Grand Lodge Officers
Listed below are the current elected and appointed Grand Lodge Officers of the Grand Lodge of Washington.
Listed below are the current elected and appointed Grand Lodge Officers of the Grand Lodge of Washington.
Grand Master’s Message
Brethren, family and guests, thank you for joining us to tonight as we celebrate, with joy and gratitude, the annual recurrence of this auspicious solemnity.
Before I begin, I wish to thank Roger and Martha for their commitment and leadership supporting the Craft and their spouses and partners. My deep respect and admiration for their sacrifices and dedication to promote and present Masonry throughout our Masonic family as a high-quality and meaningful experience is more than words can ever express.
I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to my incredible wife, Debra, and our daughter, Ella. They have supported my Masonic journey for the past 18 years, and I am deeply grateful for the encouragement they continue to give as I prepare to serve in the year ahead as Grand Master.
Their love, patience, and support make it possible for me to serve this remarkable organization and stand alongside the extraordinary people who are committed not only to improving their own lives and the lives of their families but also to strengthening their communities and making the world a better place.
Almost 20 years ago, I was at a point in my life ready to be a part of something much bigger than myself. I heard about the transformative experience of a trusted friend and thought about how I admired my own grandfather, Enos Haynes, and my great-grandfather, Otto Lebsch, for the type of men they were and admired how they took care of their families.
That friend and brother is VWB Richard Beers. Between our conversations about how to make the world a better place, a copy of “Freemasonry For Dummies,” and meeting other great men committed to improving themselves and the world through Freemasonry; I was hooked. Once I was initiated, one of those great men simply introduced himself to me as “Chuck.” MWB Chuck McQuery was direct and you always knew where you stood with him. His sudden passing in 2019 made me think about how I might be able to honor his memory. I wanted to take the lessons that he and many other great people in this fraternity taught me, and perhaps I could be a servant leader someday to help and support the Craft throughout this Grand Jurisdiction. I deeply miss Chuck.
From our experiences within Freemasonry, we begin with the end in mind. What kind of legacy do each of us want to leave behind? Because a time will come, and the wisest knows not how soon, when all distinctions but that of goodness shall cease, and death, the grand leveler of Human greatness, reduces us to the same state.
Freemasonry creates one of the few places I have been able to find that creates space from the divisive topics of politics and religion that seem to command so much of our attention and define how we may be seen and how we may see others. The Craft proves everyday in many different ways that we can unite in a common cause of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. All of us truly share much more in common than what we may disagree about.
Each year, the Grand Master designs a message of focus to help articulate our mission as Freemasons throughout Washington. Each theme builds on the previous year to leverage continuity while adapting to changing needs. Over the last few years, we learned that we have to know ourselves to be all in so we can empower, enlighten and uplift those around us through the lessons and obligations we have learned which are more than words.
MWB Roger’s message, Magis Quom Verbis, More than Words, resonated with our Craft because we all understood that for all the beautiful ritual and lessons we learn; the solemn obligations we take at the altar are not just blathering to join a social club, but commitments to how we will live our lives and with each other. Information not acted upon is merely entertainment.
This is why our focus for this coming year is to practice out of the Lodge those duties which we have been taught in it; to be the light; living in grace, harmony, truth.
We need to give grace to recognize that every person has different experiences, backgrounds, successes and mistakes that make each of us who we are. So much more can be accomplished when we are polite, fair, and honorable in our approach to handling difficult situations.
As individuals, we still need each other to thrive as we seek to harmonize our different perspectives to accomplish so much more than any one person can accomplish on their own.
Truth shares the same root as trust. We have to speak and seek the truth in all our dealings with every person. All of us must be worthy of trust. Without trust, society suffers and risks collapse. We need to bring Masonic values to our school boards, our government, our corporate boards, our businesses, our professions, and throughout society in general.
To be the Light, we look forward to accomplishing key objectives in the year ahead.
Through Washington Masonic Services, I am creating an endowment to promote awareness and provide support for mental and behavioral health within our Masonic family. We will be hosting charity events on both sides of the state on September 26 at the Nile Shrine in Mountlake Terrace and on April 10 at El Katif Shrine in Spokane. We need your help to build up this endowment. Masons, their friends, and their families are invited to join us to help tackle this critical health issue that affects one in every four adults in our communities.
Also, with your help, we are going to reach 100% participation to have a designated Liaison for Washington Masonic Services in every Lodge. This ensures our brethren and their families can quickly connect with resources with the help of a trusted brother in every Lodge along with supporting community outreach efforts.
We will also support every District across the state to develop Resource Teams composed of past Deputies of the Grand Master and Past Masters. These teams will help strengthen Lodges in three key areas:
By creating more opportunities for brothers to teach and support one another, these teams will strengthen relationships among Lodges. In turn, those stronger relationships will improve degree work and create a better Masonic experience for both newer and longtime Masons alike.
Finally, in order to expand financial support for building improvements across the state, we are putting in place the systems needed to grow our Grand Lodge loan program.
This effort is guided by three priorities:
Our Lodge buildings are the physical expression of Freemasonry in our communities. They should be well maintained and welcoming—places that reflect the high character of the people who gather and labor there, and that allow our Light to shine clearly in the communities we serve.
These are just a few of the objectives we will accomplish together this coming year.
As we celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary, various Lodges are planning events within their communities and there will be a Grand Master’s trip to Washington DC in the last week of April 2027. Details will be published soon and we hope you can join us.
The ideals this nation was founded upon directly trace their roots to the Enlightenment and the emergence of Freemasonry in the early 1700s. They held the belief that each person possess inalienable rights endowed by our Creator, which is known as liberty; that every person possesses these rights, which is known as equality; and that we will defend these rights for each other; which is known as fraternity.
It is fitting that tomorrow, June 14th, is not only Flag Day, but that it is also the 251st anniversary of the United States Army. We had to defend our liberty and equality first in order to be able to declare our independence. When you fly the colors of this great nation, take a moment to reflect upon the freedoms we enjoy through Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.
Thank you for your trust in me to serve you as your Grand Master. Together, we will be the Light, Living in Grace, Harmony, and Truth in what will be our amazing year ahead.
Thank you.
Christopher C. Haynes
Grand Master