GL of Scotland Joins Britain's Council of Freemasonry To Fight Anti-Masonry

by Christopher Hodapp

The male-only Grand Lodge of Scotland has joined with the United Grand Lodge of England and England's female Freemasons in a cooperative organization to address urgent contemporary issues facing the fraternity at large. The Council of Freemasonry was established in 2024 as a cooperative organization and now represents most of the Masons, male and female, in Great Britain when it comes to certain public matters. The purpose is for Britain's Masons to publicly speak with one united voice on matters that concern them all.

In Monday's The Herald, it was reported:

The [Council of Freemasonry] includes the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the Order of Women Freemasons (OWF), the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF), and now the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

Created in 2024, the council aims to strengthen collaboration between the organisations while promoting shared values including integrity, friendship, respect and service.

Its work focuses on public engagement, charitable projects, membership growth and challenging outdated perceptions of Freemasonry.

The inclusion of Scotland means the council now represents Freemasonry across the whole of Great Britain.

The article mistakenly calls the Council a 'governing' body, which it is not. It was formed two years ago, specifically in the face of anti-Masonic press coverage and a growing anti-Masonic sentiment within law enforcement. A recent rule passed by the London Metropolitan Police dramatically encroaches on the privacy of Masons on the force, requiring officers to publicly state their current or prior Masonic membership. Such rules were found to be discriminatory by the European Court of Human Rights almost 20 years ago, but English courts see no fault with them. 

The MET's new policy singles out the Freemasons as the sole organization in which officers must declare their membership. Worse, it classifies Masonic membership as a "declarable association, along with criminal convictions, those who have been dismissed from policing, and lawful professions such as private investigation or journalism."

Branding certain cops as Masons now opens officers up to completely unfounded allegations that they might somehow engage in funny business like cronyism, letting off 'brother' criminals or ignoring 'brother' officers' bad behavior, promoting Masonic officers over non-Masons, or looking the other way in cases strictly because they might sit in lodge together.

Despite decades of investigating the purported role of secret Masonic membership in high profile police cases, there has never been a proven incident tied to the Freemasons. Tons of allegations and millions of pounds expended hunting dirty Masons under the bedclothes, but never a shred of evidence. But that hasn't stopped other disgruntled cops and sensationalistic news outlets from falsely alleging all sorts of nefarious behavior among Masons in law enforcement ever since the 1980s.

The Council for Freemasonry announced its purpose in 2024 when it was formed:

The establishment of the Council for Freemasonry will formally establish an overarching forum for collaboration. In addition, the Council will bring together the community service ambitions of all three bodies, coordinate communication and engagement with other organisations, drive the membership growth ambitions, particularly for women Freemasons, and allocate resources and facilities for the general benefit of both male and female Freemasonry.

The Council will include the heads of each Grand Lodge, and each Grand Lodge will provide the President for a twelve-month period, chairing Council meetings in strict rotation. The President for the first two years will come from the OWF and HFAF, with UGLE covering the third year. 

The formation of the Council for Freemasonry in England and Wales marks a pivotal step towards enhancing cooperation, addressing misconceptions, and promoting the values of Freemasonry. This historic initiative reaffirms Freemasonry’s commitment to integrity, friendship, respect and service, while keeping community service and charitable giving at the absolute forefront of this historic organisation.

For those who might fret about such an announcement, none of this affects the regularity nor the recognition status of either the UGLE or the Grand lodge of Scotland as male-only Masonic fraternities. It should be remembered by U.S. Masons that Freemasonry in Britain and Europe , along with many other parts of the world, face challenges and biases of which we are blissfully unaware here. One of the primary jobs of the Council for Freemasonry is to counter public misinformation and press attacks against the fraternity by spreading the message that English Freemasonry is NOT just for men; that male and female Masonic organizations coexist, and are all alive and well and open for membership; and that none of these three grand lodges in Britain have any desire, intention, or reason for changing their practices or ideology of being a sanctuary from the outside world for their particular members, male or female.

Scottish Press Tries To Make A Masonic Scandal Out of GM's Resignation

by Christopher Hodapp

When Joe Morrow, former two-time Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, completely resigned from the fraternity 'for personal reasons' back on September 17th, the silence as to why he really did so left a wide-open field for speculation. Over the weekend, the Scottish press finally got around to purportedly blowing the whole story wide open, and it landed with a resounding thud. (The story originated in the Scottish Sun by Jennifer Jones: "LODGE COMPLAINT: The real reason Scots freemasons chief quit organisation for good after pledging to modernise ‘the craft")

The Reverend Canon Dr. Joseph Morrow first served as Grand Master of Scotland in 2004, but resigned before completing his term. Two decades later, he was elected to the Grand East again, vowing to 'modernize' the fraternity and make it 'more transparent.' But he once again resigned this year before completing his term of office, and announced this time that he was completely withdrawing from the fraternity.

The widely syndicated and reprinted article from November 3rd turned out to be yet another non-story about Masons from the UK press. Start off by mentioning ‘arcane rituals, lurid oaths and dodgy handshakes,’ then spend 20 paragraphs to eventually admit Morrow probably pissed off all of his committee heads ‘pointing out all their deficiencies’ and demanding a bunch of (unexplained) changes, right before leaving the country.*

But the article never does REALLY explain his resignation this time. An unnamed source claims the Grand Lodge sought a replacement for him before he went to Asia, but the GL says that’s not true, that they sought a replacement only AFTER he left on his trip and resigned. 

It's not like Morrow has a shortage of honors and public notice. In addition to being an Episcopalian priest, Morrow is the current Lord Lyon, King of Arms, the head of Scotland's heraldry court,. That body issues new coats of arms to people, companies or organizations, and makes decisions on the proper or improper use of them, and Dr. Morrow has the last word. (Misuse of coats of arms is actually a criminal offense in Scotland.) He also took part in the coronation of King Charles III and Camilla in 2023.

