2025 Midwest Conference on Masonic Education Wrap Up

by Christopher Hodapp

The 75th Midwest Conference on Masonic Education in Indianapolis has wound down for 2025, and I'd like to express my deepest thanks to everyone who helped make it a great success. Not only to the other presenters, but to the attendees, as well. 

Speakers at the Conference included Steve Harrison, Heather Calloway, Daniel Gardener, Adam Kendall, Brent Morris and myself.

Among the close to 100 attendees were representatives from 17 different Masonic jurisdictions.

As president of the Conference this year, James Buckhorn did an outstanding job in arranging and organizing the programs, the venue, the meals, and so much more. 

The Grand Lodge of Nebraska will be next year's host.

Those Midnight Freemason guys show up everywhere.

Before the Conference, some of the 'Indiana Friends of Brent' were able to join up with the 
venerable Dr. Morris on Thursday, along with our mascot, Billy the Wonder Goat.

Wisconsin MasoniCon in Eau Claire This Saturday April 12th

by Christopher Hodapp

The MasoniCon season is heating up. Join me this Saturday, April 12th at the Wisconsin MasoniCon in Eau Claire, where I'll be speaking along with Steven Harrison of the Midnight Freemasons blog and author of Freemasons–Tales from the Craft.

The day will kick off at 10AM with a special meeting of the Silas Shepherd Lodge of Research #1843. Steven and I will speak after lunch.

This event takes place at the magnificent Eau Claire Masonic Temple located at 616 Graham Avenue, from 10AM to 6PM.

You can't beat the price - admission is free and lunch is provided. After the event, BBQ dinner from Famous Daves is a paltry $20.

For reservations and more information CLICK HERE. Technically, reservations are closed because of the lunch and dinner catering requirements, but the admission is free and organizers won't turn you away (as long as you feed yourself...)

The 1st Masonic Con New York – 'Freemasonry in the 21st Century': January 17-18, 2025

by Christopher Hodapp

The very first Masonic Con New York is coming to the magnificent New York Masonic Hall on the weekend of January 17, 2025. Built around the theme Freemasonry in the 21st Century: Self and Society, this premiere Masonic Con will showcase experts discussing the urgency of Masonic teachings and the importance of Brotherhood in our lives and communities. If you are familiar with the U.S. Surgeon General’s recent study on the epidemic of male loneliness in American society, or with any of the various news reports on this problem, you may wish to hear from these speakers and glean ideas for preparing for Freemasonry’s future.

(Click to enlarge)

 

The weekend will begin the evening of Friday, January 17 with the legendary Mariners Lodge 67 Maritime Festive Board and Beefsteak Banquet inside the Masonic Hall's spacious Grand Lodge Room at 6 p.m. If you have yet to experience it, prepare to be amazed by the camaraderie of Masonic feasting and singing in harmony.

A Mariner's Lodge Festive Board & Beefsteak Banquet

On Saturday the 18th, the speakers program, open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. Keynote speaker Maj. Gen. William Green, Jr., the U.S. Army’s Chief of Chaplains, will speak to America’s loneliness epidemic and man’s need for fraternal connections in life.

(Click to enlarge)

 

Additional featured Speakers:

• Dr. Heather Calloway, Executive Director of Indiana University’s Center for Fraternal Collections and Research, will discuss the cultural relevance of fraternal orders in America.
• Bro. Chuck Dunning, of Texas, the nationally renowned author and educator on the subject of meditation and mindfulness techniques, will impart ways Masons and our lodges may profit from these practices.
• Bro. Bull Garlington, of Illinois, is famous for his journalistic essays on how he overcame loneliness in adulthood by discovering Freemasonry.
• Bro. Michael LaRocco, Executive Director of our Livingston Library, will share his expertise in the craft of self-actualization.
• Bro. Jim Loporto will close the speakers program with his dramatic presentation “The Elephant in the Room.” This will be open only to regular Freemasons—and we especially encourage Apprentices, Fellows, and new Master Masons to experience it.

 

There will also be tours of Masonic Hall and the Livingston Library, Masonic vendors, and plenty of networking opportunities.

Masonic Con will close with a special cocktail reception, where attendees can mingle with the guest speakers and Grand Lodge leadership while also supporting New York’s Brotherhood Fund 1781 Society.

For more information, to purchase tickets, sign up for vendors' tables or make hotel reservations, visit https://masonicconnewyork.com/

(H/T Thanks to Grand Secretary Richard Schultz for passing this along)

 

Esotericism In Freemasonry 2024 Conference in Seattle: Sept 27-29

by Christopher Hodapp

The 4th Esotericism In Freemasonry 2024 Conference will be held the weekend of September 27-29 at Occidental Lodge in the Ballard Masonic Center in Seattle, Washington, featuring a lineup of some of the top contemporary writers and researchers in Western esotericism, comparative religion, and much more. 

