The Spring 2025 Symposium of the Academy of Masonic Knowledge will be held on Saturday, March 15, in the Freemasons Cultural Center at the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown.
As part of the 25th Anniversary celebration, the Academy has come to an agreement with the producers of the documentary film ”Join or Die” (available on Netflix) to do a special screening of the film. In addition, one of the producers will be in attendance to do a question and answer session. Timothy Winkle, Curator – Division of Home and Community Life at Smithsonian Institution – National Museum of American History, will also present.
Registration will open at 8:30 a.m., with the program beginning at 9:30 a.m. A lunch (for a requested contribution of $20) will be served at noon, and the program will be completed by 3 p.m. All Masons (including Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts), their significant others and their guests are welcome to attend. Dress is coat and tie.
Pre-register at PaMasonicAcademy.org or through your lodge secretary. If you pre-register and subsequently determine that you will be unable to attend, please have the Masonic courtesy to cancel your reservation by emailing amksecretary@pagrandlodge.org.
Unable to attend in person? A live stream of the symposium will be available on the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania YouTube channel, and those viewing remotely may ask questions of the presenters via the live stream chat feature, the Academy Facebook group and Reddit.
A 25th Anniversary celebratory banquet will be held Saturday evening. The keynote speaker will be famed Masonic author Dr. David Harrison. The banquet will not be live streamed. Registration information and a detailed schedule will be posted at PAMasonicAcademy.org.
“Join or Die” is a film about why you should join a club and why 
the fate of America depends on it. The 93-minute feature documentary follows the story of America’s civic unraveling through the journey of legendary
social scientist and Harvard professor Robert Putnam, whose groundbreaking “Bowling Alone” research into America’s decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy’s present crisis.
The film weaves Putnam’s illuminating findings into engaging stories, incorporating insight from influential figures from political, economic, public health and urban design sectors who have been influenced by his ideas, as well as from inspiring groups building community in neighborhoods across the country.
Follow along as Putnam explores three urgent civic questions: What makes democracy work? Why is American democracy in crisis? And, most importantly, what can we do about it?
The answers hopefully inspire viewers to join up and save our democracy!