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Its work focuses on public engagement, charitable projects, membership growth and challenging outdated perceptions of Freemasonry.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

No, Chuck Norris Is Not A Freemason

by Christopher Hodapp

All weekend long Masonic groups and individual Masons on social media platforms have circulated images and text snippits that claim popular actor and martial arts champion Chuck Norris  was a Freemason. One especially detailed image appears to come from the Grand Lodge of Texas paying tribute to the late Norris by falsely claiming he was a distinguished Texas Mason.

Norris died suddenly on Thursday after being hospitalized in Hawaii with a medical emergency. He was 86 years old.

It IS true that Norris was granted the title of Honorary Texas Ranger in 2010 by Texas governor Rick Perry after playing a Texas Ranger in the movie Lone Wolf McQuade. He went on to star as ranger Cordell Walker in the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger. In 2017, he was also made an "Honorary Texan" in part, because he owned a Texas ranch near Navasota. 

But Chuck Norris was not himself a Mason, no matter what the Intertubz may have told you. Not a single lodge or grand lodge has legitimately acknowledged Norris' Masonic membership - traditional, honorary, or otherwise.

It IS true that Norris is described in many circles as a 'grand master' in the martial arts world, which is likely the source of confusion that set off this silliness in the first place. But that term has been around for a very long time, pre-dating modern Freemasonry, appearing in ancient craft guilds and medieval orders of knighthood. We Masons don't have a corner on the term.

Belgian Masonic Lodge Responds To Vandalism By Opening Its Doors To The Public

by Christopher Hodapp

Note: I spotted this story back in April on the 450.fm website (La loge "La Flandre" à Bruges Louvre set ports au public"). Unfortunately, I neglected to post it then. So forgive the tardiness. Thanks to Brother MD for the photo of the lodge room itself.

Founded in 1881, La Flandre Loge (Flanders Lodge) is the oldest Masonic lodge located in the city of Bruges in the West Flanders region of Belgium. Bruges is a city nicknamed the "Venice of the North" for its canals and medieval heritage, and many of the city's oldest streets are paved with cobblestones. While the lodge was meeting back in January, a vandal picked up one of those cobblestones from the street and hurled it through the front window of the Masonic hall. 

In response, the lodge opened its doors to the public for the first time and showed off its unique interior spaces during the city's 'Heritage Days' celebration to hopefully demonstrate to the community that Freemasonry isn't bizarre, spooky, or a threat to anyone. 

And in a public event, the Masons formally returned the cobblestone to the city. 

Built in 1910, La Flandre's temple contains a large meeting room, a bar, a dining room and the lodge room itself. Egyptomania was in full swing throughout the Western world at the time of its design, and the building is filled with Egyptian-themed artwork and architecture. It is truly a magnificent building with one of the most beautiful lodge rooms anywhere. (Photo at top of the article.)

Photos: Koen Theuns

Lodges throughout Europe don't generally welcome the community into their buildings and openly discuss the fraternity. The public outreach approach that is so widespread in the U.S. and the U.K. is extremely unusual for European Freemasonry, where anti-Masonic sentiment has been an everyday fact of life ever since the French Revolution. And after the persecution of Freemasons in the Nazi-occupied countries during World War II, in the post-war Soviet bloc, and in Franco's Spain, European Masons have been understandably reticent to reveal their membership or in any way advertise their existence to the public. Many European grand lodges have museums that are open to the public (and Belgium has several), but that's a long way away from 'Here's our lodge and here we are!'

According to an article on the 450.fm website (La loge "La Flandre" à Bruges Louvre set ports au public"), La Flandre Lodge has about 90 members. I believe that it is chartered by the Grand Orient de Belgique (Grand Orient of Belgium - GOB), the oldest obedience in the country, which is similar to the Grand Orient de France in that it does not require a belief in a Supreme Being and doesn't forbid the discussion of social and political topics in the open lodge. However, Belgium has other major obediences, such as the La Grande Loge de Belgique (Grand Lodge of Belgium - GLB), La Grand Loge Régulaire de Belgique (Regular Grand Lodge of Belgium - GLRB), and the Grand Female Lodge of Belgium (GLFB), founded in 1981. The overwhelming majority of regular, recognized, male-only Masonic grand lodges around the world are in amity with the GLRB.

