NOTE: THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED.
Monday, September 30, 2024
UPDATES: Hurricane Helene Hits Six States
NOTE: THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED.
Sunday, September 29, 2024
Slate: 'What if the Solution to Men’s Loneliness Is… Freemasonry?'
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Grand Master Morrow of Grand Lodge of Scotland Abruptly Resigns
The Grand Master Mason, Brother Dr Joseph J. Morrow, has resigned, for personal reasons.
We would like to thank him most sincerely for his great work and outstanding service within Freemasonry throughout many years and wish him well for the future.
Dr Morrow, currently on holiday abroad, has decided to withdraw from all of his commitments to The Scottish Craft.
In the interim, Immediate Past Grand Master, Brother W. Ramsay McGhee, will preside over the forthcoming Regular Communication of Grand Lodge on Thursday 31st October 2024. This will also include the nomination and election of Grand Office-bearers for the coming year.
Despite these changes, Grand Lodge will ensure our support for Freemasons at home and overseas will continue as normal.
Monday, September 16, 2024
Endangered Masonic Halls: Author Will Moore To Speak in Indianapolis October 15
Last month, Indiana Landmarks released its annual listing of the Ten Most Endangered Buildings in Indiana — historic structures in our state on the brink of extinction that are too historically, architecturally, and culturally important to lose without a fight. Plenty of states have these sorts of historic preservation organizations that do what they can to call attention to the plight of neglected buildings with the hope of rescuing them. Sadly, individual Masonic temples often make these lists as our membership shrinks and our once magnificent buildings slip away. For the second year in a row, the Indiana list includes the entire category of Masonic and fraternal temples, in general.
One especially endangered hall this year is the Prince Hall Masonic Temple at 22nd Street and Central Avenue in Indianapolis (photo above), originally built by Oriental Lodge 500 of the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana. I wrote about this temple back in 2017, and it remains a true gem of fraternal architecture. Prince Hall Masons bought it from Oriental Lodge in 1983, and it became home to several lodges, Eastern Star chapters, and appendant groups. But 40 years after they took ownership, the cost of operating, maintaining and preserving the place has taken its toll on their treasury. Gentrification of the surrounding neighborhood has made area property values soar, and as architecturally and culturally valuable as this temple may be, it’s highly probable that the land it sits on is far more valuable than the building itself. And its listing on the National Register of Historic Places won’t save it, especially since the present Temple Association is publicly saying they want to sell it and build a new, smaller, more modern lodge hall.
In connection with Indiana Landmarks’ listing fraternal meeting places again this year, the organization will be hosting Will Moore’s presentation, an illustrated talk on the history of Masonic architecture and fraternal practices. For the increasing percentage of our population who have no understanding, knowledge, or familiarity of just what 'fraternal groups' are and how important they've been in America, Will's talk will be a crash course in the subject.
As we consider the endangered status of these community landmarks, William Moore, associate professor at Boston University, presents an illustrated talk on Masonic architectural spaces and fraternal practices including those of Blue Lodge Freemasonry, the Knights Templar, the Scottish Rite, and the Mystic Shrine.
An interdisciplinary American Studies scholar, William D. Moore holds a joint appointment at Boston University in the Department of History of Art & Architecture and the American & New England Studies Program, specializing in material culture, the built environment, and cultural history. Among other publications, he is the author of Masonic Temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes (University of Tennessee Press, 2006) and, earlier in his career, served as the director of the Livingston Masonic Library & Museum at the Masonic Grand Lodge of New York in New York City.
Sponsored by the Cornelius O’Brien Lecture Series Concerning Historic Preservation. Free and open to the public.
Reserve your spot to attend in person or online by using the form below, visiting MasonicTemplesTalk.eventbrite.com, or by calling 317-639-4534 or 800-450-4534. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with program from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks Center (which is accessible to all) or online via Zoom.
Esotericism In Freemasonry 2024 Conference in Seattle: Sept 27-29
- Friday evening will start with a mediation session, followed by entertainment and a pub meetup. Everyone welcome.
- Saturday will feature keynote speaker Brother Ike Baker of the Arcanum Podcast, presentations by Dr. Nathan Schick, and more to be announced. There will also be a panel discussion about Masonic buildings. The evening will end with a VIP dinner and pub meetup. Everyone welcome.
- Sunday 29th there will be two practical workshops led by Br. P.D. Newman and Jaime Paul Lamb. This will be for Master Masons only.
