‘Observant Masonry in New York, Part I’

    

Grand Lodge is readying for its Annual Communication, to open Monday, May 5 and close the next day here in Manhattan. Naturally, part of the preparation includes the publication of reports, financials, and other documents; these will be included in the Book of Proceedings later this year, but are being circulated now. The report of the Observant Masonry Committee, submitted by Chairman Bradley Hubbard, Past Master of Alcyone 695, notes major changes of purpose for the group that deserve congratulations.

First, it was explained how the three-man committee is newly restaffed. Previously, the committee was comprised of Chairman Piers Vaughan with Richard Powell and Daniel DiNatale. Today it’s Chairman Hubbard with Stephan Carter and Briggs Houston—both also of Alcyone Lodge—with the three previous committeemen now serving as advisors.

There are four lodges at labor under our Grand Lodge (of 427 lodges) that have been certified as Observant: Queensbury 121, Alcyone, Harmonie 699, and Ecclesia 1189. (It’s worth mentioning how no certified Observant lodges are found in New York City! I’m not sure what to make of that.) Chairman Hubbard writes:

“With only four out of over 400 lodges certified as Observant, it became clear that this committee in its previous format was servicing less than 1 percent of New York lodges in any practical manner. Our objective was to redefine the scope of work beyond a mere certifying body, and expand it to provide resources that would be relevant to 100 percent of the lodges in the jurisdiction. The true purpose of the Observant Masonry movement and this committee is to ensure the survival and prosperity of the Craft by disseminating resources which can be implemented by any lodge to revitalize and revolutionize its Masonic practice. Whether that lodge seeks the path of Masonic Observance or picks and chooses which aspects work for their lodge culture is their choice, but in either circumstance the committee is there to assist.”

It’s time to reminisce a little. There is no connection between the Grand Lodge of New York and the Masonic Restoration Foundation. I hereby promise and swear I don’t know the reason for that, but I once was told that about a decade ago, the Grand Lodge made it known it wouldn’t want its lodges aligned with the MRF. New York lodges then listed on the MRF’s website soon were delisted.

This reminds me of that essential cabal meeting* at Gadsby’s in February 2008 when the discussion of what then was called Traditional Observance Masonry included the caution “You can’t serve two masters,” meaning a lodge looking to include T.O. ideas into its practices had better understand that fealty to its grand lodge should dwarf any appreciation of the MRF.

Back to the present. W. Bro. Hubbard goes on to say the GLNY’s Observant certification guidelines were redefined “to create a flexible, but comprehensive standalone document that described not only the objectives of the initiative, but provided a practical template for lodges to implement.”

If I understand correctly, this is in the form of a book, Guidelines for Practice and Certification, a copy of which I now am seeking to obtain. Got it. Click here. Hubbard continues:

“Another aspect of the new Guidelines was to revise the mission statement of the GLNY Observant Masonry initiative to reflect the mandate of expanded relevance mentioned previously in this report. Part of that included redefining the controversial OM designation–the only of its kind in existence–from a perceived title of exclusivity to one of service. Lodges choosing to pursue and bear the OM designation henceforth must commit to bettering the Craft at large by serving as an exemplar and ambassador of the program, offering themselves as a practical regional resource to other lodges that wish to implement Observant practices.”

For more on this forward thinking project, visit the Observant Masonry page on Grand Lodge’s website here.

Bravo to the committee! Huzzah!

Really strange there aren’t OM certified lodges in the city.

*There is no cabal.

     

‘Dipshits arrested in Queensbury Lodge vandalism’

     
Dipshit is my favorite word. I recommend it. It has a slightly Illinoisan-car-salesman feel to it, so part of the pleasure of saying it is the one-second role-play. The “sh” part of dipshit should come out soft and slightly prolonged, and each syllable of dipshit should have equal, firm emphasis. The word should come out slightly lower than your normal register. Never high pitched, never defensive, never whiney. For example, not “Oh my god, what a dipshit!” but, with a quick yet slow head-shake, “He’s a dipshit.” It’s dismissive. It’s absolute.

Halle Butler
The Paris Review
March 4, 2019


The cretins who spraypaint swastikas on peoples’ property are understood in two denominations. The ones who paint the symbol accurately, with its arms in the correct direction, as if showing a counter-clockwise spin, are the dangerous ones. Regard them seriously. If they have their way, we’ll be living under their boots before long. The other ones? That paint the swastika backward? They are subdivided into two camps: those under age 14, and those who need to be punched in the nuts 27 times (3x3x3) to impart a valuable lesson in charity.

Dipshits.

The dipshits: Anthony Dean and Gaven Wasson.

That’s what was placed under arrest yesterday. Identified by police as Anthony Leon Dean, age 20, and Gaven M. Wasson, 18, they are alleged to have painted “Crip 58” and “58 Crip” on the building of Queensbury Lodge 121, and similar nonsense, plus the backward swastika, on the roadside sign of the Queensbury Masonic Historical Society.

Anthony Leon Dean, born December 16, 1998, a resident of 1 Fulton Street in Glens Falls, has an arrest record already. According to the Warren County Sheriff, he was arrested March 14, 2018 and charged with obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, and probation violation.

Gaven M. Wasson is homeless in Glens Falls, according to police.

They were located by police at the home of an acquaintance, on the same street as the lodge, and were taken into custody after admitting their involvement in the crime, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

For their other efforts that day, which involved allegedly stealing two cans of spray paint from the local Walmart and then painting graffiti on a gas station, they are charged with Criminal Mischief third degree (E felony), Making Graffiti (Class A misdemeanor), and Petit Larceny (Class A misdemeanor), according to New York State Police. The dipshit duo will appear in Queensbury Town Court on October 21 at 9 a.m.

I meant to publish something here about the vandalism a few days ago, after the lodge set up an online fundraising page to pay for repairing the damage, but their $1,500 goal was exceeded so quickly, thanks to the contributions from more than 50 donors, that publicity for the fundraising wasn’t necessary.

Courtesy WNYT/Channel 13, Albany, NY.

An impressive extent of news media coverage has been generated by the vandalism. Channel 13 up there quotes the lodge secretary explaining how his lodge is the victim of repeated attacks of this nature. They already have multiple surveillance cameras installed, and soon will have even more.