Luther G. Baker, Sr., 33°
7208 12th Street
Tampa, Florida 33604–5034

It takes nothing away from the great tradition of our American Revolution to say that few of us realize what trials our forebears must have endured through those long and difficult years. The first shots were fired in Massachusetts at Lexington Green in April 1775. It was April, 1783, eight years later, before the final treaty acknowledging the complete independence of the United States from Great Britain was presented to Congress for ratification.

We see the events of those years dimly through the mists of legend: Paul Revere on his famous ride; Washington kneeling to pray in the snow at Valley Forge; the lanky, raw-boned minuteman symbolized in countless town square memorials throughout New England. But rarely do we visualize those three million people who created the United States of America as they really lived.

Yet they were people very much like us—often afraid, often confused, often divided on the issues of the times. The fact that they were able to endure the discomfort, sacrifice, and danger of those years and, in spite of their differences, pull together for victory, speaks volumes for their character. And no small part of their final triumph was due to the fact that they were a deeply religious people. Almost always those with an abiding faith in God seem best able to rise above adversity. These early believers were a people united by a belief in something greater than themselves. Because of the efforts of these men—and the women who endured with them—a free nation was born. Today we observe the birthday of that nation by resolving that we, too, shall endure. In our own time of trial, may we find our faith in God and ourselves equal to theirs, remembering what we are told in Scripture, "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."

Luther G. Baker was raised a Master Mason in 1944, served as Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Florida 1984–1993, and was appointed Grand Chaplain Emeritus of the Grand Lodge of Florida in 1995. A member of the Scottish Rite Bodies of Tampa, Florida, since 1945, Rev. Baker has served as Chaplain of the Tampa Police Department since 1971, was awarded the Carl Cuesta Humanities Award in 1977, and the Sertoma's "Service to Mankind" Award in 1991. Since 1955, Ill. Baker has served as Pastor in the Presbyterian Church and since 1983 as Prelate of the Scottish Rite, Valley of Tampa. Currently he is serving the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida as Trustee and Administrative Coordinator for Florida's Childhood Language Disorders Clinics, Centers, and Programs.