Sunday, September 15, 2024
San Antonio Scottish Rite Forms Partnership With City's Philharmonic Orchestra To Preserve Cathedral
Several Masonic lodges, the Scottish Rite Masonic Bodies, all major York Rite Masonic Bodies, the Grotto, Eastern Star; Job's Daughters, Order of Rainbow for Girls, the Order of DeMolay, and other associated Masonic fraternal organizations meet in the Cathedral. The magnificent auditorium is acclaimed by experts as one of the most acoustically perfect rooms of its size in the world. Constructed as a Greek amphitheater it produces the effect of an open-air theater, the ceiling being equipped with twinkling stars and blazing planets, creating the atmosphere of a clear summer sky. The proscenium, or opening to the stage, is 60 feet wide and 32 feet high. The auditorium seats 2,062.
Monday, August 26, 2024
Janesville, Wisconsin Masonic Center Damaged by Multiple Gunshots
Photo: WKOW-TV 27 |
On Aug. 25, at 2:47 a.m., the JPD said officers were dispatched to the intersection of East Milwaukee St. and North Sumac Drive after receiving a shots fired complaint. The person who reported the complaint heard multiple sets of rounds being fired approximately 15 minutes before calling dispatch.
The JPD said officers found bullet holes in multiple windows at the Masonic Center. Bullets were also recovered that struck the Masonic Temple. No one was injured, and no arrests have been made at this time.
The JPD said the reporting person saw someone near the intersection of Sumac and Milwaukee described as a male, unknown race, approximately 6 feet tall, with a thin build. The subject was wearing a dark long-sleeved top and dark-colored pants.The Janesville Masonic Center on Milwaukee Street was opened in 1966 and is home to Janesville-Western Star Lodge No. 55, three York Rite bodies, Eastern Star Chapter 69, and Job's Daughters Bethel 21. It is also shared with a local American Legion Post. From the looks of their Facebook page, the Center is extremely active.
This investigation is ongoing. If anyone has information on this incident, they are encouraged to call the Janesville Police Department at (608)755-3100, the Rock County Communications Center at (608)757-2244, Crime Stoppers at (608)756-3636, or submit a tip on their smartphone using the P3 app. Callers can remain anonymous.
Saturday, August 24, 2024
California Masonic Symposium: 'Fringe Freemasonry and the Mysteries That Bind Us'
According to the online site CasueIQ there are 3,361 fraternal organizations in the State of California, employing 16,194 people, and earning more than $18 billion dollars in revenue each year. Freemasonry is one of the oldest in the world. With the collected mix of fraternal orders it makes us contemplate the questions: Out of all the fraternal orders, how many were influenced by the Freemasons? And what aspects of Freemasonry were borrowed by these orders? Why did they feel a need to branch off and create their own bodies? These are the questions that will be explored in the 2024 Grand Lodge of California Symposium:Fringe Masonry: Exploring the Mysteries that Bind UsThe interest in “Fringe Masonry” has grown in recent years as Brothers have turned their attention, once again, towards the esoteric. Yet, the term itself may be alien to many regular Freemasons. Writing in Ars Quatuor Coronatorumin 1972, Ellic Howe states that Fringe Masonry is “not irregular Masonry because those who promoted the rites did not initiate Masons, i.e. confer the three Craft degrees or the Holy Royal Arch degree. Hence they did not encroach upon Grand Lodge’s and Grand Chapter’s exclusive preserve.”
Simply stated, these orders did not bother the Grand Lodge because they did not mock or rewrite the blue lodge degrees; this is probably the reason they were left alone – they were not a threat to blue lodge Masonry.Nevertheless, Howe’s description is too broad. Fringe Masonic Rites and Orders are not those (such as the Order of the Temple or the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite) that are recognized by regular Grand Lodges. Rather, active Fringe Masonic organizations are those that exist outside of the world of regular Masonry but that often rub up against it (often claiming to be, in some sense, Masonic). Such organizations have included the Rite(s) of Memphis and Misraim, the Swedenborgian Rite, the Ancient Order of Zuzimites and the Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry to the Asiatic Brethren, that claim, in one way or another, to connect to regular Freemasonry.Other orders include, but are not limited to: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A), an order influenced by Masonic principles and the Tarot, and Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis, in which he tried to create rituals acceptable to regular Freemasons.Historically, the members of these organizations have taken a serious interest in spirituality and, as Howe says of Fringe Masons in England during the late 19th century, many were “identified with occultism.”The Fringe Masonry of that place and time was composed of “a small and amorphous group of men, most of whom knew one another,” says Howe. Nevertheless, Memphis and Misraim, the Swedenborgian Rite, the Zuzimites, and many other Rites and Orders of the 19th century, represent a continuation of the explosion of “Masonic” and quasi-Masonic Rites and rituals of the preceding century.Extremely popular during their day, some of these rites and orders were absorbed into regular Freemasonry (the Rite of Perfection forming the basis of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, for example), while others collapsed and disappeared or were absorbed into later Fringe Masonic Rites.During our symposium we will notice certain themes or the names of individuals reappearing. Some of these themes (such as Kabbalah, alchemy, and Rosicrucianism) also appear in the degrees of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (most obviously in the alchemical- and Rosicrucian-influenced Rose Croix degrees).Our aim is not to endorse individual esoteric orders, magical practices or fringe Masonry, as such; rather, in keeping with previous symposiums, it is to be part of the current cultural zeitgeist, in pursuit of a deeper understanding of our complex world.
