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The Masonic Restoration Foundation will return to the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia August 23-25 for its thirteenth symposium, President Andrew Hammer just announced.
A program of fifteen speakers is planned. If I’m not mistaken, in a first for the MRF, almost half of the presenters are either current or past elected grand lodge officers, which I take to mean the mission of the Foundation has taken root in a good number of grand jurisdictions. If Observant lodges themselves are not proliferating, then at least the inspirations behind them are resonating, which is what matters to me. It is not necessary for a lodge to see itself as an Observant lodge—and in some environments it is inadvisable—so long as the characteristics of Observant Masonry are evident in the lodge’s culture. What are those traits?
“Simply put, Observant Masonry means observing the intent of the founders of Speculative Masonry. That intent was not to build a mere social club or service organisation,” Hammer writes in this essay. “While the Craft—like any other human organization—always has been burdened by men in its ranks who subverted the purposes of the fraternity to a more mundane or profane enterprise, that was never the intent of the institution. That intent was to build an institution that calls men to their highest level of social being, in a state of dignity and decorum, which could serve as a place for serious, mindful discourse on the lessons and meaning of life, and search for the better development of oneself. That intent means building a space where such an experience can be created, and carrying ourselves in a manner that is consistent with our highest ideals and noblest behaviors.”
If you are unfamiliar with the Observant concept, click here to find several links to useful readings.
The format of the MRF symposium remains unchanged.
On Friday, August 23, a Harmony will be hosted inside the Masonic Temple’s Grand Ballroom. Attire: black tie. Keynote: “The Fortitude of Hiram” by MW Brad Billings, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Texas.
Saturday, August 24 will see the program of speakers, including names you know well and some you will want to get to know. The presentations:
Fraternal Greetings
and Opening Address
Masters of Ceremonies
Rt. Wor. Bro. P. J. Roup
Senior Grand Warden
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
Rt. Wor. Bro. Andrew Hammer
President, MRF
Master, Alba Lodge 222,
Washington, DC
Building Rectitude With Relevance:
The Next Generation of Masonry
Rt. Wor. Bro. Andrew Hammer
Walled Gardens, Chesterton Fences,
and Living Lodges
Wor. Bro. Erastus Z. Allen, PM,
Lodge Ad Lucem 812, Pennsylvania
Treasurer, MRF
Cutting Stones:
The New Observant Lodge
Bro. Anthony Augay,
Senior Warden
Robert Burns Lodge 59, Nevada
Most Wor. Bro. Louis Castle, PGM
Robert Burns Lodge 59
The MacBride EA Degree
Lodge Alba 222
Victory Through Harmony:
Transforming an Existing Lodge
Wor. Bro. Donald Carducci, Master,
Victory Through Harmony 94, Quebec
Rt. Wor. Bro. Jean-Frederic Dicaire
Victory Through Harmony Lodge 94
The Way We’ve Always Done It
Wor. Bro. Patrick Craddock, PM,
Prometheus Lodge 851, California
Vice-President, MRF
Are We Not Men?
Rt. Wor. Bro. Oscar Alleyne,
Past Junior Grand Warden,
Grand Lodge of New York
Time, Patience, and Perseverance:
Dealing with Challenges
in the Observant Lodge
Wor. Bro. Dan Kemble, PM,
Lexington Lodge 1, Kentucky
Rt. Wor. Bro. Dana Scofield, PM,
Fibonacci Lodge 112, Vermont
Rt. Wor. Bro. Robert McLeod, PM,
Templum Phoenix Lodge 57
New Brunswick
Most. Wor. Bro. David Cameron
Grand Lodge of Canada
in the Province of Ontario
Moderator: Bro. Andrew Hammer
A Prince Hall Perspective
on Observant Masonry
Rt. Wor. Bro. Kevin Wardally,
Grand Senior Warden,
MW Prince Hall GL of New York
Closing Address
A New Design Upon the Trestleboard
Rt. Wor. Bro. P. J. Roup
Closing Discussion with Speakers
Moderator: Bro. Andrew Hammer
Will the Magpie Mason be in attendance? I’m afraid only for the Friday banquet. D’oh! I am already committed to speak at the John Skene Masonic Conference across the river in Jersey on Saturday. As I’m sure all of you know too well, there are only so many Saturdays. But you should go.
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