San Antonio Lodge No.1 Elects New Leadership in Preparation of 150 Years of Texas Prince Hall Freemasonry
(Story by Bro. Burrell Parmer)— During a regularly scheduled meeting of San Antonio Lodge No. 1, men, dressed in black suits with white gloves and aprons, elected Bro. Shevin Ravenel, of Charleston, S.C., as Master of the Lodge (Worshipful Master) at the Masonic Temple located on the city’s Eastside.
The title “Worshipful” is an honorary title used to show respect for the position, not as a form of worship.
As Worshipful Master, Bro. Ravenel is responsible for the overall functioning of the lodge, including presiding over meetings, delegating duties, and ensuring the smooth operation of all lodge activities.
Presiding over the lodge elections was Special District Deputy Grand Master Derek Scott of Noble Star Lodge No. 277.
Freemasonry is the leading fraternal organization in the world, which was formally organized in London, England in 1717.
As a fraternal organization, Freemasonry unites men of good character who, though of different religious, ethnic or social backgrounds, share a belief in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of mankind. It exists to take good men and help them to become better men.
Freemasonry among Blacks began in 1775 when Prince Hall, a community leader in Boston, Mass., and 14 other men of color became Freemasons in Lodge No. 441. After receiving a charter to operate as African Lodge No. 459 from the Grand Lodge of England in 1784, Prince Hall Lodges were established in Providence, R.I., and Philadelphia, Pa., and eventually spread throughout the country.
In 1871, the first Masonic Lodge of Black men, San Antonio Lodge No. 22, was established under the jurisdiction of the King Solomon Grand Lodge of Kansas (National Grand Lodge).
In August 1875, the five Prince Hall Lodges located in Texas (San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Galveston and Brenham) met in Brenham and formed The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas in which San Antonio Lodge No. 22 was re-chartered as San Antonio Lodge No. 1 on May 10, 1876. The lodge’s first principal officers were Brothers George Jackson (Master of the Lodge), Richard Wallace (Senior Warden), and Nelson Williams (Junior Warden).
Some of the lodge’s most distinguished members include Bishop Abraham Grant of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Rev. Claude. W. Black, Dr. Charles Andrews Sr., W.C. White, Norris L. McVea Sr., Rev. Dr. Robert L. Jemerson and many others.
For more information about San Antonio Lodge No. 1 visit www.sanantoniolodge1.org.