- Angel Millar, editor-in-chief of the Fraternal Review publication and author of Three Stages of Initiatic Spirituality: Craftsman, Warrior, Magician; as well as The Crescent and the Compass: Islam, Freemasonry, Esotericism and Revolution in the Modern Age.
- Jaime Paul Lamb, author of Myth, Magick & Masonry: Occult Perspectives in Freemasonry (2018), Approaching the Middle Chamber: The Seven Liberal Arts in Freemasonry and the Western Esoteric Tradition (2020), and The Archetypal Temple and Other Writings on Masonic Esotericism (2021).
- Joe Martinez, Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia and co-host of the Masonic Roundtable podcast.
Friday, August 23, 2024
Embattled Grand Master Mario Urquía Carreño of the GL of Cuba Is Forced To Resign
The Masons gathered in the theater of the Grand Lodge building, where an anonymous source consulted by the cited media described that Urquía intended to manipulate the attendees. However, the Masons present did not allow it, and the unanimous phrase heard was “hand it over and leave.”
One of the meeting's witnesses recounted that tensions escalated to the point where Urquía left the theater but was followed by the Masons to the eleventh floor, where his office is located.
Under the pressure of those present, the Grand Master agreed to meet with a representation of them. During two hours, the terms of his departure were negotiated, although the details of those conversations remain secret.
Finally, Mario Urquía agreed to resign, and Deputy Grand Master Maykel Filema was appointed in his place. Filema will have the task of calling for elections in the next High Chamber session, scheduled for September.
Urquía's resignation is seen as a victory by the Masons. The problems began with the mysterious theft of $19,000 from the Grand Master's office, an event that culminated in his expulsion from the Order.
Despite this, the Cuban Ministry of Justice, in an act of interference permitted by the country's laws, did not recognize the expulsion and reinstated Urquía in his position in less than three months. This led to a massive protest by Masons outside the Grand Master's office on July 23 and caused dozens of lodges to rebel.
In recent days, Mario Urquía spoke in a video explaining that the stolen money belonged to the National Masonic Asylum and addressed the accusations against him, including those of treason and theft. Urquía Carreño categorically denied being responsible for the theft and clarified that the police document he signed, committing to return the money, did not imply an admission of guilt.
He explained that the delay in returning the sum was due to the need to comply with Cuban laws, which require the reimbursement to be made in Cuban pesos (CUP), resulting in a considerable loss due to the disparity with the dollar's value in the informal market.
The Grand Master also questioned the initial communiqué issued by the National Masonic Asylum's Board, calling it “incriminatory.” He emphasized that he had already made a deposit of 270,000 CUP, equivalent to $1,000, as a sign of his commitment to return the funds. Despite his intention to remain in the position, Mario Urquía ultimately had to yield to the pressure to resign.“Before allowing the existing division to further harm the Institution and increase the attacks through social media, which would further denigrate the Grand Lodge of Cuba by its enemies, this Grand Master resigns for the good of the Institution,” Urquía Carreño stated in an official communiqué, as reported by the independent media outlet Cubanet.[snip]
Regarding the reasons for his resignation, Urquía Carreño indicated that there is “an incompatibility in criteria for the correct application and interpretation of our laws” within the Masonic institution, leading to “divided opinions in our Lodges regarding the correct procedures.”
He further lamented that “hatred and insults have erupted among brothers, forgetting that we swore to defend each other, present or absent. The institutional situation today shows a dire division. Some Masons' actions indicate a growing danger of confrontations, and we will not allow this to happen; misunderstanding has subjected our brothers.”
