UPDATES: Hurricane Helene Hits Six States

The 600-mile path of Hurricane Helene (Image: New York Times)

by Christopher HodappS
UPDATE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2024: Over the last several days, the Masonic Service Association has issued separate Disaster Appeals on behalf of the grand lodges in Florida, North, and South Carolina. CLICK HERE to see that story.

UPDATE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024: Added appeal from North Carolina Masonic Foundation seeking donations. 

The path of destruction and devastation over the weekend from Hurricane Helene stretched 600 miles across six states. Thousands are without homes in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, while deaths from the storm continue to rise – as many as 130 are reported dead as of 10:30 Monday night, according to the Associated Press.

Scores of communities all along the storm's path have been wiped out, and images from small, hard-to-reach Appalachian towns in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee look apocalyptic in scope. 

The Masonic Service Association has not yet issued any official disaster relief announcements for grand lodges in the affected states, but I will update this post as news specifically involving Masons and lodges in the hurricane areas become available.

Please send information to me directly at hodapp@aol.com .

FLORIDA

Gulf Beach Lodge 291 before the hurricane

Gulf Beach Lodge 291 in Madeira, Florida, near St. Petersburg, sustained extensive flood damage from the hurricane's unprecedented storm surge.

A photo on Facebook of the lodge's front door shows the flood rose to about 4-feet, and water damage to the secretary's office, kitchen, and dining room is extensive. Worshipful Master Bobby Burkett reports they will be meeting at Northside Lodge 283 until they are able to repair or rebuild their building.

NORTH CAROLINA

Western North Carolina has been badly hit by the storm, and images from Chimney Rock and Lake Lure near Asheville show almost unfathomable destruction. Entire towns have been swept away. The Grand Lodge of North Carolina's Masonic Foundation is accepting donations online specifically to help, aid, and assist Masons and their families in their state. The NCMF will be matching donations up to $25,000, so your money will go twice as far. When you go to their website at https://mfnc.org/ a pop-up window will open with information and a link to donate (or CLICK HERE if the popup doesn't work on your browser.)

SOUTH CAROLINA

MW Steven D. Hames, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of South Carolina has issued a blanket dispensation to all lodges in his jurisdiction permitting Worshipful Masters wide latitude to cancel or reschedule all meetings, including regular stated meetings. 

Slate: 'What if the Solution to Men’s Loneliness Is… Freemasonry?'

Illustration by Logan Guo for Slate

by Christopher Hodapp

There's been no dearth of reports over the last few years about what many sociologists and psychologists are calling an 'epidemic of loneliness' among men under 40 or so. Several emails this weekend alerted me to an article on Slate – 'What if the Solution to Men’s Loneliness Is … Freemasonry? What makes a guy decide to join a really old fraternal order in 2024', by Allegra Rosenberg. It's a refreshingly evenhanded exploration by a non-Mason of what Freemasonry has to offer to men in today's society. 

Instead of talking to a grand master, or one or two of us regulars in the go-to lineup of high-visibility usual suspects who often get interviewed for these kinds of stories, Rosenberg put out an appeal for responses in the very active Reddit r/freemasonry community. She was especially interested in hearing from men under 40, and this article is the result. 

Apart from flubbing the date of the English grand lodge's founding as 1710 instead of 1717, I daresay that this would be a decent article for grand lodges to link to in their social media as information from a dispassionate third party as to why young men would be interested in our fraternity. If your membership committee is hunting contemporary motivations for joining, give this a read.

It features responses from many brethren as to their personal reasons for joining the fraternity, and one thing glaringly missing from previous generations is mention of dad, grandad or other relative who had been a Mason. This may be the first cohort of men since 1717 that is seeking out a lodge independent of a family tradition. Nor will you find a single reference to George Washington, or any other famous Freemasons. 

Whether you regard that as sad or not, it's the reality we have to deal with today.

Grand Master Morrow of Grand Lodge of Scotland Abruptly Resigns

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, RW D. Joseph J. Morrow, resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday, according to a message circulated to lodge secretaries and posted on their website.  

According to messages on Redditt, GM Morrow is currently traveling abroad. The message gave no explanation beyond "personal reasons" for his abrupt departure.

From the official announcement:

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. 

Immediate Past Grand Master, W. Ramsay McGhee

 

Endangered Masonic Halls: Author Will Moore To Speak in Indianapolis October 15

Photo: Indiana Landmarks

by Christopher Hodapp

On Tuesday, October 15th, Indiana Landmarks will be presenting a program, Understanding Masonic Temples, featuring guest speaker Will D. Moore, author of the 2006 book Masonic Temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture and Masculine Archetypes.

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.

If you are here in central Indiana, the event will be held at the Indiana Landmarks Center auditorium at 1201 N. Central Avenue in Indianapolis (which is itself a magnificently restored and repurposed Romanesque Methodist church building). There is no charge for attending. 

If you’re not in our immediate vicinity, it will also be broadcast as free a Zoom program.

From the website:

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

by Christopher Hodapp

The 4th Esotericism In Freemasonry 2024 Conference will be held the weekend of September 27-29 at Occidental Lodge in the Ballard Masonic Center in Seattle, Washington, featuring a lineup of some of the top contemporary writers and researchers in Western esotericism, comparative religion, and much more. 

An increasing number of men coming to Freemasonry are thirsting for esoteric knowledge that goes far beyond the usual Blue Lodge fare of Masonic education. Expressing interest in 'esotericism' covers a LOT of territory, and there are plenty of bunny holes one can fall into without being suitably grounded and prepared. Esoteric topics are complex, and in fairness, not every Mason or every Masonic lodge has the desire, patience, or enough collective knowledge to truly delve into centuries of historic, philosophic, religious, mathematic, symbolic, and alchemical threads that influenced 'modern' Freemasonry by the 1700s. The conference provides an opportunity to gather with like-minded brethren and explore some of these topics.

Once again, this event is being partially organized by my friend, WB Troy Spreeuw from Vancouver, host of the Mystic Tye podcast.

The weekend program:

• 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.

Take note: Speakers and presentations on Friday and Saturday are open to the general public, while Sunday's will be restricted to Master Masons only.

Tickets are free for Friday night; $50 for speakers and panels on Saturday plus $175 for the VIP dinner; $50 for Sunday's Masonic sessions.

In order to purchase tickets, you need to visit the conference website HERE and click the RSVP button.

For blog entries from some of the event's speakers, CLICK HERE.

San Antonio Scottish Rite Forms Partnership With City's Philharmonic Orchestra To Preserve Cathedral

Article and photos by Christopher Hodapp

On Saturday, September 7th, the San Antonio (Texas) Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Antonio Valley of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite (SJ) announced the formation of a new 501(c)3 partnership to preserve and modernize the city's beautiful downtown Scottish Rite Cathedral. Under the terms of the agreement, the two organizations will share ownership of the 100-year-old Cathedral, providing the orchestra with a magnificent (and permanent) new home, and the Scottish Rite the opportunity to raise sorely needed money for improving and preserving their landmark Cathedral.

The two organizations took the opportunity to announce their fundraising goal of $50 million.

 

According to the Valley's website:

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.

I had the opportunity to tour the Cathedral many years ago, and this announcement is an outstanding case of Masons thinking outside of our narrow little boxes when it comes to protecting these irreplaceable temples. All too often Masons get overwhelmed by maintenance costs of these massive buildings, supported by an ever-shrinking membership base. Time after time, they deteriorate while their trustees throw their hands up in despair. We don't seem to believe that the communities around us might see value in preserving them and making them into venues enjoyed by the public.