Once secret Masonic initiation rite to be performed at Music Hall
Jan. 10
‘Lincoln Degree’
The ACFL&MH’s Second Saturday Civil War Series resumes on Jan. 10 when members of the Scottish Rite Valley of Pittsburgh will perform the “Lincoln Degree” in the Music Hall. The “Lincoln Degree” is the former 26th Degree of Scottish Rite Masonry for the Northern Masonic jurisdiction of the United States of America. The rite has been decommissioned and released for public viewing.
The “Lincoln Degree” is a three-scene mini-play that features Lincoln, a presidential aid, a field hospital doctor, a young southern boy and his older brother, who is a wounded and captured Confederate Officer. It teaches the lesson that Masonry was a house undivided, even during our nation’s worst internal conflict. Although a fictional rendition, it incorporates historic Lincoln readings and is set in the context of historically documented facts. The program, organized by Donald W. Boehm, 33rd Degree Mason and Commander in Chief of the Scottish Rite Valley of Pittsburgh, celebrates both American history and core Masonic values.
Prior to the performance, Amy Haller, a member/officer of the Order of the Eastern Star, will discuss the overall role that Masons played in the Civil War, and the role local Masons played in founding the Espy Post in 1879.
This is the first of several programs the Library & Music Hall has planned in 2015 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and of Lincoln’s assassination. The ACFL&MH’s rare Civil War room, the Captain Thomas Espy Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, is open Saturdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
“The Lincoln Degree” program, which lasts about an hour, begins at 1 p.m. and is free of charge. Music Hall doors will open at 12:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served in the Reception Hall following the performance, at which time Boehm and his Brothers and fellow performers will answer any questions.
For more information, visit www.carnegiecarnegie.org or call 412-276-3456.