2021 World Conference of Regular Masonic Grand Lodges Opens Today in Berlin

by Christopher Hodapp

The World Conference of Regular Grand Lodges is opening today in Berlin. This four-day gathering of Masons from all over the world is being sponsored this year by the five United Grand Lodges of Germany.

The agenda includes:

Main Keynote Presentations:

Christoph Bosbach: Freemasonry needs future – future needs freemasonry?

Karl-Heinz Land: Stagnation as an accelerator – Covid-19 as a necessary creative destruction? 

Ranko Vujacic: Freemasonry and the 21^st century

A. Kabèlè Camara: Freemasonry – an alternative to understand the world

Arthur Bill Beardmore: To Do or not to Be – Adapting to Life in a Changing Society

Iskren Yotov: The perspectives of Freemasonry in Eastern Europe

Radu Balanescu: The importance of maintaining and respecting the old landmarks of freemasonry in the context of a dynamic development of technology and the increasing needs of communication

Antje Hansen: Reflections by a free woman on the tradition and future of Freemasonry

Translations will be done in the main needed languages.

BreakOut Sessions:

Deadlock & Stagnancy as Catalyst & Accelerator --> Covid 19 as necessary & creative Disruption

Digitalization in Freemasonry --> Future of a virtual Freemasonry?

Adapting to Life in a Changing Society

The global Future: Do we need new Ethics?

Opening up to Society --> Where is the line?

The Conference will conclude on Saturday night. On Sunday, November 21st, the official installation of the Grand Master and officers will take place.

For more information, see the event website in both German and English at: https://www.freimaurer.org/wcrmgl

Germany's Masonic governing structure is unique in the fraternity. More than 16,500 German Freemasons are organized into five different grand lodges that cooperate under the banner of the United Grand Lodges of Germany. In total, there are currently around 500 craft lodges in Germany that are chartered by these five grand lodges.

• Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Germany (GL AFuAMvD)

• Grand National Mother Lodge "To the Three Globes" (GNML 3WK)

• Grand Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany / Order of Freemasons (GLLFvD / FO)

• American Canadian Grand Lodge (ACGL)

• Grand Lodge of British Freemasons in Germany (GL BFG)

Masonic Temples on Staten Island, New York

Huguenot Lodge 381 Masonic Temple on Main Street in Tottenville, Staten Island

by Christopher Hodapp

The Staten Island Live website posted a pictorial survey this weekend of several current and former Masonic temples that still stand today, a century or so after most of them were first built. 

See Masonic Temples Across Staten Island by Jan Somma-Hammel

If you don't live in New York, Staten Island one of the five boroughs of New York City and sits on the southwestern edge of the metropolis. (Most Americans have at least heard of the Staten Island Ferry that gives great views of the Statue of Liberty. You take the ferry because the subway can't get to the island.) In fact, Staten Island is the southernmost tip of New York State - chuck George Washington across the bay and you'll whack New Jersey on the other side.

The Tompkins Lodge 471 Temple in Stapleton, built in 1901.

Tompkins lodge hall when originally built in 1901.
The corner turrets were later removed.

Back in the day when people didn't drive everywhere, big cities were especially planted thick with local establishments that were within walking distance or a streetcar ride away. That period between the end of the Civil War and the Great Depression was marked with an incredible boom of building, especially for fraternal groups that were all competing with each other for members. When strong neighborhoods developed in larger cities, it was common that men walked to their local factory or office jobs, the kids took their wagons to the corner store to pick up mom's usual order, and no air conditioning meant folks sat on their front porches to cool off and chat with passing neighbors.

Lodge room of Tompkins Lodge.

Detail of painted glass ceiling dome, Tompkins Lodge

This was the important half century during which the most incredible Masonic temples were constructed. Whether they were huge halls that were home to several lodges and appendant groups, or small single-lodge temples, the Masons wanted the very best for their clubhouses. And the temples on Staten Island are a good example. Lodges made use of the skills and professions of their membership - one of the architects of Huguenot Lodge was a designer for the local terra cotta factory, and the building features terra cotta details inside and out.

