‘Bill Hosler, R.I.P.’

    

Bro. Bill Hosler circa 2018.

I just got home from what was the greatest leisurely week of the last thirty years of my life to learn of the death last Thursday of Bro. Bill Hosler.

I “met” Bill in the Masonic Light group, and he was one of the Knights of the North, and was on the ground floor at the launch of the Masonic Society, but you likely know him from the Midnight Freemasons and the Meet, Act and Part podcast. But he was irrepressible, so maybe you just know him via the electrical waves in the air.

Lady Tammi announced earlier:

The love of my life, Bill Hosler, passed away this past Thursday, unexpectedly. I am devastated and very overwhelmed, which has made it harder to make sure all who loved him is aware.

I do appreciate all who have reached out that loved him so much, as it has been helpful to me even if I can’t respond. I know he has been rejoined with so many that went before him who loved him, and I know our girl, Happy, greeted him at Heaven’s gate.

We will be sharing detailed service arrangements soon, but I did want those who loved him to know a service will be in Bentonville, Arkansas this Thursday and then a Masonic funeral service will be in Ft. Wayne, Indiana likely Saturday. Epting Funeral Home in Bentonville Arkansas is arranging all services.

Frankly, Bill wasn’t exactly the picture of health, and he and I would chat occasionally about how to manage various problems. He spoke from hard earned experience when cautioning me about these things. He always maintained his sense of humor—typically on the bawdy side—and that is the absence I’ll feel first, but he was a joy in discussion of Freemasonry. He had a lot of experience, having traveled around the middle of the country a lot in recent years. He possessed a wisdom about it all that will be missed especially.

Alas, my brother.

     

‘A lovely evening with Jim Dillman’

    

Yes, they need to work on their logo.

While it’s hard to stay current with all the Masonic podcasts, I had to budget some time to listen to the November 26 episode of That Other Masonic Podcast for the simple reason that the guest is…Bro. Jim Dillman!

Jim is an old friend; I think we go back twenty or so years, starting with the Masonic Light group, then the Knights of the North, and on to the Masonic Society, where he served as president a decade ago. He was made a Mason in 2000 at Royal Center Lodge 585 in Indiana, but might be better known through Lodge Vitruvian 767, the European Concept lodge in Indianapolis founded by Jeff Naylor, with Roger VanGorden, Chris Hodapp, Jim, and other conspirators endeavoring to introduce a high style of lodge experience to the Masonic scene there. That’s how I found these gifted Masons. I had the idea of organizing a similar lodge in my area, and their know-how was invaluable (although I ultimately failed to get such a lodge launched).

All I can say about Jim is already said by the co-hosts of the show; quoting VanGorden, they describe him as “the definition of what a Mason should be.” (Not even an old man in dotage or a madman would say that about me, so it impresses.) Jim has a colorful Masonic past to share, although talking about himself does not come naturally. The co-hosts mention bringing Jim back another time, and with some show prep, they could pose the questions that would elicit his story better.

This podcast is carried on the usual platforms. The show runs almost ninety minutes, so choose a double corona from your humidor, keep the decanter and ice near, and enjoy a pleasant chat on the Level.

     

‘Peninsula’s 20th anniversary’

    

Magpie file photo

I close the Magpie month of April with happy anniversary wishes to my old lodge, Peninsula 99 over in New Jersey. It was on this date in 2003 when the “grand lodge of New Jersey” issued a warrant to the last of its remaining lodges in the City of Bayonne.

Peninsula was an amalgamation of Bayonne 99 and Menorah 249 (where I had been at labor). Masonic lodges have been active in the city, if I recall correctly, since 1857.

I had the tough job of presiding in the East in 2005. Didn’t have to be difficult. I could have upheld the practice of initiating every vaguely curious man who could fog a mirror and pay a nominal fee, but I recognized the futility of that, and tried to practice what the EA Charge said about considering prospective members. (I was NorthStar ages before the program.)

It didn’t go over well.

But, on the plus side, the “district deputy grand master” threatening me with eviction from the Solomonic Chair led to my induction into the Knights of the North, that unsung think tank that did so much to clear the head of this fraternity. And then KOTN became the Masonic Society, and the rest is Masonic history.

(True story: On the night my successor was installed, the “ddgm” was to present me some kind of certificate of congratulations from the “grand lodge.” Well, he did that, but as he and I stood before a large audience of Masons and families and friends, and as he explained to the crowd what the award was about, he crushed the bottom left quarter of the diploma so it would be crumpled if I framed it. I guess so I’d have something to remember him by. I don’t remember his name, and I didn’t keep the certificate.)

Magpie file photo

Great building. Dedicated in, I think, 1925, with thousands of Masons in procession, it stands prominently in the neighborhood.

Anyway, happy twentieth anniversary to Mighty Peninsula 99! I hope I made a positive contribution. (Something more than the “Mighty” nickname.)

     

‘R.I.P. masonicdictionary.com’

    

Something last week reminded me of the venerable masonicdictionary.com, and upon venturing to visit, I found it was no more. Stephen Dafoe, the creator of the—I’ll call it—innovative resource, left Freemasonry years ago, so I guess it is understandable how he may have tired of paying to maintain the site and domain.

There was a lot to it, but the main attraction was a trove of essays in the twenty-first century revival of Masonic critical thinking. The writers (The Knights of the North), at Stephen’s prompting, tackled various problems facing the Masonic Order, from A to Z.

Too little, too late, perhaps, but I feel some pride when I recognize one of our bluntly voiced analyses impacting a lodge’s or grand lodge’s thinking. (Some grand masters believe good ideas come from their conferences, but that’s not exactly right.) Sorry to see it go.

The Knights of the North effectively became the Masonic Society in 2008.

The only remnant is a table of contents on this old Dummies post. My own contribution, a modified version of which I still trot out for speaking engagements, is reproduced here.

     

‘It was twenty years ago today’

    

Random House USA

On this date in 2002, New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786 was constituted by Grand Master David A. Chase. This singular occurrence more than likely is what resulted in me remaining in the fraternity beyond a couple more years.

At that time, my uninspiring mother lodge was dying, and its merger with our landlord lodge the following year was anything but certain. My York and Scottish rite groups were equally unimpressive. AMD was nice, but lacking. My invitation into the Knights of the North, where I finally would meet like-minded brethren, was three years off. The Masonic Society wouldn’t even be a concept for another six years. Then, approaching my fifth anniversary in Freemasonry, there appeared this purposeful lodge of learning.

It was 1) a meritocracy that 2) hardly anyone in that jurisdiction wanted to know about. Those two characteristics convinced me it was the place to be. (Plus, a gaggle of old hens in my mother lodge—elderly uneducated men who couldn’t understand why anyone would read a book about Freemasonry—made clear their dissatisfaction with my research lodge activity and pleasure. Further proof I was on the right track.)

