‘A belated peek at a last look at a Royal Arch temple’

    

Postcard of the former home of Goodwin Chapter 36 of Royal Arch Masons in New Jersey.

Haven’t posted a Flashback Friday on The Magpie Mason in a long time, but recently something reminded me of a visit to an unusual building fifteen years ago that I never told you about. The owners of a property, once a Masonic temple, in Manasquan, New Jersey were preparing to sell. In the process, they let it be known that if Masons and their families desired one last look, the doors of 168 Main Street would be open to them for a little while on Saturday, January 9. This was 2010.

With a cornerstone-laying ceremony by the Grand Lodge on Friday, October 12, 1923, this building is unique because it was a Masonic temple without a lodge. Instead it had a Royal Arch chapter!

With commercial space downstairs, the upstairs housed an Egyptian-motif (remember, this is 1923) chapter room with all the architecture necessary for Goodwin Chapter 36 to confer the degrees of Capitular Masonry.

Those were the days. Masonic membership was exploding during the 1920s in a boom that started during World War I and continued into the economic boom times of the twenties. Lodges proliferated, real estate was acquired and developed, the appendant bodies flourished, supply companies thrived in their sales of regalia, furniture, and everything else.

(There was a Craft lodge in Manasquan. Wall 73 was located all of two-tenths of a mile up Main Street at the corner of South Street.)

Goodwin Chapter had been around a long while by the time this building went up. Goodwin was constituted October 2, 1882 during a previous golden age as the Masonic fraternity shook off the injuries of the anti-masonic scare and grew during and after the Civil War. Goodwin 36 is long gone, having amalgamated at some point with Hiram 1, together becoming Goodwin-Hiram Chapter 1 in Toms River.

I have no information on the architect, so I can’t promise you this room has any of the kind of accurate details as are found in Egyptian Hall inside the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia.

Anyway, I shot a few dozen photos during my visit that January day. The chapter room was said to have gone untouched for approximately fifty years. For some reason, everything was painted white at some point, making many of my photos look one dimensional and unimpressive. I had to tinker with some of these to elicit a little detail. Still, I’m glad I got to see this.

Not sure why I never got around to sharing all this until today.

Probably not the archaeological accuracy of Egyptian Hall in Philly.

Guessing there’s a crypt underneath.

Grand Chapter proceedings inside a Herring Hall Marvin Safe Co. safe.

I’m not familiar with this brand. I wonder if it was made
in Trenton with Clear Havana leaf.

     

‘My thanks to Eureka Chapter’

    

On the night before Eureka Chapter’s convocation, we went to Winter Garden Lodge 165 for its Fellow Craft Degree. A great night!

My thanks to Eureka Chapter 7 of Royal Arch Masons in Orlando, Florida for hosting me for a talk. I got bumped from the original March 7 convocation in favor of Juan Sepulveda—and, really, who could blame them?—but they got me there, wined and dined me, and hopefully enjoyed my presentation on what Jewish mystical writings known collectively as the Zohar say about certain Royal Arch symbols.

The meeting at Eureka was fun for me. I actually was drafted into an officer’s chair only to find the Opening and Closing rituals used are from the General Grand Chapter, so they are short and sweet compared to what I know from my chapter. A nice turn-out with about twenty Royal Arch Masons in attendance, including, I’m told, several who hadn’t been seen in some time.

Anyway, to summarize my talk, titled “Mystical Interpretations of Royal Arch Symbols,” as quickly as possible:

➤ In the absence of the Temple in Jerusalem, there is no High Priest, and consequently we each must be our own High Priest and govern ourselves accordingly.

➤ The Ark of the Covenant is described in the Book of Exodus as being covered in gold inside and out, which should remind us, as Royal Arch Masons, to be the same people inside and out. To be “good as gold” by letting our spiritual work give shape to our thoughts, words, and deeds so we are not projecting false images of ourselves and concealing weaknesses and failings.

➤ Of the Cherubims atop the Ark, they play a role as a conveyance of communications. The lesson I relayed to the companions was a reminder that when prayers fail to reach the Heavens on their own, these golden angels represent angels who carry prayers to the Upper World. In our labors, we must have the right intentions to produce the right actions that are worthy of the correct angels to connect us to the Upper World.

➤ And the Tabernacle itself? As the Holy of Holies, where the Ark was placed, was separate from the rest of the Tabernacle, we should understand the need to distinguish what is special in life from what is ordinary. Observe the sabbath of your faith as best you can. Observe your holidays likewise. Even the new moon each month is a reason for renewal. Don’t waste these opportunities to jumpstart your spiritual life.

There was more, like the High Priest’s garments and breastplate, among other things. And the Q&A was lively and even fun, thanks to a few companions who already knew where I was going with this material. Somehow we all forgot to take the obligatory group photo because of the engrossing discussion.

I am grateful to Franklin and Ivan for the invitation and for all the first class care I received during this, my first visit to Florida. Even the weather cooperated. As part of his babysitting duties, Franklin took me to a few local spots that got my attention.

