‘Three papers, two degrees, one ingathering’

   

The Allied Masonic Degrees of New York will host its Downstate Ingathering on the 29th of this month. Register here.

Remember: Participation is limited to brethren of the AMD in good standing.

Click to enlarge.

     

‘Ingathering in NYC’

    

The group portrait at the conclusion of a meeting seems to be a common tradition in Masonic Hall.

Wow! What a day! When I stepped outside this morning to walk to Masonic Hall, I could tell it was going to be a great summer Saturday. Blue skies, sunshine, gentle breeze, seventy degrees, quiet streets & open sidewalks—even the pervasive threat of crazy violence that demoralizes the once irrepressible city seemed to take the day off. You see, today was the Allied Masonic Degrees Downstate New York Ingathering.

Downstate can mean a lot of things. New York is a big state, so referring to downstate can indicate New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley. For me personally, everything north of 72nd Street is upstate, so these designations are variable. Anyway, several local councils of Allied Masonic Degrees collaborated on the labor at hand: a daylong extravaganza of conferring degrees and celebrating Masonic philosophy.

Jose Marti 512 charter.

These were Jose Marti 512 (our host), Moses Blatchley 567, and Antares 532. (I may be wrong about Antares. There seemed to be a change of plans regarding the participant councils that I didn’t catch at the time.) In the degree department, the brethren conferred three: Architect, St. Lawrence the Martyr, and the “chair degree” for St. Lawrence: Installed Worthy Master.

I don’t think I’ve received the Architect Degree actively before. We receive the degrees in name upon being inducted into the AMD, but in my twenty-one years in the order, this may have been the first time I’ve had that degree conferred on me. (Speaking of twenty-one years, I suspect there’s a good chance I was the senior-most AMD member in the room. An unsettling notion.) The degree itself is derivative of the Craft degrees in that it concerns Solomon, GMHA, and the Temple. Historians believe this was one in a suite of three degrees, with Grand Architect and Superintendent, comprising a rite that now is lost to time.

I should back up. If you’re not familiar with the AMD, it is an invitational order, open to Royal Arch Masons. It cobbles together about a dozen degrees that once upon a time were side degrees that a Mason might receive in lodge. You pay a fee, you receive a degree. It’s not as crass as that to be fair. The truth is the degrees we receive in tidily organized Royal Arch chapters and other groups had been worked in Craft lodges before the advent of those chapters, commanderies, et al. It’s just that a number of degrees did not make the transition from lodge side degrees to extra curricular “high degrees,” and they were in a kind of limbo as time passed and other degrees became independent sovereign bodies (e.g., Mark, Royal Arch, Templar). So, in the 1890s, English Masons united these orphaned degrees, making them the Allied Masonic Degrees. The myriad details of it all are incomprehensible unless you make a deep study of them, something I haven’t done in many years.

After the Architect Degree, we had lunch; after that, it was time for a panel discussion with Oscar, Praveen, and Matt.

Bro. Mike of Half Moon Council was out of town on Royal Arch Grand Chapter business, but he had suggested “Why AMD?” as a thematic question for the panel. The trio tendered remarks that traced the history of the AMD and its degrees up to the present day; that described Masonic Week (many are unacquainted); and the differences in attitude toward, and the covert nature of, the order. V. Bro. Praveen said AMD maintains a “sub rosa” character in New York—and I hope this edition of The Magpie Mason doesn’t blow its cover! There was much understandable curiosity about the AMD’s origins and development. RV Oscar provided specifics on the evolution of certain rituals to make clear the utter bizarreness of the AMD situation.

We met inside the Doric Room on six.

I think most Freemasons in the United States are unaware of, or haven’t even given a thought to, the history of Masonic rituals. As I explained in this space last month about the 1658 Rhode Island myth, there are Masons who consider themselves researchers but actually believe the three Craft degrees they know today have existed and gone unchanged since time immemorial. There are Masons who have no idea that the rituals of the lodge differ from state to state. What we know in New York varies noticeably from what they do in New Jersey, and the Pennsylvanians work rituals that are significantly different from both, for example. So, to attempt to explain how the rituals inherited by AMD might have come into existence would require a post-graduate level inquiry into both history and anthropology. I don’t think there’s even been a book that satisfactorily tells the story—or if there was, it’s been long out of print.

