‘MLMA registration is open’

    

Registration for the Masonic Library and Museum Association’s Annual Conference here in New York City is open. This is slated for the weekend of October 16 with the planned activities mapped out for Saturday the 17th. Those are:

☞ our business meeting, with Deputy Grand Master Oscar Alleyne speaking, at Masonic Hall

☞ tour of Masonic Hall

☞ tour of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library

☞ roundtrip on the Staten Island Ferry for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

☞ behind-the-scenes tour of Fraunces Tavern Museum

☞ dinner in Fraunces Tavern

The fees for this day, in total, are very reasonable. Both Friday night and Sunday are left open for attendees to make their own itineraries. There’s a lot to do in Manhattan!

Visiting attendees will be billeted at the Hampton Inn located just across Sixth Avenue near the corner of 24th Street.

I will forgo the Statue of Liberty trip. My first visit there was fifty years ago with my grandfather’s lodge. Instead, I’ll be found inside Barclay Rex, just down the street from Fraunces, enjoying a pre-dinner smoke.

Click here to sign up, and I’ll see you there.

     

‘R.A. “Bob” Gilbert has died’

    

Manifestation

A figure sat within the chair

Which was not previously there;

A voice spoke in the darkness then

More subtly than the voice of men:

The message in the ear it spell’d

Was one great secret long withheld

And while I live, or when I die,

O Grave! where is thy mystery?

 — A.E. Waite

Tabatha Cicero photo

Chic Cicero and Bob Gilbert at a Golden Dawn conference, Bayonne Masonic Temple, 1998.

Bro. Robert A. “Bob” Gilbert died today, according to the sad news gradually making the rounds. I can’t eulogize him, having met him only twice, but he opened my eyes in a way that makes me very thankful.

Gilbert served as Prestonian Lecturer in 1997, traveling across England presenting “Freemasonry in Popular Literature.” And he went beyond the borders of the UGLE, somehow, improbably, visiting my obscure lodge in New Jersey.

Click to enlarge.

Bayonne Lodge 99 Worshipful Master Jeremiah Hawkins finagled the visit. As I recall, it actually was a Wednesday night meeting of my lodge, Menorah 249, and not Bayonne 99, when this occurred, but no matter. I never learned how Jeremiah booked Gilbert, but just now realized, thanks to the photo at top, that Gilbert was in town for an International Golden Dawn Conference hosted in my lodge’s building. (As I type this, the brethren there are outside the building celebrating their home’s centennial anniversary. Vivat!) That’s Tabatha Cicero’s photo of husband Chic with Gilbert, taken at that conference.

What the Prestonian Lecture experience did for me was to leave a first impression about Masonic learning. This was 1998, and I had been a Mason for about a year—and was starting to wonder why there wasn’t more to it, but felt too inexperienced to ask Where’s the rest? So, a guest lecturer, sojourning from England(!), to give a talk within a prestigious tradition, showed me here is one way to find what I seek. If not for that night, I may have abandoned the fraternity within a year or two. Therefore, to me, Bob Gilbert, Masonic historian, proved inspirational.

Five years prior to his visit to this humble lodge, he had been Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076. His byline is found in different volumes of Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, and he authored and edited books. Also was renowned as a speaker in locales around the world.

The Bob Gilbert we’re likely to read about in the coming days is the mystical seeker who delved into the works of Arthur Edward Waite and the Golden Dawn but, also in those subjects, he was a perfectionist for historical accuracy. He knew those who lack a factual grounding in such pursuits are at risk of believing anything. That is not helpful, to say the least. Which reminds me of the talk he gave the second time I encountered him, at the October 2008 Rose Circle conference at Masonic Hall.

He was no longer a member of QC2076, but I hope there will be a typically comprehensive obituary in the upcoming AQC.

Alas, my Brother.

