Some recent situations have made me meditate on the cardinal virtue of Fortitude.

Fortitude is outlined in the Entered Apprentice lecture as “that fixed and steady purpose of the mind whereby we are enabled to undergo any pain, peril, or danger, when prudentially deemed expedient. This virtue is equally distant from rashness and cowardice…”

But what exactly is fortitude?

Aristotle, in the Nicomachean Ethics, describes courage as facing what we fear for the sake of doing what is noble.

The hook is that simply facing danger does not necessarily make us courageous. If we do it out of rashness, ignorance because we don’t know the danger is there, experience because we know we can handle it, fear of shame, anger, or optimism because we assume we will win, Aristotle says these may resemble courage without being courage in its fullest sense.

True courage requires choice. We recognize the thing we fear, understand the danger or discomfort involved, and choose to face it because doing so is the right and noble thing.

For those of us today who do not serve in the military or as first responders, this can take any number of forms:

It doesn’t have to mean running into a burning building to save a child. Every day we encounter things that scare us, make us nervous, or make us anxious. In fact, it is precisely because that fear is present that choosing to face them can be courageous.

The key is that it is a conscious choice, guided by prudence.

Prudence is itself one of our cardinal virtues, but in Aristotle it is also the practical wisdom that helps us determine what the virtues require in a particular situation. That gives some additional meaning to the phrase in our lecture: “when prudentially deemed expedient.”

Is it always prudent to have the uncomfortable conversation, confront the problem, or face the thing we fear? Maybe not.

But there is also a danger here: it can be easy to reason ourselves into a decision that errs on the side of cowardice and then tell ourselves that facing the problem simply would not have been prudent.

Fortitude today, for the average person, can take many different forms. Hopefully, some of Aristotle’s wisdom can help us better recognize this cardinal virtue when we encounter opportunities to practice it in our own lives.

Fortunately, one thing that should not require much fortitude is enjoying the many things we have going on as a Lodge this month.

Friday, September 4 — First Friday at Stumpy’s

We kick things off with our First Friday fellowship at Stumpy’s, where we will spend the evening throwing axes. Come out and enjoy some fellowship with the brethren.  Send an email to the Secretary to reserve a spot.

Saturday, September 12 — Official Visit & John Marshall Wreath Laying

Our September Stated Communication will include the official visit of Most Worshipful Matthew Todd Szramoski.

Following the meeting, we will process from the Lodge in full regalia to the John Marshall House for a wreath laying at the home of this great American Patriot and Brother Mason. The wreath laying will take place at 11:00 a.m. and will be open to the public.

Afterward, we will return to the Lodge for a light lunch.

Please come out and help us make a good showing for both the Grand Master and the public at the John Marshall House.

Saturday, September 19 — Second Annual Randolph–Marshall Day

At 10:30 a.m., we will host our second annual Randolph–Marshall Day at Masons’ Hall.

Our special guest will be former Virginia Governor and U.S. Ambassador Brother Jim Gilmore, who will speak on John Marshall, Edmund Randolph, civic virtue, and the importance of historic preservation.

The program will run until approximately noon and is intended for both Masons and the general public. I hope we can have a strong turnout to welcome Brother Gilmore and represent Masons’ Hall well to our visitors.

Saturday, September 26 — Second Annual Central Virginia MasonicCon

The following Saturday brings the second annual Central Virginia MasonicCon, with another fantastic lineup of speakers assembled by Brother David Allen.

More details can be found on our website at www.richmondrandolph19.com, but I encourage you to attend. It should be a great opportunity for fellowship and to expand our understanding of the Craft.

Wednesday, September 30 — Master Mason’s Degree

Finally, we will cap off a busy September by raising a Brother to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason.  Please come out to support our Brother as we welcome him into the Third Degree of our Fraternity.

September is going to be a busy month, and I appreciate everyone who comes out—not only to attend these events, but also to help with setup, breakdown, meals, ritual, and all the other little things that make them possible.

These occasions also give us several opportunities this month to represent Richmond Randolph Lodge No. 19 and Masonry to the public. Thank you to everyone who helps us put our best foot forward.

See you at Masons’ Hall!

Matthew Maggy, P.M.
2026 Worshipful Master

Brethren,

I’ve recently been going back through some of the lodge’s old minutes that Wor. Maggy digitized a few years ago.  This is a treasure trove of information on genealogy and also history, plus it’s just plain interesting to see all of the different hands in the minutes, like a physical recording of our various secretaries over time.

