TempleLive Abruptly Closes; Operated Former Masonic Temples in Four Cities

by Christopher Hodapp

A bold vision to try and save historic Masonic temples has tragically failed, apparently. Or at least struck a sizeable reef. News sources in Cleveland, Ohio reported last week that TempleLive, the company operating the Cleveland Masonic Temple and several other landmark Masonic theater venues, seems to have folded. Shows have been canceled, performers have been unable to get responses, and the company isn't answering phone calls. The company website is also down. 

If they really have folded, it's a sad setback for the historic Masonic temples in Cleveland, and Columbus, Ohio, along with Wichita in Kansas, and Ft. Smith in Arkansas, all recently renovated by TempleLive to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. But TempleLive wasn't owned or affiliated with the two or three mega-promotion companies that monopolize the concert business in the U.S. Squeezed out of the most lucrative acts in show business, they have fallen into the economic reality of trying to do things independently.

Cleveland Masonic Temple

The company was started several years ago by Lance Beaty's Beaty Capital Group and Rob Thomas, who had two goals for their venture. One was to preserve, renovate and operate theaters, specifically in endangered Masonic halls. Like so many of us, they realized these incredible, one of a kind temples built by our brethren a century or more ago needed to find new life in order to be saved from the wrecking ball. Their secondary notion was to serve smaller towns outside of the usual lineup of big cities for touring music, theater, comedy and other entertainment acts. Their first purchase was the 1928 Fort Smith Masonic Temple, and all of the venues they took over had large stages and auditoriums built originally for fraternal productions. Our forefathers also intended for these beautiful theaters to be used by their communities, not just a couple of annual events for Masons only.

Fort Smith Masonic Temple

An extended story in Crain's Cleveland Business on Monday quoted an Arkansas interview with the company's founder, Lance Beaty, who placed a lot of blame on being in independent concert promotor in a world dominated by a few massive, monopolistic corporations who control the business:

BCG CEO Lance Beaty told Arkansas news outlet Talk Business & Politics (TB&P) over the weekend that TempleLive operations are being shuttered in short order. This follows Beaty previously indicating just a few days prior that owners were looking at ways to keep the concert promoter going.

“We determined it was best to be definitive so the decision was made to pull down the remaining shows,” Beaty told the outlet.
Beaty cast blame on a mix of factors for TempleLive’s apparent struggles, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a ticketing system that can put independent promoters at a disadvantage. 

“We are simply an outsider in an insider’s business,” Beaty told TB&P. “No matter how much money you throw at it or how creative you think you are, if you’re not on the inside, you’re not in.”

The Columbus Athenaeum was built in 1899 as a Masonic temple. 

After an expansion in 1913, it was claimed to be the largest specifically-Masonic building in America (a mantle that was soon surpassed in the fraternal building craze of the 1920s).

Wichita Scottish Rite

The article continued:

According to the 2025 State of Live report from the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), 64% of indie venues did not turn a profit in 2024.
“Their survival is threatened by inflation, monopolistic pressures, and predatory ticket resale practices,” NIVA writes. “Yet their economic footprint is vast, their community impact is undeniable, and their importance to the national economy is backed by hard data.”

A debt collection complaint has been filed against BCG by Arkansas’ Partners Bank for an alleged default on a $1.5 million line of credit, according to Phillips County Circuit Court records. That related promissory note was signed in October 2023 and matured on May 2, 2025.

BCG established its TempleLive subsidiary upon acquiring and renovating a Masonic temple in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 2017. This set a blueprint for TempleLive for purchasing similar Masonic auditoriums in other markets, improving them and opening them as concert and event venues.

As it expanded, TempleLive’s footprint grew to include additional venues in Cleveland and Columbus as well as Peoria, Illinois and Wichita, Kansas.
The Masonic Auditorium at 3669 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland was purchased by TempleLive in March 2017 for $725,000, according to county property records. In the years since, upwards of $14 million has been pumped into renovating the space over at least a couple of phases of redevelopment. Plans at the site also at one time included a vision for a massive adjacent hotel, the project for which was estimated to be around at least $60 million.

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/

Kansas Masonic Con This Weekend - July 26-28

by Christopher Hodapp

There's still time to sign up and attend the Kansas Masonic Con this coming weekend, Friday - Sunday, July 26-28, 2024, at Rosedale Lodge 333 in Mission, Kansas (near Kansas City).

