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Welcome to Central Lodge No. 44 F&AM's New Website
23 Plum Street Old Town Hall, 2nd Floor [Mail to: PO Box 2328] Vincentown, NJ 08088 |
                 
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As spring flowers brighten our days, May brings a powerful reminder of how Masonic values of brotherly love and charity helped guide our nation’s birth during the Revolutionary War. On May 10, 1775, only weeks after the first shots at Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. There, delegates from across the colonies worked to turn scattered resistance into a united stand for freedom. New Jersey brethren were right there in the thick of it. While prominent Masons like Brother John Hancock and Brother Benjamin Franklin brought wisdom and resolve to the Congress, our state’s own delegates joined in forging that common purpose. At the very same time, word arrived of the bold capture of Fort Ticonderoga, whose cannons would later prove so valuable to the cause. Here in New Jersey, the light of Masonry was already shining strongly. St. John’s Lodge No. 1 in Newark, one of our earliest lodges, had been chartered back on May 13, 1761. During the war, lodges like this became places where men could meet in trust, offer support to one another, and practice true charity. Brother David Brearley, who served as a colonel in the Continental Army and later became our first Grand Master, showed these virtues through leadership and care for his fellow soldiers. Military lodges attached to New Jersey regiments also provided comfort and relief to brethren facing the hardships of camp and battle. This May story reminds us that brotherly love and mutual support can sustain us through the darkest times. In our New Jersey lodges today, let us carry forward that same spirit by looking out for one another and serving our communities with open hearts. Sincerely and fraternally, Robert J. Sposato, Sr. Worshipful Master wm@centrallodge44.com |
