Lodge Calendar

Become A Maryland Mason

The word "lodge" means both a group of Masons meeting in some place and the room or building in which
they meet. Masonic buildings are also sometimes called "temples" because much of the symbolism Masonry
uses to teach its lessons comes from the building of King Solomon's Temple in the Holy Land. The term
"lodge" itself comes from the structures which the stonemasons built against the sides of the cathedrals
during construction. In winter, when building had to stop, they lived in these lodges and worked at
carving stone.

While there is some variation in detail from state to state and country to country.
If you've ever watched C-SPAN's coverage of the House of Commons in London, you'll notice that the layout
is about the same. Since Masonry came to America from England, we still use the English floor plan and
English titles for the officers. The Worshipful Master of the Lodge sits in the East. "Worshipful" is an English
term of respect which means the same thing as "Honorable." He is called the Master of the lodge for the
same reason that the leader of an orchestra is called the "Concert Master." It's simply an older term for
"Leader." In other organizations, he would be called "President." The Senior and Junior Wardens are the First
and Second Vice-Presidents. The Deacons are messengers, and the Stewards have charge of refreshments.

Every lodge has an altar holding a "Volume of the Sacred Law." In the United States and Canada, that is
almost always a Bible.

This is a good place to repeat what we said earlier about why men become Masons:

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Maryland Freemasons -  Amicable-St John's Lodge No. 25 | Chartered June 21, 1797

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