October 2025

From the East

Joseph Wallach - Worshipful Master

Greetings, Brethren.

It’s October, and change is afoot.

As my time in the East is waning and ramping down, the opposite could be said of next year’s Officers.

They have assumed their advanced stations and have worked diligently on their qualifications.

I am always impressed by the quality and character of our Lodge members, as well as the vigor and zeal they bring to their endeavors, both within and outside the Lodge.

We have important work to do in the next few months, and I am confident that we will meet any challenges with the same care and empathy that we have consistently demonstrated on our Masonic journey.

We will be having a presentation by the Masonic Homes during our October 2nd dinner.

I look forward to seeing you all.

Fraternally,

Joseph Wallach WM

From the West

William Workman - Senior Warden

Autumn is here! It’s time for the leaves to turn and paint the city of Sacramento into a rich, warm, and earthy palette of fall colors. Did you know that the city of Sacramento is known as the City of Trees? It wasn’t always so wooded.

When settlers arrived during the Gold Rush, the Sacramento Valley was originally known as the "City of the Plains" because it was largely covered by grassland. Because of the region's hot, dry summers, early residents planted an extensive urban forest for shade and a healthier environment.

Local government and community groups—including the Sacramento Bee newspaper editor C.K. McClatchy, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Sacramento Tree Foundation—influenced and supported tree planting throughout the 20th century.

A major community campaign launched in 2000 sought to plant one million trees in the city. The milestone was reached in 2011 with the planting of a valley oak in César Chávez Plaza.

A 2017 study by MIT's Senseable City Lab ranked Sacramento as the greenest city in the U.S. and third globally based on its tree canopy coverage.

I hope that during our hot summers, that you were able to take refuge under one for its glorious shade. With fall here, just make sure not to paint anything under one unless you would like to have it accented with leaves.

Masonry has many roots in which trees have been utilized in creating great works of architecture, as they have for thousands of years. As we all should well know, King Solomon’s temple would never have been built without trees, though mostly stone.

In the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem, King Solomon utilized cedar logs extensively. 1 Kings 5:6 records Solomon's request to Hiram, king of Tyre: "So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will work with yours, and I will pay you for your servants whatever wages you set." The use of cedar in the Temple underscored the sacredness and grandeur of the edifice, as it was a place where God’s presence would dwell among His people.

Cypress wood was also used in the construction of the second Temple, as recorded in Ezra 3:7 : "Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the authorization they had from Cyrus, king of Persia.”

One of the Great Lights of Masonry is full of references to trees. Next time you find yourself under one, sit and contemplate the wonders of nature and life itself. The act will be earthly grounding and at the same time heavenly uprising.

Of course, this well-known excerpt from a very important prayer in masonry is my favorite reference to trees. It originates from Job lamenting on the finality of death. “For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.” This demonstrates the faith that even when things seem dead, there is always a potential for new beginnings.

My Brothers, do not despair at the falling of leaves, or the dying off of branches, and may hope always envelope you with everlasting possibilities and renewed joy.

From the South

Brandon Jenkins - Junior Warden

Autumn is finally upon us, Brothers, and I am grateful for the changing weather. The Autumnal Equinox was on September 22nd, and it has brought with it longer nights and cooler days. I know I write often about the ambient temperature, but as I grow older, I notice that it seems to occupy much of my attention. My internal dialogue goes something like this: “Will I go for a walk today? Well, how hot is it outside? 95 degrees??? Forget it. Back to the couch!” Et cetera, et cetera.

Autumn is also my favorite season of the year, although having grown up in the western United States, some may say I have never actually experienced a “true” autumn. Changing colors of the leaves aside, I greatly appreciate the cooler weather, the beginning of our rainy period, and the longer nights associated with the season. Autumn leads my mind to reflect on the year that will soon end, and I am usually left wondering where all of the time went so quickly. “Wasn’t Halloween just a couple of months ago?” “Has it been a year already??!?” Et cetera, et cetera.

