The Beehive

MOVED

2009-03-01T19:32:00.001-06:00

THE BEEHIVE HAS MOVED TO: http://freemasoninformation.com/

A New Vision

2009-02-25T23:47:00.003-06:00

Don't fall in love with a dreamer
'Cause he'll always take you in
Just when you think you've really change him
He'll leave you again
Don't you fall in love with a dreamer
'Cause he'll break you every time
Put out the light and just hold on
Before we say goodbye

Now it's morning and the phone rings
And you say you've gotta get your things together
You just gotta leave before you change your mind
And if you knew what I was thinking girl
I'd turn around if you'd just ask me one more time

Don't fall in love with a dreamer
'Cause he'll always take you in
Just when you think you've really change him
He'll leave you again
Don't you fall in love with a dreamer
'Cause he'll break you every time
Put out the light and just hold on
Before we say goodbye

I love those with a vision. I always fall in love with a dreamer! Those who dream and those who contemplate and meditate and get a vision and see a mission, well they are my kind of people.

So when Greg Stewart came to me with his vision, right away I was impressed. Sometimes it's just something that you have got to do. You follow your instincts and the nudges that the angels send you. And when I was asked to participate in Greg's vision - well how could I say NO.

Time to move on. For every door that closes another one opens. To be a part of something that is bigger and better and pools the resources of many great minds! Don't you see - I JUST HAD TO!

SO THE BEEHIVE IS MOVING. IT WON'T BE HERE ANYMORE. IT WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO A DREAM, A VISION.

But this is not goodbye but hopefully hello again! Particulars are to follow but this is the last posting on this site except for one more to follow to tell you where to go to see the dream, the vision made real.

So as we opened with a song we shall close with one. And may you all have your own dream, your own vision and work for it to become reality!

Adieu! a heart-warm fond adieu,
Dear brothers of the Mystic Tie!
Ye favored, ye enlightened few,
Companions of my social joy!
Tho' I to foreign lands must hie,
Pursuing fortune's sliddry ba',
With melting heart, and brimful eye,
I'll mind you still, tho' far awa'.

Interviewed on Journey In The East

2009-02-08T10:00:00.003-06:00

Brother Due East asked to interview me and his questions and my answers can be seen on his blog, Journey In The East: http://journeyintheeast.blogspot.com/2009/02/q-with-bro-frederic-l-milliken_06.html

Please take an opportunity to peruse this wonderful Masonic blog and information site. It does credit to the Fraternity and is a well thought out effort of two Brothers putting their heads together to enlighten us all!

The Old Past Master

2009-02-05T10:31:00.002-06:00

The Old Past Master got to Lodge unusually early that evening. He had a hunch that there was going to be some feedback to the heated exchange that had occurred at their last meeting. As always he tried to make himself available for counsel without ever offering an opinion unless asked for. That had not been the policy of Past Master Sinclair who got up at the business meeting two weeks ago and lambasted the Lodge members for non-participation in Lodge events and programs. For fifteen minutes PM Sinclair harangued the Brothers on the past glory of the Lodge and how they were not living up to the standards of the good old days. After the meeting you could see that some of the Brothers were tight lipped while others left early rather than staying for fellowship as they usually did.

This was definitely not the Old Past Master’s style. He never offered an opinion unless he was asked. But he had to admit that Past Master Sinclair was right. Lodge participation was way down. The Brethren seemed almost lethargic and disinterested. And the new Master was young and so full of grandiose plans and programs. It definitely was an open sore that was festering. He had been giving the whole matter some serious thought himself.

As he came into the parking lot the Old Past Master could see that the Master’s car was already parked in its usual spot but all alone. Nobody else had arrived yet. When he entered the Lodge Worshipful McKinney was deep in contemplative thought starring at a blank wall.

The Old Past Master said nary a word but sat down and opened his briefcase and pored over some papers he had pulled out. Five long minutes went by with not a word spoken.

“Why”, exclaimed Worshipful McKinney. “ Why me Lord? What have I got myself into”?

The Old Past Master just continued to shuffle his papers.

“Well aren’t you going to say anything”, Worshipful McKinney broke the silence with.

“Only if you want me to.”

“Of course I want you to. I have been waiting for you to say something for weeks now.”

“And I have been waiting to be asked.”

“Well Past Master Pelham has not been shy about giving me advice. When I told him that I was going to telephone all the Brothers and remind them of the next Lodge meeting and the programs we were working on, he told me that was absolutely the wrong strategy. He said that a Mason is obligated to come to Lodge and to participate and he shouldn’t have to be reminded of his duty. Once you start that you will never get anything done unless you do it all the time. Besides it is not fair to the next Master to saddle him with such a laborious task every month.”

“Yes I have heard Past Master Pelham pontificate on the proper way to run a Lodge.”

“So what do you think of what he said”?

“It’s not my business to critique everybody else’s view. You have to be your own man, Worshipful.”

“Now you are the first person to tell me that. Does that mean you will not offer up any advice”?

“Of course I will if you want me to and you ask me for help. I would not be a Mason if I were unwilling to help a Brother in need.”

“Well what would you do about this listlessness in the Lodge and the non participation by the Brothers”?

“Well if you are asking me I would listen to everybody and then take a course of action that I thought would be most successful. It might not fit exactly what I wanted or be part of my vision but it would be what most of the Brethren desired and would sign onto.”

“Then you would let the Brethren rule the Lodge.”

“Absolutely not. But what I would do is incorporate my vision into their vision at the same time realizing the limits of what can be accomplished and the reality of the complexity of life.”

“You are saying I am too ambitious. What are the Brethren not signing onto and what will they embrace”?

“Well, Worshipful, I don’t mean to be unkind, but you show signs of ‘I’m the brand new Master and I’m going to conquer the world syndrome.’ You have initiated a whole plethora of projects and programs for the Lodge to do. It’s not that I don’t like what you are doing but Lodge should not be a burden it should be a joy. Remember that Lodge is not a job. We are all volunteers, here to celebrate life.”

“I like the way you say that. So I should not have any special projects or programs? Are you saying I should eliminate them all”?

‘Not at all. What I am saying is that quality counts more than quantity. Sometimes it is better to do one thing up proud, extra special, then to do three things rather ordinarily.”

“What would you do with the rest of the time”?

“Well let me leave you with this thought because I see others are now arriving. It’s not what you do it’s who you are. Sometimes it’s all about just being not just doing. We are human beings not human doings.”

The Brethren arrived and got Lodge ready to open. The Master can be seen on his cell phone after which Lodge opens in the usual manner. Before Master McKinney can get to the usual business Past Master Pelham rises and says, “I would like to add some further thought to the debate we had at the last Lodge meeting.”

“Not tonight”, replies the Worshipful

“But I think we need to……………”

RAP!

“I don’t think continuing such a discussion is in the best interests of the Lodge”, Worshipful McKinney states a little more forcibly.

“Worshipful are you telling me I can’t speak”?

“Precisely Brother Pelham. Please sit down.”

“Now for the next five minutes”, continues Master McKinney I would like you to sit in total silence and think of everybody in this room and remember what you admire about them the most. Then after five minutes of silence I would like to hear from each one of you.”

After what seemed more like twenty minutes Worshipful McKinney broke the silence with, “ OK the East will entertain some thoughts from the Brethren. Who will go first”?

The Old Past Master got up and said how much he admired Brother Sinclair and his passion for the Craft. “It is very rewarding and heartwarming”, he said, “To know that we have one in our midst who cares so much.”

Another Brother rose to speak, and right on his heels another, then another and another and……………well before you know it almost two hours had flown by.

Worshipful McKinney then said, “I will entertain a motion to have the Master and Wardens pay all bills, that the reading of the minutes be postponed until next meeting and that all correspondence be tabled”

“I so move”, came from the Craft

“Second”, replied another

“After we close Brethren I have placed an order of pizzas at the Star Bar and Grille and I respectfully request your presence there for fellowship”, The Master announced.

“Now is there any other business to come before this Lodge before I proceed to close”?

William H. Upton

2009-01-17T16:00:00.008-06:00

My Grand Lodge Sessions are usually just the most inspiring moments of my year. They are well run, move right along and have many interspersed social times, like an awards luncheon and a Family Banquet with a special guest speaker. It makes it seem much more clanish as the Heroines of Jericho and Eastern Star have their Grand Sessions at the same time and in the same building and/or hotel that we all use. So when we get together the whole Masonic family gathers and on the last day of Summer Session installations for the three are done together all in one place.

And my Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis is the kindest, most soft spoken man I have met that has ever sat in any Grand East I have been associated with. And he is always very accessible to everyone. At summer session I happened in conversation with Grand Master Curtis to mention that I was doing some research on William H. Upton and his eyes instantly lit up. "I have something for you," he said but as if it was a Christmas present that I couldn't open until that special day had arrived, he said no more.

I had forgotten all about that brief conversation but Grand Master Curtis had not. We had just adjourned winter session when I heard my name called. "Brother Milliken" echoed in the hall but I couldn't fathom where the voice was coming from. Finally the Brother next to me nudged me and pointed to the Grand Master. And when I went up to the East to see what he wanted he handed me a DVD and said, "Here is that information on William Upton". I stammered, "But when am I going to be able to get this back to you?" "Don't worry about that, whenever we next meet", he replied.

Now this was really something quite special. It was a DVD of the joint Prince Hall/Mainstream Masonic Memorial Ceremony and monument dedication of June 8, 1991 in Walla Walla, Washington.

By now perhaps you are asking who was William H. Upton and why was a monument being dedicated to him? This remarkable man was the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Washinton State Mainstream Masonry in 1898 who first recognized Prince Hall Masonry. Yes I said 1898! To let you know how long ago that was, William McKinley was President and we had declared war on Spain. Teddy Roosevelt led the charge up San Juan Hill and the Buffalo Soldiers were in the thick of the battle.

But tremendous pressure was brought on the Grand Lodge of Washington including losing Mainstream recognition in many other states. So the recognition of Prince Hall was rescinded. But William Upton never ceased working to try to reinstitue the recognition. When he died his will stated that there was not to be any marker on his grave until such time as Black Masonry and White Masonry had joined in mutual recognition in Washington state.

It took almost a hundrd years but in 1990 the two Grand Lodges were joined in mutual recognition. And on June 8, 1991 Both Grand Lodges gathered to now lay a marker on William Upton's grave.

The DVD which the Grand Master gave me showed the full ceremony that day. Both Grand Lodges marching down the road to the cemetary in full Masonic dress, Prince Hall members on one side of the road and Mainstream on the other. Side by side they marched in this huge long line.

And when they got to the cemetary there were speeches and prayers and hugs and recognition of William Upton's surviving family that were there that day.

And above all there was the ceremony of the tombstone dedication where members of both Grand Lodges using the working tools of a Master Mason declared the work of engraved stone square, level and plumb. And as the veil was lifted from the stone all could read these words inscribed on it.

"This memorial commerates the fruition of the last will and testament of William H. Upton MW Past Grand Master Wash. F & AM who desired that all Masons regardless of color, should dwell together as recognized Masonic Brethren. This was accomplished in 1990 by actions of both Grand Lodges MW GL F&AM of Wash. and MW Prince Hall GL F&AM of Wash. Dedicated June 8, 1991 AL 5991"

If you go to the Internet you will find very little information about William H. Upton even though he authored the work "Light On A Dark Subject". Neither the Grand Lodge of Washington Mainstream or The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington show any material to this man on their websites. One of the few places that has anything solid on the man is Phoenix Masonry, that well run repository of so much fraternal history and objects. See: http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/light_on_a_dark_subject.htm

That's a crime. This Mason that should be revered and talked about and written about so that his story is within easy reach of any casual observer. As I sit here burning this DVD into copies, I know that this will be one of my Masonic treasures and I thank a thoughtful, kind Grand Master who follows in the footsteps of such a great man as William H. Upton. Thank you Grand Master Curtis!

Document Discovery Sheds Light On First American Grand Lodge

2009-01-13T13:37:00.004-06:00

Most of us remember that the first Grand Lodge in the world, the Premier Grand Lodge, is the Grand Lodge of England, now The United Grand Lodge of England, formed in 1717. Many of us remember that the second Grand Lodge in the world was the Irish Grand Lodge formed in 1725. I used to think this quite strange as one hears much more about how pervasive Freemasonry is in Scotland and not so much about Irish Masonry. But one must remember that it was common in these early years for Catholics to be Masons. The first Papal Bull written to condemn Freemasonry wasn’t published until 1738.

But that’s neither here or there. The $64 thousand dollar question (gosh bringing that phrase up to modern times it must be the million dollar question by now) is, what is the 3rd oldest Grand Lodge in the world? That depends on whom you are listening to. One thing for sure is that it is an American Grand Lodge.

Both Pennsylvania and Massachusetts claim that they are the 3rd oldest Grand Lodge in the world. Now it is obvious both can’t be right. Yet that hasn’t stopped a hotly contested argument that has been simmering for more than a century.

We know from records that are on file from the 1720s that both states had Masonic Lodges that met prior to any Grand Lodges being formed. And we also know that the Grand Lodge of England appointed two men to form Provincial Grand Lodges in “The Colonies”. It is on record that Daniel Coxe was deputized in 1730 for Pennsylvania and Henry Price was deputized in 1733 for Massachusetts.

Now best I can tell from the dispute is that Massachusetts claims that since Coxe did nothing and Price right away formed a Grand Lodge that it is entitled to the claim of 3rd oldest Grand Lodge. But Pennsylvania claims that the mere act of deputizing is sufficient evidence that a Grand Lodge was granted to Pennsylvania first. Massachusetts has always seemed to have a leg up in the dispute because of a letter written by Grand Master of Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin in 1734 to Massachusetts Grand Master Henry Price requesting that a charter be approved for his Grand Lodge under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

Wikipedia states:

Daniel Coxe
“However, it does not appear that Daniel Coxe ever organized a Provincial Grand Lodge, nor to have erected any lodges, nor ever exercised his authority in any way as Provincial Grand Master prior to his death on 25 April 1739. In fact, his death which was reported in the Pennsylvania Gazette by Benjamin Franklin, a member of the Tun Tavern Lodge in Philadelphia, does not even mention that Coxe was a Freemason, indicating that Franklin and the other members of the Craft in Philadelphia were unaware of his affiliation.”

Now further supporting the Massachusetts position is a recently discovered document in the archives of the Samuel Crocker Lawrence Grand Lodge library. It shows a Warrant for the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in the year 1764. But this whole situation is clouded by the quarrel between the Antients and the Moderns.

In Massachusetts the Antients and the Moderns went on fighting it out until 1792 when they merged, the Moderns winning out on most of the disputed positions. One of the stipulations to the merger was that there would be no numbers on any Massachusetts Lodges, thus neither an Antient Lodge nor a Modern Lodge could be #1.

In Pennsylvania the Antient/Modern split took on a different tack. The Moderns were the first Grand Lodge with the unknown date of charter the basis for this dispute. In 1757 the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Moderns) chartered Lodge #4. Lodge #4, however, insisted on practicing the Antient ways. Six months later their warrant had been recalled because of their actions. Lodge #4 then petitioned the Antient Grand Lodge in England for a charter to form a Provincial Grand Lodge for Pennsylvania. The Antient Warrant was issued in 1758 but lost in transit in 1761, reissued in 1763 and lost again and finally issued for the last time in 1764, which was retained.

Meanwhile the Modern Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania folded in the early 1760s. So the Grand Lodge that exists today is a descendent from the Antient Provincial Grand Lodge of 1764. And the document uncovered in the Massachusetts archive is that 1764 Warrant. Hopefully this settles the argument. But I doubt it.

Joint Wrap-Up to “Preventing Lodge Foreclosures”

2009-01-10T11:23:00.004-06:00

Part of a Cooperative Effort between The Beehive and The Masonic Line

The original article on The Beehive is here.
The 1st response on The Masonic Line is here.
The 2nd response on The Beehive is here.
The 3rd response on The Masonic Line is here.
The 4th response on The Beehive is here.
The 5th response on The Masonic Line is here.

STOP. This is a series that builds on each new post. Make sure you have read past posts before proceeding.

And now the JOINT WRAP UP is before you on both blogs.

From Squire Bentley:

Well it’s time to wrap this issue up. Hopefully it has been a lesson, a learning experience. Both of us are going to add our ending comments and then let you the reader think over the give and take that has led to two Brothers with different styles and different concepts of Freemasonry come together to try to raise awareness to a looming disaster.

You see we both agree that the ever declining economy is going to adversely affect American Freemasonry. And we both agree that now is the time to take steps to meet the challenges that we all will face in the coming months.

The fictional Lodge was only a means to an end. What they did or did not do is not the issue. What the choices available are and what could be done was what the lesson was. For in that it will be what others CAN do. To answer a question on the by-laws change to a tax exempt organization is that the by-laws change is referred to the Grand Lodge by-laws committee who rules on the matter. The recommendations of the committee are voted on by the Grand Lodge which is in most cases a formality since very few know the particulars.

It is true that this fictional Lodge let things go too long without calling the Lodge and any Masonic family tenants together to hold a congregational meeting on the problems. But that was the old guard. That’s the way they operated. The new guard came in and forced the issue. Now I wrote it this way because that is what is happening to many Lodges. We are going from 75 year olds in control to 25 and 30 year olds in control across our nation. We skipped a whole generation of Masons.

The plot was designed to see what the reaction would be to the clash between the old and the new both in the Lodge and between the Lodge and Grand Lodge where the 75 year olds are also entrenched. The Oldsters are entrenched in their ways and are very inflexible. The new Young Turks are hot headed and rash and know it alls. This is a scenario lived out in many other areas of organization in many different times.

The questions that need to be faced are can Grand Lodges across our nation in a time of crisis respond by allowing some departures from the norm? Can they meet the Young Turks halfway? Will they negotiate? Will they get out of the way and let local Masonry manage its own affairs? Do they have to enforce the letter of the law?

And will the Young Turks listen and respect the age old advice of their elders who have had much more experience than they have? Can they try to stay inside the rules and come up with Masonic solutions? Are they willing to work for solutions in combination with others instead of trying to go it alone? Will they avoid confrontation and seek accommodation?

I don’t have a lot of answers, just a bunch of questions. It’s up to you the reader to decide and hopefully carry the message and discussion into your Grand Lodge. Both of us hope that we have been some help to you.

From Palmetto Bug:

As Fred has already stated, the downturn in the economy is going to have a negative effect on lodges and Grand Lodges. Since these entities require money to operate, there is no way around it. The trick is figuring out now how to deal with the situation. Time may be running out for those lodges that were already hanging on by a shoestring.

Lodges that have developed schisms within their ranks – an example of which would be what Fred described when he mentioned the Oldsters and the Young Turks – will have an especially difficult time when it comes to meeting the economic challenges head on. I submit that existing schisms must be met addressed before any hope of positively dealing with economic matters can be realized.

It really all boils down to communication, openness, and being proactive rather than reactive. The players, which are ultimately all of the members of Freemasonry, also have to understand that there are rules and limitations that must be considered and adhered to while developing possible courses of action. This is no different that what we, as individuals, have to consider and deal with when faced with our own economic challenges. Example: Though robbing a bank is a possible solution to the problem of not having enough money to pay your mortgage and other bills, it is a solution that falls outside of the established rules and limitations.

Should the Grand Lodges be trying to help? Of course they should – though they also have economic issues to deal with while staying within certain limitations. The leadership of Grand Lodges should be facilitating discussion, calling together the financial experts of the Fraternity, and helping struggling lodges to make contact with the successful ones. I think that financial workshops may be a useful tool in assisting the lodges and the Grand Lodge to develop solutions – or at least to allow for brainstorming about the issues.

If a lodge is unable to find a solution to its financial problems, it is still not the end of the world. Lodges have come and gone since the earliest recordings of the existence of Masonic lodges and the merging of lodges is certainly not a new idea. Schisms are also not always the worst of things. Looking back over the years, we can find evidence that shows schisms sometimes led to the birth of new lodges. Either way, though the edifices of brink and mortar may fall, Freemasonry will survive.

Like Fred, I do not have the answers. I do know that a failure to be proactive will probably lead a lodge into a reactive mode. This leads to desperate and – sometimes – drastic actions, which are rarely a good thing. The real losers in a bad economy will be those Freemasons that choose a desperate and drastic solution that falls outside of the known rules and, by doing so, remove themselves from the Fraternity – kind of like the bank robber. It should never have to end that way.

I’ll end by quoting and agreeing with the Squire. “Both of us hope that we have been some help to you.”

4th Response To Preventing Lodge Closures

2009-01-06T21:32:00.003-06:00

Read the original post on The Beehive here.
Read the 1st Response here.
Read the 2nd Response here.
Read the 3rd Response here.

STOP. This is a series that builds on each new post. Make sure you have read past posts before proceeding.

As usual you can see in this back and forth debate the schism that divides Palmetto Bug and Squire Bentley. The former sees everything Grand Lodge does as the law, the final say and the righteous course. This view fails to take into consideration Masonic politics. The utopian picture painted by Palmetto Bug is just that, a scenario where majority rules and everything has been democratically decided. It is a rosy picture that has no relation to reality. I will remind you that Hitler was elected also.

The same reasoning has led many others to constantly say to me as I criticize Grand Lodge, “Fred if you don’t like the way things are being operated, run for office, work the system.” And my reply is as soon as those in power see that you are a reformer they will slam all doors in your face. You will never get appointed District Deputy or on any Grand Lodge Committee, necessary stepping stones to climb the Grand Lodge ladder.

Besides I shouldn’t have to become Grand Master to see my Grand Lodge do the right thing. If you look at Grand Lodges today with glasses on that show what is real not that which is theory, you will see that most Grand Lodges are ruled by a tight knit Oligarchy.

How is all this helping this poor Lodge that is in financial distress? Well the first thing you have to do is get by the premise that Grand Lodge can do no wrong. Gosh, I don’t even think the US government can do no wrong. You have to look at a problem and explore all possibilities. You have to lay all the cards on the table and say nothing is impossible.

My problem with the “Traditionalist” point of view as represented by Palmetto Bug is that it comes to the table with preconceived notions of how things must be done. Traditionalists are only willing to discuss solutions to a problem that match their view of how Freemasonry should operate. They come to a problem solving meeting with the “law” in their hands and foremost in their minds. They view every proposal to see if it fits into how Freemasonry has traditionally operated, thus they get the tag “Traditionalists.” Their approach to Masonic problem solving is always governed by what the by-laws, rules and regulations of their Grand Lodge say, which they carry with them as their Bible. They are the modern version of the Sadducees and Pharisees of Christ’s time.

This way of thinking automatically rules out any other course of action than narrowly prescribed in the “Book of C’ants”, which is what Grand Lodge by-laws, rules and regulations really are. But what about the can dos? In reality what is being said by the Traditionalists is that we can’t think outside the box (they have us boxed in). And if we do Traditionalists will tell us that we are heretical and unmasonic. But I maintain that we can’t solve problems this way. If we can’t consider all possibilities as possible then we are doomed before we start.

When we come together to try to fix what is broken we often are immersed in Conflict Resolution. If the Grand Master in question here was willing to sit down at the table and negotiate in good faith then perhaps all might come to some sort solution. But the problem is Grand Masters don’t negotiate and thereby lies the problem. There is no give and take, only the ax. Grand Masters refuse to make concessions. We wouldn’t allow such behavior in a labor-management dispute. And a ballplayer’s contract would never get signed if there was no true negotiation.

So what support are Grand Lodges offering to their chartered Lodges who are in serious trouble? Let me think. Now what Grand Lodge has had the vision in these tough economic times to see the need to plan ahead for a depression, a total economic meltdown? Besides marketing Masonry and trying to make Masons as fast as they can, what have USA Grand Lodges done to prepare for a disaster? Personally, if you were faced with the report of an oncoming hurricane would you not be making some preparations? I can’t think of one thing that any American Grand Lodge has publicized as guidelines, helping tools or a disaster preparation plan.

And this is one area Palmetto Bug and I see eye to eye on. We are in an economic recession. Personally I see us headed for a depression. I think that the stock market decline is only 50% of what it will end up bottoming out as. I see unemployment doubling and perhaps rising to 10%. I see American auto manufacturers either filing for bankruptcy or reducing their production and workforce by 2/3. I see many Masons not paying their dues or demiting.

Masonic Traveler has provided some interesting insight into Masonic membership during the last depression in 1929. Click here. What he has done is chart Masonic membership decline from 1959 to the present noting that for each decade there was an average of a 20% decline in membership. He also has shown an unusually large decline before this period in the 1929-1939 decade where membership dropped by 24%. I would think that decline might be attributed to America’s biggest and worse depression ever. So if terrible economic times does have an effect on membership then will we not experience the same today? If you couple a 24% economic depression effect with a 20% regular decline as evidenced in the last four decades, we could be looking at the Obama decade with a 44% loss of Masonic membership. Is not this possibility worth some planning ahead? Or are we just going to sit and wait for the tsunami to hit, because you see this is exactly what this fictional Lodge did. It just did nothing in the face of disaster. And if there is anything Palmetto Bug and I would like to do is to raise awareness of the seriousness of this issue.

So let’s get down to what can be done and what could have been done in our fictional Lodge’s case. Both Palmetto Bug and I along with Masonic Traveler would really like to see some sort of preparation and planning being made no matter what your point of view is or where you lie on the conservative/liberal Masonic spectrum.

I maintain that the fictional Lodge in question was backed into a corner with a lose/lose choice of action. No matter what they did at this point it was going to be a no win scenario. Palmetto Bug says the Lodge waited too long. And I say that that this is what Grand Lodges and Lodges across the USA are all doing right now. Freemasonry today should be in an emergency preparedness mode. Anybody see that anywhere? It’s human nature to be lazy and very easy to sit around and do nothing. And yes I agree a building is not a Lodge and a house of worship is not a church, but if you have a beautifully crafted building with much historical tradition who would want to practice their Masonry or worship elsewhere? In time a building becomes Holy ground and a historically protect treasure.

There is no reason that Masons across the country have to roll over and play dead. There is time to act and to pull our horns in as many businesses are doing also. There is time to hunker down and watch every penny and cut expenses as many, many families are doing right now. Why should Freemasonry be different? Here are some suggestions.

LODGES

1) Get together at your business meeting with this topic as your primary focus. Publicize the urgency and the necessity of having everybody on board in your Lodge Bulletin, Newsletter or Summons.
2) Pare down the budget. Eliminate luxurious expenditures immediately, especially Lodge supported social functions. Ask your membership for some special contributions now while they still have some money.
3) Consider a temporary District plan whereby only one Lodge in the District is used and all others are closed with heat/AC and all utilities shut off.
4) Cut out all charitable and community action programs immediately
5) Ask your Grand Lodge to forgive any Grand Lodge fees and payments until normalcy returns.
6) If you must stay open look for tenants who could pay you rent.
7) If your building is mortgage free consider taking out a loan via a short term mortgage. If you have a mortgage talk to the Bank or mortgage company about renegotiating your terms of payment.
8) Ask your city or town to relax any standards of outside upkeep so you can stop landscaping and snow removal services.
9) Renegotiate the insurance policy on your building, especially if it is temporarily closed.
10) If your Lodge is not on a tax exempt basis do what is necessary to institute that ASAP.

GRAND LODGES

1) Stop restricting local Lodges on who they can rent their building to. There is no harm in renting space to women’s Masonry, Co-Masonry, Prince Hall, GOUSA, Knights of Columbus, Sons of Italy, Franco-Americans, Knights of Pythias, churches, Temples, mosques, or most commercial enterprises.
2) Allow alcohol in the Masonic building to be a decision of each local Lodge as it sees fit. This Masonic Prohibition is really a corruption of Masonry whereby men’s personal religious belief has been codified by Masonry. The rest of the Masonic world has no problem with cocktails at the festive board.
3) Arrange for your whole jurisdiction to operate as a tax exempt organization
4) Negotiate a jurisdiction wide group insurance rate for all chartered Lodges.
5) Consider direct financial aid to those in most serious trouble and/or long term loans with Grand Lodge as the banker.
6) Instruct and send out your District Deputies with information and aid packets to all Districts. Call for District meetings to meet the problem head on.
7) Stop all Grand Lodge charities immediately. From now on your biggest charity is your chartered Lodges.
8) Limit Grand Lodge travel.

2nd Response To Preventing Lodge Foreclosures

2009-01-05T13:22:00.002-06:00

Before you read this post make sure you have read the Original post here on the Beehive and then the 1st response here.

Hannity…………er Palmetto Bug presents a cogent and well reasoned rebuttal and at first it might seem difficult to disagree with the points he has made.

Let’s talk specifically first and then we can get to general comments. In this fictional Lodge’s case the Old Guard or retired Past Masters ruled the Lodge. They pretty much let the Lodge run down hill constrained by the mindset of doing things as they had always done them. New younger leadership came in gradually to the point where the Old Guard lost their iron grip on the Lodge. I would maintain that this is a scenario often times repeated over and over again in Lodges across the USA. This newer younger leadership wasn’t used to doing things a certain way.

At first they tried to stay in the system and work within the rules. They petitioned the Grand Master for financial help, which was denied. They asked for an end to Masonic Prohibition (alcohol in the Masonic building) so they could attract paying functions. Request denied. They asked the Grand Master to allow them to rent their facilities to a Boxing Club who would put a gym in the building. The Grand Master said he didn’t think that a Boxing Club matched the image he wanted the Lodges in his jurisdiction to portray. Request denied. The new leadership of the Lodge was trying to find paying tenants who could use the building when it was idle to boost revenue and allow them to pay the operational costs and repair and restore what had been neglected.

The Masonic building had other Masonic tenants, an Eastern Star Chapter and York Rite – Chapter, Council and Commandery. The rent these other Bodies were paying had not been increased in 50 years. The new leadership of the Lodge raised the rent on these Bodies and rather than pay it they all moved out to another Masonic building whose leadership accepted them at their old cheap rate. The Master of the Lodge asked the Grand Master to prohibit that transfer. The Grand Master declined.

The Lodge asked the Grand Master to allow them to rent space to a Prince Hall Lodge. The Grand Master said no. The Lodge asked the Grand Master to allow them to rent space to the Knights of Columbus. The Grand Master said no.

The Lodge asked the Grand Lodge to allow the Lodge a by-laws change whereby the Lodge would reorganize itself into a charitable corporation and thereby apply for 501©3 tax relief. The Grand Lodge failed to approve the by-law change.

The Lodge approved a by-laws change that would increase their dues from $50 per year to $150; the last dues increase having been 1962. It was rumored that a Past Master with clout called the Grand Master to ask him to refuse to approve that by-law change. The Grand Lodge denied the dues increase. When asked why they said it was too drastic. Amore realistic increase would have been to $75.

Now generally speaking what we have here is the modern concept of Masonic management whereby the seat of power rests solely with Grand Lodge. But it wasn’t always that way which is why the chicken and the egg question is pertinent. If you look back at the 1800s you will find a good percentage of power rested with the local Lodge and Grand Lodge was not able to dictate every little thing to its charted Lodges. Grand Lodge then was more of a helper, an enabler. Modern Masonry has seen the rise of total Grand Lodge control where in many jurisdictions Grand Lodges micro manage the Craft. A local Lodge today cannot breathe without the Grand Master’s approval. And what has followed is that Grand Lodges are all about rules and regs. Many of them govern today using the US Army as a role model.

The first comment on the original post was made by the esteemed Robert Davis who reminds us that all Masonry is local. He said this:

"But your larger point is that all Masonry should be local. Grand Lodges should rarely enforce rules which threaten the closure of a local lodge; nor should they impede creative ideas which are otherwise legal under civil law and aimed at solving local problems. Every lodge should be sovereign enough to endow its membership and its phsyical plant, and otherwise employ all legal means to secure its financial future."

If we keep concentrating on an overly strict adherence to rules and regulations then we have a Society that truly reveres its Institution above everything else. But Grand Lodges are pushing people away with their top down authoritative rules orientated government. The forces of necessary change and local creativity are being held back by an Old Guard who would rather see Freemasonry wither and die then do things differently. And by gosh they may just get their death wish.

Hannity's Response

2009-01-04T21:53:00.004-06:00

1st Response to “Preventing Lodge Foreclosures”

Part of a Cooperative Effort between The Beehive and The Masonic Line

The challenge is in. The debate is on. Click here for the response

This debate is brought to you by Palmetto Bug & Squire Bentley the Hannity & Colmes of Masonic Blogisphere.

Preventing Lodge Foreclosures

2009-01-04T15:21:00.003-06:00

WHO IS BAILING OUT FAILING LODGES?

A FICTIONAL STORY THAT COULD BE TRUE

This is a story that could have happened but in reality is pure fiction. It’s really a sophisticated guess. It seems that there was this Lodge that had a once beautiful building that was falling into disrepair. With a dwindling membership and no other tenants it found it increasingly difficult to maintain and pay for the costs of this grand old piece of architecture. It was an albatross hanging around the Lodge’s neck. Try as they could by raising dues and holding fundraisers they just could not meet the operating costs of the building never mind keep ahead of its deterioration. Part of the problem was the hefty tax bill on the property. The solution that the Lodge came up with did not meet with the approval of the Grand Master. Let’s listen in on what might have been said.

GM = Grand Master M = Master of the Lodge

GM: I have come to meet with you to make it plain in no uncertain terms to you that your course of action in selling this Lodge building which belongs to Grand Lodge is a violation of the by-laws, rules and regulations of Grand Lodge and is cause for expulsion and loss of your Charter.

M: It is sad that it has come to this. Our building – or your building as you call it – was in a state of disrepair and we were not generating enough money to take proper care of it or really afford to own it unless we took drastic action to see that funds were available to save and restore it.

GM: But why did you sell it knowingly in violation of your Grand Lodge? Why did you not to seek to raise money through fundraisers and other legal means?

M: We never were able to obtain anywhere near the money we needed by raising dues and holding fundraisers. The amount we were able to raise fell far, far short of what was needed to save this grand old building. We put off the inevitable as long as we could but finally the day of reckoning came.

GM: Then you needed to give up the building and meet somewhere else, perhaps renting reasonable space or paying rent in another Lodge building

M: That was one course of action that had some following in our discussion and debate on the matter. Where it is a beautiful old building and your building as you say, why would you not provide the funds to save it? Why would you want one of your buildings to be condemned and face the wrecking ball?

GM: The Grand Lodge is not a bank or a charitable trust and I am not here to offer you money gathered from everybody else for your exclusive use to save your building. I am here to enforce the rules.

