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Greetings and Welcome!
St. Johns Lodge #20, F&AM, originally chartered in 1822 and rechartered in 1843, is proudly located in Columbus, IN. Columbus is located in south-central Indiana, approximately 45 minutes south of Indianapolis and 60 minutes north of Louisville along I-65. Columbus is widely known as a destination for architecture and art, which are two of the areas Freemasons are taught to appreciate and emulate.
Mission Statement
In the tradition of Freemasonry, the mission of St Johns Lodge #20 is to make a positive difference in the lives of its members and to the people they come in contact with everyday, through moral instruction, charity, and fellowship.
The Values: Friendship, Morality, Brotherly Love
Brief History of Freemasonry
Freemasonry is the world’s oldest networking organization. It operates as a fraternity for men with the primary purpose of fellowship and building men of character. St. Johns Lodge has existed for nearly 200 years to allow men to know others that they might not otherwise know. The Free and Accepted Masons, or just Masonic Lodge, is the world’s oldest fraternity and you will find its organizations, called Lodges, all across the World.
Requirements: Any man can be a Mason as long as he is of legal age and comes well recommended. Those with interest will be welcomed by a small committee who will talk with him about Masonry. The committee will then recommend the candidate to the Lodge upon the candidate’s signing of a membership petition.
Historic origins of modern Freemasonry can be traced to the stonemasons guilds that formed during the Middle Ages in Europe. Guilds were developed to train men in skills needed to construct magnificent cathedrals and castles. Over time, these guilds allowed some who were not actual stone masons to join their ranks, known likely as “admitted” or “accepted” masons. Men of thought were drawn to the idea of creating cathedrals of men – character, balance, and a spiritual belief in something beyond what we see on earth. By the 1700s the Grand Lodge, or association of four principle lodges of Freemasonry, was founded in England.
Freemasonry in the United States is slightly different than in other parts of the world. The United States does not have one national Grand Lodge, but rather each state has its own Grand Lodge that is seperate from each other state. All of the lodges within a particular state are under the jurisdiction of that state's Grand Lodge with few exceptions.
Helpful Links
St. Johns Lodge Facebook - www.facebook.com/groups/stjohnslodge20/
Grand Lodge of Indiana - www.indianafreemasons.com
Indiana Freemasons - www.tryfreemasonry.com
St. Johns Lodge Trestle Board Archive
Area Calendar - www.trumba.com/calendars/grand_lodge_of_indiana