November 25: Tri-State Degree Exemplification in Dayton, Ohio

by Christopher Hodapp

This coming Saturday, November 25th, all Master Masons are invited to join the Grand Lodge Officers of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana for the annual Tri-State Degree Exemplification at the magnificent Dayton Masonic Center. The Grand Lodge of Michigan will present the Entered Apprentice; Ohio the Fellow Craft; and Indiana the Master Mason degrees, using each jurisdictions' degree rituals (and yes, there are differences).

Work begins at 1:00PM Eastern Time, and tickets are not required. Following the work, everyone is welcome to join the Grand Lodge Officers from all three jurisdictions for refreshment and fellowship until 6:00 PM.

The Dayton Masonic Center is located at 525 W. Riverview Avenue in downtown Dayton, Ohio.

Take note that your grand lodge must be in amity with the Grand Lodge of Ohio for this event, as it is in their jurisdiction. Attendees need to bring their current dues card and their own Masonic apron.

November 25th: Tri-State Degree Exemplification in Dayton, Ohio

by Christopher Hodapp

On Saturday, November 25th, all Master Masons are invited to join the Grand Lodge Officers of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana for the annual Tri-State Degree Exemplification at the magnificent Dayton Masonic Center. The Grand Lodge of Michigan will present the Entered Apprentice; Ohio the Fellow Craft; and Indiana the Master Mason degrees, using each jurisdictions' degree rituals (and yes, there are differences).

Work begins at 1:00PM Eastern Time, and tickets are not required. Following the work, everyone is welcome to join the Grand Lodge Officers from all three jurisdictions for refreshment and fellowship until 6:00 PM.

The Dayton Masonic Center is located at 525 W. Riverview Avenue in downtown Dayton, Ohio. If you've never been there, take this opportunity to see it in person. It's one of the most beautiful Masonic temples in the U.S.

Take note that your grand lodge must be in amity with the Grand Lodge of Ohio for this event, as it is in their jurisdiction. Attendees need to bring their current dues card and their own Masonic apron.

Former Masonic Temple To Become Lansing, MI City Hall

by Christopher Hodapp

Lansing, Michigan's Mayor Andy Schor announced this week that the former downtown Masonic Templeat 217 S. Capital Street will become the new City Hall. The original Temple was built in 1924 at the height of the City Beautiful Movement, and was home so numerous Masonic lodges and appendant organizations.

The Masons moved out of the building many years ago as lodge memberships diminished and downtowns deteriorated in the late 1960s, and the Temple building became the Cooley Law School in the 1970s. The school vacated in 2001, but this announcement will breathe new life back to the historic building. 

The move will begin in 2024 and take 2 years to complete.

See the story from WLNS-6 HERE.

It would be nice if local Masons could participate when the new City Hall is dedicated, maybe with a new dedication stone. And even better if one of the lodge rooms survived well enough to get dispensation and hold an occasional degree there.

Grand Master Shuts Down Job's Daughters in Michigan

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, MW Leonard K. Davis, has just issued an official edict that revokes all support and association with Job’s Daughters International, a Masonic-related youth group for girls within his jurisdiction. 

Edict 2022-2 reads, in part:

That no Master Mason within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Michigan can or will be allowed any office, station or place within any Guardian Council, Grand Guardian Council or Supreme Guardian Council, nor will any Michigan Mason be allowed to sponsor, advise, or associate with in any way Jobs Daughters International. Further, No Jobs Daughters International Bethels are allowed to meet in any Michigan Masonic Centers, Buildings, Halls or Temples. Further [sic], the Grand Lodge of Michigan nor any of its subsidiary corporations or lodges are allowed to financially support Jobs Daughters International. This edict will remain in place until such time as it is removed by the Grand Lodge of Michigan.”

 (Click images to enlarge, or view online at https://michiganmasons.org/news-events/)

The landing page of the Michigan Job's Daughters Grand Bethel has been scrubbed of information and directs all questions to their secretary. 

