We Are Still Looking
By Most Illustrious Companion John D. Barnes
Past Most Illustrious Grand Master and Grand Treasurer, Grand Council of New Jersey

We\’d practice in a subway, in a lobby or a hall; crowded in a doorway, singing doo wops to the wall.
And if we went to a party and they wouldn\’t let us sing, we\’d lock ourselves in the bathroom, and nobody could get in.
\’Cause we were looking for an echo, an answer to our sound; a place to be in harmony.– attr. Looking for an Echo-Kenny Vance

My Companion:

This quote is from a current Doo Wop song that reminisces about what it was like when Doo Wop was new. It sings about trying to find just the right place, the right sound, the right audience, for their music. They were looking for the echo of themselves in others, an appreciation and understanding of what they were offering.

Now think of the conversations of Adoniram and Hiram Abiff. As they discussed the Temple, the work of building it, the nine arches, the Secret Vault, Hiram too was looking for an echo. He believed that he had found it in Adoniram, but he was still looking.

Now think about Adoniram and Hiram singing Doo Wop in the Ninth Arch. Imagine the echoes they would have heard, the depth of sound they would have experienced. They would have found the right place to sing, with an appreciative audience of their fellow workers, who would understand exactly the message they were hearing.

We too are still looking. We seek in our day-to-day world for those who might be good Masons. We seek in our Lodges for those who would be good Royal Arch Masons. We seek in our Chapters for those who would be good Cryptic Masons. (The R. E. Grand Commander also wants us to seek in our Councils for those who would be good Knights Templar.) We are looking for those who echo our love of the York Rite, both its ritual and its teachings.

Proceed upon the search!