Valley-Hi Masonic Lodge #1407 - Event Page

08/23/2026

BREAKING NEWS: Valley-Hi Lodge #1407 officially meets at Somerset Lodge #1205, offering Men a Daylight Lodge option in SW Bexar County and surrounding areas of SE Medina & NW Atascosa counties.

08/22/2026

Valley-Hi #1407 first stated at our new home at Somerset Lodge #1205 in Somerset Tx.

07/26/2026

“Stepping Beyond Belief: Building the Temple of the Soul”
7/26/2026
By Bro. Michael B. Smith

When we stand in the East, West, or South and contemplate the sacred precepts of our Order, our eyes are naturally drawn to the ladder that spans the distance between earth and heaven—that grand ascent supported by three principal
rounds: Faith, Hope, and Charity.

We often speak of these theological virtues as the core pillars of a Mason's journey. But before we can climb this ladder, we must strip away the world’s misunderstandings and examine what each round truly demands of us.

THE NATURE OF FAITH

To begin our ascent, we must ask: What is Faith? I can tell you first what Faith is not.

Faith is not passive intellectual agreement, nor is it blind credulity.

It is not simply reciting a creed, nodding along to ancient dogmas, or holding static opinions in the quiet comfort of your mind.

It is not sitting back and waiting for the Great Architect to move without lifting a finger
yourself, nor is it closing your eyes to reason and truth.

What, then, is Masonic Faith?

Faith is taking action on the very things we believe, hold, and value.

It is Active Trust: Faith is the courageous step onto a bridge you cannot entirely see, trusting that the Great Architect of the Universe has placed a solid foundation beneath your feet.

It is the Foundation of Moral Conduct: In the Craft, Faith is represented by the Volume of the Sacred Law. It is not a textbook to be revered from a distance, but a rule and guide for our daily conduct—a moral compass that
directs our feet to walk uprightly before God and man.

It is Demonstrable: As Speculative Masons, our Faith is not proven by the loudness of our professions, but by the squareness of our actions, the rectitude of our intentions, and the integrity of our lives.

THE NATURE OF HOPE

If Faith is the action we take, what then is Hope? I can tell you what it is not.

Hope is not wishful thinking.

Wishful thinking is idle. It sits with folded hands in the shade, longing for rain while refusing to till the soil. Wishful thinking desires an outcome without commitment, without labor, and without a foundation in Truth.

Masonic Hope is made of sterner, noble stuff. It is represented by the Anchor—cast deep into unseen depths to ground the vessel when tempests roar. It is the steady, unshakable expectation that our labor as Speculative Masons is not in vain, assuring us that every rough ashlar, crafted with patience, moves us closer to that house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens.

THE NATURE OF CHARITY

And what of the third and greatest round of the theological ladder—Charity?

Just as we must strip Faith and Hope of their superficial counterfeits, so too must we examine what Charity truly is,
and what it is not.

Charity is not mere almsgiving.

In our modern tongue, the world has diminished the word "charity" to mean simply writing a check, tossing spare change into a cup, or donating leftover garments we no longer require. While relief to the distressed is a
duty incumbent on all Masons, true Masonic Charity is far grander than financial patronage.

• Charity is NOT Transactional: It does not ask, "What will I receive in return?" nor does it seek the applause of the world, public acclamations, or honors in the Lodge.

• Charity is NOT Reluctant Duty: It is not a tax levied upon our abundance, given grudgingly out of mere obligation or social pressure.

• Charity is NOT Judgmental: It does not wait for a Brother to be perfect before offering him aid, nor does it demand that a fellow human prove their worthiness before receiving our compassion.

What, then, is Masonic Charity? Charity is an active, boundless, and unselfish love for God and all mankind.

It is symbolized by the Heart, radiating warmth and goodwill to every creature. Charity is the spiritual bond that cements our Brotherhood into one sacred band of friends and Brothers.

