WASHINGTON'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS 219 YEARS LATER
A Reenactment of the Inaugural Address of Our First President
On April 30, 2008 at 12:00 clock Noon, members of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, with clergy from St. Paul's Chapel, will commemorate the first official act of our Founding Fathers and Heroes of the American Revolution by reenacting the 1789 Inauguration of our first president and fellow Mason, George Washington. Promising to uphold “liberties and freedoms" under "a government instituted by themselves," President Washington's stirring message to a fledgling nation are among the most influential words that shaped the identity of the United States. This reenactment is a poignant reminder of our American heritage and honors the men and women whose valor made our democracy possible.
The original Bible used by President Washington at his inauguration on April 30, 1789 will be on display at St. Paul's Chapel following the reenactment and is on loan courtesy of St. Johns Lodge No. 1.
Geoffrey Hoderath will act as the Master of Ceremonies. William J. Schaefer will play the role of George Washington. Avery Lackner will play Samuel Otis, and Ivan Obolensky, Chairman of the George Washington Inaugural Committee, will play Chancellor Robert Livingston. All actors will be dressed in period costumes and will speak in the vernacular of the time. The Grand Master of the New York Masons, Neal I. Bidnick, will attend and preside.
WHAT: On its 219thanniversary, George Washington’s Inaugural Address is reenacted annually by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York with clergy from St. Paul’s Chapel. More than two hundred years later, Washington's inaugural speech continues to be relevant to the democracy that he helped to found. The original Bible used to swear him in will be on display at St. Paul Chapel.
WHEN: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 12:00 clock Noon
WHERE: St. Paul Chapel, Broadway and Fulton Street, Manhattan
COST: FREE
INFORMATION: www.trinitywallstreet.org
There will be a bus to pick up Brothers and Guests at Grand Lodge on 30-April at 10:30 a.m. for travel to St. Paul's (arrive by 11:15) for onward travel to Fraunces Tavern after the service at St. Paul's.
*George Washington Inauguration as President of the United States, April 30, 1789
John D. Melius, the painter, is a member of Potomac Lodge No. 5 in Washington, D.C., and the Scottish Rite Bodies of Washington, D.C., where he is Wise Master in the 18th Degree. He holds a B.A. and M.F.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Maryland where he taught art for ten years.