It was just one of the great accomplishments of MW Chase, with securing recognition of our Prince Hall neighbors and bringing Sons of Liberty Lodge into the family being two others. For that one year, I believed that grand lodge could achieve important forward-thinking successes.

Happy anniversary to my Masonic first love.

     

‘Freemasonry is a verb in New York’

     

Where else should a Knight of the North be than in the service of the NorthStar Project?

NorthStar is a Grand Lodge of New York initiative being rolled out under the direction of Deputy Grand Master Jeffrey Williamson. While it is a strategy to improve membership development and membership retention, it is a comprehensive approach that makes Masonic education the common ground on which Masons young and senior may build tomorrow’s Freemasonry together. It will put very deliberate action into key teachings of the fraternity, and that’s why it will succeed.

NorthStar is understood under two denominations: Candidate Selection Process and Success Coaching. The former is a vetting system that will screen potential petitioners to ensure appropriate and informed guarding of the West Gate. This is apart from, and in advance of, the procedural investigation of a candidate already undertaken by the lodge. I’m always reluctant to use business jargon in discussing Freemasonry, but I suppose this can be considered Quality Assurance. Candidate Selection permits the prospective petitioner to learn about both the Masonic fraternity at large, and the particular lodge he has contacted, while allowing the lodge to assess the man, and decide if he is the right fit for Freemasonry, and, if so, which lodge would be best for him. The right lodge may turn out to be a different lodge than that he contacted to inquire into membership. Success Coaching is the logical next phase of the strategy. If you are familiar with the term “godfather,” as employed in Continental Masonic systems, then you know this Grand Lodge is embarking on a change of culture that will instill action into brotherhood.

Freemasonry is a verb in New York.

In this endeavor, the Success Coach fulfills a great duty to the candidate, from the petitioning phase through his Masonic maturation. Just as the Selection Process is distinct from the standard candidate investigation, the coaching is not to be confused with the mentoring that helps the candidate prepare for the initiatory degrees. It is to be the method of instructing the new Freemason in the meaning of Masonry. This plan acknowledges that Freemasonry is a lifetime pursuit, and that Masonic education is essential for advancing on the path. While many mistake Masonic education for ritual instruction and etiquette lessons, it is explained in perfect clarity in NorthStar that education shall encompass “the Craft’s history, purpose, operation, symbolism, law, philosophy, obligations and ideals.”

This is where I’ve always wanted to be in Freemasonry—aiding others in acquiring the meaning of Masonry, and metabolizing the tenets and values for the improvement of the individual, and the invigoration of the fraternity. As of Monday night, about 75 of us from various Metropolitan lodges are certified to bring the NorthStar Project to fruition in our lodges and other lodges. This is a very ambitious enterprise that could reform an entire culture in the Craft that for decades has acquiesced to initiating every man with a pulse who asks, before practically abandoning him to find his own way after his Third Degree, and then barely noticing his absence and inevitable quitting the fraternity. To too many Masons for too long that has been the accepted lodge model, but NorthStar delivers the guidelines that bring focus and purpose to the art of initiation and to the making of a Mason. Light added to Light.

     

‘The Masonic Society begins its eighth year’

     
If it’s May, it is another anniversary for The Masonic Society. This is the seventh anniversary of our launch, and what has been accomplished is kind of amazing. With ethical, thoughtful, and professional leadership, great things are possible.

Members of The Masonic Society have been receiving issue number 27 of The Journal—the quarterly periodical that just happened to have revived the Masonic publishing business in the United States. No. 27. Meaning twenty-six issues preceded it. I am reminded of now otherwise forgotten critics who said the Society’s business model was flawed, and that it wouldn’t get more than four issues to its members before folding. (They were championing something called Freemasons Press, which folded before getting four issues to its subscribers, but that’s old news too.) The Society begins its eighth year in service to the Craft. We have a fortune in the bank, so we’ll be around, publishing The Journal and hosting great Masonic events, for a long time.

Names in the news: Bro. Ken Davis of Albuquerque is our new First Vice President, following the departure from that post of Bro. Chip Borne in March. Ken was the obvious choice to fill that vacancy. A retired English professor and former chair of the English Department at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, he is an author of several books. Ken is a Past Master of Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 in Indianapolis, and is active these days in several Masonic groups in Albuquerque, including New Mexico Lodge of Research.

Ken has distinguished himself as a Director of The Masonic Society by serving as the Book Review Editor for The Journal, and was instrumental in creating and writing The Quarry Project Style Guide. (I return to the Board of Directors, taking Ken’s place. My thanks to President Jim Dillman and the other officers and Board members.)

Wanna hear something cool? That style guide has been adopted by the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction)’s bimonthly periodical Scottish Rite Journal; the Scottish Rite Research Society’s annual book of transactions Heredom; Grand Encampment’s monthly Knight Templar magazine; and Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research in Indianapolis.

But back to The Journal.

This issue highlights several familiar elements of Masonic ritual and symbol in ways that even longtime Freemasons could find fresh. The Four Cardinal Virtues are a subject I find vital to Freemasonry—I even used to present a popular lecture of my own devising on the topic—so I’ll start by sharing a bit of “The Masonic Relevance of the Four Cardinal Virtues” by Christian M. Christensen. Here, the full member of Texas Lodge of Research reminds us of the meanings of Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance, and Justice, and then takes us from Plato to Cicero to St. Ambrose to Thomas Aquinas and, finally, to the Jachin and Boaz exposure of 1797 for the Virtues’ arrival into Masonic tenets.

“Taking the Cardinal Virtues to heart and living them day by day requires work, just as becoming a better man is hard. Instead it is easier to continue the quest for light, blinding ourselves to the fact that the most important understandings are in front of us already. The Cardinal Virtues are cornerstone of the Craft, easily explained to us and are available for all to live by—if we are ready and willing to pick up our working tools and apply them.”

In his “We Have a Problem with the 47th Problem,” Brian C. Thomas of Washington ponders why Freemasonry prefers Euclid over Pythagoras. I remember one of the first flaws I discerned in Masonic ritual was its attribution of “Eureka!” to Pythagoras, actually exclaimed by Archimedes, which Thomas notes before guiding us through the chronology of the Pythagorean Theorem and its appearance in Masonic thought. His is a reasoned study, and what I appreciate most is Thomas’ inclusion of Benedict Spinoza in his analysis. The well read Freemason must be aware of the Dutch-born philosopher (and Jewish heretic)’s Ethics, which “mimics Euclid and systematically proves that God is the universe, the single substance in which all natural phenomena exists.”

“Such a concept of God could be universally accepted in all religions,” Thomas continues. “Spinoza is clear that we can know God without intersession of the church, and that a spark of the divine is within us to be discovered.” Read all about it on Page 18.

Patrick C. Carr, Grand Senior Warden of Arkansas, reminds his reader that two of the Great Lights of Masonry are tools for moral building. “Only by learning and understanding how [the Square and Compasses] work together can we hope to begin to tame our earthly passions and begin to focus on our spiritual development in the Craft,” he advises. “Only then will we start to become true Master Masons with the ability to travel and to seek the eternal.” SMIB.

