‘John Acaster, R.I.P.’

     
There are times when news of someone’s death makes you gasp loudly in disbelief and dismay, and that was the case for me today upon learning of the loss yesterday of Bro. John Acaster.

I’ll enjoy fond memories of chatting with him about things Masonic, especially things Masonic education. He was one of the greats. He founded several Craft lodges and a Royal Arch chapter. He was a scholar and Past Master for QC2076 and Manchester Lodge of Research, and was a joy to hear from the lectern.

Magpie file photo

This seems to be my only photo of John Acaster, center, in dark blue regalia. Taken at Alpha Lodge 116, December 2007.

It was about 12 years ago that I first met him. It was a special event at historic Alpha Lodge 116, but it was after hours, downstairs in the dining room, where I got to talk with John at length about his enthusiasm for focused research and for general learning. If I’m not mistaken, he would have marked his golden anniversary in Freemasonry next year.

What got to me was how I considered him “the young one” of the Quatuor Coronati members.

Rest in peace.
     

‘The new AQC is here!’

     

Courtesy Aspen Film Society

Like practically everything in the world of Masonic research publishing, you never know exactly when to expect it, but evidently the new edition of Ars Quatuor Coronatorum is hitting mailboxes in the United States now.

AQC is the annual book of transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 in London, the first Masonic lodge of research ever chartered, having received its warrant from the United Grand Lodge of England in 1884. What we have now is Volume 124, representing the lodge’s output for the year 2011. Receipt of this book each year is the principal benefit of membership in the Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle—the corporate side of the lodge’s endeavors—which unites Masons from all over the globe in the joy of advancing in Masonic knowledge.

To join QCCC, click here. (Membership in QC2076 itself is exclusive, but QCCC members who are regular/recognized Masons may attend the meetings of the lodge.)

Contents of this edition include:

• “The Little Man,” a Masonic biography of Bro. T.N. Cranstoun-Day, with a look at early Freemasonry in South Africa – the inaugural paper by the Worshipful Master, Bro. Thomas V. Webb.
• “Early 17th Century Ritual: Ben Jonson and His Circle” by Bro. John Acaster. (I turned to this one first, having met John a few times over the years.)
• “Thomas Dunckerley: A True Son of Adam” by Susan Mitchell Sommers. I assume it is part of, or at least sidebar to, her eye-opening new book titled Thomas Dunckerley and English Freemasonry, a most welcome fresh look at the highly influential figure in early Masonry. Look for my book review in The Journal of the Masonic Society soon.
• “Opposition to Freemasonry in 18th Century France and the Lettre et Consultation of 1748” by Michael Taylor.

And there is a lot more. Check it out. Support your local research lodge. Bring informed lecturers to your lodges. Show your brethren that there is more to Freemasonry than feting the VIPs and showing the Stewards when to ground their rods. There is culture. There is history. There are things tangible and intangible that are worth handing down to future generations.