Greetings Brethren,
As a sailor I have always been drawn to the images of the Anchor and the Ark, “…emblems of a well-grounded hope and a well-spent
life.”
Very appropriate symbols for our current time of national trial. They are very overt emblems of the divine guidance that “safely wafts us over this tempestuous sea of troubles and that anchor which shall safely moor us in a peaceful harbor…” (An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Albert G. Mackey 1906). While the two symbols are usually tied (sorry, unavoidable pun) to each other, Mackey points out that they actually come from two very separate periods of history. Noah’s Ark of course dates back to the Old Testament but the anchor as symbol of hope was not used till the time of St. Paul. Never the less, the two symbols are much more powerful together than separate. As the sea of this life carries us through fair seas and foul, to destinations we know not yet, there is always the hope of an anchor to keep us off rocky lee shores and safe in calm safe harbors.
As I write this we know not where the current health challenge will send the Ark of our country or even as individuals. No one can yet know the virulence or the therapy of the poorly understood virus. Let us hope that many claims are being overblown for various reasons as in the past and time will give us 20/20 vision to understand this pandemic and best manage its containment with evidence based science.
Most of all, I am confident that we have an anchor to weather this storm. That anchor is made up of immeasurable scientific talent, community leaders, business organizers, first responders and working people dedicated to keeping us safe and off the rocky lee shores through dedication, love, faith and charity. The pure principles of our fraternity.
This storm will pass and I believe we will find ourselves in a new harbor, hopefully safer than before.
Fraternally,
F. Lawrence Vernamonti, WM