Some background: Job’s Daughters International is a Masonic Youth Group for girls, headquartered in Papillon, Nebraska.  When it was founded in the early 20th century, the organization required a girl to have a Masonic family relationship or sponsor, but that qualification was dropped several years ago. Job's is an international organization with individual chapters called ‘bethels’ in the US, Canada, Brazil, the Philippines and Australia. It is unique amongst the Masonic youth groups in that the adult leaders at all levels are elected and term limited. Based on the number of bethels in a state, some have their own elected Grand Bethel (daughters) and Grand Guardian Council (adults) that are in charge of running the state, while others simply fall under the international Supreme Guardian Council’s jurisdiction with a person designated by that body to oversee their the state.

There is a youth protection program run by the Job's Board of Trustees (who are also elected), and any adult involved with children must complete a background check and be a Certified Adult Volunteer (CAV). If there is an incident reported, there is supposed to be an investigation, and an appeals process is in place.

In Michigan recently there was an incident that resulted in one adult’s CAV designation being revoked; in this incident it was claimed an adult physically struck a child, there was a CAV violation report filed by an uninvolved party. But according to multiple sources, there are several witnesses who claim that the alleged event did not happen as reported (the adult is 21 and the Daughter was her own younger cousin). There was no investigation, neither the adult nor the youth were interviewed — the woman’s CAV was summarily revoked. (There have been rumblings that the complaint was filed in retribution for things that happened in the past — hard to verify in the light of flying email accounts and commentary.)

According to one insider, the Youth Protection program is specifically in place to protect members from harm, not to discipline adults for things unrelated to youth safety. Objections were immediately raised regarding not following the official process of Job’s Daughters — reportedly, the four adult leaders who questioned the process subsequently had their own CAV status revoked, including three elected state officers.

When Michigan Grand Master Davis got wind of all this rumpus, he requested a meeting with the state and national Job’s leadership. They reportedly agreed to meet, but never showed up. For whatever reason, they simply chose not to respond after that, and, according to sources, even dodged him at the Conference of Grand Masters in Alexandria, Virginia last month.

Two male members of the international Supreme Guardian Council were Michigan Masons, and the Grand Master apparently declared that if the Supreme Guardian Council wouldn’t meet with him, they would be suspended. He apparently asked for a review of the decisions and an assurance that they were made in accordance with their own internal policy. 

In the face of all this, the Supreme Guardian Council suspended the charter of the Grand Guardian Council of Michigan two weeks ago, eliminating all the elected officers of Michigan Job’s Daughters, both adults and youths.  According to the letter, if a state Grand Bethel is dissolved, its property and management reverts to the Supremes.

Supreme Guardian Maureen Wise issued a letter incorrectly claiming the GM had suspended these two Masons on March 13th, and that he had issued an "edict" that hadn't actually happened yet. (Click document below to enlarge)

For Michigan’s Job’s Daughters' charter to be returned, the Supreme Guardian demanded the Grand Master of Masons in Michigan revoke his "edict" in writing. Additionally, all appeals filed in accordance with the youth protection plan must be withdrawn, as should any filed lawsuits. 

Grand Master Davis responded to Wise's letter on March 20th, laying out the chain of events as he knew them, and contradicting much of what she had claimed:

Obviously, his questions and demands were not met over the last week, hence his very real edict issued today.

Unfortunately, when a youth group’s so-called adult leadership begins acting worse than a bunch of splenetic teenagers at a vindictive dodgeball grudge match, the children they’re supposed to be guiding and mentoring wind up the only real losers. No grand master anywhere wants to have a noisy internal donnybrook going on in his jurisdiction, especially when it’s in an appendant, concordant or other related organization. When these fights get escalated, it would be wise for appendant leaders to remember that GMs always hold the winning hand in their state and can kick the whole poker table over. Ignoring his communications is the quickest way to have that happen.

 

Online Tour of the Detroit Masonic Temple

by Christopher Hodapp

If you've never had the chance to visit the world's largest Masonic building, Detroit's Masonic Temple, Brother Rob Moore, the docent, caretaker and all around good guy was interviewed for an online Youtube show called Powers Pow Wow. The result is a 90-minute, top to bottom video tour of this incredible architectural gem. 

