Our Service Work
To build is our calling. To serve is our oath.
A Lodge is not measured by the size of its room but by the reach of its hands. These are the programs through which Shem Lodge No. 8 carries hope and healing into Phoenix.
Service is not an optional extra at Shem Lodge. Every member is expected to take an active part in our monthly community work, whether through planning, execution, or direct service.
Program One
Avodah Service
Avodah is a Hebrew word for sacred service and labor. It names our outreach to the sick, the homebound, and those without shelter, people often overlooked yet deeply deserving of care. Through Avodah we assemble thoughtful care packages that may include sleeping bags, tents, food, clothing, shoes, and other essentials.
These gifts are not for momentary comfort alone; they are instruments of dignity, meant to help a person stabilize, recover, and rebuild toward a better future. We hold that service to humanity is a sacred duty, and in answering the needs of our neighbors we fulfill the Masonic charge to be builders of hope and healing in every corner of the community.
Program Two
The Alphonso Scholarship
The Alphonso Scholarship is devoted to nurturing the minds and spirits of young people, whether in formal education or in community-based programs. It reflects our commitment to serve children with intentional care, guidance, and resources that support both academic success and personal growth.
Through this program the Lodge provides books that encourage self-respect, character, and moral clarity, along with school supplies and scholarship support that help young people remain prepared, focused, and confident. Our aim is not merely that they pass, but that they surpass expectation, awakening a sense of purpose and excellence that reaches into their families, their classrooms, and their communities. The scholarship is more than a program; it is a promise to invest time, care, and wisdom in the next generation.
Program Three
The Lodge Building Initiative
The Lodge Building Initiative is the public, community-facing expression of our Cornerstone Building Fund. It is our flagship campaign to secure a permanent home of our own and to stand among the foremost contributors to the building of our Lodge, inviting brethren, families, businesses, and friends of the Craft to lay a stone in a house that will outlast us all.
We believe that a people who build for the future also serve the present. In raising our own walls, we create a lasting home for fellowship, instruction, and service to Phoenix and beyond.
Service at the Door
The Service of Three
Our commitment to service begins before a man is ever raised. Every candidate first gives of himself.
Before receiving the light of a degree, a candidate completes verified community service, documented and confirmed by the Lodge. A new candidate gives three hours within three days; Masons from other jurisdictions serve according to their degree. It is a fitting first lesson, that in this Craft, service is not what you do after you have arrived, but how you arrive at all.
Lend a Hand
Help us serve
Whether you join the Craft, partner a program, or support the work with a gift, there is a place for your hands in this labor.
Under the auspices of the Most Worshipful Isaac Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Texas
