This week we are excited to continue our conversations with this year’s winners of our Faces of Ohio Freemasonry contest. Today’s interviewee is a second generation Mason who already spent more than a decade on his journey in the Craft.
Read on and get to know this week’s Face of Ohio Freemasonry: George Moore
Which Lodge do you belong to?
Celina #241 in Celina,
Plural Member of Mercer #121 in Saint Mary’s,
Charter Member of Pioneer Lodge #1861 (a Traveling Military Lodge for Civil War reenactors)
What is your profession?
Attorney at Law & Musician.
How long have you been a Freemason? When did you first join?
I have been a Mason for 16 years. I was raised a Master Mason in March 22, 2003.
What inspired you to become a Mason?
My father, George H. Moore, was my inspiration to join. He was very active in Celina #241 and served as Master in the mid-1980s when I was a child. I fondly remember going up to the Lodge for various banquets and dinners when I was little.
When I was around 15 years old, my dad took a job several hours away from home near the Cincinnati area. I vividly remember asking him what he would do for fun, and who he would hang out with since he was so far away from mom and me during the week. He surprised me by saying he would like to get active in Freemasonry near Cincinnati. When I asked him what he meant by that, he smiled and explained that “There are no strangers in Freemasonry, only friends you have not yet met.”
He died when I was 19, and shortly afterward I petitioned to join Celina #241. It certainly adds to my love for our fraternity that I am a member of the same Lodge where my dad was a member, which means that we sat in the same chairs, we have worn the same aprons and jewels, and we have read from the same Rituals.
What does being a Freemason mean to you?
It means everything to me. It helps me through every aspect of my daily life. It helps me to be a better husband, father, friend, and worker.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned or gained through Ohio Freemasonry?
Freemasonry recognizes that although we can never attain perfection while here on earth, we should always be striving for it in all that we do, whether it is with God, our family, our neighbor, or ourselves.
How do you remain mindful of Masonic values in your day-to-day life?
I always try to be mindful of the lessons laid down in our Ritual. I often wear my dad’s Square and Compasses ring on my right hand, and I wear my AASR ring as my wedding band on my left. I also normally have at least one Masonic pin on my lapel as well. I try to select my lapel pins for each day to remind me of the lessons taught by the symbols upon the pin, according to whatever trials and vicissitudes of life that I may be facing at that time.
What is one piece of advice you would give to a new Mason?
You get out of Freemasonry what you put into it, so, keep coming back. One simply cannot even begin to grasp the lessons that are taught in Freemasonry by being a casual observer. Be willing to step up and fill a role that needs to be fulfilled, even if it makes you a little uncomfortable at first. Your Brethren are there to support you and they want to see you succeed. No institution was ever raised on better principles, or more solid foundation; nor were ever more excellent rules and useful maxims laid down then ours inculcated in the several Masonic Lectures, as well as throughout our Ritual.
So…study the Ritual, internalize what it is saying, apply the lessons to your daily life, and you will enjoy the happy reflection consequent on a well-spent life.
What are your goals/aspirations within the Craft?
To serve where needed, to help my fellow Brethren, their widows, and orphans, and to always be mindful of the Obligations I have taken.
Learn more about other faces of Ohio Freemasonry, like Del Braund or Jeffrey Sime.