• It is Forgiveness and Patience: Charity is whispering good counsel in the ear of an erring Brother, defending his character in his absence, and throwing the mantle of compassion over his faults and foibles.

• It is Personal Sacrifice: It is the gift of your time, your listening ear, your presence at the bedside of the sick, and your hand extended to lift a fallen soul from the dust.

• It is Universal Benevolence: It recognizes that every human being—regardless of nation, creed, or condition—has a claim upon our affections as a child of the same Grand Architect.

THE TRIUMVIRATE OF THE CRAFT

Consider, Brethren, how these three grand virtues interlock in the life of a Mason:

Faith is the foundation on which we stand; Hope is the anchor that holds us steadfast; but Charity is the living flame that warms the temple of the heart. Faith and Hope will end with this mortal life—for Faith will be lost in sight, and
Hope in fruition—but Charity extends beyond the grave, through the boundless realms of eternity.

THE CHARGE TO THE BRETHREN

Therefore, my Brethren, let us not settle for cheap substitutes in our daily walk. When you leave the tiled doors of your Lodge:

Do not merely agree—act in Faith.

Do not merely wish—anchor your soul in Hope

And do not merely give—love with genuine Charity.

Let us strike the chisel against the rough ashlar today, knowing that the temple we build with Faith, Hope, and Charity will endure long after our earthly labors are complete.

07/12/2026

07/04/2026

Pillars of Liberty: The Scottish Nexus in American Independence and Freemasonry
By Bro. Michael B. Smith
7/4/2026

Abstract

The American Revolution is traditionally viewed through the lens of English constitutional disputes and French military aid. However, an institutional and ideological undercurrent directly connected the American colonies to Scotland. This paper examines how the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the principles of the Scottish Enlightenment intersected with colonial Freemasonry to foster a revolutionary environment. By bypassing crown-aligned elite networks and introducing structural models of merit-based democracy, Scottish-chartered lodges served as practical incubators for American independence.

Introduction

In the mid-18th century, American Freemasonry was far from a unified institution. It was divided by class, politics, and Grand Lodge jurisdictions. As tensions escalated between Great Britain and its colonies, a distinct schism emerged within American lodges. Wealthier crown loyalists and royal officials gravitated toward the original "Modern" Grand Lodge of England.

Conversely, working-class colonists—merchants, artisans, and mechanics—increasingly sought institutional authority elsewhere. They turned to the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the "Antient" Grand Lodge of England for charters. This institutional preference created a vital, anti-elite network that transformed colonial lodges into clandestine centers of revolutionary strategy and democratic experimentation.

Institutional Charters: The Path of the "Antients"

The Grand Lodge of Scotland provided colonial patriots with a mechanism to assemble outside the watchful eye of royal authorities. By offering alternative warrants, Scottish Freemasonry shattered the crown's monopoly on fraternal gathering and structured the logistics of the rebellion.

The Green Dragon Tavern and the Lodge of St. Andrew

The most prominent example of this institutional connection was Boston’s Lodge of St. Andrew, chartered directly by the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Seeking a permanent meeting space, the lodge purchased the Green Dragon Tavern. Historian Daniel Webster later termed this building the "Headquarters of the Revolution."

Within this Scottish-chartered space, prominent Masons such as Paul Revere and Dr. Joseph Warren mixed fraternal business with political subversion. It was inside the Green Dragon Tavern that members of the Lodge of St. Andrew reportedly planned the Boston Tea Party, later executing the raid on the night of a cancelled lodge meeting.

The Fredericksburg Lodge and George Washington

The Scottish connection also extended into the Virginian planter class. George Washington was initiated into the Lodge at Fredericksburg in 1752. Operating initially without a formal English warrant, the lodge successfully secured its official charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1758. This independent Scottish lineage decoupled early colonial military elites from British crown control, establishing an autonomous fraternal network that persisted through the war.