An increasing number of men coming to Freemasonry are thirsting for esoteric knowledge that goes far beyond the usual Blue Lodge fare of Masonic education. Expressing interest in 'esotericism' covers a LOT of territory, and there are plenty of bunny holes one can fall into without being suitably grounded and prepared. Esoteric topics are complex, and in fairness, not every Mason or every Masonic lodge has the desire, patience, or enough collective knowledge to truly delve into centuries of historic, philosophic, religious, mathematic, symbolic, and alchemical threads that influenced 'modern' Freemasonry by the 1700s. The conference provides an opportunity to gather with like-minded brethren and explore some of these topics.

Once again, this event is being partially organized by my friend, WB Troy Spreeuw from Vancouver, host of the Mystic Tye podcast.

The weekend program:

• Friday evening will start with a mediation session, followed by entertainment and a pub meetup. Everyone welcome.
• Saturday will feature keynote speaker Brother Ike Baker of the Arcanum Podcast, presentations by Dr. Nathan Schick, and more to be announced. There will also be a panel discussion about Masonic buildings. The evening will end with a VIP dinner and pub meetup. Everyone welcome.
• Sunday 29th there will be two practical workshops led by Br. P.D. Newman and Jaime Paul Lamb. This will be for Master Masons only.

Take note: Speakers and presentations on Friday and Saturday are open to the general public, while Sunday's will be restricted to Master Masons only.

Tickets are free for Friday night; $50 for speakers and panels on Saturday plus $175 for the VIP dinner; $50 for Sunday's Masonic sessions.

In order to purchase tickets, you need to visit the conference website HERE and click the RSVP button.

For blog entries from some of the event's speakers, CLICK HERE.

2024 World Conference on Fraternalism in Paris June 13-15

by Christopher Hodapp

The 2024 World Congress on Fraternalism, Freemasonry, and History will be held June 13-15 in Paris at the rue de Cadet headquarters of the Grand Orient de France between June 13th and 15th. 

Convened by the journal, Ritual, Secrecy, and Civil Society, in cooperation with the Policy Studies Organization, France's Museum of Freemasonry and the GODF, this event explores how associations and volunteerism have shaped democracy, politics, and history.

The conference alternates each year between Paris and Washington, D.C.

This international event attracts the top scholars around the world in the field of not just Freemasonry, but of fraternalism of all kinds. It is a part of the Policy Studies Organization's support of research into associations, civility, and the role of non governmental organizations in democracy. 

These ongoing international conferences have been spearheaded and supported by Brother Paul Rich for more than a decade now, and he has been a champion of promoting and pursuing Masonic scholarship on a worldwide basis. A shocking number of U.S. Masons are unaware of his role in this pursuit, as well as his own scholarship, and that is a downright shame. On top of his many accomplishments and honors in the academic world, he is the publisher of numerous books about Freemasonry (among others) through Westphalia Press. 

In conjunction with Paul Rich, Brother Pierre Mollier in France is one of the top Masonic historians in the world. Among his many accomplishments, he is the director of France's incredible Museum of Freemasonry in Paris (Musée dé Franc-Maçonnerie). If you don't know his name or reputation, you need to.

Presenters will include:

Guillaume Trichard, Grand Master of the Grand Orient de France; Pierre Mollier, Curator of Paris' Museum of Freemasonry; Paul Rich, Harvard and George Mason University Professor; Arturo de Hoyos, Scottish Rite Research Society; Josef Wäges; S. Brent Morris, Editor Emeritus of the Scottish Rite Journal; UCLA's Margaret Jacob; John Belton; Andrew Prescott from the University of Glasgow; Cécile Révauger, University Professor Emeritus, Bordeaux University; Pierre Yves Beaurepaire, Nice University Professor; Peter Lanchidi, Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest; Simon Deschamps, Lecturer, University of Toulouse le Mirail; Charles Coutel, Professor Emeritus at the University of Artois; Éric Saunier, Lecturer at the University of Le Havre; Mireille Quivy, Honorary Lecturer, University of Rouen; and Christophe Devillers, Editor-in-chief of Humanisme magazine; and Joachim Grave dos Santos, Archivist of the Grand Orient Lusitanien.

Also presenting will be:

Roger Dachez; Jean-Michel Mathonière; Maurice Weber; Laurent Segalini; Jan Snoek; Gaëtan Mentor; Marcel Clodion; André Combes; Gérard Contremoulin; Colette Léger; Jean-Luc Le Bras; Dominique Jardin; Guillermo De Los Reyes; Laure Caille; Philippe Wiedenhoff; Michel Chomarat; Yves Grange; Antonio Morales; Joaquim Grave Dos Santos; and Wallace Boston.

