael.

Although there are no formal tests, there are  standards of proficiency to become a Master Mason.  These are introduced gradually through education, experience, and ceremonies.

Every Mason must profess a belief in God and must swear oaths to the Book of the Sacred Law, which can be the Jewish Old Testament, the Christian New Testament or  the Islamic Koran.

Masons are forbidden to ask others to join the fraternity. Instead, interested men of good standing must “knock three times,” that is, show continued interest and seriousness, possibly joining the Masons for a dinner.

“Joining Freemasonry is making a permanent life commitment to live in certain ways. No one should be ‘talked into’ making such a decision,” Michael said.

The Masons here meet for dinner at 6:30 on the first and third Thursday of each month except July and August.

So what do they do at their meetings?  “In his most recent book,  The Lost Symbol,  Dan Brown states that we regularly drink wine from skulls in our meetings,” Michael said. “This is an outrageous lie!  We only do this at our semi-annual conventions,” he joked.

“Our meetings are either some form of masonic education – which, more often than not are open to non-masons; and degree work, the ritual of which is sacred and performed through allegoric play acting.  The big secret about Freemasonry is that Masons get out of Lodge what they put into it.  If you don’t attend, you don’t get the benefits,” he said.

“I joined Naval a little more than four years ago out of a genuine curiosity of the antiquity and a desire for fellowship,” Michael said. “Like many men that I have met, Freemasonry runs in my family – both of my grandparents were Master Masons.”

Oh, and I was wondering about how I should address Michael when he noted that, “Although my title is ‘Worshipful Master,’  the term ‘Worshipful’ is defined as ‘full of worship for the Craft’ rather than ‘one who is worshiped.’”  Phew.

The growth of a Mason is broken into three steps, called degrees: Entered Apprentice; Fellowcraft and Master Mason, which are composed of ceremonies and rites.  When taken together, this is what Freemasons mean by their ritual, “which is wonderful beyond words,” Michael says.

Okay, now we are venturing into an area where I cannot follow. Sorry, dear readers!

Have a question? Ask your friendly, neighborhood Freemason or post it here!