Not all of Staten Island's Masonic temples have remained in the hands of the fraternity. In 1993, the 1926 lodge hall of Great Kills Lodge 912 was sold to a congregation of Coptic Christians, who enlarged it and added a new sanctuary in 2007.

The modified hall is now home to the 
Coptic Orthodox Church of Archangel Michael & St. Mena

Staten Island today is still home to six Masonic lodges, within the Grand Lodge of New York's Richmond District. They cooperate on charitable programs for the local community.

• Staten Island Lodge 66
• Huguenot Lodge 381
• Tompkins Lodge 471
• Beason Light lodge 701
• Great Kills Lodge 912
• LaGuardia Lodge 1130

Canadian Masonic Hall Arsonist Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

by Christopher Hodapp

A Vancouver man has been sentenced to three years in prison in British Columbia, Canada after pleading guilty to setting three arson fires in Masonic halls on March 30th this year.

According to a story today on the Alaska Highway News website, 43-year-old Benjamin Orion Carlson Kohlman claimed to hear voices in his head last spring telling him to burn down the Masonic halls because the Masons and the Illuminati were engaging in mind control of other people. Kohlman, who suffers from drug addiction and emotional issues, believed the buildings were used by “dark souls and evil.” 

The fires were all set within a 45-minute period on the morning of March 30th, and combined damages to the three buildings were in excess of $2.5 million. Fortunately, no one was injured. The targeted lodges were: Lynn Valley Lodge 122; Lonsdale Masonic Temple, home of Duke of Connaught Lodge 64; and Park Masonic Hall, home of Heritage Lodge 23. The 110-year-old Lonsdale building was a total loss and had to be demolished after fire crews extinguished the flames. 

While the first two halls were still burning, Kohlman was spotted that morning carrying a gasoline can and leaving the scene of the Park temple just as a fire began burning near its entrance. An off-duty police officer attempted to take him into custody, but Kohlman knocked the officer down and drove away. The officer broadcast Kohlman's license plate and vehicle description, and he was arrested shortly afterwards.

After the last fire was set, a Facebook post appeared from a 'Ben Kohlman' of Vancouver boasting that he had "just cleaned three Satanic club houses, and nobody could stop me." His home page was loaded with conspiracy theories, mind control paranoia, and anti-Masonic sentiments.

Kohlman claimed to police that he had set the fires to call attention to the Masons and Illuminati in order to "stop their mind control." He also claimed that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had implanted a tracking device in his head. 

Kohlman expressed his regrets for the crimes and apologized to the community, admitting that on the day of the crime, he was under the influence of ecstasy and marijuana. His defense attorney told the court that he had deliberately started the fires in the early hours of the day because it was less likely anyone would be inside. 

Background on this story:

• March 30, 2021: Three Vancouver Masonic Halls Torched By Arsonist
• March 31, 2021: Vancouver: Man Charged With Arson In Connection With Fires Set At Masonic Halls
• April 6, 2021: Suspected Vancouver Arsonist Faces More Charges in Masonic Hall Fires

Marilyn Braatz Passes Away

by Christopher Hodapp

Many Masons throughout North America know RW George O. Braatz and his wife Marilyn. Word came this week that Marilyn passed away Monday night, October 25th, at their home in Westerville, Ohio, after battling cancer for the last year. She was 76.

George served as Grand Master (1987-88), and then Grand Secretary (2000-2009), of the Grand Lodge of Ohio. And between 2011 and 2016, he served as Executive Secretary of the Masonic Service Association of North America. In that role, he and Marilyn traveled extensively, visiting scores of annual meetings and other grand lodge events promoting the MSA. 

The Braatz's have both been espacially active in Masonic youth groups of Rainbow for girls and DeMolay for boys. There's no way to even estimate the thousands of lives they have touched over the years.

From her obituary:

A native of Genoa, Ohio, Marilyn was a 1963 graduate of Genoa High School, and a 1967 graduate of Bowling Green State University. She was employed at BGSU for more than 30 years in the Dean's office of the College of Education as a communications and program design specialist, and later as a development officer. In 2000, she became a public relations officer for the Ohio Department of Education in Columbus, until her retirement in 2008. 