The story DOES take careful pains to also reveal Morrow is gay and that he was originally outed by a snickering press during his FIRST stint as Grand Master 20 years ago – a story that the Scottish papers gladly and gleefully covered back in 2004. The story goes on to speculate without any shred of evidence that his resignation this time was possibly engineered by a group of anti-gay members who muscled him out the last time. 

But there's no proof. No conclusion. Certainly no scandalous revelation. And certainly no reason whatsoever for a 96pt headline and a 4-column article that got reprinted in several papers, including the Times of London. Just one more opportunity to take a swipe at the Masons without a reason.

That equals no story, in my book. 

*Ms. Jones does get an extra point for NOT using the term 'rolled-up trouser leg' anywhere in the article.

Grand Master Morrow of Grand Lodge of Scotland Abruptly Resigns

by Christopher Hodapp

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

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

From the official announcement:

The Grand Master Mason, Brother Dr Joseph J. Morrow, has resigned, for personal reasons.

We would like to thank him most sincerely for his great work and outstanding service within Freemasonry throughout many years and wish him well for the future.

Dr Morrow, currently on holiday abroad, has decided to withdraw from all of his commitments to The Scottish Craft.

In the interim, Immediate Past Grand Master, Brother W. Ramsay McGhee, will preside over the forthcoming Regular Communication of Grand Lodge on Thursday 31st October 2024. This will also include the nomination and election of Grand Office-bearers for the coming year.

Despite these changes, Grand Lodge will ensure our support for Freemasons at home and overseas will continue as normal. 

Immediate Past Grand Master, W. Ramsay McGhee

 

GL of New York Restores Amity with the GL of Scotland

NY GM restores amity with Scotland (artist rendering).

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Lodge of New York has at last settled its six-year-long dispute with the Grand Lodge of Scotland and restored fraternal relations. Announcements were officially issued this morning by New York's Grand Master, Most Worshipful Richard J. Kessler, and Scotland's Grand Secretary, RW William M.S. Semple. (Click images below to enlarge.)

Scotland never did suspend recognition of New York, so their letter merely states the resumption of fraternal relations.

The original dispute came about in 2017 after a chain of events in the Middle Eastern nation of Lebanon (yes, really). Grand lodges of Scotland, New York and the Grande Loge Nationale Française (GLNF) have all had regularly chartered lodges in that country for decades, and shared that territory (along with at least six more unrecognized and/or irregular grand lodges that chartered other lodges of their own). New York first established lodges in Lebanon in 1924, and created its own District Grand Lodge of Syria-Lebanon back in 1955.

Meanwhile, Scotland's first lodge in the area was chartered in 1861, back when the region was called Greater Syria, and the Scottish lodges flourished during the period of the Ottoman Empire. The GL of Scotland formed its own own District Grand Lodge of Lebanon in 2012, and I believe they currently have a dozen lodges at work there.

Complicating matters, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia chartered two of its own Lebanon lodges that resulted in New York suspending relations with them briefly in 2008-09 for improperly invading the territory. They patched up their feud pretty quickly.

But the longer gripe with Scotland came when a pair of expelled New York Masons in Lebanon jumped ship, joined a Scottish-constitution lodge, AND helped charter the District of Columbia's new Lebanon lodges. Despite New York's actions, the GL of Scotland not only refused to acknowledge and honor the expulsions, but went even further and bestowed provincial grand rank on the two men.

Here is the letter from the GL of New York back in 2017 announcing the withdrawal amity, just for reference:

Confused yet? For a longer explanation of this saga, see this story from 2017 (Click Here).

PGM William Sarbane (right, in the hat) issued a
charter for the new Grand Lodge of Lebanon in 2018.

Further mucking up this melange, three of the Grand Lodge of New York's chartered 

Lebanon lodges petitioned to form their own grand lodge. A charter to that effect was signed and issued by the Grand Lodge of the F&AM of the State of New York on October 24, 2018 creating the Grand Lodge of the F&AM of Lebanon. They currently have six chartered lodges at work, plus a lodge of research. However, there still remain 12 active New York lodges in their District Grand Lodge of Syria-Lebanon, along with Scotland's lodges in their District Grand Lodge of Lebanon.

And I don't even want to talk about the GLNF's French lodges because it becomes too headache inducing.

In Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address in 1801, he declared his devotion to "peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none." Those ol' entangling alliances will bite you in the butt every time.

Grand Lodges of England and Scotland Issue Statements and Directives Over Queen's Mourning Period

by Christopher Hodapp

Following the death of Her Majesty The Queen, the United Grand Lodge of England has issued a statement to the press (photo above - click it to enlarge).

The UGLE's Metropolitan Grand Lodge in London issued the following directives to their members:

Brethren & Companions,

Following the death of Her Majesty on 8 September, the following measures will apply:

There will be a period of Masonic mourning coinciding with the period of national mourning, and black ties will be worn at all Craft and Royal Arch meetings held during that period. No black rosettes will be worn.

There will be no suspension of Masonic meetings during the period.

The summons for the first meeting of each Lodge or Chapter sent out from today should be printed in black. At the meeting, immediately after the opening (and the reading of any necessary dispensation), a short period of silence should be observed.

The first toast at dinner is now The King and the Craft / The King and Royal Arch Masonry

The Grand Lodge of Scotland has issued the following statement Friday morning:

Dear Sir and Brother

I am writing to you following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. Our thoughts and prayers are with The Royal Family at this sad time.
I wish to inform you that a period of national mourning has now commenced and will continue until the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. The funeral, I understand, will take place on Monday 19 September 2022.

