Those Spooky Masonic Messages Are EVERYWHERE

by Christopher Hodapp

Check out the subway station sign in New York City just outside of the Grand Lodge F&AM of New York's beautiful headquarters building on 23rd Street. 

"Freemasonry is the Path to 33"

It's a big secret conspiracy. 

Everybody knows about it.

(H/T to the Scottish Rite Freemasonry Facebook page.)

R.I.P. T.M.S. - The Masonic Society Officially Announces Closure

by Christopher Hodapp

After a prolonged public silence, the officers and directors of the Masonic Society have regretfully issued the following official statement:

Sunday April 27, 2025

Greetings all members, Fellows and friends of the Masonic Society,

It is with great difficulty and sadness that we, as the members of the TMS Board of Directors, inform you that we have officially closed all operations of The Masonic Society, Inc and have ceased publication for the foreseeable future. This decision was not an easy one. Over recent years, the leadership of TMS has been working steadfastly behind the scenes to maintain the viability of the organization while addressing a multitude of issues and concerns including having to mitigate prior management actions and breaches that inflicted irrevocable damage.

Central to these efforts has been our commitment to honoring the vision that resulted in the very creation of TMS. This dedication to Masonic Education first and foremost fueled the resolve to do our very best to meet the interests of our subscribers and members while ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and ethical standards. Throughout this experience, we operated from a perspective of simply doing the right thing and living up to our Masonic values and duties as the Board of Directors.

We are eternally grateful for all those who volunteered to serve in their various capacities during our period of restructuring. A special thank you goes to our Secretary Bro. Driver and Treasurer Bro. Doxsee who stepped in to help pick us up the pieces for what often felt like thankless work. However, the increasing costs of producing a print journal, the shift of available and sustainable resources to support the journal and an unrelenting series of administrative burdens have overcome our earnest intent and capabilities.

The Board is forever indebted and appreciative of Bro. Matt Dupee for helping to facilitate charitable donations in 2022 from the Edward and Lois Fowler Charitable Trust and in 2023 from the Robert and Margaret Cathers Charitable Trust which assisted TMS in meeting several of its critical operations and producing the last TMS journal sent to our subscribers. In full transparency, the Board made every good faith effort to prevent this outcome including the confidential exploration of a transfer of assets to another interested party to keep the Masonic Society name and journal alive, however those negotiations closed unsuccessfully.

During the time of its activity, TMS benefited from the expertise of many authors, reviewers, editors, production staff, leaders, readers and others who contributed to creating and sharing content about this important Masonic area. Thank you cannot be expressed enough. Prospective authors are encouraged to seek alternative publication venues.

As we complete the remaining logistical steps for the shuttering of our doors, we encourage you to always cherish with pride the TMS patents, content, literature and ephemera that represents an important slice of Masonic history. What started as a dream, manifested into a reality and progressed through the very stages of mortality that we reflect upon within the very symbolism of our Craft.

Sincerely and Fraternally,

Oscar Alleyne, Board member & Past President
Mason Russell, Board member
Kevin Wardally, Board member
Aaron Shoemaker, Board member
Mark Robbins, Board member
Reed Fanning, Board member
Michael Doxsee, Board Treasurer
Shamus Driver, Board Secretary
John Bridegroom, Board member
Chris Hodapp, Founding Board member & Editor Emeritus

It’s an unhappy epitaph, but epitaphs always are. I will simply add that this was a point none of us ever wanted to reach. As one of the three blabbermouths who sat at the Hilton Alexandria bar one night in February of 2008 and said, “We should start our own organization and publish our own magazine!” everyone involved has my heartfelt gratitude. Or maybe it’s apologies I owe.

Almost two years of public silence has gone on while all of our board members pursued every possible avenue to find responsible parties to support the Society and its biggest expense, the publication of the Journal. My deepest personal thanks to all of the officers and directors for their efforts in these last couple of years for trying to keep TMS alive, and especially to Oscar Alleyne for his herculean efforts behind the scenes to raise money and bail us out of the hole in which we found ourselves.