Contemplating on seasonal changes, I am reminded of the balance that exists within nature and should exist within our own lives. This balance is constantly represented in the natural universe, and is especially illustrated by the Equinox. The Equinox, both Spring and Autumn, is the moment when both light and dark, day and night, stand in perfect balance. At that particular moment, the sun rules the day and the moon governs the night for exactly the same amount of time. The pendulum of nature, conducted by geometry, is flawlessly flat for one brief moment, and all is in harmony. This equilibrium demonstrates to us the divinely appointed law of balance, which is apparent in every facet of the universe, including the tiny stars that reside deep within the most hidden recesses of our being. This cosmic balance is maintained from infinity to infinity, and order reigns over every creation.

In Masonry, balance is symbolized by many of our working tools. The plumb, the level, and the 24-inch gauge, as well as numerous others, remind us of this. They demonstrate the balance between labor and refreshment, justice and mercy, duty and fellowship, life and death. These aspects of life are also not exclusionary. On the contrary, they of necessity must coexist. These symbols are simple reminders that one cannot have light without darkness, justice without mercy, life without death.

Additionally, our most prevalent symbol, the Square and Compass, demonstrates to us that we are dual beings striving to live a balanced life. Our mortality, symbolized by the Square, and our immortal selves, symbolized by the Compass, are intertwined upon the Sacred Law, signifying to the discerning eye that we are two halves of one whole, both mortal and immortal, guided by the Great Architect of the Universe to seek balance and order.

The sharp, angular, mortal man, so inclined towards pride, anger, greed, and lust, is tempered by the boundaries drawn by the divine circle of restraint and humility, with the instruction of Deity to point the way.

Autumn is a season of reflection. Have we sown while the soil was fertile? Did we harvest while the fields were ripe? Have we stored and prepared for the long nights that await? As we participate in introspection during this time, may we work to seek balance in all we do, as the Great Artificer has demonstrated in His holy creations.

READ THE MINUTES

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

OCTOBER

• 02 Stated Meeting Dinner (Banquet Room) Thursday 6:00 PM

Masonic Homes Presentation

• 02 Monthly Stated Meeting (LR1) Thursday 7:30 PM

• 09 DARK

• 15 OSI (Officers School of Instruction) (LR3) Wednesday 7:00 PM

• 16 DARK

• 23 DARK

• 24-26 176th Annual Communication in San Francisco, CA (Details)

• 30 DARK

NOVEMBER

• 01 Ladies Night: Oktoberfest (Ballroom) Saturday 7:00 PM

• 04 Executive Committee Meeting (Zoom) Tuesday 6:30 PM

• 06 Stated Meeting Dinner (Banquet Room) Thursday 6:00 PM

• 06 Monthly Stated Meeting Annual Election of Officers (LR1) Thursday 7:30 PM

• 13 DARK

• 19 OSI (Officers School of Instruction) (LR3) Wednesday 7:00 PM

• 20 DARK

• 27 DARK

OCTOBER

BIRTHDAYS

03 Russell Tomas (Past Master)
03 Martin Zimmerman (Master Mason)
09 Jonathan Bray (Entered Apprentice)
13 John Otten (Master Mason)
15 Christopher Boothe (Master Mason)
26 Jack Cornelius, Jr. (Entered Apprentice)
28 Scott Goode (Past Master)
28 Douglas Arrington (Master Mason)
28 Emad Sweidan (Master Mason)

MASTER MASON ANNIVERSARIES

08 James Lenau (27 Years)
10 Norman Helsel (23 Years)
13 Kevin Hall (3 Years)
17 Eric Van Houten (6 Years)
19 Rodrigo Bitar (8 Years)
21 Dwight Bradish (26 Years)
23 Robert Cameron (22 Years)
24 Paul Evans (57 Years)
25 David Minke (13 Years)
26 Mark Christie (25 Years)
28 Richard Entrican (49 Years)
28 Richard Redmond (32 Years)

Visit: Sacramento Turn Verein Alpentänzer Schuhplattler (STV Alpentänzer)

Annual Election of Officers

Thursday, November 6, 2025, at 7:30 PM

Members of Washington Lodge No. 20

Please join us for the most important Stated Meeting of the year!

