The word “Lodge” has two meanings to a Freemason. It is both a place where Masonic meetings are held, and a collective term for the members who meet there.
Masonic lodges are named by the original founding members. They can be named after the town or city they’re in, a historical figure, a famous Mason, or even a symbolic word or phrase. The name of the lodge is always followed by a number, such as Justice-Columbia Lodge No. 3. The number is issued by the Grand Lodge of DC and designates the order in which lodges have been chartered in this jurisdiction. The older the lodge, the smaller the number.
Many of the details in a lodge room are patterned after aspects of King Solomon’s Temple, as described in the Bible and other historical records. Freemasonry teaches by symbolism, and much of its symbolism is based upon the accounts of Solomon’s Temple. The Temple was built in the 10th century B.C. on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. Solomon built it as a temple to God and to store the sacred Ark of the Covenant, which contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses.
Freemasonry became a philosophical organization in the 1700s, the Masons who developed the ceremonies and practices of the fraternity utilized the symbolism of Solomon’s Temple to help teach moral and spiritual ideas.
A Lodge meet at regular intervals throughout the year. Justice-Columbia Lodge No. 3 assembles once a month for a business meeting, a communication(s) to be read, paying bills, proposed members are voted on, and the members have fellowship. At Justice-Columbia Lodge No. 3 we often, invite guest speakers, or a member will give a presentation on the ritual, history, philosophy, or symbols of Masonry. The primary goal of Freemasonry is fellowship, at Justice-Columbia Lodge No. 3 a meal is served before the meeting in the lodge building.