Massachusetts Masons To Rededicate Bunker Hill Monument June 16th

Photo: National Parks Service

by Christopher Hodapp

As the 250th anniversary (the Semiquincentennial, in case you were wondering) of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution gets underway this year, Boston-area Freemasons and the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts A.F.&A.M. will take part in a rededication of the monument marking the Battle of Bunker Hill at Charlestown next Monday, June 16th.

From the Charlestown Patriot-Bridge website yesterday:

On Monday, June 16, Charlestown will become the center of national remembrance as the Bunker Hill Monument Association leads a full-day commemoration marking the 200th anniversary of the laying of the Bunker Hill Monument’s cornerstone and the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Titled “Two Centuries of Glory,” the event will blend pageantry, history, and patriotism. The day begins with a ceremonial procession at 9:30 AM from the Charlestown Navy Yard, featuring more than 500 participants — Freemasons in full regalia, veterans, military groups, civic leaders, and historical reenactors — retracing the symbolic path toward the monument.

At 10:00 AM, a traditional Masonic cornerstone-laying ritual will take place at the base of the Bunker Hill Monument, replicating the original 1825 ceremony that drew thousands and helped define the commemorative landscape of early America. Attendees will witness stirring musical tributes form 20 musicians and historical readings, including portrayals of Daniel Webster and the Marquis de Lafayette — key figures in the monument’s founding.

The celebration continues in the evening at 6:00 PM at the Old South Meeting House with “It Has Begun!” — A Grand Monumental Celebration. This culminating event will include authentic spirited toasts each followed by a lively interpretation form the Dee Orchestra and Chorus of the orginal odes and songs that 60,000 people heard in 1825. Lafayette’s 1825 tribute to freedom and liberty, read aloud once more in the very city where American independence first found its voice will be followed by the Marseillaise and the Star Spangled Banner.

Presented by the Bunker Hill Monument Association in collaboration with Boston National Historical Park, The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, Revolutionary Spaces, the American Friends of Lafayette, and additional partners, the day promises to be a fitting tribute to two centuries of American memory and the enduring legacy of Bunker Hill.

For details about the Grand Lodge's involvement and for contact information, visit the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts event page HERE.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't explain just how much the Freemasons in the Boston area really had to do with the battle and with the erection of the monument itself two centuries ago, in 1825. Dr. Joseph Warren was the Master of St. Andrews Lodge and Provincial Grand Master under the Grand Lodge of Scotland (St. Andrews originally started out as a completely independent, un-chartered lodge of its own, but finally took enough flak over it that they obtained a charter from the GL of Scotland to give itself more legitimacy.) Warren died leading revolutionary troops against the English on Breeds Hill. After the revolution, King Solomon Lodge purchased the land in 1783 and erected a monument to Warren and the other Masons who died there with him during that desperate fight. 

To prepare for the 50th anniversary of the battle, the city of Charlestown decided that a more impressive monument needed to be constructed. In 1823, King Solomon Lodge donated their property to the newly-formed Bunker Hill Monument Association, with the provision that any future monument had to preserve 'some trace of its former existence.' 

Photo: National Parks Service

The Association did just that, and built a replica of the original Masonic monument inside the building adjacent to the present obelisk. Today, visitors can see a beautiful marble sculpture of WB Warren, and his Masonic apron is also on display there.

Photo: Sarah Oliver/flickr

When the official dedication of the cornerstone was done in 1825, it coincided with the visit of Brother Maj. General LaFayette on his nationwide tour. He symbolically laid the cornerstone, and Brother Senator Daniel Webster gave the address to the crowd. In fact, Webster was still alive in 1843 when the monument was finally completed, and he spoke again at that ceremony. At that time, the country was still in the final vestiges of its anti-Masonic period, and the Masons chose not to take an official role at the event.

