Paul Rich has just announced that the 2020 Policy Studies Organization Conference on Fraternalism, Social Capital, and Civil Society scheduled for June 5th, 2020 in Washington, DC has been postponed as of today out of caution over the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic.
While it's entirely possible any serious health risks will be over by June, especially here in the U.S., organizers are forced to do this out of uncertainty over the potential scope of the spread of the virus for an event still three months away.
Hotels, meeting spaces, airlines, caterers and nearly everyone else usually demand financial or contractual commitments for large meetings several months out, and the daily dose of virus news is making these plans difficult, if not impossible, to commit to with any confidence.
I suspect this will not be the only Masonic conference or large scale gathering that will be altered in the coming weeks, as different organizations react to the uncertainty of the spread of the virus, combined with the amped up news coverage surrounding it. As mentioned in yesterday's story about the United Grand Lodge of England issuing Masonic meeting guidelines about coronavirus for their lodges, our fraternity has a large demographic of elderly members who are most susceptible to more serious complications from the virus. Combined with the unpredictability of flareups and new hotspots around the country and the world, I'm afraid this is going to wreak havoc on grand lodge meetings and conferences throughout the spring and early summer.
The PSO sponsors an international academic conference about Freemasonry and fraternalism every year, alternating between the U.S. and France. Please check with the conference website at the link above for information about future plans.
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