Speakers will include:

• Chad Thomas – “Freemasonry: Form vs Function”
• Jon Ruark – “Stoic Resilience in an Age of Uncertainty”
• Nicholas Laine – “The Creation of Enlighteners in Lodge”
• James R. Morgan III – “The Lost Empire: Black Freemasonry in the Old West”
• Duane Marshall – “The Journey of a Mason”
• Chad Kopenski – “The Power of Masonic Myth”
• Lincoln Wilson – “How Much Masonry Do You Want?

Rosedale Lodge 333, Mission, Kansas

There will be a Friday evening 'meet and greet' with the speakers, with the bulk of the program on Saturday, followed by a masquerade festive board Saturday night, and wrapping up with an outing on Sunday. Tickets can be had for each event individually, an all program pass, and for virtual attendees who wish to watch online. 

CLICK HERE for registration and ticket information.

Upcoming 2023 Masonic Conventions

(Image: Brother Steven McKim)

by Christopher Hodapp

In the mid-2010s, American Freemasons started falling in love with the concept of state or regional Masonic Cons – large-scale Masonic conventions that bring together guest speakers, education presentations, seminars, and discussion groups, replete with vendors, commemorative swag, podcasters to cover the activities, and a grand celebratory dinner. Similar types of Masonic education events have gone on for over a century and a half, but the 'Masonic Con' branding (reminiscent of science fiction, comic, and mystery lovers' "Cons") seemed to kickstart imitators and provide new enthusiasm that has become infectious. (See my article from 2019, Masonic Con and the Power of Great Ideas.)

Coming up this year there are at least three that I know of, in Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois. Alert me if I missed yours.

Red River Masonic Con will be held June 23-24, 2023 in Sulphur, Oklahoma at the Chickasaw Retreat and Conference Center. Sponsored by the Oklahoma Lodge of Research, speakers will include:

• Robert C. Davis
• Josef Wäges
• Chuck Dunning
• Daniel Hanttula
• Alex G. Power

(See the schedule HERE) An informal 'Friday Night Philosopher's Guild' gathering will kick off the event, described as "a guided discussion of the meaning of modern day Freemasonry and a group exploration of the needs and wants of 21st century fraternalism." It will last from 6pm-9pm, and they are limiting it to 30 participants.

Tickets are on sale now. General admission is $99. There's also a $15 ticket if you only want to attend the Friday Night Philosophers Guild discussion (includes pizza). Wives, spouses, significant others and non-Masonic guests are encouraged to participate in a $99 non-Mason activity program that includes a Cultural Center Tour and Lunch (11am-2:30pm), Dinner at the CRCC with the Masons. the Nine O’Clock Toast, and commemorative glass.

Sulphur, Oklahoma is located about a 2 hour drive south of Oklahoma City off I-33, and it's a fascinating place to explore all by itself - it was the home of a prospering hot springs tourist area 

Masonic Con Kansas will be held July 28-30, 2023 at the hall of Rosedale Lodge 333 in Merriam, Kansas. To start, there will be a Friday Meet 'n Greet and celebration of the 100th anniversary of nearby Overland Park Lodge 436 that kicks off the event.

Speakers and panelists include:

• Jason Richards from Virginia
• Ryan Flynn from New Hampshire
• Matthew Parker from Nebraska
• Brad Drew from Kentucky
• Mikel J. Stoops from Kansas
• Kansas' own Darren Kellerman will be master of ceremonies

If you're making lodging plans, the two venues are:

• Rosedale Masonic Lodge 333, 6161 Slater Street, Merriam, Kansas
• Overland Park Lodge 436, 8109 Overland Park, Kansas

Tickets are available now. General admission (no swag) $52.32; General admission WITH swag $78.22; Virtual pass $21.23; Virtual with pass WITH swag $47.14.

Masonic Con Chicago will be held September 16th, 2023 at the historic Libertyville Masonic Temple in Libertyville, Illinois (north of Chicago, about seven miles south and west of Waukegan). The convention is organized by the brethren of Spes Novum Lodge 1183 and the Whence Came You podcast crew. 

No speakers have been announced yet, but tickets are on sale now at $80 for general admission and $120 V.I.P. level. Event is open to EAs, FCs, MMs and the general public. There will be no virtual tickets for this event.