The reality is that, when we started TMS, we suffered from the very same birth defect so many other publications have shared for more than three centuries: the complete lack of a professional, long-range business plan that would have at least attempted to deal properly with rising production and postage costs. Like countless groups before us, we started with an almost Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney-esque "We can put on a show!" naivety. But that doesn't pay bills.

We wanted from the start to raise the quality level of Masonic publications by producing a physically beautiful journal with high-quality, full color photography and original artwork. As the founding editor, the TMS Journal was always an exhausting, labor-intensive job — especially the way I designed it at first — and illness eventually forced me to hand off my monstrous creation to art director John Bridegroom and a new editor, Michael Halleran, out of exhaustion. Michael Poll later took on the editor's role, and he and John did a masterful job with the magazine in subsequent years.

Our mission was to create a place in which every Brother could have a chance at publishing their original writings, be they research, essays, poems, or other items that didn't always fit into the other existing Masonic publications at the time. We felt that too much good material was being created by individuals who maybe read their work out in lodge, or at a single Masonic gathering, then vanished into obscurity. I think we successfully accomplished those things, and more. We lasted longer than so many others who have attempted it in the past, and we left behind a beautiful corpse. So for that, I’m grateful.

The other effect we had was to raise the level of expectations for other Masonic publications. Before TMS, so many state and national Masonic magazines looked homemade, two steps above being run off on a mimeograph machine in the church basement. In the wake of the TMS Journal's premiere, countless magazines vastly improved their formats, taking full advantage of the latest publishing tools available, as we did.

To those who will doubtless ask why we didn't simply dump the printed, dead-tree format and just publish an e-magazine, we did discuss that possibility. The sad reality is that e-magazines simply do not get read, and certainly don't get kept around for future perusal. Magazines that have switched to an all-online format are historically just postponing their inevitable death. Worse, the proliferation of online blogs, Patreon sites, Facebook pages, Reddit discussions, podcasts, and more have only fractured the audience for Masonic publications further, making it almost impossible to reach more than a tiny niche of the Masonic world with any sort of publication. Like newspapers and network television, the world has atomized, which makes finding a large-scale audience for a work like ours difficult, at best.

But we were also a membership organization, over and above the content of the Journal. Our hand-stamped patents were unlike any that anyone had ever seen before. From the start, we held our annual meetings at Masonic Week in Alexandria with great speakers, and we spent many years having a second gathering throughout the country - even venturing into the U.K. early on. Our membership drives at Masonic Week, along with our hospitality suites, were extremely popular and well-received. Our Quarry Projects generated an extremely useful and logical Masonic writing style manual that needs to be more widely adopted, to avoid unintelligible conventions, acronyms, and abbreviations that litter so many grand lodge, research lodge and local lodge publications. In short, TMS had everything going for it from the beginning, except perhaps business acumen.

So, as the band strikes up for one last melancholy chorus of "Nearer My God To Thee" and our stern silently slips below the waves, to the officers, directors, Fellows, members, and friends of the Masonic Society, it’s been an honor to go down on this ship together. 

Requiescat In Pace.

Belgian TikToker Found Guilty of Inciting Attack on Masonic Hall

by Christopher Hodapp

A 23-year-old Belgian woman has been convicted for harassment, defamation and making threats against a Brussels Masonic Lodge after publishing an anti-Masonic TikTok video. According to an account in the Brussels Times, her video received 86,000 views and generated 3,462 interactions. After her post on January 24th, the windows were broken and four people broke into the Masonic hall. The allegation was that her video incited them to vandalize the building.

The unnamed woman, who posts under the screen name of 'Supergirl', circulated a video showing the Masonic hall of the Loge des Amis Philanthropes (Philanthropic Friends Lodge) in Brussels, alleging the Masons inside are the members of the Illuminati and were engaged in Satanic rituals. 