As a mark of respect the Grand Master Mason has directed that all Masonic activity will cease during this period of national mourning.
Further details will be circulated on Friday 9 September 2022.

Yours Sincerely and Fraternally,
William M S Semple
Grand Secretary
Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

Fraternal Assistance Needed For Masons in Beirut, Lebanon

by Christopher Hodapp

On August 4th, Beirut, Lebanon was devastated when a harbor warehouse was leveled by a pair of massive explosions. In an instant, more than 200 people were killed and 60,000 injured when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer detonated. Buildings were damaged for miles around when the blast wave hit, and an estimated 300,000 people were left homeless by the destruction. The damage caused by the blast left buildings miles from the port explosion in ruin. The blast comes at a terrible time for the nation of Lebanon, which was already on the brink of financial collapse facing a disastrous economic crisis.

Freemasons from three regular, recognized grand lodge jurisdictions have banded together to organize a financial relief initiative to provide compensation to Masons and other individuals who were directly affected by the disaster. 

The Fraternal Assistance Crisis Team (F.A.C.T. Lebanon) is made up of representatives from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, and the Grande Loge National Française. All three of these grand lodges have Masonic lodges currently chartered and at work in Lebanon.

The F.A.C.T. Lebanon website has been set up in both English and French to accept international fraternal donations. According to the website, "The Fund will follow strict rules with regards to processes and transparency in the resource and information for eligibility criteria, the methodology used to calculate economic and non-economic loss and compensation payment procedures."

In early August, WB Robert L. D. Cooper, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and curator of their Masonic museum issued the following statement about the F.A.C.T. Lebanon assistance program:

COMMUNICATION FROM BEIRUT

Good Morning Brethren - a quick update from Beirut. Burial of relatives of our brethren who tragically lost their lives are now underway and we are taking account of the damages of our own membership and temples.

We are liaising with each other to ensure provision is made for medicines for our brethren as we have fully covered accommodation for those whose homes are not viable.

In the next 48 hours, we will be launching a contribution page for anyone wishing to assist along with the two other jurisdictions in amity with our Grand Lodge, Grand Lodge of Washington DC, and Grand Lodge National de France. This is becoming critical as the government has not done anything to assist and the situation is getting more difficult for many by the day.

On Lodge level, many of our Lodges have started various initiatives to support their own communities in the areas they meet, from providing hundreds of meals for the medical teams who are practically living in the hospitals to provision of soup kitchens, blood donation and volunteer work for repairs.

Our Cypriot brothers have organized a shipment of food which will be making its way to the port of Tripoli in the Northern region of Lebanon.

May the Great Architect of the Universe continue to protect us all.

FACT LEBANON’s support and donations will be channeled and directed into these main Relief categories:

• Medical & Health-Related Relief: To support individuals who have suffered injuries or physical disability (hospitalization, medicine, medical equipment, etc).
• Rebuilding & Relocation Relief: To support in home refurbishing and restoration, relocation, and loss of business/economic damage of offices and business structures.
• Memorial-Related Relief: To support the families, widows and orphans of victims following the death of the family breadwinner.

For more information and donations, CLICK HERE.

PLEASE NOTE: The FACT Lebanon website does not accept Paypal for donations, but you can donate there via credit card. Be aware that some U.S. banks and credit card systems may decline the foreign payment when you try the first time, unless you commonly make other international payments or transactions. (This is an automated safeguard against nefarious activity that card companies commonly use today — they're afraid somebody is using your stolen credit card number to rent a helicopter in Dubai.) If the system declines the payment, be sure to check your email for a notice form your bank before trying again. They're trying to protect you, but that can often be an annoyance if you don't see the message that your payment got flagged. 

That said, I successfully made a donation using my American card in late August and it worked fine.


US DONATIONS AND PAYPAL UPDATE 9/28/2020:

The Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia has also set up a U.S. portal for donating to FACT Lebanon via Paypal or by check. Visit their separate website HERE.

Also at that site is a 4-page document with a detailed explanation of the program and details about its distribution.

To donate by U.S. check, please make payable to The DC Masonic Foundation and mail to:

The DC Masonic Foundation
5428 MacArthur Blvd. NW
Washington, DC 20016-2524

In the memo section, please write: "Beirut Relief Fund"

Lodge Donates Computer Pads To Isolated Patients and Seniors

by Christopher Hodapp

Masons around the world are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown by helping their local communities any way they can. Some lodges have hosted blood drives or assisted neighborhood food banks to collect or pass out food. But brethren in Inverclyde, Scotland are making sure isolated people in their area can still communicate with the outside world during the lockdown. 

Robin McIntyre, Provincial Grand Master for Renfrewshire West in Scotland, reported that the province had lost some of their brethren and family members to coronavirus in recent weeks, and that the lodges wanted to do something to help families who are living with the impact of the virus. So, Masonic lodges in the area teamed up to purchase eight Android tablets and fourteen iPads for people who are unable to receive visits from friends and family. 

According to a report on the GreenockTelegraph.co.uk website, Lodge Firth of Clyde Gourock 626 presented the Android tablets to the local hospice, and the iPads will be donated across Inverclyde Royal, the Larkfield Unit and the Marcus Humphrey House Quarriers care home in Bridge of Weir. Masons in that area also donated money and supplies to Inverclyde Food Bank.

From the article on April 28, 2020 by Claire Amber Young:

 

Robin is very proud that the lodges have been able to make a difference during lockdown.

He said: "Visiting restrictions make it very difficult for people in hospital to see their families.

"We just thought that this would allow them to keep in touch using Facetime or Skype.

"We're very happy to be able to provide something for the community which will help people keep in touch with their families at this very difficult time.

"Everyone in the brethren has really rallied round since the idea was first mooted.

