Grand Master's Itinerary MAY THROUGH AUGUST
MAY
J UNE
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Special Communication of Grand Lodge, Cornerstone Laying and Dedication of Lodge Room , Lodge No . 238, Tamaqua 3 Thi rd Ann ual Mi ni-Shrine-A-Rama, Highland Dr ive Veterans Hospital 6 Lodge No. 773, Philadelphia 7 Lodge No. 272, Butler 9 Special Communication o f Grand Lodge, Cornerstone Laying and Dedication o f Lodge Room, Lodge No. 62 0, Norristown 16 Valley o f Reading, A.A.S. R., Annual Spring Reunion 18 Grand Commandry o f Knights Templar, I 34 th Annual Conclave, Williamsport 22 Committee on Masonic Homes, Elizabethtown 23 Valley of Altoo na, A.A .S.R. , Annual Reunio n 26-27 16l st Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Michigan 28-31 85th Annual Convention of the Tall Cedars o f Lebanon, Ocean City, Maryland
J UNE 3 Quarterly Communication o f Grand Lodge, Soldiers and Sailors Memor ial Hall, Oakland , Pittsburgh, 7:30 p .m. 6 ! 25 th Anniversar y of Skerrett Lodge No. 343 being held in Oxfor d Lodge No. 353, Oxford 8 Chartiers Lodge No. 297, Canonsburg 11-12 32 nd Annual Session Grand Guardian Council I nternational Order of Job 's Daughters, Seven Springs Resort , Champion
Reunion, Valley of Coudersport, A.A.S.R., Couder sport 17 ! 25 th Ann iversary, Milford Lodge No. 344, Milford 20 I OOth Anniversary, Lodge No. 571, Wilcox 21 -24 Imperial Shrine, Reno, Nevada 26 Committee on Masonic Homes Meeting, Elizabethtown 27 Special Communication of the Grand Lodge for the purpose of laying the cornerstone, Scottish Rite Cathedral , West Reading
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Special Communication o f the Grand Lodge for the purpose o f laying the cornerstone, Grace United Methodist Church, Punxsutawney 13-1 4 Grand Lodge of Canada, Pro vince of Ontario 15 International Order o f Rainbow fo r Girls, Grand Assembly 17 Annual Northeast Conference on Masonic Education and Libraries, Rutland, Vermont 19-20 N.E. Conference of Grand Masters, War w ick , Rhode Island 24 Committee on Masonic Homes Meeting, Elizabethtown 25 Pennsylvania Youth Foundation, Board of Director 's Meeting
AUGUST 15 21
Masonic Picnic sponsored b y the Valley o f Philadelphia, A.A.S.R. Commi ttee on Masonic Homes Meeting, Elizabethtown
The Pennsylvania Freemason Distributio n O ffice
Masonic Temple O ne North Broad Street Philadelphia, Pa. 19 107 -2598
Secon d Class POSTAG E PA ID Philad elphia Pennsylvania
POSTMASTER : Send address changes to above . Please inc lude com plete imp rint of address o n your postal return cl ipping.
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The PENNSYLVANIA
The Masonic Homes at Elizabethtown
FREEMASON
A d missions P olicy: Editor 's Note- The admissions policy of tbe Masonic Homes at Elizabetbtown is publisbed in tbis issue of THE PENNSYLVANIA FREEMASON in compliance witb Title VI of tbe Civil Rigbts Act of 1964 and tbe Pennsylvania Huma n Rela tions Act. The Masonlc Homes at Elizabethtown, Pen nsyl vania are owned and operated bv the Grand Lodge of r ree and Accepted Masons or'Pennsylvania w hose existence antedates both the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States o f America. T here are housed at the Masonic Homes, members, their w ives, widows, mothers, grand mothers, daughters and sisters of li ving, as w ell as, deceased members of the 547 Lodges w ithin the Com monweal th having a total membership of 190,361 as o f December 27, 1986. These Lodges operate under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge. Neither the Constitution of the Grand Lodge nor the By-Laws of the Subordinate Lodges restrict membership by reason o f race, color, natio nal origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex , age, or handicap, and there are many among our mem bers w ho are nm of the Caucasian race. No record is kept of our membership o n a basis of race, color, natio nal origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, age, o r hand icap. The admissi on to the Masonic Homes of Lodge members, their wives, w i dows, mothers, grandm others, daughters and sisters of living, as well as, deceased mem bers is governed b y the Com mittee on Masonic Homes, members of w hi ch are el ected by the Grand Lodge. The Comminee approves, or disapproves, applications for adm ission solely o n the basis of need and does not discriminate by reason of the race, color, nat ional o rigin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, age, o r handicap of the applicant . Applications for admi ssi on 10 the Masonic Ho mes by members of the Lodges of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge r. & A.M . of Pennsyl vani a, their wives, widows, mothers, grandmothers, daughters and sisters o f living, as well as, deceased members are, also, received by the Committee on Masonic Homes and approved, or disapproved, on the same basis. The admission to the Masonic Homes of the approved applicants of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of Pennsylvania is governed by the Commi ttee on Masonic Homes in the same manner as is the admissi on of the approved applicants of the Grand Lodge F. & A.M. o f Pennsylvania. · No person shall, on the gr ounds of race, color, national origin, ancestr)', religious creed, sex, age, or handicap be excluded from participation in , be denied the benefits of or otherwise be subjected 10 discrimination in the provision of any care or ser vice at the Masonic Homes at ElizabethiOwn. Specifically the above includes, but is no t limited 10, the following characteristics: I . I npatient and outpatient care w ill be provi ded on a non-discriminatOry basis; all patients w ill be adm i tted and receive care w ithout regard 10 race, col or, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, age, or handicap. 