Janesville, Wisconsin Masonic Center Damaged by Multiple Gunshots

Photo: Janesville News Report

by Christopher Hodapp

Shots were fired at the Masonic Center in Janesville, Wisconsin at about 2:30 AM on the morning of Sunday August 25th. Bullets were found by police after they struck multiple windows. No injuries were reported, and no suspects have been named at this time.

Photo: WKOW-TV 27

According to the Channel 3000 website:

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.

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.

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.

California Masonic Symposium: 'Fringe Freemasonry and the Mysteries That Bind Us'

by Christopher Hodapp

The California Masonic Symposium is hosted annually by the Grand Lodge of California. This year's event will be held next Wednesday, August 28th and will feature presentations on some of the most mysterious and esoteric Masonic-related rites and organizations that are often referred to as “fringe Masonry.” Many have borrowed styles, substance, symbolism, and practices from the Masonic fraternity, but while "fringe" may sound derogatory at first blush, the label isn't meant to be pejorative. 

As the Symposium's website explains:

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 Us 

The 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.  

PLEASE NOTE: This year's symposium will be held online, and there will be no in-person program. The Symposium will begin Wednesday, August 28th at 7:00PM Pacific Time (10:00PM Eastern), and is expected to last approximately 90 minutes. 

The program will be moderated by Gabriel G. Mariscal, Senior Grand Steward of the Grand Lodge of California. He is currently a member of the Grand Lodge Leadership and Development Committee, which serves as the think tank of the Grand Lodge and creates content for the leadership retreats. He is also a member of the Grand Lodge Masonic Education Committee. He is the chairman of the Public Education Advisory Committee of Sacramento for the California Masonic Foundation.

Speakers will include:

• 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.

There is no charge to view the Symposium, but you must register in order to get access to the program online. To register, CLICK HERE.

Embattled Grand Master Mario Urquía Carreño of the GL of Cuba Is Forced To Resign

Mario Urquía (left) and the Grand Masonic Temple of Cuba (right)

Image © Collage Facebook/Mario Urquía - CiberCuba

by Christopher Hodapp

Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, the embattled Grand Master of the Gran Logio de Cuba (Grand Lodge of Cuba), has resigned following months of controversy and scandal. His resignation was officially tendered Sunday, August 18th after a contentious confrontation with representatives from more than 100 lodges on the island.

Carreño had already been removed from his office and expelled by the fraternity earlier this year in the wake of the disappearance of US$19,000 from the National Masonic Asylum's accounts, one of the principal charities of this grand lodge. He subsequently took his case before the Cuban Ministry of Justice, which decided to overrule the constitution and organizational authority of the grand lodge itself and ordered him reinstated. This unprecedented interference by the Cuban regime's judiciary also nullified the appointment of Juan Alberto Kessel Linares as Grand Master, as the Freemasons had overwhelmingly voted to do several months ago.

The resulting uproar by hundreds of Cuban Masons intensified and the story began to appear in the media over the summer. Carreño reacted against the protesters by arresting the charters of at least four Cuban lodges for failing to acknowledge his reinstatement, which only served to throw oil on the fire. When the story began to get independent media attention, the State Security officials of the Cuban Communist Party found it couldn't control the message any longer, and Carreño was compelled to call a special meeting last Sunday. 

From Mario Urquía Steps Down as Cuba's Grand Master After Months of Controversy by Emma Garcia:

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.”

Prior press accounts of this story can be seen at the following links:

Freemasons Protest at Cuba's Grand Lodge, Demand Assembly to Elect New Grand Master
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

Mario Urquía Steps Down as Cuba's Grand Master After Months of Controversy
Monday, August 19, 2024 by Emma Garcia

https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/287095