The historic temple building on Rue de Purcil is the location of the Belgium Museum of Freemasonry.

The criminal court found her guilty of threats, harassment, and defamation, and was sentenced to a probation. She is required by the court to take a guided tour of the temple to learn about Freemasonry, get a job, and to stop sharing any content on social media that could be considered a criminal offense. 

Failure to comply could land Supergirl in the slammer for four months.

Grand Lodge of Ireland Mortified Over Use of Dublin's Freemason Hall

by Christopher Hodapp

WARNING: This is NOT a family-friendly story, I'm afraid. Nor is it pleasant to even describe. But it's been in the internet headlines all week, so I need to.

A tempest has been brewing in the international press this week over a story involving the historic Dublin Freemason Hall of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The initial reports were that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson had interviewed one-time Irish UFC Mixed Martial Arts fighter Conor McGregor for his online streaming program and that the Grand Lodge was furious over their lodge room being used as a backdrop for the political-themed interview. The Grand Lodge's reaction seemed oddly hyperbolic in these early reports, and now I know why. The real reason is NOT being widely reported.

I am NOT going to venture into Irish politics here, for therein lies the path to madness. But to explain this story takes some background, I'm afraid. And the Carlson interview doesn't really have anything to do with it. 

Conor McGregor is a highly tendentious figure in Ireland (recently convicted in a high-profile rape case, and currently hoping to run for their president on what is characterized as a far-right anti-immigrant platform). After the interview aired, there was great huffing and puffing out of the Grand Lodge about how "controversial" McGregor is (he is, without doubt) and how equally "controversial" Carlson is. Like so many large Masonic buildings around the world, the Grand Lodge of Ireland makes their building available for rentals to the general public, and this event was booked by an outside organization. Early statements out of the Grand Lodge claimed ignorance and denounced the entire episode as a horrible mistake on their part, saying they would have denied the use of their building had they known McGregor and Carlson were involved. They immediately offered to donate the €2500 booking fee to charity.

Here's an excerpt from the BBC:

The Freemasons' grand master elect told members in an email that the interview had caused "incalculable" damage and that the venue had been used for "grossly inappropriate purposes".

"The Grand Lodge of Ireland does not comment on any political matter and so regrets letting our premises facilitate any political discussion," Richard S G Ensor wrote.

"I look for your support to get us over this unpleasant time and steer us back on the right path.

"I am personally abhorred at what has taken place and extend my personal apology to our members, family and friends."

Earlier this week, the grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland, Philip Daley, told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that they regularly take bookings from media organisations but "insist" on knowing the interviewer, guests and topics of discussion to ensure this aligns with the organisation's "morals and principles".

However, he said in the case of McGregor and Carlson, the information was only received an hour before the interview.

But something seemed strange about their reaction to a simple two-shot of two men talking to each other for 55 minutes. That's NOT what the Grand Lodge is "abhorred" about.

I am no one's apologist for this story, but Tucker Carlson airs interviews with all kinds of people on all sides of the political and cultural spectrum, and they are often personalities that few members of the public know anything about apart from headlines. I don't care what anyone may think about him, pro or con, but Carlson wants to know why someone stirs controversy and lets his subjects praise or damn themselves out of their own mouths. While McGregor is doubtless one of the very last guys you'd want associated with the fraternity, nothing in the interview itself even remotely implied any connection to the Freemasons, unless you instantly recognized the large organ that dominates the back of the room they were in. McGregor's opinions may or may not be offensive to a majority of Irish people, but that's a whole different discussion to be had over the precarious position free speech rights currently hold in the Western world. But as it turns out, the Tucker Carlson angle has been played up in the media when the real problem has nothing to do with him. (Several articles made sure to stress the line, "Carlson was himself booted off Fox News in mysterious and acrimonious circumstances" in an effort to make him the villain of the piece, or at least a co-henchman with unspecified dark motives.)

