Gerald Everett served as Grand Master of Utah in 2015. No details of the case were made available, which is not uncommon in Masonic trial proceedings.
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BE A FREEMASON Thursday, February 13, 2025
Utah Past Grand Master Gerald Everett Expelled
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Grand Master Cuts Off DeMolay From Arizona Freemasons
In an edict issued on Monday, MW Michael Dale, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Arizona, cut off the Masonic-related youth group DeMolay International from Arizona Freemasonry. (Click the image above to enlarge)
The edict reads as follows:
Due to the Grand Master's and the Arizona DeMolay State Association's loss of faith and trust in DeMolay International and the Arizona DeMolay Foundation, effective as of this date, no Mason under the jurisdiction of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Arizona will be a part of, participate in or sponsor any part of DeMolay International, the Arizona DeMolay Foundation or the Arizona DeMolay State Association or any other DeMolay associated organization.This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Masonic Week 2025: Ric Berman Named As Newest Blue Friar, and Philalethes Names Four New Fellows
Friar No. 113 Ric Berman
by Christopher HodappAt quite literally the very last minute on Thursday, I flew to Washington D.C. to catch a couple of events at Masonic Week: the Consistory of the Society of Blue Friars, and the Friday night banquet for the Philalethes Society.The Society of Blue Friars was founded in 1932 for the express purpose of recognizing outstanding Masonic authors throughout the world. Traditionally, the Society convenes each year during Masonic Week in the Washington, D.C. vicinity to induct a new Friar, and its gatherings are open to the public, unless the presenter specifies otherwise.
Authors like Arthur E. Waite, Harold V.B. Voorhis, Dwight L. Smith, Brent Morris, Allen Roberts, Thomas Jackson, Yasha Beresiner, Alain Bernheim, Robert G. Davis, Alton Roundtree, Mark Tabbert, Shawn Eyer, Michael R. Poll, Robert D. B. Cooper, Josef Wäges, Piers Vaughan and Adam Kendall are just a few prior Blue Friar honorees. In a rare moment of weakness, they even let a Dummy in. (After all - their prior Abbott is an Idiot, so I was in good company.) I was very sorry to have missed last year's Masonic Week festivities, when my friend John Bizzack was named as Friar No. 112.
This year's newest Blue Friar is the extremely prolific Richard ('Ric') Berman, author of numerous historical works about both English and American Freemasonry. Ric concentrates his studies and writings on 18th and 19th century Freemasonry in both the British Isles and America, and if you've never read any of his books, he always brings unique insights as to the social forces going on around the changes in the fraternity at key moments in history.
Some of Friar Berman's books include Schism - the Battle That Forged Freemasonry; Inventing the Future - the 1723 Constitutions; Loyalists & Malcontents - Freemasonry & Revolution in South Carolina and Georgia; and The Grand Lodge of England & Colonial America - America’s Grand Masters, to name just a few.
(Photo: Billy Hamilton)
When a Friar is named each year, he is expected to present a paper at the Consistory, and Ric spoke on the political and religious background in England in the years leading up to the formation of the Premiere Grand Lodge of England. There had been a great influx of Huguenots (French Anglicans) fleeing severe persecution from France into London just prior to the founding of grand lodge Freemasonry in 1717, and they had been welcomed into the English lodges with open arms. If things had gone just slightly differently, we Masons would have had to learn how to spell John Theophilus Desaguliers instead of James Anderson when referring to the Constitutions. Thank your stars our rituals aren't in French.
Ric holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Cambridge and a Doctorate in History from the University of Exeter. His post-doctoral research was carried out at the University of Oxford's Modern European History Research Centre and as a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he is the author of numerous journal articles and books, and has presented keynote papers globally. A Freemason for more than forty years and twice a Prestonian Lecturer, Ric holds Grand Rank in the United Grand Lodge of England and is a Past Master of three English Lodges, including Quatuor Coronati Lodge # 2076, the premier lodge of Masonic research. He is also an American Freemason, a member and honorary member of lodges in California, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Washington D.C., and a Fellow of the Philalethes Society.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art at Cincinnati's Taft Museum
From now until May 11th, 2025, downtown Cincinnati's Taft Museum of Art is displaying an exhibit of fraternal folk art featuring some 80 pieces from the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows.
From the museum's website description:
Mystery & Benevolence: Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art
Through compelling and cryptic works of art, Mystery & Benevolence brings to light the histories, symbolism, and beliefs of the Freemasons and the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows (IOOF)—two fraternal organizations with deep roots in American history.
For decades, members across the country have come together to socialize, help others, and improve themselves and their communities. The exhibition features more than eighty works of art, including items once owned by the Daughters of Rebekah—the first lodge to include women—and the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, founded as the African American counterpart to the IOOF. Sculptures, textiles, regalia, prints, and works of decorative art explore the main principles of the organizations: fellowship, charity, labor, passage, and wisdom. Elaborately stitched costumes, gilded regalia and jewelry, and richly embellished ceremonial objects provide a glimpse into the enigmatic world of these secret societies.
Mystery and Benevolence is organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY, from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.