(See the complete program HERE.)

Because presentations may be made in English or French, simultaneous translations from French-English, English-French are offered for most sessions. The Conference is free of charge, but you need to register on EventBrite if you will be attending – CLICK HERE.

Following each conference, the presented papers are collected and published in the journal, Ritual, Secrecy, and Civil Society. Journals from previous conferences may also be read online or downloaded.

The conferences are held alternatively in Paris (2022, 2024) and in Washington D.C. (2023, 2025). The Washington conferences are held at the historic Quaker Meeting House.

2024 Conference of Grand Master Masons of North America Opens in Seattle

by Christopher Hodapp

The Conference of Grand Master Masons of North America (more affectionately known as COGMNA) officially kicks off its annual meeting in Seattle, Washington today. It's an opportunity for regular, recognized grand masters in our end of the Masonic world to meet each other and learn from each others' successes, failures, programs, catastrophes, and more.

The Conference is being held at the Seattle Westin Hotel and will continue through Wednesday.

Membership in the Conference currently consists of the 52 state or "mainstream" grand lodges of  the United States of America, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; the 10 Provinces of Canada; the State of York, Mexico; and the American-Canadian Grand Lodge of Germany, representing some 2 million Freemasons in North America. It's the largest such confederation of regular Masons in the world.

If you're new to the fraternity, you may not have heard of this gathering, but it's not really designed for the edification of rank and file Masons. Grand masters, deputy grands and grand secretaries all have responsibilities and situational issues that can really only be understood and intelligently discussed with other grands and past grands. In addition, COGMNA is also where programs from other jurisdictions get talked about, and often spread throughout the Masonic world. And I'd be less than candid if I didn't mention that it's also where fads occasionally get started in Masonry. One-day classes, CHIPS programs, bikes-for-books projects, the adoption of grand lodge computer services like Grandview and Amity, the founding of the Masonic Service Association, even the beginnings of Prince Hall recognition and the national support to build and maintain the George Washington National Masonic Memorial – they all came out of presentations made at COGMNAs of the past. 

One of the highlights of the Conference each year is the report of the Commission for Information on Recognition. The Commission is charged with investigating questions of regularity between grand lodges and issuing their own findings in a summary. Individual grand lodges often receive requests for recognition from different grand lodges all over the world. More often than not, it's difficult for every single grand lodge to have the resources or ability to investigate the history, practices and regularity of faraway jurisdictions, especially if they don't provide sufficient background documentation in English to make a judgement. It's also quite common for there to have been a schism in a foreign country that results in rival grand lodges, both claiming proper regular origin. The Commission has no enforcement powers, it doesn't settle disputes, and it doesn't tell your grand lodge who they can or can't recognize as regular. They merely investigate and make a determination as to the regularity of a grand lodge in question (or the lack of regularity, as the case may be). But most grand lodges in the Conference respect their findings.

You'll find the Commission's previous annual reports since 2004 online HERE.

Masonic Grand Secretaries have their own unique sets of problems, concerns, solutions and success stories, so they hold their own conference-within-a-conference at COGMNA – in case you're wondering why your state's grand lodge office seems so empty next week. Everybody's in Seattle.

(And in case you were thinking of asking, grand masters of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA) grand lodges have their own Conference of Grand Masters that's been held each year since 1909.)

Just to trumpet our Indiana team's presence, our longtime grand secretary, MW Richard Elman, PGM (2004-05) has been the president of the Conference of Grand Secretaries for many, many years. Our current grand master, MW Gary Brinley will also be speaking at one of the sessions.  And MW Roger VanGorden PGM (2002-003) is heavily involved with the Masonic Renewal Committee and will be giving their presentation on Sunday afternoon. (Last year, Roger was also named as the Scottish Rite NMJ's "Active" Deputy representing Indiana on the Supreme Council.) 

And just to round out the list of influential Indiana grand masters in leadership positions within their various Conferences, MW Eugene Anderson, Jr., Past Grand Master of the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana, is the president this year of the Conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters, which will be held May 15-19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

2024 Intl. Conference on Freemasonry: March 30th at UC/Berkeley

by Christopher Hodapp

The 2024 International Conference on Freemasonry will be held March 30th on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. This will be the 12th annual academic conference sponsored by the Grand Lodge F&AM of California, and the theme this year will be "Rites In America."

From the event's website:

“Rites in America” examines the almost countless forms and iterations of Masonry that have sprung up on this side of the Pacific, often in the particular context of immigrant communities or other, larger social movements.

