Masonic TrifectaBy Barry J. Lipson 33, PM

"I will probably never achieve the trifecta," bemoansConstanza of Seinfeld. Not true for yours truly. TheNovember 12, 2015 meeting of Doric Lodge No. 630in Sewickley, PA was a Masonic Trifecta for theLipson Masonic family. Not only was Brother LCMDBarry J. Lipson 33, PM asked by WM John R.Knallay to present the Naval portion of the VeteransProgram that evening, but he was awarded his FiftyYear Masonic Service Emblem, and his two sons,Brothers Seven J. Lipson 32 and David J. Lipson32, where awarded their Lewis Jewels.

Brother Barry was initiated on February 26, 1665 in New York Citys Munn Lodge No. 203.While he was taking his Blue Lodge Degrees his father, Sidney J. Lipson, complained thatworthy men he considered good friends had become Masons but none of them had asked him tojoin. Brother Barry immediately instructed his Dad to: Ask me! Brother Sidney was initiatedinto Munn Lodge later the same year on November 11, 1965, where he was, in effect, raisedby his own Son.

In 2001, while Worshipful Master of GermaniaLodge No. 509 and Sovereign Prince of thePrinces of Jerusalem, Scottish Rite Valley ofPittsburgh, Brother Barry helped Director of WorkJack Copeland 33 organize the Scottish Rite BlueLodge Degree Team to confer all three Blue LodgeDegrees on his sons Steve and Dave at the ExtraMeeting of Germania held at the GreaterPittsburgh Masonic Center on Saturday, March 10,2001. In all, fifteen Blue Lodges were represented(seventeen if you count duel memberships),including the elected Valley-wide officers, four Past Sovereign Princes, representatives of all ofthe Scottish Rite Bodies, and a brother from State of Maine Orono Lodge No. 66. Specialdispensation for this historic event had been granted by Grand Master Robert L. Dluge 33.Brother Brothers Steve and Dave also became Scottish Rite Brothers and Shrine Nobles in NewCastle, PA at the May 19, 2001 Scottish Rite Valley of Pittsburgh and Syria Shrine Classes.

Residing out-of-state Brothers Dave and Steve hadnot yet been awarded their Lewis Jewels, but as theywhere joining their Brother Dad for his big daythe time seemed auspicious. District Deputy GrandMaster William A. Moisey, who presented their Dadwith his 50 Year Emblem of Gold, awarded BrothersSteve and Dave their Lewis Jewels, Brother Davealso proudly wearing the Daniel Carter BeardMasonic Scouter Award.

Operatively the Lewis (or Louveteau in French) is a simpleyet ingenious device used to raise heavy blocks of stonewhich enables the operative Mason to lift the heaviest stoneswith a comparatively trifling exertion of physical power.Speculative Masons have figuratively adopted this simple yetingenious,unifying

mountain moving device of the operativeMasons, as what a Son of a Mason is to becalled. In modern times a Masonic pendantjewel honoring the strength of the Masonicbond between a father and son, designatedthe Lewis Jewel, has been authorized and ispresented to a Masons son who becomeshimself a Mason. The Builder Magazine ofthe National Masonic Research Society(Vol. VIII, No. 11, November 1922) urgedthe revival of the Lewis customs as sodoing would have this advantage, that itwould make for a more compact solidarityand continuity a [sic: of] Freemasonry. Weshould in all ways encourage young men tofollow in the footsteps of their Masonicfathers (Emphasis added).Brother LCMD Lipson at this meeting, in exploring the Navy with the Brethren, observed thatlooking at the Navy through Masonic Glasses one can see certain similarities of organizationand creed. The Commissioned Officer Corps can be viewed as Grand Lodge and the EnlistedCorps as Blue Lodge. The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, like E-9s of the otherservices, the Sergeant Majors of the Marine Corps and Army and the Chief Master Sergeant ofthe Air Force, being the spokespersons of the enlisted forces at the highest levels of theirservices, would stand in the stead of the Worshipful Master; the Chief Petty Officers (E-7through E-9, equivalent to higher-level Sergeant ranks), Master Masons; the Petty Officers (E-4through E-6, equivalent to Corporal and the lower-level Sergeant ranks), Fellowcrafts; andApprenticeships/Seamen (E-1 through E-3, equivalent to Private and Airman ranks), EnteredApprentices. But of more interest is the Chief Petty Officers Creed. As in Masonry, as a ChiefPetty Officer ... you have joined an exclusive fellowship and, as in all fellowships, you have aspecial responsibility to your comrades, even as they have a special responsibility to you."

The portmanteau Trifecta is formed from a blend of the morpheme tri- ('three') and thenoun perfecta (from the Latin American phrase Quiniela Perfecta or Bifecta). This eveningcertainly was a Triumvirate Perfecta or Threefold Perfect Triumph.