Master Masons must be in Good Standing in the Lodge to be permitted to vote in the Election of Officers.

Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts cannot vote.

General Protocol

This Ceremony is for Masons Only.

Before opening the meeting to nominations, the Master, Worshipful Joseph Wallach, will determine if there is a visitor present who will relieve the Tiler so that he may vote.

The Master will also appoint three Master Masons to serve as Tellers for the Election. A table with three chairs will be set up in the South-East corner of the Lodge for the Tellers' use.

The Secretary will have sufficient slips of paper available on his desk for ballots, as well as pencils or pens for WLN20 Members to use when voting.

Key Roles in the Annual Election

Elected Officers: WLN20 Members vote to elect specific positions for the ensuing Masonic Year, most notably:

⦿ Worshipful Master

⦿ Senior Warden

⦿ Junior Warden

Treasurer and Secretary: These roles are also elected, but the incumbents frequently serve for several years to ensure continuity and institutional knowledge.

Progressive Line: Officers move up a progressive line of positions year by year, with the Senior Warden typically becoming the next Worshipful Master.

Appointed Officers: The incoming Worshipful Master appoints the remaining Officers to serve alongside the Elected Officers for the new term:

⦿ Chaplain

⦿ Assistant Secretary

⦿ Senior Deacon

⦿ Junior Deacon

⦿ Marshal

⦿ Senior Steward

⦿ Junior Steward

⦿ Organist

⦿ Tiler

Men who volunteer to serve as Lodge Officers exhibit strong leadership, a commitment to personal and spiritual growth, integrity, and a willingness to dedicate time and effort to Washington Lodge No. 20 and its members, with a focus on the welfare of the Brotherhood and the Institution itself.

Masonic Lawn Association ("Cemetery Board"): Two WLN20 Members will be elected to serve as Directors on the Cemetery Board in 2026.

Masonic Temple Association of Sacramento ("Temple Board"): WLN20 Members will also elect seven Delegates to serve at the Annual Temple Board Meeting scheduled for Monday, March 24, 2026, at 7:00 PM, and held in the Banquet Room of the Sacramento Masonic Temple.

At the annual meeting, WLN20 representatives will elect one Delegate to serve as a Board Director for a three-year term.

The Board of Directors consists of twelve elected Directors, representing the Owning Bodies (Shareholders), as follows:

Union-Tehama Lodge No. 3 (with 46.75% of Ownership) has four Directors

Washington Lodge No. 20 (8.5%), one Director

Sacramento Lodge No. 40 (24.31%), two Directors

Chapter No. 3 of Royal Arch Masons (13.06%), two Directors

Council No. 1 of Cryptic Masons (0.69%), one Director

Commandery No. 2 of Knights Templar (6.69%), one Director

Plus one Director-at-Large, as the 12th Director, in compliance with the stipulations under Section 2.01 of the Bylaws of the Masonic Temple Association of Sacramento (Multiple Ownership).

ELECTION COUNTDOWN

Installation of Elected and Appointed Officers

The Installation Ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, December 14, 2025, at a time yet to be determined, most likely early afternoon. Time announcement is forthcoming.

☞ This is a public event, allowing family, friends, and prospective members to attend and witness the ceremony.

Washington Lodge No. 20 F. & A. M.

Mission Statement

To practice and promote a way of life that binds like-minded men in a worldwide
brotherhood that transcends all religious, ethnic, cultural, social and educational differences.