LaFayette's grave in Paris (Photo: Parisology)

One final connection to Lafayette was that he took a box of soil from Bunker Hill back home to France, which he had spread over his grave in Paris upon his death. The General wanted to be buried beneath both French and American ground, and the flags of both nations have flown over his resting place ever since 1834.

Local ABC station WCVB-TV in Boston put together a great feature on the monument and the Masonic involvement HERE.

Read the story of the Monument and the Freemasons on the National Parks Service site HERE.

And to keep with the many activities and events being planned as part of the Semiquincentennial (I'll never get used to THAT one) celebrations over the next two years, visit the America 250 website.

NOTE: In case you're wondering, Massachusetts and Hawaii are the only two U.S. grand lodges that do not number their lodges. Massachusetts did it because of the confusion immediately after the Revolution caused by the formation of multiple competing grand lodge bodies in that state. (By 1784, there were two competing grand lodges, plus two completely independent upstart lodges, PLUS Prince Hall's African Lodge No. 459, which had just been issued its own charter from the Grand Lodge of England/Moderns.) 

Once they finally all settled down, buried the hatchet, and merged into one single Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (except for African Lodge), ego arguments began to fly over whose lodge was oldest, which No. 1s should really be THE No. 1, etc. King Solomon Lodge was the 9th oldest lodge in the state, but that number is not assigned to them or anyone else there.

And Hawaii doesn't number theirs because their first lodges were originally charted without numbers by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and they've followed that practice ever since.

Masonic Quest: Escape from the Masonic Temple!

by Christopher Hodapp

No, I don't mean ducking out to avoid cooking the monthly breakfast. Not that kind of escape. 

I'm always looking for unique ways to bring the community into our Masonic halls and get the public interested in just who and what our fraternity is all about. Sometimes you have to think outside of the usual pattern of pancake breakfasts, chili cook-offs, and other typical events that lodges have been doing for the last 100 years and get more creative. So, here are a couple of ideas:

The Grand Orient de Belgium's Belgium Museum of Freemasonry in Brussels regularly hosts “Escape From The Masonic Temple” in its magnificent, historic temple. 

"A mysterious backpack has been found in the Museum…"The Belgian Museum of Freemasonry invites you to embark on a truly immersive experience: Masonic Quest, a thrilling escape game that takes place throughout the entire museum. Each puzzle you solve will bring you one step closer to uncovering the hidden treasure.

Succeed in your mission, and you’ll be rewarded with a photo alongside the treasure, an exclusive badge, and a certificate of investigation to commemorate your adventure.

Step into Masonic Quest, the captivating escape game at the Belgian Museum of Freemasonry! Dive into a world of intrigue, where mystery, symbols, and riddles intertwine. Follow in the footsteps of a historian who once hid a treasure deep within the museum’s walls.

Work as a team, explore every corner, crack codes, and solve puzzles to discover what’s been concealed.

This is a great idea. It's a fun way to get people into your Masonic building and interest younger people who haven't the first clue about who and what we really are. We have unique spaces that most people never give a second thought to. And everybody everywhere wants to know what's behind closed doors. So, let them in, guide them around, make them feel like explorers, let them see some unique artifacts.

The event also gives them the opportunity to hold guided tours and to open up their beautiful museum.

*  *  *

Lots of lodges also do haunted tours of their buildings, like this one in San Antonio, Texas.

They managed to get a few minutes on a local TV station to promote the event.

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Then there' a children's  'treasure hunt' this coming weekend at Mount Zion Lodge 135 in Metuchen, New Jersey:

The Freemasons of Metuchen (Mt. Zion Lodge #135),
in conjunction with Wolfe Ossa Law and What's the Scoop are sponsoring a ​Children's Treasure Hunt following the style of "National Treasure", "Indiana Jones", and "Tomb Raider".

This is a chaperoned Treasure Hunt that will challenge children to solve puzzles leading from one location in Metuchen to another. Each clue will bring the children progressively closer to the final treasure!