Click the video above or follow the link HERE.

The Temple is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

All Five Michigan Scottish Rite Valleys Vote To Merge

by Christopher Hodapp

On Thursday this week, it was announced that the five valleys of the Scottish Rite NMJ in Michigan have voted to merge to become one single Scottish Rite Valley for the state. The vote took place during the Michigan Council of Deliberation meeting, and now moves to the Supreme Council for final approval. 

Because of the COVID pandemic restrictions, the Council of Deliberation meeting was held this year as a virtual event.

According to the presentation made during the program, the combined Scottish Rite Valleys of Michigan are currently down to just 3,700 members statewide, and just 2,072 of those members (about 56%) pay full, regular dues. The other 44% of Michigan's SR members do not, for a variety of reasons — some are exempted entirely, some pay only the NMJ per capita, some are active military. But the bottom line is that 44% are largely getting a free ride. Moreover, a whopping 80.8% of Michigan's Scottish Rite members currently are over the age of 61, while just 1% are between 21 and 30.

All of that points a boney finger at the future if something isn't done to turn their membership around. Demographics don't lie, and Michigan isn't unique or an outlier. I suspect you are going to see this happen in more states with too many Scottish Rite and York Rite bodies to be supported by an ever-shrinking membership.

According to the presentation, the state will be divided into four regions, and each region will be expected to hold one reunion each year. The Lodge of Perfection, the Princes of Jerusalem, the Rose Croix, and the Consistory administrative bodies will be divided among the four regions - four bodies, but only one to each region. Each region would only have to concentrate on presenting the degrees of its assigned chapter (just to illustrate, imagine that Grand Rapids would do the Lodge of Perfection degrees, Detroit does Princes of Jerusalem, Marquette does Rose Croix, etc.). That way, the regions will cooperate to present more degrees, while concentrating their own efforts on the degrees of their body. 

My thumbnail description here does not do it justice. If you have a Facebook account, you can see the presentation and the merger details HERE.

Tri-State Masonic Degree Exemplification in Grand Rapids, MI: 11/23

On Saturday, November 23, 2019 three midwestern U.S. Grand Lodges will come together for a Tri-State Masonic Degree Exemplification. This is a rare opportunity to see how the three Craft Lodge degrees are conferred in these sister jurisdictions. The Grand Lodge of Michigan F&AM will be hosting the Tri-State Degree Day at the Grand Rapids Masonic Center. 

Grand Rapids Masonic Center

The three Blue Lodge degrees will each be presented by the grand officers of the Grand Lodges of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan respectively, without lectures and charges. 

The Entered Apprentice Degree will be performed by the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana; the Fellow Craft Degree by the Grand Lodge F&AM of Michigan; and the Master Mason Degree by the Grand Lodge F&AM of Ohio. 

All Master Masons in amity with the Grand Lodge of Michigan are welcome to attend this demonstration of the degrees. 

Obviously this is a tyled event, so be sure you bring your current dues card - Membership will be verified. And if last year's gathering in Indianapolis was any barometer, it wouldn't hurt to toss in an apron if you have one, just in case the supply is tight.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE!

This event begins promptly at 1:00 PM. Please know that the schedule for the day is full and they will be moving from one degree right into the next.   

• Entered Apprentice Degree - presented by the Grand Lodge F&AM of Ohio 
• Followed by the Fellow Craft Degree - presented by the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana
• Followed by the Master Mason Degree - presented by the Grand Lodge F&AM of Michigan

3:45 PM (Estimated) - Light Reception with Cash Bar

Registration with payment of $20 is due by Friday, November 15, 2019. This may be paid via PayPal or check payable to Grand Lodge of Michigan mailed to 1204 Wright Ave., Alma, MI 48801.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE!