M: Now it is our building is it? It is ours when it comes time to pay for its upkeep, maintenance and operation. It’s yours when we decide to convert it into a moneymaker that will continue Freemasonry in a style that will attract new members and allow our Lodge to grow.

GM: If you don’t like Grand Lodge rules you have an opportunity to vote to change them at every Grand Lodge Session. Your action in selling Grand Lodge property is a direct violation of these rules and I must insist that you negate the sale or suffer the consequences. And if you cannot or refuse to do that then I command you to turn over to me and the Grand Lodge the proceeds of this illegal sale.

M: Here you are Grand Master. Here is what we got for the building.

GM: WHAT! YOU SOLD OUR BUILDING FOR ONE DOLLAR?

M: Well Grand Master you refused to help us. You refused to provide any funds so we could get out from under. You have refused to allow us to rent to paying tenants you do not approve of. You have refused to allow alcohol to be served in the building so that we could use the building when it sits idle as a banquet hall for weddings and functions. You have refused to put all YOUR Masonic Buildings in a tax-exempt status or allow us to do so. You have refused to negotiate group insurance rates for our buildings, contents and property. You have refused to use the power of economies to scale to financially aid your chartered Lodges in a time of declining membership and a depressed economy. You have refused to be of any assistance in our time of need. Lord knows that we have asked for your help many times over and informed you of our dire circumstances. Yet you sat on your hands and did nothing. You fiddled while Rome burned.

Now we have sold for next to nothing the Masonic building to a community charitable organization in which the Lodge and Lodge members have significant control. They have registered the building and all its activities and expenses as a 501©3 tax exempt operation. The new owners have rented out parts of the building to four well-heeled tenants among them a citywide boxing club. The charitable organization has been able to attain the finances needed to repair and maintain this beautiful building while we as a Lodge can continue to meet here and now totally rent free. We gave the building to charity and charity pays for and runs the building and returns our favor by charging us nothing as a tenant.

You have left us alone to solve our problems without any help from you or the Grand Lodge. We have come up with the only means we could to save the building and to be able to stay here and meet here as we have done for over a hundred years. At the same time we have seen to it that our involvement as Freemasons with charitable pursuits for the entire community has markedly increased.

Grand Master you could try to come to some kind of compromise with us.

GM: There is no compromise. It’s all there in black and white. You have violated your Grand Lodge and thereby have violated your obligations.

M: Grand Master, could we not come to some sort of middle ground here? The new owners are prepared to offer the Grand Lodge the right of first refusal if the building is ever put up for sale again. You would have the right to meet any offer made for this building and buy it back for the Grand Lodge. In the meantime our membership will increase with the building restoration and the increased activity within. This will mean more per capita money the Lodge will be sending into Grand Lodge.

GM: The Grand Lodge is never going to pay for what it already owns. Reverse the sale or be expelled and lose your charter.

M: What worth is there in owning a building that no longer can meet building and fire codes and will be abandoned only to be razed? There will be no building your way and you refuse to supply any assistance to repair the problems and restore the building, nor allow us to rent to the tenants we want to. Your rules and regulations are strangling us leaving us no other course of action then the one we have taken.

GM: And you fail to see that this is not about you but about the sanctity of the institution. First and foremost we must protect Freemasonry in this jurisdiction by enforcing the Grand Lodge by-laws, rules and regulations which have been put there for the survival of the many, not the interests of a few.

I see that you are committed to your course of action. Therefore your charter is now officially pulled and you are all expelled. And we shall see you all in court where maybe a judge will honor the Grand Lodge’s claim to its building.

M: We shall see you in court, Grand Master. Maybe a judge will see that in reality you have abandoned the building by not supplying the means or allowing the necessary steps to be taken to keep it alive.

And herein lies a problem that will become more and more prevalent as our economy sinks deeper and deeper into depression. Many Lodges across our nation have been struggling in good times to meet the expenses of owning a Masonic building. Now with hard times upon us look for Lodge “foreclosures” to rapidly increase.

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is known to have in excess of $300 million in its coffers. It spends all kinds of money on its pet projects and charitable projects yet it rarely will bail out any of its chartered Lodges in financial trouble. In fact because Grand Lodge donations were down it launched a $10 million Grand Lodge fund raising program in order that it did not have to tap into its $300+ million principle.

The very well respected Masonic blogger Masonic Traveler wrote a column asking whether American Masonry had become institutionalized. Do we revere and worship the institution rather than the philosophy? For you see if we worship the institution first then all other forms of Masonry are bogus even if they say the exact same thing which is a point that the blog The Middle Chamber has so deftly made.

The result is that we create artificial laws like the Right of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction so we can create a Masonic monopoly, then we write rules of recognition, of irregular Masonry and clandestine Masonry. Now we are the one and only true Masonry. We have created an institution that has a life of its own. It is then that the institution and its preservation uncorrupted comes first and the well being of people and the practice of the dogma or philosophy take a back seat. Ask Ed King. He will tell you all about it.

This is the exact position that the Catholic Church has taken and since it’s my church I feel I have a right to sound off about it (which I would not do to your house of worship). When the pedophile Priest scandal was first exposed what was the course of action the Catholic Church chose? They elected to cover it up, deny it and hide it, transferring sick Priests to another parish or non-parish duties. They did so because for them the first priority before anything else was the preservation of the Church, that is the institution. People and their suffering unfortunately have to endure in silence, they will tell you, because without the Church all would be lost. And while they are at it the Church will also tell you all about bogus and clandestine Christianity (see heresies and Protestantism).

Rome, which has billions in its coffers, takes the same attitude towards its local church’s financial woes as some Grand Lodges take to their failing local Lodges.

Once in awhile I contemplate which came first the chicken or the egg. I haven’t answered that query satisfactorily yet but I can answer which came first local Lodges or Grand Lodges? We all know the answer to that question. The problem is that while Grand Lodges used to sit at the will and pleasure of local Lodges, today local Lodges sit at the will and pleasure of Grand Lodges. And more and more Grand Lodges are cracking the whip. As they do so they purge themselves of any recalcitrants who would seek to deinstitutionalize Masonry and make it a more open society. They must keep the Institution pure, they will tell you, that’s the only way it will survive. What they are really doing is causing more fissures, splits and breakaways.

Meanwhile local Lodges like the one in our fictional story are begging for a bailout. Maybe these Lodges, these foreclosures, should turn to President Obama. After all the federal government is bailing out anybody and everybody!

Are we ready as we go deeper and deeper into economic collapse in the United States, as everybody pulls back and spends little and suspends all luxuries, to watch Masonic building after Masonic building across the USA be abandoned, foreclosed or sold? Are we ready to sit back following the same failed policies and hang tied by rules and regulations we fail to modify? Or are we going to think outside the box, get creative and meet this economic depression head on in order to survive in buildings in many cases that have thousands and thousands of dollars or irreplaceable artwork, wood work and specialized building construction? Are we going to just walk away from these hand crafted works of art to go meet at someone’s house or a church or the back room of a tavern?

Are we men enough and secure enough in our ability to keep our private affairs private to hire professionals to help us manage our finances and our assets? Can we run our Lodges like a business and make a profit? Are we willing to procure the most advantageous tax structure for our Lodges? Are we willing to modify overly strict rules and regulations to enable us to maximize the use of our buildings? Can we make our Lodge property pay for itself? Are we as a Lodge willing to put ourselves into the hands of an outside professional business manager who can run the financial/business side of our Lodges so that we can stay afloat? Or are we going to continue to muddle through until we are left with no choice but to walk away from it all?

Are not many Lodges now spending every penny they can raise on just keeping their building open? Doesn’t that severely limit what a Lodge can do in the way of providing good Masonic programs? And isn’t the lack of good Masonic programs hurting our ability to attract new members? Aren’t most Lodge mergers the result of one Lodge’s economic collapse?

Isn’t this really a vicious cycle? We are so crippled by the expense of our buildings that we have no money for anything else. We can’t go anywhere as a Lodge, have grand dinners, put on a family BBQ or a Ladies night of dinner and dancing or pay for an outside featured speaker for our Lodge because we have no money. Every cent we raise goes into keeping our buildings open. Doesn’t then what we can do as a Lodge become very limited? Doesn’t that limitation severely hamper our ability to attract new members? Because we get no new members doesn’t that limit the amount of money coming into our bank account? No money means no programs which means no new members which means less and less money. We are going around and around in a vicious circle.

What would you do about it? Was the fictional Lodge in this story justified in its actions?

Before

2009-01-04T15:14:00.012-06:00

After

2009-01-04T15:06:00.014-06:00

Edinburg Register House MS

2009-01-02T22:40:00.000-06:00

I received in the mail recently from the Scottish Rite Research Society, the book titled “Light on Masonry” written by Arturo de Hoyos. He is quite a researcher. The book is a reprint of the famous expose by that name written by David Bernard in 1829 in the Morgan Affair period of anti Masonry. Along with Bernard’s expose de Hoyos adds a history of Masonic exposes and his own analysis.

He briefly describes a list of other exposes with the earliest being not an expose but a memory aide for Brethren. The Edinburgh Register House MS was written in 1696 and predates the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge by 21 years. It is the earliest complete description of Masonic ceremony known. We are just given a brief taste of that work.

Naturally Masonic ritual was quite different then from today with also there being only two degrees. But what is so fascinating is that which is the same. The first degree penalty is exactly as it is today over 300 years later. The five points are exactly the same. The answer to the question, “How shall I know you to be a Mason”, is the same. The grips and words are not revealed in this writing. But it does say that the Lodge faces east and west as is the temple at Jerusalem.

Some of the other points that are different but interesting are the three jewels which are said to be Perpend Esler, a square pavement and a broad oval. The key to the Lodge is found three foot and a half from the Lodge door under a perpend esler, and a green divot. But under the lap of my liver where all my secrets of my heart lie.

Life is about change and surely Freemasonry has evolved from its early history to be rewritten and then rewritten again. But I just had a glimpse into the Craft before Anderson’s Constitutions and Preston/Webb ritual. And what I see has connected me to those who have gone before me and that makes me very proud and infused with a spirit or reverential awe.

Listening To Wise Counsel

2009-01-01T07:43:00.003-06:00

Today is the first day of a New Year and the first day of the rest of my life.

Some wise counsel has been passed onto me and seeing the merit in what has been said I pass it onto y'all.

New Year's Resolutions: The Two Lists
From Daily OM at http://www.dailyom.com/

I was fortunate to spend time with an enigmatic man named Robert during a very special period of my life. Robert taught me many things during our days together, and this time of year reminds me of one particular interaction we had.

"Now that you are becoming more aware," Robert said, "you need to begin to set goals for yourself so you don't lose the momentum you have built."

"Like New Year's resolutions?" I asked.

"That's an interesting idea," he smirked. "Let's do that."

By then I was used to his cryptic responses, so I knew something was up because of the way his eyes sparkled as he let out an impish laugh.

"Tonight's assignment is to make two lists," Robert continued. "The first is a list of all the New Year's resolutions you WANT to keep, and the second is a list of all the New Year's resolutions you WILL keep. Write the WANT List first, and when you have exhausted all of your ideas, then write the second list on another sheet of paper."

That night I went home and spent several hours working on the two lists. The WANT List felt overwhelming at first, but after a while I got into writing all the things I had always wanted to do if the burdens of life hadn't gotten in the way. After nearly an hour, the list swelled to fill the entire page and contained nearly all of my ideas of an ideal life. The second list was much easier, and I was able to quickly commit ten practical resolutions that I felt would be both realistic and helpful.

The next day, I met Robert in front of the local food Co-op, where we seemed to have most of our enlightening conversations. "Tell me about your two lists," Robert said as the familiar smirk crept onto his face.

"The first list contains all the things I SHOULD do if I completely changed my life to be the person I always wanted to be. And the second list contains all the things I COULD do by accepting my current life, and taking realistic steps towards the life I want to lead."

"Let me see the second list," he said.

I handed him the second list, and without even looking at it, he ripped the paper into tiny pieces and threw it in the nearby garbage can. His disregard for the effort I had put into the list annoyed me at first, but after I calmed down I began to think about the first list in a different light. In my heart, I knew the second list was a cop out, and the first list was the only one that really mattered.

"And now, the first list." Robert bowed his head and held out both of his hands.

I purposefully handed him the first list and held his gaze for several seconds, waiting for him to begin reading the page. After an unusually long silence, he began to crumple the paper into a ball and once again tossed it into the can without looking at it.

"What did you do that for?!" I couldn't hide my anger any longer.

Robert began to speak in a quiet and assured voice. "What you SHOULD or COULD do with your life no longer matters. The only thing that matters, from this day forward, is what you MUST do."

He then drew a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to me.

I opened it carefully, and found a single word floating in the middle of the white page:

"Love."

Remember we are human beings. Yes, you say. Human beings not human doings. So let's look inside ourselves more often this year and boast less about what we have accomplished on the outside.

We are human beings not human doings and our soul development is the most important thing in our life. What we are as a person is much more important than what we have done.

Spend some private time in contemplative study with the philosophy of Freemasonry. Remember Masonry is a way of life!

We are human beings not human doings.

A Lodge of the Holy Saints John of Jerusalem

2008-12-31T21:12:00.003-06:00

The last broadcast of Masonic Central was a Table Lodge and all had a fun time. As I had to rise at 3:30 AM for work the next day I confined my toasts to some good English hot tea. Along the way in performing the seven toasts we came to the one for The Holy Saints John. After the toast we had a pretty good discussion going between the hosts Greg Stewart and Dean Kennedy, and Stephen Dafoe and myself about “From the Lodge of the Holy Saints John of Jerusalem.”

Why do we as Masons say we are from a Lodge of the Holy Saint Johns or John? I did some investigating and found that Ed Halpaus had written an essay on the subject that was most fascinating, so I will bring you his words on the subject. If you aren’t familiar with Ed Halpaus, he hails from the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, Mainstream where he has served as Grand Lodge Education Officer. He publishes two Masonic subject essay mailings that one can subscribe to. One is Mehr Licht (More Light) and the other T.F.S. (Three, Five and Seven). You can request to be put on his mailing list by E-Mailing him at ed@halpaus.net and mentioning the titles of the mailings in your request. I am a regular subscriber and always find Brother Halpaus spreads mucho light!

Brother Halpaus says that in answering the question who was the Holy St. John that is referred to in the phrase “the Lodge of the Holy Saint John”, a French Mason by the name of Bazot claims that it was St. John the Almoner. His father was King of Cyprus but he gave up his title to the throne to go to Jerusalem to assist the Knights and pilgrims of the Crusades. There he did much in charitable relief and acts of benevolence. St. John the Almoner was canonized by both the Greek and Roman Catholic churches and there were two feast days in his honor on November 11th and January 23rd.

But Brother Halpaus goes on to point out that is false that it was St. John the Baptist as the day the Grand Lodge of England was formed in 1717 was held on June 24th, Saint John the Baptist day. Later St. John the Evangelist was added to the mix.

But there is a Masonic connection here, says Brother Halpaus. St. John the Almoner is the patron Saint of the Masonic Order of the Templars on account of his charity to the poor and his building of hospitals in Jerusalem.

But what was most interesting that Brother Halpus had to say was before the year 1440 the Masonic Fraternity was known by the name of John’s Brothers and subsequently Freemasonry as practiced in the USA, Ireland and Scotland was called Johannite Masonry. Here you will find the Masonic symbol of “The Point Within The Circle” “So the first three degrees conferred by the Symbolic Lodges in these countries”, Hapaus goes on to say, “is sometimes , although rarely now, called Johannite Masonry, because those Lodges are dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.”

In England the terms St. John Lodges and St. John Masons were applied to those who were Freemasons before the Premier Lodge of England was formed and who in 1717 did not join the new Grand Lodge. They became old unrecognized Lodges and remained Trinitarian Christian while the new Grand Lodge of England was non sectarian. Right about now I am thinking about the difference in focus between American Prince Hall Masonry and American Mainstream Masonry and the interview on Masonic Central of Texas Prince Hall Deputy Grand Master Michael Anderson. There is much that can be said about the biblical roots of Freemasonry.

A question I asked on the radio show was why Jerusalem? A Lodge of the Holy Saints John yes, but why Jerusalem? And of course the obvious answer was that this is the area where King Solomon’s Temple was located. But I was searching for a still deeper symbolism here. And I found it when I read Brother Halpaus’ article.

“Jerusalem”, says Halpaus, “has a symbolic meaning of peace, rest and contentment. The name Jerusalem means City of Peace”. I have long held that world peace and Freemasonry have a direct correlation, and that every Lodge room is a sanctuary of peace and harmony and accord.

Brother Halpaus starts his article with a quote from the Book of Common Prayer. I will end with it.

“O pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls; and plenteous within thy palaces. For my brethren and companion’s sakes; I will wish thee prosperity. Yea, because of the house of the Lord our god; I will seek to do thee good.”

Prince Hall Masonry On The Radio

2008-12-30T20:03:00.003-06:00

On December 7, 2008 R.W. Michael T. Anderson, Deputy Grand Master of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas appeared on the radio podcast Masonic Central. This podcast is nationally and internationally known and has recently interviewed such Mainstream notables as Brothers Chris Hodapp, S. Brent Morris, Robert Davis, Tom Jackson, Stephen Dafoe and Nelson King to name a few. So Brother Anderson followed some heavy hitters on a radio show that is doubling its listeners every two months.

Assisting the Co-owners Brothers Greg Stewart of California and Dean Kennedy of Nova Scotia, Canada interview Brother Anderson was Texas Prince Hall’s own Brother Frederic L. Milliken of Pride of Mt. Pisgah #135, Dallas, Texas.
Brother Anderson was able to paint for his audience a good picture of Prince Hall Masonry. He emphasized his belief that Masonry is not about outward appearance but rather inward character. He spoke lovingly about his Masonic mentor Lawrence “Pap” Anderson who instilled in him the importance of getting a good Masonic education and having a solid foundation of knowledge about the Craft.

Talking about how Masonry affects the individual, Brother Anderson said that you ought to be able to identify a Mason by his actions. “My actions should speak louder than anything else”, he emphasized. “Even if someone doesn’t know you are a Mason, they should be thinking that there is something different about that man”, he added.

He answered questions on the numbers of Texas Prince Hall Masons by saying it is not the quantity of men that we should be concerned about but the quality. Another question was asked about the emphasis upon Christianity within Prince Hall Masonry and Brother Anderson answered that Masonry should always point a Brother to the church. And then he said something about the Bible on our altars that everybody listened intently to. “The more words you put in you, the more words come out of you”, he said.

A question was asked about the longevity of service of Prince Hall Grand Masters and Brother Anderson replied that he thought it was a good thing and allowed Grand Masters to implement some long range visions. He said that he was very, very appreciative of Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis and all he has done to being a new attitude to Prince Hall Texas and how growth even in mid winter Grand Lodge attendance has increased, reflecting the Brothers love for the continued leadership of their Grand Master. He spoke about Grand Master Curtis’s hard work in getting a compact signed with the Grand Lodge of Texas for Prince Hall recognition and the subsequent recognition by UGLE.

And still another question was about the Masonic Family and the cooperation and closeness of the rapidly growing Bodies of The Eastern Star and Heroines of Jericho. Brother Anderson spoke about the importance placed on the fraternalism of the entire Prince Hall Family.

Many people across the USA and Canada were exposed to a better understanding on just what Prince Hall Masonry is like and we can thank Brother Anderson for that. If you were there live on December7, 2008 you not only got a good show but an unrecorded after show. For those that were not there the show can be accessed on podcast on the Masonic Central website http://masoniccentral.blogspot.com/. Knowledge begets understanding and understanding begets pride in your fraternity. You can tell that when you listen to Brother Anderson. So could the rest of North America.

Fremasonry and Christmas

2008-12-22T22:02:00.000-06:00

Compliments of Brother Neil Neddermeyer who writes Cinosam.

FREEMASONRY AND CHRISTMAS

The observance of Christmas doesn't seem to bring satisfaction to some people. On one hand, many say it's too religious, and thus don't want Christmas trees in public buildings and nativity scenes within a shepherd's-crook length of government lawns. On the other hand, many say it's not religious enough; it's too commercial. They've been saying it for years-it's the central theme behind the charming animated cartoon A Charlie Brown Christmas which was made some 40 years ago.

Setting that aside, what does Christmas mean to the Freemason?

Certainly Freemasonry is not a religion, Christian or otherwise. It leaves the determination on spiritual matters to each individual Mason, so long as he believes in the Almighty Creator. But there are certain messages from the story of Christmas that are applicable to all Masons, not just those who celebrate a certain birth on December 25th.

Many Christians feel God gave his greatest gift to mankind, and that Gift's birth is marked on Christmas Day. And the spirit of giving is also outlined in our Masonic ceremonies. The new Entered Apprentice is reminded in the northeast corner of charity, and to practice it whenever possible. There's the monetary charity of that portion of our ceremony. And there's another kind. The one referred to in the Charge in the same degree which admonishes "to relieve his necessities, soothe his afflictions, and do to him as you would that he, under similar circumstances, should do until you." In other words, the Golden Rule, from the Sermon on the Mount.

Christmas is a time of faith for our Christian brethren. But all Masons are reminded in the different degrees of the principle of faith. In the explanation of the First Degree Tracing Board, we hear "How ready and willing ought we to be to adore the Almighty Creator." Therefore, let this time of year serve as a reminder to all Masons to practice their faith, whatever it may be.

Faith and Charity are names of principal staves or rounds on the Ladder you see every meeting on that Tracing Board. But there is another round, and that is Hope in Salvation. While Salvation has a particular connotation to those who believe in the story of the virgin birth, the concept of some kind of reward for following Masonic principles during our lives winds its way through the various degrees, as those of you familiar with the working tools explanations of the Second and Third Degrees well know.

So let this season of the year remind all Masons, no matter what their religious beliefs, to follow those universal tenets of the Craft-faith, hope and charity. Doing so should bring satisfaction to you at Christmas-time.

Jim Bennie, PDDGM
Southern Cross No. 44, Vancouver B.C.

What Would You Do As Grand Master #9

2008-12-14T20:20:00.003-06:00

Here is a young Texas Mason soon to be shipped out to Afghanistan. He writes a very interesting personalized Blog, From Darkness To Light. This is our future. Long after I am sitting in The Celestial Lodge Above, this thoughtful Mason will still be here and my bet is as a big leader.
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To begin this I would say that I have been from one side of this country to the other and have visited Masonic Lodges in between, and what works in Santa Fe, New Mexico might not work in Alexandria, Virginia and for that I give your rule number one, if it isn’t broke, then don’t fix it. Bottom line if a lodge is bringing in new members, having a positive impact in the community, teaching esoteric work, or whatever than there isn’t a justification or a reason to mess with the way that lodge is doing business. That being written, there would be some changes that I think could help jump start Freemasonry in the 21st century.

Offer up a choice of blue lodge types: I think that anyone that has been a Master Mason for six months knows that there are vast difference between lodges, even within a Masonic District, I would like each Masonic District to have at least three types of lodges available, Traditional Observance “like” Lodges, 20th Century Traditional Lodges, and Community Outreach Lodges. Traditional Observance “like” Lodges would have a heavy emphasis on ritual and esoteric work, would meet in dark suits or tux have table lodge once a month, and require papers written by it’s members. 20th Century Traditional Lodges, are the lodges that most people think of today, with an emphasis on fellowship (fish fry’s, pancake breakfasts, etc) is proficient at the ritual, and does small charity events. Community Outreach Lodges while meet all of the tenants of a Masonic lodge do extensive work in the local community and other Masonic charitable organizations.

I believe a key in to attracting quality candidates is giving them an option to choose which lodge meets their needs, all potential candidates who are serious about joining Freemasonry would be briefed on each lodge and encouraged to visit each type to find which Masonic journey route they would like to go. Some candidates want to join the same lodge that Father or Grandfather joined, and that’s fine, but we want to give everyone a choice in the type of lodge they would join. Far be it for me to say that only one kind of lodge is the only way to save Freemasonry.

Now living in a state like Texas and realizing that there are large rural areas that can hardly support one lodge let alone three, I refer you to rule number one, and would allow the members of that lodge to decide their best route given their membership (again, it’s about choice and the choices the brothers want to make).

Celebration of your Lodge’s Heritage: In the race to cure “Masonic World Hunger” (MWH) most have forgotten the little things that build pride and attract membership, that’s the foundation and the beginnings of your lodge. I don’t care if a lodge was founded in 1797 or 1997 it has a unique story of brotherhood and leadership that needs to be celebrated both within the walls of our temples and in the local community. That is why I would dedicate October as a month that all lodges celebrate their founding and telling the story of how they came to be, both within a tyled meeting and the community at large.

Encouragement of Younger Brothers Involvement @ Grand Lodge: A common theme that we get in our fraternity is why we aren’t attracting good men anymore, one of the factors in my mind is that Freemasonry in America has become an aging institution that isn’t putting it’s best and brightest and younger members forward, instead we rely on retired lawyers, judges, and doctors to be our face. While that brings a sense of stability, it isn’t doing much to attract men in their 20’s and 30’s. We need to celebrate our younger members, their professional achievements and have them be actively involved @ the Grand Lodge level. I am not saying that after a guy is raised slap a DDGM badge on him, but there are plenty of ways to encourage involvement at all levels, without being a Past Master, this can encourage something other than the old grey hairs we see in our local newspaper.

Community Work with Other Masonic Organizations: To help build relationships and ease tension I would work with The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas in a joint Community Outreach program to positively impact a community hit by disaster (hurricane, draught, etc). This would be a partnership between two non-profit organizations with one common goal, the relief of our common man. This would hopefully lead to both sides of the aging organizations to realize that they are not in competition with each other for membership and start to heal scars that were brought by the past. We have already recognized each other; why not work together in the areas that we have commonality.

These are the initiatives that I would feel would help our Fraternity, would it solve “Masonic World Hunger”? No, but giving brothers and candidates a choice in their Masonic experience is a key component, along with showcasing younger brothers and having a positive impact on the community beyond raising small amounts of money, but giving time and labor can have a lasting impression.

Understanding Prince Hall Freemasonry

2008-12-10T21:26:00.003-06:00

On December 8, 2008 the Deputy Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas, Michael T. Anderson, appeared on the radio podcast Masonic Central and I had the honor of helping to interview him. This was an exposure of Prince Hall right from the horse’s mouth to an audience of mainly Mainstream Masonry from all over.

This show has a blog or chat board that allows those logged on not only to listen to the interview but also to post questions or carry on a conversation with others logged in. There were questions but what got my attention were some of the comments. “We are farther apart than I thought we were”, said one. “He’s preaching”, another blurted out. It’s not that these comments were disrespectful because they were not. It was the chasm of understanding that still needed to be overcome that sunk in.

Most Mainstreamers do not understand the closeness of Prince Hall to Christianity and why prayers to Jesus are allowed in Lodge. They have “sanitized” their Freemasonry and put up a wall of separation between spirituality and Masonry. To understand why Prince Hall operates as it does you need to go back into Black history.

Black people whether slave or free were not allowed to go down to the park and hang around or sit around and talk at the General Store, or attend the town BBQ and Fair or meet at the Grange or have a picnic together. Blacks were not allowed to congregate on their own lest they be a threat to White society and later during segregation Blacks were only allowed to assemble in non White areas which unless you owned property amounted to nowhere - nowhere but the one place where Blacks were permitted to assemble in large numbers, the Black Church.

So if you were a Black man and you wanted to meet a woman, you met her at the church. If you wanted men friends you met them there also. If you were looking for a tutor or some knowledge in an area you went to the church. If you wanted to inquire about Freemasonry you did so at the church. And in later years you most often met the Black politician running for office in your area at the church.

From the Black church flowed everything, not because that is the way Blacks chose it but because that is the way it was forced upon them. Consequently 99% of all Black Masons came from the church. The church was the one area where you got to know strangers. 150 to 200 years ago all Blacks were Christians and mainly churched in just a few different denominations. So every Mason coming from the same religion and the same few churches made the Lodge a gathering of church men expressing their spirituality and their Masonry together.

In the Black community everything became intertwined. Areas of life living were not segregated into little boxes of isolation. Freemasons were very active in the community in Black politics, community action and charity. Politicians and community activists were active in the church and often came to disseminate their message from the church pulpit. Many male church members were Freemasons and brought their religion with them into the Lodge since everyone else there was of the same persuasion. The Black community has never accepted the “Separation of Church and State” Doctrine. Prince Hall Freemasonry is not secular but religious. The Black political world, the religious world and the Masonic world were some of the same people with different hats on, the same people who went around and around in an interconnected circle. There was no wall of separation. Since many Black Lodges were not well heeled most met at the church. The Black church on certain nights became the Black Lodge building.

Now times have changed. You see many Blacks in denominations previously unheard of such as Roman Catholicism. You see some Black people in different religions other than Christianity, such as Islam. Prince Hall isn’t exclusively Christian. It admits men of all religions and will obligate them on the Sacred Volume of Law that pertains to their religion. And today you will find a small mix of others in the Prince Hall system who do not feel uncomfortable at all because Prince Hall only allows the expression of one’s faith not the proselytizing or conformity to any religious dogma.

But we are talking about association not the practice of Freemasonry. We are talking how men act and behave as they gather in the Lodge feeling close to each other. They act out their traditions, they way they were raised, especially when all present feel exactly the same. But that is not the same as practicing and teaching what Freemasonry is all about.

It is the failure of Mainstream Masonry to take any responsibility for the traditions of the Black community and the way Black Freemasonry developed that is the problem today. It is the failure of Mainstream Masonry to take any responsibility for a duly chartered branch of Masonry that always practiced regular Freemasonry and observed the Landmarks to be declared Clandestine for over 200 years. It is the failure of Mainstream Masonry to take any responsibility for creating a monopoly in each state by the American Doctrine of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction thereby deliberately blocking Black Freemasonry and then today to say that Prince Hall would be recognized only if it wasn’t a separate Grand Lodge. It is the failure of Mainstream Masonry to take any responsibility because today it says that only solution is a merger whereby Mainstream would dominate and change Prince Hall when for 200 years Prince Hall has sought inclusion within Mainstream Masonry.

All these considerations and issues aside Prince Hall Freemasonry vehemently denies that it is injecting Christianity into the practice of its Freemasonry. What it is saying is that Masonry is scripture based and that the building of King Solomon’s Temple and the playing out of the legend of Hiram Abiff are all Biblically based and therefore to study and connect those scriptures to the knowledge a Freemason needs to learn adds understanding and meaning to the whole process.

There is no proselytizing of Christianity or any particular Christian denomination in the Prince Hall Lodge room. Nor are other religions prohibited from joining and being raised on their Volume of The Sacred Law.

What a Prince Hall Mason would say is that connecting scripture from which the story of Freemasonry originates is putting into context the whole story, the whole meaning of the teachings and virtues of the fraternity. It is not injecting religion into the Lodge room it is making the philosophy of Freemasonry complete.

In many Mainstream Lodges upon being raised the Lodge presents a “Masonic Bible” to a new Master Mason. Some Mainstream jurisdictions even have ritual that goes with the presentation. This “Masonic Bible” is merely the King James Version with scriptural references to the ritual of Freemasonry or a Masonic concordance. All that Prince Hall is doing is alluding to these scriptural references (that Mainstream agrees are there) and pulling out the full Biblical story. From King Solomon’s Temple to Jeptha Judge of Israel to Hiram King of Tyre and Hiram Abiff these stories are all in the Bible. By knowing the full story and all that preceded and followed it within a Masonic scriptural reference a Mason is provided a rounding out of knowledge so that the whole story of King Solomon’s Temple can be seen in its full context.

When I do Bible readings for my church my Pastor asks me to read beforehand for my own edification the whole chapter from whence the reading comes so that I will understand the whole context of the story and the point being made.

If you have had a chance to listen to the podcast on Masonic Central with Brother Anderson you will notice that I asked Brother Anderson to explain what and why The Book of Ruth is taught to every Prince Hall Mason. Not only do we learn that a testimony in Israel was when a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor but also it is there we meet Boaz. The full story of Boaz has a very definite moral teaching and every Prince Hall Mason knows the connection of Boaz to Jesus. Boaz was from the house of Jesse and this lineage produced David that went on to give us Jesus.

What we are talking about here is Faith not religion:

“The covering of a Lodge is the clouded canopy or starry decked heaven, where all good Masons hope at last to arrive by the aid of a ladder, called Jacob’s Ladder, having three principal rounds denominated Faith, Hope and Charity;”

IT’S FAITH NOT RELIGION that permeates the Lodge.

Prince Hall Masons would say that the story of the Building of King Solomon’s Temple is taken out of context unless the scriptural references are pursued and tied in to allow the full meaning to blossom. Most of these scriptural references in the Blue Lodge are Old Testament, which is not a direct tie to Christianity.

So Prince Hall Masons looking at Mainstream Masonry would say it is practicing Masonry out of context and without the scriptural story it is secular Masonry, neutered so as not to offend and so bland so to be politically correct. Prince Hall Masons would point out that there is no Constitutional right not to be offended and that they will maintain their position of wishing any and all a Merry Christmas along with continuing to teach Freemasonry as a scripturally based philosophy.

Perhaps this is too harsh an assessment or you might think an exaggeration. But the constant criticism of Mainstream Masonry leveled at Prince Hall without researching the facts of the situation and the history behind traditions which is available to anyone who would take the time to search and investigate, only spreads disharmony, discord and disunity.

On The Radio, RW Michael T. Anderson

2008-12-08T21:35:00.005-06:00

Deputy Grand Master, Michael T. Anderson of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas appeared on the Masonic radio show Masonic Central Sunday 12/07/08. It was an opportunity for Prince Hall Masonry to become more well known and hopefully better understood.

"Masonry is moving towards what its true meaning is - you don't judge a Mason by his outward appearance but by his inward character", said Brother Anderson.

He went on to explain how he got involved with Freemasonnry and the influence his mentor "Pap" Anderson had on his Masonic development. The great emphasis that he places on knowledge was something that Pap instilled in him. One of the fine examples he used was the application of the 24 inch guage to daily life.

Brother Anderson also spoke about what the Masonic Order really stands for, the importance of community, Prince Hall's close identity with Christianity, and the greatness of the sitting Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis and the signing of the compact of recognition with Mainstream Masonry in Texas.

All this and more are available for you to listen to, preserved in podcast form, merely by logging onto

Masonic Central

A 26/11 Survivor Story From the Front Lines of Mumbai/Bombay India

2008-12-05T23:23:00.000-06:00

My friend in India is a Freemason and when he came to Massachusetts we went to Lodge together. I sent him an E-Mail inquiring of his well being after the terrorist violence and killings broke out and this is what he sent me back (ALL NAMES WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY).