The Treasure Hunt will start at the Mt. Zion Lodge on Saturday, June 14th, 2025 9:30 am sharp.
** You MUST pre-register ** (we will fill up, do it now)
​Address: 483 Middlesex Ave. Metuchen, NJ 08840

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

by Christopher Hodapp

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

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

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

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

Here's an excerpt from the BBC:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The.  End.

Not exactly Handel's Messiah.

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

According to an article on BrteakingNewsIE by Olivia Kellaher:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Philly Inquirer Tours Historic Masonic Temple

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

by Christopher Hodapp

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

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

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

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

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

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

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

Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art at Cincinnati's Taft Museum

by Christopher Hodapp

From now until May 11th, 2025, downtown Cincinnati's Taft Museum of Art is displaying an exhibit of fraternal folk art featuring some 80 pieces from the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows.

From the museum's website description:

Mystery & Benevolence: Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art

Through compelling and cryptic works of art, Mystery & Benevolence brings to light the histories, symbolism, and beliefs of the Freemasons and the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows (IOOF)—two fraternal organizations with deep roots in American history.

 

For decades, members across the country have come together to socialize, help others, and improve themselves and their communities. The exhibition features more than eighty works of art, including items once owned by the Daughters of Rebekah—the first lodge to include women—and the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, founded as the African American counterpart to the IOOF. Sculptures, textiles, regalia, prints, and works of decorative art explore the main principles of the organizations: fellowship, charity, labor, passage, and wisdom. Elaborately stitched costumes, gilded regalia and jewelry, and richly embellished ceremonial objects provide a glimpse into the enigmatic world of these secret societies.

 

Mystery and Benevolence is organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY, from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.

The Taft Museum is open Wednesdays through Mondays from 10AM to 5PM. Admission is free for Taft members, guests of members with guest pass, military, and youth (17 and under); $15 for adults; $12 for seniors. Includes admission to special exhibitions and the museum’s collection galleries. Sundays and Mondays are free of charge.

The Taft Museum of Art is located at 316 Pike Street, at the east end of Fourth Street, across from historic Lytle Park in downtown Cincinnati.

Grand Lodge of Rhode Island Temple Rededication This Saturday

 

  by Christopher Hodapp

A really good, effective interview on local TV news yesterday with MW Andre H. Faria, Jr., Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island. They're rededicating the cornerstone of the East Providence, RI Masonic Temple and Grand Lodge headquarters on its 100th anniversary this weekend.

The rededication ceremony is open to Freemasons and the general public, and will begin at this Saturday, October 26th, at 10AM with a procession from Haven Methodist Church to the Grand Lodge at 222 Taunton Avenue in East Providence.

From the event webpage:

The magnificent Temple was built in 1924 for Rising Sun Lodge No. 30 and was designed by renowned architect William Gilbert Upham of Norwood, Ma. Who was a member of Orient Lodge and specialized in the design of Masonic Temples.

 

The original Cornerstone was laid on October 25, 1924, by the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Henry C. Dexter and it was rededicated in 1992 when Grand Lodge took ownership of the property.

Grand Master Faria managed to land a 4-minute appearance yesterday on the morning program 'Rhode Show' on WPRI-TV12 to promote the event and the fraternity. If you want a lesson in being smooth and concise on the air, give this clip a look. If you're a grand master or local WM who gets a call one afternoon to speak on-air about the fraternity, know your limitations and strengths. And if you don't feel or sound as confident as GM Faria does here, assign someone to take your place who does. 

Meet, Act & Part Podcast Interviews Indiana PGM Roger S. VanGorden

by Christopher Hodapp

The brethren from the Meet, Act & Part Podcast featured a long chat with Indiana Past Grand Master Roger S. VanGorden several weeks ago (Episode 62: Roger Van Gorden). Roger was my first contact with Indiana Freemasonry (back in 1999, during the Pleistocene Epoch when dinosaurs ruled the Earth), but his involvement with the fraternity goes back to his time as a DeMolay. 

