In 1775, Boston’s Prince Hall broke Freemasonry’s racial barrier. His global movement marches on.
Friday, June 13, 2025
250 Years of Prince Hall Freemasonry in Boston
In 1775, Boston’s Prince Hall broke Freemasonry’s racial barrier. His global movement marches on.
Massachusetts Masons To Rededicate Bunker Hill Monument June 16th
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Photo: National Parks Service |
From the Charlestown Patriot-Bridge website yesterday:
On Monday, June 16, Charlestown will become the center of national remembrance as the Bunker Hill Monument Association leads a full-day commemoration marking the 200th anniversary of the laying of the Bunker Hill Monument’s cornerstone and the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Titled “Two Centuries of Glory,” the event will blend pageantry, history, and patriotism. The day begins with a ceremonial procession at 9:30 AM from the Charlestown Navy Yard, featuring more than 500 participants — Freemasons in full regalia, veterans, military groups, civic leaders, and historical reenactors — retracing the symbolic path toward the monument.
At 10:00 AM, a traditional Masonic cornerstone-laying ritual will take place at the base of the Bunker Hill Monument, replicating the original 1825 ceremony that drew thousands and helped define the commemorative landscape of early America. Attendees will witness stirring musical tributes form 20 musicians and historical readings, including portrayals of Daniel Webster and the Marquis de Lafayette — key figures in the monument’s founding.
The celebration continues in the evening at 6:00 PM at the Old South Meeting House with “It Has Begun!” — A Grand Monumental Celebration. This culminating event will include authentic spirited toasts each followed by a lively interpretation form the Dee Orchestra and Chorus of the orginal odes and songs that 60,000 people heard in 1825. Lafayette’s 1825 tribute to freedom and liberty, read aloud once more in the very city where American independence first found its voice will be followed by the Marseillaise and the Star Spangled Banner.
Presented by the Bunker Hill Monument Association in collaboration with Boston National Historical Park, The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, Revolutionary Spaces, the American Friends of Lafayette, and additional partners, the day promises to be a fitting tribute to two centuries of American memory and the enduring legacy of Bunker Hill.
For details about the Grand Lodge's involvement and for contact information, visit the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts event page HERE.
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Photo: Steven Markos |
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Photo: National Parks Service |
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Masonic Quest: Escape from the Masonic Temple!
"A mysterious backpack has been found in the Museum…"The Belgian Museum of Freemasonry invites you to embark on a truly immersive experience: Masonic Quest, a thrilling escape game that takes place throughout the entire museum. Each puzzle you solve will bring you one step closer to uncovering the hidden treasure.
Succeed in your mission, and you’ll be rewarded with a photo alongside the treasure, an exclusive badge, and a certificate of investigation to commemorate your adventure.
Step into Masonic Quest, the captivating escape game at the Belgian Museum of Freemasonry! Dive into a world of intrigue, where mystery, symbols, and riddles intertwine. Follow in the footsteps of a historian who once hid a treasure deep within the museum’s walls.
Work as a team, explore every corner, crack codes, and solve puzzles to discover what’s been concealed.
This is a great idea. It's a fun way to get people into your Masonic building and interest younger people who haven't the first clue about who and what we really are. We have unique spaces that most people never give a second thought to. And everybody everywhere wants to know what's behind closed doors. So, let them in, guide them around, make them feel like explorers, let them see some unique artifacts.
The event also gives them the opportunity to hold guided tours and to open up their beautiful museum.
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Lots of lodges also do haunted tours of their buildings, like this one in San Antonio, Texas.
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Then there' a children's 'treasure hunt' this coming weekend at Mount Zion Lodge 135 in Metuchen, New Jersey:
The Freemasons of Metuchen (Mt. Zion Lodge #135),
in conjunction with Wolfe Ossa Law and What's the Scoop are sponsoring a Children's Treasure Hunt following the style of "National Treasure", "Indiana Jones", and "Tomb Raider".
This is a chaperoned Treasure Hunt that will challenge children to solve puzzles leading from one location in Metuchen to another. Each clue will bring the children progressively closer to the final treasure!
The Treasure Hunt will start at the Mt. Zion Lodge on Saturday, June 14th, 2025 9:30 am sharp.
** You MUST pre-register ** (we will fill up, do it now)
Address: 483 Middlesex Ave. Metuchen, NJ 08840
Saturday, June 07, 2025
Speaking in Denver on June 16th
Friday, June 06, 2025
God and the Odd Fellows
Over the last few years, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows fraternal organization has been attempting to grow by reaching out to a younger demographic. Some have been embracing their decidedly offbeat name as a welcoming place for men and women who proudly celebrate themselves as being 'odd', an image the organization didn't really have of itself before. Many IOOF lodges have tried to expand with this strategy, but some apparently fear that local lodge officers are doing so by shunning or ignoring some of the most basic precepts of the IOOF that date back since time immemorial. And the national Grand Lodge for the U.S. has just fired a warning shot across the collective bows of those who have been selectively dodging the rules.