Mrs. Braatz was active for more than 50 years in the Order of Eastern Star in both northwest Ohio and later in central Ohio. She was twice the Worthy Matron of Grand Rapids (now Triune) Chapter, and later Worthy Matron of Worthington Chapter. She also had served each Chapter as its Secretary. In 1977, she was Deputy Grand Matron of District 7 in Lucas, Wood, and Ottawa counties. Later, she served the statewide Grand Chapter of Ohio Eastern Star on several committees and for eight years headed the statewide Chapter Excellence program for local Eastern Star development. 

For many years she was the Mother Advisor of chapters of the Rainbow Girls in Bowling Green and Grand Rapids, and still today many women across the state refer to her as "Mom Braatz."

She and her husband, George, traveled extensively around the Ohio and the nation. In recent years, they have spent the winter season in Lakeland, Florida. She loved taking pictures of the places they went, as well as capturing on film many occasions in the lives of her children and grandchildren. She also enjoyed sewing and gardening.

George and Marilyn were married in 1967, and they celebrated their 54th anniversary in June. Please remember George and their sons David and Michael, daughter Wendy, and their grandchildren in your devotions.

Funeral services will be held next month on November 12-13. The family will receive friends from 5 pm to 7pm on Friday, November 12, 2021 at Schoedinger Worthington Chapel, 6699 N. High St Worthington, OH, where an Easter Star Service will start at 7pm. On Saturday November 13,2021 additional visiting hours will take place from 9am-11am with a service to follow at 11am at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 100 E Schrock Rd, Westerville, OH 43081.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contribution be made to the Braatz Family Scholarship Program at Bowling Green State University.

Resquiescat in pace.

UPDATED: GL of Georgia Votes For Prince Hall Recognition

by Christopher Hodapp

(THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED OCTOBER 27, 2021 6:37AM TO ADD DOCUMENTATION AND VISITATION RESTRICTIONS)

I've had three different sources attending the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Georgia F&AM today inform me that the assembled brethren voted overwhelmingly to officially extend recognition to the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Jurisdiction of Georgia. The recommendation was made by the Committee on Recognition, there was no discussion, and the proposed recognition passed "by a landslide."

Still too early yet for many details beyond the recommendation and the vote. However, a couple of documents leading to the vote contain a couple of curious items.

Below is the request for amity/recognition sent to the Grand Lodge last December by Prince Hall GL of Georgia's Grand Master, MW Corey D. Shackleford. My apologies for the fuzzy quality of images. Click them to enlarge:

GM Shackleford states in his letter that their goal is to achieve formal acknowledgement of each other's organization as legitimate, "but to maintain our separate existence." The request included the following "safeguards for both institutions":

1. There shall be no visitation at the subordinate lodge level unless authorized by both Grand Masters;
2. The amity/recognition agreement shall never constitute future merger;
3. There shall be no instance of demitting to the other Jurisdiction, and;
4. If approved and ratified by the GLGA, this request shall not be amended nor revisited within five (5) years of the date of acceptance from the GLGA.

In essence, the request seems to simply be that the MWPHGL of GA just doesn't want to be called clandestine or irregular anymore, but not much else. And, as is often the case, they seem very concerned that the big fish might eventually swallow up the littler fish if the Prince Hall brethren get to visit the mainstream lodges. 

Or as the old World War I song went, "How are you gonna keep them down on the farm once they've seen gay Paree?"

When the Grand Lodge of Georgia's Commission on Recognition took up the Prince Hall GL request, they added a couple of changes to that list of "safeguards" that are even a little more restrictive:

To wit:

1. Remove the line "unless authorized by both Grand Masters" so it now reads, "There shall be no visitation at the subordinate lodge level."
2. Change the time limit that prevents future amending or revising the agreement from the proposed five year period to ten years.

