When Goats Roamed the Lodge Room
The International Conference on Freemasonry shines a light on some strange fraternal pop cultural phenomena.
The Relief Crew
As the L.A. Wildfires upended countless lives, California Masons rallied into action.
By Ian A Stewart
When Mike Berner got the message that he would need to evacuate his Altadena apartment on January 7, he called a friend a few towns over to ask if he could crash with him. By the time Berner packed a bag—just enough for a night or two—and driven to Arcadia, his friend called him back with some bad news: He’d been evacuated, too. Not knowing where to turn, Berner called Kevork Klahejian, the secretary and building manager of his lodge, San Marino № 408, where several Masons were already on-site, putting out embers and clearing brush. Klahejian invited him to join. Berner ended up spending the night on the floor.
The destructive fires that rocked Los Angeles have transformed the lives of thousands of Angelenos—among them many Masons like Berner. In his case, the lodge became a literal safe haven. For others, it was an invisible support, providing connections to people with a couch to sleep on, advice on locating resources, and, in many cases, money for a hotel room. Says Sabrina Montes, the vice president of community-based services for the Masonic Homes, “It’s incredible to see the way Masons respond when their brothers really need them. It’s what the fraternity does best.”
Indeed, the fraternity has rallied into action. In the five weeks after the fire, California Masons gave $324,000 to the Distressed Worthy Brother Relief Fund, an emergency resource established during the COVID-19 pandemic to connect Masons and their families with cash, case managers, and other services.
That’s not the full extent of Masonic fire relief. Lodges worked tirelessly to contact members in danger zones and either raise money for them or otherwise get them what they needed most.
That took many forms. For instance, at Glendale № 368, when the Altadena home of a past master was destroyed, current lodge master Leonard Manoukian replied simply: How can we help? In that instance, the past master had lost all his medications. So Manoukian reached out to another lodge member who owns a pharmacy and arranged for the past master to receive everything he needed—and to take care of all the insurance paperwork. Additionally, members of the lodge passed the hat to raise $3,000 for their fellow brother.
Similar stories have played out across the southland. Lodge secretary Vardan Adzhinyan of Tujunga № 592 says no members of his lodge lost their homes, but members still voted to extend donations of a few thousand dollars to two members of a nearby lodge whose houses had burned down. “I’d been at this lodge for eight or nine years, and we’d never had this many donations,”Adzhinyan says. “Honestly, I’ve been amazed at how many brothers have stood up and asked how the lodge can help.”
It isn’t just money, either. Several lodges were transformed into essential supply drop-offs, among them Redlands № 300, which held a donation drive that produced enough goods to fill an eight-by-ten-foot trailer. Elsewhere, Pilares Del Rey Salomon № 886, International City № 389, Maya № 793, and Panamericana № 513 teamed up to collect and distribute water, food, clothes, pet food, and more to a range of providers. Those lodges joined with counterparts throughout the state to pool donations; Tom Green, of Elk Grove № 173, drove a truck full of supplies seven hours to add to the cause, as did Mauricio Manriquez and Mark Whatley of Mosaic № 218 in Livermore. Members of Pacific Rim № 567 and Los Cerritos № 674 also contributed. Separately, Home № 721 in Van Nuys delivered goods to fire relief command centers; while members of Lemon Grove № 736 collected and distributed supplies and held a reception for first responders in Chula Vista.
At Martinez № 41, a team of eight caravanned to L.A., where they met with members of Three Great Lights № 323 and Culver City-Foshay № 467 to distribute donated supplies. The Culver City lodge also partnered with a nonprofit group to turn its hall into a pickup and drop-off center for diabetes supplies, ensuring displaced residents had access to insulin, glucose monitors, and other necessities.
Santa Monica Palisades № 307 raised money to help teachers at nearby Palisades Charter High School and Marquez Elementary to replace lost school supplies and offered its hall for fundraising events. Additionally, master Charlie Guillen says, the lodge is working with the Palisades Public Library to help rebuild its children’s reading room.
Throughout all that, few Masons got a more up-close look at Masonic relief than Berner. After he’d been couch-surfing for a week, Berner was connected to Masonic Outreach Services. Within a couple of days, they’d arranged for him to move into a vacant apartment at the Masonic Homes in Covina, free of charge, until he figured out his next step. “They just made everything so easy,” he says. Berner’s 11-year-old daughter, whom he shares custody of, had her own bedroom, too. “She came in and went, ‘Oh my God, Dad, this is beautiful!’” he recalls.
Now Berner is turning his attention to the future. He needs to find a permanent apartment, ideally close to his daughter’s school. He needs to replace his furniture, clothes, and everything else he lost in the fire. But as he says, “That’s just stuff. For now I’m safe, my daughter is safe, and that’s what matters.”
That the fraternity was there to support him in such a trying moment isn’t lost on Berner. “I never saw anything like this before,” he says. “Like, this is what that money we donate goes toward. It’s a huge wakeup call. It’s such a beautiful thing.”
Above: School kids at Riverbank K-8 school in West Sacramento check out new Farsi and English books.
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