Wreath Laying Ceremony To Follow at President Gerald Ford's Gravesite

At 5:00 PM that Saturday there will be a wreath laying ceremony at President Gerald R. Ford's gravesite presented by the Grand Lodge Officers of Ohio, Indiana & Michigan.  The Ford grave is located at 303 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504

Because of the tumultuous twists of history, Gerald Ford is the only person ever to have served as both Vice President and President without being elected to either office. 

Brother Gerald Rudolph Ford served as the 38th President of the United States between 1974-77 after the resignation of Richard M. Nixon. Ford had been appointed as Nixon's Vice President in December 1973 following the resignation of Spiro T. Agnew. He lost the presidential election of 1976 to Jimmy Carter, and his was the shortest term in history for an American  president who did not die in office. But Ford's steady, affable nature combined with his moderate political views and policies helped to calm a nation at one of the most fraught political periods in U.S. history.

To date, Gerald Ford is the last U.S. President to have been a Freemason. 

Brother Gerald Ford was initiated as an Entered Apprentice on September 30, 1949 in Malta Lodge No. 465 in Grand Rapids Michigan, along with his three half-brothers Thomas Gardner Ford, Richard Addison Ford, and James Francis Ford. Brother Gerald's Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees were conferred by Columbia Lodge No. 3, Washington, D.C., on April 20 and May 18, 1951 as a courtesy to Malta Lodge. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite and the Shrine.

In 1975, Ford was made an honorary grand master of the Order of DeMolay. That same year, he visited the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia for the unveiling of a plaque in the auditorium marking his own presidency. Ford's speech at the event was later published in his public papers, and in it he spoke of his own Masonic journey.

"When I took my obligation as a master mason — incidentally, with my three younger brothers — I recalled the value my own father attached to that Order. But I had no idea that I would ever be added to the company of the Father of our country and 12 other members of the order who also served as Presidents of the United States. Masonic principles — internal, not external — and our order's vision of duty to country and acceptance of God as Supreme Being and guiding light have sustained me during my years of government service. Today especially, the guidelines by which I strive to become an upright man in Masonry give me great personal strength.

"Masonic precepts can help America retain our inspiring aspirations while adapting to a new age. It is apparent to me that the Supreme Architect has set out the duties each of us has to perform, and I have trusted in His will with the knowledge that my trust is well-founded...

"Let us today rededicate ourselves to new efforts--as Masons and as Americans. Let us demonstrate our confidence in our beloved Nation and a future that will flow from the glory of the past. When I think of the things right about America, I think of this order with its sense of duty to country, its esteem for brotherhood and traditional values, its spiritual high principles, and its humble acceptance of God as the Supreme Being..."

After the post-degree reception at the Masonic Center, the grand officers will depart for the Ford gravesite at 4:30PM. 

If you require overnight accommodations in Grand Rapids, there is a limited block of rooms available at the Amway Grand Plaza. Feel free to use the link below:

Amway Hotel Booking Website:
https://book.passkey.com/e/49907135

If you have any questions, feel free to contact a representative directly at 989-466-3091

'Theatre Bizarre' 2019 at Detroit's Masonic Temple

Every October since 2011, the massive Detroit Masonic Temple has been turned over to the ever expanding Halloween bash known as Theatre Bizarre. This type of massive production defies adequate description. 

Theatre Bizarre is a giant, surreal entertainment extravaganza that essentially takes over most of the twelve-story fraternal tower of the Detroit Temple each October. Spread across eight of the sprawling building's levels, each lodge room, ballroom, and public area becomes a venue for a wild carnival atmosphere that combines theatre, burlesque, haunted house, circus sideshows, tattoo artists, punk bands, masquerade balls and other "immersive events." This is all about audience participation on a grand scale, and the organizers take advantage of a huge international movement of performers and artists who travel the world to create these types of shows. 

Pearl-clutching Masons who feel our buildings are no place for such public spectacles need not read further, and this will surely have generations of venerable Masonic figures from our past spinning in their graves at high speed. Some might even regard it as ghastly. But brethren who know our most significant buildings are always in need of income and public exposure to our communities need to read up on this innovative use of the world's largest Masonic building.