Says event organizer Susan Sommers, a professor of history at St. Vincent College, “Freemasonry is one of the oldest and most successful fraternal, initiatory societies in the Western world. Despite its reputation for secrecy, it is well known and well documented.” As different Masonic and quasi-Masonic groups formed in the Americas, they often built on Masonry’s ritual framework while adding their own features. “Why reinvent wheels when you can simply change the hubcaps?” she says. “Over the centuries, especially since around 1750, Freemasons have added, edited, and invented orders, rites, and rituals with something close to wild abandon, all the while claiming that the landmarks are immutable, and have been since Adam.”

Speakers will include:

• Jonathan Awtrey - Visiting Assistant Professor, Fairfield University
“Moses Michael Hays and Freemasonry in British North America”

• Jesse David Chariton - Ph.D Candidate, Department of History, Iowa State University
“German Americans and Masonic Baptism in the Antebellum United States”

• Robert A. Gross - Professor of Early American History Emeritus, University of Connecticut
“Canceled and Back! How a Lodge Overcame Anti-Masonry and Regained a Place in Public Life”

• Alexander Towey - Lecturer, History Department, California State University, San Marcos
“Ebb & Flow: Freemasonry’s Rise, Decline, and Renaissance in American Society”

• Dr. María Eugenia Vázquez Semadeni - Historian, author, and expert on Mexican Freemasonry, Mexican political history, and Hispanic-American parliamentarianism; co-author, with Margaret Jacob, of Freemasonry and Civil Society: Europe and the Americas.

“Mexicanizing Freemasonry: The National Mexican Rite ”

• S. Brent Morris - Former managing editor of the Scottish Rite Journal, the world’s largest circulation Masonic magazine, and founding editor of Heredom, the transactions of the Scottish Rite Research Society.
“Robert Benjamin Folger and the oldest English-language version of the Chevalier Bienfaisant de la Cite Sainte—aka the Rectified Scottish Rite.”

The conference is open to the public. Admission is $30, optional lunch is $20. To register, visit the website HERE.

Florida vs. Paraguay: Masonic Regularity, Recognition, Muddles and Mayhem

by Christopher Hodapp

Ever wonder what "regular, recognized" means when it comes to the many grand lodges of Masons all over the world, and just who decides such things? 

I'll warn you here at the outset: this is one of those Masonic stories that will make your eyes glaze over. It has little or nothing to do with most everyday Masons all over the world, and it's rooted in Freemasonry's three-century-old methods and policies that grew out of 18th century European government and religious diplomatic traditions. This story will be like reading all the supporting documents and commentary of the International High Seas Biodiversity Treaty negotiations, without nearly as many punchlines.

The Requirements of Regularity and Recognition

The majority of regular grand lodges extend or withdraw relations with foreign jurisdictions based on a set of conditions: 

• that their constituent lodges admit men only; 
• that their lodges work in view of a volume of sacred law and under the auspices of the Grand Architect of the Universe; 
• that discussion of religion and politics are prohibited in their lodge meetings;
• that the grand lodge has legitimately and provably descended in some way from the earliest of grand lodges in England or Scotland; 
• that the grand lodge is considered completely sovereign over its members and territory, sharing it only by treaty with other regular grand lodges (such as in state grand lodges that coexist with Prince Hall Affiliated grand lodges in the U.S.; or when English, Scottish and Irish lodges are still at work in what were once the far-flung colonial outposts of the British Empire in Asia, Africa or the Middle East). This is referred to as "exclusive territorial jurisdiction."

To that end, the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America's (COGMMNA) Commission on Recognition meets every February to investigate Masonic regularity of various grand lodges around the world, or to decipher various controversies of regularity and recognition, in order to issue a report that attempts to determine these sometimes very complicated matters of who's legit and who isn't.

But – 

The COGMMNA Commission on Recognition does not - and CANNOT - force anybody’s grand lodge to recognize, “de-recognize” or just ignore another jurisdiction when it comes to permitting its members to visit foreign lodges. That decision is completely up to every individual grand lodge or grand orient on its own. But let’s not pretend there isn’t such a thing as Masonic peer pressure. A diplomatic problem can arise when a grand lodge (or a group of them) decides to depart from the majority of opinions within its Masonic region and recognize what the others regard as “the wrong grand lodge.” 

Which brings me casually moseying around the barnyard over to Florida.

Florida and the CMI

The Grand Lodge of Florida’s announcement last week that it was withdrawing Masonic relations from 11 different grand lodges is rooted in a disagreement with a large federation of Masonic jurisdictions known as the Confederación Masónica Interamericana, or CMI (the Inter-American Masonic Confederation). In fact, those 11 are only the latest ones Florida has cut off – the total is 13 because they had already severed relations with grand lodges in Argentina and Uruguay a couple of months before. (Click the letters below to enlarge.)