2. All patients will be assigned to rooms, floors, and sections without regard 10 race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, age, or handicap. 3. Patients will not be asked if they are willing or desire to share a room with a person of another race. 4. Employees will be assigned 10 patient services without regard tO the race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, age , or handicap of either the patient or empl oyee. 5. Staff privileges w ill not be denied professionally quali fied personnel on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, age, or handicap. 6. All facili ties of this institution will be utilized witho ut regard 10 race, color, nati onal origin, ancest ry, religious creed, sex, age, or hand icap. 7. Transfer of patients from the rooms assigned and/or selected will not be made for racial reasons; however, any patient may request to upgrade the room assigned and/or selected at an)' time for any reason provided that the room requested is readily available. joseph E. Murph y, N.H.A. Execu ti ve D irectOr
AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF T H E RIG HT W O RS HIPFUL GRAND LODGE OF FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF P EN NSYLVANIA
VOLUME XXXIV
MAY
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1987
N U MBER 2
June Quarterly Communication to be Held in Pittsburgh The j une Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Bo ulevard in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, o n Wednesday, june 3, 1987. The R.W. Grand Master, Bro. Carl W. Stenberg, Jr., in bringing the mid-year meeting of the Grand Lodge to his home area, maintains a custom begun in 1977 by then Grand Master john L. McCain and continued in 1983 by then Grand Master Samuel C. Williamson.
The communication offers the Grand Master the opportunity to thank the Masons of the Greater Pittsburgh Area for their many acts of support during his administration of the Grand Lodge. Included in the fes tivities is a dinner for Masons and their ladies; entertainment for the ladies while the Grand Lodge is in session, and entertainment for Masons and their ladies immediately following the communication. Tickets to the Grand Master's Dinner which is scheduled fo r two locations, the
dining rooms in both Syria Mosque and the Masonic Temple in Oakland, have already been distributed to the lodges through the District Deputy Grand Masters in the western part of the state. The cost of the dinner is Sl2.50 per person. If you live in the western part of the state and have not yet purchased a ticket, please contact your District Deputy Grind Master. For those in other parts of the state who may be in Pittsburgh for the meeting, a few tickets are being sold at the Office of the Continued on page 8 .
Freemasonry and the Constitution by Dr. Wayne A. Huss, author of The M aster B u ilders, a History of th e Grand Lodge of P ennsylvania
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Two hund red years ago this month, fifty-five men from all of the states except Rhode Island began assembling in Philadelphia to undertake the complicated process of refo rming the national gove rnm ent. By the end of the summe r they had established a new system based up o n federalist p rinciples. On September 17, 17 87, thirty-nine of the remaining fo rty-two representatives signed the documen t outlining this new governm ent- the Consti tution of the United States . T he delegates to the Constitutional Con ventio n rep rese nted a very high level o f talen t and abili ty; they were among the best that the new nation had to offer. T h irty-one of them had gone to college at a time when higher educatio n was rare . T hirty-two were e it he r lawyers or lawye r-farmers; twelve were successful m erchants or businessm en ; eight were gentleman farme rs with substantial land holdings; and three were physicians. Most had extensive experience in politics. Thirty
men had served in the Revolutionary War and eight had signed the Declaration of Independence. Although ranging in age from 26 (Jonathan Dayton from New jersey) to 81 (Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania), the framers of the Constitution were a youthful group of men, with an average age of 43. A number of delegates also had something else in common-they were Masons. At least eleven men are known to have been members of the Fraternity prior to the opening of the Convention; another two joined afterwards .
Fifteen others had possible MasGnic connections, although their memberships cannot be definitely confirmed. Although probably not a majority at the Convention, the Masons nonetheless counted among themselves two of the most prominent individuals in the late eighteenth century American politics-George Washington , the president of the Con ven tion, and Benjamin Franklin, the elder statesman . Two other leading delegates- Alexander Hamilton, a staunch supporter of a strong federal government, and James Madison, the so-called " Father of the Constitution"- m ay also have been Masons at some point in their careers. In certain important respects, Masonic ideals and principles influenced, or at least were in accord with, the way business was handled at the Convention , as well as its results. From the begin ning, the delegates decided to conduct their discussions in secret. They did this not because of an antiContinued on page 10.
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