Ideological Synchronicity: The Enlightenment and Fraternalism

Beyond logistics, Scotland supplied the intellectual and philosophical framework that justified the overthrow of a monarch. These concepts were mirrored in both Masonic ritual and revolutionary documents.

The Declaration of Arbroath and Consent of the Governed

Signed in 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath is widely regarded as Scotland's declaration of independence. It uniquely asserted that a king's right to rule was explicitly contingent upon the consent of the governed—and that the people maintained the right to depose a tyrant. This specific contractual theory of government resurfaced heavily in Thomas Jefferson's formulation of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The Scottish Enlightenment and Common Sense Realism

The ideological underpinnings of the American Revolution were fundamentally shaped by the Scottish Enlightenment, a period of intense intellectual output from 18th-century Scotland. Thinkers like David Hume, Adam Smith, and Francis Hutcheson rejected rigid dogma in favor of reason, human empathy, and empirical observation.

Central to this movement was the school of Scottish Common Sense Realism, spearheaded by philosopher Thomas Reid. This philosophy posited that all human beings are endowed by nature with an inherent moral sense and a capacity for common sense reasoning. Crucially, this meant that the average individual—regardless of royal pedigree or aristocratic birth—was fully capable of self-governance and moral decision-making.

When imported to the American colonies, these ideas became explosive. Thomas Jefferson’s famous assertion in the Declaration of Independence that certain truths are "self-evident" is a direct linguistic and philosophical nod to Scottish Common Sense Realism.

Because Freemasonry already operated as an egalitarian meritocracy, Scottish-chartered lodges became the practical laboratories where these Enlightenment concepts were tested. On the lodge floor, the abstract idea that ordinary men possessed the collective wisdom to elect their own leaders and draft their own laws became a weekly reality, directly preparing the colonists to apply those same principles to a new republic.

Anderson’s Constitutions

In 1723, a Scottish Presbyterian minister named James Anderson compiled The Constitutions of the Free-Masons. This text established the foundational bylaws for modern lodges, mandating meritocracy, religious tolerance, and civic duty.

When Benjamin Franklin reprinted Anderson's Constitutions in America, it became the first Masonic book published in the colonies. The text served as a civic blueprint, teaching colonists how to govern themselves democratically within the lodge before they attempted it on a national scale.

Profiles of Scottish-American Patriots

The physical ex*****on of the American Revolution relied heavily on Scottish immigrants and descendants who operated within these Masonic frameworks.

John Paul Jones - Recognized as the "Father of the American Navy," Jones was a native Scotsman. He was initiated into St. Bernard’s Kilwinning Lodge No. 122 in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, before bringing his naval expertise to the continental forces.

General Hugh Mercer - A Scottish-born physician who fought during the Jacobite rising, Mercer fled to America and joined the Scottish-chartered Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4. He became one of Washington's closest military advisors and a martyr for the cause at the Battle of Princeton.

Dr. John Witherspoon and James Wilson - Both men were Scottish immigrants who heavily influenced the Continental Congress. Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister and president of Princeton, along with Wilson, a brilliant legal theorist, directly integrated Scottish Common Sense Philosophy into the foundational frameworks of the new republic.

At Princeton, Witherspoon personally taught this philosophy to a generation of American leaders, including James Madison. Madison would later weave these Scottish concepts of human nature and balanced institutional factions directly into the United States Constitution.

Adam Smith and Economic Liberty

The year 1776 marked not only the birth of the United States but also the publication of Scottish philosopher Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. Smith’s critique of British mercantilism—which choked colonial trade through taxes and monopolies—aligned perfectly with the economic grievances of the patriots. His theories on free enterprise and individual liberty provided the young republic with the economic blueprint necessary to break away from crown dependency and build an independent merchant network, heavily utilized by Scottish-American merchants and Masons alike.

Chronological Clarification: The "Scottish Rite"

To maintain historical accuracy, a clear distinction must be made between the “Grand Lodge of Scotland” and the “Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.”