- Should we remain true to our most basic foundations, or make alterations to appeal to men (and maybe women) who give us the go-by now?
- If such changes were to eventually be made, how can we honestly believe that Masonic membership would suddenly become desirable to our critics?
- Would the detractors of our own fraternity rush out to join a local Masonic lodge if we permitted women to join, dropped our faith requirement, and openly took on partisan political stands of one viewpoint or another?
- Or would they simply shrug and say, "Well, it's about time you dinosaurs crawled into the 21st century, but I'm really not much of a joiner..." ?
- Most “nones” believe in God or another higher power. But very few go to religious services regularly.
- Most say religion does some harm, but many also think it does some good. They are not uniformly anti-religious.
- Most “nones” reject the idea that science can explain everything. But they express more positive views of science than religiously affiliated Americans do.
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Cuban Freemasons Oust Grand Master in Called Session
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Cuban Masons held an impromptu called meeting outside of the Grand Lodge after Grand Master Duarte closed the building down. Photo: Cubanet |
A Mason interviewed by Cubanet considered the event historic and said that they made the decision to oust Duarte after exhausting all legal avenues.
"We tried, through all legal means, even unconventional ones, to assert our will and respect our legislation, but Filema refused to do so. Their lack of respect became evident and, worse still, MINJUS, far from ensuring proper conduct, actually supported it and fostered an unnecessary confrontation. We, the Cuban Freemasons, are the rightful owners of this Institution and we must, above all else, adhere to our oaths and the current legislation. If the government wants to dominate us, we will not allow it,"
[Duarte] had suspended the session of the High Masonic Chamber (the legislative body of the institution) in which elections for the senior positions of the Lodge were to take place in previous weeks.Making matters worse (if that's possible), while the large Grand Lodge headquarters building in Havana looks impressive, as though it's packed with Masonic occupants, it is, in reality, packed with government offices and officials who rent space in the building. Government officials frequently sit quite openly in Masonic meetings to observe their activities. It will be curious to see whether the Masons will prevail at electing and disciplining their own governing officers, or if the government forces them to knuckle under and keep Duarte on the throne of Solomon.
With that precedent, which, according to a report from Cubanet, extended its "dictatorship" and "the illegality within the Institution", the Freemasons decided to enforce justice.
A decree obtained by that media outlet revealed that Filema Duarte claimed that the "conditions to resume the suspended session on March 23 were not guaranteed."
In the text, he justified suspending the meeting to prevent alleged "scandals that transcend public life" and "further damage the already tarnished image of our Institution."
Previously, he warned about "personal threats" against him and announcements of "vandalistic behaviors with publicity from independent media." He believed that such acts were "inappropriate" for Freemasons and aimed to discredit the institution.
Filema Duarte was elected as Grand Master following the resignation of Mario Urquía Carreño, amid a corruption case involving the misappropriation of thousands of dollars and over 4 million pesos from the Lodge.
However, although the High Chamber established a six-month term for the position, until the holding of general elections, the Grand Master suspended the agreed-upon session.
Cubanet revealed that the Freemasons handed over documents and evidence to the Ministry of Justice to demonstrate the illegality committed by Filema Duarte in refusing to hold elections. However, Miriam García, director of Associations at MINJUS, did not address the complaint and supported the [actions of Duarte].
Freemasonry in Cuba has a peculiar relationship with their Communist Party that's quite unlike anywhere else in the Communist world. Most Communist regimes have banned Masonic organizations completely, dating back to the Russian Revolution in the early 20th century. But when Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro was fighting anti-Communist forces on the island in the 1950s, he was given aid and comfort by several groups of Masons there. Some have claimed that he was allowed to hide out in Masonic halls.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
New York's "Welcome Brother" Package
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Brother General Lafayette Masonic Marker Dedication May 12th in Jeffersonville, Indiana
At 10:00AM, all participants will gather in Louisville’s Waterfront Park, at 1101 E. River Road to welcome Lafayette, escorted by the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, and accompanied by historic re-enactors of Kentucky’s then-Governor Disha, and Colonel Richard Anderson. Lafayette will speak and answer questions for local students. Then everyone will join a Parade of Flags and escort Lafayette across the Big Four walking bridge over the Ohio River to Jeffersonville (about a 40-minute walk).
All Masons are encouraged to dress in suit and tie and wear their aprons for this procession, and for the rest of the day’s festivities.