If you don't know Roger (or know OF him), he's currently the Active member of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite NMJ for Indiana, the Magus for the Indiana College of the SRICF, and most important for this particular discussion, president of the Masonic Renewal Committee of the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons In North America.

Never heard of the MRC? Well, that's partially something Roger and the Committee are trying to change, to make sure grand officers, lodge leaders, and rank and file Masons DO know who and what they are, and how they are providing programs and information to raise awareness of the fraternity. 

Their Masonic Education Resources page alone is well worth taking the time to go through, as it is a collection of programs, lessons, and other practical information collected from all over the Masonic world. Year after year, grand lodges come up with new programs, oftentimes reinventing the wheel over and over, instead of availing themselves of resources that already exist.

Roger also delves into recent research regarding demographic trends, generational differences, and how they affect Freemasons, in particular. Roger turned me on to Robert Putnam's seminal work, Bowling Alone, more than 20 years ago, and he sees great hope in Putnam's most recent studies, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again.

Give the show a listen. (And BTW, Bill Hosler, get well soon.)

Guthrie Scottish Rite: Backdrop for new Ronald Reagan Movie

Dennis Quaid as Ronald Reagan (Photo: Rawhide Pictures)

by Christopher Hodapp

An article appeared on the Oklahoman news site yesterday announcing that a new biopic of former president Ronald Reagan will be released in August this year. Reagan is directed by Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer) with a modest budget of $25 million and stars Dennis Quaid as the actor, governor and president. 

For Freemasons, the important news here is that much of the filming took place in and around the Guthrie Scottish Rite Cathedral. 

Guthrie Scottish Rite Cathedral

According to the article, filming took place four years ago, between September and November of 2020, but COVID shutdowns and other issues delayed the final release until this year. The film tracks Reagan's impoverished youth in Illinois, service in the military, his unlikely patch to Hollywood and career as a movie star (making more than 50 pictures between the late 1930s and into the 50s) before entering politics in the 1960s. The John Voight character is a fictional composite of soviet agents who began tracking Reagan when he served as the head of the Screen Actors' Guild and became a fierce opponent of communism. While serving two terms as the 40th U.S. president between 1981 and 1989, Reagan stared down the Soviet Union and its then-president Gorbachov, essentially bringing the post-WWII Cold War to an end.

A few production photos from the shoot:

©Rawhide Pictures

©Rawhide Pictures

©Rawhide Pictures

The script is written by Howard Klausner ('Space Cowboys') and Jonas McCord (2001's "The Body"), based on Paul Kengor's book, 'The Crusader: Reagan and the Fall of Communism.' Director Sean McNamara was brought onto the project after the film's original director, John Avildson (who directed 'Rocky'), died unexpectedly in 2017. 

©Rawhide Pictures

The production team used Guthrie's Scottish Rite Cathedral for its base of operations, and you'll see much of it on screen. Its magnificent interiors were used to recreate the Oval Office and the Situation Room of the White House; several scenes in Cold War-era Soviet Russia; the famed Cocoanut Grove nightclub (which was inside of the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel in Hollywood); and Germany's Brandenburg Gate between East and West Berlin, where Reagan famously demanded, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Reagan's 'Brandenburg Gate' speech in Berlin is
recreated in front of the Guthrie Scottish Rite. (Photo: ©Rawhide Pictures)

Masonic Buildings As Film Locations

Masons with unique temple rooms and buildings — large and small, old and new — would do well to reach out to their state film commissions, submit detailed photos to them, and offer building tours to their officials on a regular basis. Film commissions have employees who make themselves familiar with potential shooting locations and unique visual attractions in their state so they can effectively answer the requirements of film productions and location scouts. That can translate into money and other benefits to owners of unique properties, including Masonic temples. 

