Editor’s note: This article was originally published on the Grand Lodge of the State of New York website and is being republished by permission of the author.

Dear Brethren and Friends,

We at the Grand Lodge of New York are trying to do our part towards answering the call of the distressed in providing a source of much-needed help to those adversely affected by these unprovoked acts of violence and war against the good citizens of Ukraine. These unprecedented assaults and aggression are especially traumatic and harrowing to the population of children and the elderly residing in both the cities and countryside of Ukraine.

Your Grand Master, Most Worshipful Richard J. Kessler, and the Grand Lodge of New York, in a strong showing of solidarity with our fellow Brethren of the Grand Lodge of Ukraine, we look to the members of our noble Craft to demonstrate their heartfelt compassion and empathy for our fellow human beings during this their hour of darkness. Together, we will emerge from this tragic and dispirited experience united with a renewed zeal of bringing back peace, harmony and brotherhood throughout the world. The essence of True Masonic Brotherhood will be a beacon of hope for all to see and emulate.

In the name of this charitable and humanitarian effort in support of our brothers and their families in Ukraine, we are grateful to receive your contributions, both large and small, as checks payable to the Masonic Brotherhood Fund earmarked for the Grand Lodge Emergency Relief Fund. Please mail your checks directly to the Masonic Brotherhood Fund, 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010-4149. Rest assured that every penny received will be distributed to those in need and absolutely no monies will be deferred to cover expenses and related costs incurred by the Grand Lodge.

In anticipation of your most generous support, please accept the warmest fraternal thanks on behalf of the Grand Master, the officers and members of the Grand Lodge for your kind-spirited gift to the Grand Lodge Emergency Relief Fund. The noted humanitarian and physician, Dr. Albert Schweitzer said it best, “There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.” In memory of the many victims who are injured, maimed or have perished during this calamity, and in cohesion with their families and fellow countrymen, we gratefully bear witness to your genuine and unselfish expression of charity.

In closing, I would like to share a short but true story that is most apropos today as it was when originally told in 1941. During the height of World War II, the Pro Grand Master of Finland, RW Brother Marcus Tollet, spoke of a little boy at a local seaport in Finland who looking at the various sailing ships noticed one flying a strange flag on its masthead, asked his father, “What flag is that?” He knew the flags of the Scandinavian countries and of all the countries that border on the Baltic, but this was a different flag; and his father replied, “It is the Freemason’s Flag – It is the Stars and Stripes of the American Flag”.

Thank you once again for your thoughtfulness and generosity for our fellow human beings during these trying times.

Fraternally,

Richard T. Schulz
Grand Secretary