Yes by God's grace we are OK. I live in South Bombay, at Churchgate, and all of the action was within 2 kilometers from my house. The Taj, Trident (Oberoi) and Nariman house is south of me. The CST (Victoria Terminus) and Cama hospital is east of me. And the Metro Cinema and Bombay Hospital are bang on the street behind my house to my north. All within walking distances.

The Freemason's hall is just 2 blocks away from the CST terminus where the first shots were fired at about 10.30 pm. Many of the brethren living in the suburbs commute by train to CST and then walk to the Hall. There was a Provincial Grand Lodge of Ireland in India meeting going on, and they were at the banquet table when the commotion occurred just outside. At first they thought it must be some fire-crackers, but there were people running about on the road outside. So, they sent one of our Hall orderlies out to see what was happening, and he came back to report that there was some gang war and shooting going on outside - which was an impossible thing in south Bombay. And within minutes, all mobile phones started ringing with people calling from home to let those who were inside know of what was going on, as it started coming on all the TV channels. Meanwhile, many pedestrians, escaping from the shooting at CST got into the foyer of the Freemason's hall for shelter. And then, the dinner was ended fast and the brethren started dispersing very cautiously. Later, I am told, every one reached home safely. This was on the very first day, (Wednesday) when no one yet knew what was happening. Returning by train was impossible. But many of the brethren got lifts or shared taxis to reach home.

Then on Friday we had our Scottish District Grand Lodge installation which was postponed as the "War" was in full swing. On Saturday, we had our District Grand Conclave (Order of the Secret Monitor) installation meeting which was also postponed. By Saturday, the action at all fronts was over, but yet Bombay had a deserted look, and nobody would have come for the meeting anyway. Besides, till about noon, mo one knew when this carnage would be over. Let's see - tomorrow (Monday) all will be back to normal - hopefully. Except that everyone would be going home early after Office. No late-nights for a long time, I presume. Otherwise, Bombay is alive and awake till well past midnight.

And Brother Fred, thank you for your concern.

With Fraternal regards,
XXX

He followed that up today with a message he received from one of his friends. This is bone chilling.

Dear friends,
First, I wanted to thank you all for the incredible concern and support that you'll have given me over the past few days which have been among the most emotionally and psychologically draining of my life.

By the grace of God my father was rescued from the Oberoi on Friday with two (minor) bullet wounds and is now speedily recovering. He did however lose the two best friends he was dining with that fateful night (who are like godfathers to me). We also lost a lot of other friends and colleagues and have watched our beloved city reduced to a war zone and brought to its knees.

On Wednesday night, my father and his two friends arrived at the Indian restaurant on the first floor of the Oberoi Hotel for dinner at about 10pm. They had barely sat down when they heard gun shots in the lobby of the hotel. The terrorists, armed with AK-47s, grenades and plastic explosives, had entered the hotel and were executing everybody sitting in the ground floor restaurant. Realizing the situation, the staff of the restaurant my father was in asked them to quickly exit through the kitchen.

As the guests tried to rush into the kitchen, one terrorist burst into the restaurant and began to shoot anyone that remained in the restaurant. At this point my father was in the kitchen and along with his two friends rushed to the fire exit. They had barely descended a few steps when they were trapped from both ends by terrorists.

The terrorists then rounded up anyone alive (about 20 people) and made them climb the service staircase to the 18th floor. On reaching the 18th floor landing they made the people line up against a wall. One terrorist then positioned himself on the staircase going up from the landing and the other on the staircase going down from the landing. Then, in a scene right out of the Holocaust, they simultaneously opened fire on the people. My father was towards the center of the line with his two friends on either side. Out of reflex, or presence of mind, he ducked as soon as the firing began. One bullet grazed his neck, and he fell to the floor as his two friends and several other bodies piled on top of him. The terrorists then pumped another series of bullets into the heap of bodies to finish the job. This time a bullet hit my father in the back hip.

Bent almost in double, crushed by the weight of the bodies above him, and suffocating in the torrent of blood rushing down on him from the various bodies my father held on for ten minutes while the terrorists left the area. When he finally had the courage to wiggle his arms he found that there were four other survivors in the room. They communicated to each other by touch as they were too afraid to make a sound.

My father moved just enough to allow himself room to breathe and then lay still. The survivors passed over twelve hours lying still in the heap of bodies too afraid to move. They constantly heard gunfire and hand grenades going off in the other parts of the hotel. They feared that any noise would bring the terrorists back.

After approximately twelve hours, the terrorists returned with a camera and flashlight and joked and laughed as they filmed what they thought was a pile of dead bodies. They then moved to the landing below where they set up explosives. On their departing, my father decided that it was too risky to remain where they were due to the explosives. Along with the other three survivors he climbed the rest of the stairwell, where they discovered a large HVAC plant room in which they decided to take shelter. They passed the rest of the siege hiding in this room trying to get the attention of the outside world by waving a makeshift flag out of the window. They drank sips of dirty water from the Air Conditioning unit to survive.

Finally on Friday morning they were spotted by a commando rescue team that was storming the building and were evacuated to safety and taken to the hospital.

This is just one of the countless horror stories that unfolded in those two days. There are many stories of entire families being wiped out while eating their dinner, or young kids losing both parents, or pregnant women being shot while pleading for their lives, or hostages being beaten to death with the butt of a rifle so that their faces were unrecognizable. The terrorists attacked on every level.

They killed middle class workers when they shot up the railway station, they killed the elite in the hotels, they killed tourists and kids as they ate in a café, and they killed the sick and dying when they stormed three hospitals. They shot people in the roads, in stations, in hotels, and even entered an apartment building. They killed Indians, Americans, Britons, Israelis, and several other nationalities. They killed men, women, children, policemen, firemen, doctors, patients. This was systematic, cold-blooded, slaughter.

We have lost a lot of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Every person who lives in South Mumbai has a story about how either they or someone they love either died or had a narrow escape. The true extent of the horror will only make itself clear over the next few days.

Mumbai is a proud city and we pride ourselves on bouncing back from any adversity. We survive and prosper despite all the difficulties placed on us. We are no strangers to terror and have had to pick up the pieces and move on after several attacks. This time however, the sheer scale and audacity brought the city to its knees. The openness of our society, the bustling hoards in our train stations, the vibrancy of our news media, and the thousands of tourists, diplomats, and business leaders packing our hotels was used against us to devastating effect.

In the end one tries to make sense of all this. Barack Obama said about the killers of 9/11: "My powers of empathy, my ability to reach into another's heart, cannot penetrate the blank stares of those who would murder innocents with such serene satisfaction."

Unfortunately, this is becoming an all familiar scene in today's world. While I cannot understand, I recognize again and again the hatred, anger, and desperation of the terrorists and the cold blooded, targeted, ruthlessness of those that dispatch them. They respect nothing but their own twisted beliefs and to achieve them have declared war on an entire way of life. India now finds itself as a major front of this global war.

How do we fight such hate? How do we inject humanity into such monstrosity? How do we convince those who think they kill in god's name that no God would condone such barbarity? How do we maintain our own values and humanity when faced with such hate and provocation?

Over the next week as we say goodbye to those we lost and help those that survive, Mumbai and India will ask themselves these questions. I hope the rest of the world does too.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.
XXX
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"Just as certain world religions say that people who do not believe in a personal God outside themselves are atheists, we say that a person who does not believe in himself is an atheist. Not believing in the splendor of one's own soul is what we call atheism."
- Swami Vivekananda

Masonic Traveler's Tracing Boards

2008-12-01T20:02:00.004-06:00

Tracing Board #1

Tracing Board #2

#3 Tracing Board

Now I hope you will read Masonic Traveler's essay below on what he would do as Grand Master. A gifted person's work should be appreciated!

What Would You Do As Grandmaster #8

2008-11-29T09:27:00.008-06:00

This week's Guest Editorial Essay is written by one of the most respected Masonic Bloggers on the Internet. Masonic Traveler not only operates a blog but also a Masonic Information Site and a Radio Podcast Program with Brother Dean Kennedy from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

From the mundane to the deepest thought, from the everyday workings to the most in depth esoteric thought Masonic Traveler blog has it all including some beautiful artwork some of which the author has created himself. To view The Masonic Traveler Blog click here

Masonic Information is just chock full of all that you were afraid to ask and wanted to know. You can access that site by clicking Freemason Information.

But the Pièce de résistance is Masonic Central, the radio podcast. Here we go from the written word to the spoken, from the visual to - "Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your ears." From Stephen Dafoe to Brent Morris, Tom Jackson, Bob Davis, Chris Hodapp and other notables, this radio program has booked some of the most well known Masonic men of letters and knowledge and experience. If you have not had the pleasure of listening to this show click on Masonic Central.

Today Masonic Traveler answers the question put to him. As you can see he is neither a traditionalist or a reformer - he is both and a more thoughtful insight would be hard to find.

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You are Grand Master of an American jurisdiction which has just changed its by-laws to give the Grand Master a five year term. As the first GM to serve five years what proposals, policies and changes would you make to insure the survival of your jurisdiction and promote healthy growth?

Neglectfully, I have been late in responding to Br. Fred’s offer to post my reply to his question of “If I were elected Grand Master…” on the Beehive. I have to admit that it is a daunting question that have had a hard time to formulate an answer to, but to wit I will endeavor to do as best I can on this eve before the holiday.

Taking the helm of such a massive ship, as is the California Grand Lodge, I would first endeavor to take in as much as I could with such a large membership. From the ports of San Diego to the tall Trees of Eureka, Masonic lodges dot the state from top to bottom and side to side, with an almost inconceivable member role, the Masonic lodge membership is as diversified as the state is. Both rural farmer and urban executive practice the gentle craft and span an age gap from 18 to 100. Needless to say, it is diverse.

Even with extending the term of service from 1 year to 5 years would not be conceivable to meet every brothers need, but then that should not be the mandate. The Lodge and Grand Lodge system are intact and function well, and I would not dare to reorient a machine already operating in balance. I would, however, endeavor to leverage into place certain elements to augment our present state. Each of these ideas is just that, ideas, and would undoubtedly require a sizable amount of expenditure of both time and money.

Increased communication to membership and public:

In this notion, I envision a class of inspectors that are regional representatives to attend and participate in the communities of their region. This would include Chamber of Commerce meetings, Community Councils, and other diversified meetings where the community interest is at stake. Further, to be a part of and participate with other Fraternal and social networks (including Rotary, Elks, American Legion, etc.) including mixed discipline Freemasonry and other esoteric groups. The idea behind this being to broaden the reach of the fraternity to groups not generally associated to our Society.

Increase of Masonic Education to include publication and dissertation:

Promote internal publication and thought by sponsoring leadership programs, religious tolerance and diversity discussions, and philosophical debate. This is not in a manner to preach but to raise awareness of the membership to these aspects of life that each in part contribute to our whole. Part of this would be an increase in Masonic education generated by the contemporary field of discussion. This would be communicated out to the membership electronically (via the web) and by mail outs in a greater frequency than every quarter. The reasoning is that with increased activity would come increased interest and the more and diverse programs open to Masons the more and increased participation that they will receive.

Broader programs to expand the public perception:

This item would include more open houses, public lectures, and other symposia. The goal and purpose of these are to put into the public mind the broad reach of Masonic ideology and its interest. This dove tails with the 2nd point to broaden education. If we want to me Masons we need to work on the foundation of society, to build it up so that it retains strength as is it carries the weight of time upon it. These programs would include co-sponsorships by lodges and area lodges (regions) and would serve to tie us again into the community. They could be as simple as allowing groups to make use of our lodge rooms or social halls at no charge or at minimal cost, or outright sponsorship to events that fit set criteria. this measure re-opens the lodge room to the public as a place of community rather than as a place of dark windows and selective hours of operation.

Make each of the above “Best in Class”:

Given that California is such a large state it needs to operate all of the above as a “Best in Class” operation. What that means is that it requires time, energy, effort, and money to sufficiently research and implement these items. No doubt that will cause some to recoil, but higher dues and higher per-capitas to facilitate it. This Fraternity is worth paying more for, and so instead of a one time pay requirement, augment it to allow dues to be broken into monthly, quarterly, twice yearly, or annual to make them as flexible to the consumer (the member) as possible.

The focus of my tenure would be to build programs that would produce results long after my departure and improve the common perception of the membership. One year is so often seen as to short a time for one man to implement anything for a group that meets monthly, so there must be the component of increased time to get to it all. Further, without funding, then no program is possible and very little advancement can be made that relies exclusively on the shoulders of men who are working pro-bono. This is not to belittle the efforts of every man in the past who has dedicated himself tirelessly to one program or another. In the reality we live in today none of us can dedicate 30-40 hours weekly to organize, research, or implement programs like these, and as Master builders, we should know the benefits of paying the wages of quality work. We must not be afraid to loosen the purse strings and invest in our future.

In short, this is what my dream of a 5 year term as Grand Master would be. Is it a reality to be manifested, who can say? It is fun to entertain the idea and I appreciate Br. Fred for giving me the bully pulpit on the Beehive to commit the ideas into words.

What Would You Do As Grandmaster #7

2008-11-21T20:41:00.004-06:00

Well Connecticut has signed in. The Tao of Masonry is a very interesting Masonic Site. It's author writes that he is:

Exalted Keeper of the Secrets of Freemasonarianism; Grand Sovereign Pontiff and Secret Exposuer; Ambassador to Zeta-Reticula; Crop Circle Planning & Zoning Commissioner; Aluminum Foil Beanie Fitting and Training Consultant; Team Osiris Obelisk Siting and Surveying; Manager, Dulces/Denver Airport Massage & Day Spa; Cydonia Vacation Resort Concierge; Past Master, Friendship #33.3 AM & FM, Area 51, Atlantis

Definetly not your usaul Masonic pabulum site. I never go away from The Tao of Masonry without reading something personal about the author's involvement with his Lodge of Grand Lodge. It reminds me at times of a good diary. Most wholesome reading and I urge all of who come upon this site to vist The Tao of Masonry by clicking here.
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Queen for a Day

Or rather, Grand Master for a year or five.

Fred Billiken Milliken over on The Beehive has been feeling a bit lazy uninspired, and so he asked a few of his fellow bloggers to write a small essay, with this topic in mind:

You are Grand Master of an American jurisdiction which has just changed its by-laws to give the Grand Master a five year term. As the first GM to serve five years what proposals, policies and changes would you make to insure the survival of your jurisdiction and promote healthy growth?

Personally, my first thought as to what I would do if I were the GM in Connecticut would be to curl up into a fetal position and hope that it's all a bad dream.

Of course, I'm sure that some other members of the Craft would have the same reaction to my being a GM, too.

That said, the topic itself begs the question that things need to be changed. My own question is "Why?"

I have a small manufacturing business. For those of you who don't know what it's like to own your own business, it's a very expensive and demanding hobby. Small manufacturing is a fast-paced and tension-inducing business environment. For perspective, pull a hair out of your head, and look at it (you older guys pull a hair out of your neighbor's head, since you probably can't spare many of your own). That hair is about 5/1,000's of an inch in diameter. We typically hold tolerances that are one tenth of that. Imagine knowing that all day, when someone says that they are "off by a hair," it literally means the difference between a paycheck, or a pretty but expensive paperweight.

Priorities change daily, and often hourly. And just when you think it's almost figured out, a machine will break down, and you'll discover that a spare part is a week away because it's coming from Japan or Germany. Or a key employee comes down with a bad flu and is out for a few days. Or a long-time customer makes a frantic call because their inventory system screwed up and they need you to ship in that order early - the order that you haven't started yet because the material is late. Or expensive parts for a new customer come back from an outside supplier, who processed them the wrong way because they used an obsolete work order. Or you send a package via overnight priority shipping, and the plane has mechanical difficulties, and in transferring the cargo, they lose it. Or. . . well, you get the idea.

You see, my life is already frenetic and fast paced, so sometimes I take comfort in knowing that the Craft will change slowly. Yes, I am often frustrated when what I see are good ideas take forever to be talked over, rehashed, and committeefied to death - who isn't? But I can't help but think that if changes in the Craft happened as quickly as they do in my business, I'd quickly become burnt out - as would most of my brothers. One of the hardest thing for the more progressive minded brothers is to find that balance between the traditions and customs, and the ability to make things work at a pace more appropriate to what we are accustomed to in daily life.

We frequently joke that changes in Masonry happen with glacial speed, and truly, it often seems as if some lodges are still in the 19th, let alone the 20th century. But when we think about what we would like to change, are we really thinking about things, or are we thinking about the people involved? As Grand Master, I'd have the power to change things - regulations (some of them, since certain actions still require a Grand Lodge vote), projects, programs are all things. But what about the people, the members of the Craft themselves?

No powers of legislation in the world will change people who don't want to, or see the need to change, themselves.

There is one thing, though, that I would try to change, and that is the idea that the Grand Lodge is somehow a separate entity from the rest of the Craft. As I wrote after our last Grand Lodge Semi-Annual session, it often seems to me that most lodge members are wrapped up in their own lodges and forget - or ignore - that they (i.e., we) are all part of a larger organization. The feedback that I've been hearing for the last several years is something like "We don't want Grand Lodge making up all sorts of new rules and interfering with our business - we've been doing just fine, thank you." Yet, at the same time, I also hear the Craft saying "Why aren't things as good as they were back when I joined? Ritual isn't as good, the programs aren't as good, and even the food is salty."

For example, when we first introduced a ritual certification for incoming Masters, you would have thought that the Grand Lodge was asking members to cut off a pound of flesh (not that most of us couldn't afford it). "I'm a Past Master, I already know how to open a lodge, dammit!" But upon being told that they weren't following the book, one would then hear how this or that lodge has their own "customs andtraditions" with regard to their ritual practice. "We've always done it this way," is what they say when you point out that they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing.

Lodges that are shy on membership try to soldier along, and yet they have no idea what's happening in a lodge a town or two away because they don't bother attending the district meetings. They could easily forge alliances for help with degree work, dinners, or other programs - yet they ignore the resources available to them, and as a result, fail to keep, let alone attract new members, and their lodge as a whole suffers for it.

I don't know what I would change about that because I'm not sure how such problems originate. But with several years in which to work, I would make that my most important priority. An organization is only as strong as the commitment of its members; if the membership fails to recognize - or worse, intentionally denies - that they are part of a much larger group, then the organization as a whole will fail to thrive.

Grand Session Mass Raising

2008-11-18T10:06:00.004-06:00

They come from all over, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Abilene, Lubbock, Amarillo and all points noth, south est and west. It is Grand Lodge Winter Session with a mas raising Friday night and Grand Lodge business all day Saturday.

Unless you are Prince Hall you probably have not seen a mass raising. It is a sight to behold. Last year we raised 81 new Master Masons at winter Grand Session and this year 65. The firt section of the third degree is given in mass. Your first clue as to things are starting to roll is outside the Grand Lodge Room you hear 65 voices singing in unison.

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE

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This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Oh, this little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Hallelujah
This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Ev'ry where I go
I'm going to let it shine
Oh, ev'ry where I go
I'm going to let it shine
Hallelujah
Ev'ry where I go
I'm going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

All in my house
I'm going to let it shine
Oh, all in my house
I'm going to let it shine
Hallelujah
All in my house
I'm going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

I'm not going to make it shine
I'm just going to let it shine
I'm not going to make it shine
I'm just going to let it shine
Hallelujah
I'm not going to make it shine
I'm just going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Out in the dark
I'm going to let it shine
Oh, out in the dark
I'm going to let it shine
Hallelujah
Out in the dark
I'm going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

65 Brothers knock and are admitted, hoodwinked each with a hand on the shoulder of the one in front - they are all hooked up. They are received, circumambulate, receive their obligation , then light and explanation all together in mass. When they move and march they sing. Other songs are brought forth.

To see 65 or 81 Brothers all kneeling around an altar is quite a sight to behold. But the best is yet to come. After marching out in song they come back for the next section.

The three gates are set up and groups of five go through. When the first five is done with the South Gate it moves to the West Gate while another five hit the South Gate. Then the first group moves to the East Gate, the second group to the West gate and a new group starts at the South Gate.

When all have gone through the gates one is looking at 65 Brothers all laying supine on the Grand Lodge Floor. That view sent goose pimples up my back. The Deputy Grnd Master then gives the legend of Hiram Abiff.

Then all are raised. The first year I was there the Grand Master raised every single Brother. This year all Masters and Past Masters assisted in the raising. I raised one of my own Lodge Brothers as did our Master.

Last year I gave the charge afterwards, this year I did not. But just to be there is a thrilling experience.

And at the same time as our mass raising was taking place there was also a smaller version being performed in Germany. Through the magic of high tech, Germany's raising was beamed to us and projected onto the wall of the Grand Lodge while our raising was beamed to them and they displayed what we were doing similarly, all taking place at the same time. Last year we did the same thing but with Korea.

The new Master Masons will receive the third degree lectures at their home Lodge. But most of them are back to participate in the Grand Session business the next day on Saturday.

It is quite inspiring to fellowship with Brothers, both old and new, from all over the state and to touch base with some distant acquaintances from years past. All in all I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Essays Reveal A Good Cross Section

2008-11-18T09:52:00.003-06:00

So Far we have posted essays on "What Would You Do As Grandmaster?" from South Carolina, Maryland, Massachusetts/Texas, Ohio, Kansas and South Dakota. We are waiting on additional essays from three more states - Georgia, Connecticut and California. So far the essays represent a good cross section of America and reveal the myriad of problems besetting those Grand Lodges. Some areas are doing well and some not so well. But what is even more interesting to me is a keener sense of what American Freemasonry is all about and how its unique flavor weaves into the regional social fabric of our nation.

I am looking forward to the three remaining essays from very busy Brothers. In the meantime we will go to other things while we wait.

What Would You Do As Grandmaster #6

2008-11-08T21:51:00.005-06:00

Having just returned from my Prince Hall Grand Lodge Session, I want to emphasize that this series pertains to Mainstream Masonry although Prince Hall is welcome to use any of the ideas that all the Brothers here have put forth.

Well it looks like it's my turn although I warn you some more great essays are on the way. I want to thank all who have participated in this venture and to thank all you who have visited The Beehive. May we have many more enjoyable times together in Brotherhood.

Wor. Frederic L. Milliken
aka Squire Bentley
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My very first act as Grand Master would be to separate the Grand Lodge from the Shrine, the Grotto and all other Side or Appendant Bodies except for Scottish Rite and York Rite. Because Freemasonry is dying and becoming irrelevant, drastic, immediate action is required to preserve what we have. Many Brothers have commented on the fact that Freemasonry is better off as its numbers diminish. It is not. However, it will become stronger if it downsizes within itself thereby concentrating on the core message of what is most important that the Craft wishes to transmit and stand for. Right now Freemasonry is competing with itself and quite frankly the same Brothers cannot be everything.

Freemasonry must reduce itself to a philosophical society which is mainly concerned with its members. The core message which drives the Craft is the philosophy for which it stands. Everything else is complimentary. The philosophy is the meat and the potatoes and the vegetable and salad are side dishes complimenting the meat. We need to as a society stop trying to be all things to all people and stop trying to cover all bases and be what we were originally formed to be. We are going to pare the Craft down to just its essentials. Isn’t that what a good businessman does in a time of economic depression? You might be surprised that we may with this approach attract more members at a cheaper overhead.

Next it is vitally important that Freemasonry have a mission to interact with society. It has a mission for itself but it has been totally lacking for a mission on how to be of purpose to society as well as itself. What has been tried is to try to buy friends and recognition by doling out goodies to the general public. Thus has Freemasonry in many Jurisdictions pursued The Shrine Model and turned itself into a Service Club. My second act as Grand Master would be to abolish all Grand Lodge Charities except one that followed through on a Grand Lodge Societal Mission. If local Lodges wanted to perform community action programs and public charity that would be up to them. But I would not impose any Grand Lodge charities on local Lodges.

There is a reason we no longer get the prominent, powerful, professional men to join our Fraternity. Freemasonry came out of the Enlightenment and as such in an era of civil government Monarchy and Roman Catholic Church monopoly, in other words a time of Totalitarianism and religious intolerance. Freemasonry bucked the trend of the day. It pushed democratic government, separation of church and state, free public schools and religious freedom. It was societal relevant and hence attracted many movers and shakers within the community. Quite frankly, today we have nothing that we can find common cause with the profane.

In looking over the civil issues of the day I find two that are heads above any other. They are Health and Education. Freemasonry does much in the health field already, too much. So my connection to society and my societal mission would be in the education field, so important in developing good citizens and prospective Masons. I would set up a state Education/Library/Research Center open to the public and offer courses in mathematics and history. I would provide a large library and many computers and high tech audio/visual aids as well as instructors. In essence this would be a school and research center available for the public and the Craft. We are in the Information Age and I would want my Grand Lodge to be a leader in that field. It harks back to Freemasons of centuries ago who worked so hard for education and free public schools.

Next, as you might have gathered from my drift so far, we are headed for extinction. What is killing many Lodges is, that as their membership dwindles, they still are faced with the enormous costs of maintaining an old, drafty, antiquated building. The reason Freemasonry does not grow in many Lodges is that every cent that they take in goes to maintaining that building and no money is left over for Masonic programs, to help subsidize the practice of Freemasonry.

Therefore my next act as Grand Master is to require that all Lodges within a twenty five mile radius meet in one building. That would require many Lodges to sell their building and merge into another already in operation or many Lodges to divest themselves of property and build a brand new building for many Lodges. Brand new buildings are more efficient, up to code and less costly to operate. Ten Lodges that met in a building could all pay rent thereby sharing the costs. Local Lodges through jealousy and stupid pride will most often refuse to take this step by themselves. As Grand Master I would force them to do so for their own good. This is called practicing economies to scale which any good businessman would do in a time of economic downturn.

Lodges in rural areas would get a special Grand Lodge subsidy to upgrade their building or build a new one.

To meet the demands and choices of the 21st century my Grand Lodge would need to get much more in tune and in practice with the use of computers and the Internet. If you saw what Obama did in the last presidential election you can appreciate what full use of the Internet can yield. I would immediately upgrade my jurisdictions computer hardware with the most modern system available including running a Grand Lodge Server from which all local Lodges could connect. I would create a Grand Lodge position of Communications Director with a full staff to support him. Some of the areas I would charge my Communications Director to work on would be:

1) A software program of accounting standard for all Lodges with capability of filing all Grand Lodge reports electronically.
2) A Grand Lodge website of unique distinction
3) A Grand Lodge Masonic Forum and Discussion Board
4) Ability to tap into GL Library, new Instruction Center and Research Society
5) A Grand Lodge radio show – a podcast from the Grand Lodge with interviews of Masons of the day with call in participation.
6) A Grand Lodge Cable TV show
7) A grand Lodge movie production dealing with many different subjects. One for those inquiring about membership and others on the history of The Grand Lodge and still others on current events and ceremonies. DVDs and CDs would be available for a nominal cost.
8) Power Point and DVD presentations on the degrees to supplement Lodge education programs.
9) A quarterly Grand Lodge magazine geared to philosophical and esoteric Masonic thought rather than meet and greet photographs.

Next I would streamline the participation of Grand Lodge members in the decision making process of their Grand Lodge. Twelve Hundred members coming to Grand Session and trying to legislate and vote on proposals in one weekend with everybody wanting a say is totally unwieldy and frankly managed chaos. I would immediately institute a Masonic Legislature whereby many members would be represented by one legislator. Thus a body of fewer than one hundred legislators representing all the members of a jurisdiction could gather to debate and vote on Grand Lodge business and proposals. This would not do away with Grand Lodge Session but would rather allow the Grand Session to devote more time to planning, addresses, workshops and inspiration rather than hours and hours of haggling. Think about it. Can you imagine all 300 million Americans showing up in Washington one weekend to vote on our nation’s future? So why let it happen in Freemasonry?

My next ruling would be to allow all Lodge business under $2000 in cost to be conducted outside a tyled meeting by the Three Principal Officers and whoever else they would like to include. The Lodge has voted on and put their trust in their Master and Wardens and I am sure that they can be trusted to make decisions of the Lodge in the small day to day minutia that comes before it rather than take up Lodge time with trivial pursuit. Thus we would eliminate the mundane from our meetings and could then hold meetings of great dining, great Masonic education with great Masonic speakers and great fellowship. I would allow and suggest that all Lodges in my jurisdiction go from a twice monthly or a monthly meeting to a quarterly meeting with an additional quarterly meeting for degree work. Thus I would be ruling that there would be a four month minimum between each degree.

I would charge each District Deputy to form District Degree Teams for each degree with representation from all the District Lodges whereby each degree (four months apart) would be performed on all the candidates for that degree from every Lodge in the District on the same night at the same place. In addition I would form a state degree team and offer the Grand Lodge for a giant raising if desired.

I would form a Research Society for my Grand Lodge and I would charge each District Deputy to form District esoteric/research/study groups that meet separately from Lodge meetings.

I would allow liquor served at Masonic buildings to be a local Lodge decision but never disallowing it as Grand Master. I would, again acting on economies to scale, arrange at reasonable cost for all Lodges, insurance bargained for at group rates including all. This insurance would include liquor liability insurance so that Lodges could rent out their facilities for public functions. I would also change the Grand Lodge ruling that stipulates that the Grand Lodge owns a local Lodge’s building. From now a local Lodge owns its own building set up under whatever tax structure they deem to be in their best advantage. The only provision in the by-laws would be a requirement that in the event of sale or foreclosure that Grand Lodge have the first right of refusal.

As Grand Master I would outlaw all fund raisers. Lodges within my Jurisdiction must charge enough in dues to cover all their expenses.

I would mandate a District Lodge of Instruction for all candidates run by the District Deputy to insure that all candidates receive the proper instruction at the start of their Masonic journey. I would empower a District Board of Questioners and a State Speakers Bureau with Grand Lodge paying speakers a stipend and travel money so that local Lodges could afford them.

All this I would do because Freemasonry is dying. It has lost its focus. It has lost its sense of mission and bonding with society. It has lost its capability to put on good degrees all the time. It has lost its commitment to Masonic knowledge and philosophical thought. It has become populated by a Brotherhood more interested in the social then in the virtues and the no nothing leaders of our Craft are leading us down a path of ruin. Once again our youth is filled with many seekers, searching for adding meaning and purpose to their lives. That purpose and meaning is right here in Freemasonry if we operate it correctly. But if we just give lip service to the great body of esoteric thought and the Masonic way of life that is there for the study we will lose them to another organization that is what it says it is. We don’t need to help everybody who isn’t a Mason while we starve ourselves. We don’t need to become a glorified Lions Club or as Stephen Dafoe said, “Rotary with Regalia”. We don’t need to market Freemasonry. All we need to do is practice Freemasonry and offer those seekers a good product, exactly what they are searching for.

To enter that path of redemption now is the time to get creative. Now is the time to think outside the box. Now is the time for radical action.

What Would You Do As Grandmaster #5

2008-11-01T08:00:00.003-05:00

Now here is another essay in the series from Freemason from the Freestate. I don't know whether he is a traditionalist or a reformer as Silence Dogood reminds us - the lines seem to get blurred as we all, having the betterment of the Craft as our goal, seek answers. I can tell you one thing though, this Brother is very, very knowledgable but as such he doesn't try to trumpet himself as one who has the only true path. As he says on his blog:

"My purpose is to raise questions, not dictate answers."

Thus I have dragged him to this scene as almost a reluctant participant. Freemason from the Freestate is a Blog you don't want to miss and I urge you to follow the link there HERE. There you will meet a Brother who likes to ask questions and wax philosophically.
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What would I do, if I was Grand Master with a five year term, to save Freemasonry? Save it from what? Extinction? Itself? I've been putting off an answer to this question, and even now am in the flight of fight mode, with flight winning out. I have a few reasons for this:

1. my own ignorance. I don't know the day to day politics that a GM must face, internally and externally, or the legal constraints.
2. From my point of view as a seat warmer in my lodge, part of a Grand Lodge that looks to me like it's going in the right direction, that there aren't a lot of criticisms I have to level. I am blessed in this.
3. Finally, I have a tendency to wordiness and this is a blog, not a book.

What do I mean when I say “Save Freemasonry?”

The obvious answer is that the fraternity is dying, literally and figuratively. We all look back to times when Freemasonry was so important that the dominant national political, religious and professional men of all nations belonged to it, or opposed it passionately. Enough so to form the first third party in the U.S. to oppose it. Presidents, Kings, Bishops, Lawyers, Butchers, Bakers and Indian Chiefs were members We covered the globe.

Now our average age is what, one hundred? Or is it ninety five? Who was the last president, and how long ago? Who the last king? We sing in praise of famous men, but more of them are dead men than living ones.

So, one form of saving is replacing declining numbers. Retention of members is another, possibly more urgent one. If we nurture the men we have, new men will be attracted. Both require more of the Craft than it seems to be providing. I am going to limit my discussion to just a couple of ideas that I think could turn on our existing members and bring a breath of fresh air for new candidates. And in the same way, save Freemasonry from itself.

It is too easy to be complacent. To be a comfortable seat warmer in a happy lodge of fellow thinkers. Harmony being very important, we may not want to cause each other to think too much, and gee, it's fun to play around at meetings. Freemasonry isn't a social club, or a drinking club, or a religion or a political party. It partakes of all of these, but is more. As a five year term Grand Master it would be my job and intention to promulgate programs that would nurture men in their quest for betterment, and drag along those who just want fun.

The two areas that I would work on are interdependent. They are Unity (harmony perhaps?) and education. Education will be fostered by unity and Unity is dependent on education. Education has been the main purpose of our Gentle Craft since time immemorial. (No I ain't going to define that!)

Year One:

Bring the Grand Line to the same place educationally. Educationally from a Masonic point of view, and, being Grand Master, from my possibly subjective point of view. We would all need to know what's actually going on not just in our Grand Jurisdiction, or even the world, but what's going on down the street. There's Prince Hall Masons doing good work down there, and Women working in gloves and aprons in many areas as well. And why are there schismatic Grand Lodges forming, and should anything be done about them. Who are the Other People who call themselves Masons?

At the same time, I need to be looking to relationships with these OtherPeople who call themselves Masons, right down the street, or in another state or country. Why are those Swedes unique, and what about the French? And how many different Prince Hall Groups are there? And can anything be done to normalize relations there, when these groups don't accept each other? I need to develop working relationships with Grand Masters from these Other disciplines, if I am to save Freemasonry.

