On Saturday, November 1, 2008 guests from around the Washington, DC Metro area converged on the House of the Temple for the official launch of the Masonic Geocaching Society (MGS).

Geocaching is a new high-tech treasure-hunting sport gaining popularity across America and is now being introduced to the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Participants hide containers, known as geocaches. Treasure Hunters then use GPS devices to locate geocaches, exchange gifts, and share their experiences online at www.geocaching.com.

Scottish Rite Valleys across America are participating in the sport by sponsoring caches on their property. You are encouraged to talk with your Scottish Rite leadership to see if your Valley is participating. If not, let them know about it and encourage them to contact Ill. Bro. Dean Alban, 33°, Director of Membership Services at the House of the Temple for more information on how to get started. Be sure to read my article which appeared in the most recent issue of the Scottish Rite Journal to get more familiar with how geocaching fits in with the lore of Freemasonry. You can also see a great photo of my daughter, Marina, right after she found her first cache.

Becoming involved in geocaching is a grea way for your Valley or Masonic Lodge to become involved with Masonic Youth organizations such as DeMolay, Rainbow, or Job’s Daughters. Speaking of youth, the logo which appears above was designed by my older son, Zachary Finnell. Zachary was honored as part of the festivites on November 1st. As you can see, geocaching is a great bridge to the younger generation.

The Masonic Geocaching Society has also commissioned a trackable geocoin that you can activate and place in caches. The coin can be tracked online at geocaching.com. Many of these coins travel the globe and I cannot think of a better way for people to get interested in Freemasonry than running across one of these items in a geocache somewhere.

So what are you waitng for? Join the Masonic Geocaching Society today. Join us on Facebook and through your Scottish Rite Valley.

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