Category: CFM

In response to the pandemic during its first weeks, fraternity leaders formed the Distressed Worthy Brother Relief Fund, an emergency charity drive powered by donations from individual members and lodges to provide services and financial support to Freemasons affected by COVID-19.

Once it was live, the first $5,000 was raised in 20 minutes. Within a week, the fund had reached more than $30,000. One month in, Masons had donated $221,000 to the effort. By the end of the fall, fundraising reached more than $650,000.

Our original ideas and plans for 2020 went out the window in March, when the COVID-19 pandemic upended daily life and California issued the statewide stay-at-home order.  Stated meetings and dinners, Masonic education events, public school celebration and more were moved online. However, it wasn’t too long until lodges across California began to adapt to life from a distance and took creative action to provide a measure of fellowship and relief to distressed Masons and local communities.

During this time, the passion and creative drive California Masons have displayed allowed us not to just maintain, but expand and unite the fraternity. The 2020 Annual Report summarizes our tremendous achievements and efforts over the past year. From virtual gatherings  to lifesaving Masonic relief programs, learn about how California Masons and donors have continued to create profound impact and further define what it means to be a Freemason for years to come.

READ THE ANNUAL REPORT

 

Is the fraternity of 2050 already here? In many ways, yes. Small, intimate, mobile lodges. A diverse, forward-looking membership in search of meaningful personal experiences. And robotic pet dogs! (Seriously!) Read the latest issue of California Freemason magazine and learn more about the ways the Masons of California are already at work designing the membership experience of the future.

When Bay Area resident William Arney—a member of Marin Lodge No. 191 and California Lodge No. 1—noticed a For Rent sign at the former home of detective novelist Dashiell Hammett, he had no clue what he was getting himself into as he began to look into the real estate mystery.

Read more in the newest issue of California Freemason magazine.

VISIT: californiafreemason.org/mysteryhouse

You’ve heard of Masonic motorcycle clubs, but scooter clubs? Meet the Black Sheep Scooter Club, a Masonic vintage-scooter enthusiast group founded 35 years ago by Barry Gwin of California Lodge No. 1.

READ MORE: californiafreemason.org/getawaygang

“Too late, the Simpsons already did it!”

On the 25th anniversary of the Simpsons season 6 episode 12, “Homer the Great,” we pay homage to one of the best, and certainly the funniest, send-ups of Freemasonry ever to hit the airwaves.

READ: californiafreemason.org/homerictale

One hundred years ago, Grand Master Charles A. Adams did something profound: He asked his brothers to consider the schools. With public education reeling in the wake of World War I, the move soon transformed into Public Schools Week, perhaps the fraternity’s proudest—and most wide-reaching—civic campaign ever. Now, acentury later, that move still reverberates, as Masons across California once again consider how they can best support the systems that, in the words of Past Grand Master and Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, represent “the foundation of a liberty-loving people—the greatest blessing this or any nation has ever had.”

Learn more about the Masons of California’s century-long support of public education, and about the present and future of those efforts, in the latest issue of California Freemason magazine. From the Silicon Valley-area lodge eschewing high-tech for brass and woodwinds to the Masonic connection to one of the most famous court cases of the 20th century, this issue provides a lesson on a profound and gratifying legacy of support.

Also, search California Freemason‘s new digital edition for articles on your favorite topics, peruse past issues, and find the latest news from the fraternity all in one convenient place.

A few highlights from the Annual Report:

A Beautiful Experiment
How the Masons of California launched one of the greatest public-education awareness campaigns of the century.

Lessons In Support
Meet some of the lodges taking public-school support into their own hands.

The Big Picture
Ten years after launching, the Masonic Center for Youth and Families is a trusted resource for public schools.

Teacher Knows Best
A former Teacher of the Year on how outside organizations can truly make a difference in local schools.

A Work of Art
Immortalizing a legend of Masonic schools history—without much to go on.

Member Profile: Mickey Ganitch
Meet the East Bay Mason who received his 50-Year Golden Veteran pin—on his 100th birthday.

Have feedback you’d like to share, or a story idea we should check out? Email editor@freemason.org.

For more than 60 years, California Masons have called the California Masonic Memorial Temple on San Francisco’s Nob Hill their home. At long last, it’s also their lodge.

Read more about Freemasons Hall: californiafreemason.org/foreverhome

California Masons responded to the #BlueLodgeChallenge, highlighting acts of everyday charity that are transforming their communities.

READ MORE about the booming social media campaign: californiafreemason.org/challengeaccepted

Meet American Canyon Lodge No 875, California’s youngest Masonic lodge—both in terms of its members and in terms of its charter, presented November 17, 2019.

Lodge functions tend to be potluck affairs, and the group has adopted a millennial-inspired attitude toward lodge-life balance.

READ MORE about the new lodge in the latest issue of California Freemason at: californiafreemason.org/familymatters