‘Saturday: Hidden Influences’

   

They have kept it sub rosa, but the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia’s Conference on the Hidden Influences of Craft Masonry arrives Saturday. From the publicity:

On November 23, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia will host a first-of-its-kind event for our Grand Lodge: the Conference on the Hidden Influences of Craft Masonry.

This will be an unparalleled event for our Grand Lodge. The Masonic Education and Service Committee has lined up more than a half dozen of the world’s foremost experts on Secret Societies:

John Michael Greer – Druids

Piers Vaughan – The French Qabbalists

Ben Williams – Elus Cohen

Darcy Kuntz – Order of the Golden Dawn

Alistair Lees – Illuminati

Jaime Paul Lamb – Rosicrucians

You must be a Master Mason to attend. Dress code is dark suit and tie.

A box lunch and a dinner buffet will be served.

In addition to this jam-packed day of Esoterika, we have after parties, cigars, and so much more! The Hidden Influences Conference will be held at the DC Scottish Rite and tickets are $50 each, but seats will be limited, so RSVP fast, brethren!

    

Piers has been active elsewhere in DC Masonry, as he has announced the birth of Adhuc Stat Rectified Rite Lodge 1782 as of Saturday. I’m curious to hear about its ritual. Congratulations, brethren, and best of luck!

‘A big year for Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library’

     
There’s a lot of good news coming out of Lexington for 2010. The museum and library on the campus of the headquarters of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite will add a few activities both on-site and off.

Before I get to those items, a change of name has been announced for this cultural center. The National Heritage Museum Library has been renamed the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library. What’s in a name? A lot, in this case. When the museum was established for our country’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, Supreme Council made it clear that the facility was not to be a Masonic museum looking inward, but was a gift to the people of the United States dedicated to the preservation of our common history. Its name was the Museum of Our National Heritage, which during the past decade was abbreviated to the National Heritage Museum. It was announced last month that the new name was chosen to reconnect the museum to Freemasonry in the public eye. “As we are all proud of our fraternity, the name-change better reflects who we are to the public, and puts the names ‘Masonic’ and ‘Scottish Rite’ in the forefront,” says the announcement from Supreme Council. Now flanking its front doors are the Square and Compasses, and the Double Headed Eagle.

I like it. I do not know if this is another aspect of the Sovereign Grand Commander’s stated preference to see the Scottish Rite reorient its focus from doing nice, expensive things for utter strangers (when we ought to be concentrating on helping our brethren in need), but this change appears to reflect that spirit, and I applaud it.

But about the new activities at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library in 2010 (and this might even be breaking news) (and I hope I don’t get in trouble for this):

The Museum and Library will hit the road, taking a program and related artifacts to the brethren around the jurisdiction. The plan is to travel into the field four times a year to Councils of Deliberation and/or Valleys. Arrangements will be made on a first come, first served basis, with the traveling to be divided as equally as possible between locations on the East Coast and in the interior.

Big Change No. 2 – and this is really exciting! 96 days and counting! – is the first of what hopefully will be biannual symposia that showcase Freemasonry in an academic light. (I mean, they’re in Lexington, Massachusetts. How many colleges and universities are there within a 30-minute drive?)

From the official announcement:

Friday, April 9

New Perspectives on American Freemasonry

This symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day. By 1900, more than 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering 6 million members. The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture.

A keynote paper by Jessica Harland-Jacobs, Associate Professor of History at the University of Florida, and author of Builders of Empire: Freemasonry and British Imperialism, 1717-1927, will open the day. Titled “Worlds of Brothers,” Harland-Jacobs’ paper will survey and assess the scholarship on American fraternalism and Freemasonry. Drawing on examples from the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s, she will demonstrate that applying world history methodologies pays great dividends for our understanding of fraternalism as a historical phenomenon. Harland-Jacobs will conclude with some thoughts on how global perspectives can benefit contemporary American brotherhoods.

I received an unsolicited review copy of Harland-Jacobs’ book upon its publication in 2007, and I loved it. Its title put me off initially, because “imperialism” is an epithet in academia (and for some, maybe Freemasonry is also), but her book quickly revealed itself to be a just and true accounting of Masonic history, exhaustively researched, engagingly written, and actually laden with small facts that really grab the eyes of those who notice them. It’s not a love letter; it shows flaws and hypocrisies, but it is undeniably fair. Anyway, back to the press release:

Six scholars from the United States, Canada, and Britain will fill the day’s program:

Damien Amblard, doctoral student, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, “French Counter-Enlightenment Intellectuals and American Anti-masonry: A Transatlantic Approach, 1789-1800” (NB: Mr. Amblard spoke at the second ICHF in Edinburgh.)

Hannah M. Lane, Assistant Professor, Mount Allison University, “Freemasonry and Identity in 19th-Century New Brunswick and Eastern Maine”

Nicholas Bell, Curator, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, “An Ark of the New Republic”

David Bjelajac, Professor of Art History, George Washington University, “Freemasonry, Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and the Fraternal Ethos of American Art”

Ami Pflugrad-Jackisch, Assistant Professor of History, University of Michigan – Flint, “Brothers of a Vow: Secret Fraternal Orders in Antebellum Virginia”

Kristofer Allerfeldt, Exeter University, “Nationalism, Masons, Klansmen and Kansas in the 1920s”

The symposium is funded in part by the Supreme Council, 33°, NMJ-USA. Registration is $50 ($45 for museum members) and includes morning refreshments, lunch and a closing reception. To register, complete the Registration Form and fax to 781-861-9846 or mail to Claudia Roche, National Heritage Museum, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421. Registration deadline is March 24, 2010. For more information, contact Claudia Roche at croche@monh.org or 781-861-6559, x 4142.