And just because I somehow missed knowing about this year's Ohio event in April, the 2024
Midwest Conference on Masonic Education will be held next year at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, May 3 – 5, 2024. These Midwest Conferences have been going on since 1949, and they move around the region every year. Somebody remind me to put it on my calendar.

"Freemasonry, notwithstanding, has still survived. "

by Christopher Hodapp

RW Michael Halleran, Past Grand Master of Kansas and former editor of the Journal of the Masonic Society, just passed along this artwork for a Masonic/COVID graphic. 

"Wanted to do something to help," Mike wrote. "Enclosed is a 6x9 jpg poster I did up today that any lodge or grand lodge can freely use...if it helps, please post it. The poster is suitable for social media posting as is, and can be printed (if that is still a thing) at a 1:1 ratio at 6 inches by 9 inches."

The quote, "Freemasonry, notwithstanding, has still survived," is taken from the explanation of Geometry that appears just before the Charge to the Fellow Craft that is fairly commonly heard throughout North American Masonic rituals in most jurisdictions. William Preston printed it in his Illustrations in 1779, and it quickly began to encircle the globe as Masons traveled on English ships to distant colonies.*

That passage is one of my favorites in all of Masonic ritual, and was part of the first extended lecture I ever learned in my whirlwind trip to the Worshipful Master's chair. 

"The lapse of time, the ruthless hand of ignorance, and the devastations of war have laid waste and destroyed many valuable monuments of antiquity, on which the utmost exertions of human genius have been employed. Even the Temple of Solomon, so spacious and magnificent, and constructed by so many celebrated artists, escaped not the ravages of barbarous force. 

Freemasonry, notwithstanding, has still survived.  

Indeed, it has. 

After the American Revolution. the Antients' lodges spread across the new nation and quickly supplanted the Moderns, who were largely seen as Loyalists. By then, Preston's lectures were already being incorporated into American lodge rituals. In 1797, Thomas Smith Webb's Freemason’s Monitor or Illustrations of Masonry, was published and was quickly adopted across America as the closest thing to an 'official ritual' most grand lodges would have for another century. Webb included the lecture verbatim. 

Since our beginnings, American Masonry and Masons have suffered revolution, persecution, numerous wars, countless diseases, epidemics and pandemics, multiple economic depressions, and more. 

But Freemasonry, notwithstanding, has still survived. 

Stay safe, Brethren.

By the way, here's one for my home jurisdiction in Indiana.

#INthistogether

* (Yes, I've updated this post to reflect that the phrase did NOT originate with Dermott's Ahiman Rezon in the 1750s. Serves me right for not double checking my sources. It doesn't appear in an edition of Ahiman Rezon until Stickle's greatly expanded edition in the 1860s.)

UPDATE: Kansas Downsizes and Moves Annual Meeting

UPDATE: AS OF FRIDAY MARCH 20TH, 2020, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED ENTIRELY. 

The Grand Lodge of Kansas is supposed to hold its annual communication next weekend, which comes at this historically awkward moment in time. Like Masonic meetings of all kinds everywhere, they are running smack dab into the Wuhan Coronavirus Panic of 2020 (which feels like the Burning Hair Festival more and more as each day passes). Every day, state governors, health officials, federal agencies and local bureaucrats are announcing their latest reaction, overreaction, and exploding head positions as they grapple with how much to shut down public gatherings and chain all the exits.

If you click to enlarge the notice above, you can see what the Grand Lodge of Kansas has come up with. The large gathering of lodge representatives has been cancelled, and is being downsized and moved from its hotel meeting space in Wichita to Emporia Lodge No. 12 next Friday, March 20th.  They are reducing the number of attendees to the minimum required quorum of just 50 Master Masons total (current grand lodge officers, plus no more or less than 25 sitting Lodge Masters included) in order to elect new grand lodge officers and assure what the feds call continuity of government, or COG (because Washington never met an acronym they didn't like). There will be no business voted on besides approving committee reports – that means no resolutions or other legislation. The new grand officers will be installed, and everybody goes home to resume haggling with rogue toilet paper and hand sanitizer smugglers.