And this is a risk in itself. Remember what happened to the Grand Lodge of Washington when it tried on its own to recognize Prince Hall Masonry? Shunned by the rest of the American Masonic universe. Small Grand Lodges may not be able to handle this, especially if there are a lot of interstate dual memberships. And it needs to be moved into.

Year two:

In the second year, I need to start educating the line officers in my constituent lodges (notice looking for unity is encouraging education.) in the same way my Grand Line was educated. The Grand Inspectors and Grand Lecturers need to take the lead in this.

What about ritual? Ritual needs to recapitulate reality to be valid. We're about changing our reality, and some other things may change as well. Not for the first time. Learning that there are many Other Masons out there doing these rituals should spur us on to perfecting them, and what we learn from this other education can only embroider our ritual with greater meaning.

At this time, in need to be working on unification inside my Grand Jurisdiction. There are many lodges too small to fiscally or physically maintain their spaces, and even large ones don't have the young guys to do some of the grunt work. We need to look at unification in this area: mergers and shared spaces.

When two lodges merge, there is a whole new educational challenge: to make them truly one. Not forget the history, but learn each others' and pass it down, but not to hold onto their separate identities so that brotherhood is blocked. It will take two (or more) Worshipful Masters and lines of officers who are of exceptional good will to make this happen properly. As far as shared space is concerned, most of our facilities have many empty evenings and days. Why rent to outsiders when we can rent to brothers, and everyone wins?

It will be the job of my Grand Inspectors to make recommendations about these changes, and facilitate them.

Year Three:

The year of subduing our passions. There are going to be ruffled feelings and incompletions that need ironing out. Interjurisdictional talks are going to ruffle more than a few within and without the Grand Lodge. The passions that divide the African American Masonic Community alone are going to be monumental to work through, and it isn't my business to do it! But good will and good intentions can bring good honorable men together. And working with female Masons is going to ruffle feathers all over. Even asking these questions will stir passions. This is a year of consolidation and subduing of passions.

Year four:

We need during this year to move to convince our counterparts of the need for change. Only by persuasion, and love unfeigned can this hope to succeed. I will work during this time to expand participation in the Scottish Rite. I say this because the lessons and tenets of this organization are so progressive that men of good will can only benefit by them. This is a tool that needs to be used.

Many of the brothers in this order are among the leaders in our Craft and in our Community. They need to be brought to bear. The Scottish Rite has justifiably been called the University of Freemasonry, and it is too much ignored.

Year Five:

This is the year of community relations. This is where the new brethren (perhaps embracing sisters) will come from. I believe that the openness that Freemasonry has displayed recently may not be good for encouraging new membership. That mystery is attractive. That presenting ourselves as a charitable institution is neither profitable nor correct. We shouldn't stop our charitable work, but we need to stop the flashing light shows when we do it. Subtlety won members in the past, and will win more in the future.

Freemasonry needs to let the community know we're here, and have real accomplishments to display to it. Not just giving bears to sick kids, but showing that men and women of good will can find unity in diversity and a common cause, even if we don't go to the same clubhouse. Because I'm not saying that all of the various Masonic bodies should be merged, but rather that they should and must be united.

Unity of purpose. Unity of practice. Unity of humanity. That is what will save Freemasonry.

What Would You Do As Grandmaster #4

2008-10-25T11:52:00.002-05:00

Here is Palmetto Bug in our fourth essay in this series. You might have noticed we are proceeding this way: Reformer > Traditionalist > Reformer > Traditionalist. Palmetto Bug comes to us from the Traditionalist School. His reasoning is sound and his logic solid. He writes from his experiences as we all seem to do. For now those experiences seem more or less confined to South Carolina and from what I hear its excellent Grand Lodge. Not all of us are as lucky as Palmetto Bug in experiencing an almost always joyful Masonic journey. But Palmetto Bug seems to have and I invite all who read this to visit his excellent Blog: The Masonic Line and to converse with this Brother for whom I have developed a high respect.
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I am the Grand Master

At Squire Bentley’s urging, I have found myself magically elected to the position of Grand Master of Masons in my Grand Jurisdiction – in my imagination, of course. Following a recent imaginary change to my Grand Jurisdiction’s Constitution, I am the first to have been elected to serve a five year term. What am I going to do with all of this new responsibility and authority that now rests upon my shoulders? I will attempt to share my vision with the reader, though I doubt I’ll be able to exhibit the eloquence of that the Wayfaring Man displayed when he recently responded to this invitation from Squire Bentley.

First, I am going to make a list of the top three issues that threaten the harmony and stability of my Jurisdiction. I will then prioritize those issues. I am already a firm believer that problems must be tackled in order of priority and that all issues cannot be tackled all at once. Pick your priority target, concentrate on it, and do not be distracted by other issues of lower priority. I will not develop this list in a vacuum. I will solicit the thoughts of others and will even obligate some funds to conduct a survey which is similar to what the military often calls a Unit Climate Survey. This survey will allow the rank and file Masons to provide feedback anonymously.

Since I am currently just an imaginary Grand Master, I have no idea as to what the priorities will be, but - for the sake of discussion – let us say that a couple are as follows: 1) Financial troubles of subordinate Lodges. 2) Lack of attendance. By examining these two possible priorities, I will attempt to illustrate my method of addressing major issues.

1) Financial Troubles:

I strongly suspect that some of the subordinate Lodges are struggling to make ends meet. Heck, I KNOW some Lodges are struggling – I just don’t know how many. This I do know, however: financially stable Lodges are required to ensure the financial stability of the Grand Lodge. Struggling Lodges must be offered some help in finding ways to remain solvent. Here is how I will attempt to do this.

First, I will canvas the Grand Jurisdiction in search of our financial experts. I will then look for the “movers and shakers” in the Lodges that are already on a solid financial foundations. These men will be placed on a Committee – possibly even on several separate teams. For the sake of this article, I’ll call this the Financial Think Tank. I will ask the Think Tank to brainstorm and come up with ideas.

Its first task will be to make sure that the Grand Lodge is not placing an undue financial burden on the Lodges. In conjunction with the existing Grand Lodge Finance Committee, it will examine the Grand Lodge budget and develop a long-range and realistic financial vision for the Grand Lodge. Based on the Tank’s recommendations, the appropriate edicts will be issued or appropriate legislation will be proposed in order to ensure that the Grand Lodge is functioning on a balanced, realistic budget.

Its second mission will be to come up with ideas for the subordinate Lodges. I will instruct the Think Tank to remember that one solution will not fit all Lodges. In the meantime, I will attempt to determine which of the Lodges are having trouble making ends meet. The District Deputy Grand Masters, by way of official visits, already have a requirement to check Lodges’ books to ensure they are in order. This will be one of the methods used to compile a list of financially shaky Lodges.

Struggling Lodges will then be offered the services of the Financial Think Tank. I suspect the Think Tank may suggest some painful solutions – such as the merging of Lodges. The struggling Lodges will not have to accept the Think Tank’s suggestions as I have no intention of ruling with an iron fist. If they reject the recommendations and then fail – well, so be it. I’m sorry. I cannot micromanage the subordinate Lodges in this area. All I can do is offer to help by providing the services of the brightest and most successful of the Jurisdiction.

2) Attendance:

This issue should have an easy answer - education and good fellowship. Again, I will not tackle this in a vacuum. I will reach out to those Lodges that do not have an attendance problem and use them to pass on their ideas to those Lodges that do. The Lodges with poor attendance may reject the ideas and, if they do, they’re on their own to figure out another solution. I believe that poor attendance and financial troubles go hand-in-hand. Hopefully the Lodges will take heed before having to turn in their charters.

Here are some things on my personal agenda while I am an imaginary Grand Master:

1) I will oppose any notion of relaxing standards of admission - no one day classes, no plain English ritual, no advertising campaigns, and no abolishment of proficiency requirements. Thus far, this is not a real problem in my Jurisdiction but I want to make sure we don’t follow down the same misguided path that some other Grand Jurisdictions are currently travelling. To help with this area, I will endeavor to compile some guidelines that pertain to the investigation of petitioners. All of the subordinate Lodges should be on the same sheet of music in this area. I will also make sure the Shrine understands this policy and make sure it understands that it is not to interfere in the process of investigating petitioners or in the learning of proficiency by those moving through the degrees.

2) Up to this point, there has never been a charity program mandated by my Grand Lodge and I will fight against any proposals for the adoption of such. The only charity program that should be managed at the Grand Lodge level is the one that pertains to the relief of distressed Master Masons, their widows, and orphans. That program is already in place and I will seek to make sure it remains on a sound financial footing.

3) Proper ritual and degree work will be enforced. My DDGMs will be my eyes and ears in this area. If a Mason is not well schooled in this area, he will not be a DDGM.

4) Masonic education at every Lodge meeting, minus communications during which degrees are being conferred, will be strongly encouraged. I will attempt to adopt the practice of the Grand Lodge of Texas by tasking the Grand Senior Warden and his Education Committee to develop a suggested monthly education schedule for the subordinate Lodges.

5) I will promote the development or adoption of systems, including computer software, that help Lodges – especially the Lodge Secretaries and Treasurers – to take care of the administrative and financial record keeping involved in this Fraternity.

6) Lodge websites will be encouraged and I will promote the development and creation of a system that allows the Grand Lodge to host the websites of the subordinate Lodges – at no cost to those Lodges. Technical advice will be made available to the Lodge webmasters.

7) As already mentioned, I will use the knowledge and expertise of the whole Craft – not just men with nice Masonic titles behind their names – when approaching any challenge. There is a wealth and diversity of knowledge and experience represented in the membership. I would be shortsighted not to take advantage of that resource. If we need computer system advice, I will call for the IT types. If we need budget insight, I will call for the CPAs. If the pipes are leaking in the Grand Lodge building, I will call for the plumbers.

I firmly believe that the state of Freemasonry in my Grand Jurisdiction is healthy. It is not perfect but it is healthy. I believe that the Craft is, when looking at the overall picture, doing rather well. The Fraternity has been in this State for more than two and a half centuries and she has weathered some very tough times in the past – including the schism between the Ancients and Moderns as well at the anti-Masonic fever. When I take a look back at those dark times, I see that these are good days and they’re only getting better. Though I don’t measure the success of Freemasonry by the number of men on her rolls, the downward trend in membership numbers is slowing. Lodges that were near death are shaking off the lethargy and getting a fire under their collective butts.

It will be my job to help struggling Lodges by placing the collective intelligence and experience of the Jurisdiction at their disposal. As I have already alluded – healthy Lodges equal a healthy Grand Lodge. If the subordinate Lodges are vibrant then any problems at the Grand Lodge level will fade away and become only a memory. I will always remember – however – that I can only guide, suggest, and lead by example. I cannot and will not force Lodges into any new direction – even if it be for their own good.

What Would You Do As Grandmaster #3

2008-10-18T15:43:00.002-05:00

Now here is a Brother who is a reformer, a strong reformer. Keep in mind as you read these essays that the perspective of the authors often are reflected in the circumstances through which the Brother has had to endure. Many reformers have been cruelly dealt with by Freemasonry. I have not the story behind the story about 2 BOWL CAIN. But I can tell he has been treated unfairly along the way and has risen anew in a different vein. I thank him very much for his contribution and urge all who read this to visit his excellent blog at:
http://tubulcain420.blogspot.com/
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I want to thank Brother Squire for allowing me the opportunity to express myself as to how and what I would do affect Freemasonry. I believe in keeping it simple. My total approach is strictly for the Blue Lodge and making it a special place for Masons to meet and become enlightened. I want the Master Mason to gather all that has been scattered, and that is Freemasonic Light, unencumbered by recognition and control of what is acceptable as real Masonic Light. All of the rites and rituals have value to all masons, and the Blue Lodge should be the Clearing House of all Masonic Light. I want the Lodges to feel Sovereign in their direction and what Light they want to disperse amongst their members. A sense of Universal acceptance amongst all who call themselves Masons, and take it seriously, is what I want to accomplish. The more we are exposed to the differences within the Craft and its history, the better we will be at understanding the Crafts original purpose and hopefully the rediscovering of the Spirit which swept across this small planet spreading Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
So Mote It Be.

1. Elections for every Grand Line Officer. They must present a platform on which they will run for office. Their platforms will be made available on line and sent to all lodges so the membership may know what their potential leaders would do for the craft. No platform, no name on ballot. No appointments to Grand Line and no progression. If you turn out to be a lame duck officer, you may be voted out of line.
2. No York or Scottish Rite bodies. The rituals and lessons will be performed by degree teams of devoted brethren. These Rites will be available to Past Master’s only, and not for titles or rank, but strictly for educational purposes. Then these Past Master’s will be given material for further Light to spread back to the Blue Lodge.
3. Shrine de-affiliated with Freemasonry. Choose: be Shriner or a Freemason.
4. Ban on all one day classes. Minimum of 8 months between degrees. Pieces of Architecture will be presented by every candidate as well as other demanding requirements for progression through the 3 degrees. Architectures will be papers written by the candidate to be read at an open lodge and then discussed by the brethren.
5. Ban on all books with the words Idiots or Dummies in it. We are a class organization and want to remain that way. My jurisdiction is not for the Dummies or Idiots crowd. Anytime a Masonic want to be author relates to Historical Masonic writers material and hard work as “CRAP” will automatically be removed without a trial. My jurisdiction will breed class, not crass.
6. No selling of Indulgences.
7. Every Lodge will have to perform at least 2 table lodges a year. If a Lodge needs help, zealous brethren will help out.
8. Local Lodges do not handle Masonic funerals anymore. A district funeral team will be set up and those zealous brothers will handle Masonic funerals when requested.
9. District Deputies must have a finance background to be able to “really” audit Lodges and Temple company books. A stop needs to be put on shady record keeping within the temples and the inspectors must be properly trained on what to look for.
10. 5 year reprieve on per capita. Every lodge or Temple Company must submit how that money is being spent on the upkeep of ones temple, especially Historical edifices. The Grand Lodge will donate to the Charitable Foundations put in place to run these facilities.
11. 5 year ban on all territorial/jurisdiction divisional codes. Allow and promote inter-visitation between ALL Freemasonic bodies within ones territory. Go and visit these other lodges, invite them to your lodge. Spread Universal Brotherhood of All Mankind. At the end of the 5 years, study to see what the positives and negatives were by spreading this type of Universal Freemasonry.
12. A college of rites for all blue lodge masons to be made available for further Light. Freemasonry has a long history of the formation and working of many rites, and all rites should be available for all masons to study and learn
13. No more parading in aprons, collars and polo shirts. If a lodge wants to parade locally, all in business attire and the WM can wear his Tile/Top Hat. That is it.
14. All Lodges must institute a Chamber of Reflection and Cave Investigations for all potential candidates.
15. Petition signees will have more responsibility on the labor and dedication that their petitioner shows. It will be handled on the Lodge level, but members will be held accountable for trying to bring in “lazy” masons.
16. 5 year ban on “National” charities. The Lodge needs to be active locally with actual labor, not just writing checks to some charity. Labor and works perfects the ashlar. We should become THE local charity. i.e. the temple company.
17. All EA’s must do Labor in the temple for the Lodge. That is what they do. Labor.
18. Freemasonry is a volunteer organization, no payment to any members for services as an officer.
19. A temple committee will be assigned to check the age of the temples around and how may the Grand Lodge help with the upkeep. The destruction of our Temples must stop. Also, the Grand Lodge will not interfere with Temple Companies running their Temples and impede their progress in saving their buildings. Their responsibility will be to detect fraudulent behavior only. Create a committee to help drive revenue to the bigger facilities. Also, make sure the Temple Companies are properly insured so no claims of fraud may be levied against them.

What Would You Do As Grand Master #2

2008-10-11T18:18:00.004-05:00

Now here is an erudite Brother with a reply. He is even putting the finishing touches on a book!! I won't spill the beans and tell you what it is all about. The Wayfaring Man has a blog that always has me leaving with something I didn't know before, some new knowledge. His historical perspective is outstanding and he has proven himself to be a man of letters. I urge everyone to visit The Wayfaring Man's Blog at Audi, Vide, Tace In the meantime, Al Gore, watch out!!!
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Masonic Global Warming Denied
--Wayfaring Man
audevidetace.blogspot.com

The question the Good Squire puts to us is:
how to save Mainstream American Freemasonry from extinction

which assumes that we are indeed headed toward annihilation, or worse, irrelevance. I am not willing to accept this hypothesis and I do not see us headed toward extinction. At least not now. Masonic extinction, or an "Ice Age" of cultural misgivings in Masonry which could give rise to extinction, since 1717 only comes in two forms if history is any guide.

The first is extinction by political fiat. Franco, Hitler, Stalin, and Khomeini, to name a few of Masonry's detractors in the last 75 years, have extinguished our Order by simple decree. At the stroke of a pen, and with the concomitant cock of a pistol, Masonry became outlawry and every Mason -Caput gerat lupinum - a Wolf's Head. Yet even under the iron- shod heel of the most savage repression, did Masonry's flame go completely dark? Iran still holds some Masons yet, thirty years after the revolution, and although they cannot meet legally, they are still in quiet touch with one another. So too, living Masons emerged from the concentration camps in April 1945, and Masonry was never completely dead under the Nazi regime, a far more formidable apparatus than even the most repressive "Grand Lodge Tyranny" imagined by today's critics.

Other than repressive dictators, the other great wave of "climate change" that imperiled our Craft was the Anti-Masonry hysteria of the 1826-35. On one level less hazardous to life and limb, it can be seen as infinitely more dangerous in terms of its potential lethality to the Craft itself because where totalitarianism enkindled the bolder Masonic spirits to soldier on, the calumny of Anti-Masonry undermined the commitment of individual Masons to continue at all, and lodges nationwhide closed their doors, some of them forever. Had it not been for the political corruption of some prominent Anti-Mason political candidates, the gloss of Anti-Masonry may have gleamed just long enough to erase Freemasonry from the United States for good. And although purely speculation, had that occurred, would the UGLE and the European lodges have been able to withstand similar assaults if North American Masonry had succumbed? Thankfully, we will never know.

In contrast to these two greatly unfavorable climates, the woes of today's Masonry, and the shrill cries of its critics ring hollow indeed. Are there problems in Masonry? Of course.
Are we teetering on the brink of a total collapse? Certainly not.

The decline in membership that we witness today is the result of the end of the membership boom of the last century, and as such, it is totally understandable. Masonry responded to swollen rolls by expanding in those heady post-war years - new buildings, increased public visibility, more, better, bigger: the American way. But those days are over, and a leaner, more agile Masonry is required today.

Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble no longer.

Your new Grand Master should make a sharp turn in Masonry - a U-turn, to be precise - turning the Craft back in upon itself. 100 years ago, the Craft was more insular, less visible, less hyped, and less public than it is today, and it was that way for many reasons, some of them philosophical, but some of them quite practical: there simply weren't enough Masons to have a drill team, a clown squad and 30 minature cars. It's time to look to the English model, quiet, small, but still very much alive, to see us through until the next seasonal change is upon us.

Thus, I argue that a simple downsizing is what Masonry requires today - not because the polar icecaps are melting and the deluge is coming - but because this is normal seasonal change, and prudence requires that we dress accordingly.

Audevidetace.blogspot.com

What Would You Do As Grand Master #1

2008-10-04T17:20:00.002-05:00

When I sent out all the invitations for essays on this subject I got back quite a few replies that said "I have to think about that for awhile so don't expect to receive anything from me right away". That was OK as I had said I would do the first essay and y'all could feed off that. So I have been taking my sweet time myself being not quite finished with mine.

But the subject hit a nerve with Silence Dogood who blogs at The Middle Chamber. He was back in a flash with a very good essay. The core of Silence's message is for Grand Lodge not to be a burden but an enabler. Don't be a hindrance, be a helper. That certainly resonates with me and something I have preached myself. We have Lodges all over the country failing. More Lodges today are going under than banks. So I hope everyone takes Silence's message to heart. And we will start with his essay and I and the others will feed off that!

I would like to thank Silence Dogood very much for his participation in what I hope will be a learning experience for all of us and meeting of minds that will produce some really good ideas and thoughts for consideration. And I recommend that anyone reading this also visit the excellent blog of Silence Dogood, The Middle Chamber.

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What Would I Do As Grand Master?

When Brother Squire sent me a request for the following scenario, I just couldn’t resist giving my opinions.

“You are Grand Master of an American jurisdiction which has just changed its by-laws to give the Grand Master a five year term. As the first GM to serve five years what proposals, policies and changes would you make to insure the survival of your jurisdiction and promote healthy growth? Perhaps you like things just the way they are. You don't want to do anything different. If so make a case for standing pat or for trying some new (or old) ideas. It's your call. You are now in the hot seat. Tell us with that power and influence what you would do.”

So here it goes, if I was Grand Master:

First and foremost, I would eliminate all Grand Lodge programs placing a burden on the local lodges. In my jurisdiction, this is primarily the SDChIP program. I would stop asking lodges to fund and run these events so that their focus could be on what the lodge needs to do to improve and grow. Also, any other pet programs that have been haphazardly enforced on the local lodges would be removed to further reduce the strain.

One of the primary issues in my jurisdiction is the funding of the Grand Lodge. I would examine the Grand Lodge budget and make it public to all Masons in the jurisdiction. In addition, I would make a budget proposal that would cut out all unnecessary Grand Lodge spending and present that to the Masons in the jurisdiction to get their feedback. Finally, as part of fixing the budget, per capita dues would be adjusted to a lower rate to accommodate the new pork-free budget. Once again, this would reduce the financial strain on local lodges.

One addition to my Grand Lodge’s budget would be the professional design and maintenance of a website for the jurisdiction. The website would be created through a professional firm and would be a great way to make the Grand Lodge more visible and connect Masons in my state.

My last major measure of reform for my Grand Lodge would be to review the by-laws item by item and remove any by-laws that restrict the ability for local lodges to conduct business. One such regulation is the requirement that multiple lodges meeting in the same town must meet in the same building. This sort of regulation is ridiculous and simply restricts the ability of lodges to conduct business in their best interest.

After reforming the Grand Lodge and placing the power of the jurisdiction back in the hands of the local lodges, I would move forward with assisting lodges in building the organization. Lodges would be required to submit a report explaining the health of their lodge in the following categories: education, fellowship, ritual, attendance, membership, finance, and charitable pursuits. These would be reviewed by the principle Grand Lodge officers and District Masters (who would be appointed based on an interview process). Once the perceived weaknesses of each lodge are identified, the District Master would meet with the officers of each lodge to discuss an improvement plan. This plan would be submitted to the Grand Lodge for the record. The effectiveness of this plan would be evaluated on a semi-annual basis through District Master visits and a progress report would be submitted to the Grand Lodge in the same time frame.

The Grand Lodge would assist in these endeavors by implementing certain programs. The first would be developing a Masonic Lecturer circuit with Brothers from the jurisdiction. The Grand Lodge would help put together a list of lecturers in the jurisdiction and assist in scheduling there appearances. The goal would be to have the lodges host a guest lecturer at least twice a year. Also, teams would be assembled to administer lodges of instruction. Each lodge would be visited by one of these teams once a year to learn how to do ritual to standard and the lodge would be evaluated on its performance of ritual.

I believe that these steps would help to move Masonry forward. By removing unpopular Grand Lodge programs, the local lodges can focus on their own individual pursuits. By down-sizing the Grand Lodge budget and giving the savings back to the lodges, the local lodges will have more financial resources to accomplish their goals. Also, introducing greater transparency to Grand Lodge finance will improve relations between the Grand Lodge and members of the fraternity. The addition of a professional Grand Lodge website will move the jurisdiction into the 21st century and keep it from becoming obsolete. The reform of the Grand Lodge by-laws will remove silly policies which inhibit the ability of lodges to conduct their business and give them greater freedom to move forward with their improvements. By making the Grand Lodge an assistant in lodge improvement, lodges may develop plans specifically tailored for their situation. Lodge improvement is not a one size fits all plan and the Grand Lodge should respect that.

Changing the Grand Lodge from a regulatory body to an enabling body will help local lodges improve and that is where Masonry happens. If the local lodges can prosper, then the jurisdiction will as well.

The People Who Make A Difference In Your Life

2008-10-03T10:20:00.003-05:00

Brother David Lettelier sent me this. I thought it profound enough to post here. We as Masons do not have to be festooned with medals or a Grand Lodge Officer to make a difference in someone else's life. The average Joe six pack Mason does a hell of a lot of good and is strong support for those around him and with whom he comes in contact. Be proud to be just a Mason.

The following is the philosophy of some unkown author. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read the following straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize..

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners .

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with .

Easier?

The lesson : The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

The Only Pictures In Existence of a Buffalo Soldiers Masonic Lodge

2008-10-02T13:49:00.004-05:00

Joppa Lodge #150

A Meeting of Minds

2008-09-30T22:33:00.004-05:00

I am asking a group of Masonic bloggers to write a essay on how to save Mainstream American Freemasonry from extinction.

Here is the scenario:

You are Grand Master of an American juisdiction which has just changed its by-laws to give the Grand Master a five year term. As the first GM to serve five years what proposals, policies and changes would you make to insure the survival of your jurisdiction and promote healthy growth? Perhaps you like things just the way they are. You don't want to do anything different. If so make a case for standing pat or for trying some new (or old) ideas. It's your call. You are now in the hot seat. Tell us with that power and influence what you would do.

This invitation is being sent to:

Greg Stewart - Masonic Traveler
Widows Son - The Burning Taper
Steve Brettell - Freemason From The Free State
Silence Dogood - The Middle Chamber
Tom Accuosti - The Tao of Masonry
Palmetto Bug - The Masonic Line
2 Bowl Cain - 2 Bowl Cain
Wafaring Man - Audi, Vide, Tace

I will post the first essay, myself, and you can all feed off that or answer the call of your own drummer. If there is some one else who would like to participate, please contact me on the back burner.

The Buffalo Soldiers

2008-09-23T10:39:00.002-05:00

Saturday September 20, 2008 I delivered my first presentation as the newly appointed Lecturer for the Dallas Chapter of the Phylaxis Society. The subject was "The Buffalo Soldiers" many of whom were Prince Hall Masons. You can read the entire paper at: http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/buffalo_soldiers.htm That is The Phoenix Masonry website where you will find much to improve your Masonic mind.

Putting The Cart Before The Horse

2008-09-21T08:42:00.003-05:00

As the newly appointed Lecturer for the Dallas Chapter of the Phylaxis Society, I gave my first presentation yesterday 9/20/08. The paper I delivered was a scholarly work on "The Buffalo Soldiers" which I hope will be published elsewhere where you will be able to read it.

But before the Lecture I did a 5 minute warmup on an entirely different subject - that of putting the cart before the horse. You see I have witnessed the ill effects of rushing a candidate through the degrees and a lack of post Master Mason mentoring. Sometimes Masons are in too much of a hurry to get that new man on the books and out there helping the Lodge survive. They have numerous charitible endeavors with which they need immediate help and they are so desparate for money and membership that they cannot spend the time with candidates, for it is necessary that there be a quick turnover in order that they get onto the next group of initiates. The goal is to raise as Many Master Masons in a year as possible. And Grand Lodges give out awards for this accomplishment.

So the feeling is that we can hurry the candidate through his initiation process, because the activities of the Lodge, especially the charitible endeavors, will show a man what Freemasonry is all about and through time and experiince he will "get it".

My view was this was putting the cart before the horse and I used two quotations from other authorship to illustrate my point. The first was from The Positivity Blog:

Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World
Published by Henrik Edberg May 9th, 2008 in Personal Development, People Skills, Lessons I have learned from... and Success.
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problem.”

“If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.”

Mahatma Gandhi needs no long introduction. Everyone knows about the man who lead the Indian people to independence from British rule in 1947.

So let’s just move on to some of my favourite tips from Mahatma Gandhi.

1. Change yourself.

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.”

If you change yourself you will change your world. If you change how you think then you will change how you feel and what actions you take. And so the world around you will change. Not only because you are now viewing your environment through new lenses of thoughts and emotions but also because the change within can allow you to take action in ways you wouldn’t have – or maybe even have thought about – while stuck in your old thought patterns.

And the problem with changing your outer world without changing yourself is that you will still be you when you reach that change you have strived for. You will still have your flaws, anger, negativity, self-sabotaging tendencies etc. intact.

And so in this new situation you will still not find what you hoped for since your mind is still seeping with that negative stuff. And if you get more without having some insight into and distance from your ego it may grow more powerful. Since your ego loves to divide things, to find enemies and to create separation it may start to try to create even more problems and conflicts in your life and world.

The Second was some words by Neal Donald Walsch:

“Life is a decision conveyer. It conveys to the world the decisions that you’ve made about yourself. It tells people what you’ve decided about who you are, and who they are, and why you are here, and why you think they are here, and what life itself is about.”

“These decisions have greater impact than you could ever guess. They touch people in ways that go far beyond what you might have imagined.”

“Yet it does not begin by trying to change the world. It begins by seeking to change the self. Change the self and your inner world changes. And when your inner world changes, the outer world that you touch changes, little by little. And when the outer world that you touch changes, the world that it touches changes, and the world that it touches. Outward and outward and outward this spreads, like a ripple in a pond.”

“When what you are doing is a reflection of what you are being, rather than an attempt to create what you wish you were being, you will know that you have produced lasting change in yourself. This is what produces lasting change in the world.”

Neal Donald Walsch in talking about Gandhi says this:

“First he attained a state of being. This is work that he did from within. Then, and only then, did his outward ‘doing’ become the kind of ‘doing’ that changed the world.”
“He did not achieve a state of being as a result of what he was doing. What he was doing reflected the state of being he had achieved.”

So my point was that first we make a Mason, then we make a Lodge.

You cannot change the world until you change yourself. And the process of becoming a Mason should be a very personal journey of a change in heart, a rebirth of the individual, as he learns what the lessons of Freemasonry can do to change his life and make him a better person. Once having assimilated the knowledge and understanding of what Freemasonry is all about, then he can be turned loose onto the world. If we spend our time and effort with our new recruits to make them knowledgable Freemasons then great things will happen as with other like Brothers they toil in society in the quarry of everyday life.

This process looks something like this:

KNOWLEDGE (or Masonic Light) begets PRIDE which begets ENTHUSIASM which begets GROWTH (both personal and membership). GROWTH brings us back to KNOWLEDGE>PRIDE>ENTHUSIASM>GROWTH

So in the priorities of your Lodge life don't first try to make a Lodge. First make a Mason. Then the fully invested Mason comprehending the philosophy of the Craft will make a Lodge and the Lodge will do great things!

Don't put the cart before the horse. A horse trying to nose a cart down the road from behind will never accomplish what a horse hooked up to the front of the cart can do, not only for the horse, but for the cart, its contents and all who are in it for the ride.

First make a Mason and then all else will follow.

Leaving Freemasonry

2008-09-12T12:49:00.002-05:00

It's been more than five years now and I have been beating the drum with the same message over and over. My friends tell me it is time to let it go, what will be will be. They are tired of listening to the broken record I play about problems in Mainstream Freemasonry, especially race problems.

What I have been prognosticating I am now seeing come to pass. I said that if Mainstream Masonry didn't straighten out its act and get rid of the racism and accept black men and Prince Hall as regular Masonry then the new generation will not join Masonry or if they join they will not stay. I said today's young men are color blind and will not put up with those who are not. I said Mainstream Freemasonry would lose thousands and thousands of petitions for the degrees from bright, sharp, upstanding young men.

Not long ago on a place of Masonic discussion I conversed with a Tennesse Brother. Later he E-Mailed me and has given me permission to let you all see what he privately said to me.

Brother Milliken, I thank you for your reply to my post on
recognition. I did not take them as criticism and I am glad that my
post has started some good conversations about this topic. My
original post was due to having been told by a brother that there are
no African Americans in the Tennessee lodges and not to bring any to
the lodge to petition for membership. I was told that they have their
own lodge and we have ours and that was that. Well, not being raised
that way I started to ask questions and got the same answers. The
reason that it came back up to me is that I received an announcement
that there will be a cave degree and, I noticed at the bottom of
the announcement it stated that the Tennessee GL dose not recognize
the Prince Hall Lodge. That stuck in my craw. Then after that, I
found out that an African American man had been discouraged form
joining our lodge. I have heard of several good masons quitting our
lodge due to this and, I am thinking about doing the same. My
original thought was to stay in and try to change it but, I think the
odds are stacked against me. I and another MM are in the process of
figuring out what we are going to do. I do hate hypocrisy.

Thanks again.

Fraternally.

Brother X

We E-Mailed back and forth some more and I told him my story. In a followup E-Mail he told me this:

It is interesting that you should mention that you demitted from Mainstream Masonry and joined Prince Hall. A friend and I who are going through the officer seats have been talking about the racism problem in our Grand Lodge and our Lodge and, that is one of the reasons that I am leaving the seats. I have also been talking about Demitting and joining Prince Hall. I have only met one Brother from the Prince Hall Lodge and I am trying to get back in touch with him. Be it as it may, there is a time to take a stand and this is the time.

Fraternally,

Brother X

Then about two weeeks later I received an E-Mail from a well known East Coast Brother who informed me that he is also thinking about leaving Mainstream Masonry and joining Prince Hall. HIs name and state are withheld as he has yet to make that decision and that announcement is his to make.

While many states have improved their past civil rights record and now openly welcome black men to petition for the degrees and have Recognized Prince Hall, there are a number that leave a lot to be desired. I think of what expelled PGM Frank Haas from West Virginia said, "What one state does, one Grand Lodge, affects us all."

Then I remember Frank Haas' lawsuit against the Grand Lodge of West Virginia who asked the courts to throw it out as The Grand Grand Lodge of West Virginia had sole power over the decisions and discipline of its Jurisdiction, a private organization. And the Courts said, NO! They refused to throw out the lawsuit. The trial goes on.

And my friends remind me of the other things I keep saying as they reach for earplugs - "That if Mainstream Freemasonry does not learn how to police itself, then somebody else, like the government, will do it for them." And right now the government is knee deep into West Virginia Freemasonry.

The Good 'Ol Boys Network and the unwritten code that one Grand Lodge never critisizes another has perpetuated much that should not be in American Freemasonry. I think back to a comparision with baseball, to the 1919 Black Sox scandal and how baseball finally got themselves a Baseball Commissioner, Judge Landis, because a certain few selfish owners would do whatever they wanted to the detriment of the sport. The good owners, concerned for the good name of the game, finally demanded that these totally private enterprises conform to a set of rules and ethics and discipline. So why can't Freemasonry do that?