While the "Scottish Rite" handles higher degrees (4° through 32°), it did not organize or influence the American Revolution. The Scottish Rite was formally organized in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1801—nearly two decades after the Treaty of Paris concluded the Revolutionary War. The operational "Scottish connection" during the war was strictly limited to the Grand Lodge of Scotland's craft lodges (1° through 3°) and the flow of immigrant ideas.

Conclusion

The intersection of Scottish Freemasonry and American independence reveals that the revolution was not merely a spontaneous localized uprising. Through the alternative chartering system of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, American patriots secured autonomous zones free from crown oversight. Concurrently, Scottish Enlightenment philosophy provided the moral, intellectual, and economic ammunition needed to challenge the divine right of kings. Together, these forces shaped the egalitarian and democratic architecture of the United States.

07/04/2026

The Unfinished Nation: Chasing the American Idea
By Bro. Michael B. Smith
July 4th, 2026 - American Semiquincentennial

To a lot of people, two hundred and fifty years sounds like a long time. But I will tell you what it isn’t too long to be: an idea.

This isn't about left versus right. It is about right versus wrong—and throughout our history, America has consistently strived to align itself with what is right. Because when you strip away everything else and look at the absolute nuts and bolts of who we are, America is fundamentally an idea.

That is what truly separates us. Great Britain is a magnificent country. Canada is a wonderful nation. There are spectacular countries all across the globe. But those nations are defined by geography and lineage; they are not ideas. That is exactly how the rest of the world views America: as one of the single greatest political ideas in human history.

Yet, it is a land that has never fully arrived. We have never fully achieved the height of that idea... yet.

And that word—yet—is everything. It is what we are constantly seeking, constantly chasing, knowing we may never completely cross the finish line. But make no mistake: that is not a failure. That is entirely by design.

Think about it. Our country was not founded on a proven mathematical formula or a sure thing. It was founded on a daring concept worth fighting for, a high-stakes wager worth betting on, and an absolute act of faith that a self-governing people could rise up to become something extraordinary.

Now, here we stand, two hundred and fifty years later. And guess what? The wager is still on the table. The idea is still out there, waiting to be realized. The experiment is still profoundly worth fighting for.

Do we need skeptics? Of course we do. Honest doubt and healthy critique keep us sharp. But what we absolutely do not need are cynics. Cynics sit on the sidelines. They watch from the bleachers and whisper that the fight is already lost.

For a quarter-millennium, the best among us have refused the sidelines and simply chosen to show up. We may not always agree, but we participate. We choose to believe in who we are as a people, and we commit to what we can become as a civilized, unified nation. We fight for the promise of a better tomorrow.

That is the yet we are still chasing.

To you, my brothers and my friends, I say: Happy 250th. Let's keep the wager going.

07/04/2026

Happy Independence Day

The Square, the Compass, and the Scaffold: Fact vs. Fiction in the American Revolution

The role of Freemasonry in the founding of the United States has long been a subject of historical interest, romanticism, and conspiracy theory. While the fraternity undoubtedly counted many key revolutionary figures among its members, the narrative that the American War for Independence was a planned Masonic conspiracy is a complete myth. Examining the intersection of the craft and the revolution reveals a complex reality where shared philosophical ideals, rather than a top-down fraternal directive, influenced the birth of the nation.

Fiction: A Monolithic Masonic Plot

The most widespread misconception is that the American Revolution was orchestrated in secret within Masonic lodges. Conspiracy theorists and overzealous fraternal historians have occasionally suggested that the Boston Tea Party was a formal meeting of St. Andrew’s Lodge, or that the Declaration of Independence was a strictly Masonic document.

The historical data flatly contradicts this. The Grand Lodge system was imported from Britain, and when war broke out, the loyalties of American Freemasons were as deeply divided as the rest of the colonies. Many prominent Grand Masters and lodge leaders remained steadfast Loyalists to King George III. Because Masonic law explicitly forbade engaging in political rebellions inside the lodge room, the fraternity as an official institution maintained strict neutrality throughout the conflict.