The real truth is that McGregor was already in the Grand Lodge building because his recording production company was there shooting a political "music" video (and I use quotations deliberately, because music is nothing like what you'd call it). The publishable title of this pro-Irish Republican Army, anti-monarchial rap piece is "Spit In It" by an entity calling itself Eskimo Supreme (Irish rapper Alex Sheeran). But the actual lyric itself is the far more repulsive "Spit in my c--t".

No, I won't link to it here, but it's on YouTube if you really feel compelled to see it. It's is pure I.R.A. anti-U.K. agitprop packaged like a music video. And no matter what your views on Irish politics may be, it's noxious no matter how you slice it.

The story line, as it were, is that the British royal family has discovered that a female royal can morph into a reptilian dragon if imprisoned Irish Republican Army members can be compelled to (I'm not making this up) spit saliva onto her genitals. The video depicts an unnamed woman ("your royal highness") sitting on her throne, dropping her panties to the floor, who is then treated to this disgusting activity, while some sort of doctor supervises. After completing the deed, each prisoner is then taken out back and shot. Eventually, an escaped IRA prisoner dressed as an English palace guard bursts into the room, spraying machine gun fire, releasing the prisoners, and then apparently mounting the kneeling royal lady from behind, who then transforms into a flying dragon and spits fire at famed Tower Bridge. 

The.  End.

Not exactly Handel's Messiah.

The Grand Lodge of Ireland's lodge room was used for the throne room scenes, edited to appear as though it is located in the U.K. Parliament building in Westminster. In an early wide shot, the squares and compasses can be clearly seen in the upper cornices of the room. I guess to imply the royal reptilians are all Masons...

According to an article on BrteakingNewsIE by Olivia Kellaher:

Alex Sheeran, the artist behind Eskimo Supreme, is signed to Greenback Records, which is credited at the end of the video. [Conor] McGregor launched the label last summer with music industry business partners. He said it was set to be a “a multi-genre record label supporting artists at all stages of their career.”

Now, none of this has been explained in the vast majority of stories making the rounds. Only that McGregor is disgusting, that Carlson is disgusting-er, and that the Grand Lodge is VERY, VERY sorry that this interview was ever shot in their building. Which begs the obvious question: when all of this genital-spitting, knicker-dropping, prisoner screaming and machine gun firing was going on in the very same Grand Lodge room, was there NO ONE from the Masons to shout, "Not in OUR building, you don't!" Honestly. Did they just hand the keys over to the crew and go home? Even if an "outside booking company" handled the transaction?Didn't one single trustee, grand officer, janitor or Blue Lodge Mason happen to spot any of this and demand a halt be called long before McGregor and Carlson shot their interview? Or did the €2500 seem enough lucre at the time to assuage everyone's Masonic consciences?

I advocate all the time for opening the doors to our facilities to the general public in order to remind our communities that we remain an important part of the civic and moral fabric. But this is beyond the pale.  If ANY Freemason was present for any of this display of grotesqueries at the time, they need to be expelled from the fraternity.

Meanwhile, the bulk of the press wants to keep leaning into the "FAR RIGHT! FAR RIGHT!" screaming mania, without any revelation as to what was really going on.

UPDATE: Late this week, the Grand Lodge of Ireland got around to addressing the "Spit In It" video with a second apology and vows to investigate just who was responsible for approving the use of the hall. I don't really care who approved the rental. Why didn't anyone step in during the shoot itself and halt it?

(NOTE: Comments are turned off because I don't feel up to non-stop policing them for the next 72 hours.)

Franklin, Tennessee's Historic Hiram Lodge No. 7

by Christopher Hodapp

Historic Hiram Lodge No. 7 in Franklin, Tennessee is undergoing a multi-million dollar restoration campaign to preserve the oldest continuously operating Masonic hall in the state. WKRN-TV in Nashville aired a short report yesterday about the lodge, featuring several shots inside of the main lodge room and the York Rite meeting room upstairs.