Masonic Marker Dedication
At approximately 1:15PM, General Lafayette will be officially welcomed to Indiana in Jeffersonville’s Big Four Station Park by a crowd that will include the Grand Lodge of Indiana, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, plus local dignitaries and descendants Zalmon Burritt, a Revolutionary War Soldier.
The dedications will be followed by food, drink, toasts to George Washington, and more at Big Four Station Park.
At 7:00PM on Monday evening, the Masons of Kentucky will hold their own event at the beautiful Louisville Scottish Rite, and the public is invited. They will present a special theatrical play – a reenactment of Lafayette’s 1825 visit to Louisville’s Abraham Lodge #8. The play will be followed by a reception featuring the Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps.
Abraham #8 is important to Indiana Freemasonry. It was the lodge that authorized a dispensation to establish Vincennes Lodge, the first Masonic lodge chartered in the Indiana Territory, under the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in 1809. It would become Vincennes Lodge #1 of the new Grand Lodge of Indiana when it was officially established in 1818.
The Louisville Scottish Rite is located at 200 East Gray Street. No reservations are required, and the event is free of charge.
Friday, May 09, 2025
Dick Fletcher, Longtime Head of MSA, Passes
It is with deep sadness that I share the passing of Richard “Dick” Fletcher, beloved husband of Judy Fletcher and a cherished member of our House of the Temple family.
Dick’s contributions to the Scottish Rite were immeasurable. For many years, he served as a dedicated volunteer in both the Membership Services Department and the Library, lending his time, talents, and unwavering support to the work of the Scottish Rite. His kindness, quiet strength, and generous spirit touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
Beyond his volunteer work, Dick was the Past Grand Master of Masons in Vermont and served as the Executive Secretary of the Masonic Service Association of North America (MSA) from 1987 until his retirement in 2011, totaling about 24 years of dedicated leadership.
He was widely respected across the Masonic world for his efforts to promote Masonic education, disaster relief, and interjurisdictional cooperation. Whether welcoming House of the Temple visitors, assisting staff, or quietly ensuring the success of countless projects, he exemplified the best of our values through selfless service.
Condolences may be sent to Judy Fletcher at : --------------. I will keep you informed of arrangements.
Fraternally,
James D. Cole, 33°
Sovereign Grand Commander
Supreme Council, 33° | Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, SJ, USA
Dick Fletcher was a Past Grand Master of Vermont and a 33° Scottish Rite Mason, and he came to the Masonic Service Association after a long career in banking. Under almost a quarter century of his leadership, the MSA established the Masonic Information Center, "Operation Phone Home" providing prepaid calling cards to overseas military personnel, and created the Twain Award, to reward excellence in Masonic awareness among individual lodges in North America. His travel schedule would have been daunting for men half his age, and he attended dozens of grand lodge sessions each year, often with his lovely wife Judy. Before his retirement in 2010, I seemed to see them everywhere I went. His departure truly marked the end of an era for MSA.
The MSA was created in 1919 to provide services to its member Grand Lodges that they would find difficult to provide for themselves. It remains the one organization that provides a national voice for mainstream Freemasonry in North America, and is a commission of the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America.Monday, May 05, 2025
2025 Midwest Conference on Masonic Education Wrap Up
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Those Midnight Freemason guys show up everywhere. |
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Before the Conference, some of the 'Indiana Friends of Brent' were able to join up with the venerable Dr. Morris on Thursday, along with our mascot, Billy the Wonder Goat. |
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Those Spooky Masonic Messages Are EVERYWHERE
Monday, April 28, 2025
R.I.P. T.M.S. - The Masonic Society Officially Announces Closure
Sunday April 27, 2025It’s an unhappy epitaph, but epitaphs always are. I will simply add that this was a point none of us ever wanted to reach. As one of the three blabbermouths who sat at the Hilton Alexandria bar one night in February of 2008 and said, “We should start our own organization and publish our own magazine!” everyone involved has my heartfelt gratitude. Or maybe it’s apologies I owe.
Greetings all members, Fellows and friends of the Masonic Society,
It is with great difficulty and sadness that we, as the members of the TMS Board of Directors, inform you that we have officially closed all operations of The Masonic Society, Inc and have ceased publication for the foreseeable future. This decision was not an easy one. Over recent years, the leadership of TMS has been working steadfastly behind the scenes to maintain the viability of the organization while addressing a multitude of issues and concerns including having to mitigate prior management actions and breaches that inflicted irrevocable damage.
Central to these efforts has been our commitment to honoring the vision that resulted in the very creation of TMS. This dedication to Masonic Education first and foremost fueled the resolve to do our very best to meet the interests of our subscribers and members while ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and ethical standards. Throughout this experience, we operated from a perspective of simply doing the right thing and living up to our Masonic values and duties as the Board of Directors.