"The response has been phenomenal."

Malcolm Sinclair of lodge Crawfurdsburn 1121 came up with the idea of donating the equipment and the nine lodges across Inverclyde have all been involved.

Iain Hair at IT Computer Products in Shore Street, Gourock, sourced the iPads, which now have to go to the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde IT team to install approved software.

Robin hopes that the equipment will help older people feel less isolated.

He added: "It's so important for people to talk to their family, especially at this time.

"We're happy that we can do something to help."

Twelve years ago, in 2008, Lodge Firth of Clyde Gourock 626 had to overcome the almost complete loss of their 1896 lodge hall when a fire destroyed it. They rose quite literally from the ashes and rebuilt their home in just eighteen months. Today, they remain a vital part of their local community.

Vegans, Vinyl and Masonic Aprons

"The lambskin, or white leather apron, is an emblem of innocence and the badge of a Mason..." 

So goes the Masonic description of the aprons we Freemasons wear in the rituals commonly used throughout North America and most of the world.

Like nearly everything else in Freemasonry, the white lambskin apron is symbolic of a pure, spotless and unblemished character to which we all aspire to achieve in our own lives. It comes from the Torah/Old Testament accounts of the Passover sacrifice of the paschal lamb, which was to be a young, unblemished male lamb or goat. In Christianity, Christ was called the Lamb of God by John the Baptist, and His crucifixion, death and resurrection fulfilled the Passover sacrifice by dying for the sins of the world.

And so, our Masonic lambskin is emblematic of the lamb's symbol of innocence and purity.  It is given to us as Entered Apprentices, and we are told to wear it throughout an honorable life, to keep it unspotted and unblemished by the world, and that it is to be laid to rest with our eternal remains when we pass away.

A peculiar article appeared in The Scottish Sun yesterday, announcing that the Grand Lodge of Scotland has broken its 280-year tradition and is now "allowing vegans" to join the fraternity by permitting *gasp* vinyl Masonic aprons. 

Exclamation point.

Who knew vegans WEREN'T allowed to join in Scotland? I'm no pescatarian, but something seems fishy about this story. It's either a solution in search of a minor brouhaha, or somebody had a slow news day and tried to manufacture a headline.

VEGANS will now be allowed to become Freemasons in a move that has seen the Grand Lodge of Scotland change centuries-old traditions.

For years, masons have work lambskin aprons while taking part in rituals - but a vegan alternative is now being offered.
Lambine, an artificial fabric that imitates lambskin, is available for those wishing to join the Lodge without using animal products.
A spokesperson for the Grand Lodge, which once included Robert Burns in its ranks, said there were no reason why vegans could not join the 280-year-old fraternal organisation. 

In a social media post seen by The Times, they said: "Many lodges now use vinyl [aprons]. Please remember that it is symbolic and does not need to be real."
And the Freemasons' sister organisation down south, the United Grand Lodge of England, has been allowing vegans and vegetarians to use lambine for decades. 
"Our Districts, which are spread across areas such as Asia and Africa include thousands of members from a variety of religions which are primarily vegetarian.
"Since the 1960s both vegan and vegetarian Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England have been able to use lambine regalia, which is made from a high grade, soft feel plastic as an alternative to traditional regalia.
"We sold 1,200 lambine aprons in 2019 and 1,900 traditional aprons so they are a popular options here."

However, some masons were not too keen on the idea of breaking tradition.
Speaking to The Times, Gordon Kilgour, a lodge member from Glasgow, said: "In the address to the apron would the ritual be changed from 'You will observe that it is made from the skin of a lamb' to 'You will notice that it is made of vinyl?"
And Sotiris Sakellarios, a Greek mason, said: "Some traditions and symbolism should remain intact."

[snip]

A spokesperson said: "We have 200,000 members and a 300 history of welcoming people from all walks of life, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation or socio-economic position in society.

I hate to break it to the Sun, The Times, Brothers Kilgour and Sakellarios, or anyone else, but non-lambskin Masonic aprons have been around since at least 1717 and probably before. While there are early, oddly-shaped white leather Masonic aprons in museums, many of the earliest surviving American and European aprons from the mid-1700s are silk, and often hand-painted with extensive decoration. 

Different from Scottish, English and European traditions, it's common in the U.S. for a Mason to be given a plain, white lambskin apron as an EA — frequently with a storage tube for safekeeping — that he never again wears after his MM degree conferral. Instead, American lodges usually provide stacks of plain, white cloth aprons to members and visitors for general lodge meetings, and only officers have more elaborate aprons that accompany each position. Our original leather apron is meant to be stored away until our death, and our families are to be informed of what is to be done with it when we depart for the Celestial Lodge.

As for the vegan glories of "Lambine,"  white vinyl Masonic aprons have been marketed in the US for decades. Vinyl's been around for a long time - it was developed in the 1930s, and vinyl leather substitute was marketed under the name of Naugahyde starting in 1936, along with the mythological 'Nauga." 

 The J.P. Luther Company in Wisconsin (where they raise plenty of sheep, by the way) has been selling aprons made of "Luthertex" for well over 30 years now, and probably longer. In truth, vinyl aprons are far more durable and long-lasting than actual lambskin, which is very susceptible to yellowing and cracking. Examining hundred year old lambskin aprons that haven't been stored very carefully can be a depressing exercise, because the leather dries out when improperly stored. It's also devilishly difficult to clean if it gets stained, marked or scratched. Vinyl is also considerably less expensive the lambskin leather. And it survives being rolled up or folded in a small apron case or tube better than the real macoy does.

So I suspect the large proportion of vinyl vs. leather aprons sold as cited in the article has almost zero to do with welcoming vegans into Freemasonry and almost everything to do with budget and practicality. Nevertheless, if this dramatic change of heart brings unforeseen hordes of vegan petitioners pounding on the doors of Scotland's venerable lodges heretofore kept away by our perceived cruelty to sheep, who am I to scoff?