Aside from being the first three-story building constructed in Tennessee, the temple is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is where President Andrew Jackson met with Chickasaw leaders in 1830 and the Native Americans signed a treaty giving up their lands. It was the beginning of the Indian Removal Act which led to the infamous Trail of Tears forced migration of the "Five Civilized Nations" of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes to Oklahoma between 1830-50.

Hiram Lodge was originally chartered as a North Carolina lodge in 1808, before Tennessee's grand lodge had been established. It was one of the original eight founding lodges when the Grand Lodge of Tennessee was formed in 1813. When their Franklin lodge hall was completed in 1823, it was the tallest building west of the Allegheny Mountains. Hiram member Andrew Jackson became the fifth Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee (1822-23), and the seventh President of the United States between 1829-37.

Country music signer-songwriter Brad Paisley has been a member here for many years. 

The lapse of time and the devastations of war have pockmarked the structure over the last two centuries. A cannonball struck the building during the Civil War, and the top floor was condemned by inspectors a decade ago because of its unsound condition. 

To donate to the lodge's preservation fund, CLICK HERE.

Philly Inquirer Tours Historic Masonic Temple

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

by Christopher Hodapp

A Philadelphia Inquirer reporter toured the incredible Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania's magnificent Masonic Temple for a story over the weekend. 

See "Philly’s own ‘Temple of Doom’ has fossils in the floors, stars in the ceiling, and an Egyptian room," by Stephanie Farr, with photos by Monica Herndon. 

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

Apart from the usual journalistic sniping these days (superficial explanations, an obligatory "dead white guys" comment, and suggesting room names be changed to suit modern sensibilities), it's not bad for giving a drive-by overview of one of the most impressive Masonic buildings in the world.

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

One interesting tidbit for owners of our more impressive downtown temples: last year almost 13,000 people toured the Philadelphia Temple, which is more than the number who toured the city's equally impressive city hall building. The public is VERY curious about our Masonic halls. Now, whether that kind of public exposure translates into greater interest in joining is a different question. But it certainly cannot hurt. 

If the world thinks you're dead, beat on the coffin lid and convince them to dig you up.

2025 U.S. Masonic Cons and More

by Christopher Hodapp

Grab your Masonic Calendar as the Masonic conference season kicks into full swing. Freemasons are organizing fun and educational events all over the country. 

The Grand Lodge of New York started off the year with their Masonic Con back in mid-January, but as the weather warms up, other jurisdictions are announcing their own similar events. Please alert me if yours isn't listed below and I'll add it to this list.

Montana Masonic Con April 25-26, 2025 – Great Falls, Montana

NOTE! This event has been cancelled as of April 15th.

Esotericon 2025 in Virginia has been postponed
www.esotericon.net

Midwest Conference on Masonic Education – May 2-4, 2025 – Indianapolis

http://www.mcme1949.org/

Hudson Valley Masonic Con – June 7th, 2025 – Middletown, New York

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hudson-valley-masonicon-2025-tickets-1298075571979

Masonic Con Kansas – July 18-19th, 2025 – Kansas (FREE this year!)

www.MasonicConKansas.com

John Skene Masonic Conference – August 23rd, 2025 – Plainfield, New Jersey

https://www.facebook.com/events/1005564854738595/

Texas MasoniCon – November 14-15, 2025 – Texas
www.TexasMasoniCon.com

Camp Cornerstone – August 22-24, 2025 – Arizona
www.flagstaff7.org

Masonic Con South – October 18-19, 2025 – North Carolina

www.MasonicConSouth.com

San Antonio Esoteric Summit - June 7, 2025 – Texas
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0E44ADAB2FA2FB6-51446264-lodges#/

AMD/Masonic Week 2026 - February date not yet determined – Alexandria, Virginia

https://amdusa.org/wp/masonic-week-2025/

Brother General Lafayette In Indiana and Louisville: May 10-12

by Christopher Hodapp

Make plans to join with fellow Freemasons on Monday, May 12th, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana for a once in a lifetime event!

