Feed aggregator
Aunt Millie's Bread Benefits Shriners Hospitals
Freemasonry for Dummies - Wed, 03/10/2010 - 16:05
In celebration of Aunt’s Day (March 8th, last Monday. Who knew?), Aunt Millie’s Bread is donating a portion of the proceeds from every loaf of bread sold between February 14 and March 13, 2010, or a minimum of $25,000, to Shriners Hospitals for Children. Look for the special purple sticker on your favorite Aunt Millie’s variety and support Shriners hospitals through your weekly bread purchase.
Their program runs through this weekend.
Aunt Millie’s Bakeries is a family-owned company headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana since 1901. The company produces Aunt Millie’s bread and bakery products and other brands, which are distributed throughout the Midwest.
North Dakota to Charter Yellowstone Historic Lodge No. 88 in May
Freemasonry for Dummies - Wed, 03/10/2010 - 14:36
Historic Ft. Buford in North Dakota is located at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. Lewis and Clark camped here in their exploration of the West. And it was here that Sitting Bull and his decimated Sioux followers surrendered in 1881. The fort itself closed in 1895, and is partially restored and run as an historic site by the North Dakota State Historical Society.
On May 21st and 22nd, 2010, the Grand Lodge of North Dakota will charter Yellowstone Historic Lodge No. 88 at Ft. Buford, about 20 miles southwest of Williston, ND. The first Masonic charter in what was to become North Dakota was issued to Yellowstone Lodge No. 88 by the Grand Lodge of Minnesota in 1872. It had a membership of 50 Brothers who were members of the 7th Cavalry at Ft. Buford, local businessmen, farmers and others. The story of Yellowstone No. 88 can be read here.
According to an article in in the MSA Notes from last September 2009 by Jim Savaloja, PGM and Associate Grand Historian, Grand Lodge of North Dakota:
These Brothers built an 80’ by 100’ two story Lodge Hall at the western edge of the Fort. The upper story was the Lodge room and the lower section was the social event center for the Fort and the surrounding community. This Lodge was active until 1874 when the Fort became dormant and the Charter was returned to the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. The Lodge building was sold and later dismantled.
The Ft. Buford Masonic Historical site today is marked by large granite boulder inscribed with the brief history.
The first Masonic charter issued to Prince Hall Masons in North Dakota was carried by the Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry, in 1892. The 25th Infantry was one of just four all-black units in the U.S. military at that time. Eureka Lodge No. 135 PHA was chartered as a military lodge by the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Missouri when the soldiers were stationed at Ft. Apache in the Arizona Territory in 1891.
On Friday, May 21st, the historical exhibit will open, followed by a barbecue at 6:20 PM. On Saturday, May 22nd, there will be a public opening and historic program at the Williston Airport International Inn from 10AM-12PM, with a rededication ceremony instituting the historic lodges between 2PM-4PM. A banquet will follow at 7PM at the International Airport Inn. This event is co-sponsored by the Grand Lodge of North Dakota A.F. & A.M, the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Missouri, the North Dakota State Historical Society, and the North Dakota Masonic Foundation.
For more information contact the Grand Lodge of North Dakota at 701-235-8321.
Mar 10, LODGE AUDIT
Masonic Lodge of Education - Wed, 03/10/2010 - 11:27
Learn how to perform a Lodge Audit of your Masonic Lodge's books.
Australian Masons: It's No Secret
Freemasonry for Dummies - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 20:59
The Daily Telegraph in Sydney, Australia has a story by Chris Hook today, Inside The Secret World of the Freemasons:
"Using the interest born of Dan Brown's blockbuster novel The Lost Symbol, which focuses on the organisation, Freemasons United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Grand Master Dr. Greg Levenston decided to reach out.
He has overseen production of a book called "It's No Secret - Real Men Do Wear Aprons," out this week, and invited The Daily Telegraph into the Freemasons' most secret chambers."