None of this is new. If you peer into most grand lodge by-laws and constitutions, you'll see what your own jurisdiction set up long ago for just such occasions. Masons in earlier times dealt with the "devastations of war" and the "ruthless hand of ignorance" — periods when the nation was at war or other major crisis, as well as during the rabid anti-Masonic period, when ranks of Masons able to attend statewide meetings were reduced to a handful at best. Your grand lodge jurisprudence, rules, and ways and means committees have probably all looked deep into these rules for your jurisdiction by now already, just in case your annual meeting is scheduled for the next few weeks or so. 

If your favorite resolution you slaved over for months to word just right to get your cherished pet peeve in the rules changed, try not to get too upset if it has to wait another year. Masonic governance has always moved with the dazzling speed of a drugged brontosaurus with a full belly on a hot, lazy day anyway. 

Just remember the most important admonition given to the U.S. government within the Constituion itself. The finest words in the entire document are: "Congress shall make no law..." 

Think of all the trouble it would have saved if only they had stopped writing right there.


Meanwhile, elsewhere...

GL of Arkansas and Shriners International May Be Burying the Hatchet At Last

(Some details of this story have been updated as of 11AM 7/7/2019.)

It's not over yet, but the long-running feud between the Grand Lodge of Arkansas and Shriners International may at last be coming to a positive resolution.

Since November 2012, the Grand Lodge of Arkansas has forbidden the Masons in its jurisdiction to be members of the Shrine. The Grand Master at that time, Robert L. Jackson, issued a letter that declared the Shrine "clandestine" in Arkansas, and all Masons in the state were suddenly ordered to either quit their Shrine membership, or "self-expel" themselves (a curious, irreversible procedure that few - if any - other grand lodges practice).

The argument at that time concerned an Arkansas Mason who held a dual membership in another state, along with belonging to an Arkansas Shrine. He was brought up on Masonic charges and expelled in Arkansas, but was not suspended by the Shrine at that time because his other state's Grand Lodge had not taken any action against him. The Shrine's position was that he was still legally a Freemason outside of Arkansas, and therefore was still entitled to remain a Shriner. MW PGM Jackson disagreed, ordered the Shrine to expel him, they refused, and so he issued his edict. 

The result was an enormous drop in Masonic membership in Arkansas that far exceeded the comparative membership losses that any other Masonic jurisdiction has suffered in the U.S. The sheer number of expulsions in Arkansas since 2013 has been staggering.

Jackson's order might have meant the end of the Shrine in Arkansas. Because of the untenable situation in which they found themselves, Shriners International changed its bylaws and created a loophole for Arkansas that permitted non-Masons to become Shriners there. That by-law change has been in place since 2013. 

Meanwhile, PGM Robert Jackson went on to become the Grand Secretary of Arkansas in 2016. Numerous Arkansas Masons reported that his office allegedly stopped issuing letters of good standing to fleeing Arkansas Masons who attempted to transfer their membership to jurisdictions in other states like Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and elsewhere. The Grand Lodges of Oklahoma and Kansas both withdrew amity with Arkansas, partially over these issues.

Jackson was suspended in 2017 by then-GM Carl E. Nelson, along with Grand Treasurer, PGM Ronnie Hedge. Hedge is now one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Grand Lodge of Arkansas (which is a whole different story). At the end of his term as Grand Master in 2018, PGM Nelson was elected as Grand Secretary. 

But a new wrinkle developed earlier this summer. The outgoing 2018-19 Grand Master Bradley Phillips (photo) issued a Grand Master's Recommendation at the 2019 Arkansas annual meeting that finally has proposed a way to end to the needless impasse with the Shrine. 

The Recommendation reclassifies the Shrine in Arkansas from a clandestine organization to a civic one for the next three years; permits non-Mason Arkansas Shriners to petition lodges; permits self-expelled Arkansas Masons to petition for reinstatement, along with all other Masons in the state who had previously been expelled by former Grand Masters or trial commissions over their Shrine memberships or activities; and the decisions to reinstate such expelled Masons will rest in the hands of local lodges, not the Grand Lodge or its officers. At the end of three years, if all members of Arkansas Shrines have become Masons in that state (or in another jurisdiction recognized by Arkansas) once again, the Shrine will again be classified as a fully recognized fraternal organization under Arkansas Masonic code. In return, all remaining Shriners in Arkansas who have NOT become Masons by the end of the three year period will be expected to be suspended by the Shrine, and the non-Mason loophole created by this whole imbroglio by the Shrine will be ended.

(I have only seen page one of the Recommendation. Click image below to enlarge.)