And the last thing that my friends are really tired of hearing me say has not come true, - that someday an enterprising writer or news reporter would do a feature story or article on racism in Freemasonry and spread it across the pages of a well read publication for all the world to see. The thought of that happening makes me sad.

But what really makes me cry is Brother X and others who are just not going to put up with it anymore but just leave. It is a very sad day when you lose a Brother from Freemasonry, a bright and ethical young man who was a credit to his Craft. It really doesn't have to be that way.

Peter Renzland & Squire Bentley Answer Charges of McCarthyism

2008-09-02T20:12:00.006-05:00

Some traditionalists like Palmetto Bug on "The Masonic Line" would like to convince us that the opposition to Recognition of Prince Hall by those Grand Lodges left who refuse to do so is primarily due to their adherence to The American Doctrine, the Right of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). Of course these holdouts take up the larger part of the Old Confederacy. Now considering this region and its history and its present day inclinations can nobody think of another reason that might be on Mason's minds?

Palmetto Bug says the ETJ existed before Prince Hall, at least in South Carolina. He points to a verbal objection to other Grand Lodges in his state in the late 1700s. But was ETJ written into the Constitution, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations of the Grand Lodge of South Carolina prior to 1800? I'll put my money on the guess that it wasn't. In fact this Doctrine was not well accepted among all of American Masonry until after 1820, long after Prince Hall was firmly established. One states' thoughts do not make an American Doctrine. Maybe, just maybe, it made a South Carolinian Doctrine.

In fact, although African Lodge #459 ipso facto acted like a Grand Lodge before 1800, most of Prince Hall Masonry did not declare themselves to be a separate Grand Lodge until after the 1820s. I have a feeling that this was because they had always wanted and had been trying to become part of the Grand Lodges of Mainstream Masonry. They wanted to be one with Mainstream and grow together with them as the nation grew. Only after all hope was dashed and further efforts to incorporate within Mainstream Masonry were fruitless did they go ahead full steam to form the intricacies of complicated Masonic governance at the highest level.

So let us look at this Recognition thing logically. Black Lodges form in the late 1700s and ask Mainstream Masonry to incorporate them into their Grand Lodges. But Mainstream Masonry says No, NO, NO, Never. So Prince Hall is forced to either disband or proceed on their own. Choosing the later course they established their own traditions. Hereafter Prince Hall pushed for Recognition starting most publicly with Washington State in 1897. But Mainstream Masonry seeing what was coming had decades before adopted The Right of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction to block Prince Hall from Recognition consideration and to offer a "legal" reason that would hide their racism.

At this point what needs to be said is that perhaps blocking an invading Grand Lodge could be seen as a necessary move. And most of us can understand refusing to Recognize a Grand Lodge that practices irregular Masonry or refusing one not legally chartered. But Black Lodges were here before the founding of our independent nation. African #459 was duly chartered by The Grand Lodge of England. Prince Hall has always followed the Landmarks. Prince Hall has always practiced Regular Masonry. So why refuse Lodges that grew up side by side with you, with a legal pedigree, observing the same Landmarks you do and practicing the same Regular Masonry you do? Only one reason stands out - Racism. But traditionalists would have you believe it is ETJ when ETJ was created to enable keeping colored men out. Now Palmetto Bug says this is a rise of Masonic McCarthyism,

Sadly, new McCarthyism has invaded Freemasonry. The “new McCarthys” use the racist label to explain why any individual Freemason or Grand Lodge would be opposed to recognizing Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA). They ignore the fact that the Doctrine of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) is a real doctrine that predates the existence of PHA. They ignore the fact that ETJ has been generously applied to other bodies that were not primarily made up of men of African descent. They ignore the possibility that mutual recognition of more than one body within the same political boundaries sets a precedent that could come back to haunt the Fraternity – ie: the day when Prince Hall Origin (PHO) begins to make a case for recognition.

Could it be that the Grand Lodge’s that have agreed to mutual recognition with PHA have simply folded to new McCarthyism? Did they ignore the tried and true Doctrine of ETJ just to avoid the stigma of being labeled racist? Which label will they roll over for next? Will it be “sexist?”

Palmetto Bug's answer? The only way that Prince Hall Masonry can legally operate is to be merged with Mainstream Masonry? Hello!!! Isn't that what Prince Hall wanted at the start? But oh no we can't have that. So after blocking Prince Hall out, adopting ETJ and forcing them to be separate so they could be labeled clandestine in hopes they would fail, Mainstream Masonry now wants to absorb Prince Hall rather than recognize it? Why? All in the name of a Doctrine that is not a Landmark. It's a Rule or a Tradition and is not even written into all Grand Lodge Constitutions and By-Laws? Come on I wasn't born yesterday. They want to control it and force Prince Hall to practice Masonry the White, er right way.

Let me say that never again will the Black man be subservient to the White man ever again in the USA. If Mainstream Masonry had not tried so hard for so many years to discredit Black Freemasonry merging would be a more believable position. But here is what Poll and Roberts said in their article "Attacks on The Philalethes Society":

For some 200 years, U.S. “mainstream” Grand Lodges taught their members that Prince Hall Masonry was irregular. Visitation between “mainstream” US lodges and Prince Hall lodges was not allowed as no Prince Hall Grand Lodge was recognized as regular. We were taught that there were legitimate reasons why Prince Hall Masonry was irregular. Now we are taught that there is nothing at all irregular about Prince Hall Masonry. Recognition between the majority of US “mainstream” Grand Lodges and their Prince Hall counterparts now exist. Even where fraternal relations do not exist, we are led to believe that some Grand Lodges have made official statements declaring Prince Hall Masonry to be regular, if not always recognized. Did Prince Hall change in its nature? No. Then what gives? How does any thinking Mason reconcile this apparent contradiction? If being irregular means that something is wrong with a Masonic body, then how can it be declared regular if nothing has changed in the body? If we wish to take the position that it was simply an honest error in regard to Prince Hall, then we must face the fact that it was a pretty big error that for roughly 200 years falsely labeled and denied recognition to true brothers. Is there another reason (or reasons) why Prince Hall Masonry was falsely labeled “irregular”? Is it unreasonable to seek an understanding of this question? Is it unreasonable to wonder if, even today, “mistakes” could be made with other Masonic bodies?

One of the major problems with understanding the issues of regularity is our use (or misuse) of the word “irregular.” Common use has made the words “irregular,” “clandestine” and “unrecognized” interchangeable. But are they always interchangeable? Logic dictates that since Prince Hall Masonry (having made no change in their nature or organization) has been confirmed by the majority of U.S. Grand Lodges to be perfectly regular, then they were factually “unrecognized,” but not “irregular.” If this is the case, then why were they almost always called “irregular” and “clandestine”?

Prince Hall Masonry was not kept outside of the recognized Masonic family for some 200 years because of legitimate reasons, but because of an intentional desire to keep them out. In order to keep up the appearance of remaining true to the teachings of Freemasonry, Grand Lodges freely accepted the charges that Prince Hall Masonry was justifiably irregular. Since most Masons were not researchers, it was not that hard to write legitimate sounding charges against Prince Hall Masonry. In addition, because the vast majority of the Prince Hall Masons were black, there was no real desire to closely examine the charges made against them. When one spoke or wrote about Prince Hall Masonry, the words “irregular” or “clandestine” were used with no attempt to prove that the charges were factual. It was enough to just keep saying that Prince Hall Masonry was irregular. It was not true, but it was always there and accepted by most all. Even among those who held no bigotry in their hearts, the charges against Prince Hall Masonry were commonly accepted. Why? Because we trusted that our leaders would not tell us anything but the truth. We are Freemasons. We don’t speak evil of our brothers, right? How could such an organized effort of deception take place?

I am indebted to Peter Renzland and his TORONTO SOCIETY FOR MASONIC RESEARCH (TSMR).
http://tsmr.org/

For Prince Hall Issues:
http://tsmr.org/ph.html

For ETJ Issues:
http://tsmr.org/ph.html#ETJ

And For Recognition in General and more ETJ Issues:
http://tsmr.org/ph.html#RecoMisc

Palmetto Bug says these charges of Masonic racism are trumped up, made up Masonic McCarthyism. Here are some quotes and some thoughts from Brother Peter Renzland:

" How, then, could that law be binding on the negro Masons? Will folly be carried so far as to claim that the white Masons could, first, exclude the negro brethren from the white organizations, and then, having done this, proceed, in those organizations, without the consent of the negroes, to create a law that would both bind the negro Masons and render it impossible for them to continue their growth? Surely, the proposition is too monstrous to be considered. No; the "American doctrine," whatever its true meaning may be, and in whatever stage of development it may have been in 1808, was not morally, legally or Masonically binding on negro Masons. " -- William H. Upton: Light on a Dark Subject, #64, p81, 1899

"The question has been asked: the cause of the separate organizations of white and colored Masons in the United States of America? We do not know of any good reason why there should be, and we have made several attempts without success to have but one. We are, and always have been, in procession of all the ancient landmarks and regulations of the Craft; and we do acknowledge all genuine Masons of all Nations and shades of complexion, to be our brethren." -- Sentiments, National Grand Lodge (PH), 1847-06-24 (from Walkes, 1983)

" Resolved, That in the opinion of this Grand Lodge, it would be inexpedient and tend to mar the harmony of the fraternity to admit any of the persons of color, so-called, into the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons within the jurisdiction of thie Grand Lodge. " -- Grand Lodge of Ohio, adopted 1847

" After the abolition of slavery in the West Indies by the British Parliament, the Grand Lodge of England on September 1, 1847, changed the word free-born into free man, but the ancient landmark never has been removed in America. " -- Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry

" Resolved, That all subordinate lodges under this jurisdiction be instructed to admit no negro or mulatto as a visitor or otherwise, under any circumstances whatever. " -- Grand Lodge of Illinois, adopted 1851

" [In 1852] the Grand Lodge of Iowa adopted a report on foreign correspondence, which embodied and endorsed the action of the Grand Lodge of New York, declaring that the 'exclusion of persons of the negro race is in accordance with Masonic law and the ancient charges and regulations', and also declaring it 'not proper to initiate them in our lodges'; " -- Grand Lodge of Iowa, John Long, G.M. 1870

" Resolved, That lodges under this jurisdiction are positively prohibited from initiating, passing, raising, or admitting to membership, or the right of visitation, any negro, mulatto, or colored person of the United States. This prohibition shall be an obligation, and so taught in the third degree. " -- Grand Lodge of Delaware, adopted 1867

I took my obligations to white men, not to negroes. When I have to accept negroes as brothers or leave Masonry, I shall leave it. I am interested to keep the Ancient and Accepted Rite uncontaminated, in our country at least, by the leprosy of negro association. ... Better let the thing drift. Apres nous le deluge. ". -- Albert Pike, 1875 -- cited by William H. Upton, Negro Masonry 1902 p214-5

" The Ahiman Rezon of South Carolina, compiled by that eminent author, erudite scholar and unsurpassed Masonic jurist, Albert G. Mackey, and adopted by the Grand Lodge, specifically declares that a candidate must be of free white parents. " -- Grand Lodge of South Carolina Proceedings 1898 p50, cited in Upton: "Light on a Dark Subject", 1899 #16 p22

" A candidate for initiation must be of the age of twenty-one years and a free-born white man. " -- Grand Lodge of Kentucky Constitution, Article viii, Section 5. Cited in Upton 1902, p36

" To have Lodges exclusively of Negroes, would be dangerous to the high character of our Order. And, to associate them in Lodges with white brethren, would be impossible. " -- Grand Lodge of Illinois Proceedings, 1899

" Several Grand Lodges seem to believe and have -- perhaps disingenuously -- been led to declare that they possess "exclusive territorial jurisdiction" by "inherent right"; that any infringement upon their "territory" is a high Masonic crime; and that the doctrine is actually a part of "the common law of Masonry," -- one writer has said, "paramount to a Landmark"! [Proceedings GL of Indiana, 1899, Cor. Rep.] ...

The American doctrine of exclusive Grand Lodge jurisdiction is not a Landmark, but a modern, local, American-born regulation. ...

Once prove that, "This is not a question of race, but of jurisdiction"; that a system of Masonry founded in the Landmarks and practiced in accordance therewith cannot exist side by side with the American Doctrine of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction -- once prove that, and the American Doctrine must perish: The Ancient Landmarks shall always be carefully preserved. [General Regulations XXXIX, 1721] " -- William H. Upton: "Negro Masonry" 1902 #71a p159-161

"Masonry never contemplated that her privileges should be extended to a race morally and intellectually totally incapacitated to discharge the obligations which they assume ... We hold that affiliation with negroes is contrary to the teachings of Masonry, ... do order that fraternal correspondence between the Grand Lodge of Mississippi and the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of New Jersey, be and is hereby discontinued until such time as ... New Jersey shall see fit to desist from her present practice of initiating and affiliating negros as Masons ... if we open our Lodges to a promiscuous mixing up, then we destroy Masonry ... The negro in our land is unfit to assume the responsibilities and obligations of Masonry. It is an open secret that virtue and morality, which are indispensable qualifications to membership, are foreign to the race. I felt it my duty as your Grand Master to cut loose from any who would dare open the door of Masonry to a people whose standing for virtue and morality is a mockery to civilization."" -- Edwin J. Martin, Grand Master of Mississippi, 1909

"Our political requirements are most explicit upon the question of being free born. Many have erroneously thought that such qualification was "read into" the body of Masonry to keep out men of the colored race. Unquestionably "free born" means not only not born a slave, but not born of parents who have been slaves, or whose forebears were slaves. Thus "free born" does bar men of African descent in this country from becoming a Mason. " -- Carl H. Claudy, Executive Secretary 1929-1957: "The Candidate", MSA STB 1930-5

"This Grand Lodge does not recognize as legal or Masonic any body of negroes working under any character of charter in the United States, without regard to the body granting such charter, and they regard all negro lodges as clandestine, illegal and unMasonic, and moreover, they regard as highly censurable the course of any Grand Lodge in the United States which should recognize such bodies of negroes as Masonic Lodges. " - Grand Lodge of Texas Constitution, Article XV, p.34 1948

1949.06.08 "specially not because it was incorrect but because it has brought objections from certain other jurisdictions." ... "Unity and Harmony are vastly more important to the Fraternity than debates about Negro Freemasonry." " -- Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, cited in Walkes 1983 p89-92

" ... that so-called American Doctrine of Exclusive Territorial jurisdiction which is a piece of anti-Negro Masonic buncombe used with effect against the Prince Hall Order. " -- Harry A. Williamson, 1952

" Under the Act of Incorporation the law plainly states 'Consisting of Masons exclusively of the white race.' " -- Grand Lodge of Florida, Jurisprudence Committee, p131 Proceedings 1955

WHEREAS: The Grand Lodge of Connecticut, A.F. & A.M. adopted a resolution dated October 14th, 1989 giving recognition to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, F. & A.M. of Connecticut, Inc. ... ... WHEREAS: the resolution adopted on October 14th, 1989 by the Grand Lodge of Connecticut AF&AM, is contrary to and conflicts with the Constitution ... of the GLLA, as well as the obligations of a Master Mason. THEREFORE: I, EUGENE F. LOVE, GRAND MASTER OF MASONS, THE GRAND LODGE OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, F.&A.M. DO HEREBY ISSUE THE FOLLOWING EDICT EFFECTIVE FROM THE DATE SHOWN ON THE BOTTOM HEREOF: The Grand Lodge of the State of Louisiana, F. & A.M. does hereby sever all Masonic relations and/or communications with The Grand Lodge of Connecticut, A.F. & A.M. " -- Eugene F. Love, G.M., Grand Lodge of Louisana, quoted in Phylaxis 1990Q3 p7,10

" This doctrine was one of the arguments used to prevent the recognition of Prince Hall Masonry. " -- Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, "American Doctrine" p37 1996

"Exclusive jurisdiction ... in the 20th & 21st centuries has only contributed to discrimination, isolation and political dilemma. Some of this has only recently been addressed by the co-recognition of several Prince Hall Affiliated Grand Lodges with their "mainstream" counterpart grand lodges ... effectively negating the thrust of the doctrine." -- Grand Lodge of Minnesota, 2002-05-22

"Were it not for this doctrine the Masonic Fraternity could well have been a leader in our nation on civil rights and the racial integration of blacks into American society beginning as early as 1898 (in Washington) or even in 1947 (in Massachusetts). Instead we came along 25 years after the passage of Civil Rights legislation to recognize the truth that territorial exclusivity simply was a lie in principle and in fact. Not only did we squander an opportunity, we simply let the doctrine of territorial exclusivity become the excuse and the ruse for our own lack of brotherhood, and our immoral apathy about "separate but equal" segregation. Shame on us. And shame on all the leaders of Freemasonry who did not live up to the ideals we so proudly professed but so blatantly ignored. " -- -- John L. Cooper III, 33°, PSoc Lecture 2004-02-14

"I believe in Prince Hall Masonry, a door of benevolence securely tiled against the unworthy, but opened wide to men of good report, whether Aryan or Hottentot." -- From the Prince Hall Credo, W.E.B. DuBois, Boston, 1904

And finally some words from Brother Renzland:

Exclusion and Non-Recognition

During most of US history, black persons were systemically excluded or segregated, in all social associations. This was clearly contrary to the "self evident truth that all men are created equal". And it was certainly contrary to the Masonic maxim that all Masons, if not all persons, are Brothers, Equal and Free. In US Freemasonry, not only did black and white streams run parallel and separate, but the prevailing view held by respected and influential white Masonic writers, teachers, and leaders was that a black person was ineligible for Freemasonry.

This exclusion was defended, simultaneously, by the argument that Masonic doctrine demanded it (Claudy), and that, although Masonic doctrine forbade it, it was necessary to maintain "peace and harmony" in the lodge (Haywood, Mackey).

Thus, whereas exclusion led to separate institutions and non-recognition of the black (Prince Hall) institutions by the white (mainstream) ones, the polite arguments given were "peace and harmony" and "exclusive territorial jurisdiction", respectively.

These attitudes, practices, and policies persisted long after the US signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status." -- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted world-wide, without dissent, 1948.

It should be noted that this attitude was one-sided. Whereas the white policy of black exclusion is well-documented, the black institutions had an explicit policy of inclusion and of recognition. Prince Hall himself gave this Charge to African Lodge in 1797: "give the right hand of affection and fellowship to whom it justly belongs let their color and complexion be what it will, let their nation be what it may, for they are your brethren, and it is your indispensable duty so to do; let them as Masons deny this, and we & the world know what to think of them be they ever so grand". And the 1904 Prince Hall Credo states: "I believe in Prince Hall Masonry, a door of benevolence securely tiled against the unworthy, but opened wide to men of good report, whether Aryan or Hottentot."

Inclusion and recognition (in non-trivial numbers) in mainstream US Freemasonry began in the 1980s, and, after 19 years of recognition efforts, 80% of US Grand Lodges recognize at least one Prince Hall Grand Lodge. However, 58% of the 160,000 Prince Hall Masons remain totally unrecognized by *any* US mainstream Grand Lodge. The "reason" is that the mainstream GLs won't recognize a PH GL unless it is recognized by the white GL in the same State. This is called "The American Doctrine of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction". The following 11 States remain thus excluded: AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC SC TN WV. The majority of all PH Masons live in those 11 States.

Even the United Grand Lodge of England, which does not practice this American Doctrine itself, respects it and will not recognize the Prince Hall Grand Lodges thus excluded by their white counterparts.

In contrast, all the Australian Grand Lodges have fraternal relations with *all* Prince Hall Affiliated Masons, and the same is true for some of Canada.

Even in Canada, far North of the Mason-Dixon Line, there remains one mainstream Grand Lodge which still does not recognize the Prince Hall Grand Lodge in the same territory. Some of its leaders have even dis-acknowledged its very existence.

Outside the US (and parts of Canada), Freemasons are shocked by such official policies and systemic practices. And many, if not most Masons in North America are ashamed and deeply disturbed by these facts. Even after 20 years of recognition efforts, only a small percentage of the possible Masonic handshakes between black and white Masons are "legal". In Canada, the degree of completion of Prince Hall recognition is only 1.5%, even though, in 1992, *all* Canadian Grand Masters agreed to accept *all* Prince Hall Affiliated Masons as *Regular* Masons. The corresponding metric in the US is still very small, and, at the rate of progress over the past 20 years, full recognition could take another century.

Ultimately, an explanation for the persistence of exclusion and non-recognition can be found in what Mackey's Encyclopedia approvingly calls the "dogmatic and autocratic" system of Grand Lodge governance in the US and (parts of) Canada.

Another part of the explanation is that many refuse to acknowledge that 200 years of exclusion and non-recognition was a unilateral and systemic *wrong* that needs to be stopped promptly, unilaterally, and completely. Many refuse to acknowledge that there ever *was* any race-based exclusion in US Freemasonry, because such an exclusion would be a perversion of the very essence of Freemasonry:

Denial of Brotherhood perpetuated by the denial of the perpetual denial of Brotherhood.

TSMR: Prince Hall Freemasonry Recognition (in Canada, in Context)

Brethren Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction is a sledge hammer used to bludgeon to death Black Masonry. Racism in Masonry is not "McCarthyism" but reality. Continued opposition to Recognition of Prince Hall Masonry reflects more the amount of Klans Men now underground in American Masonry rather than any kind of quasi legal mumbo jumbo that was deliberately invented to justify such racism.

I rest my case.
Brother Frederic L. Milliken

Codifying Prejudice ~ Making Racism Legal

2008-09-01T09:56:00.005-05:00

Attacks on The Philalethes Society
by
Michael R. Poll, FPS and Kenneth D. Roberts, FPS

Betrayal of Masonic Trust is the highest and gravest crime a Master Mason can commit. … It is the masonic duty of each and every Master Mason to rise up and to denounce any violation and breach of Masonic Trust …
- VW Billy Aportadera [1]

Part 2 of Series
The nature of our Masonic initiations is such that we deliberately place our candidates in an extraordinarily vulnerable environment. We do this to set the minds and hearts of the candidates in a state where they can best receive our teachings. One of the first and most important lessons we teach our candidates is to trust their soon-to-be brothers. It is necessary for them to accept, with no question, what they are told, as well as the motives and intentions of the officers and members of the lodge. If a candidate has no reason to trust the lodge membership, then how will he view the various and often peculiar aspects of his initiation?
“The trust of a Mason is in God. But before a man can trust in God, whom he cannot see, he must learn to trust in his fellowman, who is made in God’s image.” [2]

The lesson of trust is a vital part of the Masonic foundation we lay for the candidate. Without it, the walls of our structure crumble. Can you imagine any lodge allowing a candidate to be made the subject of a practical joke while receiving a degree? Can you imagine any Grand Lodge not seriously reprimanding or pulling the charter of any lodge that would allow unMasonic behavior with a candidate?

All Masons have the right to expect that the trust we were taught to have in our brothers will not be violated. Those who would knowingly and willingly violate the trust placed in them by their brothers must be reduced to order or driven from our lodges.

But what does it mean to violate a Mason’s trust? Can we do so with no ill intent or under the belief that our actions will result in ultimate good for Freemasonry? Is willfully lying to a brother the same as making a mistake? Is bending the truth the same as willfully lying? Where is the line that divides a willful intent from a mistake?

This paper will attempt to examine recent events in Masonry as well as some published statements with the hope of better understanding the question of Masonic trust.

What is the Truth?
The search for the Lost Word is symbolic of a Mason’s search for truth, but what is the truth? Is there a “Universal Truth” for all of Masonry? In many cases, no. “Masonic truth” must often be qualified. What is true in one Grand Lodge might be quite false in another. The truthful answer to the question, “Who is the Grand Master?” will change depending on the jurisdiction of the one being asked the question. Certain basic questions, however, will almost assuredly bring about like answers. “Are Masons taught to be honest?” Does anyone know of any jurisdiction that would answer “no” to this question? But what about questions of regularity? How do we answer the question, “Who is regular?” There are very few questions in Masonry that are as seemingly simple, yet, in fact, more complex. The opinion (law) concerning regularity in one jurisdiction might be quite different than the opinion (law) of another jurisdiction. The answers to questions concerning regularity will certainly change from one place to another. Concerning regularity, the United Grand Lodge of England states:

“There are some self-styled Masonic bodies that do not meet these standards, e.g. which do not require a belief in a Supreme Being, or which allow or encourage their members to participate as such in political matters. These bodies are recognised by the Grand Lodge of England as being Masonically irregular, and Masonic contact with them is forbidden.” [3]

That might give us an idea of what is irregular, but it is not clear as to who is irregular or why are they so or how we handle a situation when our Grand Lodge and a Grand Lodge that we recognize disagree about a third Grand Lodge.

For some 200 years, U.S. “mainstream” Grand Lodges taught their members that Prince Hall Masonry was irregular. Visitation between “mainstream” US lodges and Prince Hall lodges was not allowed as no Prince Hall Grand Lodge was recognized as regular. We were taught that there were legitimate reasons why Prince Hall Masonry was irregular. Now we are taught that there is nothing at all irregular about Prince Hall Masonry. Recognition between the majority of US “mainstream” Grand Lodges and their Prince Hall counterparts now exist. Even where fraternal relations do not exist, we are led to believe that some Grand Lodges have made official statements declaring Prince Hall Masonry to be regular, if not always recognized. Did Prince Hall change in its nature? No. Then what gives? How does any thinking Mason reconcile this apparent contradiction? If being irregular means that something is wrong with a Masonic body, then how can it be declared regular if nothing has changed in the body? If we wish to take the position that it was simply an honest error in regard to Prince Hall, then we must face the fact that it was a pretty big error that for roughly 200 years falsely labeled and denied recognition to true brothers. Is there another reason (or reasons) why Prince Hall Masonry was falsely labeled “irregular”? Is it unreasonable to seek an understanding of this question? Is it unreasonable to wonder if, even today, “mistakes” could be made with other Masonic bodies?

One of the major problems with understanding the issues of regularity is our use (or misuse) of the word “irregular.” Common use has made the words “irregular,” “clandestine” and “unrecognized” interchangeable. But are they always interchangeable? Logic dictates that since Prince Hall Masonry (having made no change in their nature or organization) has been confirmed by the majority of U.S. Grand Lodges to be perfectly regular, then they were factually “unrecognized,” but not “irregular.” If this is the case, then why were they almost always called “irregular” and “clandestine”?

Say it Again and Again
Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister for Adolph Hitler, is often credited with the phrase, "A lie repeated often enough becomes the truth." As despicable as the man was, there is certain logic to that statement. A basic rule of advertising is to offer your message again and again so that the chances of forgetting the message will be minimized. In addition, it is realized that value is often subjective and one may not be guilty of false advertising if they state their opinion of a product’s value or quality. The fine line between an error and a falsehood is often walked in the high stakes advertising game. But how does this relate to Masonry?

Prince Hall Masonry was not kept outside of the recognized Masonic family for some 200 years because of legitimate reasons, but because of an intentional desire to keep them out. In order to keep up the appearance of remaining true to the teachings of Freemasonry, Grand Lodges freely accepted the charges that Prince Hall Masonry was justifiably irregular. Since most Masons were not researchers, it was not that hard to write legitimate sounding charges against Prince Hall Masonry. In addition, because the vast majority of the Prince Hall Masons were black, there was no real desire to closely examine the charges made against them. When one spoke or wrote about Prince Hall Masonry, the words “irregular” or “clandestine” were used with no attempt to prove that the charges were factual. It was enough to just keep saying that Prince Hall Masonry was irregular. It was not true, but it was always there and accepted by most all. Even among those who held no bigotry in their hearts, the charges against Prince Hall Masonry were commonly accepted. Why? Because we trusted that our leaders would not tell us anything but the truth. We are Freemasons. We don’t speak evil of our brothers, right? How could such an organized effort of deception take place?
The Tactics

If there was an organized effort to keep Prince Hall Masonry out of the recognized Masonic family, then the individuals involved would have discussed their plans between themselves. That is what “organized” means. But how does one go about organizing an effort for anything that requires the agreement of more than a few independent Grand Lodges? What kind of plans could be made that would cross jurisdictional lines? How would one go about such an effort?

In a letter dated 6 February 2000, William R. Miller, a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Washington State and Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Washington wrote to C. Fred Kleinknecht, then Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, SJUSA [4] concerning suggestions for dealing with reports that the Imperial Potentate intended to initiate changes that would allow non-Masons to join the Shriners. Bro. Miller offers some astonishing suggestions. How should the AASR deal with the possible action of the Shriners? Bro. Miller writes:
“Plant the seed that it is a bad idea because it is no solution at all, then attack it as a fraternal bad idea.”

Miller also writes:
“We need to develop a collective strategy to plant and reinforce that value system in our members.”

How could they accomplish such an effort? Miller answers:
“In the time between now and then I propose we interview the probable candidates for Representative (in my Temple that is the Potentate, Chief Rabban, Assistant Rabban and Recorder) to see where they stand on the issue and make them commit to vote the way we want them to. If they won't, we elect an alternate slate of Representatives.”

And

“If he is not with us we make sure he is not elected Imperial Potentate. We go right down the line. If they commit to be with us they stay in line - if not we replace them with an alternate we have in the wings.”
And additionally,

“It will be a political campaign where you have to count the votes. We need a war room where we keep tabs on who the Representatives are and how well they are staying committed. It just would not happen with individual Grand Lodges trying to coordinate with sixty other Grand Lodges.”

By any reasonable examination, Bro. Miller is offering plans for the successful manipulation of an allied Masonic organization into doing what he and “others” want done. He even offers punishment for anyone not yielding to the demands. If those running for any local or national Shrine office would not agree with “the plan” they would be replaced or unable to be elected.

Bro. Miller’s letter was obtained by the Shriners and posted on their website. While it is understandable that this event may have caused some embarrassment for both the Southern Jurisdiction and Bro. Miller, it does not seem to have stopped Bro. Miller’s brazen letter writing. In a 19 February 2004 email to a fellow PGM and SJ SGIG, Bro. Miller writes:

“The Philalethes has its own, new, agenda - led by Nelson King (an embarrassment to Freemasonry) and Roberts. They want the rank and file to recognize the Grand Orients, co-Masonic bodies, Prince Hall carte blanc etc. They constantly denigrate the authority of Grand Lodges to control recognition and legitimate, regular Freemasonry. Wallace McCloud seems to be a bit of that tong as well. As Grand Abbot of the Blue Friars, he invited an expelled Texas mason, now a member of a Prince Hall lodge in Texas, as a new member - last year I think. Sort of poking Reese and company in the nose.”[5]

Let’s look at this amazing mail. What evidence does Bro. Miller offer in support of his serious charges? None at all. It is all stated “as fact.” It is uncertain what he means by “Grand Orients,” but if he means the Grand Orient of France, this is wholly false as is his charge that these brothers support the recognition of co-Masonic bodies in any manner. We must remember Bro. Miller’s message in the Shrine letter, “Plant the seed …” We must remember what was written in the Grand Lodge of New York’s report on The Philalethes Society, “…in light of the Grand Master’s concerns regarding this Society’s alleged attempts to interfere in Grand Lodge activities inappropriately.” Bro. Miller’s statement in this e-mail (“They constantly denigrate the authority of Grand Lodges”) is disturbingly similar. Was Bro. Miller the source of the GM of New York’s misinformation? Where else has Bro. Miller “plant[ed] the seed”?

If these events concerning Bro. Miller were not enough, there is a third event that should be examined. We learn from the July 2003 edition of the E-Alpha (on-line newsletter of Holland Lodge #1 in Houston, Texas) [6] that Bro. Miller gave a talk entitled “The Case for a United Grand Lodge of the United States of America.” The E-Alpha tells us that Bro. Miller is supportive of creating a single, supervising “Grand Lodge” of sorts in the US so that national action could be better implemented. The report tells us of Bro. Miller’s “disappointments” and “failed efforts” concerning getting his ideas into practice. The report notes that Bro. Miller is dissatisfied with the fact that each year the “annual Conferences of Grand Masters and Grand Secretaries” adopts rules “making it NOT a Legislative Assembly.” He is reported to suggest that issues of “regularity and recognition pose problems more easily solved by fewer bodies to promote the Universality of Freemasonry.” And “…should we just design our own UGL? One perhaps with [a] national spokesman within the framework of our present 51 Grand Lodges.”

Let’s try to look at the total picture being painted. Bro. Miller seems to want some sort of governing, controlling body that will be able to direct the actions of all U.S. Grand Lodges and Masonic organizations. He has offered a plan that spells out the steps that should be taken to obtain this control. Anyone who would not be supportive of this plan will be unable to be elected to any office of importance. He has a plan for advancing his message (planting the seed) and has already demonstrated a willingness to use falsehoods with the obvious dual goal of smearing the name of anyone who might present him with problems and of convincing others to join him in his position. Will it become necessary for a small group of centralized Masons to “approve” candidates before they can be elected to any Grand Lodge or appendant body office regardless of jurisdiction?

Obviously, U.S. Grand Lodges will become, if Bro. Miller achieves his professed goal, subservient to this little “super grand lodge.” The voice of individual lodges will be silenced. What is most ironic is that Bro. Miller’s professed plans for controlling U.S. Grand Lodges by means of this little band of allies is exactly what he falsely attributed to The Philalethes Society in his February 2004 e-mail. We have already seen that this same false notion was advanced, and wisely rejected, in New York. Reports even tell us that the absurdly false charge that The Philalethes Society is somehow attempting to “control” U.S. Grand Lodges is circulating in more than a few U.S. jurisdictions. The “seed” of falsehood has clearly been planted in more than a few areas.

What’s Going on?
For whatever it’s worth, the tactics, the plan and the execution for a centralized, national control of U.S. Masonry are laid out by Bro. Miller. The questions are: if this is more than one man’s design, how deep are the roots; how long has this been going on and how many Masons could be involved in such activity? The idea of a national U.S. Grand Lodge has been around since George Washington was nominated to be its “National Grand Master.” This idea was wisely squelched, as was the movement to crown him King George Washington when the nation was newly formed. But a national Grand Lodge is one matter; organized efforts to manipulate and control by means of spreading falsehoods or eliminating opposition is quite another matter.

There is no question that Prince Hall Masonry was kept out of the recognized U.S. Masonic family by the employment of tactics very similar to the ones laid out by Bro. Miller. The “seed” was planted that Prince Hall Masonry was irregular, there was very little effort made on the grand lodge or leadership level to seriously prove the charges factual and the unsubstantiated charges were repeated until they became an “understood fact.” At some point the actual issue regarding Prince Hall’s regularity becomes a secondary issue. The real issue becomes the tactics that were used to keep them on the outside looking in. The tactics of planting the seeds, offering minimal support for the charges, spreading falsehoods and punishing those who might consider any reevaluation of the situation fits like a glove with what Bro. Bill Miller offers. His “plan” is not unique.

