2003 Biennial Session Welcoming Remarks of
MW Jules S. Tepper, 33°, Grand Master
Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia

Sovereign Grand Commander Kleinknecht, members of the Supreme Council, distinguished guests from across the world, and my Brethren all,

It is a very great pleasure for me, as Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia, to welcome you to our nation's capital. Shortly before the last Biennial Session, in October 2001, our country and this city suffered an unprecedented challenge. Before the fateful day of September 11, 2001, was over, the World Trade Center in New York had been leveled, United Flight 93 had crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and in nearby Virginia a significant part of the Pentagon had been destroyed.

The human cost of those attacks, an impact that continues to this day, cannot be fully appreciated. No price tag can be placed on the loss of life incurred on that day of infamy or during all of the days that have since transpired. Our young men and women have taken to land, air, and sea to proclaim America's and Freemasonry's belief that humankind can live-and must live-in peace and harmony. Despite all these challenges, however, we have recovered. Our nation is stronger than ever, and our capital city continues to serve as a beacon of inspiration for those who seek human dignity, truth, and justice. Here, every person knows that his or her basic human rights-spiritual, social, political, and economic-are secure. This city, I believe, affirms and embodies humankind's universal aspiration for the good life, the right life, lived according to Freemasonry's principles of Brotherhood, Relief, and Truth.

We in the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia extend to each of you a friendly welcome and warm fraternal embrace. While the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia is small, both geographically and numerically, our hospitality is great. Each Masonic Brother of this Grand Jurisdiction offers you, as do I, our best wishes, our good will, and our sincere hope that Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite will continue to thrive in a world community hungering for the many virtues central to our Craft.

In the face of such need, I wish you Godspeed in all you undertake to advance the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God.

Note: Because of Yom Kippur, MW Tepper was unable to attend the first day of the Biennial Session. His welcoming remarks above were eloquently delivered by Ill. Leonard Proden, Senior Grand Warden.