We are eternally grateful for all those who volunteered to serve in their various capacities during our period of restructuring. A special thank you goes to our Secretary Bro. Driver and Treasurer Bro. Doxsee who stepped in to help pick us up the pieces for what often felt like thankless work. However, the increasing costs of producing a print journal, the shift of available and sustainable resources to support the journal and an unrelenting series of administrative burdens have overcome our earnest intent and capabilities.
The Board is forever indebted and appreciative of Bro. Matt Dupee for helping to facilitate charitable donations in 2022 from the Edward and Lois Fowler Charitable Trust and in 2023 from the Robert and Margaret Cathers Charitable Trust which assisted TMS in meeting several of its critical operations and producing the last TMS journal sent to our subscribers. In full transparency, the Board made every good faith effort to prevent this outcome including the confidential exploration of a transfer of assets to another interested party to keep the Masonic Society name and journal alive, however those negotiations closed unsuccessfully.
During the time of its activity, TMS benefited from the expertise of many authors, reviewers, editors, production staff, leaders, readers and others who contributed to creating and sharing content about this important Masonic area. Thank you cannot be expressed enough. Prospective authors are encouraged to seek alternative publication venues.
As we complete the remaining logistical steps for the shuttering of our doors, we encourage you to always cherish with pride the TMS patents, content, literature and ephemera that represents an important slice of Masonic history. What started as a dream, manifested into a reality and progressed through the very stages of mortality that we reflect upon within the very symbolism of our Craft.
Sincerely and Fraternally,
Oscar Alleyne, Board member & Past President
Mason Russell, Board member
Kevin Wardally, Board member
Aaron Shoemaker, Board member
Mark Robbins, Board member
Reed Fanning, Board member
Michael Doxsee, Board Treasurer
Shamus Driver, Board Secretary
John Bridegroom, Board member
Chris Hodapp, Founding Board member & Editor Emeritus
Almost two years of public silence has gone on while all of our board members pursued every possible avenue to find responsible parties to support the Society and its biggest expense, the publication of the Journal. My deepest personal thanks to all of the officers and directors for their efforts in these last couple of years for trying to keep TMS alive, and especially to Oscar Alleyne for his herculean efforts behind the scenes to raise money and bail us out of the hole in which we found ourselves.
The reality is that, when we started TMS, we suffered from the very same birth defect so many other publications have shared for more than three centuries: the complete lack of a professional, long-range business plan that would have at least attempted to deal properly with rising production and postage costs. Like countless groups before us, we started with an almost Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney-esque "We can put on a show!" naivety. But that doesn't pay bills.
We wanted from the start to raise the quality level of Masonic publications by producing a physically beautiful journal with high-quality, full color photography and original artwork. As the founding editor, the TMS Journal was always an exhausting, labor-intensive job — especially the way I designed it at first — and illness eventually forced me to hand off my monstrous creation to art director John Bridegroom and a new editor, Michael Halleran, out of exhaustion. Michael Poll later took on the editor's role, and he and John did a masterful job with the magazine in subsequent years.
The other effect we had was to raise the level of expectations for other Masonic publications. Before TMS, so many state and national Masonic magazines looked homemade, two steps above being run off on a mimeograph machine in the church basement. In the wake of the TMS Journal's premiere, countless magazines vastly improved their formats, taking full advantage of the latest publishing tools available, as we did.
To those who will doubtless ask why we didn't simply dump the printed, dead-tree format and just publish an e-magazine, we did discuss that possibility. The sad reality is that e-magazines simply do not get read, and certainly don't get kept around for future perusal. Magazines that have switched to an all-online format are historically just postponing their inevitable death. Worse, the proliferation of online blogs, Patreon sites, Facebook pages, Reddit discussions, podcasts, and more have only fractured the audience for Masonic publications further, making it almost impossible to reach more than a tiny niche of the Masonic world with any sort of publication. Like newspapers and network television, the world has atomized, which makes finding a large-scale audience for a work like ours difficult, at best.
But we were also a membership organization, over and above the content of the Journal. Our hand-stamped patents were unlike any that anyone had ever seen before. From the start, we held our annual meetings at Masonic Week in Alexandria with great speakers, and we spent many years having a second gathering throughout the country - even venturing into the U.K. early on. Our membership drives at Masonic Week, along with our hospitality suites, were extremely popular and well-received. Our Quarry Projects generated an extremely useful and logical Masonic writing style manual that needs to be more widely adopted, to avoid unintelligible conventions, acronyms, and abbreviations that litter so many grand lodge, research lodge and local lodge publications. In short, TMS had everything going for it from the beginning, except perhaps business acumen.
So, as the band strikes up for one last melancholy chorus of "Nearer My God To Thee" and our stern silently slips below the waves, to the officers, directors, Fellows, members, and friends of the Masonic Society, it’s been an honor to go down on this ship together.