Consuelo Lodge No. 325

Sunday, October 26th 2025 Most Worshipful Garrett S. Chan was installed as the Grand Master of Masons in California. From all of us at Consuelo Lodge №. 325, we wish you and the craft an incredible year of prosperity!

At the Pasadena Scottish Rite, a Masonic Thespian Crew Has Staged A Special Performance for Nearly a Century. Photos by Justin L. Stewart and Mark Read Above: The Pasadena Scottish Rite Cathedral, which seats 300, has hosted a production of the Spirit of Hiram, a Masonic play, nearly every year since 1927. There’s a lot […]

The Masonic Ritual is the heart of Freemasonry. And at the center of the ritual is drama. it’s no wonder Masons go to such lengths to put on an unforgettable show. By Tony Gilbert Tucked inside a shopping center in Tarzana, hidden in plain sight amid the signposts on Ventura Boulevard, there’s something powerful and […]

The Lodge Records Survey pilot program is an effort to collect, inventory, and preserve the records of the Bay Area’s extinct lodges. Over the coming year, the program will expand to all of California. In the case of lodge consolidations, things like tiler’s records, membership reports, and other correspondence often end up in a dusty attic or, oftentimes, a secretary’s garage.

Whether it’s the super idea behind a new charity, the fantastic team powering the state’s fastest-growing lodges, or the marvels of lodge administration, these heroes don’t wear capes, but they do wear aprons.

In a capstone to a remarkable life and career in Freemasonry, R. Stephen Doan is the 2024 Recipient of the Grand Master’s Lifetime Achievement Award. By Ian A. Stewart If you want to get a sense for Stephen Doan’s impact on the fraternity, look no further than the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of California […]

By Ian A. Stewart Above: Stained-glass artists Armelle Le Roux and Ariana Makau (pictured) used both modern and traditional techniques to create an original stained-glass portrait of Prince Hall, complete with Masonic emblems and symbols. How do you go about creating an image of someone who was never photographed or painted in his lifetime? For […]

Last Sunday, October 23, Most Worshipful Brother Randall L. Brill was installed as Grand Master of Masons in California. From all of us at Consuelo Lodge №. 325, we look forward to an incredible year of prosperity under his leadership, inspired by his theme: “Fulfilling our obligations.”

File this under possible Masonic firsts: This May, San Diego Masonic lodge S.W. Hackett № 574 held a second degree ceremony with current masters of nearby lodges sitting in every officer’s position. “The theater of it was really next-level,” says Ethan Carswell, who received the Fellow Craft degree. “I met some great people and some great mentors.”

From scientists and soldiers to politicians and philanthropists, many of the world’s most influential men have also been brothers of the mystic tie – and great authors are no exception. Here, we profile three Masons whose legendary works have captured the imaginations of so many readers both in and out of the brotherhood.

Mark Twain – born Samuel Langhorne Clemens – was the trickster storyteller of American letters, so it should be no surprise that he applied his particular brand of observation to the Masonry as well. Take, for instance, his description of a character in his 1897 “Tom Sawyer’s Conspiracy”:

In September, NBC’s streaming service Peacock debuted a new television adaptation of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, based on the follow-up novel to the smash hit The Da Vinci Code. One of the most anticipated novels of all time, The Lost Symbol originally set several sales records when it was released in 2009—selling a million copies on its first day and staying on the New York Times bestseller list for 29 weeks. 

Around 1853, the subject of this photograph, Samuel Larison (also spelled Larrison), drawn by the promise of the Gold Rush, emigrated to California. Larison mined for a few years and “met with more or less success.” Eventually he left prospecting and purchased land to farm. He settled with his family near the town of Cloverdale in Sonoma County, California. There he became a pioneer winemaker, a cooper for the new wine industry, and a charter member of the town’s Masonic lodge.

As Oliver Napalan prepared to be raised to the degree of Master Mason in October 2019, he was sweating buckets. And rightly so. While he’d felt a few nerves in advance of receiving each of the first two degrees of Masonry, he knew this time would be different.

The trades have historically represented a path to a living wage. That doesn’t just mean electrical work, carpentry, and plumbing. High tech and skilled sectors like solar installation, renewable-energy maintenance, and IT support are expanding rapidly. Yet few young adults are encouraged to enroll in the kinds of schools that teach those skills.