Wait... Wut? Scotland Social Media Is Back Up Already

Two days after the Grand Lodge of Scotland made the newspapers and lit up the Intertubz for shutting down its social media accounts comes word that it was all just a misunderstanding, and all is right again in the Masonic æther.

After all of yesterday's sturm und drang, J. Euen Edment, the Grand Secretary of the GL of Scotland, issued the following message on their Facebook page:

Brethren, it has been reported that the Grand Lodge of Scotland social media platforms had been shut down.

This was due to a misunderstanding and as soon as it was noticed the situation was rectified.

I am delighted to confirm that both our Facebook and Twitter sites are again operating normally and I hope any inconvenience has been minimal.

J. Euan EdmentGrand Secretary

Whether this was a reaction to an outpouring of yawps from their members, embarrassment over the Times article, the natural conclusion of their previously announced "reassessment" of their social media presence from three weeks ago, or just shock over the global reaction to the story among the Facebook-addicted, no one can say.

If the brief episode did nothing else, it certainly sparked a huge online discussion of the pros and cons of electronic Masonry on social media, online behavior of members, social media policies, and more. But as is so often the case with online controversies, imbroglios and hullaballoos,  the "crisis" has now passed, and the global Masonic electronic equilibrium has been restored to its natural order. 

Masons everywhere can heave a sigh of relief at the momentary disruption, and go back to not attending lodge and just staring into their screens once more.

GL of Scotland Shuts Down Its Social Media

"You shall be cautious in your Words and Carriage, that the most penetrating Stranger shall not be able to discover or find out what is not proper to be intimated, and sometimes you shall divert a Discourse, and manage it prudently for the Honour of the worshipful Fraternity." 

- James Anderson's Constitutions, 1723

What is it about anti-social media that compels some Masons to take good leave of their senses?

A couple of years ago, the Grand Lodge of Scotland went all in on social media platforms Facebook and Twitter, in addition to its extensive website, with frequent posts about news of the Craft, announcements, general interest articles, photos and more. Those were public pages and posts that were open for all to see. The hope was that this public campaign would help attract new members, along with engaging existing ones online.

Unfortunately, it seems that plenty of Masons couldn't make the distinction between public versus private pages, and how they were supposed to behave in public when it came to private information and their own language and behavior. Over time there was an increase in posts about what should have remained just between the walls of the lodge room, or public language and behavior that had no business being identified with Freemasons, who should know better.

So, what started as a genial attempt to have an open, public face of the fraternity has now been officially shut down by the powers that be in Edinburgh. 

The Grand Lodge of Scotland has just pulled the plug on its social media pages and accounts - although their website still is online. And the story actually made The Times yesterday. 

From Grand Lodge logs off social media after freemasons overshare secrets (it's hidden behind the Times' paywall, so this is an excerpt):

Robert Cooper, the curator of the lodge’s library and museum, who also edits its Twitter and Facebook pages, confirmed that the pages had been put on hold pending an internal review. 

“As with any organisation there are internal private discussions that shouldn’t be aired in public,” he said. “Unfortunately, some of our members are doing that. Naively, they are putting up messages on Facebook saying, ‘What do you think about what the Grand Lodge are proposing?’ Issues being discussed are not public but then, all of sudden, they are in the public domain.” 

Mr Cooper, an author and historian, said that there had been instances in which individuals had been revealed as members without their consent. “There are some people who work in sensitive occupations that don’t want their membership to be known,” he said. There also have been cases where online disputes between brothers became less than fraternal.

“People are putting things on the likes of Twitter and Facebook that are simply not appropriate,” he said. “Certainly things you would never say face to face to people. That’s causing all sorts of internal disciplinary problems.” 

Mr Cooper hoped that the pages, which made announcements, highlighted items of masonic history and addressed popular misconceptions about the organisation, could return. “We have got 25,000 people from around the world who read the posts regularly,” he said. “We have had lots of queries as to why we have stopped.” 

The article goes on to quote a couple of members about the development:

Gordon Paton, a member of the lodge, whose initiates refer to the organization as "the craft," called for the sites to be reactivated. He said: "Social media isn’t going to go away. To ignore it would be extremely introverted whereas we should be outward looking and communicating positively about the craft." 

Ian Hunter, another member, added: "I am all for making the craft more accessible to the public as most lodges are seeking to bring in new members as our numbers are dwindling. "We could have a closed group where anything goes for masons only or a public group where only the secrets and rituals are kept off." 

Many grand lodges have done just that on Facebook - created private pages to discuss matters the public doesn't need to see. In the ancient days of the early 2000s B.Z. (before Zuckerberg), private online forums hidden behind password protected sites with verified member identification accomplished all of this. It's probably rank nostalgia to pine for those halcyon days of yesteryear, but Facebook and Twitter have not been the best development for the fraternity. Only one of the laziest and most insidious, since it's everywhere.

In addition, more and more jurisdictions are establishing social media policies and guidelines for their members in a possibly forlorn effort to bring back the forgotten skills of common sense, decorum and manners to their members. Possibly because of their New England scold tradition and having way too many Harvard lawyers on hand, I know that Massachusetts has a truly enormous one they developed in an effort to think of every possible transgression. Maine, Virginia, Florida, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Minnesota, Hawaii, Texas, Illinois all have them, and I'm sure many more do, as well. Prince Hall jurisdictions have them. My own jurisdiction in Indiana is hammering one out right now, and we might actually be among the last to do so. More and more grand lodges outside of the U.S. are creating them, as well. 