     

‘Kent Henderson’s Masonic World Guide’

    

For more than thirty years, Kent Henderson has served as, kind of, the Eugene Fodor of Masonic travel, issuing two editions of his Masonic World Guide in 1994 and 2002. He is laboring still, publishing just yesterday, after two years development, the online Masonic World Guide to assist us in our visits to recognized lodges everywhere.

This is a paid subscription service, but the first 500 to enroll will benefit from a 50 percent discount on the fee.

Looking ahead, Henderson plans for additional content, including discussion and shared experiences of those who have gone this way, and that way, before. The information in the guide covers more than the meeting times and places; we’ll find insider information about dress codes and other particulars to ensure smooth travels too.

Can’t say I’ve heard Malta and Montana mentioned together before!

Have a look at the newsletters here. Move on to the tutorial here. And don’t forget to read about Bro. Kent here. (I’ve been following his activities since discovering his Lodge Epicurean essay, “Back to the Future,” about twenty-five years ago. I haven’t been the same since.)

     

‘Think beyond mere survival’

    

Click to enlarge.

That “How to Kill Your Lodge” meme proliferates on social media this week. It seems someone or some A.I. image-maker recently fashioned a graphic out of the familiar list of don’ts we’ve all seen so often.

There’s no disputing the content of the list, but it is a myopic and judgmental view. Looking longterm instead, I hereby plagiarize Andrew Hammer’s Eight Steps to Excellence, because we, as Free and Accepted Masons, always should encourage, not reproach. (I know, I know, sometimes I’m very reproachful, but just read this.) Think beyond mere survival. Lodges that practice the habits below probably are not worried about dying.

The following is taken, albeit shortened, almost meme-like, from the MRF website. Read the full text here.

GUARD THE WEST GATE—Not every man should be a Mason, and not every Mason belongs in just any Lodge.

BE PROFICIENT IN RITUAL AND LAW—We must know what we are doing and why to uphold the highest standards of our Grand Lodges.

PROGRESS THROUGH MUTUAL AND GENUINE EFFORT—Progress in the degrees requires commitment of time and effort from candidate and mentor alike. Proficiency should be required before any advancement or that advancement has no measurable value.

DRESS YOUR BEST FOR LODGE—Dignity expressed outwardly through dress serves as a superstructure helping to enhance that dignity that can be created only from within.

OFFER QUALITY AND PAY FOR IT—Dues should allow the Lodge to support and sustain itself and enjoy quality experiences that rise above the ordinary. A festive board, for its conviviality, is the essential second half of a meeting.

RETURN A SENSE OF AWE TO OUR CEREMONIES—We should use music, the manipulation of light and darkness, the Chamber of Reflection, the Closing Charge, and the Chain of Union to create a very unique, contemplative atmosphere.

MASONIC EDUCATION AT EVERY MEETING—Without it, no Freemasonry is taking place. We should offer some education, be it the degrees or presentations on the various lessons of the Craft.

     

     

Don’t forget the Masonic Restoration Foundation’s Fifteenth Annual Symposium will be hosted at San Antonio in August. Click here.

      

‘TSW Chapter to visit historic Scipio’

    

llvintage on eBay

1919 postcard of the lodge building.

This just in: Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research will meet Saturday in Aurora for a discussion of the very historic local lodge. From the publicity:

Thomas Smith Webb

Chapter of Research 1798

Saturday, June 6 at 3:30

Scipio Lodge 110

325 Main Street

Aurora, New York

Our very own M.E. Michael Miller will present on “the Colonial Lodge,” home of Scipio Lodge 110, erected in 1806 by Aurora Chapter 64 specifically for their use.

The presentation will include the history of Capitular Masonry in Cayuga County and the symbolism in this building, including architecture, tapestries, furniture, and the cornerstone laid by Gov. DeWitt Clinton. This will take place inside the lodge room, however the tapestries, paintings and architectural highlights are all around. There is an experiential element to this.

Attire for the meeting, because of the age of the building and questionable comfort, will be Royal Arch polo shirts (or just red ones if you do not have a RAM polo) and dress pants.