I’m including a picture of the first part of the first page of the first book of our minutes.  Notice the smudges on the page, the much later ink additions (A. D. 1787) the “Saturday” circled at the top of the page. Not only does this page date back to 1787, but it shows evidence of many other hands it passed through between then and now.

It took me a good 20 minutes of practice before I could read this kind of writing.  When I could, I read some of the minutes and found out just how similar what they were doing then was, to what we do today. The rhythms and attitudes of the lodge seem to me the same. Freemasonry is in this sense like a time capsule in the middle of 2026. In my professional work I’m in the middle of all the developments around AI & technology, and yet while the outer world is variously excited or scared about how technology & society is going to go, reading these minutes, coming to lodge, and even going to a recent family member’s funeral deeply reminds me of how the important things stay the same.  And about how that stability & constancy can be a support.

Brother David Allen
Senior Warden

Brethren,

If you are behind on your dues payment for 2026, please catch up as we could use the money.

I write little blurbs about investing because I usually find it interesting.  But most investing is boring.  At this point we know,  or should know, that the best thing we can do is put our money into low cost index funds that track the market, forget about it, and wake up in 30 years with a few million dollars (not investing advice).  But for me, it’s fun to buy stocks like Nvidia, whose net income went from 27 billion last year to 60 billion this year (FOR THE SECOND QUARTER), and then watch the stock go down.  Why does the stock go down?  People speculate about competition, or future demand or whatever, but really stocks just go up and down because that’s what they do.  I just like to watch them do so and complain.  It’s more entertaining!  

Take a look at McDonald’s stock.  It’s been down/stagnant for a while now.  Why?  Do we think people will actually stop eating at McDonald’s?  Probably not, but we all saw that video of the CEO pretending to eat a Big Mac.  We know he doesn’t eat that food, but the CEO from Burger King loves the Whopper, so people started going there.  Does that make Burger King a more efficient and effective company?   Of course not!  But it is funny, and it makes watching the individual stocks more fun.  Could I have known my McDonald’s stock would go down because some knucklehead decided to make a video of himself pretending to eat a burger?  No, but now I get to complain about it.

If I had done what I was supposed to do, and just put my money in a low cost index fund, get rich while doing nothing, I would probably have more money right now, but it would be less entertaining! (Also not investing advice)

While I’m on it, the CEO from Burger King asked people to call in and provide feedback on the company.  They posted a number on their website and I’m sure no one actually did it…but I did! I told his team that the soda fountain with all of the flavored sodas coming out of the same dispenser takes like garbage. I had the guy on the phone in stitches and I made him promise to go get a Coke after someone had gotten a vanilla, cherry, lime, orange soft drink, and to call me back and tell me how it tastes.  If they don’t change their product offering, I know the stock will not actually improve for the long run, but was it fun?  Absolutely!

Brother Richard Meador
Treasurer

The following By-Law Change will be read at the September 12, 2026 Stated Meeting and voted on at the October 14, 2026 Stated Meeting. A majority vote is necessary to approve the change.

JUSTIFICATION

Our current By-Law wording is from 2020.

"Every member of this Lodge except [] shall be charged by the Secretary with the sum of Two-Hundred Twenty dollars ($220) plus Grand Lodge dues and assessments as yearly dues.  The Cost of Living Adjustment will be determined by reviewing the Consumer Price Index increase or decrease for the previous 12 months as stated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on November 1 of each year."  

Our dues are normally adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index, with that adjustment applying only to the portion of dues retained by the Lodge. Current dues are $344, of which $55 is Grand Lodge capitation, leaving $289 subject to the annual CPI adjustment.

Grand Lodge is increasing capitation by $15, from $55 to $70. Rather than passing that $15 increase on to the membership in addition to our normal cost-of-living adjustment, it is proposed that we absorb the Grand Lodge increase and increase dues only by the amount of our normal CPI adjustment.

Using the current CPI rate of 3.4%, that would make 2027 dues approximately $354, rather than approximately $369 if both increases were passed through to the membership.  The calculation is $289 x 1.034 = $299, less $15 = $284.

 

At the August 8, 2026 Stated Meeting, Worshipful Maggy presented a Certificate of Appreciation and challenge coin to Worshipful Bobby Norris from Angier Lodge No. 686 in Angier, NC for their donation to the Masons' Hall Historic Preservation Foundation.

