SEAFARING LODGE NO. 604 F. & A.M

1401 East 15th Street,

Newport Beach, California 92663

     Seafaring Lodge owes it allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in San Francisco, California.  Freemasonry, or simply Masonry, is a brotherhood of men under the Fatherhood of God and dedicated to the Supreme Architect of the Universe; its main tenets are the practice of brotherly love, relief, and truth.  Masonry and its affiliated organizations are involved in many charitable and community activities all over the world.   In 1996 Seafaring Lodge No. 708 merged with Jubilee Lodge No. 604 which was founded in 1925; the combined lodge then became Seafaring Lodge No. 604.

     Seafaring Masonic Lodge provides free videotaping sessions for children up to age 18 which are provided to parents or guardians to be used as necessary to assist the authorities in identifying and locating missing children.  There can be no doubt that lost or abducted children are one of the most serious problems facing our nation today. Since children are our most important asset for the future of the world, some positive means must be taken to rescue them from harmful situations.

     The Masonic Child Identification service is provided at no cost to parents or guardians and can be used as necessary to assist the authorities in identifying and locating missing children.  The MCID Program originally established in California by Jubilee Lodge No. 604 in 1995 had an enthusiastic reception since its beginning. Subsequent to the merger of Jubilee Lodge No. 604 with Seafaring Lodge No. 708 in 1996, the MCID flourished again under the auspices of Seafaring Lodge No. 604.  In the past this service had been provided on site at other locations such as schools and churches.  However, because of a recent change of policy, the service will be provided only at Seafaring Lodge, 1401 15th Street, Newport Beach, just one block East of Irvine.

     Below are scenes from a videotaping session at the lodge on Saturday, February 28th. Seventeen children were videotaped with their parents and/or guardians in attendance. The children were registered by Don and Bunny, our Registrars, and then directed to the studio by Bill, our Studio Monitor. Here Shirley, our Director, led them through a choreographed routine while Ken, our Lodge Master and Cameraman, recorded their every movement and expression, capturing a virtual personality print on a five minute tape. Everyone had a great time witnessing the videotaping and reviewing the tapes at the checking station where Woody, our Checker, labelled the tapes and presented them to their parents. The Kitchen Staff, Emiko and Berenice, rewarded the children for their premier performances with ice cream, cookies, and soda. Happily we found that we had extended ourselves into the local community with parents and children responding to the announcements in the Daily Pilot and Register. We also had quite a few students from Mariner's School near the lodge and are beginning to establish our program with the public school sector. We have just recently obtained approval from the Newport Harbor School District which will allow flyers to be officially distributed to the children and parents at all public schools in the area.

      I regret that pressing family commitments and other circumstances have arisen whereby I have found it necessary to resign as Chairman of the MCID Program effective July 2, 1998.  I greatly appreciate all the fine work by members of the Videotaping Crew as well as the help of the Kitchen Staff in providing us with refreshments.  I wish my successor the best and trust that the dedication and attention to detail of all of the members of the MCID Crew is sure to continue the success of the the MCID Program.  Pending the assignment of a new chairman, please contact Worshipful Master Ken Rothman at (714) 631-9718.  I intend to continue my duties as Webmaster of this site and as Editor of the MCID Herald.