Our panel speakers: Oscar, Praveen, and Matt.

To illustrate, Oscar explained how the AMD was exported from England to Maine, but that doesn’t mean all the rituals were English in origin. Our Royal Ark Mariner Degree actually is Scottish, he said. When examining English, Scottish, French, Dutch, etc. rituals, one finds “the wild, wild west of Freemasonry,” he added. “People were doing all kinds of things.”

“They’re still finding rituals,” he continued. “If you open every door, you’ll be opening doors for the rest of your life.”

We were getting into the mid afternoon, so the time came to open a lodge of St. Lawrence the Martyr and to confer the degree. For some of the historical or legendary, depending on your point of view, basis of the story, click here. It is the introductory degree in English AMD, but we Americans don’t have such a structure. (We did have three initiates for the day though.) Nevertheless it is an instructive and memorable degree, even if its various signs and gestures slip your mind.

Can it be coincidence that St. Lawrence the Martyr Degree regalia bears the New York City colors of blue, white, and orange? I think not!

After the degree, those who have yet to preside over an AMD council were asked to step outside while the rest of us opened a Board of Installed Masters to confer the Installed Worthy Master of St. Lawrence the Martyr Degree.

The ritualists in all three of the degrees today performed with skill and confidence. A pleasure to watch.

The quitting hour was starting to draw near. This Ingathering featured no research papers or other formal readings, and I’m not accustomed to that, but Bro. Javier capped off the day with his original and heartfelt discursion into the esotericism of space, dimension, shape, direction, and the like. Neither reading from a text nor referring to notes, which I’m also not used to, he weaved personal speculations into, if I understood correctly, an inquiry into the nature of the Masonic physical world. It’s not at all impossible that some of it soared over my head, but it was an apt conclusion to the memorable event. But we weren’t finished yet!

I never know what to do with the parchments, but there’s no denying they convey warm memories of great occasions and terrific people for many years.

There were presentations, including official Grand Council parchments to all of us certifying our advancement in the aforementioned degrees, and also—of course!—lapel pins. I’ve never even seen an Architect Degree pin before. I believe I’ll wear it to lodge to see if it prompts any questions. (So much for sub rosa!)

     

‘AMD Ingathering in NYC’

    

I was trying to limit summertime Masonic activities to just Warren Lodge’s festive board until news of this singular occurrence broke. The brethren of the Allied Masonic Degrees in New York City will host an Ingathering next month! Register here.

     

‘The 2013 Ingathering’

  
I don’t know if we’re still calling it the Harold V.B. Voorhis Ingathering anymore, but this year’s will take place on Saturday, July 20, and will be hosted by none other than Harold V.B. Voorhis Council No. 260, it was announced by our Grand Superintendent, today.

The Ingathering will take place at the Scottish Rite Valley of Central Jersey, located at 103 Dunns Mill Road in Bordentown (Exit 7 off the New Jersey Turnpike). Meeting to open at 9:30 a.m. and should conclude at about 3:30.

Guest of Honor: Most Venerable Matthew D. Dupee, Sovereign Grand Master of the Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees of the USA.

This one will be very different from previous Ingatherings in that three councils from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania will take turns conferring three degrees: Architect, Grand Architect, and Superintendent.

Advance registration is required. Make your $35 check payable to NJ AMD INGATHERING, and remit to the Grand Superintendent. Leave me a note (not for publication) with your name, e-mail address, and council name in the comments section, and I will get back to you with the mailing address.
  

‘Pennsylvania Lodge of Research’

  

Founding Members jewel.

I’m just on my way out the door to attend the Wendell K. Walker Lecture tonight, but not before I spread the news of the next meeting of Pennsylvania Lodge of Research on Saturday, June 29 at Lehigh Lodge in Macungie.

Pennsylvania Lodge of Research will meet Saturday, June 29 at Lehigh Lodge No. 326 in Macungie.