What is it about the bizarre anonymity of online interaction that sends our whole notion of subduing our passions right out the 10th-story window? Far too many Masons proudly display a square and compass on their profiles, or even profile pictures and avatars, and then go right on unleashing rude, crude and reprehensible public posts and comments that would have gotten them bounced from the fraternity even a short decade ago. Political diatribes, religious rants and insults, personal arguments deliberately guaranteed to elicit rage, and regular strings of F-words, D-words, C-words, N-words, S-words, and ABEGHIJLMOPQRTUVWXYZ-words all pour out online next to a shining avatar of the fraternity. The problem is frankly worldwide, but U.S. Masons seem especially uncircumspect in their online discussions and behavior while displaying public badges of Masonry. So, in a world that has lost all manners and common sense, rules and regulations must now replace what used to be those things you "just don't do." 

The problem is that non-Masons regard every single Mason as a freestanding example of the fraternity. In other words, to echo the hairy old bromide, "You are someone's idea of Freemasonry." That's triply true among anti-Masons, or just those who are on the fence about us. In a culture that questions and sneers at nearly all religious and non-activist organizations, and declares hypocrisy to be the most egregious transgression on the planet, Masons who don't publicly live up to our own standards and expectations do us more harm than any anti-Masonic fanatic ever could.

So Scotland has just decided to solve their situation by closing down their social media altogether, at least for now. Hopefully they will come back with private pages, because Bob Cooper was posting fascinating and informative stories online for several years. 

Unfortunately, Times reporter Marc Horne loses ten points from his fair reporting scorecard for his concluding paragraph that resorts to the requisite (you guessed it) 'handshake and trouser leg'  reference:

Last year Scotland’s freemasons allowed cameras into their lodges for the first time for a BBC documentary, Secrets of the Masons. The lodge refused, however, to reveal the details of its handshakes — or grips — or to allow its initiation ceremonies, which are said to involve blindfolds and raised trouser legs, to be filmed.

I'm now convinced that all reporters in the UK have a keyboard shortcut that just inserts this same reference into every single news story by hitting Cmd+33. Odd that they wouldn't dare insist inserting a reference to Catholics 'genuflecting and bead jiggling,' or Muslims 'banging their foreheads on the floor,' or Jews 'wearing their funny little skullcaps' whenever their traditions are reported upon. Because I guess that would be rude and insensitive.

Whereas we Freemasons must just be silly old farts of no real consequence, unworthy of any respect, but always worthy of a parting sneer.


H/T to R. J. Johnson

GL of Scotland: A Different Kind of Grand Lodge Video

Have a look at the video on the website of the Grand Lodge of Scotland's website about the origin of Scottish Freemasonry. Beautifully done, and a great example of thinking outside the box when creating these types of programs. 

Of course, they have a major advantage because, you know... it's Scotland. 

Scottish hills. History. Tradition. Music. Robert Burns. Rosslyn Chapel. Edinburgh High Street.

And a brogue that everybody else thinks they can imitate.

Watch it HERE.

New Grand Lodge of Lebanon Chartered By GL of New York

THIS STORY HAS UPDATED INFORMATION 10/27/2017:

The Grand Lodge F&AM of New York has issued the following official statement on Wednesday, October 24th, 2018:

The Grand Lodge of New York, F. & A.M., with MW William M. Sardone presiding as the Most Worshipful Grand Master, has authorized and empowered the formation of the “Grand Lodge of the Free & Accepted Masons of Lebanon” in the Republic of Lebanon.

The Grand Lodge of New York gives its blessings to the new Grand Lodge of Lebanon for a successful continuance of its Grand Lodge forever.

The new Grand Lodge of Lebanon is made up of three lodges previously affiliated with the District Grand Lodge of Syria-Lebanon under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York. Nine remaining New York-chartered lodges in the area remain under New York's District Grand Lodge authority at this moment in time. That may change.

Additionally, there are other lodges at work in the region: ten are chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and two by the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia (and perhaps others as well). It does not appear that these non-New York lodges have joined the newly established jurisdiction at this time.

Lodges from these differing foreign grand lodges all at work in Lebanon have been involved in friction between their governing bodies over the years. At various times, New York has suspended amity with both D.C. (in 2008) and Scotland (in 2017) over jurisdictional and other conflicts concerning Lebanon lodges. I believe that situation still currently exists with Scotland (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Perhaps this newly established grand lodge will help to calm those waters in time.

A video was also released last night of the charter being issued and can be seen at this Facebook link.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 1, 2018:

I have been forwarded a copy of the charter issued by New York.

Click to enlarge

Was Pardoned Boxer Jack Johnson a Freemason?

For a whole raft of reasons – not least of which being the toxic political climate in the U.S. these days – last week's posthumous presidential pardon of the early 20th century African-American boxing legend Jack Johnson by Donald Trump has gone almost completely unreported in the American press, even in the sports world.

John Arthur "Jack" Johnson was born near Galveston, Texas in 1878, the son of former slaves, and one of nine children. Despite growing up in the segregated South during the most virulent period of Jim Crow laws, Johnson achieved worldwide fame as a boxer, and eventually held the heavyweight title from 1908 to 1915. He was often tagged with the nickname "The Galveston Giant," as he stood 6-feet 6-inches tall, and generally towered over his opponents.

And at the age of 33, he joined Forfar and Kincardine Lodge No. 225 in Scotland.

Jack Johnson spoke of his childhood in Galveston as growing up in a racially mixed community where no one much cared what color anyone was. Economy was the great leveler, and they were all in extreme poverty, regardless of color. Race was hardly an issue to young Jack, but outside of the confines of his neighborhood was a different matter. 