Isaiah Akin, Historian of historic Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC, presents “Gavels and Contagious Magic,” a photo spread of that most handy of working tools, the gavel. But these have illustrious origins. Gavels made of wood, stone, and ivory connected to highly notable human events. Check out these unforgettable artifacts.

And of course there are the regular features of The Journal. In the President’s Message, Jim Dillman updates us on the recent amazing developments in The Masonic Society, including a hint of things to come that take Masonic education beyond the printed word. Journal editor Michael Halleran, freshly outstalled as Grand Master of Kansas, polishes the shine of Dwight Smith. Smith, as you know from your Knights of the North reading, Laudable Pursuit, was Grand Master of Indiana in 1945. His writings were amazingly prescient for their bold foretelling of the demographic and structural ailments in American Freemasonry we see today. When the size of Masonic membership was at its unimaginable apex and the future seemed so blessed, Smith cautioned “that men judge Freemasonry by what they see walking down the street wearing Masonic emblems, and if what they see does not command their respect, then we need not expect them to seek our fellowship.”

“If we have grown so prosperous and fat and lazy,” Halleran quotes Smith, “there is nothing further to do except revel in our status symbols and create more status symbols [because] we have ceased to possess anything that is vital.” A prophet.

Yasha Berensiner’s “Masonic Collectibles” recalls eighteenth century Masonic newspapers. The good, the bad, and the inaccurate are shown in the yellowed fragile pages of long ago.

The book reviews pages share insights into half a dozen authors’ current offerings, from academic and popular approaches. “Masonic Treasures” depicts an odd ballot box of unknown origin that you have to see to believe, courtesy of Isaiah Akin.

And there is a lot more in the pages of this issue of The Journal. Membership in The Masonic Society, as boasted by many—not just me—is the best $39 you’ll spend in Freemasonry. It is a Masonic fraternity on the move. Never content to rest, TMS continues to grow because it improves the condition of the Masonic Order. Enjoy.
     

‘Kent Henderson on tour’

  
Before there was Laudable Pursuit; before the Knights of the North; before Vitruvian; before there was a Traditional Observance lodge in the United States; before there was a Masonic Restoration Foundation; before this whole modern movement to introduce Freemasonry to Masonic lodges in the United States – okay, maybe not before St. Alban’s in Texas and John Mauk Hilliard’s seven rules – there was Kent Henderson and Lodge Epicurean 906 in Victoria, Australia. And this spring, Henderson will be here in the Northeast on a speaking tour, with stops in New Hampshire, Boston, and we’re working on New Jersey.

His treatise titled Back to the Future was practically a VSL to those of us in the early years of the previous decade who knew there had to be more to Freemasonry than the tedium and mendacity provided by the service club lodges that overwhelmingly dominate the Order here in America. Here is Guideline No. 1 in Back to the Future: “The aim of the lodge in all its endeavours will be quality, in ceremonial, in workings, and in after proceedings. We believe quality must be paid for.” So you see the self-evident culture shock.

Go hear Kent Henderson speak. Ask him about Epicurean, its ethos, conception, founding, obstacles, success, and current state.

More on the potential New Jersey date as soon as I firm up some details.

MAGPIE EDIT: Bro. Kent’s visit to the United States has been canceled. Another time, perhaps.

     

Click the images to enlarge.

  

‘Have you heard the good news?’

     

Like I mentioned in a post somewhere below, there are some good things happening in New Jersey Freemasonry these days, some beginning at the top, but others rising from the grass roots.

Every year, our grand lodge hosts what it calls a leadership conference at the Elizabethtown campus of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. I don’t know what goes on there – when I used to bother asking about it, brethren either would just stare at their shoes or start gushing wildly about brotherhood, and frankly I don’t perceive a statewide improvement in leadership – so I can’t describe it to you in any detail, but it is several days of classroom-type instruction and break-out sessions, and the like. This year it will take place at the end of October.

Anyway, and don’t ask me how this has come to be, but Cliff Porter will be the guest lecturer this year!

W. Bro. Cliff is a Past Master of Enlightenment Lodge No. 198 in Colorado. He is the author of several books: The Secret Psychology of Freemasonry and Masonic Baptism among them. In addition, he is one of the guiding lights behind the Sanctum Sanctorum Education Foundation, and Living Stones Magazine.

Undoubtedly one of the sharpest thinkers on the Masonic scene today, and I’m sure he’ll be great at the leadership conference.

In other good news, and this one strikes close to home because it concerns publishing, is the complete change of direction given to New Jersey Freemason magazine, the official periodical of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. When I was a young Master Mason, this publication was produced on newsprint, in tabloid shape if I recall correctly. Through the foresight and toil of the editors then, it made the transition to magazine format on glossy paper about 10 or 12 years ago. The problem through all that time to the present has been the content of the magazine, which ran the gamut from uninspired to unnecessary. Actually it has been very typical of grand lodge magazines: big on posed “grip & grin” photos, charity work, necrology, and bureaucratic odds and ends, but bereft of anything Masonic. I guess they did the best they could, but now the magazine is under the direction of W. Bro. Cory Sigler, editor and publisher of The Working Tools e-zine. Cory reached out to New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education No. 1786 to tap into its talent, and otherwise has made a strong effort to build a staff of writers to provide solid Masonic education pieces, current events reportage, and other content that thinking Masons actually will want to read. I haven’t seen the finished product yet, but it’s in the mail somewhere.

The first printed issue of The Working Tools.

In addition, let me congratulate Cory on his first hard copy publication of The Working Tools. After 51 issues over the course of six years, he has just gone to press with an actual magazine magazine. (Cory, forgive me, but except for your first issue, I’ve never really read The Working Tools before. I can’t read magazines on-line. I need the physical book in my hands. It catches my cigar ash, you see.)

And last but not least in the Good News Department is the launch of a book club in northern New Jersey. The brethren of the Second Masonic District, chiefly at Fidelity Lodge, but also drawing Masons from other lodges, recognized a need to discuss real ideas in Freemasonry, and thus this book club and discussion group.

You know they mean business and are hungry for reform when the first text they choose is Laudable Pursuit, the biggest plum among the fruits of the labors of the Knights of the North. Truth be told, it mainly is the work of Chris Hodapp, but it was published anonymously at the time (around 2005) for reasons I hope we’ve all forgotten by now.

I found out about the book club’s first meeting by accident, but then was contacted by the organizers. I said sure I’ll come! I thought they’d get a kick out of having a KOTN alum present, and I did get a few minutes to speak and share some inside baseball.

For better or worse, the topics confronted by LP stimulated the group to the extent that conversation was hard to organize, and we realized a second meeting to discuss LP was necessary. I missed that one. But what was really cool was the group itself: about 30 Masons, varying from a newly raised Master Mason to the District Deputy Grand Master.