 

The CMI is a cooperative association made up of 94 participating grand lodges, and was established back in 1947. CMI acts in a similar way as COGMMNA, with its membership generally comprising grand lodges and grand orients deemed to be Masonically “regular” by the vast majority of the Masons in the world. CMI's concentration is mostly in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, but there are a handful of CMI-member grand lodges outside of those regions, like the Grand Lodges of New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, plus Spain, Portugal, the Grand Orient of Italy, and France's Grande Loge Nationale Française (you can see the list of CMI’s 94 members HERE). 

Two Paraguay Grand Lodges Walk Into A Bar...

Bear in mind that there are many conflicting (mostly unrecognized and often irregular) grand lodges also at work in the Central and South America which are NOT members of the CMI, and this is the part of the story when Paraguay suddenly bursts into the bar and Florida says, “Order me another frozen banana daiquiri while I go handle this.”

It seems that this whole sticky pickle began after the Grand Lodge of Florida recognized a different Masonic grand lodge in the country of Paraguay than either CMI or a growing number of mainstream, regular grand lodges around the world do. Florida maintains amity with the older Gran Logia Simbólica del Paraguay, while CMI members mostly recognize the newer Gran Logia Simbólica del Paraguay, which was established in 2006 after a schism occurred in Paraguayan Masonry. 

Seal/logo of the "newer" Symbolic GL of Paraguay
features the date of 1869

Unfortunately for those of us who have a tough time keeping them straight, both grand lodges have exactly the same name, and both are headquartered in the city of Asunción. This fight first started back in 2006, and it's been a big problem for Paraguay Masons ever since. 

The newer grand lodge had as its founding Grand Master, MW Bro Euclides Acevedo, and this is how many articles and reports often distinguish between the two groups – by simply mentioning Acevedo's name. Its seal features the date of 1869.

Photo:Gerardo Malvetti

The address of this grand lodge is Avda. de la Victoria, No. 690 esq Lopez Moreira, Asunción (photo above). 

Seal of the "older" Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay
features the date of 1895

The "older" Gran Logia Simbólica del Paraguay features the date of 1895 on its seal. Go figure. I'm also told that the older organization is sometimes referred to as the "centennial" grand lodge, as it celebrated the 100th anniversary of its 1923 REfounding in 2023. Image below is their headquarters on Palma Street in Ascunción.

Home of the older "Centennial" Grand Lodge. Photo: Gustavo Machado  

This mess has also been a thorny issue for the COGMMNA's Commission on Recognition for almost 20 years. And woe betide outsiders who attempt to make heads or tails of the whole mess.

CMI Tries To Make Order From Chaos

The Confederación Masónica Interamericana is a big organization, and it’s divided into several regional zones. CMI’s Zone 6 (which largely covers South America, plus Spain and Portugal) issued a declaration that the "newer" Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay (whose current Grand Master is José Miguel Fernandez Zacur) is the one true “regular” one, and "urged" (not demanded or ordered, but "urged") all of the jurisdictions within their conference to agree with them. But Florida disagreed with with CMI's declaration that the "newer" was the legitimately regular one to be recognized. (Click the Spanish-language documents below to enlarge)

 

Florida isn't even a member of the Confederation, so why they chose to meddle in CMI's business is anyone's guess. But Florida has declared that any grand lodge signing the CMI's Zone 6 agreement to abide by its conclusion was allowing an outside organization to impose rules and shove them around. That smelled like violation of Masonic sovereignty to Florida: ergo, those grand lodges are obviously NOT sovereign if they let some outside group of buttinskys tell them who to recognize or not recognize; ergo, if said grand lodges AREN’T sovereign anymore, that means THEY obviously AREN’T regular anymore; ergo, Florida issued a demand that all the CMI signatories with whom they were in amity explain their wimpy, weak-sister genuflecting to Florida’s satisfaction, or face the loss of Masonic relations between them. And that’s what resulted in the current list of 13 grand lodges from whom Florida has now withdrawn relations over this issue (the eleven named last week, plus Argentina and Uruguay).

It might be a perfectly legitimate line of logical thinking Florida followed, but as we all know, grand lodges and grand masters have the power to do things that they shouldn’t necessarily exercise when it comes to the practicality of Masonry's altruistic notions of harmony among brethren. Unleashing lightening bolts from their terrible swift swords ofttimes wind up causing more harm than good among the rank and file brethren, along with creating very bad publicity for what is supposed to be an organization dedicated to worldwide brotherhood and improvement of the human condition. Florida hasn't just cut off visitations between their own members and Masons from the now-shunned grand lodges when they visit the Sunshine State; they are also demanding that any Florida Masons who hold joint memberships in any of the shunned jurisdictions must resign from one or the other.