The Taft Museum is open Wednesdays through Mondays from 10AM to 5PM. Admission is free for Taft members, guests of members with guest pass, military, and youth (17 and under); $15 for adults; $12 for seniors. Includes admission to special exhibitions and the museum’s collection galleries. Sundays and Mondays are free of charge.
The Taft Museum of Art is located at 316 Pike Street, at the east end of Fourth Street, across from historic Lytle Park in downtown Cincinnati.Thursday, February 06, 2025
Paris Trial Begins For 8 Accused of Plotting Masonic Lodge Attack
A trial opened this week in France against 8 defendants accused of a neo-Nazi terrorist plot to attack a Masonic lodge back in 2020-21.
Translated from the French website Notretemps.com:
The trial of eight people, suspected of a violent action project against a Masonic lodge between 2020 and 2021 and some of whom were linked to the conspiracy theorist Rémy Daillet, opened on Tuesday before the Paris Criminal Court.
Seven men and one woman, aged 28 to 69, are on trial for terrorist criminal association. One of them is in the United States, and is represented by his lawyer and will therefore not appear in court.
All appear free.
They are suspected of having wanted to commit a violent action against a Masonic lodge. While investigators have updated virtual discussions, meetings, or weapons searches as part of what has been called the "Alsace project", no specific scenario has been established.
The investigations began in February 2021, around the neo-Nazi group Honneur and Nation, whose members were linked to Rémy Daillet, a conspiracy figure, a one-time expatriate in Malaysia.
At the end of the investigation, the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office put him ouey had planned a t of the question, considering that his "role" in this project seemed "indirect and residual". On the other hand, he is indicted in two other parts of this file still under investigation, that of the "Azur project", presented as a project to "overthrow the government" in the fall of 2020...Details of the alleged plot are not revealed in the article, but a story on the Marianne website from 2021 concerning the arrest of co-defendant Thibaut Rufra revealed that the lodge was located in the town of Moselle, and they had planned an attack on France's health minister, as well (this was during the Covid year).
First to be questioned, Sébastien Dudognon, former head of the National Youth Front in Corrèze who had founded the Revolutionary Nationalist Division (DNR), a neo-Nazi group that then gave way to the Honor and Nation group.
According to a source close to the investigation, quoted by Agence France Presse back in 2021, they also cited other non-specific targets such as vaccination centers, high-profile celebrities, and journalists. Several in the group were allegedly attempting to manufacture explosives for their planned attacks. The arrests occurred before any of the attacks could be carried out.
Wednesday, February 05, 2025
London's Freemasons Hall Forms Promotional Organization to Market Its Unique Venue
If you've watched British television shows over the last 40 years or so that are set anywhere from the 1930s to modern day, I'll guarantee you've seen scenes shot in and around the United Grand Lodge of England's London headquarters, Freemasons Hall, at 60 Great Queen Street, just up the street from Covent Garden. This magnificent art deco masterpiece was completed in 1933 and has a seemingly endless number of interior rooms for the grand lodge, individual Masonic lodges, private meetings and other gathering places like their museum and the Lechworth's Masonic supply shop. Every room has its own distinct style, and it's been used in hundreds of TV episodes and feature films, to say nothing of weddings, fashion, industrial, and art shows, concerts, and all kinds of other specialty events.
The building's trustees have now gone into partnership with a local promotions company and formed a special organization specifically to market the building's unique features for more of these kinds of uses. From the Travel and Tour World website:
London’s historic Freemasons’ Hall has unveiled 60 Great Queen Street as the vibrant new identity for its commercial event offerings. This transformation coincides with Smart Group, the parent company of Moving Venue, expanding its role at the venue. Having secured exclusive catering rights in July 2024, Smart Group now assumes full responsibility for event sales and marketing at this prestigious Covent Garden landmark.
With the launch of 60 Great Queen Street, Smart Group is introducing an array of newly available spaces within the Grade II listed* building, offering an exclusive opportunity for corporate and private events in an iconic setting.
Designed to accommodate a diverse range of gatherings, from corporate conferences and product launches to high-end weddings and fashion showcases, 60 Great Queen Street blends architectural grandeur with cutting-edge event design. Collaborating with top-tier industry suppliers, the venue delivers bespoke, immersive experiences tailored to the needs of meetings, weddings, and private celebrations.
Greg Lawson, CEO of Smart Group, said: “Having delivered Christmas parties at Freemasons’ Hall since 2017 and holding the exclusive catering contract since July 2024, we are delighted to embark on the latest phase of our partnership with the United Grand Lodge of England. This is an exciting time of commercial growth for us, as we work with Freemasons’ Hall to enhance the market position for 60 Great Queen Street with our experience of leading sales and marketing activity across our various brands...
Admittedly, London's Freemasons Hall is one of the top 10 greatest Masonic buildings in the world, and they've got plenty to promote. But nearly every grand lodge in the U.S. has one or more incredible buildings with unique spaces that should be promoted to the general public for events. We have lodge rooms, theaters, dining halls, libraries, and other spaces not found anywhere else. Our forebears who built these incredible temples were proud of them and intended them to be part of our communities from the very start. For the most part, Masons aren't very good at building management or promoting our temples as venues. Partnerships with a local promotions company can be a winning strategy for us.
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