09/11/2026
Twenty-five years ago today, our nation awoke to a morning that would forever change America.
On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 innocent lives were taken. Firefighters, police officers, first responders, members of our military, and ordinary Americans showed the world what courage looks like when everything around them is falling apart.
But we should also remember what happened on September 12.
For a moment, we stopped seeing each other as strangers. We were simply Americans. We checked on our neighbors. We hugged our families a little tighter. Flags appeared on homes and businesses everywhere. People stood in line to donate blood. Houses of worship filled. Communities came together.
Brotherhood wasn't just a word. It was something we lived.
As Freemasons, that lesson should resonate deeply with us. We are taught to relieve the distressed, care for one another, and practice those virtues that unite mankind rather than divide it. September 11 reminds us that those obligations extend far beyond the walls of our Lodge.
Today, Norfolk Lodge No. 1 remembers those who went to work and never came home, the first responders who ran toward danger while others ran away, the families who have carried their loss for twenty-five years, and every American who answered the call to serve in the years that followed.
May we honor them not only by remembering how they died, but by remembering how Americans lived in the days afterward.
More united.
More compassionate.
More willing to serve one another.
We will never forget.
🇺🇸 September 11, 2001 — September 11, 2026 🇺🇸
— Norfolk Lodge No. 1, A.F. & A.M.