Florida’s Past Grand Master from 2012, RW Jorge Aladro, seems to be at the center of this situation, and it should come as no surprise that he also pops up as this year’s chairman of the COGMMNA’s Commission on Recognition, which convenes in February – likely why Florida’s deadline for responses to its ultimatum was timed for late January. He’s also the chairman of Florida’s committee on foreign fraternal relations. (Aladro may be best remembered by the Masonic community as the grand master who passed edicts during 2012 forbidding Wiccans and pagans from Masonic membership in Florida lodges, and essentially declaring that all Florida Masons must be monotheistic.)

What in hell goes on in Paraguay?

Back in 2005 or so, the Supreme Council of the AASR in Paraguay created an internal uproar when it expelled the sitting Grand Master of Paraguay, which kicked in a rule within the Grand Lodge that expulsion from one Masonic body meant expulsion from all. Effectively, the Supreme Council's action forced the removal of the Grand Master from his elected office, which looked and smelled to the Masonic world like the appendant body was really in charge of a subservient and compliant grand lodge.

Let me quote the COGMMNA's Commission on Recognition's report from 2008:

A split has developed in the Grand Lodge of Paraguay. A group of dissidents have now proclaimed themselves to be the Grand Lodge Symbolic of Paraguay. After a questionable investigation, the Interamerican Masonic Confederation has declared this group headed by Mendoza Unzain to be legitimate. This was an unusual act since the by-laws of the CMI prohibits the interference in the internal affairs of a Grand Lodge. This ruling is being contested by the existing [older] Grand Lodge of Paraguay, but they have not allowed [us] to see the report of the investigation, or to offer a response. Nemecio Lichi was legally elected to be the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Paraguay, and the Commission is of the opinion that this Grand Lodge is still the only Grand Lodge in Paraguay that meets the standards for recognition.

But by 2013, the United Grand Lodge of England had recognized the "newer" Gran Logia Simbólica del Paraguay , which also had the support of many CMI members. By 2014, the COGMMNA Commission on Recognition's report came to the conclusion that the newer body was now the "only Grand Lodge in Paraguay that meets the standards for recognition."

In 2016, the Commission reiterated its conclusion that the newer GL was considered to be the regular one. Because the two groups have exactly the same name, the Commission reported specifically that "The current Grand Master of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay [in 2022] is M∴W∴ Bro. Edgar Sanchez Caballero. The address of that grand lodge is: Gran Logia Simbolica Del Paraguay Avda. de la Victoria No 690 esq Lopez Moreira Asuncion - Paraguay." 

(BTW, their most recently elected Grand Master who will serve 2022-2026 is now MW José Miguel Fernández Zacur.)

The Commission on Recognition's report from 2018 enlarged upon the origin story of the newer Paraguayan grand lodge a bit, but threw their hands up over the mess, recommending a treaty or some other solution to jointly share the territory, whether they got along with each other or not:

In 2005, the Grand Master of Paraguay was suspended by an appendant body [Paraguay's Supreme Council of the AASR]. Pursuant to treaty, this lead to his suspension from symbolic or craft Masonry. In 2006, there was a schism in Paraguayan Masonry. For a number of years, attempts were made to reconcile the two grand lodges. In 2014, when such efforts repeatedly failed, this Commission found that the newer grand Lodge met the standards for recognition. This was, in part, because the prior Grand Lodge did not demonstrate sovereignty, as an appendant body functionally controlled the craft. The Commission has now been presented evidence that in 2017, a new treaty was entered into with the appendant body, preserving the sovereignty of the craft. While both grand lodges appear to be practicing regular Freemasonry, before the Commission makes further recommendations, we encourage both parties to discuss a treaty to share the jurisdiction regardless of whether they formally recognize one another Masonically.

As a result, I believe just over a dozen U.S. grand lodges recognize ANY grand lodge of Masons in Paraguay at all. The rest are sitting back and waiting for some sanity to prevail. But Florida is, to my knowledge, the ONLY one sticking with the older organization. Meanwhile, the newer Symbolic Grand Lodge has posted a packet of online documents that demonstrate the worldwide support they have continued to receive over the years. They can be seen HERE.

Of course, the really ironic bit of unintentional pratfall comedy here is that the schism with the original Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay began 20 years ago over the accusation that an outside group (Paraguay's Supreme Council of the AASR) was calling the shots for them – proof that they were no longer a sovereign grand lodge that governed itself. And now, Florida has split from these thirteen GLs in CMI because Florida questions their sovereignty by agreeing to CMI's definition of regularity. 

To finally wrap this up, below is the official English-language response to Florida issued on Saturday by Paraguay from 2022-26 Grand Master Zacur. (Click to enlarge)

  

This episode is the sort of thing your own grand lodge's Foreign Fraternal Relations Committee has to peer into every year, and their report is usually buried deep in the proceedings of your annual meeting – just in case some grand master gets it in his head to appoint you to that committee...