The attending delegates at the annual meeting overwhelmingly voted in favor of the proposal, and Phillips was also elected as their new Grand Secretary, replacing Carl Nelson.  The adopted recommendation also has the support of current 2019-20 Arkansas Grand Master Jesse Don Sexton. 

This past week in Nashville, Shriners International held its 145th annual Imperial Session. The Arkansas Recommendation was partially re-drafted as a Resolution for the Shrine, and was enthusiastically adopted by their delegates. This has now resulted in the Shrine organizing a working group from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas and members of the Sahara and Scimitar Shrines in Arkansas to begin the transition process outlined. 

By the time you read this, if I understand the original Recommendation correctly, the Shrine is no longer considered "clandestine" by Arkansas, and is merely to be treated as a civic organization now. (Please contact the Grand Secretary's office to verify this, as I may be misunderstanding the actual timing.)

Further, Shriners International will move forward with a plan to restore regular Masonic membership as a prerequisite for becoming a Shriner once again into their bylaws, as it historically has been before. The working group's complete report is due no later than the end of this year.

And then, if all goes well within the proposed three year time frame, all of this stürm und drang will finally come to an end, and Masonic careers of countless dedicated Arkansas brethren that have been devastated by this feud may be restored at last.

(The adopted Shrine Resolution can be seen below. Click to enlarge.)

Oklahoma Masons Withdraw Recognition of GL of Arkansas

THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED AT 12:30AM 11/11/2018:

Oklahoma Masons have just voted to withdraw recognition of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas. Late this evening I have received several messages out of the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma that took place in Guthrie today. 

The vote was overwhelming: 558 Yes to 179 No. 

The Grand Lodge of Oklahoma VERY briefly withdrew recognition of Arkansas before  in 2016 by an edict of their then-grand master, but that quickly lapsed and amity was restored that same year. The Grand Lodge of Kansas also suspended recognition of Arkansas earlier this year.

The continuing saga with the Grand Lodge of Arkansas F&AM is too complex to explain simply here. According to reports from Oklahoma tonight, the principal justification for the withdrawal of amity has been an ongoing lack of due process for Arkansas Masons, which has made it difficult if not impossible for their former members to seek membership in other states. Reportedly, the final nail in the coffin today was an impassioned speech by a Medal of Honor recipient from Arkansas who begged Oklahoma to take this action.

The "Yellow Book" of Oklahoma's 2018 Reports and Resolutions is available online, and contains a summary of the situation on page 34, and the Resolution voted upon today, which reads in part:

Since 2012, the Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of Arkansas is known to practice removing members of the Craft from their jurisdiction who have not committed a masonic offense (e.g., cannot be a Shriner and an Arkansas Mason), and without due process (in essence, no right of appeal of sentence, or other remedy for grievances permitted). The basic due process of law is a citizen's right, guaranteed by the U. S. constitution (Fifth Amendment, ratified September 25, 1789; and Fourteenth Amendment, ratified July 9, 1868), and cannot be excluded under the guise of a trial process of a sovereign fraternal entity.

As no remedy has evolved over the past six years and none is foreseen, the committee recommends the Grand Lodge of A.F. & A.M. of the State of Oklahoma suspend recognition of the Grand Lodge of F. & A.M. of Arkansas, until the provision of due process of law is provided for by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas; and that the Grand Secretary notify their Grand Master accordingly.

Should the Craft adopt this recommendation the following impact would take
effect for Oklahoma.

First, no impact would be felt on the interactions of the Adult and Youth Orders, as Oklahoma and Arkansas Masons would be performing their roles as Masters Masons in their Adult and Youth Orders capacity, and they would not be involved in a tyled Masonic Lodge.

Second, no impact would be felt on the interactions of an Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite or York Rite functions, as they also meet in the role of their Order. They may meet in a Lodge facility but not in the tyled recesses of an ancient craft Lodge.

Lastly however, an impact would be felt with Oklahoma and Arkansas Masons meeting in each other's tyled recesses of a lodge.

Meanwhile, little information has managed to trickle out of Arkansas over the last 18 months or so. A Facebook site run by an anonymous Arkansas Mason continues to report that their trial commission retains its 100% suspension and expulsion record. I remain more than willing to print any communication, explanation, or response here by the Grand Master of Arkansas or their members at any time. 

