The Conference of Grand Master Masons of North America (more affectionately known as COGMNA) officially kicks off its annual meeting in Seattle, Washington today. It's an opportunity for regular, recognized grand masters in our end of the Masonic world to meet each other and learn from each others' successes, failures, programs, catastrophes, and more.
The Conference is being held at the Seattle Westin Hotel and will continue through Wednesday.
If you're new to the fraternity, you may not have heard of this gathering, but it's not really designed for the edification of rank and file Masons. Grand masters, deputy grands and grand secretaries all have responsibilities and situational issues that can really only be understood and intelligently discussed with other grands and past grands. In addition, COGMNA is also where programs from other jurisdictions get talked about, and often spread throughout the Masonic world. And I'd be less than candid if I didn't mention that it's also where fads occasionally get started in Masonry. One-day classes, CHIPS programs, bikes-for-books projects, the adoption of grand lodge computer services like Grandview and Amity, the founding of the Masonic Service Association, even the beginnings of Prince Hall recognition and the national support to build and maintain the George Washington National Masonic Memorial – they all came out of presentations made at COGMNAs of the past.
One of the highlights of the Conference each year is the report of the Commission for Information on Recognition. The Commission is charged with investigating questions of regularity between grand lodges and issuing their own findings in a summary. Individual grand lodges often receive requests for recognition from different grand lodges all over the world. More often than not, it's difficult for every single grand lodge to have the resources or ability to investigate the history, practices and regularity of faraway jurisdictions, especially if they don't provide sufficient background documentation in English to make a judgement. It's also quite common for there to have been a schism in a foreign country that results in rival grand lodges, both claiming proper regular origin. The Commission has no enforcement powers, it doesn't settle disputes, and it doesn't tell your grand lodge who they can or can't recognize as regular. They merely investigate and make a determination as to the regularity of a grand lodge in question (or the lack of regularity, as the case may be). But most grand lodges in the Conference respect their findings.
You'll find the Commission's previous annual reports since 2004 online HERE.
Masonic Grand Secretaries have their own unique sets of problems, concerns, solutions and success stories, so they hold their own conference-within-a-conference at COGMNA – in case you're wondering why your state's grand lodge office seems so empty next week. Everybody's in Seattle.
(And in case you were thinking of asking, grand masters of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA) grand lodges have their own Conference of Grand Masters that's been held each year since 1909.)
Just to trumpet our Indiana team's presence, our longtime grand secretary, MW Richard Elman, PGM (2004-05) has been the president of the Conference of Grand Secretaries for many, many years. Our current grand master, MW Gary Brinley will also be speaking at one of the sessions. And MW Roger VanGorden PGM (2002-003) is heavily involved with the Masonic Renewal Committee and will be giving their presentation on Sunday afternoon. (Last year, Roger was also named as the Scottish Rite NMJ's "Active" Deputy representing Indiana on the Supreme Council.)
And just to round out the list of influential Indiana grand masters in leadership positions within their various Conferences, MW Eugene Anderson, Jr., Past Grand Master of the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana, is the president this year of the Conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters, which will be held May 15-19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Thank you, Br. Hodapp. It's helpful to be reminded that the really important work of the Craft is done at the GL level, and those of us in the Blue Lodges are wisely counseled to keep our heads down and our mouths shut. Except for when the GL needs money for something, in which case we're free to say 'yes'.
ReplyDeleteWonderful important post. Especially for the American Freemason who visits foreign Grand jurisdictions (and even neighboring states ) and would like to understand the importance of Masonic governance, regularity/recognition, travel/visitation and how it all ties together. Bro. Thomas Johnson
ReplyDelete... representing some 2 million Freemasons in North America ? Strange because the detailed membership statistics par state published by the Masonic Service Association of North America report a total of 874,549 (USA) Masons for 2023 and a loss of nearly 1.5 million over the last 30 years. https://msana.com/services/jurisdictional-totals/
ReplyDelete... representing some 2 million Freemasons in North America ? Strange because the detailed membership statistics par state published by the Masonic Service Association of North America report a total of 874,549 (USA) Masons for 2023 and a loss of nearly 1.5 million over the last 30 years. https://msana.com/services/jurisdictional-totals/
ReplyDelete... representing some 2 million Freemasons in North America ? Strange because the detailed membership statistics par state published by the Masonic Service Association of North America report a total of 874,549 (USA) Masons for 2023 and a loss of nearly 1.5 million over the last 30 years. https://msana.com/services/jurisdictional-totals/ Jacques.huyghebaert@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThe actual figure as reported is closer to 785,000 because of counting of duplicate memberships, delayed reporting, counting life memberships of deceased. The 2029 figure,that is in 5 years time,is closer to 500,000 with an average age of 67.
DeleteJacques and Paul, those figures you cite are the U.S. Masonic population estimates, whereas the COGMNA comprises ALL regular, recognized Masonic grand lodges throughout North America. Now, I don't pretend that Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and the Central American jurisdictions have another 1,215,000 members... :)
DeleteI'm confused, as it's core function is to serve a commission, that makes non binding findings, that are universally adopted, but it has no power? Doesnt the exportation of executive agency make one a vassalby by proxy? How is this not an additional and unaccountable layer of governance? Either its a real power structure or it isn't. In either case why would a truly Sovereign Grand Lodge, need to participate at all, and to who's benefit? A suffragan Grand Lodge on the other hand has a seat at the conference.
ReplyDelete“Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."
Deletehaha - couldn't agree more. BTW, if you are the real Josef Waeges excellent work on the Illuminati ritual project.
DeleteEuropean Masonic jurisdictions also have their own version of Conference of Grand Master Masons. The meetings may appear sporadic by American standards, but they do happen and, having lived in Europe myself, I imagine the logistics can be enormous. But is it worth it? Yes, I think so. Collectively, Europe (and I include the Swedish Rite) is a potential powerhouse of Masonic character building and community development just like the United States. And it seems wonderful to me when Masonic leaders can support each other, and learn from each other.
ReplyDelete