Fact: Fraternal Affiliation of Key Leaders

While the fraternity did not act as a political entity, an extraordinary number of individual revolutionaries were members of the craft.

* The Signers: Contrary to the myth that "nearly all" the Founding Fathers were Masons, only 9 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence and 13 of the 39 signers of the U.S. Constitution were confirmed Freemasons.

* The Military: The influence was significantly stronger within the Continental Army. George Washington was a committed Mason, and roughly one-third of his top generals—including the Marquis de Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, and Henry Knox—belonged to the fraternity.

The True Influence: Enlightenment Ideals and Military Lodges

The real impact of Freemasonry on American independence was philosophical and structural rather than tactical. The 18th-century lodges served as unique incubation chambers for the Enlightenment values of liberty, equality, and democratic governance. Inside a lodge, a man's social status, wealth, or aristocratic lineage was stripped away; all members met "on the level." This early practice of merit-based equality directly mirrored the democratic principles later woven into the fabric of American governance.

Furthermore, military traveling lodges played a vital practical role during the war. These mobile lodges allowed officers from vastly different, scattered colonies to gather, build trust, and establish a common bond of brotherhood. This helped unify a fractured and localized military force into a cohesive national army.

Freemasonry did not launch or fund the American Revolution. Instead, it provided a shared moral and philosophical language for the men who did. The foundational pillars of the craft—brotherly love, relief, and truth—simply acted as a natural scaffolding for the architects of American liberty.

06/29/2026

The Celestial Succession: The Esoteric Significance of Masonic Elections and Installation.
By Bro. Michael B. Smith

With installation season upon we Freemasons, I took a little time out of my day to research the esoteric importance of Masonic Elections & Installation.

The annual election and installation of lodge officers is often viewed through a purely administrative lens—a necessary piece of business to keep the lodge running smoothly under corporate and grand lodge laws. However, when examined through an esoteric framework, this transition of power represents a profound cosmic cycle, a renewal of spiritual energy, and a physical manifestation of the archetypal order of the universe.

In the esoteric tradition, the lodge is not merely a room where men meet; it is a microcosm of the macrocosm (the universe). Therefore, the shifting of leadership within that space is a ritualized reflection of natural law, astronomical cycles, and the internal regeneration of the individual soul.

1. The Geometry of the Election: From Chaos to Order

The act of voting within a Masonic lodge carries a deeper symbolic weight than a standard civic election. In an esoteric sense, an election represents the process of bringing order out of chaos.

Before the election, the future governance of the lodge is unformed—a cloud of potentiality. Each Master Mason, acting as an independent point of consciousness, casts a ballot. This act symbolizes the alignment of individual wills into a single, unified, collective Will. It is a practical application of the geometric principle where individual points come together to form a perfect circle, centering around a shared purpose. The chosen officers are not rulers by personal right, but rather focal points through which the spiritual energy of the collective lodge will flow for the ensuing year.

2. The Astronomical Alignment of Installation

Masonic installations are deeply tied to the calendar, traditionally occurring on or near the feast days of the Saints John (the Baptist in June, and the Evangelist in December). Astronomically, these dates align with the Summer and Winter Solstices.

* The Solstitial Axis: The solstices represent the gates of the sun—the highest and lowest points of light in the physical world. By installing officers at these cosmic turning points, the lodge aligns its temporal governance with the immutable laws of nature.

* The Flow of Light: Just as the sun governs the day and guides the seasons, the newly installed Master takes the Oriental Chair to govern the lodge and communicate intellectual and spiritual light to the Brethren. The installation is an externalized pageant of the universe being re-enacted, ensuring that the lodge continues to operate in harmony with cosmic order.

3. The Esoteric Meaning of the Three Principal Officers

The installation vestures, tools, and placements of the three principal officers represent distinct aspects of the divine mind and the human psyche. When a brother is installed into one of these stations, he is esoterically internalizing an archetypal force.