And last, but not least (because it is underway now) is the installation of artist Peter Waddell’s 21 painting exhibition titled “The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry and the Architecture of Washington, DC.” It opened two weeks ago, and will run through January 9, 2011. That’s 2011.

Images courtesy of The Octagon Museum.

If the title sounds familiar, it’s because this exhibit premiered in Washington (it was commissioned by the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia) in 2005, and since has traveled the country. Augmenting the 21 paintings are 40 artifacts from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum. See all the paintings and read about them here.

Opportunities for scholars

     
Here are two opportunities for Masonic scholars to present their work and maybe earn a little praise as well.

Pythagoras Lodge of Research in Washington, DC invites the brethren to participate in its Masonic Research Awards Program, intended to encourage research and education work.

From the official announcement:

The following criteria will be used to evaluate all submissions:

Originality: The topic introduces new ideas, innovative concepts, unfamiliar resources, and/or creative methods. Topic is the writer’s choice.

Masonic connections: Interesting, informative, and innovative references to Masonic symbolism, ritual, practices, history, etc. are included.

Style: The author displays a thorough knowledge of the content. Alternative viewpoints are legitimately presented. The content is characterized by clear, unmistakable evidence, and focused on the central statement (thesis) or research topic with effective transitions between points.

Content: All information is well arranged with compelling presentation of the issue, question or problem. The research is supported by an investigation of facts and a development of the ideas. The paper is closed with strong supporting points that underline or expand the central postulate.

Persuasion: The concluding position provides coherent argument illustrative of critical analysis and a thoughtful level of inquiry, supported by well-founded, fact-based solutions and/or cause and effect relationships.

Format: The presentation is neat, correct and consistent in appearance, including margins, font size, indentations, titles, quotations, etc.

Grammar: The research paper is free of errors in terms of sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics.

Person: The research paper is presented in perspective of Third Person focusing attention on the work, not on the author. Personal essays are not encouraged.

Citations: The bibliography demonstrates sufficient synthesis of relevant literature and practices. Citations are embedded, footnoted, and quoted correctly. A minimum of three external sources should be included.

Summary: An abstract briefly provides the key elements, main findings, and overall conclusions of the research.

Entries are to be submitted as Word documents by e-mail to W. Bro. Ted Berry at eab_dc(at)yahoo.com no later than October 31.

By submitting a paper, the author recognizes that such entries might be included in Pythagoras Lodge publications and/or forwarded to other Masonic research bodies for inclusion in their publications, with appropriate attributions.

Three medals will be awarded.

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In addition, the National Heritage Museum, located at the headquarters of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, is planning for its first symposium in what is hoped will become a bi-annual tradition.

“New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism” will take place April 9, 2010 at the museum in Lexington, Massachusetts.



From the official announcement:

Recently, a call for papers was issued, and we are pleased to announce that response has been brisk.

The symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day. By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members. The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture. Diverse perspectives on this topic are sought; proposals are invited from a broad range of research areas, including history, material and visual culture, anthropology, sociology, literary studies and criticism, gender studies, political science, African American studies, art history, economics, or any combination of disciplines. Perspectives on and interpretations of all time periods are welcome.

Possible topics include:

• Comparative studies of American fraternalism and other international forms
• Prince Hall Freemasonry and other African-American fraternal groups
• Ethnically- and religiously-based fraternal groups
• Fraternal groups for women or teens
• Role of fraternal groups in social movements
• The material culture of Freemasonry and fraternalism
• Anti-Masonry and anti-fraternal movements, issues and groups
• Fraternal symbolism and ritual
• The expression of Freemasonry and fraternalism through art, music, and literature
• Approaches to Freemasonry from disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transnational perspectives; the historiography and methodology of the study of American fraternalism

If you know anyone interested in submitting a proposal, these are the details: Submit an abstract of 400 words or less with a resume or c.v. that is no more than two pages. Be sure to include full contact information (name, address, e-mail, phone, affiliation).

Send proposals to: Aimee E. Newell, Director of Collections, National Heritage Museum, by e-mail at anewell(at)monh.org or by mail to 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421.

Deadline for proposals to be received is August 15. For questions, contact Aimee E. Newell as above, or call 781-457-4144.

‘How good and how pleasant…’

They made it official a few days ago: The Grand Lodge of New York and the Grand Lodge of Washington, DC again are in amity.

A pretty singular occurrence

     
Here’s something you don’t see every day: one grand lodge in the United States withdraws its recognition of another grand lodge… over the latter’s new lodge in Lebanon!

But that’s where we are.

On Wednesday, the Grand Lodge of New York adopted a resolution withdrawing formal recognition of the Grand Lodge of Washington, DC because GLDC chartered and consecrated Ahiram Lodge, No. 1000 in Beirut. (website under construction)


It might seem unlikely that anyone would want to meet in a Masonic lodge in that city, thanks to the decades of violence there, but actually the Grand Lodge of New York, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and other jurisdictions have had lodges working in Beirut for many years. The GLNY formed its Syria-Lebanon district in 1925.

I won’t repeat what the respective grand masters have said on this matter. You can click on the images to read the correspondence yourself.