I’ve never been able to catch one of these meetings. The lodge is to meet twice each year, with additional meetings at the discretion of the Master, and I think there always is one meeting in eastern Pennsylvania, but somehow I’ve never made it there. This will be a busy weekend. The American Lodge of Research will meet the night before in Manhattan, and Bro. Piers is hosting his annual barbecue on Sunday. (If you haven’t heard, he graciously moved it from Saturday to Sunday in appreciation of all the Masonic goings on scheduled for Saturday.)

Looking forward to it all... and then to a quiet summer punctuated only by the AMD Ingathering (more to come on that ambitious project!) and maybe the MRF conference in New Hampshire too, but I’m undecided on that one.

Officers apron.

One thing at a time, as we try to explain to the youngest Entered Apprentice. Pennsylvania Lodge of Research will open at 10 a.m. that day. Lehigh Lodge is located at 2120 Route 100 in Macungie, which is not prohibitively far into the Keystone State for us New Jersey guys. It’s only about 90 miles from the headquarters of Magpie Industries, which is notably nearer than Philly, so I got that going for me.
  

‘Ingathering: Change of venue’

    
The New Jersey 2012 Allied Masonic Degrees Ingathering has a change of plans.

Instead of taking place at Livingston Lodge No. 11, it will take place at Madison Lodge No. 93. Madison is only a few miles away. No big deal.

Same date and time: Saturday, July 28 at 9 a.m. Same program of Grand Tilers of Solomon Degree and papers to be presented. Same killer lunch to be served.

Click here to register.
    

'2012 Ingathering'

    
Alexandria Council No. 478 will host New Jersey’s Harold V.B. Voorhis AMD Ingathering this year on Saturday, July 28 at Livingston Lodge No. 11 in Livingston.

Papers will be presented by Bro. Frank Conway, Bro. Mark Koltko-Rivera, Bro. John Lawler, and Bro. Michael Neuberger.

The Grand Tilers of Solomon Degree will be conferred.

Honored guests will include:

• MV Joe R. Manning, Sovereign Grand Master of the Grand Council of AMD
• RV Matthew D. Dupee, Deputy Grand Master AMD
• ME Edmund D. Harrison, General Grand High Priest of the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons International

Registration is transacted on-line. Click here to sign up.

Thanks to V. Henry and V. Jose for the info. Graphic courtesy of Bro. Jeff at Lodgical.

‘Elbow Square’

    

At New Jersey’s 2010 AMD Ingathering today, the ritualists who conferred the Degree of St. Lawrence the Martyr, joined by the brethren who presented papers, rally around Grand Superintendent Paul Ferreira (wearing collar) at the end of the day. Forty-three AMD Masons attended this celebration of Masonic culture at J. William Gronning Council No. 83 in Freehold. Next year’s Ingathering will be hosted by DaVinci Council in Westfield.

On behalf of the Master, Wardens, and brethren of J. William Gronning Council No. 83 of Allied Masonic Degrees, I thank all who contributed to the great success enjoyed today at the 2010 Ingathering. We had three deeply thoughtful papers presented – one meticulously researched academic paper, one cathartic personal essay, and one speculative paper delving into spiritual symbolism – all provocative and gratefully received. Then a Lodge of Saint Lawrence the Martyr was opened on “Elbow Square” to admit dozens of candidates into the Order of St. Lawrence.

Brethren came from across New Jersey, plus Pennsylvania and Upstate New York. Right Venerable Matthew Dupee, Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees, joined us, as did New Jersey’s new Grand Superintendent, RV Paul Ferreira, both praising the scholastic and ritual work on display.

Gronning Council’s own Bro. Ben Hoff presented his well tested thesis titled “Possible Common Origins of the Royal Arch and Master Mason degrees” (with his trademark hand-outs). Excerpted:

Ben Hoff.

“It is often said that the Royal Arch Degree is the ‘completion’ of the Master Mason Degree. This seems apparent from the stories or legends told in the degrees, where the Royal Arch legend focuses on the recovery of the Word whose loss was the principle point of the legend in the Master Mason Degree. The story of Solomon’s Temple and its builders continues. But the word ‘completion’ implies far more than mere connection and continuation. It implies finality and the restoration of essential unity….