 

On August 22, 2026, the lodge conferred the Master Masons Degree on Brother Thomas James Graf, Jr..

Front Row: Brother Thomas Spivey, Worshipful Seth Spivey, Brother Thomas Graf
Middle Row: Brother David Allen, Brother Tyler Esteppe, Rt. Worshipful Bill Helzel, Brother Bailey Moro
Back Row: Brother Brian Barte, Worshipful Chandos Carrow, Brother Tyler Ayers, Worshipful Kyle Bourne, Worshipful Matthew Maggy, Brother Shane Phillips, Brother Scott Hennarty, Brother David Eaton, Brother Bill Lamp.

I have spent a fair bit of time on social media. It's not something that I'm really proud to admit, but it is just a fact. And since becoming a Mason, I have fairly deeply explored the different social media accounts that are available online related to Masonry.

What I want to do here is abstract up a bit. Not to take a side on any issue, and not to comment on any individual brother, but to look at how the craft talks about itself in modern media. Because the accounts sort themselves into patterns, and the patterns tell you which arguments inside Masonry are alive right now. The men who are loudest online are arguing about the things we haven't settled. I'm not here to take a position on those fights, but to show you what they say about the Craft in 2026.

Continue Reading.....

Total - 129 Masonic Years

Worshipful Matthew August Maggy, Worshipful Master
Brother Matthew David Allen, Senior Warden
Worshipful Kyle Douglas Holland Bourne, Junior Warden
Brother Richard Scott Meador, Treasurer
Worshipful Donald Francis Moro, Jr., Secretary
Mobile: (804) 652-9311, Email: secretaryrr19@gmail.com
Brother Brian Christopher Barte', Senior Deacon
Brother Bailey Gavin Moro, Junior Deacon
Rt. Worshipful William Robert Heltzel, Chaplain
Brother Tyler Cole Esteppe, Senior Steward
Brother Shane Douglass Phillips, Junior Steward
Brother Jachary Wayne James, Marshall
Brother Tyler Andrew Ayers, Tiler

Rt. Worshipful Donald A. K. Cunningham, Jr.
Rt. Worshipful William R. Heltzel
Worshipful Charles W. Hundley
Worshipful Michael D. Joyner
Worshipful Lee A. Oppenheim

60 YEARS OR BETTER

Worshipful Robert Gurney Bedell (60)
Brother Bedros C. Bendazion (64)
Worshipful Lother Arthur Bernhard, Sr. (60)
Mt. Worshipful Stuart Vernon Cook (60)
Mt. Worshipful Frederick Garrison Martin, III (64)
Brother John Hjalmar Stenstrom (60)

50 - 60 YEARS
Brother Irvin Franklin Beadles
Brother Stephen Leslie Bland
Worshipful Charles William Hundley
Brother William Kenneth Lamp
Brother Waverly Carroll Marshall
Brother Mark Lewis Perkins
Brother Earl Anthony Sale, Sr.

1971 Robert G. Bedell
1988 Lothar A. Berhnard
1995 J. Larry Dixon, P.D.D.G.M.
1997 Anthony C. Pearce
1999 Marc D. Graham
2000 Gordon H. Sprigg, Jr.
2005 Barrye L. Absher, P.D.D.G.M.
2010 William R. Heltzel, P.D.D.G.M.
2011 James H. Duke, Jr. P.D.D.G.M.
2012, 2013 Paul A. Dierickx
2014 Lee A. Oppenheim
2015, 2016 Michael D. Joyner
2017 Charles W. Hundley
2018 Preston Chad Vanderpool, P.D.D.G.M.
2019 Donald A. K. Cunningham, Jr., P.D.D.G.M.
2020 Donald F. Moro, Jr.
2021 Jacob A. Crocker
2022 Chandos J. Carrow
2023 Kyle D. H. Bourne
2024 Shane C. Flansburg
2025 Matthew A. Maggy

Barrye L. Absher, P.D.D.G.M
Jacob A. Allen
Tyler A. Ayers
Benjamin A. Barrett
James R. Childs
Paul A. Dierickx, P.M.
James H. Duke, Jr. P.D.D.G.M.
Peter Francisco
William R. Heltzel, P.D.D.G.M.
William K. Lamp
Douglas G. Mack
Ian Nelson
Anthony C. Pearce
Francis L. Romero
Charles S. Sarbaugh, P.D.D.G.M.
Christopher L. Shuman
Charles T. Sykes, P.M.
Curtis L. Thompson