Major General Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de LaFayette, was invited as ‘the Nation’s Guest’ in 1824-25 to tour America as part of the Jubilee 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and American Revolution. Lafayette (as his name was Americanized) was the last living member of General George Washington’s Revolutionary War-era generals and personal staff. His American tour took him to all 24 states in existence at that time, traveling 6,000 miles in 13 months. A hero of both the American and French Revolutions, the 67-year-old Lafayette was greeted by enthusiastic crowds everywhere he went, and Freemasons throughout the country invited him to attend lodges, dinners, cornerstone ceremonies and more.

On May 10th of 1825, Lafayette arrived in Louisville, Kentucky after his steamship ran aground and sank in the Ohio River, near Tell City, Indiana. And on May 12th, he was rowed across the river to visit Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he was met by Governor (and fellow Freemason) James Brown Ray, along with several members of the Indiana General Assembly. That evening, a dinner was held for him at the former residence of the late Territorial Governor Thomas Posey, an early Indiana Mason for whom the local lodge had been named (Posey Lodge #9 in 1819).

The American Friends of Lafayette have been reenacting the general’s famous national tour for its 200th anniversary. Following the diary made of his trip, they are holding events at every major stop he made, on the same dates he originally made them, with a French actor from Historic Williamsburg playing the part of Lafayette.

Lafayette Arrives in Louisville 

On Saturday, May 10th, at 10:00AM, General Lafayette and his entourage will arrive, “dry and unharmed by his shipwreck,” at the Old Portland Wharf, 3500 Rudd Avenue, Louisville, KY. There will be a color guard and the playing of both the American and French National Anthems. An historic marker will be unveiled, marking the occasion. Presentations will take place at the nearby museum following the ceremonies. Admission is free to all activities.

On May 12th, 2025, Grand Master David Morgan and the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana will take part in the festivities commemorating Lafayette’s visit, and all Indiana Freemasons and members of the public are invited to take part. 

Louisville Procession
At 10:00AM, all participants will gather in Louisville’s Waterfront Park, at 1101 E. River Road to welcome Lafayette, escorted by the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, and accompanied by historic re-enactors of Kentucky’s then-Governor Disha, and Colonel Richard Anderson. Lafayette will speak and answer questions for local students. Then everyone will join a Parade of Flags and escort Lafayette across the Big Four walking bridge over the Ohio River to Jeffersonville (about a 40-minute walk).

All Masons are encouraged to dress in suit and tie and wear their aprons for this procession, and for the rest of the day’s festivities.

Masonic Marker Dedication
At approximately 1:15PM, General Lafayette will be officially welcomed to Indiana in Jeffersonville’s Big Four Station Park by a crowd that will include the Grand Lodge of Indiana, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, plus local dignitaries and descendants Zalmon Burritt, a Revolutionary War Soldier. 

Across the street in Veteran’s Park (formerly Colston Park), there will be a dedication by the Grand Master and Grand Lodge officers of a new Masonic historical marker, describing Lafayette’s Indiana visit and his long association with the Freemasons. There will also be a dedication of an Unknown Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial, and the planting of two Liberty Trees to mark the occasion.

The dedications will be followed by food, drink, toasts to George Washington, and more at Big Four Station Park.

Lafayette at Louisville’s Abraham Lodge
At 7:00PM on Monday evening, the Masons of Kentucky will hold their own event at the beautiful Louisville Scottish Rite, and the public is invited. They will present a special theatrical play – a reenactment of Lafayette’s 1825 visit to Louisville’s Abraham Lodge #8. The play will be followed by a reception featuring the Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps.