Now, nobody has ever been reckless enough to stick me on a Jurisprudence Committee, but my albeit flawed understanding has always been that the assembled grand lodge voting members cannot legally prevent action being taken by a succeeding grand lodge for any period of time in the future. That's possibly a jurisdictional difference, but I'd be shocked if that really turned out to be backed up by either of the two Georgia grand lodge constitutions. You can't insist that future grand lodge members can't ever pass new legislation - or you can't enforce it, anyway. It's like a dying man trying to discipline his unborn grandkids by drawing up an odious will. He might feel victorious when he signs it, but once he's dead, he can't prevent them from installing a urinal and a dance floor over his grave once he joins the Choir Invisible. "The Grand Lodge" officially ceases to be when the gavel falls at the annual communication, and does not exist again until the opening gavel of the next year's meeting. The rest of the year, the Grand Lodge is invested in the Grand Master.

(Paging Glenn Cook...) 

In fairness, these types of limitations forbidding visitations between mainstream and Prince Hall Grand Lodge members for a fixed "cooling off" period have been more common in recent years, and are almost always requested by the Prince Hall Masons, not vice versa. The approach is to get everybody's members comfortable with the joint recognition idea and hopefully weed out the truly hardcore critics on both sides who would rather curl up and die than let "one of those guys" visit his lodge. After all - after telling your members for 150 years that the other grand lodge in your state is clandestine and irregular, you're going to have members who aren't exactly going to wake up tomorrow morning singing the Rainbow Bright Unicorn song when you announce that everything has changed now. 

What seems to be turning into a pattern is that these limitations are agreed to, everybody finds out that Masons are all pretty decent folks in both organizations after all, and the imagined horrible incidents everybody was afraid of don't materialize. The truly offensive naysayers stay home or demit, or at least learn to hold their wagging tongues. And usually within two or three years, the ban on visitations get lifted.

As I wrote many years ago, getting a grand lodge to change is like steering an aircraft carrier: they're slow to change course, hard to steer, and take forever if you want to stop them. 

Nevertheless, the baby step has been taken, and the brethren of Georgia's two legitimate grand lodges are to be commended at last. 

And then there were five...

JUST RELEASED: Newly Revised 'Freemasons For Dummies' 3rd Edition

by Christopher Hodapp

It's been a busy – and occasionally frantic – couple of months around Hodapphäus that has resulted in few stories being covered here. Alice and I have had a convergence of four major publishing projects since June, along with several related road trips. Along with the summer release of RVs & Campers For Dummies, we've been prepping two of Alice's historical romance novels for release at the end of the year. But the big news here on the Masonic home front is that Wiley has just released the revised, 3rd edition of Freemasons For Dummies. Amazon began shipping today.

This is the second major revision of the book since it was originally published back in 2005. While the publisher merely wanted a minor updating, I took the opportunity to start at the beginning and completely revise the whole book. If you read it before, it's likely you won't detect much difference in the contents, besides updating things like membership statistics, Prince Hall joint recognition information and other developments in the fraternity over the last few years. I also updated grand lodge contact information and website addresses. But while all of that sounds minor, the new edition is some 40 pages longer than before. I'll leave it to the readers to decide whether that's good, or just an improper use of a wind instrument.

The most obvious change is the new look of the book. Wiley began updating the format of their For Dummies series a couple of years ago, and they wanted Freemasons For Dummies to reflect that new appearance. So there's a whole new cover, and the book itself has been redesigned on the inside. Sadly, gone are the Rich Tennant 'The 5th Wave' cartoons that marked the different sections of the book. And they no longer permit the small icons that mark tips, technical stuff, origins and other points in the text to have any customization. So, the Ask the Past Master and Myth Buster symbols we used originally have been replaced by generic ones. It's the price one pays for being part of a larger brand. If you never saw the original editions, you'll never miss them. 

An odd choice is that they have moved the author's dedication, author bio, and most of all, acknowledgements to the very back of the book instead of their traditional placement at the beginning. I suspect this is because of Kindle editions that are set up to automatically open at Chapter 1, so Kindle readers never see any of the front matter in books these days, unless they deliberately flip back to earlier pages. So if you were acknowledged in the previous editions and don't see it in the new one, you still are there. It's now on the last pages instead of the first ones.

Finally, it wouldn't be 2021 without inflationary price increases. Like the new format, pricing the book is out of my hands. The new 3rd edition of Freemasons For Dummies now lists for US$24.99, and US$15.00 (Kindle). If your lodge, grand lodge or research group is interested in bulk order pricing, let me know. Big orders are best done through Wiley's customer service department, and I can usually score you a discount code.