Indeed, the Grand Lodge of NSW and ACT has launched an entire website dedicated to the new book, written by author Peter Lazar, as well as answering the most common questions about Masonry and how to seek membership.
Meanwhile, the United Grand Lodge of Victoria was covered on www.theage.com earlier in the week here, along with a video interview of their Grand Master Garry Sebo. They are also promoting the new book.
You can order the book, "It's No Secret - Real Men Do Wear Aprons," from the Grand Lodge Museum of Freemasonry website at www.itsnosecret.com.au for AU$29 (about US$26.50).
Fortune Cookie Tarot
Masonic Central - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 14:45
At the end of a recent dinner out, I was unceremoniously handed a fortune cookie. As per the usual parlance, the ceremony for those that I partook the meal with was that the fortunes would be read aloud and serendipidously commented on, talked and joked about, and otherwise ignored, and that’s the fun of it. Usually with [...]
New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism Symposium 4/9 in Lexington, MA
Freemasonry for Dummies - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 13:43
On April 9, 2010, the National Heritage Museum, in Lexington, Massachusetts, will hold a symposium, "New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism."
The symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day. By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members. The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture.
A keynote paper by Jessica Harland-Jacobs, Associate Professor of History at the University of Florida, and author of Builders of Empire: Freemasonry and British Imperialism, 1717-1927, will open the day. Titled "Worlds of Brothers," Harland-Jacobs' paper will survey and assess the scholarship on American fraternalism and Freemasonry. Drawing on examples from the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s, she will demonstrate that applying world history methodologies pays great dividends for our understanding of fraternalism as a historical phenomenon. Harland-Jacobs will conclude with some thoughts on how global perspectives can benefit contemporary American brotherhoods.
Six scholars from the United States, Canada, and Britain will fill the day's program:
* Ami Pflugran-Jackisch, Assistant Professor of History, University of Michigan - Flint, "Brothers of a Vow: Secret Fraternal Orders in Antebellum Virginia"
* Hannah M. Lane, Assistant Professor, Mount Allison University, "Freemasonry and Identity/ies in 19th-Century New Brunswick and Eastern Maine"
* Nicholas Bell, Curator, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, "An Ark of the New Republic"
* David Bjelajac, Professor of Art History, George Washington University, "Freemasonry, Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and the Fraternal Ethos of American Art"
* Kristofer Allerfeldt, Exeter University, "Nationalism, Masons, Klansmen and Kansas in the 1920s"
* Adam G. Kendall, Henry W. Coil Library and Museum, "Klad in White Hoods and Aprons: American Fraternal Identities, Freemasonry, and the Ku Klux Klan in California, 1921-1928"
The symposium is funded in part by the Supreme Council, 33°, N. M. J., U.S.A. Registration is $50 ($45 for museum members) and includes morning refreshments, lunch and a closing reception. To register, complete the Registration Form and fax to 781-861-9846 or mail to Claudia Roche, National Heritage Museum, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421; registration deadline is MARCH 24, 2010.
For more information, contact Claudia Roche at croche@monh.org or 781-861-6559, x 4142.
Registration deadline draws near! Register by March 24, 2010. Visit the Museum's website, www.nationalheritagemuseum.org, for a printable registration form.
Past Pro GM of the United GL of England Passes
Freemasonry for Dummies - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 13:10
MW Brother, the Right Honourable Lord Cornwallis (Fiennes Neil Wykeham Cornwallis), Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Deputy Lieutenant of Kent (DL), Pro Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England between 1982 and 1991, passed to the Grand Lodge Above on March 6th, 2010.
He was was educated at Eton College. During WWII, he served with the Coldstream Guards between 1940 and 1944. He succeeded to the title of 3rd Baron Cornwallis in 1982.
It has been ordered by the MW Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England that Masonic Mourning shall consist of the printing of an `In Memoriam' notice on the first summons issued for a meeting of each Lodge under the Grand Lodge; and that the members of each Lodge shall stand in memory of Bro Lord Cornwallis at its next meeting immediately after the Lodge has been opened and before any business is transacted (except for the reading of any dispensation required to regularise the holding of the meeting).