The Worshipful Master (The East)

The Master represents Wisdom and the spirit. Stationed in the East—the source of light—his role is to awaken the lodge to spiritual awareness. Esoterically, he represents the Higher Self, the spark of the Divine Mind that directs the lower faculties toward noble purposes. His installation is the crowning of reason and spiritual intuition over material desires.

The Senior Warden (The West)

The Senior Warden represents Strength and the soul or mental faculty. Stationed in the West, where the sun sets, he oversees the closing of the day and the payment of wages. He represents the executive will, the strength required to carry out the designs drawn upon the Master's Trestleboard. He bridges the gap between the purely spiritual East and the purely material South.

The Junior Warden (The South)

The Junior Warden represents Beauty and the physical body or generative principle. Stationed in the South, where the sun reaches its meridian height, he governs the craft during refreshment. He represents the harmonious integration of the physical world, ensuring that the material temple is well-nourished, beautiful, and reflective of the higher spiritual planes.

The Triadic Unity: Esoterically, a lodge cannot function with just one officer. It requires the unified trinity of Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty working in perfect equilibrium. The installation ceremony binds these three distinct forces into a single operating unit for the year.

4. The Investiture: Tools as Spiritual Faculties

During the installation, each officer is presented with the jewels and tools of his office. While the moral lessons of these tools are taught in the degrees, their installation significance is transformative:

* The Gavel and Square: The passing of the Master's gavel is the transfer of the creative Logos—the word of power that brings order. The Square worn by the Master is the tool of perfect manifestation, reminding him that spiritual truths must be applied accurately in the material world.

* The Level and Plumb: The Senior Warden receives the Level, symbolizing the absolute equality of souls in the eyes of the Creator, stripping away earthly illusions of status. The Junior Warden receives the Plumb, symbol of rectitude and the vertical axis connecting the earthly plane to the celestial realms.

When an officer receives his jewel, it is placed over his heart. This signifies that the tool is no longer just an external instrument to be picked up and put down; it has become an internal faculty, an integrated part of his moral and spiritual anatomy.

5. The Circumambulation and the Chain of Union

A central, yet often overlooked, esoteric aspect of the installation process is the ritual movement within the room. The circumambulation—walking around the altar in the direction of the sun—charges the space, sealing the new alignment of officers within the sacred boundaries of the lodge.

Furthermore, the ceremony serves as a vital link in the Chain of Union. Every installed Master receives his authority from a predecessor, who received it from another, stretching back through the mists of antiquity. This creates an unbroken energetic lineage. The installation is a localized renewal of this ancient chain, plugging the local lodge back into the universal current of the continuous esoteric tradition.

Conclusion: The Renewal of the Microcosm

Ultimately, the election and installation of Masonic officers is far more than an annual changing of the guard. It is a profound ritual of cosmic death and rebirth. The old year dies, its energies are spent, and the lodge briefly returns to a state of unformed potential. Through the mechanism of the election, a new order is conceived; and through the beauty of the installation, that order is manifested on earth as it is in the heavens.

For the individual Mason, witnessing this cycle is a reminder of the continuous need for internal self-renewal, the re-alignment of one's own internal officers—Spiritual Wisdom, Mental Strength, and Physical Beauty—in the perpetual labor of building the unfinished temple of the soul.

06/27/2026

Congratulations to the newly installed Officers of Valley-Hi Masonic Lodge #1407 A.F. & A.M.

Worshipful Master: Bro. Sean Poe
Senior Warden: Bro. Michael B. Smith
Junior Warden: Bro. Edwin Torres
Secretary: Bro. Fernando Jorge, PM
Treasurer: Bro. Jon Anderson, PM
Chaplain: Bro. Jarred Hatch
Senior Deacon: Bro. Daniel Alvarado
Junior Deacon: Bro. John Fritz
Tiler: Bro. John Snow