This story will be updated if new information becomes available.

---

UPDATE 11/20/2018: DOCUMENTS ADDED

Click images to enlarge.

GL of Kansas Suspends Recognition of Arkansas and Cuba

The following message just came early this afternoon from the annual communication of the Grand Lodge of Kansas AF&AM meeting today in Topeka:

"During the Committee on Foreign Relations report, it was recommended that fraternal relations be suspended or withdrawn from two Grand Jurisdictions.

"With no discussion, the Craft of Kansas voted almost unanimously to suspended recognition with the Grand Lodge of Cuba.

After minimal discussion, the Craft of Kansas voted overwhelmingly to withdraw recognition of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas."

Without further details, I presume the action taken over Cuba stems from ongoing disagreements over Florida. In February 2017, the Grand Lodge of Florida F&AM's Grand Master Stanley Hudson withdrew recognition from the Gran Logia de Cuba for their failure to "renounce the clandestine lodges operating" in Florida's jurisdiction. Their brief period of recognition by Florida had lasted just three months.

That controversy stems from lodges operated within Florida made up of exiled Cuban Masons who are not affiliated with the Grand Lodge of Florida F&AM. They obviously see this as an invasion of their territory by Cuba, and this discussion apparently has gone on for a while. Florida largely looked the other way at the operation of the exile lodges with an understanding that they would cease once relations between the island nation and the US were normalized and the two Grand Lodges reconciled. That apparently did not happen, at least as quickly as the GL of Florida wanted it to. Here is a link to a letter regarding the matter from 2014 and to the story from February 2017. Now it seems that Kansas has decided to weigh in on the matter, as well.

As to the continuing saga with the Grand Lodge of Arkansas F&AM, it is too complex to explain simply here. The Grand Lodge of Oklahoma VERY briefly withdrew recognition of Arkansas in 2016 by an edict of their then-grand master, but that quickly lapsed and amity was restored. Now, Kansas has suspended recognition officially by the vote of the Grand Lodge.

I did not have the opportunity to speak with Arkansas' newly elected (in February) Grand Master Brad Phillips when he was in Indiana for the Conference of Grand Masters, but things have been remarkably quiet out of Little Rock in recent months. Nevertheless, this action just taken in Topeka seems to confirm that Arkansas continues its policies of preventing their own members from receiving letters of good standing when attempting to demit and affiliate in adjoining states. Arkansas has been chaining the exit doors closed for several years now. But recently, Arkansas lodges have also been pointedly refusing to permit sojourning Kansas Masons from visiting meetings. The Grand Lodge of Arkansas has a past history of denying Masonic visitations from jurisdictions that have recognized their Prince Hall counterparts, and both Oklahoma and Kansas have been on the receiving end of this action. Apparently, Kansas has finally had enough of it.

Pertinent updates and links to past stories concerning Arkansas can be traced starting HERE or HERE. 


Meanwhile, here's a curious oddity on the GL of Arkansas website. Many grand lodge sites have a FAQ section to answer the most commonly asked questions. usually, they are questions that the public would be likely to want an answer to. 

Not so with Arkansas. Their FAQ page has just six questions (and answers) on it.

One of the six concerns the differences between withdrawing and demitting (or dimitting) from the GL of Arkansas. The other explains the difference between someone who lives in Arkansas who is willingly not a member of their grand lodge, versus a Mason who unwillingly is not a member.

I couldn't make this up:

They might consider addressing why those two questions in particular deserve such a prominent public answer, and why so many Arkansas Masons have been asking...


UPDATE APRIL 16, 2018:

During the Kansas 162nd Annual Communication held March 16, 2018, their Grand Lodge withdrew recognition of the Grand Lodge of F. & A.M. of Arkansas, stating "that the Grand Lodge of Arkansas has knowing and willingly abandoned two of the basic principal landmarks of freemasonry, that of the Right to Trial, and the Right of Appeal."

In their subsequent letter this week of April 13, 2018 announcing their decision to all jurisdictions who are in amity with the M􏰀 W􏰀 Grand Lodge of A.F. & A.M. of Kansas, they further stated: 

"The Grand Lodge of Kansas feels strongly that the jurisdiction of Arkansas has abandoned at least two of the core principals of Freemasonry, and continues to this day to tyrannize and oppress their members. We can no longer sit idly by while good Brothers are treated this way. The vote of the Craft in Kansas, and this action, is made, first and foremost, to secure the rights and membership of Kansas Masons living in Arkansas and Kansas Masons with dual membership with Arkansas."