REQUIESCAT IN PACE
Messages From the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic
Freemasonry for Dummies - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 12:32
Two interesting communications of note have come from Brother Jacques Huyghebaert at the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic in the last two weeks.
The first has to do with a report last month that the Grand Orients of France and Belgium were opening a bureau in Brussels to influence European Union policies on religion:
To All Grand Lodges in amity
Prague, 23rd February 2010
Subject : European Masonic Bureau in Brussels
Dear Sir and Very Worshipful Brother,
Following recent reports in the European Press, published in the Czech Republic, according to which "the Masons" are hoping to open a bureau in Brussels to "to lobby against the rising influence of religious organisations in the EU institutions," our Most Worshipful Grand Master, Brother Hynek Beran, accepted last week an invitation for an interview by Czech Television during which he was able to clarify the position of our Grand Lodge on this matter.
The 10 minute interview which was broadcast live on Friday 19th February 2010 is available at http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/210411058060219-pred-polednem-zpravodajsky-blok/ Attached herewith is a copy of the English version of the Press Release which our Grand Lodge has issued in order to dissociate ourselves entirely in the eyes of the Czech public from a politically motivated initiative, which in our view has no place in Freemasonry.
Freemasonry was revived after the collapse of the communist regime in 1989, and is currently enjoying an excellent reputation in the Czech Republic, it being generally considered as a highly respectable organisation based on impeccable moral integrity. It is useful to know in this context that pre World War II Czechoslovakia was the only country in Europe whose President was a Freemason and that during both the Nazi occupation and the Soviet era the Masonic Order was suppressed and Freemasons persecuted.
This TV interview therefore was very important for us to preserve the good image of Freemasonry and to dissociate our Grand Lodge in the public opinion from Grand Orient Freemasonry. Public reaction to the interview, shows approval by the Czech viewers of our Grand Lodge’s attitude to refuse as a matter of principle to get involved in any political and religious issues.
Fraternal greetings
Jacques HUYGHEBAERT
Grand Secretary for External Relations
mailto:grandlodge@freemasonry.cz
The second message comes in the wake of the pronouncement by the Grand Master of Arkansas prohibiting mainstream Freemasons from purchasing state-issued Freemason license plates because they benefit a Prince Hall charity. The GL of Arkansas does not recognize its Prince Hall counterpart:
Brethren,
This may be an insignificant gesture, from a small and distant Grand Lodge
in central Europe, but considering the unfortunate racial discrimination
which still seems to prevail at the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, the Grand
Lodge of The Czech Republic is not willing to establish fraternal relations
with it, but will gladly do so with the MWPHGL of Arkansas.
The GL of the Czech Republic is currently in amity with about 200 Grand
Lodges worldwide including those Prince Hall Grand Lodges which have
responded positively to our invitations to establish fraternal relations
S&F
Jacques Huyghebaert, MPS life
& GS for External Relations
Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic
grandlodge@freemasonry.cz
Grand Master’s Ruling Hurtful
Masonic Central - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 02:33
I recently returned from the 138th Grand Session of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas which was held from February 25-28, 2010 in Pine Bluff. It was a great time with wonderful brotherhood marred by only one disappointing incident not of the making of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of [...]
Saturday at Golden Rule #562 in Willard, Ohio
Freemasonry for Dummies - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 00:57
Saturday, March 13th, I'll be traveling to Willard, Ohio and speaking at Golden Rule Lodge No. 562, beginning at 4:00PM.
The Willard Masonic Temple is located at 117 1/2 Myrtle Avenue, Willard, Ohio. The lodge is asking for registration ahead of time, so register here, or contact Caid McKinley. If you are in the general vicinity of north central Ohio, I hope to see you there.
