North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1273766
I
want my life back. I want your life back.
I mean it. You can't see me right now, but
I'm actually stomping my foot as I write
that.
I want us all to go back to the day before we
first heard the word "coronavirus." I want to
have no idea what I look like – or
anybody looks like – in a mask.
I would make a trade with the
devil to win a couple of hours in a
crowded restaurant, or at a concert,
or to settle happily in the sunbeam
that hits my favorite pew right
about the time the preacher starts
his homily every Sunday. I'd love to
attend a full-on board meeting at
the Grand Lodge. Really. I'm not
kidding.
If wishes were horses, my dad
would say, beggars would ride.
No matter how you look at it,
since March, we have all been on a
long strange ride. A scary one, at times. We've
been isolated. We've been quarantined. Some
have lost jobs. Some have lost hope. Some
have lost family and friends they love.
We're all fighting an enemy we can't even
see. And the fight just goes on and on and on.
And on.
Which is why when I hear good news these
days, I perk right up. And there is good news
in the story of North Carolina Freemasonry.
First and maybe most importantly, broth-
erly love stands strong even in the face of a
worldwide pandemic. We're hearing reports
of brothers checking in with brethren who
haven't visited lodge in years, and with widows
who miss the men their husbands loved so
dearly. Some lodges are still out there raising
funds for our charities. Some are taking time
to help health workers on the front lines,
sending food, and bringing them homemade
masks and hand sanitizer.
Education is exploding. We have a story
in this issue looking at how brothers are
Zooming their way to a higher level of
Masonic knowledge. You can't scroll through
Facebook these days without a healthy choice
of learning experiences popping out at you.
Work is under way at the Grand
Lodge to determine just how
Annual Communication will go
this year, while our Grand Lodge
staff and countless fans among the
brethren statewide take a moment
to honor Cornelia Doherty, who
has retired after almost 40 years.
Read all about that in this issue.
Our charities are investing time
and money to keep their respective
residents safe and secure, to make
sure they have food, shelter, and
that they don't lack for fun. Props to
those who run our homes – this has
not been an easy time for them.
And even in the middle of this strangest
of times, with the racial turmoil and protests
nationwide, there came a moment of hope
and peace on a warm, breezy June morning
when some 200 Masons – more than half from
the Prince Hall Grand Lodge – gathered at
the North Carolina Capitol with friends and
sisters of the Eastern Star to rally in favor of
peaceful protest and respect for all people of all
colors.
Our cover this issue focuses on that
morning, and on the words two Grand
Masters spoke in hopes of sharing their stories,
their brotherly love and their desire for peace.
eir words and their friendship were an
inspiration to anyone with a heart and mind
inclined to listen.
So on we go, friends … ey say patience is
a virtue. If I ever get any patience, I'll let you
know if that's true!
Page 4 The North Carolina Mason July/August 2020
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of North Carolina, 2921 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608.
ird class postage paid at Oxford, NC 27565.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to e North Carolina Mason,
School Of Graphic Arts, Masonic Home for Children, Oxford, NC 27565.
Grand Master
P. Shaun Bradshaw
Board Of Publication
Kenneth Wayne Lambert, Chairman
Adam Cloninger
Dwight Decoskey
Stan Dodd
omas VanEtten
Editor
Beth Grace
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