Meanwhile, the 2nd edition of Freemasons For Dummies remains in some inventories around the country and will continue to be sold until those run out. If you are looking for a better deal, Amazon is currently selling it for US$16.49 until those stocks are depleted. He who hesitates is lost. Or is at least charged full retail.

Transform Your Plain Masonic Hall Entrance

by Christopher Hodapp

We had a saying around our film production studio for many, many years: "Where do great ideas come from? Somebody else!"

It's a fact of life that not every Masonic temple can be blessed with being architecturally distinctive. In fact, it's the rare Masonic hall built after World War II that isn't either plain, ugly, boring, or downright ghastly.

The featureless glass-wall front entrance to Porter Lodge 137 in Valparaiso, Indiana is typical for late 1950s and 60s generic storefront buildings. At first glance, it could be an accountant's office, a dental clinic, a social security administration branch, or a hundred other types of offices or stores. There was little about it that instantly identified it as a Masonic lodge unless you saw the square and compass signs up at the roofline - which is actually hard to do if you're driving down the street or walking on the sidewalk. 

In fact, the first time I visited the lodge in northern Indiana, I blasted right past it. 

Twice.

That's not true any more. Thanks to the artistic design abilities of WB John Bridegroom (art director of the Journal of the Masonic Society and proprietor of The Master's Craft, supplier of custom Masonic jewels and more), the lodge's glass foyer was transformed into a truly unique entryway through the miracle of vinyl graphics. 

The actual printing and installation of the vinyl graphics was donated to the lodge by WB Zeno Rossetti.

The result is stunning, and remarkably inexpensive when you consider the enormity of the impact it makes.  Now there's no mistaking what this doorway leads to.

If these particular graphics aren't to your taste or liking, that's okay. Start with a blank sheet of paper or a new Photoshop document, and create one that's more suitable for your lodge. The point is that for just a few hundred dollars, a big graphic like this can completely transform your temple building. And if you hate it next year, the vinyl makes it easy to remove and create a new one!

If your town has lots of foot traffic, the downstairs entry to your temple offers the potential to be both welcoming and informative, even if there's no one inside and the doors are locked. For instance, Orange Grove Lodge 293 in Orange, California sits on a prominent corner on their town square. A Chase bank branch occupies the ground floor, and the lodge is upstairs. 

On weekends, the street is often shut down to cars and turned into a pedestrian mall with outdoor dining. So the lodge uses its glass doors to provide a short FAQ to the public: what's Freemasonry about; what's the point; who can join; the lodge website and Facebook addresses; and who to contact for more information.

On the town square side of the building is the more formal entry to the lodge and Masonic Center upstairs. Instead of more signage, they have a large, circular painted-glass square and compass right at eye level. The symbol is illuminated at night and easy to spot from across the street. 

These graphics act as 24/7 messengers to the public, whether they are providing information or just simply creating a sense of intrigue and wonder to a curious public. 

We still have some members today who cling to the notion that Masons shouldn't ever do anything that even smells like advertising or promotion. This is, of course, balderdash. If you really think our brethren in the 19th century didn't advertise the fraternity, I offer this image of the downtown Masonic temple in Boston in 1895. Bold enough in daylight, it was festooned in so many electric lights that you could have spotted it from low Earth orbit (if you could get there somehow).

California Lodge Restarts Its Youth Groups

by Christopher Hodapp

Turlock Masonic Lodge 236 in Turlock, California got some decent coverage in the local paper this morning. The lodge is bringing back their youth groups, which have been dormant for several years now – Job's Daughters for girls, and DeMolay for boys.

From Job’s Daughters and Demolays give young people a space to foster their growth by Pawan Naidu in the Turlock Journal:

Within the lodge they have separate divisions that help young people grow and develop as individuals. Job’s Daughters help young women ages 10-20 while Demolays helps young men ages 9-21.

Former member of Job’s Daughters, Amanda Sargenti Gomez, said she believes one of the most valuable things the organization taught her was the importance of volunteering and giving back to the community.

