Who We Are

Our lodge takes its name from Shem, the son of Noah

Shem Lodge No. 8 was established in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 16, 2026. We were founded with a clear and lasting purpose: to raise good men, to serve our community, and to build a permanent home where that work can continue for the brothers who come after us.This is only the beginning of our story. The next stone laid could be yours.

Worshipful Master's History

Worshipful Master Anthony “Tony” Arriagada leads Shem Lodge No. 8 in Phoenix, Arizona, under the Most Worshipful Isaac Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Texas. He began his Masonic journey in 2013 at Eagle Lodge No. 8, in the Ancient Craft Freemasonry, under Worshipful Master, Marcus Hill, 33°/96°, where he was raised a Master Mason, completing the third and highest degree of the lodge.

His mother lodge, the lodge where he was first made a Mason, stood within a lineage that included Phoenix Lodge No. 3 and Falcon Lodge No. 6, all established under the United Masonic Assembly. That line continues today as Eagle Lodge No. 1, under the Most Worshipful Isaac Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Texas.

He served the Craft, as Freemasonry is known to its members, as Senior Warden of Eagle Lodge No. 1, the second-ranking officer of the lodge, before being called to establish a lodge of his own. He holds the 32° of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (AASR), and in October 2025 he was elevated to the 90° of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm (APRMM), two advanced orders of Masonic study.

In 2026 he received the Donnie Jackson Five Points of Fellowship Award, the Mason of the Year honor conferred by Worshipful Master Marcus Hill upon the brother whose labors most advanced the work and goals of the lodge that year.

On June 16, 2026, by dispensation, the authority that a Grand Lodge grants to form a new lodge, issued by Grand Master and Grand Hierophant Weston Jarvis, 33°/99°, Worshipful Master Arriagada established Shem Lodge No. 8 in Phoenix, Arizona, and serves as its founding Worshipful Master.

Laboring in the Joe McFadden District under the guidance of District Deputy Grand Master Christopher Jackson, he leads by the charge that has guided his journey from the beginning: to take good men and make them better, to serve the community, and to raise a permanent home for the brothers who follow. He signs his work as Anthony “Tony” Arriagada, Worshipful Master, Shem Lodge No. 8, Phoenix, Arizona.

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