Like Prince Hall, the actual regularity of the Grand Lodge of France becomes a secondary issue to the tactics that have been used to keep them unrecognized in the U.S. for the last 50 or so years. Since they are unrecognized, then just about anything can be said about them and how does one determine if what is being said is factual? By visiting their lodges? That’s not possible until recognition takes place. By listening to what those opposed to the Grand Lodge of France have to say? By reading what independent researchers have to say about the Grand Lodge of France in The Philalethes? Is it now clear why some might wish to silence The Philalethes Society?

And So it Goes
The paranoid, anti-communist hysteria of the 1950’s in the U.S. became known as McCarthyism. Just like the Salem Witch Hunt days of the late 1600’s, all that was necessary was to cry out, “He’s a Communist!” and the career and lives of totally innocent individuals would be ruined. The charge alone, even if wholly false, was enough to do the damage. Why? Because “important men” made the charges. Who could think that such “important men” would offer anything but the truth? What they said was accepted as fact, many times with precious little support for the charges. For a time, this activity was successful. Many of those who fell victim to these tactics never fully recovered from the damage done to them by outright lies.
In the next part of this series, we will examine the Masonic equivalent of McCarthyism taking place today in U.S. Masonry and further analyze how the same strategy of paranoia and falsehoods has been employed against the Grand Lodge of France, The Philalethes Society and any organization or individual who does not wish to subjugate itself or himself to a small band of individual Masons in positions of authority.

Notes:
1) Billy Aportadera, Betrayal of Masonic Trust, The Grand Lodge of the Philippines website, www.glphils.org/sp-feature/masonic-trust.htm
2) Louisiana Masonic Monitor (The Grand Lodge of Louisiana, 1974) 40.
3) United Grand Lodge of England website, www.grandlodge-england.org/masonry/freemasonrys-external-relations.htm.
4) www.shrinershq.org/potesmsg/planetalk/sgigletter3-00.html
5) William R. Miller email, 19, February 2004. Message on File.
6) www.hollandlodge.org/e-AlphaJuly2003.pdf
Copyright ©2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 The Philalethes Society. All Rights Reserved

Dear Brother Milliken:

We will gladly give you permission to reprint the copyright article from The Philalethes Magazine©, The Philalethes CD-Rom© or web sites providing the following:

A. That credit is given to the author.

B. It is noted that the article is reprinted from The Philalethes, with permission.

C. That a copy of your publication is forwarded to the Editor.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Nelson King, FPS

Editor

2 Knockbolt Crescent

Toronto ON Canada M1S 2P6

Prince Hall Myths, Legends and Facts

2008-08-31T01:38:00.004-05:00

PRINCE HALL, MYTHS, LEGENDS AND FACTS
complied by Aubrey Brown, MPS, Kevin Gembarosky MPS, David Gray, MPS, Nelson King, FPS.
The late Allen E. Roberts wrote "For more than two centuries Prince Hall Freemasonry has been the most lied about
organization in the world. Caucasian Freemasonry has misstated the facts about it; Black Freemasons and their
supporters have exaggerated its history and its hierarchy." We will dispel those myths, legends and lies.

MYTH: Prince Hall was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, B.W.I. His father Thomas Prince Hall, was an English leather
worker, and his mother, a free colored woman of French extraction.
FACT: To date there has never been any proof of the birth place, or who the parents of Prince Hall where. To date there
has only been speculation.

MYTH: The Initiation of Prince Hall and fourteen other men of color was illegal.
FACT: What constituted a legal Mason prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge system in USA? There were none
before 1778 when the Grand Lodge of Virginia was instituted. Before then there were Provincial Grand Lodges--several
of them. In Massachusetts there were two such bodies. One held allegiance to the "Modern" Grand Lodge of England;
the other, the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Studying the works of Henry Wilson Coil, Melvin Maynard Johnson, J. Hugo
Tatsch, Harry Carr and many others we find there were hundreds of "illegal" Masons in the early days of Freemasonry in
America. For example, where were the members of the lodge that met in Philadelphia in 1731 (and perhaps earlier)
made Masons? Was Benjamin Franklin, who was made a Mason in this lodge, illegal? No of course not.

MYTH: African Lodge which the men of color formed was illegal.
FACT: Freemason's proudly proclaim the supremacy of the Grand Lodge of England. It was the Grand Lodge of England
that granted a warrant on September 29, 1784 for African Lodge No. 459, and this warrant is still in existence.

MYTH: African Lodge had no right to warrant other lodges and form a Grand Lodge.
FACT: Let us look at the Lodge at Fredericksburgh VA. It warranted two lodges: Falmouth and Botetourt. Those Lodges
helped form the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and both are still in existence. What did the only lodge in Massachusetts do
after 1733? Did it not form a Provincial Grand Lodge and then warrant other lodges, and not only in Massachusetts? Why
should African Lodge be refused the same privilege?

MYTH: African Lodge's Warrant did not give them the right to Make Masons.
FACT: Africa Lodge No. 459's Warrant was no different from any other Warrant issued by the Grand Lodge of England.
Below is a copy of that Warrant.
TO ALL AND EVERY
our Right Worshipful & loving Brethren, we Thomas Howard,
Earl of Effingham, Lord Howard, etc. etc. etc., Acting Grand Master under
the authority of His Royal Highness, Henry Frederick Duke of Cumberland etc.etc. etc., Grand Master of the Most
Ancient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons, sends greeting:
KNOW YE, that we, at the humble petition of our right trusty and well-beloved, Brethren, Prince Hall, Boston Smith,
Thomas Sanderson and several other Brethren residing in Boston, New England in North America do hereby constitute
the said Brethren into a regular Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, under the title or denomination of the African
Lodge, to be opened in Boston aforesaid, and do further at their said petition, hereby appoint the said Prince Hall to be
Master, Boston Smith, Senior Warden, and Thomas Sanderson, Junior Warden, for opening the said Lodge, and for such
further time only as shall be thought proper by the Brethren thereof, it being our will that this our appointment of the
officers shall in now wise affect any future election of officers of the Lodge, but that such election shall be regulated
agreeable to such by-laws of said Lodge as shall be consistent with the general laws of the society, contained in the
Book of Constitution: and we hereby will and require you, the said Prince Hall, to take special care that all and every the
said Brethren are or have been regularly made Masons, and that they do observe, perform and keep all the rules and
orders contained in the Book of Constitutions; and further, that you do, from time to time, cause to be entered in a book
kept for that purpose, an account of your proceedings in the Lodge, together with all such rules, orders and regulations,
as shall be made for the good government of the same, that in no wise you omit once in every year to send to us, or our
successors, Grand Masters, or to Rowland Holt, Esq,. Our Deputy Grand Master, for the time being an account in writing
of your said proceedings and copies of such rules, orders and regulations as shall be made as aforesaid, together with a
list of the members of the Lodge, and such a sum of money as may suit the circumstances of the Lodge and reasonably
be expected, toward the Grand Charity. Moreover, we hereby will and require you, the said Prince Hall, as soon as
conveniently may be, to send an account in writing of what may be done by virtue of these presents.
Freemasonry
https://freemasonry.org Powered by Joomla! Generated: 31 August, 2008, 07:36
Given at London, under our hand
and seal of Masonry, this 29th
day of September, A .L. 5784,
A. D. 1784.
"By the Grand Master's Command,
R. Holt, D. G. M."
"Witness
Wm. White, G. S."

MYTH: African Lodge was erased by the United Grand Lodge of England.
FACT: So was every lodge in America still on the roles of either of the rival Grand Lodges. This included about half of the
lodges in Massachusetts! Has any critic dared claim all other American lodges erased from the roster of the United
Grand Lodge of England are clandestine?

MYTH: African Lodge was dormant for a number of years and therefore is illegal.
FACT: So were numerous other lodges. Research the anti-Masonic craze beginning in 1826. Check out the vast number
of lodges giving up their charters. Hundreds of them came back into the fold with no condemnation. Why should they be
privileged and African Lodge not?

MYTH: Prince Hall Grand Lodges are not Regular:.
FACT: Prince Hall Freemasons as do all Regular Freemasons adhere to the "landmarks".
I. its Brethren must believe in a Supreme Being [the GAOTU];
II. Obligations must be taken on or in full view of the VSL.;
III. it must display the three Great Lights of Freemasonry when it or its Lodges are open;
IV. discussion of religion and politics in its Lodges must be prohibited, and
V. its membership must be male, and it must have nothing to do with mixed or women's Lodges.

MYTH: Prince Hall Grand Lodges only accept men of color, and "Mainstream" Grand Lodges only accept Caucasian men.
I. John Pine, a black Freemason, who in 1769 designed the frontispiece for Anderson's Constitutions.
II. Canadian Grand Master by the name of Charles Lightfoot Roman, Grand Lodge of Quebec, was a black Freemason.
III. The proceedings of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York, 1871 provide us a record of a Lodge
of German Jews working under the authority of this Prince Hall Grand Lodge.
IV. Alpha Lodge No. 116, F. & A. M. Grand Lodge of New Jersey [Mainstream] is comprised of Black Masons.
V. The United Grand Lodge of England, The Grand Lodge of Scotland, and The Grand Lodge of Ireland have had
Provincial Grand Lodges through out the world, and their membership is not restricted by color.

MYTH: Prince Hall Grand Lodges only accept men who are Christians.
FACT: This is a question of Regularity. Since it has already been determined that Prince Hall Lodges are Regular, for us
to practice or teach this would be against the Ancient Landmarks of our order. [see Landmarks above] In 1787, Prince
Hall forwarded a copy of "The General Regulations of the African Lodge to D.G.M. Roland Holt in London, with the very
first item declaring, "… yet at the same time allow every man to join his own religion so that they be men of Honour
and Freeborn."

MYTH: Prince Hall Grand Lodges have women members.
FACT: The would be a violation of the Landmarks and Prince Hall Affiliated Freemasons adhere to the Ancient
Landmarks [see Landmarks above]

MYTH: Prince Hall Lodges have sexual orgies in the Lodge Room
FACT: Again this would be a violation of the Landmarks. [see Landmarks above] It is unfortunate that there exist in this
world spurious and even out right clandestine organizations who dare travel under the name of Freemasonry and use the
most immoral and un-Masonic acts in her name and in the name of Prince Hall.

MYTH: William Harry Grimshaw's, "Negro Freemasonry... " and books that quote this book are a reliable source for
information about Prince Hall Freemasonry.
FACT: Grimshaw's purpose was sound when he wrote this book. Grimshaw theorized and wrote what had been handed
down to him from years of word of mouth teaching. Unfortunately, his theories and teaching were corrupted. An accurate
comparison would be the ritual, which has developed in North America. There is no question that word of mouth rituals
are not the same ritual dictated to Ben Franklin.

MYTH: Prince Hall Grand Lodges have chartered Lodges in other Grand Lodges' Jurisdictions.
FACT: Prince Hall Grand Lodges have chartered military Lodges in Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Korea to name a few.
The traditional act of chartering a Lodge to service members traveling abroad is well recorded in Masonic history. This
has been a practice in Freemasonry since the very beginning of the rebirth in 1717. United Grand Lodge of England, The
Grand Lodge of Scotland, The Grand Lodge of Ireland, and many other "mainstream" Grand Lodges have Charted
Lodges though out the world in other Grand Lodges' Jurisdictions.

MYTH: Prince Hall Masons intermingle politics and Masonry.
FACT: Again this would be a violation of the Landmarks [see Landmarks above] However, it is only natural that many
prominent black politicians are or have been Prince Hall Masons. Prince Hall Masons by nature are inclined to be
involved in their communities, and this extends to the political working. This is done as individuals and not as masons.
Prince Hall Masonry has had within it's membership some of the preeminent Blacks in politics. The lists includes such
notables as Harold Washington, Chicago; Thomas Bradley, Los Angeles; Andrew Young and Maynard Jackson, Atlanta;
all former mayors. Douglass Wilder, the first black elected governor, Thurgood Marshal, and Jesse Jackson, to name a
few.

MYTH: Prince Hall Grand Lodges do not enjoy full recognition from their Caucasian counterparts.
FACT: Most Prince Hall Grand Lodges and their neighboring Regular counterparts do in fact enjoy full recognition. Most
of the misunderstanding perhaps is due to the fact that Prince Hall Grand Lodges do not allow dual or plural
memberships. This means that members of recognized Grand Lodges can't join as full members. Some Prince Hall
Grand Lodges allow honorary memberships. These have a number of their "Mainstream" counterparts as honorary
members. Most Prince Hall Grand Lodges do allow their members to belong to Research Lodges. Many Prince Hall
Masons belong to national and state Research Lodges.

MYTH: Prince Hall Masonry does not contribute to charitable activities.
FACT: All branches of Prince Hall Freemasonry support charitable activities. From individual lodges to the Prince Hall
Conference of Grand Masters, The Supreme Councils [ SJ & NJ], To the Shrine. Prince Hall Masonry has contributed
millions of dollars in such charitable activities as scholarships and medical aid and research.

MYTH: All Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodges are Regular.
FACT: Not all Regular Prince Hall Affiliated Grand Lodges are titled as such. The Regular Prince Hall Grand Lodge in the
state of Mississippi is, The Most Worshipful Stringer Grand Lodge, F.& A.M. [Prince Hall Affiliated]. The Regular Prince
Hall Grand Lodge in the state of Florida is, The Most Worshipful Union Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, PHA.
There are irregular Black Grand Lodges in both these states using the title of Prince Hall Grand Lodge. There are also
other such outfits operating around the country. They will usually delineate somewhere in there title Prince Hall Origin.

MYTH: Prince Hall Masonry has never bothered to take Irregular Black Grand Lodges to court.
FACT: There is a long history of Prince Hall Grand Lodges taking irregular Black Masonic bodies to court. In many of
these cases, their Caucasian counterparts, have filed "Friend of the Court" briefs supporting the Prince Hall Grand
Lodge's stance. In fact, Prince Hall Masonry has taken every major black Masonic body to court in one state or another
and has won injunctive relief in all such cases. These suits span back as far as the 20's and include such bodies as, The
Internationals or Banks Organization, The Most Worshipful Universal Grand Lodge; also known as the John G. Jones
Grand Lodges, and the John A. Bell Grand Lodges. Virtually all major irregular bodies are the offspring to one of the
afore mentioned bodies. There are of course numerous smaller bodies that spring up virtually over night without any
governing body. Today Prince Hall Masonry for the most part, has chosen to use it's funds for the betterment of the
community as opposed to costly legal battles.

MYTH: The Prince Hall Conference of Grand Masters has never or only recently embraced its Caucasian counterparts.
FACT: Even before recognitions, Prince Hall Grand Masters have met, worked with, and received their Caucasian
counterparts in informal as well as formal and public Masonic events. There is documentation going back to 1970 stating
the Prince Hall Conference of Grand Masters received such prominent members as the Grand Master of Mass. AF&AM,
and the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, N.J. at it's meeting.

MYTH: Prince Hall and its Caucasian counterparts have only recently began to meet formally.
FACT: There is much documentation showing that the two bodies have often met formally as far back as 1923 when the
two Supreme Councils [N.J.] met. This meeting resulted in the Prince Hall body deciding to change its name to United
Supreme Council and add the suffix, Prince Hall Affiliated to it's name to distinguish the two. After the meeting, the
Supreme Council [N.J.] Caucasian, issued the following press release.
Offer of "Informal Co-operation"
Boston, Mass. Sept. 22, 1923
An offer of "informal co-operation" was extended last Wednesday by the Supreme Council A. A. S. R. Masons Northern
Masonic Jurisdiction in session in this city to the United Supreme Council [Prince Hall Affiliated] representing Negroes in
the United States. Although no official recognition was adopted by the convention, the Supreme Council voted it's policy
of co-operation after hearing a report of the legal aspects of the situation arising from the similarity in the names of the
two organizations which existed until recently. The United Supreme Council changed its name in order to distinguish it
from the organization meeting here. In appreciation of this action and to put itself on record of racial toleration the Council
decided to adopt an attitude of co-operation that was generally felt would be advantageous both for the Negroes and the
community at large.
The work of the two organizations is said to be approximately the same and the colored fraternity which is chartered in
Pennsylvania is the Grand East for this organization.
These two bodies met again on May 19, 1944 in New York City where a similar resolution was made. The key addition
made at this time was the Supreme Council acknowledging that the Prince Hall bodies were legally descended from the
Grand Lodge of England and Regular in all Masonic aspects.

Copyright ©2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 The Philalethes Society. All Rights Reserved
Freemasonry

Dear Brother Milliken:

We will gladly give you permission to reprint the copyright article from The Philalethes Magazine©, The Philalethes CD-Rom© or web sites providing the following:

A. That credit is given to the author.

B. It is noted that the article is reprinted from The Philalethes, with permission.

C. That a copy of your publication is forwarded to the Editor.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Nelson King, FPS

Editor

2 Knockbolt Crescent

Toronto ON Canada M1S 2P6

Black & White: Lies About Prince Hall Freemasonry

2008-08-30T14:47:00.004-05:00

Let me set the stage for you.

THE YEAR is 2004
THE PLACE, Houston Texas
THE SUBJECT Prince Hall Freemasonry

Brother Nelson King the President of the Philalethes Society has come from his home in Toronto, Canada to Houston, Texas to deliver the Seventh Annual Sam Houston Lecture. His arrival to talk about Prince Hall Freemasonry has generated numerous death threats and he deems it wise to hire bodyguards. This would be the first time PHA Masons were allowed inside a Texas Lodge building.

Later the Grand Master of the Mainstream Grand Lodge of Texas was to ban the Philalethes Society from the state of Texas. Texas was to have the unique distinction of being the only state in the Union to not allow the Philalethes Society within its borders. Whether it was the actions of the Dallas Chapter of the Philalethes Society inviting a Prince Hall Mason to address it and having women in the lobby of the hotel where they met or whether it was this lecture that precipitated such a harsh and severe censorship against The Philalethes Society we do not know.

What we do know is that the truth shall set you free!

NOTE: SOME OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS LECTURE IS OLD AND DATED OR EVEN OUTDATED.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE SEVENTH ANNUAL
SAM HOUSTON LECTURE

Nelson King, FPS, BF
Editor The Philalethes Society

Black and White
A History of
Prince Hall
Freemasonry

BLACK AND WHITE

For more than two centuries Prince Hall Freemasonry has been the most lied about
organization in the world. Caucasian or Mainstream Freemasonry has misstated the
facts about it; Black Freemasons and their supporters have exaggerated its history and
its hierarchy.

It should be noted The Philalethes Society printed the first article declaring Prince Hall
Masonry as regular in 1947, yes 1947 some 50 years before the United Grand Lodge of
England did. The Philalethes Society is the oldest and largest Masonic Research
Society in the World having members within 185 Regular Grand Lodges, including the
only Grand Lodge in a Communist Country and the only Grand Lodge within a Muslim
Country. --- Cuba and Turkey. And yes we do, it seems, to upset some Grand Bodies,
and Grand Masters, but then we are trying to make Masons think. And it is in some
cases it is a darn hard job.

To date 37 US Grand Lodges have either fully recognized Prince Hall Grand Lodges or
declared Prince Hall as Regular. The Grand Lodges of England, Scotland, Ireland and
Australia have recognized Prince Hall. All but 2 Grand Lodges and Provincial Grand
Lodges in Canada have recognized Prince Hall and all have declared Prince Hall Grand
Lodges as Regular. My Grand Lodge the Gran Logia de Costa Rica has recognized
Prince Hall. I should mention that I am talking about Prince Hall Affiliated Grand Lodges,
not Prince Hall Origin Grand Lodges or any of the over 220 plus Black Grand Lodges in
the United States. My Brethren it is time to join hands with a body of men who were
proud of their heritage as Prince Hall Masons; as proud as we are to be Freemasons.
Some continue to quote, or use as arguments, misstatements of the past that have long
been discredited.

We first hear that Prince Hall was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, B.W.I. His father
Thomas Prince Hall was an English leather worker, and his mother, a free colored
woman of French extraction. To date there has never been any proof of the birth place,
or who the parents of Prince Hall where, there has only been speculation.
But who was this Prince Hall? Prince Hall seems to have always referred to himself as
an ‘African'. And probably with some pride for, in my view, he was an African, having
been seized in some part of West Africa as a lad of between eleven and fourteen and
brought to New England by a slave-trader and sold as a slave. It is not impossible that
he was actually sold to William Hall and it is also likely that he took the ‘Hall' from the
family which he served so faithfully for twenty-one years. This is impossible to prove but
is, I submit, a likely inference.

There is no doubt that Prince Hall was, as the official story says, ‘religiously inclined' -
but the facts are not as recorded in the Prince Hall Masonic Year Book. In a Deposition,
which is recorded in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Register of Deeds, made by
Prince Hall in August 1807, just a few months before he died, he stated that he was a
leather-dresser by trade; that he was 'about seventy'; that in November 1762 he had
been received into the full communion of the Congregational Church which had its
meeting place in School Street, Boston.

Prince Hall married five times - according to the official records of the City of Boston.
Prince Hall is buried in Copp's Hill Burying Ground in Boston in the same grave as his
first wife. The monumental stone carries the inscription:

Here lies ye body of Sarah Ritchery, wife of Prince Hall, died Feby the 26th, 1769, aged
24 years.

On the back of the stone, added some time later, is the inscription:
Here lies the body of Prince Hall, First Grand Master of the Colored Grand Lodge of
Masons in Mass., died Dec 7, 1807.

Whoever cut this last inscription took as the date of death the date of the announcement
in the newspaper (7 December) and not the actual date of death (4 December). It is a
little curious that Prince Hall should be buried in the grave of his first wife; one would
have thought that his last wife might have had other ideas, but perhaps Prince Hall
owned the plot in the cemetery. This cannot be checked for the interment records are
missing.

As an individual, Prince Hall took a great interest in the welfare of the African-American
people in Boston and in Massachusetts. He continually badgered the city fathers of
Boston and also the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts in respect of the proper provision of schools for the education of the
children of the African-American population.

We then hear the initiation of Prince Hall and fourteen other men of color was illegal...
There were fourteen military lodges in and around Boston in 1775. Of these one was
English, four were Scottish and the remainder were Irish. There seems to be very little
doubt, having consulted the Grand Lodge Registers that Irish Lodge No. 441, in which
Sergeant John Batt was a member, was the lodge in which Prince Hall was initiated.
John Batt is registered as a member of Lodge 441 in the register in Dublin under the
date of 2 May 1771.

Lodge 441 was warranted on 4 July 1765 to meet in the 38th Regiment of Foot (1st
Battalion South Staffordshires). The lodge warrant was subsequently, in 1840, returned
to the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The number 441 was later, in 1918, reissued to the T.W.
Braithwaite Lodge, meeting in Belfast.

The initiation of Prince Hall and fourteen other men of color took place in Boston in the
Colony of Massachusetts on March 6 1775. The presiding officer was one John Blatt of
this Irish Military Lodge No. 441.

If these men were illegal Masons, what constituted a legal Mason prior to the formation
of the Grand Lodge system in the USA? There were none before 1778 when the Grand
Lodge of Virginia was instituted. Before then there were Provincial Grand Lodges--
several of them. In Massachusetts there were two such bodies. One held allegiance to
the "Modern" Grand Lodge of England; the other, the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

Studying the works of Henry Wilson Coil, Melvin Maynard Johnson, J. Hugo Tatsch,
Harry Carr and many others we find there were hundreds of "illegal" Masons in the early
days of Freemasonry in America. For example, the members of the lodge that met in
Philadelphia in 1731 (and perhaps earlier) made Masons. Was Benjamin Franklin, who
was made a Mason in this lodge, illegal or a clandestine Mason? What about the
legality of the organizers of the lodge that was formed in Boston in the Colony of
Massachusetts in 1733? The Lodge at Fredericksburgh in the Colony of Virginia came
into being with a slate of officers on September 1, 1752. Where were those men illegal
or a clandestine Masons?

When or where did the eminent compiler of The Constitutions of the Free-Masons,
[better known as the Antient Charges] James Anderson, who in 1731 received the
degree of D.D., become a Freemason? No one knows. He was, however, a member of
the Lodge at the Horn, Westminster, in 1723. This was the year of the adoption of the
Constitutions. And he was far from being in the minority.

These were the men who gave us Freemasonry in USA and England. If they were
illegal or clandestine Masons, as the critics’ claim the men of color were, then most of
us are illegally claiming to be Freemasons. As I understand the law, an illegal act
cannot be made legal.

Some claim African Lodge which the men of color formed was illegal. Was it? We
proudly proclaim the supremacy of the Grand Lodge of England. It was the Grand
Lodge of England that granted a Warrant on September 29, 1784 for African Lodge No.
459, and this Warrant is still in existence. This Warrant is identical to other Warrants
issued by the Grand Lodge of England, with the only changes the names to whom it
was issued and the location of the Lodge. A copy of the wording of this Warrant and is
an addendum to this paper.

Who gave the Lodge in Philadelphia a Warrant before it came into existence? And let's
return to the Lodge at Fredericksburgh, now Fredericksburgh No.4, in Virginia. This
unwarranted lodge initiated Major George Washington on November 4, 1752, the first
time it conferred a degree. It went even further. It Passed him a Fellowcraft on March 3
and on August 4, 1753 he was Raised a Master Mason. It was July 21, 1758, five years
later, before the Grand Lodge of Scotland gave it a Warrant making it a "legal" lodge.
Who among us dares to claim Washington was a clandestine Mason?

Yet others say African Lodge had no right to Warrant other lodges and form a Grand
Lodge. Again let's return to the Lodge at Fredericksburgh. It warranted two lodges:
Falmouth and Botetourt. Botetourt and Fredericksburgh helped form the Grand Lodge of
Virginia, and both are still in existence. What did the only lodge in Massachusetts do after 1733? Didn't it form a Provincial Grand Lodge and then Warrant other lodges, and not only in Massachusetts? Whyshould African Lodge be refused the same privilege?
We also hear that African Lodge was erased by the United Grand Lodge of England;
therefore whether or not it remained a lodge is moot. This is partially true. After the two
rival Grand Lodges in England ("Antients" and "Moderns") were united by two blood
brothers who became Grand Masters, African Lodge was erased from the roster. So
was every lodge in America still on the roles of either of the rival Grand Lodges. This
included about half of the lodges in Massachusetts! Has any critic dared claim all other
American lodges erased from the roster of the United Grand Lodge of England are
clandestine?

We hear that Exclusive Jurisdiction is world wide and must be observed. Nothing could
be further from the truth. Any researcher worth receiving Master's Wages can point out
numerous exceptions to this statement. The Grand Lodges of Scotland, Ireland and
England have many lodges working side by side in many countries. What about
Massachusetts with lodges in Panama, Chile, and Japan? Then there's New York with
lodges it had in Lebanon. Then we have the Grand Lodges of Washington and Alaska.
Exclusive jurisdiction, ironically, was a creature of the Grand Lodge of New York (not
Massachusetts as is generally believed. It's exclusively an American invention.
Shouldn't universality reach out to all men of good will?

We are told African Lodge was dormant for a number of years. Perhaps! But so were
numerous other lodges. Research the anti-Masonic craze beginning in 1826. Check out
the vast number of lodges giving up their charters. Hundreds of them came back into
the fold with no condemnation. Why should they be privileged and African Lodge not?
"Prince Hall Grand Lodge declared itself free from all authority in 1827." The first to so
declare in this country was Virginia in 1778. Others followed. Why aren't they
condemned and declared illegitimate?

We also hear that Prince Hall only accepts Christians and Black Men as members;
nothing could be further from the Truth. One quick example is that the SGW of the Most
Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ontario is Caucasian. And I have sat in open
Lodge with Prince Hall Masons of every color and creed.

At the start of this presentation I said “I am talking about Prince Hall Affiliated Grand
Lodges, not Prince Hall Origin Grand Lodges or any of the over 200 plus Black Grand
Lodges in the United States.” Many of these so called Grand Lodges also use the name
Prince Hall. Some are called Prince Hall Origin. My Brethren these are not Regular
Grand Lodges and are not Recognized. Only those Prince Hall Grand Lodges who are
Known as Prince Hall Affiliate are Regular, and are members of the Prince Hall
Conference Of Grand Masters, 1901 11th Street, NW, Washington Dc, 20001. It is
interesting to note that PHA Masons refer to the “others” as bogus masons. In fact there
are number of this “bogus” Grand Lodges in Texas and they are:
1. St. John's Grand Lodge AF&AM, Inc. (TX)
2. Alpha Grand Lodge AF&AM (TX)
3. Sunset Grand Lodge AF&AM (TX)
4. St. Joseph Grand Lodge (Colored) AF&AM (TX)
5. King Solomon Grand Lodge (Colored) AF&AM (TX)
6. King Solomon United Grand Lodge AF&AM (TX)
7. Dozo Grand Lodge AF&AM (TX)
8. United Most Worshipful Scottish Rite Grand Lodge, Inc. (TX)
9. Universal Grand Lodge AF&AM (TX)
10. Mount Carmel Grand Lodge AF&AM (TX)
11. Mount Sinai Grand Lodge AF&AM (TX)
12. Hiram Tyrar Grand Lodge AF&AM (TX)
And there may be more. There is only one Regular PHA Grand Lodge in Texas, and it
is:

Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas F&AM
2851 Evans Ave. Fort Worth, Texas 76104

My Brethren, any Masonic organization that has stood the test of time, [220 years] must
be considered legitimate.

My thanks to my late mentor, Allen Roberts, for parts of this address have been copied
from Allen.

Over the last number of years it has become my custom to close with the following.
Brethren I would like all of you to stand now I would like you to turn to the Brother
beside you and grasp his hand with the Grip of a Mason.

Now I want you to ask yourself how many Masons would you trust with your life savings,
your home, your family's well being, and even your life, on that Grip.

If you are honest, the answers will be "not many" or "very few" or even "I can count on
one hand the number that I would trust." Why even some of you, will say to yourself "not
one."

Well my Brethren, it never used to be like this. What a shame that Freemasonry has
sunk so low. It is up to each and every one of you to help bring Freemasonry back to
her former glory.

Thank you and God Bless.

ADDENDUM No. 1

TO ALL AND EVERY our Right Worshipful & loving Brethren, we Thomas Howard,
Earl of Effingham, Lord Howard, etc. etc. etc., Acting Grand Master under
the authority of His Royal Highness, Henry Frederick Duke of Cumberland etc.
etc. etc., Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honourable Society of Free
and Accepted Masons, sends greeting:

KNOW YE, that we, at the humble petition of our right trusty and well-beloved, Brethren,
Prince Hall, Boston Smith, Thomas Sanderson and several other Brethren residing in
Boston, New England in North America do hereby constitute the said Brethren into a
regular Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, under the title or denomination of the
African Lodge, to be opened in Boston aforesaid, and do further at their said petition,
hereby appoint the said Prince Hall to be Master, Boston Smith, Senior Warden, and
Thomas Sanderson, Junior Warden, for opening the said Lodge, and for such further
time only as shall be thought proper by the Brethren thereof, it being our will that this
our appointment of the officers shall in now wise affect any future election of officers of
the Lodge, but that such election shall be regulated agreeable to such by-laws of said
Lodge as shall be consistent with the general laws of the society, contained in the Book
of Constitution: and we hereby will and require you, the said Prince Hall, to take special
care that all and every the said Brethren are or have been regularly made Masons, and
that they do observe, perform and keep all the rules and orders contained in the Book of
Constitutions; and further, that you do, from time to time, cause to be entered in a book
kept for that purpose, an account of your proceedings in the Lodge, together with all
such rules, orders and regulations, as shall be made for the good government of the
same, that in no wise you omit once in every year to send to us, or our successors,
Grand Masters, or to Rowland Holt, Esq,. Our Deputy Grand Master, for the time being
an account in writing of your said proceedings and copies of such rules, orders and
regulations as shall be made as aforesaid, together with a list of the members of the
Lodge, and such a sum of money as may suit the circumstances of the Lodge and
reasonably be expected, toward the Grand Charity. Moreover, we hereby will and
require you, the said Prince Hall, as soon as conveniently may be, to send an account
in writing of what may be done by virtue of these presents.

Given at London, under our hand
and seal of Masonry, this 29th
day of September, A .L. 5784,
A. D. 1784.

"By the Grand Master's Command,
R. Holt, D. G. M."

"Witness
Wm. White, G. S."

Dear Brother Milliken:

We will gladly give you permission to publish on the Internet the copyright article from The Philalethes Magazine©, The Philalethes CD-Rom© or web sites providing the following:

A. That credit is given to the author.

B. It is noted that the article is reprinted from The Philalethes, with permission.

C. That the copyright notice attached to the article is displayed with the article.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Nelson King, FPS

Editor

2 Knockbolt Crescent

Toronto ON Canada M1S 2P6

West Virginia Saga Continues

2008-08-30T04:03:00.002-05:00

From "Masonic Crusade" comes this information.

Motion to dismiss denied!

Word is out today that Judge Berger denied every point of the defendants' motion to dismiss.This means the Court Case will go on.... Brethren we will have our day in court!

A Mason

The lawsuit will go forth.

I have to ask, has either side thought about sitting down and listening to each other and trying to work out a compromise?

Would it not be in the best interests of Mainstream Freemasonry for another Grand Lodge or national Masonic figure to step in and offer compulsory arbitration in preference to allowing this lawsuit to continue?

Sadly I just don't see that happening. Once again unless we find a way to police ourselves we will suffer the indignities of others doing it for us.

If this lawsuit continues I see the government initiating and imposing itself into Mainstream Freemasonry charging it with racial discrimination.

After that it will do the same with gender discrimination.

Welcome Freemasons Press

2008-08-24T12:31:00.006-05:00

There is a new Masonic Magazine, a Quarterly Review, on the market - "Freemasons Press". You might not hear about this new publication from other popular bloggers who have invested in another new American venture that needs no competition. Freemasons Press touts itself as being An Independent Review not beholden to any jurisdiction. Of course it has a forum where one doesn't have to be careful about critisizing American Grand Lodges, like the Grand Lodge of West Virginia ( which if so constricted enables WVA to continue medieval Masonry).

Here is what the publication says about itself:

FREEMASONS PRESS

Independent Masonic Review

A NOTE TO OUR READERS

Freemasons Press is an Independent International Quarterly Review on Freemasonry and related subjects.

