History

The MW Samuel T. Daniels, Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland and its Jurisdictions granted Shelton D. Redden Lodge #139 a charter in Oxfordshire, England on July 11, 1981. The initial principle officers of the fledgling lodge were LeRoy White as the Worshipful Master, Robert E. Burruss as the Senior Warden; and Robert M. Long as the Junior Warden.

Many members were shipped to other assignments or stations due to their military careers and the lodge was later disbanded. The charter was then sent back to the Grand Lodge. Nearly ten years later in 1992 Gerald Black, James Jones, and others formed the Hyattsville Study Club with the necessary number of Masons. Brother Black made a request for the charter to MW Samuel T. Daniels, Grand Master. The charter was granted Dec. 11, 1992 at the Second Constituent Lodge Workshop meeting and reissued with Gerald Black as Worshipful Master, James Jones as Senior Warden, and Ronald Raiford as Junior Warden. They were then installed as the Lodge’s primary officers and the charter was activated on January 1, 1993.

Meetings were held at Bright Light Baptist Church in Takoma, MD. The fledgling lodge initially met in one of the conference rooms until church restructuring forced them to meet in a storage room. Further discomfort was added when washers and dryers were installed in the small room. Due to space limitations, lack of security and the increasing discontent of certain members of the church at sharing that storage area with a lodge, the decision was made to move to Fairmount Lodge #92 for meetings.

During the administration of WM Charles B. Clark, RW Walter W. Brown was appointed as the District Deputy Grand Master for the Fourth Masonic District of Maryland. RW Brown wanted the lodge to move back into the Hyattsville area. Therefore, the lodge moved again and began to meet at New Dawn Baptist Church in West Hyattsville, MD. Under the leadership of WM Northern, the Lodge was able to move to a more compatible location, Rollingcrest Commons, also in West Hyattsville and its there that they currently hold their meetings.

The lodge listed many successes among their early accomplishments. A few of these projects were the creation of their own staffs and columns, the purchase of new collars, the replacement of borrowed jewel adornments, the acquisition of administrative supplies, and the establishment of a purchase plan for covers at the principal stations. Due to the lack of membership and next to no Past Master tutelage, courtesy work had to be requested through Beehive Lodge #66. The distance between the two lodges proved to be too much and a resultant bond was established with Charles H. Wesley Lodge #147.

Shelton D. Redden Lodge #139 has grown and matured significantly since then and despite the early trying times it has faced since its humble beginnings, the lodge has had several successful classes and has raised over fifty-five brothers. The lodge members not only perform their own work, the PM attendance and participation has increased significantly. Shelton D. Redden Lodge #139 is also the proud home of RW William A. Northern who currently serves as part of the Masonic Education Committee, RW Dwayne Wright who servers on the Grand Special Project Committee, RW Randy Truesdale, who formally served as the District Inspector for the Fourth Masonic District of Maryland and RW Danny W. Pimienta who was appointed this year as the Right Worshipful Senior Grand Deacon by the Most Worshipful Shelton D. Redden himself.

Shelton D. Redden Lodge #139 may remain small in numbers but the charity from our hearts is large and is displayed through the charitable work done throughout our community.