The group will meet next on Monday the 21st at Nutley Lodge No. 25, and another KOTN alum will be there: none other than Hodapp himself, who will be in New Jersey for a few days to co-star in our 2012 Scottish Rite Symposium, with Bob Davis and Brent Morris. Click here for info on that! Thanks to the size of the auditorium, we actually have some seats remaining. Only $50 per person, which covers breakfast, lunch, and souvenirs.

There are other good things in the works here, and I look forward to telling you about them when the time is right or as they develop.
    

'Starting our second decade'

    
On this date in 2002, New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education No. 1786 met for the first time, creating a safe haven in our jurisdiction for the thinking Mason. At the research lodge (known informally as LORE), we don't waste potential on simply memorizing Masonic ritual. We use ritual as a kind of map to guide us on a quest to find the meaning of Masonry. Beyond the written or spoken word of ritual lies another world of deeper understandings and contexts. There is search and research, and neither has much to do with whether the Masters of Ceremonies know when to ground their rods.

After ten years and 135 papers, LORE begins our second decade. Our next Regular Communication will take place Saturday, March 17 at 10 a.m. at Palestine Lodge No. 111 in Princeton.

In an upcoming post, I'll share the details of several unusual occurrences and developments being planned here in New Jersey. They're all good things, which, frankly, is what makes them unusual. One of them involves our lodge of research, and it is a long overdue project that adequately marks the start of our second decade. Until then, I'll leave you with the essay I wrote seven years ago for the Knights of the North Masonic Dictionary. I was reminded of this last week when I happened upon it in, of all places, the website of Golden State Chapter of Research. The Masonic Dictionary site is maintained by Stephen Dafoe, despite his exit from the Craft. He has mine and many others' gratitude for keeping these websites alive.

Education: The Unspeakable Masonic Word

When we speak of "Masonic education," we are needlessly redundant. Freemasonry is education, simultaneously moral instruction, spiritual enlightenment and intellectual growth so that a man may come to know and improve himself. But this isn't supposed to be a solitary activity; Freemasonry also is a brotherhood. The Master Mason Lecture explains the symbolism of the Beehive: "He who will not endeavor to add to the common stock of knowledge may be deemed a drone in the hive of nature, a useless member of society, and unworthy of the care and protection of Masons." Together the brethren seek "that which was lost." What was lost? Truth. It is that search after Truth that makes Freemasonry philosophical, and where there is a love of wisdom, education is the act of courtship.

Because Freemasonry's teachings intentionally address the fundamental and perpetual curiosities of man, it accurately can be said that it is education without limit in both appeal and scope. Truly any wholesome field of study or discipline intersects somewhere along Freemasonry's path of learning, and much of Masonic teaching coincides with the Humanities. Masonry reveals itself through ritual. These centuries-old ceremonies are a framework or, more accurately, a map that each Freemason may follow in his search for Truth. To summarize just one aspect of this process, as an Apprentice, the newly initiated Mason is taught to subdue his passions while letting the Four Cardinal Virtues guide him toward candid self-awareness. From this ceremony one finds commonality with Plato and Aquinas. The former saw these virtues as a recipe for a perfect society; to the latter they were for the betterment of an individual's attitudes, values and behavior. Next, as a more experienced Mason called a Fellowcraft, he is shown the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences: Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy guide the Masonic student as they had the thinkers who gave Western civilization its Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment, with all the culture contained therein. A proper understanding of the Arts and Sciences empowers Masonic man to make his mind the rational master of his primal Five Senses of hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling and tasting, and so this progress builds upon the Platonic-Thomist foundation. In the Third Degree of Freemasonry, the Master Mason is sufficiently aware of his place in the universe so as to fear no danger, not even death itself. Ultimately, upon exiting the Holy of Holies for the final time, the Master Mason goes gamely "into that good night" knowing that there is no sting of death nor victory of the grave, but only eternal life.

We've dubbed Education "The Unspeakable Masonic Word" because it seems like no one ever talks about it. In my experience, research lodges, study groups and the like are treated like red light districts where only the furtive venture in search of the forbidden. So at first you're pretty much on your own. To get started, think about what you most desire to know about Freemasonry, and then go find the answers. Easy? No, but it shouldn't be. Depending on the subject, a researcher can spend months looking for a long out-of-print book; even years can pass before inadvertently coming across a needed factoid in an unexpected source. Naturally the internet delivers limitless information but, as with books, one must exercise discriminating choice. Again, let the ritual be your map. Choose an unfamiliar word, an odd phrase, a seemingly antiquated idea. Then define it. Identify its Masonic significance and apply that meaning to a broader context of how it could benefit others; and then translate that idea into your own words so that you take possession and internalize it. Once it is yours, it is there as a tool for use in your growth, and it's there for good. Repeat the process, as needed, for life.

That education is interwoven in Freemasonry is a reality that predates modern Masonry itself. In the Old Charges - the dozens of manuscripts penned over the course of more than three centuries prior to the start in 1717 of the Masonic Order we know today - are found clear procedures on how new members of the building trade were to be schooled in their craft over long spans of time. In the Halliwell Manuscript, believed written in the 14th century and the earliest of these documents, are found the "Fifteen Articles for the Master Mason," including:

3. He must take apprentices for seven years, his craft to learn.
11. He must be both fair and free and teach by his might.
12. He shall not disparage his fellow's work.
13. He must teach his apprentice.

Nor is there anything extraneous about the grave consequence awaiting the unskilled, untested, and unlucky operative builder in the ancient world. The pre-Biblical Babylonian ruler Hammurabi set down a legal code that included:

If a builder has built a house for a man and has not made his work sound, so that the house he has made falls down and causes the death of the owner of the house, that builder shall be put to death. If it causes the death of the son of the owner of the house, they shall kill the son of that builder.

Clearly the importance of education in the building arts is indisputable. (Remember that the funny-looking cap you wore at graduation is called a mortarboard.) Today Freemasonry's instruction is all presented in allegory and symbolism, but the education is no less crucial to the Speculative Mason's life. Tragically few seem to understand or want to understand, and this power goes neglected in the quotidian realities of contemporary Masonry. Why? Because it is hard work! In mastering his Craft, Masonic Man spends his life relentlessly scrutinizing himself, the condition of his fellow man and of the world, and the role of the Great Architect of the Universe in it all. It is not by accident that the hard labor of constructing in stone is the metaphor through which Masonry's instruction is imparted. Nor is it by chance that the seeker of the degrees of Freemasonry is repeatedly tested for his willingness to proceed further.