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 by Madison Pena
https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/285593
Four Masonic Lodges Suspended for Rejecting Grand Master Mario Urquía
Wednesday, July 31, 2024 by Alex Smith
https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/286112
Detained Masonic Leader Ángel Santiesteban-Prats Prior to Official Meeting in Havana
Thursday, August 1, 2024 by Emma Garcia
https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/286170
Monday, August 19, 2024 by Emma Garcia
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Virginia's Grand Senior Warden Matthew Szramoski Named As G. Washington Masonic Memorial's New Executive Director
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Masonic Renewal Committee's Summer ENGAGE Program on Membership: August 22nd
Topics will include:
- Relationship Building: The foundation of membership
- Lodge Education: Masonic AND non-Masonic
- Candidate On-boarding: The value of slowing down
Monday, July 22, 2024
Kansas Masonic Con This Weekend - July 26-28
- Chad Thomas – “Freemasonry: Form vs Function”
- Jon Ruark – “Stoic Resilience in an Age of Uncertainty”
- Nicholas Laine – “The Creation of Enlighteners in Lodge”
- James R. Morgan III – “The Lost Empire: Black Freemasonry in the Old West”
- Duane Marshall – “The Journey of a Mason”
- Chad Kopenski – “The Power of Masonic Myth”
- Lincoln Wilson – “How Much Masonry Do You Want?
Sunday, July 14, 2024
New Book by Chris Ruli: 'Brother Lafayette' Available for Presale
Now, author and Washington DC Mason Christopher Ruli has done a deep dive into the itineraries, letters, diaries, minute books, and press reports of the time to create a full and definitive account of Brother Lafayette’s Masonic contacts and travels throughout his famed trip. The result is Brother Lafayette: the Marquis de Lafayette's Masonic Travels in America 1824-25, a detailed, fascinating, and eminently absorbing travelogue with a uniquely Masonic focus.
Just as an added aside, the American Friends of Lafayette have been preparing for celebrating the bicentennial of Lafayette's farewell tour, erecting historical markers, arranging for events all along the 6,000-mile route of his original trip. Festivities will begin August 16, 2024 in New York City and wind up at Mount Vernon in September 2025. If you live or belong to a lodge in an area that Lafayette actually visited, you should consider erecting a permanent historical marker describing the visit. Or if your city or town is already doing so this year, be sure your lodge contacts the local group arranging for the marker and ask if your lodge or grand lodge can take part in the dedication and other festivities.
Monday, July 08, 2024
Partnership of Grand Lodges Purchase Grand View Systems
Dear Valued Grand View Users,
We’re thrilled to announce that Grand View, your trusted membership management software system, has been purchased by a partnership of four Grand Lodges: the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, Grand Lodge of North Carolina, Grand Lodge of California, and Grand Lodge of Minnesota. This acquisition marks a significant milestone in the Grand View journey, and we are excited about the future prospects it brings.
Our vision for Grand View is that it’s owned by the fraternity, ensuring that its mission aligns closely with the values and needs of Masonic organizations. We are delighted to inform you that Brother Jeff Clarke will continue to lead Grand View, and all of its dedicated staff will remain in place, ensuring continuity and stability for our users. Jeff and his team will continue to be your main point of contact.
As we look to the future, Grand View’s immediate goals are to assess and enhance its capabilities to onboard new Masonic organizations seamlessly while continuing to provide robust support to its existing users. Your satisfaction and success are our and Grand View’s top priorities, and we and the Grand View team are committed to making Grand View an even more powerful tool for your membership management needs.
We are also eagerly looking forward to the upcoming Users Conference, where Jeff will share more detailed plans and ideas. This will be a fantastic opportunity to hear directly from you about how we can all work together most effectively moving forward. Additionally, we’ll discuss how other Grand Lodges and Masonic organizations can join the ownership group in the future, expanding our collaborative efforts.
Thank you for your continued trust and support in Grand View. We are excited about this new chapter and are confident that under its new ownership, Grand View will achieve great things.
Friday, July 05, 2024
Missouri's 2024 Truman Lecture Features Oklahoma's Robert G. Davis, PGM in September
This year's speaker will be Oklahoma Past Grand Master, RW Robert G. Davis.
He is the author of four books, including: The Mason’s Words, outlining the history and evolution of the American Masonic ritual; Understanding Manhood in America, focusing on the fraternal quest for the ideals of masculinity; The Journey of the Elu to Enlightenment, providing a contemporary interpretation of the degrees of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite; and In Search of Light, a course of hieroglyphic and symbolic moral instruction for the Symbolic Lodge.