"What If Freemasonry Disappeared Tomorrow?"

Kansas brethren, take note. 

On Saturday, February 11th, the appropriately named Justice Lodge 457 meeting in Alta Vista, KS will present a special, thought-provoking program entitled, "What if Freemasonry Disappeared Tomorrow?" Certainly a fascinating topic for us all to contemplate, and one that needs to be discussed on occasion in any jurisdiction or lodge, for the sake of periodically examining our own roles in our communities and the world at large.  How we are perceived - by the public, as well as by our own members and potential petitioners - is vitally important for us to examine. Those who fail to plan for the future are surely doomed to extinction, so this program is certainly a timely one.

Justice Lodge is unusual in that it is an affinity lodge. These types of lodges, made up of members who share a profession or hobby or other common interest, are far more generally found in the U.K. than in the U.S. Justice's meetings travel around their state, but they were indeed properly chartered by the Grand Lodge of Kansas in 2011. Justice Lodge limits its actual membership to 45 Master Masons who are past or present Law Enforcement Officers, which include federal, state, county, or city law enforcement officers, federal, state, county, or city corrections officers, and past or present federal, state, county, or city prosecutors. Their members follow a dress code and wear tuxedos, while guests are requested to wear a tuxedo or dark business suit and tie. As a traveling lodge they do not have “courtesy” or communal aprons of their own, so visiting Masons should bring their own apron to wear. Regular Masons in good standing are invited to attend.The tyled meeting will be held at the temple of Alta Vista Lodge 357, located at 707 Main Street, Alta Vista, KS. The program begins at 3:30PM, and will be followed by a Festive Board at Trails Day Café in nearby Council Grove, and the cost is $20. Registration for the event is requested NO LATER THAN JANUARY 31st by visiting the reservation page HERE. (Don't be confused - the reservation page is actually hosted by a different lodge, Hancock 311, as a favor, since Justice Lodge doesn't have a site of its own.) 

Alta Vista is located kind of in the middle of a lopsided triangle between Topeka, Salina, and Witchita (if you squint a little bit and stretch the definition of "triangle").

Oh, I'm sorry. I failed to mention the special guest speaker for the day's event. Silly me. My memory.

It will be former Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, Patrick Carr.

GL of Kansas Loosens Alcohol Restrictions

Delegates at the 155th Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Kansas have voted in favor of loosening restrictions on alcohol at social functions in Kansas lodges. This means Kansas now joins what is a slowly growing list of U.S. grand lodges that are returning to treating just and upright Masons as adults, along with granting greater autonomy to the lodges in regards to renting out their facilities to the public. Moreover, it allows alcohol at festive boards, as our brethren in earlier days enjoyed, and as they still enjoy elsewhere in the Masonic world.

From the Grand Lodge of Kansas AF&AM website on Friday:

By-Law 3-619, long the subject of debate at past annual communications was amended this afternoon to read:

Alcoholic beverages are forbidden in Lodge rooms, except for ritualistic purposes. The serving or consumption of any beverage having a recognized or indicated alcohol content in any Lodge room, ritualistic purposes excepted, shall be deemed an offense against the Body of Masonry. This does not preclude lodges from renting their facilities, except Lodge rooms, to groups where alcoholic beverages are consumed in accordance with the laws of the State of Kansas.

This language replaces the previous by-law which prohibited any alcohol consumption at any social function of any lodge. The proposer, PGM Glenn E. Kohr brought the by-law change to the floor of Grand Lodge under the rationale that it would allow appendant bodies to use alcohol for ritualistic purposes and not violate Kansas Masonic code. Further, he stated, it would “remove the hypocrisy that currently exists where we turn a blind eye to alcohol use at social functions.”

According to in-coming Grand Senior Warden Rick Reichert, the change was a positive one. “Today, the brethren of Kansas voted to clarify the Grand Lodge’s position on alcohol by repealing prohibition. The by-law that keeps alcohol out of lodge rooms remains, but the decision to have alcohol or allow alcohol on the premises is now up to each lodge. If they do not want alcohol, lodges can add that restriction to their own by-laws. In cases where lodges operate in dry counties or military installations, the vote does not change their status.”