While the teachings of Freemasonry are universal - "Every human being has a claim upon your kind offices." - it was never intended for every human being to enter its temples, and yet its doors have been flung open for many years allowing practically any man to enter. Consequently, the libraries that once were busy beehives have been converted to other, more simple purposes, their books locked away in storage, forgotten. (Indeed the word "temple" itself, as in a place for conTEMPLation, has been abandoned for the monotonous "Masonic center.") Simultaneously, the discussions that once compelled Masons to reconsider their opinions, to re-examine their very lives, and to improve their world have been replaced by charity walk-a-thons and other activities that, while helpful, should be entrusted to our neighbors in the Lions, Kiwanis and Elks organizations. While organizing and staging a charity fundraiser is a big job, it is child's play compared to the vital challenge of metabolizing Masonic thought, and achieving that state of being where the heart of Jerusalem meets the mind of Athens.

In the fundamental duty of educating oneself and one's fellow Masons, we today are not negligent. We are uninformed, and the craziest thing about it is that the ritual tells us what to do. Remember the advice imparted to you upon your first knocks on the Inner Door: "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." One's search is a personal endeavor, but there are friends to help you along the way. When enough of us start speaking aloud about Masonic education we can restore to its rightful place the paramount purpose of Freemasonry: to labor together in replenishing the "common stock of knowledge" in our pursuit of Truth.





Brethren, lodges of Masonic research have been proliferating across the United States in recent years, with some jurisdictions having more than one at labor. Go get involved. If your Masonry induces you to see beyond the knife and fork, and through the misguided corporate charities, and above the pointless pageantry of saluting this and that popularity contest winner, then you'll derive profit and pleasure from a research lodge. Me? I'm a Past Master of one, and Senior Deacon of another. It is in these places where you meet a special kind of Mason. The guys who, to invoke Dafoe again, "get it."
    

'Coming attractions'

  
The Magpie is attracted to bright, shiny things, so there you go.

Upcoming events in and near New Jersey

Friday, February 17 at the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York: historical program in commemoration of the bicentennial of Prince Hall Masonry in the State of New York. 454 West 155th Street in New York City. Open to the public.

Sunday, February 19 at DeWint House in Tappan, New York: Bro. Mark Tabbert, Director of Collections at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia to deliver the keynote speech at this Grand Lodge of New York celebration of George Washington's birthday.

Wednesday, February 22 at Sons of Liberty Lodge in Secaucus: Bro. Mohamad Yatim, Past Master of Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge, will speak on "Freemasonry and the Mystic Schools of the East."

Thursday, March 1 at the Scottish Rite Valley of Rockville Centre
28 Lincoln Ave., Rockville Centre, NY

"Pillars of the Porch: The Duality of the Masonic Experience"
By Ill. Steven Stefanakos, 33°
and
"The Frontispiece of the 1611 King James Bible from a Masonic Perspective" by SP Oscar Alleyne

8 p.m. Open to Master Masons.

RSVP to valleyofrvc(at)gmail.com

Saturday, March 10 at Advance Masonic Temple in Long Island City, New York: Quest XXXII. (See post below.)

Thursday, March 15: Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2's annual Wendell K. Walker Lecture delivered by W. Bro. David Lindez, titled "That Which Wendell K. Walker Held Most Dear." 7 p.m. in the Empire Room, 12th floor, of Masonic Hall. 71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan. Open to Apprentices and Fellows. Attire: business suit.

Collation to follow at Aleo restaurant, 7 W. 20th Street. Fixed price menu at $60 per person. Reservations no later than 5 p.m. on March 9 are required. Contact Bro. Charles Henry George at charlesgeorge252(at)earthlink.net

Friday, March 16 at Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge in Westfield: Bro. Andrew Hammer, Past Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 in Virginia, will speak on "Observing the Craft," the thesis of his book of the same name.

Saturday, March 17 at NJ Lodge of Masonic Research and Education, being hosted by Palestine Lodge in Princeton. Papers to be presented. 10 a.m.

Monday, March 19 at Fidelity Lodge in Ridgewood: Book Club and Discussion Group to review Laudable Pursuit by the Knights of the North. 7:15 p.m.

Thursday, March 22 at Peninsula Lodge in Bayonne: Bro. Andrew Hammer, Past Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 in Virginia, will speak on "Observing the Craft," the thesis of his book of the same name.

Thursday, March 22 at Alpine Tilden Tenakill Lodge in Tenafly: Bro. Mohamad Yatim, Past Master of Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge, will speak on "The Chamber of Reflection - V.I.T.R.I.O.L."

Saturday, March 24 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Masonic Knowledge at Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania: program TBA.

Thursday, March 29 at The American Lodge of Research, at Masonic Hall in New York City: Bro. Conor Moran on "Freemasonry and the Holocaust." 8 p.m.

Thursday, April 12 at Peninsula Lodge in Bayonne: Bro. Mohamad Yatim, Past Master of Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge, will speak on "The Myths Behind Who Killed Hiram Abiff."

Saturday, April 14, hosted by St. George's Lodge (GLNY) at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, New York: symposium featuring four accomplished Masonic educators.

Thursday, April 19 at Mountain View Lodge in Haledon: lecture on "The Emblem of a Pure Heart: The Pot of Incense as a Masonic Symbol."

Thursday, April 26 at the Scottish Rite Valley of Central Jersey: the Magpie Mason to address the Past Most Wise Masters Dinner.

April 27-29 at three locations: New Jersey Symphony Orchestra to perform a program of Mozart's Masonic funeral music, and similarly themed pieces by other composers.

Saturday, April 28 at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library at Lexington, Massachusetts: 2012 Symposium on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism.

Monday, April 30 at noon at Federal Hall, New York City: the annual re-enactment of the first presidential inauguration of Bro. George Washington on this, the 223rd anniversary of that historic moment. Naturally, the George Washington Inaugural Bible will be on hand.

Monday, April 30, hosted by Shiloh Lodge (GL of Pennsylvania) at the William Penn Inn in Gwynedd: the fifth annual Bernard H. Dupee Memorial Lecture, presented by RW James W. Daniel, Past Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England.

Saturday, May 5 at a restaurant to be announced: The American Lodge of Research's dinner-lecture, hosting W. Bro. Adam Kendall of the Henry Wilson Coil Masonic Library and Museum in San Francisco.

Saturday, May 19 at the Valley of Central Jersey in Bordentown: Scottish Rite Symposium featuring Ill. Robert G. Davis of Oklahoma; Ill. Christopher Hodapp of Indianapolis; and Ill. Brent Morris of Washington. $50 per person. More info TBA.

‘Search and Research’

    
The Magpie Mason enjoyed a good, but extremely busy, week. The American Lodge of Research held its Installation of Officers on Tuesday, and yours truly was installed Junior Deacon for the year. This gives me a lot to think about, for a number of reasons, but mostly because I’ve been Master of a research lodge previously (New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education No. 1786). Every experience in Freemasonry opens my eyes to something, but those years with New Jersey’s research lodge taught lessons like no other – and I say that having served in the East of a Craft lodge and four other Masonic bodies – so I hope to be more valuable to ALR than most Junior Deacons.

Anyway, among the thoughts ricocheting around my mind are: What is Masonic education? What does it mean to be a lodge of Masonic research in 2011? What are Masons seeking when they want to learn, and how do they expect to learn? What should I expect of them?