“Independent” means that views and opinions expressed here are not of any Masonic organization or group, nor of the publisher, but solely of individual authors of various papers and articles. Independent also means that publishing of the FP Review is not financed by any of the Masonic organizations or groups but strictly through the subscriptions and donations from the readers.

“International” means that the views, news, articles and papers published in FP Review come from the authors from all over the world. Those papers and articles written in other languages than English are always published in both original language and English translation. International also means that the FP Review is distributed worldwide.

“Quarterly” means that FP Review is published four times a year: September 1st – Fall Issue, December 1st-Winter Issue, Mart 1st-Spring Issue, and June 1st- Summer Issue.

“Review on Freemasonry and related subjects” means that we publish articles and papers on all aspects of Freemasonry: history, philosophy, symbolism, ritual, and current issues and events. We also publish articles on related esoteric subjects like Cabala, Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, Mystery Schools and Tarot.

As Freemasons we believe in freedom of expression. In accepting papers and articles we do not discriminate on basis of Masonic affiliation, understanding of Freemasonry, Masonic grade, race, ethnic or religion origin or gender. The only criteria for publishing an article or paper is the quality of the content of the article and benefits it may have for our Masonic and non-Masonic readers.

The purpose and mission of the FP Review comes out of our duty as Freemasons: To work on our self-improvement, to search for that which was lost, to gather that which was scattered, and always, always to stand for the highest ethical values and more than anything - TRUTH…

Freemasons Press is a world wide publication and will publish in multiple languages. It will be open to everyone and will publish stories of many different obediences. You can see by some of its contibuting authors that ity has a good world wide spread.

STEVAN V. NIKOLIC, NEW YORK, USA
The Author of the "Royal Art" and "The Purpose of Freemasonry"

FRANCESCO BRUNELLI, ANCONA, ITALY
The Author of the "Via Iniziatica E Nuova Era"

DR. MIGUEL H. BRONCHUD, BARCELONA, SPAIN
The Author of "The Secret Castle"
Educator, Researcher, and Published Author in the field of Medical Sciences

FRA. MICHAEL NICHOLAS, DWC, LONDON, ENGLAND
The Founder of the TemplarSeal Society, Published Author and Lecturer

PROF. DR. MICHAEL B. GAVRILOV, VRSAC, SERBIA
Published Author, Educator, and Independent Researcher

DR. SUSAN GONZALEZ, NEW YORK, UAS
Professional Musician, College Professor, Published Author, Reiki Master and a Freemason

LILIANE SCHACHMES, NEW YORK, USA
One of the pioneers of the Female Freemasonry on both American contients, and active member of the Women's Grand Lodge of Belgium

MILICA KRKOVIC, BELGRADE, SERBIA
The Author of the "Mala Knjiga O Pocetku"(Little Book of Creation), and the founding member of the Lectorium Rosicricianum-Belgrade

Issue #! will be out this September and will include the following stories:

"QUO VADIS DOMINE?" - The Dawn of the Third Millennium

Aquarian Age and the Path if Initiation

The Strange Franciscan Connection

The Healing Power of Sound

Rosslyn Chapel

The Lodge Aurora and its Temple

The Human Being as a Microcosm

Humanity, Humility, Humiliation And Freemasonry

The Godmother

One Europe, One Freemasonry, Same Goals - Is it possible? What UGLE says?

If I were going to add another Masonic Research and Journalistic adventure to The Scottish Rite Research Society, The Philalethes Society, The Phylaxis Society it would be Freemasons Press. Its independence is something that David Lettlier, Tom Thorton and I have promoted and carried over into a Masonic Yahoo Group. That freedom is very important in being able to speak out for or against actions, programs and solutions in one's own jurisdiction. Editor in Chief, Stevan V. Nikolic explains it very well in Freemasons Press' press release.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- In the first issue of FREEMASONS PRESS readers will find 132 pages of articles and papers on various aspects of Freemasonry written by the prominent Masonic scholars from the USA, England, France, Italy, Spain, and Serbia, as well as views and news from the Masonic organizations, groups, and communities worldwide.

Editor in Chief, Mr. Stevan V. Nikolic ( from New York) says: "Freemasons Press was envisioned as an open arena for free expression of the views and opinions on Freemasonry and related subjects. Our ambition is to become the most popular Masonic publication worldwide. As Freemasons we believe in freedom of expression. In accepting papers and articles we do not discriminate on basis of Masonic affiliation, understanding of Freemasonry, Masonic grade, race, ethnic or religious origin or gender. The only criterion for publishing an article or paper is the quality of the content of the article and benefits it may have for our Masonic and non-Masonic readers. Some of the readers may be enlightened with the controversial content of the Review, others enraged and disturbed, but none will stay indifferent."

Freemasonry is the oldest and largest international fraternity. There are an estimated 3 million Freemasons worldwide, and more than a half of it in the United States. Most of the Masonic periodicals around the world are under strict control and censorship of the organizations that publish them, and express only the views of those particular groups. The efforts by some Freemasons to start an independent and international publication were usually labeled as heretical, un-Masonic, and even anti-Masonic.

"It seems that we have "struck the cord"-says Michael Nicholas, the London correspondent of the Freemasons Press; - "The first issue just came out, and we already have subscribers from USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Serbia.

Let's see the competition top this one!

Putting It All Together

2008-08-19T20:51:00.002-05:00

I was sitting in church last week listening to Father preach his homily when he began to outline how all of us congregants could obtain a better understanding of our faith. It wasn't enough to come to Mass and try to get all the meanings and nuances of our faith in lessons and worship of one hour. Furthermore, he said, there was no interaction of the faith, not enough participation and communal community.

He announced the coming formation of a men's group and a women's group which the church lacks now. He emphasized the adult (as well as child) Christian education programs now in place. He prodded us to get involved in the missionary and charitible work of the church. He asked us to share our talents of speaking or singing or organizing or teaching or whatever our talent might be with the rest of the church.

In short what he was prescribing was living our faith inside a community, a caring and sharing community that seeks to understand through study and sharing and participation and involvement in community thereby reaching an understanding of meaning, a developing of a relationship with Christ with live application. What he was talking about in four words or less was "Putting It All Together."

Of course almost immediately my mind jumped into an analogy with Lodge. I have a Canadain friend and Brother who insists that all that is necessary for the education of a Mason is for him to learn and continuously experience the ritual of the Craft. Learn the ritual and come to Lodge and you have all the tools necessary. And that's what a good number of us do.

But it's not enough. Just going to Lodge only is like just going to church service only. A twenty minute sermon or a twenty minute Masonic lesson is not enough. There has to be more for Freemasons to understand Freemasonry.

Freemasonry is a way of life not a twice monthly experience. It doesn't start or finish just within the confines of a tyled Lodge Meeting. You have to live Freemasonry. And in order to live it within the concept of Masonic community you need to do things together as Brothers. You study together. Just like churches have Bible study, Lodges need esoteric Masonic study groups. You need to bond together by participating as a community in helping the world outside the Lodge room. You also need to celebrate your Freemasonry in special events of Masonic expression. And you need to come together in refreshment, relaxation and social good times. Your Lodge needs to be a family that lives Freemasonry together just as a family lives life together.

If your Lodge doesn't try to create a sense of Masonic community it is missing putting together all the ingredients that make not only a Mason a better man but makes the group as a whole have a unique identity. A way of life if that is what Freemasonry is has to be actively participated in, in all the different facets that help create a true Lodge family. What you need to do is put it all together.

After Further Thought

2008-08-12T10:15:00.006-05:00

After a scattering of comments here and there that I was painting a false picture of the West Virginia situation and that I had failed to consider that Frank Haas had violated his obligations and also the rules and regulations of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia, I stopped to reassess my position and take stock of what I had said. Could I be missing something in all this? Had I failed to realize the extent of the requirements of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia?

Well I must admit I do not have a copy of the Constitutions & By-Laws of The Grand Lodge of West Virginia and so I do not know all the ins and outs of its rules and regulations. So, ya, maybe you got me. But, however, if a Grand Lodge is going to divorce itself from the common traditions of American Freemasonry and operate outside the spirit of universal American Masonic governance, then while critics may be legally correct, I am still not going to be sympathetic.

Let's take the issue of Campaigning. In all the jurisdictions I know of that have a prohibition against campaigning (and not all do), what they are talking about is the electioneering of an individual human being aspiring to elective office. They are not talking about issues, programs or reforms. The idea that any championing of causes, reforms or programs is illegal under the No Campaigning rule just doesn't fit into the spirit of American Freemasonry.

Brothers have often said to me that if I don't like the way my Grand Lodge is operating that I should get involved, run for office and seek to change it. The idea that in so doing I would be performing an illegal act which was contrary to my Masonic obligations would not only be foreign to me but would entirely defeat the purpose of trying to make things better.

I have been told that in the Grand Lodge of West Virginia the only person that can introduce proposals to be voted on is the Grand Master. No one else can propose any legislation, programs or reforms. So the criticism that Frank Haas was visting many Lodges across the state to champion the very issues that he would introduce as Grand Master and thereafter to reintroduce the very reforms that were passed by a majority vote but rescinded by edict of another Grand Master is not something that most American Grand Lodges would find fault with.

I would say that removing legislation by edict that was just passed by a majority vote of the Grand Lodges members present in Grand Session to be something if not violating the letter of the law, certainly violates the spirit of the law. Why permit any voting at all if the Grand Master can negate anything he doesn't agree with? And how is an individual supposed to try to make his Grand Lodge better and work for immprovements if he cannot introduce any issues nor speak out for any programs or reforms? Is operating a private Masonic website in West Virginia also illegal and a violation of one's obligations? Does E-Mailing Brethren around the state or posting public essays on blogs or Masonic Internet Forums also fall into the same category? Perhaps West Virginia's slogan might be - "Don't Think, Your Grand Master Does That For You".

Next let's deal with the charge of "Giving Away Masonic Secrets". It is so charged by critics that Frank Haas did that by meeting with Prince Hall officials and that in so doing he was talking with a clandestine Masonic organization which was against the rules and regulations of his Grand Lodge and violated his obligations. Now there was no Masonic Communication here, just Masonic discourse. It is my understanding that they met at a hotel to discuss the possibility and lay the groundwork for recognition.

All the American Grand Lodges I know of have a proibition against sitting in a tyled Lodge meeting of a Lodge that has been declared clandestine by that Grand Lodge. Very few have gone to the extreme of prohibitng Masonic discourse - talking with a clandestine Mason. Which means that I can talk to my sister-in-law or a stranger at the grocery store more about Freemasonry than I can one who is clandestine. Furthernore it gives to a Grand Master the right to tell you in your private life outside the Lodge who you can associate with and who you can talk to, rights that are guaranteed to be our own decision by the Constitution of The United States. I fail to see where this type of rigid control merits itself to be in the spirit of common American Masonic usage.

If you can never, ever, ever talk to Prince Hall how are you going to work out the details of recognition with them? I suppose that's the point.

Furthermore I find the policy of The Grand Lodge of West Virginia prohibiting Lodges from any association with DeMolay or Rainbow either in providing a meeting place, advising or financing and its refusal to join in the Conference of Grand Masters an indication of just how far divorced from mainstream Freemasonry this Grand Lodge operates.

Lastly if there was merit to the charges against Frank Haas and agreement that the letter of the law should be enforced without regard to the spirit of the law, then perhaps it could have been done in an honest, ethical and Masonic manner. Frank Haas has said he was asked by the Grand Master if he was going to attend the next meeting of his Lodge and that the question was not demanding or demeaning in any way but had him thinking about possible commendations for his Lodge. When the the night of the meeting arrived and the Grand Master assumed the East, with no prior notice he rudely expelled Frandk Haas and another in front of his own father who he knew would be there also. That's the way to stick it to him!

Much more common in most Grand Lodges would be a policy of first delivering to the individual Brother written charges explaining the alleged violations and then to hold a Masonic Trial. Only when a verdict of guilty was brought back would a Grand Master then expel a Mason. No matter what the law is in West Virginia the fact that Frank Haas was not privately served and publically tried with due notice and a chance to answer the charges brought against him was a violation of his due process and the spirit of Masonic fairness. Rather the path chosen was one of secret instant expulsion -AMBUSH - with no recourse in front of all those Brethren whom he held dear in order to publically embarass and humiliate him. It is this final act that turns the stomach of those of us who actually practice the virtues of Freemasonry.

MW Prince Hall GL of WVA Joins in Haas Lawsuit

2008-08-09T20:40:00.003-05:00

Grand Master Robin Griffith of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia has filed an Amicus Brief in support of Frank Haas' lawsuit against the Grand Lodge of West Virginia. Grand Griffith said in the brief that Haas was expelled for trying to initiate talks with him for recognition violating his due process. And then he said something that I have been saying all along, that the actions of one Grand Lodge reflect on all Grand Lodges and that one bad apple can spoil the whole basket of apples for everybody.

His words in the brief filed:

"The Plaintiff, former Grand Master Haas, in 2006, instituted reforms in the West Virginia Grand Lodge designated to initiate the process of recognition of the Prince Hall Lodges. Such reforms were revoked by the edict of the Grand Master who succeeded former Grand Master Haas in October 2006. Subsequently, Mr. Haas was summarily expelled from Masonry in West Virginia on Novemeber 19, 2007, by edict of the current Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia, without notice, without hearing and without an opportunity for Mr. Haas to refute the charge brought against him. Such summary expulsion is a violation of Mr. Haas' due process rights as a citizen of the United States and his rights as a Mason, pursuant to the jurisprudence of Freemasonry. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia stands for the proposition that all Masons subject to the authority of Regular Grand Lodges, mainstream or otherwise, are entitled to notice of charges and an opporunity to be heard prior to expulsion."

"The Defendants' position in their motion to dismiss is, in its essence, that the authority of the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia is absolute and the courts of the United States and, particularly this Court, have no authority to question the Grand Masters will. If this Court were to sanction the Defendants' position by dismissing Plaintiff's Complaint, such a decision would have precedential authority in the application of the Courts to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, as well as to Plaintiff and defendants."

The Chrleston Gazette quotes Bob Allen, Hass' attorney, thusly: "Allen said that grand masters cannot act in "an arbitrary and oppressive manner, and that's exactly what he's done."

Not only was Haas' expulsion not in comportment with current Masonic practice but the revoking of reforms by edict that were voted on in the affirmative by a majority vote of the Grand Lodge is also a violation of proper procedure and probably Grand Lodge by-laws.

But that is far from the only examples of the treachery of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia. The Charleston Gazette further reports:

"The unsubstantiated allegations against Haas include his involvement in Masonic Crusade, Allen said. Masonic Crusade is a message board Web site for West Virginia Masons."

"In their court filings, the defendants have asked Haas to identify the names, e-mail addresses, aliases and/or pen names of all individuals who contribute or comment on the Masonic Crusade site."

"The interrogatories specifically ask for information on individuals who post under the names "I.M. Hiram" and "A Mason," and ask Haas to describe his involvement in "the mass e-mailing campaign of the individual or individuals" writing as I.M. Hiram."

Now I.M. Hiram was interviewed by Masonic blogger Brother Eric Diamond for his podcast on his Masonic blog X-Oriente. You might remember the great radio podcast Brother Diamond did on "The Iceman". Well this time with I.M. Hiram he disguised his voice so his true identity would be hidden. It is a telling indictment of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia that I.M. Hiram makes and which can be heard on: http://www.xoriente.com/

So why would the current Grand Master of West Virginia demand to know the true identity of I.M. Hiram? Does the Grand Lodge of West Virginia also feel it has the right to repeal the right of free speech guaranteed under the US Constituion?

When I asked Brother Diamond here is what he had to say:

"I'm sure the Grand Lodge would looooove to know who both I.M Hiram is and the folks behind masonic-crusade.com are."

"Haas has nothing to do with either Masonic-Crusade.com nor I.M. Hiram. I've talked to both parties and asked them directly, and I've no reason to doubt their veracity. In fact, I seriously doubt if Haas even knows who these guys are. And if I were him, and I knew who they were, I certainly wouldn't reveal their identity. He would be under obligation to protect the secrets of a Master Mason as inviolate as his own, except for murder and treason. Last I check, nobody in West Virginia has died from this ordeal (except perhaps from embarrassment), nor is this a case of treason."

"However, as Haas has nothing to do with either I.M. Hiram or masonic-crusade.com neither party is germane to his lawsuit. I'm no lawyer but I would think Haas is under no obligation to answer such a question."

"And really when you get right down to it, who cares who they are? They are just some masons expressing their views. Is that against Grand Lodge code? Have they revealed any secrets of Masonry? Have they violated their obligations? What possible use could the GL have for their names? Unless they wanted to ....

...but no. They wouldn't be THAT callous and slimy, would they?"

"I noticed in the article that the Prince Hall GM come in on the side of Haas, noting that the GM has no authority to act in "an arbitrary and oppressive manner, and that's exactly what he's done."

"For any GL to speak out in support of an expelled mason in another GL takes some stones, gentlemen. Say what you will about those Prince Hall guys, one thing they do not lack is courage."

"Take notice of this. Like I said, there are implications here for the whole Craft."

Yup, us Prince Hall guys we have cahunahs and we ain't afraid to call 'em like we see 'em.

Stephen Dafoe: Continued Creativity

2008-08-03T20:15:00.003-05:00

When you no longer interact with a friend on a daily basis it is easy to lose track of what is going on in his life. I manage to touch base with Stephen Dafoe a couple of times a month, but since you probably don’t, let me catch you up on his exploits since he became less visible on Internet Masonry.

Stephen and I have some things in common including a love of history, Freemasonry, writing (although he is the Master and I am the Apprentice), a fascination with Superman when we were young and an avid reader of everything, especially comic books.

It is the latter that is Dafoe’s latest creative work. Teaming with Edmonton artist Bob Proder he is producing a four issue comic book on the saga of The Knights Templar called Outremer. The project would be further along if Dafoe could find a digital coloring artist who would apply himself to the project. So what do you do when you are Stephen Dafoe and you can’t get a subcontractor to do his part? Why you do it yourself, of course.

I had to ask myself how this writer Stephen Dafoe was so different from the typical characterization of writers. He definitely doesn’t fit the mold that comes to mind when “author and writer” pops in one’s brain. The usual depiction is of someone who is part recluse, hiding in the quiet places to pen their works, like a log cabin on the lake or the corner of the local pub; a quiet sometimes nerdy person who would never be considered the life of the party and certainly not as a full grown adult ever involved with comic books. And that is not Stephen Dafoe, not even close. But why?

Although Dafoe might not say it, 21 years as a magician starting as a teenager and extending well into his 30s prepared him and made him the untypical writer- author that he is. A magician is a very creative person. He or she is also a showman. And Stephen Dafoe is the consummate showman. An excellent speaker he is much in demand to share his knowledge and wit in person. He will be a keynote speaker in Manitoba in November. Along with creating a Masonic Internet Forum he soon afterwards launched a Masonic radio show. I know as I was the first interviewee on Radio Free Mason in March of 2005. He appeared with Christopher Hodapp this year on March 17th on the X Zone Radio Show talking Templars. And on March 28th he was on Global TV’s morning show with Lorraine Mansbridge speaking about historical comic books. On October 12, 2008 Dafoe will be interviewed on the Masonic Radio Podcast Masonic Central with which I am associated. His appearance will coincide within one day of the 701st anniversary of the arrest of The Knights Templar. It so happens that I was the first interviewee for this radio program also.

This time as a magician I think has also made Dafoe a very visual person who appreciates the power of pictures and art. Masonic Magazine employed Masonic artist Stephen McKim and Dafoe has also used him for the covers of Outremer and Nobly Born. And his latest book The Compasses and the Cross is an illustrated history of the Knights Templar once again demonstrating Dafoe’s belief that illustrating history is as important as writing about it.

These last two books on the Knights Templar have been the main focus of Dafoe’s time and effort the last two years. Personally I thought that The Knights Templar Revealed written with Alan Butler was a superb book. But Nobly Born will far exceed that work. You can watch the video book promotion here:

The Compasses and the Cross will be out in September.

Last week when we spoke I ribbed Stephen about his withdrawal from a bold presence on the Masonic scene. He said:

“I closed The Lodge Room in December of 2005 and withdrew from Internet Masonry for the most part. But since that time, I’ve served as Grand Pursuivant, Grand District Superintendent and Grand Historian for The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Alberta. It’s not that I’m any less interested in Freemasonry as a concept or philosophy than I was before, but certainly my interests have shifted considerably these past few years.”

And those interests have turned to the Knights Templar and book authorship. Now the book writing I thought was a step up from his beginnings in Internet information sites, articles and essays and magazines. But Stephen said nay, nay not so.

“Actually, I wrote my first book in 1997 and started The Lodge Room in 2001. I’d have to say that the forum stuff was more a diversion than a progression, and these past few years I’ve conscientiously concentrated on getting back to one of the things I’d set out in life to do – write.”

Actually most of the old Masonic sites are still there and have a boat full of useful information for any Freemason. Masonic Dictionary - http://www.masonicdictionary.com/, The Lodge Room - http://www.thelodgeroom.com/, Masonic Magazine, where electronic versions of all back issues can still be had - http://www.masonicmagazine.com/ are all maintained and updated periodically by Dafoe.

Of course The Templar History website with a Templar Forum is going strong along with Templar History Magazine - http://www.templarhistory.com/. But all is not Templar with Stephen Dafoe. There still is some Masonic research and writing left in his repertoire

For a long time now Dafoe has been working on the Morgan Affair. He has published a second article on the subject in Heredom ,the Scottish Rite Research Society’s publication due out any day now. I asked him how he came to have such a fascination with this event in American history which led to the rise of the Anti Masonry Party and the gutting of Grand Lodge roles.

“When I was fairly new to Freemasonry, our lodge took a trip to New York State, and the story was discussed in passing. It intrigued me, but over the years, what intrigued me more was the conflicting accounts of what happened. I decided to research the story from every angle available to me.
The Heredom piece, which is about 50,000 words or so, is kind of a combination of my four-part series from Masonic Magazine and another paper I’d written for my own Research Lodge here in Alberta. There will be a book, which will delve into the subject in much greater detail.”

Did somebody say Masonic book?? Well you really never know what will be on Stephen Dafoe’s plate. One thing you can be assured of is continued creativity.

Sectarian & Partisan Freemasons Are Really Institutionalists

2008-07-28T20:59:00.002-05:00

There is a way to differ with Palmetto Bug and his “Camping” essay. It’s with polite, quiet, respectful reason and logic.

For those Sectarian and Partisan Masons there is only one way to practice Freemasonry, their way – the way their Grand Lodge does or those associated Grand Lodges we refer to as Mainstream Masonry. And the way Freemasonry is practiced is very important to these people.

The Philosophical Masons are more interested in the net result not in the means and style used to get there. They ask, “What is the purpose of practicing Freemasonry?” The answer of course is to touch the mind, soul and character of the individual making him a better member of society and a better family man. And in the process for him to enjoy the fellowship of like-minded men and to express his born again spirit in giving back to humankind and asking for nothing in return. Any discipline or obedience that can accomplish that is worthy of our applause and our approval, say the Philosophical Masons.

But if it isn’t done a certain way according to established rules and traditions that have been handed down from the past, then it isn’t authentic says the former. And if it violates many of these rules and traditions while still keeping the name and pedigree, it isn’t authentic either says the latter.

You can see this argument played out in religion and politics also. Christian A practices his Christianity at his church and Christian B does the same at his church. But Christian A might say that Christian B is not really practicing Christianity the correct way and is therefore not going to be entitled to salvation. And he might add that his church was chartered in the First Century AD and Christian B’s is a latecomer to the scene. And Christian B might say that both practitioners are forming a close relationship with their Creator and are therefore both reaping the rewards of changed hearts. He also might say that it is Christianity and not the church that is the most influencing factor here. And there you have the two positions that you could play out between Democrats and Republicans also.

But I wouldn’t call these Sectarian & Partisan Freemasons Traditionalists. I would call them Institutionalists. They worship the Institution of Freemasonry as represented by its Grand Lodges and their Constitutions, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations. But Philosophical Freemasons would say that it is not the Institution that is most important; it is the body of thought that should take preeminence. It is not the rules and regulations of the Institution that require our strict adherence to first as much as it is our dedication to the ethics and virtues of Freemasonry.

You can see this kind of thinking in my church, The Roman Catholic church and as a member I feel I have a right to knock it when it deserves it. The church did not expose and remove Pedophile Priests for the fear of the harm it would do to the Institution of the church. Above all, Cardinals and Bishops said, the church must survive to teach and guide future generations. For that to happen some must suffer now in silence otherwise the good will be destroyed with the bad. Thus we have the cult of the Institution that is also demonstrated by many Freemasons.

This drama is played out Masonically over and over again and can be remembered in the recent machinations of the Mainstream Grand Lodge of West Virginia. The Institutionalists refused to criticize the Grand Lodge of West Virginia or its Grand Master because the Institution of Freemasonry must come under no reproach no matter what it does. Furthermore, these people say, you took an obligation to follow the rules and regulations of your Grand Lodge so neither you nor the Masons of West Virginia can try to reverse any action of a Grand Master of a Grand Lodge.

Therefore if your Grand Lodge says no Masonic discourse with what they call clandestine Freemasons, no association and no common programs then you are bound by your promise at the altar to follow those rules. Philosphical Freemasons maintain that the Institution of Freemasonry cannot violate human, civil and legal rights among them being free speech and association. Therefore they would welcome common cause, conversation and gatherings with any obedience that effectively furthers the worth of the individual.

Finally that is not to say that for Philosophical Masons there are no rules, at least not in the ones who adhere to an Obedience and abide within its walls of cooperation. I am sure there are those that Palmetto Bug describes as those for which -“Anybody can join and anything goes”. But these people are not in the field of play. Those others that you might discourse with and find mutual areas of involvement with outside the Lodge room you do not sit inside tyled doors with. Conversely most Institutionalists see the merit of emphasizing the virtues of Freemasonry as the Catholic Church does the Gospel. The difference is in how each strain prioritizes.

In Defense of Palmetto Bug

2008-07-24T20:03:00.002-05:00

Fellow blogger and Masonic Forum member, Palmetto Bug - http://masonicline.blogspot.com/- is taking it on the chin pretty hard lately. It seems to be part of the harder, louder more strident Freemasonry in these modern times. I see the same kind of obsessive hate in the anti Bush people. It is not enough to just have a difference of opinion with our President, it is necessary by many of his opponents to paint him as evil incarnate and making their disagreement hate and hot anger.

Now Palmetto Bug and I are adversaries on the Masonic scene. We don't agree on much and I have whopped on this respectful Brother a little hard myself until one day I caught myself going over the line. Then I had a nice chat with myself whereupon I twisted my arm and slapped my kisser a few times and reminded myself of the message we all learned in the First Degree from The Compasses - to circumscribe our desires and keep our passions within due bounds. Not that I matched what Palmetto Bug is enduring right now but it was a bit on the snippy side.

Such things happen in moments of passion with passionate people. We get carried away and we take it up one too many notches. But realizing that and coming to grips with the imperfect beings that we are, most of us proceed on on a more level headed corrected course.

But there is a group out there today - I call them provocateurs. They are in the business to ferment dissension. They deliberately pick fights. They have a chip on their shoulder. Maybe they were wronged in the Masonic process somehow. Their answer is revenge, on anybody and everybody.

So if you take a stand, if your passion for the Craft leads you into discrediting or a challenge you open yourself up to those who would literally if you were at a bar, take you out back and beat the crap out of you.

That may lead many to become Mr. Milk Toast but I am sure that is not the way Palmetto Bug wants to operate. And that is sure not the way I want to operate either. I have some very definite ideas, solid positions and I am not afraid to stick my neck out.

That's why I believe that all of us in the Blogging Community must band together to not allow Jubela, Jubelo and Jubulum to cary out their purpose. It's one thing to have an opinion but its another thing to have an agenda which you feel a need to enforce. It reminds me of some of the PETA people and the Environmentals who burn down people's houses built in former wildlife areas or the Pro Life people who bomb abortion clinics. We can't let this kind of thing get out of hand.

I say let's support Palmetto Bug, even if we do not agree with his position. As somebody once said - I may not agree with you opinion but I will die to see that you have the right to express it or something like that. Anytime I encounter these people getting out of line I will condem them and block them. Please join me.

This verse inscribed at the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts reads:

They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

St. John's Day Service

2008-07-20T20:14:00.007-05:00

On Sunday July 20, 2008 District Eleven of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas held a St. John’s Day Service at New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, District Deputy Gary G. Connor, Jr. presiding. This service is a celebration and remembrance of St. John The Baptist and St. John The Evangelist.

Introductions, prayers and some congregational hymns preceded Pastor Bruce Fortner’s sermon. Pastor Fortner told us he could talk about St. John The Evangelist but he wasn’t going to. He then proceeded to tell us all the things about St. John The Evangelist he wasn’t going to talk about. But that was short lived. What he really wanted to concentrate on today, he said, was St. John The Baptist. His message centered on “crying in the wilderness” and what that really meant. He told us that we needed more crying in the wilderness today, right here in 2008. As he delivered a rousing sermon he kiddingly told us that if after every crucial point he could hear an amen then we would all be out of there in fifteen minutes but if not he would have to further elaborate to make sure the point was understood. It being a typical Texas summer day with the temperature hovering around the 100 degree mark, the Pastor got his amens loud and clear.

One of the features to note about Prince Hall and all the events that are held is that the entire Prince Hall Family participates. That means that The Heroines of Jericho and The Order of Eastern Star were right there with us. The men were all dressed in full Masonic dress and the Ladies in their best Lodge attire also.

It was a day of bringing people together not only to remind them that it is from God from whom all blessings flow and the grace and peace of our Father that is the most important thing in our lives but also for those present to bond and unite as a family in worship, prayer and fellowship.

A Noble Fight: African American Freemasonry and the Struggle for Democracy in America

2008-07-19T19:54:00.003-05:00

Amazon announces the publication of this new book "A Noble Fight" which blends African American culture, history, politics and society around the workings of Freemsonry. This book will not be out until Novewmber 11, 2008 but it can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

Here is what Amazon says:

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A Noble Fight examines the metaphors and meanings behind the African American appropriation of the culture, ritual, and institution of freemasonry in navigating the contested domain of American democracy. Combining cultural and political theory with extensive archival research--including the discovery of a rare collection of nineteenth-century records of an African American Freemason Lodge--Corey D. B. Walker provides an innovative perspective on American politics and society during the long transition from slavery to freedom. With great care and detail, Walker argues that African American freemasonry provides a critical theoretical lens for understanding the distinctive ways African Americans have constructed a radically democratic political imaginary through racial solidarity and political nationalism, forcing us to reconsider much more circumspectly the complex relationship between voluntary associations and democratic politics.

Book Description

A Noble Fight examines the metaphors and meanings behind the African American appropriation of the culture, ritual, and institution of freemasonry in navigating the contested domain of American democracy. Combining cultural and political theory with extensive archival research--including the discovery of a rare collection of nineteenth-century records of an African American Freemason Lodge--Corey D. B. Walker provides an innovative perspective on American politics and society during the long transition from slavery to freedom. With great care and detail, Walker argues that African American freemasonry provides a critical theoretical lens for understanding the distinctive ways African Americans have constructed a radically democratic political imaginary through racial solidarity and political nationalism, forcing us to reconsider much more circumspectly the complex relationship between voluntary associations and democratic politics.

About the Author

Corey D. B. Walker is an assistant professor in the department of Africana Studies at Brown University.

Another Mainstream Grand Lodge Hit With Embezzlement

2008-07-12T14:51:00.003-05:00

GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS

The Boston Herald reports on Saturday July 12, 2008 that up to $1.5 million has been embezzled from the coffers of The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

Acording to the Boston Hearald:

Meanwhile, Secretary of State William F. Galvin’s Securities Division is launching its own separate probe of the Grand Lodge’s finances, sending a letter of inquiry yesterday to giant financial house UBS for information on its business dealings with the ancient fraternal order, according to a source.

A law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the Suffolk probe told the Herald yesterday that members of the lodge discovered the financial irregularities and took their findings to authorities, who have in turn launched a criminal probe that is zeroing in on two Mason officials.

I would like to make two points in regards to this reoccurring problem across Mainstream Masonry.

1) Masonic Lodges have for ad infinitum refused to bring in outside professionals to run their complicated programs and financial processes. Hence many Grand Lodges have amateurs running giant Masonic Charity Programs, amateurs running Masonic Retirement Communities and amateurs running a multi million dollar end of the businesss of Grand Lodge finances. What qualifies these amateurs? They are Masons and they work cheaply. Many Grand Lodges are very wary of taking chances entrusting outside professionals with private information and dealings of Grand Lodge. Therefore to keep all that they do secrative and to save money they will appoint a Grand Lodge Officer or in house "expert" to perform the duties which would be much better and more safely be performed by an outside professional or a professional agency.

2) As you can see the government - the state of Massachusetts - is now involved in the investigation. Although they were asked in this does not mean that with future problems of another nature the state government would also not intervene and demand to see the records of Grand Lodge and documents and records it would always keep private.

So if a Grand Lodge was charged with racial discrimination and a complaint filed with EEOC it is my bet that the feds would be all over the private records and dealings of the Grand Lodge in question, never mind the negative publicity that would ensue.

Finally the Boston Herald article leaves us with this pleasant information:

The Suffolk and Galvin probes could prove to be yet another blow for area Masons, who several years ago were hit with a scandal involving former money-manager and radio-station owner Brad Bleidt. He was convicted of swindling tens of millions of dollars from area investment victims, many of them Masons.

Bleidt, who used to be a Mason, is now serving time at the federal prison in Fort Dix, N.J.

Moral of the story. Find a better way to screen out dishonrable people. See previous post BALLOT REFORM.

Grand Master of Prince Hall Texas Announces UGLE Recognition

2008-07-07T20:34:00.003-05:00

In Grand Session on June 21, 2008 Honorable Wilbert M. Curtis, Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas in his fifth annual allocution announced that on March 12, 2008, The United Grand Lodge of England, at its March Quarterly Grand Communication acted favorably on Texas' request for mutual fraternal recognition and it was so moved and passed.

Grand Master Curtis also described his spring trek to Europe, first stopping at Heidelberg, Germany for the fastest 24 hours of Masonry he has ever seen and then his continuance on to London, England where he sat in and presided at UGLE Communications. His European trip was very favorably received with relationships that will be pursued in the future.