Midwest Conference on Masonic Education May 3-5, 2024 in Minnesota

by Christopher Hodapp

This year's Midwest Conference on Masonic Education will be held May 3-5, 2024 in Bloomington, Minnesota in and around the Masonic Heritage Center on the campus of the Minnesota Masonic Home.

Grand lodges all over the world have long realized the crying need to impart Masonic knowledge to our members. It seems that everybody knows that they're supposed to be providing "Masonic education" to Freemasons. But just how to you get knowledgable Masons who know (or understand) Masonic ritual, history, customs, laws, and all the other intellectual and cultural heritage we possess in our institution the proper tools and training to convert their knowledge and expertise into digestible lessons and into the brains of eager students? The best ritualists and historians don't always make the best teachers. Well, this year's conference will help provide some tools and methods to do just that.

Keynote speaker for this annual event will be Dave Baranek, former Aerial Combat instructor at the U.S. Navy's "Top Gun" Fighter Weapons School at Pensacola. His talk will center on "educating the educators," based on his 20 years of experience of teaching young pilots how to master the complex intricacies and develop the instincts needed for flying F-14 Tomcat planes. You can't get more different subjects than teaching Freemasonry and F-14s, but the methods of educating a widely disparate group of students in arcane subject matter are essentially alike. 

In addition to Baranek's keynote, other speakers and topics will include:

• Terry Tilton, PGM - "Masonic Education – Our Challenges and Opportunities"
• WBs Eric John Erfourth and Daniel Sherry - "MWB Ben Franklin’s Educational methodology and attitudes towards Adult education"
• WB Brad Phelps - "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Masons"
• Scott Wolter – "Templars, Masons & North America"
• Also speaking will be: Nick Settich, Brad Phelps, Markus Müller and Reed Endersbe

The event hotel will be the nearby Marriott in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

For a schedule of speakers, events, vendors and how to register, visit the conference website at www.mcme1949.org

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE (from their website)

The Midwest Conference on Masonic Education was formed in 1949 at a gathering of interested Masons from Illinois (including Alphonse Cerza) and Iowa. The outcome was to continue getting together by establishing its first Annual Meeting which was held in December 1950 in Cedar Rapids IA. The organization is comprised of a loose and ever-changing collection of Masonic educators from Grand Lodge jurisdictions located in  north central States and the Canadian Province of Manitoba. 

Member jurisdictions: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba. Other participants frequently include chairs of Masonic Education as well as Grand Lodge officers. 

What We Are About

The aim of the Conference is to promote Masonic Education, in part by providing a forum for educators to gather, freely discuss Masonic issues, socialize, and learn from sharing experiences while building beneficial relationships.


In addition, the Conference initiates special projects such as collecting data on educational practices across all North American jurisdictions, as well as encouraging Masonic research and writing by individual educators.

How We Function

The Conference meets once a year, usually in late April or early May, in one of the member jurisdictions. Responsibility for conducting the Annual Meeting rotates each year, eventually being hosted by all member jurisdictions before repeating.

A typical program schedule includes presentations by well-known Masonic speakers, experiential as well as scholarly participant presentations, roundtable discussions, and jurisdiction reports. Sufficient time is also arranged to provide informal chats among attendees. For more than a half century, our participants have expressed the view that our Conference is well worth the time, effort and cost in order to gain the many benefits from attending and participating.

Masonic Week Feb 8-12, 2023

by Christopher Hodapp

The website for making reservations for the 2023 AMD Masonic Week is up and running. This year's festivities will be held February 8th -12th, once again at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia (a mere cocktail glass' throw from Reagan International Airport, across the Potomac from Washington, D.C.).

Eighteen Masonic appendant bodies, invitational groups, research organizations, and others will be holding their annual meetings, degree conferrals, elections, banquets, speeches, and other assorted sundry activities. There is also always a healthy dose of Masonic product vendors on hand. 

The direct link to reserve a room at the Hyatt with the convention rate is HERE.

If you've never been to Masonic Week before, the real benefit of going is that it is the largest concentration of seriously proactive Masons from across the country and around the world you'll find on an annual basis, along with many of the best known Masonic researchers, authors, editors, and other personalities. While the bulk of the groups holding their meetings and ceremonies require existing York Rite membership as a precondition for their own admission (and some are invitational only), you will still find plenty to keep you more than occupied for these three and a half days, even if you're not a member of any of those groups. And there is as much to be absorbed in the hallways, at the bar, or in the hospitality rooms as in the meetings themselves. Make new friendships from around the world, and rekindle old ones. Be sure to bring plenty of filthy lucre as there will be numerous vendors on hand to separate you from your hard-earned simoleons.

On a selfish note, I'll announce the annual Masonic Society Dinner on Friday, February 10th, 2023. Our guest speaker will be Brother Robert Dupel who is the Sovereign Grand Master of the Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees of Canada as well as the Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Quebec. The tantalizing title of his talk is “It’s About Me” which promises to be a refreshing approach to a tantalizing subject.