The vexing challenges arise from the fact that lodges of research are anomalies in Freemasonry. The culture of Freemasonry in the United States is summarized by the characteristics of 99.999 percent of the Craft lodges here: superficial unions of men; the overwhelming majority of whom do not participate in anything their lodges do; haphazardly united in name only, thanks to decades of aimless membership development. Lodge activities differ little from those of Elks lodges and other clubs of generic fraternity. If there is a form of education, it is confined to ritual memorization, occasionally interrupted with something about George Washington. I’m aware this reads like an indictment, but it is a fair assessment of the general scene in this fraternity. Some lodges are exceptions, but they comprise a tiny minority, and their positions as lodges of learning are anything but secure because they prove our status quo need not be. Conversely, the research lodge has a very specific purpose which unites a corps, although usually a small one, of laborers who do that work.

What is Masonic education?

I have a lengthy answer to this question that can be read at the bottom of this post, but to put it quickly, while Freemasonry has its few lodges of research, I believe each Craft lodge should be a lodge of search.

We search for Light. We search for The Lost Word. At a certain point, we search for our Operative Grand Master. In short, we seek Truth. It is philosophical inquiry that can begin with a look in the mirror, and can continue without limit in all directions thereafter.

In a lodge of search, the Speculative Freemason should think about what Masonic ritual and symbol mean to him. And he should say so, and should defend his thoughts by answering questions about them.

In most of the Masonic world, this takes place in the Craft lodge where, after each degree, the aspirant presents what is called a Piece of Architecture. This is an essay of personal reflections on what the preceding degree and its symbols mean to the candidate. These are not research papers; they are speculative interpretations on a personal level. They are read aloud in lodge, and the presenter then defends his thesis by answering the brethren’s questions. This can happen several times in the period between degrees. That period can exceed a year. Or two. Presenting his Piece(s) of Architecture is a requisite to advancing to the next degree. It even might begin at the petition phase, when the Master asks the prospective candidate to explain, in writing, why he wants to become a Freemason.

Does your lodge do this?

What does it mean to be a lodge
of Masonic research in 2011?

Research, among other purposes, should tell us what those who preceded us did in their searches. Some cleared paths for us to follow; others show us where not to go, provided we are paying attention. The researcher sifts through clues – historical facts and fictions – for the sake of explaining why the present is how it is. These data should be used to inform one’s search, because too many Masons embark on their spiritual work without realizing their aspirations are based on myths and legends. Of course myths can be as instructive as facts, but I see too many Masons basing their identities on certain non-truths, and I doubt that’s a sustainable approach to life.

The very first research lodge was Quatuor Coronati No. 2076 in London, which was set to labor in the 1880s. Its self-determined mission was (and is) to separate myths and legends from the genuine history of our Order. (e.g. Before QC2076, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jesus, et alia were Freemasons. After QC2076, they are not and never were. That’s a simple summary, but incredibly and inconceivably it was a drastic demarcation.)

Most members of research lodges do not even attend the lodge meetings. Maybe they are content to receive in the mail the annual book of transactions. Perhaps they desire even less than that: only to be able to say they’re members. It is a miniscule minority – not even one in a thousand – who research and write papers, and present them from the podium, intending them for peer review and publication.

To be a lodge of Masonic research and education is to swim upstream and to pursue labors with scarce resources and sparse company. Without Masonic search taking place in the Craft lodges, Masonic research is an opportunity untouched by nearly all Craft Masons.

I’m rambling, but in answer to the question What does it mean to be a lodge of Masonic research in 2011, I am reminded of a phrase often repeated in the Gospels: He that has ears to hear, let him hear. That is not a question of physical deafness, but one of cognition and understanding. Maybe even gnosis, if I may be so bold. Its speaker essentially is saying You who “get it” should pay special attention right now. The lodge of Masonic research and education should shine its Light, and – if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor – those who have ears will hear.

In a lodge of Masonic research, the Speculative Mason should decode the meanings of Masonic ritual and symbol in the contexts of specific theses. That is, don’t simply aggrandize the fraternity by repeating how Famous Man X was a Freemason, but examine Bro. X’s life to try to determine how Masonry might have affected the man, and consider that when describing how the man affected his world.

What are Masons seeking when they want to learn,
and how do they expect to learn?

There is no single, specific answer to that first question. Every man is looking for something that speaks to him directly. To the second question, based on what I see, I am hopeful that thinking Masons are motivated to read – I mean books, not just websites – and to travel. The night after ALR’s installation, I returned to the same room for the Regular Communication of Kosciuszko Lodge No. 1085, where Bro. Erik spoke on the life of Tadeusz Kosciuszko. (See post below.) The Master was quite surprised to see how many visiting brethren were present, in addition to the seven Apprentices and Fellows who have ears to hear.

What should I expect of them?

All I ask is a willingness to do a little work. It’s not for my benefit. The gain is yours. Be a thinker. Read useful material, and think about it, and question it. Don’t expect to have everything spoon fed to you, or at least not after your Ceremony of Passing. Be responsible in your autonomy, in your labors.

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Six years ago, the think tank named The Knights of the North was challenged by Bro. Stephen Dafoe of Alberta to author a collection of essays to populate a website to be called Masonic Dictionary. Topics from A to Z were addressed by KOTN’s few members whose writings often recall The Devil’s Dictionary, but were offered in complete candor, sincerity, and hope for a better tomorrow for Freemasonry. (The website promises we’ll be back soon, but after this many years I think it’s safe to say KOTN more or less morphed into The Masonic Society, an independent education foundation worthy of your time.) I was assigned the letter E – for Education – a topic Stephen titled “The Unspeakable Masonic Word.” Below is the complete text.


When we speak of “Masonic education,” we are needlessly redundant. Freemasonry is education, simultaneously moral instruction, spiritual enlightenment and intellectual growth so that a man may come to know – and improve – himself. But this isn’t supposed to be a solitary activity; Freemasonry also is a brotherhood. The Master Mason Lecture explains the symbolism of the Beehive: “He who will not endeavor to add to the common stock of knowledge may be deemed a drone in the hive of nature, a useless member of society, and unworthy of the care and protection of Masons.” Together the brethren seek “that which was lost.” What was lost? Truth. It is that search after Truth that makes Freemasonry philosophical, and where there is a love of wisdom, education is the act of courtship.