So now it is official any Texas Prince Hall Mason can attend any UGLE Communication. But they can't attend any Communication of the Mainstream Grand Lodge of Texas. Perhaps this mutual recognition across the waters will spur a more cordial and close relationship at home.

TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE

2008-07-01T20:28:00.003-05:00

The Beehive reports on its byline, er beeline that 12 million honey bees escaped from an overturned truck in St. Leonard, New Brunswick. It seems the truck was manuvering on a highway ramp when the load shifted and the truck overtuned catapulting 330 crates of honey bees onto the highway which had to be closed.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded as did firefighters. Seven beekeepers were called in to try to retrieve some of the bees. A light rain stopped the bees from going far for awhile but when the sun finally came out and the day got hot all involved had their hands full.

The Toronto Star reports:

When the truck landed on its side, many of the crates — each containing four hives — broke open.

“With the impact they just went crazy,” said beekeeper Edmond Bellefleur, who drove from his home in nearby Drummond to have a look.

“The ones that were able to get out, did get out. You could see some others sticking to the hives, but once they started to open the netting and unpacking the hives one by one and putting them on pallets, then they really started to fly, and they got nasty.”

The bees had been used to pollinate a blueberry crop and were on their way back home to Ontario. One female reporter was said to have been stung twelve times because she got too close to the action. I gues now she is BEE-UTIFUL!

Celebrating Master of the Year

2008-06-28T09:19:00.003-05:00

At the last Communication of Pride of Mt. Pisgah Lodge #135 under the jurisdiction of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas, we surprised our Master with some good food including a celebration cake. A rousing good time was had by all as we honored our Master and pledged the Lodge to even bigger and better things in the future.

The Lodge will now start its yearly line of raising new Master Masons which will begin at the next meeting and culminate in the Third Degree mass Raising at Grand Lodge in Novemeber. It looks like we have 5 or 6 candidates starting their degrees next week.

The Ritual - A Poem

2008-06-27T13:19:00.002-05:00

Past Master Oliver of Live Stone Lodge #152 under the jurisdiction of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas pens this prose.

The Ritual

The Ritual is my Tool Box. I come to the Lodge to Build.

The Sharper that my Tools are, The Faster I move To the Guild

The Pot of incense, that smolder and glow so Light so Bright.

I will keep the Secret intensely repose, with all my virtuous might.

While on Earth like the Ant so industrious,

With strength I will work and grow.

Till Thy Wings Blossom and We move towards Heaven.

This a Fellow Bee, should work to Know.

Our documents that govern us so brilliantly

We quest with Proficiency to act and show, our Constitution is the

Law that guides us, to the Land that no traveler will ever flow!

Stone to stone to make it smother. Metal to metal to make

It Sharp. With a swift stroke of My Trowel in

Harmony, I will pace from Stop to Start!

So study this thing that we are given with ALL your Mind, Soul,

And Heart, It will Lighten your load in Masonry, and is the Essence of a real Part to Start.

PM Lawrence Oliver Sr.

www.livestonelodge152.com

One Mountain, Many Paths

2008-06-26T10:18:00.002-05:00

Dr. Patrick Swift a clinical psychologist, a Freemason, a Catholic, a man who has taken care of many 9/11 victims has written a book titled "One Mountain, One Path" wherein he trumpets world peace through toleration, one of the foremost tenets of Freemasonry.

His press release: http://www.prweb.com/releases/freemason/swift/prweb1045664.htm quotes him as saying:

Dr. Swift is a practicing Catholic who formerly trained to become a Jesuit priest. "I see Freemasonry as an interfaith fraternity in which I can share a common belief in God with men of other faiths while maintaining my identity as a Catholic. Being able to call a Jew or a Muslim my brother increases my hope for peace in the world," Swift says.

Tolerance is a highly regarded tradition in the practice of Freemasonry where all men meet On The Level. I prefer the use of the terminology non judgmentalism as obviously there are certain things that we will not tolerate. But we can leave the judgment to God and accept most any faith as reverential.

We read in the Book of Matthew:

Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Let me take the speck out of your eye", while the log is in your eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.

This is a subject that Freemasons should promulgate more often. I wrote a paper in 2005 titled "World Peace Through Brotherhood", available at www.phoenixmasonry.org There is no other organization in the world that brings more diverse men together peacefully than Freemasonry. This seems to me to be OUR CALLING in society.

Dr. Swifts press release goes on to say:

"When Christian leaders like Reverend Rod Parsley wage war against Islam from the pulpit, you've got to wonder what they're thinking," says Swift. "Don't they realize that they have a part in inciting conflict and violence, like religious extremists have done from afar?"

This book is available for a limited time as a free download. Do your part for World Peace. Read it and then go out into the world and spread the message.

My Master Master of the Year

2008-06-23T09:18:00.003-05:00

Most Worshipful Wilbert M. Curtis Grand Master of Prince Hall Texas in Grand Lodge Session on Saturday 6/21/08 presented Worshipful Kazar LaGrone of Pride of Mt. Pisgah #135 the award as Worshipful Master of the Year. Worshipful Kazar has major accomplishments in leading his Lodge into new and rewarding areas of community service, in providing meaningful Masonic lessons and education to all Master Masons in his Lodge, of instructing well the Lodge's candidates and raising knowledgable Master Masons, in making major Lodge contributions to Prince Hall scholarships and for promoting Freemasonry in the greater Dallas area.

Congratulations Worshipful LaGrone! Hard work, great organizational skills and the ability to delegate have led you along the path to greatness. You are a model to not only all Master Masons but to the entire community of Dallas where you have emerged as one of its community leaders.

Worshipful LaGrone is again in the East this year and he continues to develop and broaden the great programs and events he initiated. I look for Pride of Mt. Pisgah #135 to go on to ever greater accomplishments under his continued leadership.

If anyone would like to leave a message, congratulations or a question for Worshipful LaGrone please do not hesitate to leave one in the comments section and I will pass it along to him.

The Benefits of Checks and Balances - Part III

2008-06-19T14:24:00.004-05:00

This is the third of a three part series.

The first was "THE DIVINE RIGHTS OF KINGS AND GRAND MASTERS"

The second was "HIJACKING GRAND LODGES"

Just in case anyone missed the salient point of Part II let me emphasize that if you cannot publisize reforms you would like to see your Grand Lodge support and if you cannot contact Brethren about issues then how can you effectively work for change in your Grand Lodge? And what kind of Masonic government are you working under? Which leads into Part III - Masonic Government.

It was a pleasure to listen to Tim Bryce on Masonic Central, Freemasonry's #1 podcast, this last Sunday. http://masoniccentral.blogspot.com/

Brother Bryce prompted by a question from me explained that Freemasonry grew up in the age of Monarchies and adopted the form of government for itself that was in vogue in the civil world at that time. But is that the type of Masonic government that suits the 21st century best, he mused? Having promulgated the exact same views for awhile I E-Mailed Bro. Bryce after the show and asked him if he had any more material on his position. It seems he has previously written two papers on this subject.

From "REINVENTING GRAND LODGE GOVERNMENT" http://www.freemasoninformation.com/bryce/reinventinglodgegovernment.htm

Let me take this a bit further and play devil's advocate for a moment and ask, if we were to invent a Grand Lodge in the 21st century, would we truly design the government of our institution in the same manner as our forefathers? Come on, would we really? Knowing what we do today in terms of government, politics, and Freemasonry, I doubt it seriously.

A big part of the problem is the top-down approach I just mentioned. Too often the Craft feels powerless against the will of the Grand Lodge and believes, right or wrong, their voice is not heard. This results in apathy and distrust in the Grand Lodge system. Instead, what if we were to institute a Congress or Parliament (or whatever you want to call it) of delegates elected by the Craft and representing the various Districts of the grand jurisdiction? This body would meet regularly (perhaps bimonthly or quarterly) for the purpose of drafting legislation for the Craft to vote upon at the Grand Communications. This would inevitably result in some very well thought-out and articulate resolutions. As there are currently no real "checks and balances" in Masonic government, such a body would contribute to this purpose as its members would be elected by the Craft and not appointed by the Grand Master.

You can read Tim's other article on the subject - "THE NEED FOR A MASONIC LEGISLATURE" at: http://www.lodgeroomuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=59452&sid=8fe6b93872cca6883c7c400e0178fffd

Think a moment of how impossible it would be to operate our civil government if we had no Congress but instead all 300 million citizens were invited to a session for the purpose of drafting, debating and voting on legislation. That's why we have a republican form of government whereby we elect a much smaller group to represent us.

Similarly a Grand Lodge Grand Session operates with great difficulty when all Master Masons can attend and voice their opinion if not vote. All you need is one hotly contested issue to gum up the works. I saw that in the Grand Lodge of Texas when they debated closing their Masonic School. Fifty or more Brothers all lined up waiting for the microphone to speak on the subject in a Grand Lodge Room with about 8000 Brothers present. Grand Lodges that limit Grand Session to Past Masters and the top three sitting officers of a Lodge is slightly better but still too unwieldy.

Why not elect Masonic Representatives to a Grand Lodge Masonic Legislature, perhaps one for each Masonic District? In the huge Grand Lodges perhaps area Representatives would have to be chosen. This would limit the session to 25 to 75 members. Now you could get something done. And while we are at it let's make campaigning a legal procedure so all Master Masons can know the positions of those who will represent them. And also let's make it perfectly legal for any Mason to push for and advertise the programs and agenda he thinks would be most beneficial to his Grand Lodge.

Next add in a three man Supreme Court who would rule on any appeal as to whether the actions of The Grand Master or The Legislature were Constitutional, conforming to the by-laws and Landmarks of that Grand Lodge's Constitution and you would have the makings of a 21st century Masonic government responive to the needs and desires of its constituency. There are just a few more final touches to add.

While the Masonic Legislature would decide what programs and changes would be adopted by the Grand Lodge, let's not reduce the power of the Grand Master so drastically. Anything passed by the Legislature could be vetoed by the Grand Master and it would take a 75% vote of agreement to over ride the veto.

Finally let's extend the Grand Master's term of office to three years but with a yearly election. A one year term makes a GM a lame duck just a few months after he is installed and does not give him time to see through his agenda nor does it provide for the continuity the Grand Lodge needs.

Now we would have a 21st century Grand Lodge responsive to all Master Masons in the jurisdiction and one not prone to the abuses of power and the dictatorial mania evidenced so often recently. A Grand Lodge operating in the style and agenda of West Virginia would not be able to survive unless 75% of its members wanted it to be so. There is nothing cast in stone that says that Masonry has to be a top down society forever. It is time now in our present age to realize the benefits of a Masonic governemntal system which makes full use of the checks and balances which have proven to be so successful in our civil government.

Hijacking Grand Lodges - Part II

2008-06-18T20:42:00.006-05:00

This has morphed into a three part series revolving around the issue of how some Mainstream Grand Lodges have mishandled their leadership responsibilities.

Part One was THE DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS AND GRAND MASTERS which you can find in an earlier post.

I always feel duty bound to write a disclaimer as when I point out the deficiences of Grand Lodges and the need to adjust the system of Masonic government I am often told that I am a Grand Lodge Basher and by Traditionalists that I am trying to remake and reinvent Masonry which they find quite odious and blatantly unmasonic. So let me make it clear that there are many good to great USA Mainstream Grand Lodges - like Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania,Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah, Arizona, and California. Perhaps more but I am not up on every single one. There are just as many fair to awful ones however.

I see two developments or pressures placed on late 20th and 21st century Mainstream Grand Lodges that some have handled poorly.

MEMBERSHIP & MONEY LOSS

At the very time membership and revenues were down and dropping faster by the month, Grand Lodges committed themselves to huge Institutionalized Charity Programs with enormous budgets in order to sell Freemasonry to the public and bail them out of a downward spiral. This proved to be a very poor decision, mainly because it did not yield the results expected. Moreover it turned Freemasonry into a Service Club rather than a Philosophical Society. In doing so Grand Lodges were digging their own grave. When they realized how big a hole they were in they panicked and became desparate. Local Lodges were dragging their feet and in any power vacuum the need is fulfilled by he who pounces and accepts the responsibility. In marched Grand Masters assuming extraordinary powers much like our civil President would in wartime. And for many Grand Masters this was Masonic wartime for them and they were the Commander-in-Chief. And as often happens in critical times the general population (Brethren all) look to a strong leader who can bail them out. But sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. Grand Masters acting unilaterally or within the framework of a Grand Lodge Oligarchy often ruled by edict, bypassing democratic voting provisions of their Constitutions. It works well for a benevolent Dictator but get the wrong person behind the helm and it can be a disaster, and in many cases that is exactly what it turned out to be. One overblown ego often could not solve the pressing problems of a Fraternity in trouble but often could make it worse and in the process so trample on the rights and priveleges of the Brethren at large that general morale suffered.

INTERNET & INTERNET MASONRY

Most Grand Masters were totally befuddled by the advent of the Internet and Internet Masonry. They should have embraced it and used it to be on the cutting edge of facilitating a new Masonic Renaissance. Instead they shuned it and in many cases outlawed or prohibited participation in it. When Masons in their jurisdiction went ahead and set up private Masonic websites with Forums they took them over or closed them down. In the process they bungled a golden opportunity to identify with the next generation of possible applicants. Grand Lodges today are playing catch up with the computer information age and are still not utilizing the Internet to its fullest potential. If you find that hard to believe then show me a Grand Master's podcast.

Now lets look back at the West Virgina situation again. Grand Master Haas submitted some reforms to his Grand Lodge to be voted on at Grand Session. The proposed reforms were accepted by a democratic vote of all those attending. Grand Master Haas steps down and in comes Grand Master Coleman who recinds all the reforms by edict in direct violation of his Grand Lodge Constitution and By-Laws. He makes an unsubtantiated claim that there were "procedural violations."

So Past Grand Master Haas sets out to have the reforms resubmitted for vote at a future Grand Session. In so doing he contacts Brethren throughout the state to rally support for these measures. And this is what gets him expeled by the next Grand Master, Most Worshipful Montgomery. PGM Haas' website calling for reconsideration of the previously passed reforms was declared campaigning which is against the laws of West Virginia and he was told that he had sought to subvert the priciples of his Grand Lodge and West Virginia Masonry by seeking the repeal of "OUR LAWS". His E-Mails and telephone calls to Brethren in the state was declared to be insubordination and conduct unbecoming a Mason. For these offenses he was expeled without a Masonic trial, again a violation of the Grand Lodge Constitution and By-Laws.

Now here is where I need to comment on all those who keep telling me that if I don't like the way my Grand Lodge is run to get involved, work to get your program submitted, voted on and passed and become active in Grand Lodge. Isn't that what Frank Haas was trying to do?

There seems to be a disconnect between the reality of how Grand Lodge operates and how theoretically it is supposed to operate. Everytime we have a Grand Lodge meltdown and an abuse of power Brethren come out of the woodwork to make sure I understand how Brethren can democratically correct any missteps that Grand Lodge might make. They have no idea of the inner workings of a Grand Lodge or what Grand Lodge politics is like. Their naviete only adds fuel to the fire.

In some Mainstream Grand Lodges ( I SAID SOME NOT ALL, FELLAS!) The Grand Master nominates the slate of elective officers. It is a hand picked group of Brethren who owe their loyalty to their Grand Master. It is true by the rules that there can be nominations from the floor. But if you were to do so you would be blackballed from ever getting a Grand Lodge nomination or appointment to any office or committee. The same fate awaits you if you submit any legislation to Grand Session for a vote that is not highly regarded by the Grand Master. Your Masonic career is over. So now you know why the Brethren of West Virginia have not called their Grand Master on his violations of the Grand Lodge Constitution & By-Laws.

If the laws pushed through a Grand Lodge actually sabotage and thwart the democratic process previously laid out in its Constitution and By-Laws, then trying to institute reforms is a sham and prosecuting any Brethren who disagree with the Grand Master a travesty of justice and constitutes the hijacking of a Grand Lodge.

Catholic Code Allows No Angels And Demons

2008-06-16T21:19:00.003-05:00

From Yahoo News - http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20080616/121363866000.html

Da Vinci Code movie banned from filming in church
Monday June 16 10:51 AM ET

"Rome's diocese said Monday it has barred the producers of "Angels & Demons" from filming in two churches for the prequel to the "The Da Vinci Code" the popular book and film that angered many Catholic leaders."

"Producers of the film, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, were turned down because the movie "does not conform to our views," said Monsignor Marco Fibbi, a spokesman for the diocese."

"The crew had asked to film in the churches of Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria, two architectural jewels in the heart of Rome that include paintings by Caravaggio, sculptures by Bernini and a chapel designed by Raphael."

The London Times reports: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4147839.ece

"The Vatican has banned the makers of a prequel to The Da Vinci Code from filming in its grounds or any church in Rome, describing the work as “an offence against God”.

"Angels and Demons, the latest Dan Brown thriller to be turned into a film, includes key episodes that take place in the Vatican and Rome’s churches. Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, the head of the Vatican’s Prefecture for Economic Affairs, said that Brown had “turned the gospels upside down to poison the faith”.

“It would be unacceptable to transform churches into film sets so that his blasphemous novels can be made into films in the name of business,” he said, adding that Brown’s work “wounds common religious feelings”.

The Divine Rights of Kings and Grand Masters

2008-06-16T20:00:00.003-05:00

The West Virginia mess hit the NY Times today in an article by a writer who seems to have a low opinion of Freemasonry. But we are kind of used to that. What's interesting is the unvieling of how Grand Master Haas was ambushed.

"Two weeks later, Mr. Haas says, Grand Master Montgomery called to say he would be in Wellsburg for Monday’s meeting and asked if Mr. Haas would be there. But of course, Mr. Haas answered, thinking the Grand Master wanted to thank the lodge for its oyster feast. Not quite."

"Mr. Montgomery, who arrived with a posse of Masonic brass, did thank the lodge for the oysters. But soon he summoned Mr. Haas and his outspoken colleague to what is known as the altar. The colleague was expelled first and promptly left the room."

"Now it was Mr. Haas’s turn. There he stood, wearing a business suit and the apron with the purple border and gold fringe that signified his status as a Past Grand Master. There, in the lodge he had belonged to for more than 20 years, in front of his father, in front of his brothers."

"There, silent and mortified, while another grown man read an edict asserting that he had supported an illegal Web site; had sought to subvert the principles of the lodge by seeking the repeal of “our laws”; had been insubordinate toward the Grand Lodge and its Grand Master; and this: had “demonstrated conduct unbecoming a Mason.”

The rest of this hatchet job can be read at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/us/16land.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

So Grand Master Montgomery expeled Past Grand Master Haas not only without a Masonic trial but also deliberately blindsided him at his home Lodge in front of his Father. It is evidently not enough to simply expel someone, even without a trial, you must publicly (in a private gathering) humiliate him.

The Grand Master needs to show those that are remaining in West Virginia Masonry that his power is absolute. Why he can even forbid any Mason in his jurisdiction to visit Frank Haas' website or discuss or question the matter. So much for a democratic voting Grand Session. The leader will decide what you can vote upon. He has the Divine Right of Kings!

Oh and he who possesses the Divine Right never has to answer for anything he does. That makes a Masonic trial superfluous.

"Fron Nelson King FPS: In December we wrote [via Registered Mail] to the Grand Master of Masons of West Virginia, explaining that M. W. Bro. Haas would be our Guest Lecturer. And that we would send him a copy of the Lecture, so that if he wished to comment, or challenge anything in the Lecture, he could.. We at that time assured him that we would publish his comments and/or rebuttal in that same issue. Since that time we have forwarded to him three copies of this lecture. To date he has not responded:
Nelson King Editor The Philalethes"

I have some Masonic friends who refuse to comment on the situation until they hear both sides of the story. Well guess what? You never will hear any discussion of this situation from Grand Master Montgomery. It's called stonewalling. So say my friends - there can be no verdict, no assignment of right or wrong, no judgement until Grand Master Montgomery speaks. Don't hold your breath. Divine Right holders don't explain their actions nor do they accept any questioning of their authority.

What makes the whole situation more unjust is the belief held by many Masons that a Grand Master can do no wrong. So anybody who is in conflict with a Grand Master is automatically in the wrong right from the start. In many quarters you have no right to publicly disagree with a Grand Master nor do you have permission to operate websites, newsletters or podcasts that emit a view that is opposed to a Grand Master's position.

These believers of strict observance of Masonic law and codes make no exception for the making of bad Masonic law or rules and regulations that strip away any real ability for the Craft as a whole to exert its will. When the cards are stacked, when the deck is rigged and the Divine King has ruled what recourse is there? Answer, a civil suit.

But the question remains why is everybody talking about what Frank Haas did and what he is now doing? Why isn't anyone talking about what Grand Masters Coleman and Montgomery did? Well we don't question those who hold the Divine Right now, do we?

Gandhi's Ten Fundamentals For Changing The World

2008-06-13T22:12:00.003-05:00

http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2008/05/09/gandhis-top-10-fundamentals-for-changing-the-world/

We call ourselves a Philosophical Society or at least more of us would like us to be more philosophical and less social and charitable as in Instutionalized Charity. But we can't do that unless we discuss some basics of life that starts with ourselves.

Take #1 -
"You must be the change you want to see in the world."

My Masonic business card has this saying on it: "Populi quidem accipio lumine fieri apparuit mater lumen" - That is >> "They who have been given light, must be the light."

Isn't Freemasonry all about changing or bettering the inner person? This is where all that community/charitable work which should be an outward expression of inner development has overtaken the primary purpose of what Masonry is, thereby obscuring its original purpose. In other words the charitable aspect of Freemasonry should be a by product of its more central focus - making good men better.

How do you do that- make good men better - asks many a Mason. Obviously those who ask belong to Lodges where the Child ID Program, the fish fry and the ladies night dinner and dance is what practicing Freemasonry is all about.

But stop a minute and think about what Freemasonry and the study thereof can do to change you to be a light unto the world.

But that doesn't mean that Freemasonry is to be a study that is a monastic withdrawal. There is to be a marked sense of giving, not only within the brotherhood but also to the world at large. It's just that it is a way of life that is genuine not a giving expecting something in return, not the Institutionalized Charity which has as its goal buying publicity and recruiting membership. Freemasons should not be in the business of bribing people or purchasing recognition.

"And when you see the good in people it becomes easier to motivate yourself to be of service to them. By being of service to other people, by giving them value you not only make their lives better. Over time you tend to get what you give."

A Freemason gives, then, because his heart has been stimulated or stirred by the study of the Craft and internalizing its lessons and virtues. Most of what he does is one on one assistance which is not only seldom seen by others but never bragged about by him.

Gandhi's Ten Fundamentals have a lot to say about focusing on ones self. Instead of pointing the finger of blame at others, instead of being a victim, Freemasons are in control of their own destiny AND THEY BRING THE WORLD ALONG WITH THEM.

Peace & Harmony At Last

2008-06-07T21:31:00.003-05:00

MARYLAND

Officers of Friendship Lodge No. 84 and Oak Springs Lodge No. 41, Prince Hall Freemasonry, are pictured at the first meeting between members of the two local lodges. (Submitted photo/)(Courtesy of the Hagerstown Herald)

Oak Springs Lodge #41, Prince Hall, visited Friendship Lodge #84, Grand Lodge of Maryland, for the first time recently. The occasion was the conferring of the Master Mason Degree on new members of the State Shield and Square Club, Master Masons who are law enforcement officers at every level of government.

Grand Officers from The Grand Lodge of Maryland and The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland were in attendance with over seventy Masons from three states.

It has taken us a long time but we seem to be nearing a point of acceptance that hithertofore was impossible. I would like my home state of Texas to take note as recognition was declared there just recently but with the provision of no cross visitation, no socializing and no Masonic discourse (some recognition).

There is no reason that this cannot be repeated across the country. Once we bridge the gap in every state I think that we will find that Freemasonry in the USA will enjoy an even greater surge in membership than we are experiencing now.

Masonry by its tenets should have been leading the parade of racial reconciliation from the start. But it is not too late to show that peace and harmony can prevail if we work hard at it thereby proving that brotherhood is color blind.

When The Pursuit of Truth Is Influenced By A Conflict of Interest

2008-06-06T22:11:00.001-05:00

The Masonic Blog "From Darkness To Light" reports that expelled Grand
Master Frank Haas of West Virginia is suing in civil court The Grand
Master of West Virginia and others. This is a sad day in Mainstream
Masonry.

It is a sad day because none of the other Mainstream Grand Lodges in
the USA came to the aid of Frank Haas. They persisted in that
unwritten code of never saying ill about another Grand Lodge no matter
what it does. So wrong gets to be right because a blind eye is turned.

The significance of this event is emphasized here because this is one
of the reasons that The True Masonic Society discussion group came into existence. While
others who purported to be in the pursuit of research and truth aligned
themselves with the Grand Masters of North America, we at The True
Masonic Society held fast to our belief that truth cannot be found in
an alliance with politicians governing the Craft. Much criticism of
our position was heard and we were castigated many times for our
failure to see the worthiness of pursuing truth within the guidlines of
what Mainstream Grand Lodges and their Grand Masters declared truth was.

So here is the rub. Take a look at a portion of the court filing
compliments of "From Darkness To Light" and make your own judgement.
Were we out of line to insist on complete freedom of speech uninfluenced
by anybody?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

14. As a result of and in recognition of Plaintiff Haas' membership and
dedicated and
outstanding service in the concordant Scottish Rite Body, Plaintiff
Haas was coronated a 33rd degree
Mason in October 2005, which honor is given only to a limited number of
Masons with outstanding
service and accomplishments.
15. During his Masonic career and as Grand Master, Plaintiff Haas
supported various
progressive reforms in Masonry reflecting the will of the majority of
the members of Defendant
Grand Lodge which reforms were consistent with and promoted rules and
regulations designed to
respect and protect the constitutional and other rights of all Masons
and prospective Masons. The
proposed changes and reforms were not only morally right but were
consistent with and designed
to bring Masonic laws and attitudes into conformity with the
substantial public policy of the State
of West Virginia and the United States of America.
16. Plaintiff Haas' goal was to make Masonry more tolerant, friendly,
decent and
accepting of everyone regardless of nationality, race, religion or
disability.
17. Plaintiff Haas shared his beliefs and proposals with the members of
Defendant Grand
Lodge during his service as Grand Master and prior to the October 2006
meeting of Defendant Grand
Lodge when these proposals were presented to and voted on by the
membership.
18. During the 2006 Annual Meeting, the members of Defendant Grand
Lodge voted
approval of various reforms proposed by Plaintiff Haas that were in his
opinion designed to make
Masonry more tolerant, friendly, decent and accepting of all Masons and
prospective Masons. These
reforms and proposals were intended to rid Masonry in West Virginia of
the Orwellian, repressive,
regressive and unconstitutional practices that were and are clearly
unconstitutional and against the
substantial public policy of this State.
19. The proposed reforms and changes were designed to:
a. Encourage all Masons to do what is morally and legally right and
wipe away
lingering racism that is tolerated and enforced by telling the Masters
of all
local lodges that they must maintain the peace and harmony of their
lodges;
b. Eliminate discriminatory practices against the handicapped;
c. Eliminate discriminatory practices against youth organizations and
young
adults participating in related Masonic organizations and those young
adults
desiring to become a Mason;
d. Allow debate and free speech regarding Masonic issues and possible
reforms
without fear of reprisal; and
e. Support other substantial public policy issues that are morally
right and
would promote genuine equality throughout Masonry.
20. Plaintiff Haas' progressive proposals to eliminate various Masonic
practices that are
discriminatory and against the substantial public policy of this State
were voted on and approved by
Defendant Grand Lodge during the 2006 Annual Meeting. Unfortunately,
Plaintiff Haas ' laudatory
efforts were met with resistance by a few Masons determined to
undermine any proposed reforms
regardless ofhow outdated, discriminatory or offensive the policies
were to individual constitutional
rights and the substantial public policy of this State.
21. During the 2006 Annual Meeting, Defendants Montgomery and Coleman
and the
John Doe Defendants individually and collectively tried to undermine
and defeat the efforts of
Plaintiff Haas and to render the actions of a majority ofthe members of
the Defendant Grand Lodge
null and void.
22. At the conclusion of the October 2006 Annual Meeting, Defendant
Coleman
succeeded Plaintiff Haas as Grand Master of Defendant Grand Lodge.
Rather than accepting the
majority vote ofthe membership of Defendant Grand Lodge and doing what
was ethically, morally
and legally right, Defendant Coleman almost immediately unilaterally
entered various Edicts
rendering the progressive proposals voted on and adopted by a majority
of Defendant Grand Lodge
null and void. As a result, Defendant Coleman reinstated the
unconstitutional and discriminatory
practices that are without question against the substantial public
policy of this State.
23. Defendant Coleman went to great length to try and justify why the
vote of the
Defendant Grand Lodge should and would be set aside citing various
procedural errors all of which
were a subterfuge. No one has been sanctioned for those alleged
procedural errors that Coleman
claimed were dishonest and in violation ofthe Masonic laws. The fact
that the alleged procedural
errors were a pretext is further evidenced by the fact that Defendants
have never allowed the
members of Defendant Grand Lodge to vote on any of the proposals since
they were set aside by
Edict.
24. During the remainder of2006 and continuing through the 2007 Annual
Meeting, at
which time Defendant Montgomery became Grand Master of Defendant Grand
Lodge, Plaintiff Haas
continued to speak out about the ethical, moral and legal obligation of
Masons to promote changes
that would eliminate those discriminatory practices set forth herein
that are unconstitutional and
against the substantial public policy of West Virginia, most of which a
majority of Defend ant Grand
Lodge had previously voted to change.
25. Plaintiff Haas ' continued efforts angered Defendants Montgomery
and Coleman and
the John Doe Defendants, and they collectively conspired and colluded
to punish Plaintiff Haas and
others for exercising their constitutional right to debate these issues
and their right of free speech.
26. Defendants' efforts to punish Plaintiff Haas and others who
disagreed with their
Orwellian attitudes culminated on November 19, 2007, when Defendant
Montgomery, through
misrepresentation, deceit and bad faith induced Plaintiff Haas to
attend a meeting at Wellsburg
Lodge #2 by telling him the meeting was for the purpose of discussing
the visit of the Grand Master
of Ohio at a previous meeting. Defendant Coleman and John Doe members
of Defendant Grand
27. Having lured Plaintiff Haas to the meeting under false pretenses,
Defendant
Montgomery directed the Master of Wellsburg Lodge #2 to step aside,
took charge of the meeting
and summarily, arbitrarily and unlawfully expelled Plaintiff Haas and
another individual from
Masonry after lecturing, berating and belittling them in front of
family and numerous members of
Plaintiff Haas' home lodge. Defendant Montgomery's rantings and
outlandish attack on Plaintiff
Haas were based on trumped up allegations that were false and untrue
and were fully protected by
Plaintiff Haas' constitutional rights.
28. As part ofthe Edict expelling Plaintiff Haas from Masonry,
Defendant Montgomery
directed the Edict be read in all lodges throughout West Virginia and
directed all Masons to refrain
from communicating with Plaintiff Haas about Masonic matters.
29. In summarily expelling Plaintiff Haas from Masonry, Defendant
Montgomery denied
Plaintiff Haas a fair hearing by failing to comply with The Masonic
Code of Trials and the
fundamental fairness afforded all individuals who are members of
fraternal organizations.
30. Plaintiff Haas was given absolutely no notice of Defendants' true
intentions at the
November 19,2007, meeting, was not provided with a statement of charges
nor given any of the
other procedural safeguards set forth in the Code of Trials thereby
effectively denying Plaintiff Haas
his right to resist expulsion. Further, Plaintiff Haas was offered no
opportunity to appeal from
Defendants' illegal and wrongful conduct.
31. Defendants deliberately and intentionally refused to follow the
internal procedures
of Defend ant Grand Lodge designed to provide all Masons the
fundamental fairness they are entitled
to when confronted with allegations that could lead to discipline or
expulsion.
32. The record of the November 19, 2007, meeting wherein Plaintiff Haas
was
summarily, oppressively and without notice given the Masonic death
sentence will clearly show that
Plaintiff Haas was ambushed by Defendants.
33. Defendants' plan, conceived and put together in secrecy, to
deliberately and
intentionally berate and degrade Plaintiff Haas in front of his father
and other members of his lodge
and then summarily expel him from Masonry, was demeaning, repulsive and
outrageous--an act of
bad faith by these officers. Defendants' true character and unsavory
intentions and conduct
regarding Plaintiff Haas were obvious due to the fact Defendants had
the edict expelling Plaintiff
Haas prepared in advance and invited various members of Defendant Grand
Lodge to witness this
unlawful, illegal and outrageous conduct.
34. Defendants' deceitful conduct in secretly scheming, planning,
preparing for and
carrying out Plaintiff Haas' wrongful expulsion from Masonry was
nothing more than an
underhanded and blindsided attack on Plaintiff Haas' reputation and
good character which denied
Plaintiff Haas the fundamental fairness to which he was entitled.
35. Defendants' underhanded and deceitful conduct and their true reason
for getting
Plaintiff Haas to attend the November 19,2007, meeting became painfully
obvious to Plaintiff Haas
and the members of his lodge when Defendant Montgomery pulled out a
previously prepared Edict
which was read aloud, expelling Plaintiff Haas.
36. Even though there are no Masonic laws, rules and regulations, or
procedural
guidelines regarding an appeal from being summarily expelled from
Masonry by a Grand Master,
Plaintiff Haas complied with the Code of Trials as ifhe had been given
a fair hearing and timely filed
a written appeal to Defendant Grand Lodge. Plaintiff Haas' appeal has
been totally ignored by
Defendants making his request for relief on appeal futile and leaving
Plaintiff Haas no recourse for
this denial of justice other than :filing this civil action to
vindicate his reputation and good name and
to protect his constitutional and other rights.
37. There can be no dispute that Plaintiff Haas was denied a fair and
regular hearing in
accordance with designated procedures and that Defendants' conduct is
tainted by fraud, bad faith
and arbitrary conduct.
38. Fundamental fairness dictates that even a member of a voluntary
fraternal
organization charged with such an apparently serious offense as to
warrant his expulsion from
Masonry should be given notice ofthe charges and a reasonable
opportunity to defend himselfbefore
a tribunal appointed to try him.
39. As a result of Plaintiff Haas' unlawful expulsion from Masonry, he
has been, and
continues to be, denied his property, contract and other rights and
privileges to which he was entitled
due to his Masonic membership as well as his valuable personal
relationship with his Masonic
Lodge, the Grand Lodge and all other Masons and Masonic lodges
throughout West Virginia and
in other jurisdictions.