The North Carolina Mason

30,000 brothers and 362 lodges – but they promise to hold at least one "listening session" in all 41 districts. Another theme of his year: Love one another. Brotherly love tops that list of course. But it also encompasses love of neighbor, GM Frazier says. "Brotherly love looks like the role our lodges play in their communities and in their philanthropy and in community service," he says. "I think it can be seen by who we bring into our lodges, as we continue to bring more and more men of varying backgrounds into Masonry. I think you can see it by the way we behave on social media and in the way we behave in our lodges and with each other." Speaking of social media, GM Frazier will make good use if it himself, creating a video each month to update brothers and share ideas. Check your email for the monthly link to watch. His goal this year is to engage – not preach at – brothers. "I don't know that I've ever come across anybody who made a change because they were browbeat into the change," he says. Even his Grand Master's pin brings home the message of fellowship, friendship and love (See below.) The pin is in the shape of an antique level. "We talk in Masonry about meeting on the level, which is a reference to the fundamental equality of all. And that of course, is tied to 'love your neighbor.' It's a Masonic way of reminding ourselves to love each other, and to love all people."— Grand Master Kevan Frazier 2023 Grand Master Pin Carries Important Message Grand Masters have commissioned pins to commemorate their year – and to hand out to brothers at District meetings and elsewhere – for years. Some have collected every one of them, and proudly display them in their homes and Mason-caves. Most Worshipful Grand Master Kevan Frazier has commissioned his own pin for the year, and it will be easy to tell this one from the others in years to come. Most pins are circular. GM Frazier's pin is in the shape of an antique level. "It's a very simple pin," he says, adding that it was designed to carry a much broader, important message. Along the bottom in gold against a dark bronze background are the letters GLNC (of course referencing the Grand Lodge of North Carolina). "In Masonry, we talk about meeting on the level, which is a reference to the fundamental equality of all people and which, of course, is then tied to love your neighbor. It's a Masonic way of reminding ourselves to love our neighbors, and to love all people. "And that's what God's calling us to do, to love all people with no qualifiers." There's another message. Modern-day levels use a glass cylinder and bubble to determine if a line is level. Back in the day, level was determined by a plumb bob attached to the center of the level. A plumb bob, plumb bob level, or pendulum is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, suspended from a string and used as a vertical reference line, or plumb-line. GM Frazier says those old plumb bobs occasionally need to be adjusted to assure a level reading. "So this level purposefully has the pendulum a little lower on the plumb line. It's a sign that it needs adjustment. As we all know, we are all throughout our lives continuing to make those adjustments." S P R I N G 2 0 2 3 | 5

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