Speaking In Detroit This Friday 3/12
Freemasonry for Dummies - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 00:41
This Friday evening, March 12th, I'll be speaking at the incredible Detroit Masonic Center at 6PM, in the 4th floor Library. Admission is $10.
See the the Detroit Library website for details here.
If you haven't visited the Detroit Masonic Center before, take the time to come out and tour the largest Masonic building in the world. Looking forward to being there Friday!
Masonic Information Center Twain Award Winners For 2009
Freemasonry for Dummies - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 16:51
Three years ago, the Masonic Information Center created the Mark Twain Award, to "recognize Lodge leadership for asserting a uniquely Masonic identity both within the Lodge and throughout the community that is consistent with the Fraternity's historic focus on education, self-improvement, good works, and fellowship." It's the only national Masonic award of its kind, and it represents achievement at the local lodge level. Lodges that win the Twain award are working hard to make their individual lodge just that—individual. These lodges have found ways to make their lodge unique, distinctive, educational, vital to their members, and a part of the community in which they reside.
The Masonic Information Center is a committee recognized by the Conference of Grand Masters in North America, and the Twain Award winners were announced at the Conference in Arlington, Virginia last month. The MIC was originally funded in 1993 by John J. Robinson, author of Born In Blood, who was not a Mason at the time. Robinson gave a grant to start the Center in order to provide information to both Masons and non-Masons, and to respond to critics of the fraternity. The Center operates as part of the Masonic Service Association of North America. For more about the Twain Award, see here. Congratulations to the 2009 winners:
Helion Lodge #1, Huntsville, Alabama
Oasis Lodge #52, Tucson, Arizona
Moreno Valley Lodge #804, Moreno Valley, California
Golden City Lodge #1, Golden, Colorado
Enlightenment Lodge #198, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Gate City Lodge #2, Atlanta, Georgia
Roswell Lodge #165, Roswell, Georgia
Nelms Lodge #323, Smyrna, Georgia
Barker Lodge #129, West Point, Kentucky
Bewleyville Lodge #228, Bewleyville, Kentucky
Baalis Sanford Lodge, Brockton, Massachusetts
Liverpool Syracuse Lodge #501, Liverpool, New York
Forest City Lodge #388, Lyndhurst, Ohio
Fredericksburg Lodge #4, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Bremerton Lodge #117, Bremerton, Washington
Daylight Lodge #232, Seattle, Washington
Lynden Lodge #56, Ferndale, Washington
Waverly Lodge #51, Appleton, Wisconsin
The criteria for the Twain Award is designed to motivate lodges to plan its future and improve itself with meaningful activities that serve the needs of its own members. There's no checklist, no defined roadmap of specific items that get crossed off when completed. The goal is to motivate lodges to act for their own good, and the good of their community, and to do it in a thought out manner. The website has much information on it, but it does list suggested activities and ideas that every lodge ought to be considering, regardless of whether they are trying for an award or not.
Frustrated lodge officers are frequently hunting the silver bullet, the Big Fix that will fill their lodges and make them active and relevant to their members. The truth is, it's different for every lodge. This list is one place to start. If you've heard me speak at a lodge or grand lodge, you've heard me say over and over. Try everything, and when that doesn't work, try something else. But start by making your lodge a place YOU can't wait to come to every month, every week.
The MIC has a list of suggestions for lodges to use as a starting place to rejuvenate themselves, and while I don't want to reprint their whole website here, their suggestions are thoughtful ones:
- Apply concepts of education and self-improvements to current print and non-print communications tools of individual lodges, Grand Lodges, and national Masonic organizations and societies.
- Improve the environment of lodge-based fellowship; refresh the look of the lodge; welcome new members; improve presentation skills; provide mentoring to study degrees; strengthen communications skills.
- Organize group activities based on education and self-improvement that can enrich lodge-centered fellowship such as: welcoming committees, lodge renovation and clean up campaigns, leadership development conferences, mentor meetings, workshops on such things as Masonic ritual, history, symbolism, architectural works, art, and cultural works.
