Tour the Lodge


Upon arriving at Mount Carmel Lodge the first thing a visitor will notice is an elevator, which travels to four floors of the building. However, our tour starts on the third floor of the lodge so close the door behind you, we are going up.
Opening to the third floor we are greeted by our "Guardian" who is ornately dressed in armor reminiscent of the crusades. Holding a rod, topped with a Rose-colored glass flower, our little soldier is perched at the top of the banister lighting the way. In "his" day the gas valve on the rod would be turned on to set the rose glass ablaze.
Ironically this symbolism of a man "under the rose" is a perfect greeting for the Members of Freemasonry to remind them of their oaths and secrecy in matters regarding the Order.
The Allusion dates back to Roman times when the Romans had adopted some of the Egyptian religions including the Sun God Horus, which had reached them from Greece. Mixing its way into Greek Culture, Horus the child which in Egyptian was (her-pa-khrad) had been changed to Harpocrates(1) There were other things that changed as the cultures mixed like the hieroglyph for a child was a seated boy sucking his finger which the Greeks interpreted as a quieting finger to the lips, making him into the God of Silence and Secrecy.

Later, there was a story in which the Roman God of Love was said to have given Harpocrates a Rose as a thank you gift for his silence in a matter of Fidelity and from then on the Rose was taken as a symbol of Confidentiality and lined the ceilings of Roman Dining Halls to remind guests that what was said there was private and not to be made public. It is with this thought in mind that we continue our tour of the Lodge.
Taking a hard left from the elevator door after being greeted by our "Knight" we come to the Mount Sinai Room which was furnished by the Mount Sinai Lodge as an agreement of their final merger with Mount Carmel Lodge.
It is lavishly furnished and serves as a sitting room and comfortable place to greet visitors and educate new candidates when the Lodge of Instruction for the 9th District is held at Mount Carmel Lodge

  To the left of the elevator door, next to the Mount Sinai Room we have another sitting room with a large table, allowing various Committees and Lodge Officers a place to conduct meetings. regarding functions of the Lodge's workings.
Following the corridor straight ahead we come into the Dining Hall (pictures above). Behind the far wall lies a complete kitchen, equipped with all the amenities of a restaurant to fill the needs of the Brethren.