“A very important thing for me was being active in the community by volunteering. During my term as Honored Queen we collected toys and books to take to Shriner’s Hospital. We also assisted the Masons by serving at their dinner events,” she said.

“I learned many things from my time in Job’s Daughters. First off, respect for myself, my elders and my peers, as well as proper etiquette. Secondly, I learned public speaking and how to run and organize a meeting. These things have been very important as I developed within my career,” said Gomez.

According to former Demolay member James Banta, the Demolays aim to foster that same growth among young men and have a place where they can be among their peers.

“I think young men in particular find comfort knowing there are other people out there that feel the same way they do,” he said

What sets the Demolays apart from other youth organizations is that it gives their members autonomy about what they want to do.

“The members decide what activities they’re going to do. We do have older individuals there to help guide them along, but the members do all the organizing,” said Banta.

The Demolays do not adhere to one religion and accept members of all faiths as long as they agree to the values of the organization.

“We put our values front and center and as long as you transcribe to those values, you’ll be welcomed,” said Banta.

 

UPDATED: Knights Templar GM Removes DGM from Officers' Line

by Christopher Hodapp

UPDATED Friday 9/11/2021-

Instead of posting new articles every time a new letter is issued or becomes available, I am adding updates to this original message. This most recent update adds a letter written by David Kussman in response to Templar Grand Master Johnson's demand for his resignation on September 4th. I also include a rebuttal penned by Past Grand Master Nelson this past week.

As Katherine Hepburn famously quipped in The Lion In Winter, "What family doesn't have its little ups and downs..."

I was hoping for at least one good news story to post between last week's Grand Encampment vs. Great Priory of America CBCS related drama, but, alas, no. Masonic social media was atwitter over the Labor Day weekend with more drama out of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar in the United States (GEKT). On Friday, September 3rd, Templar Grand Master Michael B. Johnson issued a letter to his Deputy Grand Master, David J. Kussman, calling for his resignation (image below):

On Saturday, DGM Kussman responded to GM Johnson's demand with the following letter:

(Please note that these letters were posted to a public website that was created to call for a special conclave to deal with issues of the last two weeks. I have not obtained them improperly.)

In response, GM Johnson formally removed DGM Kussman from office on Monday in a letter that was circulated to officers, Past KT Grand Masters and others (image below):

Yes, Kussman's removal is at least partially related to the GPA drama and attempts to negotiate some kind of mutually agreeable truce between the two organizations. The word is that the Grand Encampment officer line will be advanced this coming Saturday, September 11th to fill Kussman's vacancy, and a new Captain General will be appointed.

Meanwhile, Sir Knight Ben Williams has devoted today's episode of his Rocky Mountain Mason Podcast, RMM-060, to explaining the ongoing situation within the GEKT. Ben was named by the immediate Past Grand Master Jeff Nelson to chair the Jurisprudence Committee at the Triennial last week when its appointed chairman was unable to attend. HEAR IT HERE.

---

UPDATED 9/8/2021 4:43PM

My understanding late Wednesday is that Sir Knights Bolstad and Harper shall be advancing to R.E. Deputy Grand Master and R.E. Grand Generalissimo, respectively, and that Past Department Commander James McGee shall be appointed as Grand Captain General.

Two large documents were prepared for the Triennial explaining the origins and opposing positions of the Great Priory of America/CBCS and the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar USA. You need to read both documents to see the disagreement from both sides. These two pdf documents can be accessed HERE.

---

UPDATED 9/10/2021 11:50PM:

Past Grand Master Jeffrey N. Nelson has now weighed in with his own statement in defense of David Kussman:

Petition Calls for Special Conclave Over Grand Encampment/GPA Saga

by Christopher Hodapp

That took almost no time at all.

In the wake of the official decisions regarding the Great Priory of America CBCS issued last week by Grand Master Michael Johnson of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the US, a website has already popped up with a petition to call for a Special Conclave in an attempt to finally put this issue to rest.

UPDATED 9/8/2021 4:43PM

Two large documents were prepared for the Triennial explaining the historical origins and opposing positions of the Great Priory of America/CBCS and the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar USA. You need to read both documents to see the disagreement from both sides. These two pdf documents can be accessed HERE.