- Initiate workshops on Masonic personal growth topics such as leadership, stewardship, ethics, philosophy, and spirituality.
- Call on local educational faculty to present on topics that enrich the body, mind, and spirit of the brothers.
- Tap the talents of individual members and build a community of experts to help facilitate Masons to improve themselves and their community.
- Improve community accessibility to Masonry through public outreach activities and program or group hosting, tutoring, and mentoring.
- Offer Masonic recognition and incentive programs for educational initiatives, visitor programs and Chamber of Commerce presentations.
- Honor the Mason within yourself.
- Communicate regularly with neighboring lodges.
Masonic Central Tonight: The Masonic Restoration Foundation
Freemasonry for Dummies - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 14:26
Brothers Mark Tabbert and Cliff Porter will be on Masonic Central tonight—Sunday, March 7th—discussing the Masonic Restoration Foundation and Traditional Observance Masonry. Both men are on the board of the MRF and they will have some exciting news to share.
From the show's description:
The MRF provides education and training to individuals, lodges and Grand Lodges on ways to establish quality programs, academic excellence and social relevance in their Masonic communities. As American Freemasonry faces some of the most important challenges in its history, the MRF stands to ensure a sense of purpose and identity for the Craft. Joining us this week on Masonic Central to talk about the MRF, Traditional Observance Lodges (TO), and the European Concept Lodge (EC) are Mark Allen Tabbert and Cliff Porter, both of whom are active Board members of the Masonic Restoration Foundation. What exactly is a EC lodge? Are TO lodges the wave of the future? How do I start the conversation on forming a TO lodge? Listen in and ask the questions with us as we explore the TO and EC lodge archetypes with the Board of the Masonic Restoration Foundation.
Tune in at 9PM tonight : click here.
Liverpool-Syracuse Lodge No. 501
Ars Masonica - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 13:33
Congratulations to Liverpool-Syracuse Lodge No. 501, F&AM on being awarded the Mark Twain Masonic Awareness Award from the Masonic Service Association of North America.
From the Masonic Information Center:
The goal of the award is two-fold - The MIC intends for the Twain Award to recognize those lodges, regardless of size, that demonstrate energy, innovation and creativity communicating the values of Freemasonry as suggested in the MIC report, It’s About Time.
~and~
Lodge participation in the Twain Award means signing up as early as March to benefit from a MIC-sponsored communications forum, the Twain Award Participant Forum, designed to bring lodges closer together through Internet resources. The Twain Forum links lodges with Masonic resources through online forums, chat rooms, listservs, and emails. Using improved communications, lodges across North America can share with each other new and exciting ways of bringing Freemasonry into the social fabric of the community.
Liverpool- Syracuse Lodge is very deserving of this award. Their website is one of the best in the world. Check'em out at http://www.syracusemasons.com/ Good work my Brothers!
24 Hours of Brotherhood
Ars Masonica - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 12:54
or rather, 24 Hours of No Sleep...
I spent my last weekend in February with the New York State DeMolays when Trinity Chapter (of which I am an Advisor and my son is the Master Councilor) hosted their "24 Hours of Brotherhood" in Liverpool, NY.
It was very well attended with over 70 DeMolays and Advisors from all over New York State. There were video game,competitions, poker games and a pool tournament. We went to a Syracuse Crunch hockey game and rushed back to catch the second half of the Syracuse University-Villanova basketball game. Everyone camped out in the Lodge building but, as I said, there was very little sleep to be had.
The highlight of the weekend for me was a Medieval Swordsmanship demonstration by Todd Sullivan from the Lake Ontario Fechtschule. The presentation was well received and I highly recommend you check out Todd's site if you have even a passing interest in the Knightly Art of the Sword.
Mar 7, MASONIC LODGE LOCATIONS
Masonic Lodge of Education - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 03:37
Use this list of Masonic lodge locations around the world to find a Masonic lodge in a state or country near you.
Traditional Observance, what is it, and is it the future of American Masonry?