“The author of this paper proposes that, at one time, there were two different, competing versions of the Master Mason Degree. One was the Hiramic Legend version disclosed by Samuel Pritchard [in his Masonry Dissected exposure], which continues to this day as the Master’s degree. The other survives, just barely, as the Past Master Degree, with its left over pieces included with an unrelated story in the Royal Arch Degree.”

Bro. Ben draws from a number of embryonic Masonic rituals to illustrate how the MM and RA degrees we know today came to be. It is a dizzying exploration of Masonic history rendered comprehensible thanks to Ben’s finely detailed explanation of it all.

Next, Venerable Howard Kanowitz, Past Sovereign Master of J. Howard Haring Council, asked the stimulating question “So How Come You’re Not a Templar!” Excerpted:

“There are amongst the infinite number of Masonic bodies one I choose to single out amongst several, which outright demand of their members advocacy of a religious point of view. Off and on these several decades since I became a Mason, not many times but enough, I have been asked the same question ‘So, how come you’re not a Templar!’ The answer to that question is the subject of this paper and will call upon all my skills as a whitewater navigator, for I can find no way to address the issue other than to point out the differences between Christian and Jew, and how in the presence of the same God, we got that way.

Howard Kanowitz.

“The object of this paper is not to criticize, nor to advocate. Rather, despite the discomforting words to follow, I write this in the Masonic spirit, as an effort to promote an understanding of a minority view of the religious side of Masonry; to aid in the appreciation of who we are, Christian and Jew.

“As an Entered Apprentice, again as a Fellowcraft, and finally as a Master Mason, I was told – I was assured – that there is no conflict between Masonry and the duty I assume in my understanding of God. I have long held that since there is only one God, the God of us all, that it is only our understanding of God that separates us. The truth as to who got it right and who got it wrong will be revealed to us when God is ready, and I’m willing to take my chances on my chosen religion. You see, I’m not worried about who got it wrong, because I’m not prepared to say that any of the other monotheistic religions got it wrong.”

Venerable Bro. Howard borrowed from various literary works, history, his own experiences, and other sources to explain to the brethren how identification with the Crusades by some Masons can be antagonizing to other Masons, and he did so convincingly and diplomatically.

Along the way, Gronning Council turned itself into a Lodge of Saint Lawrence the Martyr for the purpose of conferring the Degree of St. Lawrence the Martyr, a ritual that is centuries old, and was used by Operative Masons in the shires of northern England. The degree teaches fortitude and humility. A candidate in this degree is said to be “introduced, received and admitted as a Brother of Saint Lawrence.” After the degree, Bro. Ben explained to the brethren that many of the ritual elements of this degree are borrowed directly from English Craft ritual. In fact, the ritual of this degree states that a candidate is “a worthy brother of a lodge dedicated to Saint John,” a serendipitous foreshadowing of the next paper presented.

Bro. Matthew Riddle, a new AMD Mason from the newly chartered DaVinci Council in Westfield, continued the religious theme with his speculative interpretation of the importance of Masonic lodges being dedicated to the Holy Saints John. Excerpted:

Matthew Riddle.

“In the opening of lodge, in the exchange between the Worshipful Master and the Senior Warden, we hear it is our obligations that make us Masons. We learn a new obligation for each degree, where we are given new responsibilities and penalties. However, there are a few elements which are found in each of the obligations which too often are passed over; we hear the phrase ‘in this lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, erected to Him and dedicated to the Holy Saints John.’ But what does this mean?”

Bro. Matthew ventures into the New Testament, explaining his understanding of the Gospel of Saint John (“In the beginning was the Word….”) as a path to wisdom and virtue.

He writes: “If John the Baptist represents the Entered Apprentice, the one who wears his apron with the flap turned up, then it is St. John [the Evangelist] who is representative of the transformed man, the Initiate who has been raised and wears the apron with the flap turned down. The ways in which we wear our aprons as the degrees progress is very significant when we understand that the equilateral triangle has always been a symbol of deity and the square has always been a symbol of the manifest world. When the flap is turned up as the Entered Apprentice wears it, our perception and experience of divinity is of a transcendent deity: God is above and outside of us. However, when as a Master Mason, the flap is turned down it is a symbolic gesture of the transformation of our experience of deity. Divinity now is immersed in the manifest world, God is imminent in his Creation and we experience the ‘Divine Indwelling,’ where the Word has become flesh which is one of the main points of emphasis in the Gospel of John.”