Johnson refused to pay deference to the color line in America. He began boxing in 1898. He achieved national, and then international fame, claiming the title of “World Colored Heavyweight Champion” in 1903, and becoming overall World Heavyweight Champion in 1908 after winning a fight in Australia against Tommy Burns, a white boxer from Canada. Burns was one of the very few white championship fighters at the time who was willing to cross the racial barrier in boxing and take on black opponents. But Johnson's victory over him stunned the world, and especially America.

After Johnson won the heavyweight title, racial animosity against him back home became fierce. He continued to beat a string of opponents, but that was problematic at the time, since many white boxers refused to battle blacks in the ring, especially when championships were on the line. Those who did were quickly purported to be the next "great white hope" who would finally knock out this strutting, arrogant black boxer, who ceaselessly taunted them in and out of the ring.

Johnson continued to enrage and alienate many whites by crossing the color line in his personal life. He dated white women, and eventually went on to marry three of them in his lifetime. He was also the rare black man of his era who was brash and totally unapologetic about his wealth and success. He loved fast cars, and was frequently arrested for speeding (and more than a few times subsequently sued for failing to appear at a fight because he was in jail).

The purported "Fight of the Century" finally took place on July 4, 1910 against James Jeffries at a ring built just for the occasion in downtown Reno, Nevada. Jeffries was a retired former undefeated heavyweight champion who had repeatedly refused to box against Johnson or any other blacks in prior years, but he was ceaselessly pressured to become the ultimate "Great White Hope" who would knock Johnson from his perch. When he finally agreed to the fight, Jeffries was quoted as saying, "I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro." 

It didn't work out that way.

James Jeffries and Jack Johnson fight in 1911

The fight was enormously promoted nationwide. Invitations to referee the contest went to public figures as wide ranging as William Howard Taft and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fight itself was scheduled for 45 three-minute rounds, and the day of the fight was a 110° scorcher. The crowd of 20,000 was filled with some of the greatest living boxers of the period who had come from all over the world to see the event. But when things got underway, it was clear that Jeffries had no chance. After fifteen rounds, the beaten and badly out of shape Jeffries was knocked to the ground, and his manager stopped the fight at last. Johnson was declared the winner against the latest Great White Hope. 

The fight was the basis for both a 1967 play and a 1970 movie (featuring James Earl Jones) entitled The Great White Hope, and the phrase itself entered into the American lexicon.

After the fight ended, word went out by telegraph, and black Americans celebrated nationwide in spontaneous parades. But whites took to the streets in protest, as well. Race riots broke out in 50 cities across 25 states, resulting in at least 26 deaths (all but two of them of blacks). Hundreds more were injured, and police stopped several attempted lynchings. Two high-profile Southern ministers even called for Johnson's own lynching. Attempts were made to prevent the showing of films of the fight and censor Johnson's victory from the public eye, and a federal law forbidding exhibiting boxing films across state lines was soon passed in its wake. That law stood until 1940.

In the wake of the riots, Johnson left the country and traveled to Europe. In 1911, he was fighting in exhibitions across the British Isles. He was visiting Scotland, and it was there that he became an Entered Apprentice in Dundee's Forfar and Kincardine Lodge No. 225 under the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

From the Courier.co.uk on May 26, 2018:

During his spell on the run he fought in exhibition matches in Newcastle in 1911.

Army officer Sydney McLaglen was also boxing there and told Johnson about his Masonic lodge.

He told Johnson he was due to travel to Dundee to have his second degree conferred and asked if it would be possible to go with him and join the lodge.

The heavyweight champion travelled up from Newcastle and on October 13 1911, became a Freemason in Forfar and Kincardine, No. 225 Lodge, in Dundee.

Past Master Graham Letford said: “Grand Lodge sent a telegram to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Forfarshire ordering them to stop the initiation.

“But the door was locked during Jack Johnson’s initiation and when the telegram arrived the deed had already been done.

“This cost the master at the time a two-year suspension. Two other past masters received one-year suspensions and the lodge had its charter lifted for 18 months.”

Johnson left by train for Newcastle after the ceremony.

A reporter from the Dundee Advertiser spoke to Johnson in Leeds who told him he was proud to belong to the Craft.

Johnson said: “All I want is fair treatment, and I don’t want nothing bestowed on me I don’t deserve, if there is anything to say, well it’s for the Lodge and other people.

“I’m all right.”

“But there is no doubt about it you are a Mason?” asked the reporter.

“Oh certainly,” said Johnson. “They can’t say anything about me”.

He denied that there was any “squabble” and refused to say anything further on that point.

“You have a high opinion of Freemasonry then?” he was asked.

Johnson replied: “It’s the greatest thing in the world, it’s wonderful.

“I have always wanted to be a member and I chose the Dundee lodge because it is one of the oldest and one of the most substantial.

“I am proud I can tell you. I am a Freemason and as long as I live I shall be one. Only God almighty can undo that.”

Johnson concluded by emphatically stating he would certainly go back to Dundee to have his second degree conferred some time in early December.

The champion did not return to Dundee following the 18-month suspension of the Lodge.

So what was the crime for which the President pardoned him last week? Violating the Mann Act in 1912 by taking an unmarried woman across state lines for "immoral purposes" – a law originally designed to curtail prostitution and human trafficking. The federal law was more commonly known as the White Slave Act, and had been passed to save young women from being preyed upon by purportedly perfidious foreigners and lured into prostitution in hard, faceless cities in the early 1900s. This was also the period of Prohibition, and "public decency" was the hot button issue of the moment. 

As originally passed in 1910, the Mann Act made it a felony to engage in interstate or foreign commerce transport of "any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." But the law was also frequently applied as an all-purpose nuisance charge against interracial couples, and Johnson had a preference for white ladies. 