Masonic Central - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 00:55
I recently returned from the 138th Grand Session of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas which was held from February 25-28, 2010 in Pine Bluff. It was a great time with wonderful brotherhood marred by only one disappointing incident not of the making of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas.
One of the items on the agenda of business was to announce and explain the Arkansas Freemason auto license plate as created by Prince Hall Arkansas. This was a project that had been worked on for more than a year and was completed just a few months ago finally receiving state approval. It was noted that there seemed to be an inordinate amount of roadblocks in the path of the completion of this project. But Arkansas Brother Brian Johnson, who headed the project, continually redid what was rejected in the submission of paperwork. He dotted every I and crossed every T. A few months before Grand Session the Grand Lodge received notification that the Freemason license plate had gone through and was approved. The Grand Lodge session afforded an opportunity for an announcement and explanation of this program.
Briefly stated, the Arkansas Masonic license plate consists of the Square and Compasses and the word “Freemason” at the very bottom of the plate. It is a generic Masonic plate neither mentioning Prince Hall nor Mainstream Masonry. However, a portion of the sale from each license plate is earned by the Prince Hall Grand Lodge.
Now no one expected a round of applause from the Mainstream Grand Lodge of Arkansas. The fact that Prince Hall thought of the project first and had the perseverance to see its adoption through the many hurdles placed in its path is a credit to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge. A silent boycott by Mainstream would have been disappointing but not unexpected. However, an open, loud denunciation of Prince Hall and the Freemason license plate is most distressing and uncalled for.
Presented below is the letter from the Mainstream Grand Master of Arkansas with its Seal and his signature to all his chartered Lodges. All or portions of this ruling appeared on many Mainstream Arkansas constituent Lodges’ websites viewable by the public which is why I say this was an open denunciation.
On the chance that the inserted letter is nor fully readable I will retype it and print it here below:
Dear Brother Secretary,
I am sending this letter to your lodge in the hope of heading off a possible problem which has been caused by the State Revenue Department. It has been brought to my attention that the state has come out with with a Freemason license plate. The best I can find out is that this license plate originates from the Grand Lodge of Prince Hall Masons and part of the money derived form (from) the sale of these license plates goes to a charity sponsored by the Prince Hall Grand Lodge.
After several phone calls to ascertain what the procedure was for obtaining these plates; I came to the conclusion that the method of screening individuals, to see if they were eligible to purchase the plates was not sufficient to ensure that our members could not purchase them. We have laws which strictly prohibit communication and Masonic intercourse with clandestine lodges and members of clandestine lodges. It is my opinion as your Grand Master that the purchase of these license plates would be in contradiction to our laws. Thus I am directing that no member of a subordinate lodge under the jurisdiction of the M.W. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Arkansas purchase the license plates.
I am sending your lodge this letter to be read at your next stated communication. I am further directing that the Worshipful Master appoint a phone committee to contact every member of your lodge, who is an Arkansas resident, or that a letter be sent out to the same; informing them that they are not to purchase one of these license plates.
I appreciate your attention to this serious problem and will thank you in advance for your efforts to help ensure that our members are informed and do not inadvertently violate our Masonic law.
Fraternally,
Ronald Hedge, Grand Master
The first thing I expect from a Grand Master is that he have a credible understanding of the terms he uses. The term clandestine refers to pedigree. As in the case of a dog the question would be are you AKC registered and approved? In Masonry it refers to whether you were properly chartered. The fact that all Prince Hall Grand Lodges can trace their lineage back to The Grand Lodge of England’s chartering of African Lodge #459 either directly or indirectly rules out the possibility that Prince Hall is clandestine. Neither is Prince Hall irregular. Every recognized Masonic authority, even Albert Pike, has stated that Prince Hall practices regular Freemasonry and follows the Landmarks.
Furthermore a license plate cannot be clandestine. It is an inanimate object.