After the presentation, we will go to Fargo Bar & Grill and enjoy drinks, food, and companionship.

A Zoom link will be provided no later than Friday evening for those who may have an extensive drive but, if you are able to be there in person, please be there in person.

Updates about our meeting during St. John’s Weekend and future meetings also will be discussed Saturday, and will be emailed afterward.

     

‘Chap’s Guide: Why Men Need Brotherhood’

    

Today’s episode on The Chap’s Guide YouTube channel is titled “Why Men Need Brotherhood: Joining a Fraternal Organization,” in which host Ash Jones explains the benefits to one’s well being of being part of something larger than oneself. Click the above graphic. In twenty-two minutes of monolog, he repeatedly discusses Freemasonry and, for the first time, discloses to his viewers his brush with the Craft.

If you are unfamiliar with this channel, The Chap’s Guide has been updated prolifically, with more than a thousand videos since 2019, garnering more than 100,000 subscribers and approaching 14 million views. (Makes America’s third favorite Masonic blog here look like a boutique enterprise, honestly.) He has no connection to The Chap magazine.

Jones, located in the United Kingdom, set out seven years ago to encourage men to express themselves by upholding traditions in gentlemanly attire and grooming but, since you can make only so many videos about dress shirts and shaving soaps, he has branched into mindset and behavior. In that regard, he has shared his experiences in reading books, reflecting on life by journaling, and maintaining robust physical health, among other beneficial pursuits.

He has mentioned Freemasonry in the past, but the episode published today is prompted by a viewer named Steve, who asks “Are you a Freemason, Ash? What is your view on fraternal societies?” A candid talk ensues in which he explains his membership in the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, which he joined as a young man serving in the Royal Air Force; and The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, the London-based livery company where internet content-creators have joined the traditional ranks of printers.

Jones’ description of his interview with a Masonic lodge’s investigating committee is distressing. I have no experience with English Constitution lodges, but it sounds like something went awry then. He makes clear he is not opposed to our fraternity; he simply found it isn’t right for him.

“Shared purpose gives you, as a man, meaning in your life,” he advises. Who can argue with that?

Click here to watch the video.

     

‘World Conference chooses New York for 2027’

    

If you were looking forward to a trip to Cancún next November for the World Conference of Regular Masonic Grand Lodges, forget it. They’re coming to New York City!

The twentieth conference in Cape Town, South Africa concluded about a week and a half ago, but not before choosing the Grand Lodge of New York to host the 2027 event from November 8 to 12. It’s not for the first time, of course, as our Grand Lodge hosted the third conference in 1998.

Gil Calderon photo

MW William Sardone, MW Robert Hogan, and RW Richard Schulz in Cape Town last month at the Twentieth World Conference of Regular Masonic Grand Lodges.

Cancún had been the choice for next year, but—uh, buy me a beer sometime and I’ll tell you —so add this to your calendar. The conference’s theme, agenda, topics of discussion, etc. are yet to be decided, but I’ll certainly keep you updated.

If I had the chance to address the assembly, I’d welcome everyone to New York with an explanation of how Freemasonry here has been naturally international since the 1700s. We invented this kind of thing.

It’s no secret how New York City is not a first choice when national and multi-jurisdictional Masonic bodies look to place their annual meetings and other big events. Scottish Rite NMJ, General Grand Chapter, Grotto, and Shrine—despite having roots in New York—prefer other metropolises, like Grand Rapids. (Some say it’s kind of expensive here.) But now that everyone is talking about how the Masonic Library and Museum Association is coming this October, I guess other planners are giving the city a second look.

Gil Calderon photo

FRONT AND CENTER—MW Robert L. Hogan, Jr., center column on right, at the World Conference of Regular Masonic Grand Lodges in South Africa last month.

Congratulations to the Most Worshipful Robert L. Hogan, Jr., Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York, for landing Conference XXI.