Because Freemasonry’s teachings intentionally address the fundamental and perpetual curiosities of man, it can accurately be said that it is education without limit in both appeal and scope. Truly any wholesome field of study or discipline intersects somewhere along Freemasonry’s path of learning and much of Masonic teaching coincides with the Humanities. Masonry reveals itself through ritual. These centuries-old ceremonies are a framework, or more accurately, a map that each Freemason may follow in his search for Truth. To summarize just one aspect of this process, as an Apprentice, the newly initiated Mason is taught to subdue his passions while letting the Four Cardinal Virtues guide him toward candid self-awareness. From this ceremony one finds commonality with Plato and Aquinas. The former saw these virtues as a recipe for a perfect society; the latter adapted the virtues for the betterment of an individual’s attitudes, values and behavior. Next, as a more experienced Mason called a Fellowcraft, he is shown the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences: Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy guide the Masonic student as they had the thinkers who gave Western civilization its Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment, with all the culture contained therein. A proper understanding of the Arts and Sciences empowers Masonic man to make his mind the rational master of his primal Five Senses of hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling and tasting, and so this progress builds upon the Platonic-Thomist foundation. In the Third Degree of Freemasonry, the Master Mason is sufficiently aware of his place in the universe so as to fear no danger, not even death itself. Ultimately, upon exiting the Holy of Holies for the final time, the Master Mason goes gamely “into that good night” knowing that there is no sting of death and no victory of the grave, but only eternal life.

We have dubbed Education “The Unspeakable Masonic Word” because it seems like no one ever talks about it. In my experience, research lodges, study groups and the like are treated like red light districts where only the furtive venture in search of the forbidden. So at first you’re pretty much on your own. To get started, think about what you most desire to know about Freemasonry, and then go find the answers. Easy? No, but it shouldn’t be. Depending on the subject, a researcher can spend months looking for a long out-of-print book; even years can pass before inadvertently coming across a needed factoid in an unexpected source. Naturally the internet delivers limitless information, but – even as with books – one must exercise discriminating choice. Again, let the ritual be your map. Choose an unfamiliar word, an odd phrase, a seemingly antiquated idea. Then define it. Identify its Masonic significance and apply that meaning to a broader context of how it could benefit others; and then translate that idea into your own words so that you take possession and internalize it. Once it is yours, it is there as a tool for use in your growth, and it’s there for good. Repeat the process, as needed, for life.

That education is interwoven in Freemasonry is a reality that predates modern Masonry itself. In the Old Charges – the dozens of manuscripts penned over the course of more than three centuries prior to the start in 1717 of the Masonic Order we know today – are found clear procedures on how new members of the building trade were to be schooled in their craft over long spans of time. In the Halliwell Manuscript, believed written in the 14th century and the earliest of these documents, are found the “Fifteen Articles for the Master Mason,” including:

 3. He must take apprentices for seven years, his craft to learn.
11. He must be both fair and free and teach by his might.
12. He shall not disparage his fellow’s work.
13. He must teach his apprentice.

Nor is there anything extraneous about the grave consequence awaiting the unskilled, untested, and unlucky operative builder in the ancient world. The pre-Biblical Babylonian ruler Hammurabi set down a legal code that included:

If a builder has built a house for a man and has not made his work sound, so that the house he has made falls down and causes the death of the owner of the house, that builder shall be put to death. If it causes the death of the son of the owner of the house, they shall kill the son of that builder.

Clearly the importance of education in the building arts is indisputable. (Remember that the funny-looking cap you wore at graduation is called a mortarboard.) Today Freemasonry’s instruction is all presented in allegory and symbolism, but the education is no less crucial to the Speculative Mason’s life. Tragically few seem to understand or want to understand, and this power goes neglected in the quotidian realities of contemporary Masonry. Why? Because it is hard work! In mastering his Craft, Masonic Man spends his life relentlessly scrutinizing himself, the condition of his fellow man and of the world, and the role of the Great Architect of the Universe in it all. It is not by accident that the hard labor of constructing in stone is the metaphor through which Masonry’s instruction is imparted. Nor is it by chance that the seeker of the degrees of Freemasonry is repeatedly tested for his willingness to proceed further. While the teachings of Freemasonry are universal – “Every human being has a claim upon your kind offices.” – it was never intended for every human being to enter its temples, and yet its doors have been flung open for many years allowing practically any man to enter. Consequently, the libraries that once were busy beehives have been converted to other, more simple purposes, their books locked away in storage, forgotten. (Indeed the word “temple” itself, as in a place for conTEMPLAtion, has been abandoned for the monotonous “Masonic center.”) Simultaneously, the discussions that once compelled Masons to reconsider their opinions, to re-examine their very lives, and to improve their world have been replaced by charity walk-a-thons and other activities that, while helpful, should be entrusted to our neighbors in the Lions, Kiwanis and Elks organizations. While organizing and staging a charity fundraiser is a big job, it is child’s play compared to the vital challenge of metabolizing Masonic thought, and achieving that state of being where the heart of Jerusalem meets the mind of Athens.

In the fundamental duty of educating oneself and one’s fellow Masons, we today are not negligent. We are uninformed, and the craziest thing about it is that the ritual tells us what to do. Remember the advice imparted to you upon your first knocks on the Inner Door: “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” One’s search is a personal endeavor, but there are friends to help you along the way. When enough of us start speaking aloud about Masonic education we can restore to its rightful place the paramount purpose of Freemasonry: to labor together in replenishing the “common stock of knowledge” in our pursuit of Truth.

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And speaking of The Devil’s Dictionary and the formation of Quatuor Coronati Lodge, here is how the Dictionary defines Freemasonry (hat tip to RW Fred Waldron):

FREEMASONS, n. An order with secret rites, grotesque ceremonies and fantastic costumes, which, originating in the reign of Charles II, among working artisans of London, has been joined successively by the dead of past centuries in unbroken retrogression until now it embraces all the generations of man on the hither side of Adam and is drumming up distinguished recruits among the pre-Creational inhabitants of Chaos and Formless Void. The order was founded at different times by Charlemagne, Julius Caesar, Cyrus, Solomon, Zoroaster, Confucious, Thothmes, and Buddha. Its emblems and symbols have been found in the Catacombs of Paris and Rome, on the stones of the Parthenon and the Chinese Great Wall, among the temples of Karnak and Palmyra and in the Egyptian Pyramids – always by a Freemason.

    

21st Century Masonry

     

Bro. Ronald Pollock, president of the 1st Manhattan District Assoc.,
introduces RW Jeff Williamson, our speaker last night.

How good and how pleasant it is to dwell together with brethren who understand Freemasonry.

Last night was the first of what could become annual dinner-lectures hosted by the First Manhattan District Association at the Grand Lodge of New York. RW Bro. Jeffrey M. Williamson was the speaker. With his PowerPoint graphics ready, he discussed “How Can Masonry Survive and Prosper in the 21st Century?”

RW Williamson is one of those leaders whose résumé spans seven pages. He is a Past District Deputy Grand Master of the Second Erie District in the Buffalo area. He is Grand King in the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. He also is a veteran of Grand Lodge’s Educational Services Committee and its Masonic Development Course, and has played a large role in training the jurisdiction’s DDGMs for many years. “I have a universal view of Masonry,” he said. (And he’s a Master Electrician, so “Let there be Light” is no trivial business to him!) He was recommended to the FMDA by Ted Harrison. ’Nuff said.