In fact, there were common elements found in all the papers presented, and in the degree as well, that unified them as though there was a theme for the day. It was only happenstance, but the harmony of it radiated warmly and brightly for the betterment of the fraternity. (A fourth paper was scheduled for presentation, but the hour was late, and the writer, Bro. Steve Burkle of Cushite Council, graciously offered to withdraw his “The Masonic Ashlar and the Kabbalistic Cube of Space.”)

The 2011 Ingathering will be hosted by DaVinci Council next summer on a date to be announced.
   

2010 AMD Ingathering

The 2010 Harold V.B. Voorhis Ingathering will take place Saturday, July 10 at J. William Gronning Council No. 83 in Freehold (Olive Branch Lodge No. 16), New Jersey.

Registration and refreshments at 8:30 a.m.

The event will begin at 9 o'clock with the presentation of papers.

Lunch will be served.

In the afternoon, the St. Lawrence the Martyr Degree will be conferred.

It is NOT necessary to present a paper to participate in the Ingathering. It IS necessary to be an AMD member to attend.

Cost per person: $25.

Each registrant will receive a St. Lawrence the Martyr lapel pin and a Grand Council parchment commemorating the degree conferral.

Papers and other suitable presentations are now being accepted from AMD members for review and possible inclusion in the day's agenda.

Research papers AND speculative writings shall be original works, not previously published, and concerning topics relevant to Freemasonry, its influences, history, rituals, symbolism, philosophy, etc. Powerpoint or other appropriate media presentations are welcome as well.

All proposed presentations shall be submitted to Gronning Council no later than June 1. For details, leave a note in the Comments section of this edition of The Magpie Mason.

The Allied Masonic Degrees is an educational group within the York Rite of Freemasonry. Membership is invitational to Royal Arch Masons.

Those who support Masonic education believe a deeper understanding of Freemasonry nourishes a stronger commitment. This annual event is one of the ways we serve.

Voorhis AMD Ingathering 2010

     
New Jersey’s 2010 Harold V.B. Voorhis Ingathering will take place Saturday, July 10 at J. William Gronning Council No. 83.

Gronning Council meets at Olive Branch Lodge No. 16, at 2 Dutch Lane in Freehold.

The annual Voorhis Ingathering is a daylong affair, combining the presentation of research papers and speculative writings with the conferral of one of the degrees in the AMD corpus. In July we will confer the Degree of St. Lawrence the Martyr.

Brethren, consider this announcement a call for papers. Suitable presentations are now being accepted from AMD members for review and possible inclusion in the day’s agenda.

Research papers AND speculative writings shall be original works, not previously published, and concerning topics relevant to Freemasonry, its influences, history, rituals, symbolism, philosophy, etc. Chicago Style is preferred, but standard formatting with Times Roman 12-point font with accurate endnotes is acceptable. Powerpoint or other appropriate media presentations are welcome as well, but please be prepared to furnish your own equipment.

All proposed presentations shall be submitted to Gronning Council no later than June 1. For instructions on how to do this, leave a note in the Magpie Comments Section. I will get back to you. If you have my e-mail address, just write to me directly. Any other questions in the meantime should be handled similarly.

It is not necessary to present a paper to attend the Ingathering. It is necessary to be a Mason in the Allied Masonic Degrees to attend. The AMD is an honorary order in the York Rite of Freemasonry; membership is by invitation to Royal Arch Masons who demonstrate ability in matters of Masonic research and education.

We expect an enlightening morning when the papers will be presented, followed by a hearty lunch, and then the degree. St. Lawrence the Martyr Degree parchments will be awarded to attendees, and possibly other gifts too. More information, including admission cost, will be forthcoming in 2010. And please note the change of date. The previously announced July 17 was changed to avoid conflict with Red Cross of Constantine.

New Jersey’s annual Ingathering is named in honor of Harold Van Buren Voorhis, the noted author, ritualist and leader of many Masonic orders.


AMD clip art courtesy of Bro. Jeff at Lodgical. St. Lawrence clip art courtesy of Grand Council.