There is nothing more common within the ranks of Freemasonry than the misuse of the word communication. The word communication as is commonly applied in Freemasonry denotes a tyled Lodge meeting not a conversation. So in most jurisdictions it is perfectly lawful to discuss Freemasonry, excluding the signs, tokens , grips, words and obligations, with Freemasons from another jurisdiction or another obedience. The Grand Master knows this for later in his letter he talks about reading this information “at your next stated communication.”
However what is most distressing is the prohibition against Masonic discourse. I know that some Grand Lodges on both sides have this ruling yet most carry its application to an absurd degree. If an Arkansas Mainstream Mason meets an Arkansas Prince Hall Mason at the grocery store is it against Masonic law to say hello?
Does my Christian church say to me that another denomination does not follow Christian Theology correctly, therefore you are to have no discourse with them? Does a Republican refuse to talk to a Democrat or vice versa? Is this conduct rooted in the teachings of Freemasonry or the Teachings of the Holy Bible which rests upon the Masonic altar? Or could there be another motivation for what the Grand Master of Arkansas calls “a possible problem?”
I’m going to let the reader draw his/her own conclusions. You are all adults and adept at reading between the lines. But I, for one, am going to ask this Grand Master and others to stop calling Prince Hall Masonry bogus, spurious and clandestine. For a Grand Master to do so is just plain ignorant. Grand Master Hedge, Prince Hall is not irregular or clandestine or bogus it is just unrecognized. You just refuse to recognize Prince Hall. Why can’t you be a bit more gracious in your disagreement?
But I don’t think the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas is stupid. He knows what he is doing and why. It seems that this Grand Master just wants to name call and thereby hurt, demean and degrade other Freemasons. He is acting like a third grade bully. I would point him to our ritual which says, “By the exercise of Brotherly Love we are taught to regard the whole human species as one family.” And I would invite him to crack the Holy Bible once in awhile, that work of God which adorns every American Masonic altar. There are numerous verses that are our rule and guide but the one that comes to mind is, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”
Finally it becomes incumbent upon me to once again for the umpteenth time to ask when Mainstream Masonry is going to police itself? Recently we can point to Frank Haas’ expulsion in West Virginia and the nasty actions of Georgia Mainstream Masons when a black man was raised in an Atlanta Lodge. There are many more examples too numerous to catalog here. I am fully aware of the tradition of one jurisdiction not messing in the affairs of another jurisdiction. But what ever happened with whispering wise words of advice into the ear of another Brother? Could not a few other Grand Masters pick up the phone? And if push comes to shove, rather than interfere, those Mainstream Grand Lodges that are following the moral authority could wash their hands of these matters by just pulling recognition from what are really rogue Grand Lodges.
And finally I cannot help but ask do you see or hear about such outlandish behavior from Prince Hall Grand Lodges? Do they scream and yell discrimination? Do they impose such rulings on their brethren? Will the Prince Hall Grand Master of Arkansas strike back? I know he won’t, but I will. Related Articles:
Free eBook – What is Freemasonry? Available Now!
Have you…
visited the Freemason Information Book Store?
visited the FmI Gift Store?
listened to the Masonic Central Podcast?
Looking for Massachusetts Masonic History
Freemasonry for Dummies - Sat, 03/06/2010 - 18:29
I am looking for a comprehensive book about Freemasonry in Massachusetts, at least up to about 1820.
By comprehensive, I mean not of just one lodge—there seem to be several of those.
Any suggestions?
Lost Symbol in Paperback Coming This July
Freemasonry for Dummies - Fri, 03/05/2010 - 19:33
Bookseller.com announced today that Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol will be published in paperback in the UK and Ireland this summer, on July 22nd. No announcement of the US publication date, but expect it to be the same time frame.
Meanwhile, Hollywood sources are still saying the movie adaptation is due in theaters in 2012, again featuring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon.
Lodges and Grand Lodges need to keep these dates in mind for open houses and other events, as well as being on the lookout for new interest growing in the fraternity.