Jack Johnson and Lucille Cameron

Consequently, on October 14, 1912, Jack Johnson was arrested on the grounds that his relationship with Lucille Cameron (who later became his second wife) violated the White Slave Traffic Act. However, Lucille refused to cooperate with prosecutors (her mother branded her as "insane"), and the case fell apart. Federal agents were desperate to make charges stick against him and kept digging. Johnson was released, but was soon rearrested after investigators found a prostitute named Belle Schreiber from his past willing to testify against him in open court. Within days, a grand jury issued seven Mann Act indictments.

According to the Legal Legacy blog site:

In the courtroom of Kenesaw Mountain Landis (the future Commissioner of Baseball who perpetuated the baseball color line until his death), Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury in June 1913. It took them less than two hours to find Johnson guilty on all counts. Despite the fact that the incidents used to convict Johnson took place before passage of the Mann Act, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

On June 24, while out on bail pending appeal, Johnson fled the country to Montreal where he met up with Lucille, and then went on to France. He would remain out of the U.S. for seven years, and it was common for American papers to refer to him as “negro pugilist and convicted white slaver.”

At last, on July 20, 1920 Johnson returned, surrendering to federal agents at the Mexican border, and was sent to the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth to serve his sentence. He was released on July 9, 1921.

Johnson had lost the world heavyweight championship title in 1915. After his stint in prison, his boxing career was essentially over and he never recovered his fame. But in a curious connection to history, Johnson opened the original Harlem nightclub in the early 20s that would eventually be sold to gangster Owney Madden, and renamed as the legendary Cotten Club.

Jack Johnson died in a car accident on June 10, 1946 near Raleigh, North Carolina after angrily driving off from a white owned diner that refused to serve him. He was 68 years old. 

He was buried in an unmarked grave in Chicago.

The pardon last week was certainly celebrated by the Masonic Brethren in Dundee, and Jack Johnson remains the most famous member of Forfar and Kincardine Lodge as far as they are concerned. According to a 2009 letter in the Daily Mail from Lodge 225's Past Master Gordon Webster, the Grand Lodge of Scotland was pressured by U.S. grand lodges at the time to force the lodge to return Johnson's three guinea initiation fee and nullify his degree. But the lodge's members and officers held fast and refused, even after Johnson's legal problems in the U.S. since he had not violated any British laws. 

However, WB Webster's letter and the article last week in the Courier both conflict with an account by the University of Dundee and their archives. They hold the legal documents pertaining to the dustup between the lodge and their Grand Lodge, and in the December 2009 issue of Contact, the University's magazine, the following account of the events appears (p. 28):

During the closing part of the initiation ceremony a telegram was dispatched to Dundee from the Grand Lodge of Scotland demanding that the proceedings cease immediately before Johnson had beenfully initiated.

However, the local Master decided that it was too late and continued with the ceremony regardless. The Grand Lodge subsequently suspended the Forfarshire Lodge and this led to the legal battle recorded in the documents held by Archive Services.

The Grand Lodge maintained that for reasons relating to masonic protocol the Forfarshire Lodge had acted improperly and irregularlyin admitting Johnson, but the real problem was that some members of the Lodge in Dundee had objected to Johnson’s initiation onthe grounds of his colour. Upon seeing that he was to be admitted anyway, they telegraphed their fellow freemasons in America – and white American feelings ran high about the man who in the boxing ring had defeated several ‘Great White Hopes’.

Most Grand Lodges in the USA threatened to withdraw their Scottish Grand Lodge representation and this was why the Grand Lodge had somewhat frantically attempted to halt Johnson’s initiation ceremony.

The position of the Grand Lodge ultimately prevailed – some members of the local Lodge were suspended and Johnson had his fees returned. Any mention of his acceptance as an Entered Apprentice was removed from the records. However a record of this somewhat shameful episode in Scottish history does survive in the University Archives. Anyone interested in the items is welcome to see them in the Archives search room.

So, there's the conflict in the various claims and counterclaims, and Grand Lodge of Scotland historian Bob Cooper's account agrees with the University's. 

In any case, there is no further evidence that Johnson ever went on to complete his Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees in any mainstream or Prince Hall lodge in the U.S. or outside of the country. 

Nevertheless, Past Master Gordon Webster of his lodge in Dundee said in his letter, 

"As far as Forfar and Kincardine Lodge is concerned, the Great Jack Johnson is, and will forever remain, a Freemason. I'm proud of my past brethren and proud that Jack Johnson was a member of my lodge."

Both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama passed up numerous requests from Congress and the public to posthumously pardon Jack Johnson starting ten years ago, and the Justice department argued against it for many years (because of Johnson's history of domestic abuse of women throughout his life – his first wife committed suicide, and Lucille divorced him after just three years). Nevertheless, Senator John McCain and Harry Reid both pressed for the pardon, and filmmaker Ken Burns made a documentary about him in an attempt to keep the issue in the public eye. 

Donald Trump finally signed the official full pardon on May 24th in an Oval Office ceremony with Sylvester Stallone, Linda Haywood (a relative of Johnson's), World Boxing Commission president Mauricio Sulaiman Saldivar, former boxer Lennox Lewis, and current champion Deontay Wilder. Counting Johnson's, there have only been three posthumous pardons signed by presidents in U.S. history.

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UPDATE May 27, 2018 5:30PM

Simon LaPlace from the Masonic Service Association just passed along a reprinted article I was unable to find from 2009 in the Daily Mail, and later appeared in the Connecticut Freemason magazine. It contains more details of Johnson's introduction to Freemasonry and the lodge while in Scotland, but the accounts are unattributed. Unless someone has firsthand written accounts, it's hard to say whether these are fanciful embellishments after over 100 years or not. And they don't answer the question of whether or not the lodge nullified his EA degree after the Grand Lodge's actions. Click image to enlarge.