An Impressive Lodge Night

Since moving away from Pennsylvania, I haven't been involved with my mother lodge (Penn-Morris Lodge #778 in Woodside, PA) and have been missing the Masonic fellowship that I enjoyed there. So I've been looking for a local Masonic lodge to get involved with and in the last few months I've found a lodge that I've come to enjoy visiting - Cherrydale Lodge #42 in Arlington, VA. I particularly enjoy the fact that there is a strong presence of involved, younger members, something that is lacking in many of the lodges I know of. Anyway, last night was a special meeting and I'm happy that I was able to attend. A member of Cherrydale Lodge, Bro. Stewart Miner, was receiving his 50-Year Pin. While I had heard his name mentioned a few times over the course of my visits to Cherrydale, I had no idea how involved Bro. Miner is and had been in Virginia and DC Freemasonry. Not only is he a Past Master of Cherrydale Lodge, he is also a Past Grand Master of all Freemasons in Virginia. I'm sorry to say I can't remember all of his past titles but they were numerous, having served the Grand Lodge of Virginia, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, and in many other capacities for Masonry for 50 years. As Bro. Miner is also a member of another local lodge, Andrew Jackson Lodge #120, a joint communication was held in that lodge's room at the George Washington National Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, VA.












While I'm sure Cherrydale Lodge would have enjoyed hosting the event, the Masonic Temple has considerably more space and made for a great evening. While I had toured the building on at least 2 previous occasions, I had never been in the North Lodge Room, where Andrew Jackson Lodge #120 meets regularly. It was the largest Lodge room I've ever been in, with a fair sized first floor and a very large balcony all under a huge vaulted roof. Because there were so many visiting Masonic dignitaries (including the current Grand Master of Virginia, the Grand Master of DC, and a Past Grand Master of Prince Hall Masons in Virginia), the majority of us sat in the balcony where we were afforded a great view of the evening's events. Upon the closing of Lodge, I was able to get a couple of photos of the room.
Looking towards the East, with the Master's station just visible through the remaining crowd:










Towards the West, with a large portion of the balcony and organ station above:










It was a great night of Masonic fellowship and I'm happy I was able to be a small part of it. I look forward to attending more Cherrydale Lodge functions, especially December's 1st Stated Meeting when I will find out if my petition for plural membership in their lodge is accepted.