It seemed every lodge in the First Manhattan District was well represented last night. Worshipful Master Mike from Pioneer-Mt. Moriah No. 20 was there with a number of his officers and brethren. Many from Washington Lodge No. 21, like “HRH” Vincenzo, a college professor. There was Alessandro and others from Mariners. And Bro. Major, visiting from GLNF. RW Arnold from Consolidated. RW Christopher from Holland No. 8. Bro. Francisco, Bro. Terence, Bro. Lenny and many more. The room was full of young, educated men who are in Freemasonry to find a singular environment populated by exceptional people.

I think it is a gutsy move to host such a discussion. You never know who might show up, and what might be said. But, if there is any hope of reversing the problems plaguing Freemasonry, we have to admit a) there are problems, and b) there are solutions to the problems. The teachings of Masonry lead one to examine his life and to labor toward self-improvement. Moral, ethical, intellectual advancements. Does it not stand to reason that the order itself should, collectively, undergo the same sort of self-scrutiny, to discuss candidly the things we see that are just wrong, and the ways to fix them?

Dinner was simple, but New York style: big sandwiches worthy of a proper Manhattan deli, plus an open bar.

(Before things got started, the Magpie Mason had a “Narnia moment.” Whenever I’m in this building, I go to the windows to see what kind of view of Manhattan can be seen. The room next to our dining room was vacant, so I walk in, look out the window at an especially gloomy, rainy cityscape, and then return to the dining room. Right behind me come three Masons wearing aprons! I thought maybe the complimentary rye was getting the best of me. Where’d they come from? I go back into the room, head toward the coat closet, and find a narrow hallway winding its way around a corner. Voila! There is Publicity Lodge No. 1000 preparing for a Fellowcraft Degree! Strange that a lodge called Publicity would be secreted behind a coat closet, but of course the lodge room has a proper entrance also.)

An eclectic bunch of dozens of Masons packed the dining room adjacent to the American Room on the 19th floor. From three or four Fellowcrafts to a number of Past DDGMs, all were united in wanting to hear some common sense talk on what lodges need to do if they are to attract quality members and keep them stimulated and productive.

The Magpie Mason was delighted to see the recipe was very nearly identical to the recommendations set out earlier this decade by both the Knights of the North and the Masonic Restoration Foundation.

These two organizations deserve the credit for sparking the widespread interest in both European Concept and Traditional Observance lodges across the United States. European Concept emphasizes elegance and sophistication in upholding Masonic culture. The West Gate is closely tiled. Membership is limited. Dues are high. Food is great. Education is rewarding. Every meeting has a purpose. Sometimes a foreign ritual, like Emulation, is worked. It’s the kind of experience that, frankly, alarms those who want the Ralph Kramden Raccoon Lodge model to remain the only option. Traditional Observance has those traits in common, and goes further by incorporating highly esoteric elements into its initiations. T.O. is the proprietary design of the Masonic Restoration Foundation, a nationwide non-profit organization that offers memberships. The Knights of the North by contrast was a thinktank comprised of brethren from across the United States and Canada.

“We suffer from a lack of Masonic leadership and training,” said RW Williamson, “and we live in the past.” Boring meetings, poorly worked ritual, indifference to the brethren’s expectations and other familiar factors have created a “lackluster environment.” The fraternity’s longstanding preference for quantity over quality in membership not only has failed to cultivate talent that can move us forward, but actually has resulted in a greater number of Masonic trials to rid the Craft of those who never should have been initiated in the first place. “Can Freemasonry survive and prosper in the 21st century? It can and it will. Freemasonry is as relevant today as it was 250 years ago. But we need to make Masons, not members.”

His formula for returning Freemasonry to its true purpose is a checklist for lodges to incorporate into their management.

• Investigate the candidate thoroughly – He noted that in the GLNY the term now is “interview,” but he stressed the importance of making sure every petitioner is worthy and well qualified.

• Keep membership small – A lodge, if everyone is to know each other and function as a close unit, should be limited in size to about 50 Masons.

• Candidate comprehension – Challenge the Apprentices and Fellows to think. Have them write papers before their second and third degrees describing, in their own words, what the preceding degrees mean to them. Bro. Francisco noted how this process helped him gain greater comprehension.

• Proficiency – Rituals must be worked expertly and with sincerity, with work being assigned according to merit.

• Dues – Lodges need to be adequately funded by the brethren themselves. It is okay to hold fundraisers, but they are really intended to foster the bonding experience while raising money for worthy causes.

• Attendance – The brethren are expected to attend the Communications, or send regrets that they are unable to attend. Or, in other words, extend to the lodge the same courtesy one shows his family, friends and business colleagues.

• Festive Boards – No explanation is really needed here. Eat, drink, and be merry.

• Standards – “Set the bar high, and the brethren will respond,” he said.

St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons was well represented last night. It is already achieving this very type of lodge experience. In fact, this lodge, founded in 1757, marked its 250th anniversary year in part by receiving its Traditional Observance certification from the Masonic Restoration Foundation. An old lodge can learn new tricks. The end result of this revolution is the existence now of a waiting list of candidates trying to gain entry into St. John’s – and many, if not most, will not make the cut – whereas several years ago this lodge was struggling to remain functional.

A Past DDGM who is a member of several lodges told of his experience in affiliating with Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2, which was founded in 1760. “Washington and Lafayette were regular participants in its proceedings.”

“I was one of the last to be allowed to affiliate with I.R.A.,” he said. “They are very selective.” He then described the process of vetting candidates for membership in I.R.A., which includes attending numerous non-tiled events and social functions to let the lodge’s brethren get to know the candidates, to see which would make a proper fit in the lodge. “Even though I was well known to the lodge, I still went through the process.”

The candidates of today, Williamson said, are looking for “education in a mystic craft,” and ways to achieve self-improvement and become gentlemen. They like the mysterious and unique language used in Masonic rituals. Memorization of ritual is not enough, but teaching an understanding of what these ceremonies say should be the goal. Admittedly, our speaker was preaching to the choir, but there was a lot of information and wisdom provided. Things that really needed to be said, and that drew applause. (And conversation of this nature is heretical in some jurisdictions, ergo this blog.)

Bro. Gerry of Pioneer-Mt. Moriah Lodge No. 20 shares his insights on membership retention.

“Just because Grand Lodge has no procedure to involve EAs and FCs, doesn’t mean the lodges cannot involve them in activities,” said RW Martin Kanter, PDDGM. Certain things have to be handled while at labor on the MM Degree of course, but there are ways to assimilate brethren of the lower degrees into the lodge experience.

VW Piers Vaughan recommended taking a creative approach to education, for example by making each of the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences a path of study, and by exploring the Art of Memory to put the Fellowcraft Degree in even deeper esoteric, historic and cultural contexts.

“We’re not the American Legion Post,” Williamson said in his conclusion. “We’re a Masonic Lodge. We invoke deity to be with us.”

Bro. Lenny, Bro. Alessandro, and others socialize after the lecture.