The good news for Detroit's Freemasons is that, apart from much needed income, it draws quite literally thousands of people into their building who would otherwise never have encountered it. While the performers and acts themselves would have shocked our predecessors and rung up the vice squad, the actual attendees at its two Gala Nights are strictly required to dress in formal masquerade attire. The general public is invited to attend throughout the week. And the Detroit Temple's uniquely varied architecture and design is the perfect backdrop. The designers and organizers take full advantage of the public's vague sense of secretive, occult spookiness with which Freemasonry has been suffused in the popular culture for decades. 

It takes weeks (starting each September) to install all of the scenery, props, lighting, effects, and more. Resident lodges change their rooms and meeting schedules to accommodate the show.
I fully realize that many Masons may absolutely recoil in horror at the sort of onstage acts this particular program hosts and want no part of seeing it in a Masonic building. 'Community standards' are an ever-shifting landscape, while Masonic ones tend to be less changeable.  Many years ago, one of our local Grand Masters became quite agitated against the notion of renting out our large and abandoned auditorium to theatre groups because he was terrified of potentially seeing an ad for "Come and see The Vagina Monologues at the Masonic!" Fifty years ago a different Indiana Grand Master made a very public condemnation of our magnificent Murat Shrine theatre and forbade them from booking the musical Hair because of its language, disrespect of the flag, and its notorious nude scene. He threatened to expel any Masons who rented their buildings out to "obscene" productions. The story hit the national news. He was lauded by the entire community and the police department for weeks, on the news and in print, for protecting the city from licentiousness. 

That was 1969, the summer after the so-called Summer of Love. Today, grade schools wouldn't hesitate to take kids on a field trip to see that same show.

I won't condemn or defend anyone who would agree today that a program like Theatre Bizarre is just beyond the pale of what many Masons regard as our sacred spaces. There's no hiding that this year's Detroit event will present (among others) a burlesque show called the Dirty Devil's Peep Show, dominatrixes at the Fistitorium, and punk-rock bands like Messer Chups, Mother Feather, and Death. I'll just say that our lodge rooms only become sacred spaces when we meet as Masons, and that extends to caves and quarries, taverns and cabins, and anywhere else. 

Our most significant buildings were almost always meant by our predecessors to be open to and welcoming of the local community, to be part of the fabric of our towns. For way too long, so many of our most important temples have been slipping away from us specifically because we have failed in that mission. Detroit's brethren need to be applauded for recognizing this and shining a spotlight on their Temple in a way that the community appreciates and enjoys.

If you've never visited the Detroit Masonic Temple for yourself and had the COMPLETE tour, put it at the very top of your Masonic list of things to do. It is the largest Masonic building in the world, and was designed to accommodate 50 different Masonic organizations. Including its on-site hotel rooms on the former Shrine end of the building, it contains over a thousand different rooms, and no detail was left out. 

PHA Mason Presides Over GL of Michigan Research Lodge

I've been meaning to post this for several months now, but it got swallowed up in what passes for my filing system. Brother Rob Moore in Detroit sent the following information to me way back in February:

On January 26th, WB Harry Weaver, a member of Redeemer Lodge No. 53, PHA in Detroit became Worshipful Master of the Michigan Lodge of Research and Information No. 1.

This is the first time in Michigan history that a Prince Hall Brother is presiding over a Lodge within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. It may be the first such case ever anywhere. In Michigan, as I'm sure is the case in most jurisdictions, membership in Research Lodges is open to any regular Master Mason in good standing in a Lodge within or in amity with the Grand Lodge of Michigan.

Speaking of Research Lodges, Michigan now has a fourth one. Fiat Lux Lodge of Research and Education U.D. in Marquette recently received its dispensation. It joins Michigan Lodge of Research and Information No. 1 in Detroit, Alexandria Lodge of Research and Study No. 2 in Grand Rapids, and Pythagoras Lodge of Research and Information No. 3 in Lansing.

I believe that Michigan is now tied with Georgia at four a piece, and exceeded only by New York and California. Masonic education is alive and well here.