Abraham #8 is important to Indiana Freemasonry. It was the lodge that authorized a dispensation to establish Vincennes Lodge, the first Masonic lodge chartered in the Indiana Territory, under the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in 1809. It would become Vincennes Lodge #1 of the new Grand Lodge of Indiana when it was officially established in 1818.

The Louisville Scottish Rite is located at 200 East Gray Street. No reservations are required, and the event is free of charge.

Other Louisville Events for Lafayette’s Bicentennial Weekend
10th May, 10:00 am, Lafayette’s Arrival at Old Portland Wharf in Louisville

Dedication of Lafayette Sign and Benches
Sunday, May 11, 2025, 3PM
400 West Market Building Park

Lafayette and Sons of the American Revolution Benches Dedication. Two benches marking the Lafayette visit and the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, will be unveiled in downtown Louisville at 3:00 pm. There will be a color guard, the playing of the National Anthem and La Marseillaise, and a speaker describing the purpose of the benches.

Lafayette Bicentennial Dinner and Ball 

Saturday Evening, May 10, 2025, 5:30-10PM
Pendennis Club
218 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY

Enjoy an elegant dinner in Louisville’s magnificent Pendennis formal dining room with the Marquis de Lafayette, co-hosted by the Jane Austen Society.

Polish your dance moves at an authentic Federal/Regency period ball. Dance Master Tom Tombusch of Ohio will call and teach the dances, accompanied by the historical stylings of The Lafayette Escadrille musicians. Business formal or formal evening attire requested; 1825-period dress is not required but enthusiastically encouraged.

Tickets must be purchased in advance by April 26th.

Buy tickets HERE (https://friendsoflafayette.wildapricot.org/event-6056542)

Midwest Conference on Masonic Education in Indianapolis May 2-4, 2025

by Christopher Hodapp

Don't forget to register for the Midwest Conference on Masonic Education May 2-4, 2025 in Indianapolis. 

Here's the lineup for what is shaping up to be a truly terrific program.

This year's conference will be held at the historic Indianapolis Masonic Temple, located at 525 N. Illinois Street.

Indianapolis Masonic Temple

Be sure you visit the Masonic Library and Museum of Indiana on the 5th floor of the Masonic Temple. It will be open throughout the day on Saturday.

Don't forget that Brent Morris and I will kick off this conference on Friday night at the Rathskeller Restaurant.

While you're in town, be sure to visit our other two downtown landmark Masonic buildings: the Indianapolis Scottish Rite Cathedral, just north of the Temple at North and Meridian Streets; and the Murat Shrine Temple at 502 North New Jersey Street.

Indianapolis Scottish Rite Cathedral

Murat Shrine

No one will be bored in this town, I promise. If this is your first time in Indianapolis, don't just chain yourself to the hotel. Downtown Indianapolis is FILLED with 300 restaurants, so you will find an embarrassment of riches when hunting somewhere to eat dinner. Better yet, this is a walking city, and loads of business areas are interconnected with covered walkways, including the Circle Center Mall (which is undergoing major transformation over the next couple of years). Take in a baseball game at Victory Field or basketball at the Fieldhouse. And there are several major and minor museums downtown, as well. The downtown club scene is pretty vibrant, too.

Check out the Downtown Indy website for ideas.

And before you leave town, mosey down to the south lawn of the Statehouse and take your picture next to the statue of George Washington in his Masonic regalia as the founding Master of Alexandria lodge in Virginia. He appropriately faces Washington Street.

I hope you have a great time in my home town! Great Masonic ideas and practices got their start in Indiana, and we have much to be proud of here.

Welcome to Indianapolis!

OES National Grand Chapter Issues Explanation of Rule Change

by Christopher Hodapp

The national Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star has released an explanatory letter regarding the recent change to the OES constitution which removed the former Masonic family connection for female petitioners.  

As reported HERE, MW David Ray Pyle, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of West Virginia issued a directive earlier this month evicting OES chapters from all Masonic lodge halls and buildings in his jurisdiction. 