Local economies are given a tremendous boost as well, when a major production comes to town. Oklahoma got picked for this particular film because the state's Film Rebate Program kicks back up to 37 percent of qualified expenditures on productions. According to a 2021 Newsweek article written when the film wrapped production, "Reagan spent 24 days filming in Oklahoma, plus three months of pre- and post-production work, employing 155 locals, not counting a few hundred extras in scenes such as a union strike in the 1940s and the night Reagan won the California governorship in 1966."

Oklahoma's Film Commission has a program whereby a town or community can be labeled as "Film Friendly," and Guthrie qualified for that status. The program educates local officials and business owners about how to roll out the red carpet when major productions come calling.

Fairfax, Oklahoma's Grayhorse Lodge 124 appeared in Martin Scorcese's
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).

Not far from Guthrie, Grayhorse Lodge 124 in Fairfax, Oklahoma got used for scenes in Martin Scorcese's 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon. In return, their lodge room got painted and other upgrades were added when the film crew came to town.

The George Washington National Masonic Memorial 

subbed for the Smithsonian in National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

When the 2007 film National Treasure 2 was shot in and around Washington, DC, the George Washington Masonic National Memorial stood in for a lecture hall and display area in the Smithsonian Institute. The Scottish Rite SJ's House of the Temple headquarters, also in Washington, was the location for 2009's State of Play with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, and Helen Mirren. The Grand Executive Director's office became a congressman's office, a political speech was shot on the front steps, while several other scenes were shot in seemingly mundane hallways and corridors. Location fees helped fund some major repairs to the building. (Thanks for the info, Brent.)

Whether you recognized it or not, the United Grand Lodge of England's magnificent art-deco Freemasons Hall on Great Queen Street in London has been used in movies and TV shows for decades. Freemasons Hall is very well known to UK film crews. The producers of the 1930s-era Poirot TV series with David Suchet as the Belgian detective seemed to be especially in love with the place, and it appeared in many episodes as wildly different locales. Just a few examples of its many on-screen appearences can be read about HERE and HERE.

While our most magnificent 'City Beautiful'-era buildings can stand in for government buildings, court houses, universities, theaters, museums and other monumental buildings of the past, that's not always what location scouts are hunting. Sometimes they're simply seeking out very simple locations that can be used for multiple settings, which can allow them to spend less moving time between sequences. Back when our company shot TV commercials, my own lodge's humble dining room stood in for a typical "church basement" meeting sequence, while our commercial-grade kitchen was the setting for recreating the kitchen of a fancy restaurant later the same day.

BTW, In Case You're Wondering...

President Ronald Reagan was NOT a Freemason. On February 11, 1988, the Grand Master of Washington, D.C. presented Reagan with a "Certificate of Honor". Both the Scottish Rite Northern and Southern jurisdictions presented him with a similar certificate, as did the Shriners, and they named him an "honorary member" (which confers no degrees and has no serious Masonic standing). But all of these were merely documents citing his commitment to charity, fortitude, temperance and prudence, and thanking him for his public service. 

Fourteen out of the last 46 U.S. Presidents have been verifiably Freemasons, and only 13 have been Master Masons. (The name missing from that list at the link is Lyndon Johnson, who was initiated in a Texas lodge as an Entered Apprentice, but never advanced further.)

President Gerald R. Ford, who succeeded Richard Nixon in the wake of his resignation over the Watergate scandal in 1974, is currently the last American president who ever held Masonic membership. He was initiated in Grand Rapids along with his three half-brothers: Thomas Gardner Ford, Richard Addison Ford, and James Francis "Jim" Ford on September 30, 1949, at Malta Lodge No. 465, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Two years later he completed the second degree on April 20, 1951, in Columbia Lodge No. 3 Washington, D.C., and was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in the same lodge on May 18 of that year. He was also a Scottish Rite Mason in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, and a Shriner in Saladin Temple in Kentwood, Michigan. Ford was made a 33° Scottish Rite Mason and Honorary member of the Supreme Council AASR, NMJ in 1962.

As an adolescent, Bill Clinton belonged to a DeMolay chapter in Arkansas, but never pursued Masonic membership. No U.S. president since then has had any official association with the Masonic fraternity.