Through Masonic principles and tradition, and by the outward expression of these
through its fellowship and compassion, Washington Lodge No.20 Free & Accepted Masons provides ways in which to serve God, family, country, neighbors, and self in an environment that contributes to the enrichment and betterment of its members, mankind, and its communities.

Freemasonry is

Kindness in the home,

Honesty in business,

Courtesy in society,

Fairness in work,

Pity and concern for the unfortunate,

Resistance toward evil,

Help for the weak,

Forgiveness for the penitent,

Love for one another and,

Above all, reverence and love for God.

Freemasonry is many things but

Most of all:

Freemasonry is a way of life.

Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry

by John J. Robinson

Its mysterious symbols and rituals had been used in secret for centuries before Freemasonry revealed itself in London in 1717.

Once known, Freemasonry spread throughout the world and attracted kings, emperors, and statesmen to take its sacred oaths.

It also attracted great revolutionaries such as George Washington and Sam Houston in America, Juarez in Mexico, Garibaldi in Italy, and Bolivar in South America.

It was outlawed over the centuries by Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, and Khomeini.

But where had this powerful organization come from?

What was it doing in those secret centuries before it rose from underground more than 270 years ago?

And why was Freemasonry attacked with such intense hatred by the Roman Catholic church?

This amazing detective story answers those questions and proves that the Knights Templar in Britain, fleeing arrest and torture by pope and king, formed a secret society of mutual protection that came to be called Freemasonry.

Based on years of meticulous research, this book solves the last remaining mysteries of the Masons‑‑their secret words, symbols, and allegories whose true meanings had been lost in antiquity. With a richly drawn background of the bloody battles, the opportunistic kings and scheming popes, the tortures and religious persecution that were the Middle Ages, it is an important book that may require that we take a new look at the history of events leading to the Protestant Reformation.

Part 1: THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

CHAPTER 1: The Urge To Kill

CHAPTER 2: "For Now Is Tyme To Be War"

CHAPTER 3: "Whether Justly or Out of Hate"

CHAPTER 4: "First, and Above All . . . The Destruction of the Hospitallers"

CHAPTER 5: The Knights of the Temple

CHAPTER 6: The Last Grand Master

CHAPTER 7: "The Hammer of the Scots"

CHAPTER 8: Four Vicars of Christ

CHAPTER 9: "Spare No Known Means of Torture"

CHAPTER 10: "No Violent Effusions of Blood"

CHAPTER 11: Men on the Run

Part 2: THE FREEMASONS

CHAPTER 12: The Birth of Grand Lodge

CHAPTER 13: In Search of the Medieval Guilds

CHAPTER 14: "To Have My Throat Cut Across"

CHAPTER 15: "My Breast Torn Open, My Heart Plucked Out"

CHAPTER 16: The Master Mason

CHAPTER 17: Mystery in Language

CHAPTER 18: Mystery in Allegory and Symbols

CHAPTER 19: Mystery in Bloody Oaths

CHAPTER 20: Mystery in Religious Convictions

CHAPTER 21: Evidence in the Legend of Hiram Abiff

CHAPTER 22: Monks into Masons

CHAPTER 23: The Protestant Pendulum

CHAPTER 24: The Manufactured Mysteries

CHAPTER 25: The Unfinished Temple of Solomon

Appendix: "Humanum Genus"

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John J. Robinson was an American author and historian, best known as the author of Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry, which was originally intended as a book about the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, but instead traced the fall of the Knights Templar, which he connected to the rise of Freemasonry.

As a result of his research for this book, he became more interested in Freemasonry and subsequently wrote A Pilgrim's Path: Freemasonry and the Religious Right. He is also credited as being the "founding visionary" of the Masonic Information Center run by the Masonic Service Association of North America.

He was a member of the Medieval Academy of America, The Organization of American Historians, and the Royal Overseas League of London.

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0871316021

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0871316028

Purchase Book

October 13, 1307: The Dark Dawn of the Knights Templar