If you've never been to the Washington, D.C. area before, this is the perfect excuse to go. I will tell you from experience that there is a 50/50 chance of the weather either bringing three feet of blowing snow, or 70 degree sun-drenched days. Sometimes both. That's just Washington in February. (Pack your toothbrush and an extra set of underwear in your carry-on bag in case your flights get canceled. Old hands know this.) But add a day to your trip to sightsee, and be sure you visit the Scottish Rite's House of the Temple no later than Thursday, because it is CLOSED Fridays and weekends. Visit the Capitol, the monuments, the Smithsonian, the unique Egyptian-themed Potomac Lodge, and much more. Have drinks and cigars at the Old Ebbitt Grill around the corner from the White House (you'll find Masons there nearly any night that week). Or go the other direction to Alexandria and visit the George Washington National Masonic Memorial, and have dinner at Gadsby's Tavern. There's no shortage of historic sites tied to Masons concentrated in the area.

Historically, Masonic Week was long tied to the scheduling of the annual Conference of Grand Masters (COGMMNA), which was scheduled, in turn, to coincide with George Washington's Birthday. That was back in the days when the Grand Masters met every year in Washington D.C. at this time. Consequently, Masonic Week would happen the weekend before at the venerable Hotel Washington, which sat in the shadow of the White House. But sometime in the early 1990s, that connection got frayed by the Grand Masters taking their annual meetings on the road and cycling around the country. Still, Masonic Week has always tried to arrange itself to happen the weekend before, or thereabouts. Weather in D.C., the Super Bowl, and other factors have put pressure on organizers over the years, but after this year's Masonic Week, the COGMMNA will return to the Washington area, at the nearby Crystal Gateway Marriott, also in Arlington.

Coinciding with THAT event, the George Washington National Masonic Memorial will also be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the laying of its cornerstone on Monday, February 20th.

Indiana Masons are excited to know that one of our own members, Brother Tyler Whittaker, is an operative mason from Muncie, and he has created a new cornerstone to celebrate the occasion that will be dedicated at that Monday event. (Tyler will be making a live presentation at the Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research in Indianapolis following the Grand Lodge of Indiana's annual Founder's Day festivities on January 14th.)

Congress on Fraternalism, Freemasonry, and History Opens Friday in Paris

by Christopher Hodapp

by Christopher Hodapp

The 8th Congress on Fraternalism, Freemasonry, and History opens this Friday in Paris at the Grand Orient de France and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

This year's theme is "Are the Ancient Landmarks Ancient?."

Convened by the journal, Ritual, Secrecy, and Civil Society, in cooperation with the French national library, the Bibliothèque Nationale, and the Musée de la Franc-Maçonnerie (Museum of French Freemasonry), this event explores how associations and volunteerism have shaped democracy, politics, and history. The conference alternates each year between Paris and Washington, D.C.

This international event attracts the top scholars around the world in the field of not just Freemasonry, but of fraternalism of all kinds. It is a part of the Policy Studies Organization's support of research into associations, civility, and the role of non governmental organizations in democracy.

Presenters this year include: Paul Rich, Pierrre Mollier, Arturo De Hoyos, Joseph Wages, Andrew Prescott, Susan Mitchell, John Belton, Arved Hübler, Eric Saunier, Russ Charvonia, Stéphane Brunel, and many more. (See the complete program HERE.) Because presentations may be made in English or French, simultaneous translations from French-English, English-French are offered for most sessions.

These ongoing international conferences have been spearheaded and supported by Brother Paul Rich for over a decade now, and he has been a champion of promoting and pursuing Masonic scholarship on a worldwide basis. A shocking number of U.S. Masons are unaware of his role in this pursuit, as well as his own scholarship, and that is a downright shame. On top of his many accomplishments and honors in the academic world, he is the publisher of numerous books about Freemasonry (among others) through Westphalia Press. These conferences are organized, in part through his organization, the Policy Studies Organization.

In conjunction with Paul, Brother Pierre Mollier in France is one of the top Masonic historians in the world. Among his many accomplishments, he is the director of the Grand Orient de France's incredible Museum of Freemasonry in Paris (Musée dé Franc-Maçonnerie). If you don't know his name or reputation, you need to.

The World Conference on Fraternalism, Social Capital, and Civil Society explores how associations and volunteerism have shaped democracy, politics, and history. The conferences are held alternatively in Paris (2022, 2024) and in Washington (2023, 2025). The Washington conferences are held at the historic Quaker Meeting House.

Registration for this weekend's evet has been officially closed, as they have reached full capacity. However, videos from the conference will be made available online soon.

To see videos of previous Conferences and presentations, CLICK HERE.