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Thanks for your wishes and prayers. Everyone at our Grand Lodge of New York building and library is safe, though, like all Americans, we are shocked and saddened for our fellow New Yorkers and those in Washington, D.C., over the tragedies at the World Trade Center (WTC) and Pentagon. Our building is on West 23rd Street, about one mile north of the site of the tragedy. The World Trade Center was a familiar and comforting sight, which is no longer there; the absence of the buildings is a visible reminder of the sad loss of all those lives here and at the Pentagon as well as the victims aboard the airplanes.
On September 13, I was taken by police escort to Fraunces Tavern Museum, several blocks from the WTC site, to retrieve the George Washington Inaugural Bible, which was loaned by St. John's Lodge No. 1 for an exhibition we have running at the historic Fraunces Tavern Museum. As we drove through the streets, I was stunned by the emptiness and stillness, but also overwhelmed at the number of brave volunteers, police officers, fire departments, and EMS workers who are doing everything they can to save lives and to help the city start to recover. It was also comforting for me to be carrying a representation of our Masonic and American heritage. I was proud and strengthened to remember that the men who have sworn their oaths on the Bible—and the citizens they have led—have built a strong country upon principles which cannot be diminished or extinguished by insane fanatics.
I am also proud to note that, among many other Masonic leaders and their organizations, M.W. Carl J. Smith, Grandmaster of Masons in the State of New York, in conjunction with the Trustees of the Masonic Hall and Home, has donated one million dollars to be used exclusively to aid and assist the families of the NYPD, NYC Fire Department, EMS personnel, and employees of the Port Authority who lost their lives in the WTC attack. These people are the heroes of this world. Their courage, bravery, and sacrifice show us all what it means to be Americans. It's important to preserve our heritage through artifacts, such as the Washington Bible; it's so much more important to preserve the lives of Americans and to honor the memory of those who gave their lives to protect and rescue their fellow citizens.
Let's all pray for our country in these troubled times.
Brother Tom Savini, Director
Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library and Museum