In their letter, OES Grand Worthy Matron Billie Bradford and Grand Worthy Patron Michael E. Berry, Past Grand Master of Arizona, stress that the change was ONLY for women, that the Masonic membership requirement for men remains unchanged. It reads, in part:

"Prior to the adoption of this legislation in October 2024, those eligible to membership in the Order of the Eastern Star included:

• Affiliated Master Masons in good standing and any female relatives who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption to Affiliated Master Masons in good standing, or if deceased were in good standing at thetime of their death; as well as:

• Members – either active for three (3) years or majority – in the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls or in the Job’s Daughters International, each of whom having attained the age of eighteen (18) years.

Resolution 42 added the following:

• Women sponsored by a sister and brother who are members of the Order

"Please be aware that one important qualification did not change—any man wishing to join the Order of the Eastern Star must be a Master Mason in good standing. If a male petitioner is not a Master Mason, he cannot join Eastern Star. And if a male member of Eastern Star is suspended from his Lodge (whether for non-payment of dues or otherwise), then he is also automatically suspended from Eastern Star. In other words, membership in Freemasonry is a prerequisite for any man wishing to join Eastern Star.

"The change that was made to the membership qualifications applies strictly to female petitioners for the degrees in Eastern Star and adds only a category for sponsored membership. The gist of sponsored membership is that any woman who wants to join the Order of the Eastern Star and who does not meet the standard requirements for membership can nevertheless petition for membership if she presents with her petition two letters of recommendation, one of which is signed by a female member of the Order in good standing, and the other is signed by a male member of the Order in good standing. In other words, if a woman wants to join Eastern Star as a sponsored petitioner, she must first be vouched for by a Master Mason who is in good standing.

"We understand the concern over the foregoing change, especially that it has eliminated the prerequisite Masonic connection for female petitioners. We ask those espousing this belief to remember that before sponsored membership was enacted, the connections between some of our petitioners and their Masonic relations were spotty at best. For example, a young woman who never or barely knew her grandfather but could prove that he was a Master Mason in good standing when he died was eligible to join Eastern Star—but the woman who has been a constant companion to her Master Mason boyfriend for decades could not.

"In fact, we see sponsored membership as requiring a much stronger Masonic connection than Eastern Star previously required. While the young woman who never or barely knew her Master Mason grandfather, uncle or stepbrother is still eligible to join, a woman who wants to join but who is not related to a Master Mason must present a letter, signed by a living Master Mason in good standing, in which that Brother vouches for the woman’s character. In our opinion, this demonstrates that not only does the Order of the Eastern Star remain deeply connected to Freemasonry, but no sponsored member may join without the express approval of a Mason. In other words, unlike a woman who can prove a direct relationship in her past, Master Masons in the present essentially have direct authority over which women are eligible to join."

It goes on to state that the vote to make this change was overwhelmingly passed by their members last year, who all DID have the Masonic family relationship. Moreover, the state Grand Chapters do not possess the ability to ignore, set aside, or modify the national rules, nor do the national grand officers have the ability to do so, while most Masonic Grand Masters DO possess that power within their jurisdictions. Meaning, the GM of West Virginia didn't have to evict them. He certainly could have remained silent on the subject, waited until his annual meeting, and asked for a vote of the subordinate lodge representatives.

Another point made by the letter is a matter of basic Masonic charity and brotherly love. 

"The directives and edicts issued or being contemplated in the various Masonic jurisdictions have had a major impact, as we have been inundated with calls, emails, and letters of concern from Eastern Star members both in North America and all around the world. Our hearts break for these Sisters and Brothers whose membership may be impacted because for many of our members, particularly those who are in the golden years of their lives, Eastern Star is one of their few opportunities for social interaction and camaraderie."

This is the real heart of the matter. How does the action of the Grand Master of West Virginia help Freemasonry in any way, shape or form? How does evicting the Eastern Star Chapters his serve his members?

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