It Goes On: Knights Templar GM Johnson Issues Decisions Against Great Priory CBCS

by Christopher Hodapp

It seems that the troublesome Grand Encampment/CBCS/Great Priory of America issue continues to rise up like the ghostly mists and miasmas that drift over once-bloody ancient battlefields, awakening the souls of the long-dead from their brief slumber 'neath the silent clods of the valley to forever walk the Earth in search of peace.

Or something like that.

At the Triennial of the Knights Templar Grand Encampment of the US last week, the assembled members of the Grand Encampment overwhelmingly voted to nullify former edicts and decisions from the last decade that had forbidden Templar members from belonging to the Great Priory of America (GPA) of the Chevaliers Bienfaisants de la Cité Sainte (CBCS), and expelled existing members of the GPA from its ranks. The resolution to bury the hatchet passed last week with more than 75% in favor. They also voted against a totally separate resolution (again with more than 75%) that attempted to declare the GPA clandestine.

(Forgive the imprecise wording here – I'm trying to summarize for the sake of brevity. You can see the actual resolutions HERE at this post from August 24th.)

With a super-majority voting in favor of putting this issue to rest, it would appear that the rank and file Knights are in favor of moving on. But it seems that GEKT/GPA feud hasn't ended after all. 

Or as said Stephen Boyd said to Charleton Heston after getting scuffed up in the chariot race in Ben Hur, "It goes on!"

After little over a week in office, Grand Master Michael B. Johnson of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the US issued four official decisions (see image below) regarding the actions of the GEKT's Jurisprudence Committee, actions of the immediate Past Grand Master, and the CBCS Great Priory of America during the Triennial. Further, the final notice in his letter declares that, regardless of the vote taken at the Triennial, the GEKT still officially finds the GPA to be an "unrecognized Templar Order operating within the United States of America, in direct conflict with Section 3 of the Constitution of the Grand Encampment" and that membership in the GPA remains incompatible with membership in the GEKT (to enlarge, click images below):

Templars, interested bystanders, and train wreck enthusiasts who have been around for ten or fifteen years want to make this struggle about clashing egos and personalities, and there's no denying that has played a part. But there's a lot more to it besides "Let me in to your snooty club or I'll burn down your tree fort." 

The GEKT says the GPA is a competing Templar Order, based on the Latin wording identifying themselves that's found on their originating charter, and GPA says it isn't anything of the kind. Legal arguments center around the minutiae of each organizations' constitutional laws and regulations, and whether the GEKT has any right to claim what they've claimed and do what they've done over the last decade. 

Esotericists decry the GPA for holding the CBCS Rectified Rite degree system hostage in the U.S., suitable only for a little clot of Extra Special Masons. Indeed, the GPA declares on its website that the CBCS is "the summit of Christian Knighthood and is the only comparable Order in this country approaching civil knighthood in Europe. It is guarded carefully and only conferred infrequently upon those who are deemed worthy." The GPA is constitutionally restricted to no more than 100 members nationwide, and for much of their 78 year history, it's been less than 48. In fact, the GPA has protested when American Masons have traveled to foreign countries to receive the Rectified Right degrees in another priory, claiming this infringes on their territorial rights over the whole of the United States and, presumably, all of its Masonic citizens, even though the GPA  likely would never have invited those traveling Masons to join them. And they have long fought against the formation of additional U.S. priories.

Meanwhile, rank and file Masons want to know "This affects me...how?" Truth is, it doesn't. 

While the conflict appears close up to resemble a pair of bellowing mastodons having a go at each other over who owns the watering hole, in reality it is a distraction that continues to turn off potential Templar members who want nothing to do with what appears to them to be a pissing match between big-shots. Or as one former Sir Knight said to me years ago shortly before demitting, "The only reason the Templars wear swords as part of their uniforms is so their officers can stab each other in the back."

Not everybody has been following this epic saga for the last eleven years. Right Worshipful Brother Oscar Alleyne gave an online presentation ("What's the Beef?") earlier this week on a Refracted Light podcast about the origin of the CBCS and Great Priory of America, and the ongoing discord with the Grant Encampment. 

Oscar is a talented researcher and a careful presenter – his talk does not take sides, and he doesn't assign blame or virtue to anyone in this conflict personally. If you are interested in the history of the Rectified Rite, the CBCS, the GPA and the Grand Encampment's ongoing battle, give it a listen.

Meanwhile, "It goes on..."

UPDATED 9/8/2021 4:43PM

Two large documents were prepared for the Triennial explaining the historical origins and opposing positions of the Great Priory of America/CBCS and the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar USA. You need to read both documents to see the disagreement from both sides. These two pdf documents can be accessed HERE.

So. California Research Lodge Poll: 'Top 10 Books of the New Millennium'

by Christopher Hodapp

Most Masons who read the literature of the fraternity are well acquainted with the classic, must-have works that were primarily published in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries by Preston, Mackey, Pike, Claudy, Newton, Wilmshurst, Hayward, Carr, Cerza and many, many others. But the brain boxes of Masonic knowledge aren't confined to the dusty past. Masonic scholarship didn't just come to a screeching halt the night that the Millennium Bug failed to destroy civilization when the world's computers flipped over to 1/1/01. Two decades into the 2000s, it's clear that we are blessed by many contemporary Masonic authors who continue to provide new discoveries, new insights, and new ways of looking at our lodges, rituals, symbols, philosophy, and even ourselves as Masons. 

With that in mind, the latest issue of Fraternal Review, the Southern California Research Lodge magazine, arrived today, and features the results of their latest reader’s poll, The Top 10 Masonic Books of the New Millennium (so far):

1. Observing the Craft (2010) - Andrew Hammer
2. Approaching the Middle Chamber (2020) - Jaime Paul Lamb
3. Contemplative Masonry (2016) - C. R. Dunning
4. The Mason's Words (2013) - Robert G. Davis
5. Freemasons For Dummies (2005) - Christopher Hodapp
6. Exploring Early Grand Lodge Freemasonry (2017) - Chris Murphy & Shawn Eyer
7. Myth, Magic & Masonry (2018) - Jaime Paul Lamb
8. Operative Freemasonry (2012) - Kirk C. White
9. The Way of the Craftsman (2017) - W. Kirk MacNulty
10. The Three Stages of Initiatic Spirituality (2020) - Angel Millar

I am proud and humbled (along with being continually astonished) that Freemasons For Dummies is on their latest list. I’m very appreciative to the editors of the magazine and especially to the Masons who responded to the poll and placed me in the midst of this august group. My thanks especially to managing editor WB Dago Rodriguez and to guest editor Jeriel Smith for their hard work and for conducting this poll.

Given the nature of the rest of the titles, it is even more surprising to me. The bulk of the books are mostly philosophical or esoteric in nature. Chris Murphy and Shawn Eyer's collection Exploring Early Grand Lodge Freemasonry is historic, but also explores the philosophy, thoughts and goals of Masons during the earliest years of the speculative fraternity. The number one book on the list, Observing the Craft by Andrew Hammer, is a practical guide to forming an observant style lodge. Mine is really the only general knowledge, general introductory book on the whole list. 

The editors of the magazine wrote:

"Judging by the voters' choices, it is apparent that today's Masonic readers are interested in the deeper connections Freemasonry enables a man to make with the self. A search for purpose, belonging and service are the themes most of these books touch upon and explore, that we believe has made them notable choices from the voting majority."

I will add that ALMOST making the list were (non-Mason) John Dickey's The Craft: How the Freemasons Made the Modern World (2020) and John Bizzack's Island Masonry (2017). Both of these excellent works just needed a handful of votes to make it on the list.

To celebrate the list, the Southern California Research Lodge is offering the complete collection of all 10 books in an EXTREMELY limited edition boxed set for $333 (shipping included). Most of the volumes in the New Millennium Book Collection are signed by their respective authors. 

Just 21 of these rare boxed sets are available and the sale doesn't kick off until Monday, September 6th. So, no early orders, please, and remember their office is on Pacific Time.

For more details, to join the research lodge, or to subscribe to Fraternal Review, go to: www.theresearchlodge.com