The Morse Museum is home to a vast collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s glorious crafts. I shot dozens of photos, but I’ll share just a few:

The Tree of Life is a massive leaded glass window made from 1928 to 1931 for his country home, Laurelton Hall, near Oyster Bay. After Tiffany’s death in 1933, avid collectors Hugh and Jeannette McKean purchased as many pieces as possible, which now comprise the Morse Museum collection.

Detail of the Science panel of The Tree of Life.

Detail of the Creation panel of The Tree of Life.

Madonna and Child window.

We also visited Prometheus Esoterica, which is kind of like a smaller version of Morbid Anatomy in Brooklyn. It’s a retail business, but one that has oddities and faux occultism stuff. Lots of Baphomets! There also is a surprising number of Masonic pieces as décor and for sale:

Prometheus Esoterica displays a noticeable number of Masonic pieces, especially Shrine and Templar stuff.

Hanging in the washroom(!) is this A&ASR-SJ 32° certificate. Ill Aaron Shoemaker translates: ‘We, the Inspector Generals, testify through these Letters Patent that our well-deserving Brother, Joseph Landon Fincher born forty-nine years ago and residing in Pensacola, Florida, whose name is subscribed in the margin by his own hand, holds the rank of THIRTY-SECOND DEGREE SECRET MASTER (Master of the Royal Secret) of the same Rite. Therefore, we exhort and beseech all Freemasons residing anywhere beyond the borders of our jurisdiction to recognize our Brother in his dignity and to extend the same observance toward their fellow brethren within our jurisdiction.’

Another fez, but at right is one of the big copies of Manly P. Hall’s Secret Teachings.

Also, the night before the chapter convocation, we went to Winter Garden Lodge 165 for a Fellow Craft Degree. And expertly conferred it was. The Past Master who sat in the East was the father of one of the Apprentices being passed. At the end, the new Fellows were asked for their thoughts on what had just transpired. They handled the question with humor and impressive insight, considering they were put on the spot after a hefty ritual and pretty late at night. Also, it was the 94th birthday of the Brother Tyler!

     

‘Jerusalem Amity’s 225th anniversary’

    

Happy 225th anniversary to Jerusalem Amity Chapter 8 of Royal Arch Masons in New York City!

It was on this date in 1799 when Jerusalem Chapter was set to labor downtown in a tavern at the corner of today’s Hanover and Beaver streets. Jerusalem Chapter was where Lafayette was made a Royal Arch Mason during his 1824 visit to the city. We’ll hear a lot more about that come September.

(Plans are being drawn upon the trestleboard for a statewide celebration of that bicentenary. The plotters enjoyed an amazing Zoom conference last night.)

Click on the video uploaded to YouTube several hours ago, and join EHP Anthony for a celebratory libation.

     

‘Festive Board at Lafayette’s Royal Arch chapter’

    

Another Royal Arch “Bring-a-Brother Night” is coming! Jerusalem Amity Chapter 8, where Lafayette was made a Royal Arch Mason, is planning one for later this month. From the publicity:

On Tuesday, February 13, Jerusalem Amity Chapter 8 invites all Master Masons and Royal Arch Companions to join us for our 225th Anniversary “Companion Bring a Friend Night.” This will be a chapter-style festive board at 8:30 p.m. in Masonic Hall’s Jacobean Room on the eighth floor. Dress Code: Masonic.

The night will consist of toasts, talks, feasting, Light, and fellowship. If you are interested in joining us, please RSVP here.

For close to 225 years, JA8 has been actively involved in New York City Masonic, and in the larger, global, community. An example is demonstrated by the Holy Royal Arch ceremony with Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette almost 200 years ago, an event we intend to celebrate in September.

     

‘2024 Magpie speaking tour’

    

Royal Arch apron on display at the GWMNM.

The Magpie Mason’s calendar of speaking engagements is filling up fast with two dates packed into the 366-day leap year that is 2024!

The Royal Arch companions at Eureka Chapter 7 in beautiful Orlando, Florida want to fly me down for their next convocation for some reason. Actually, their next meeting will be tonight, but after that the next meeting will be Thursday, March 14.

Eureka meets in Eola Lodge 207’s building, located at 3200 East Grant Street. (Happy 100th anniversary!) There I will reprise my talk on Kabbalah and Royal Arch Masonry. I changed the title so it don’t look like the same lecture I’ve been delivering for ten years, so now it is “Mystical Interpretations of Royal Arch Symbols.”

Leave it to me to visit Florida after winter. Wear something red, and I’ll see you there. 7:30 p.m.

In May, on a date to be determined, I’ll join the brethren at Audubon-Parkside Lodge 218 (another A-P Lodge!) in New Jersey. We had a date picked, but it seems the lodge is relocating, and therefore its schedule is changing, but we’ll work it out.

This talk will cover two broad topics: choosing best practices for lodge life (I’m avoiding “The O Word” because it makes some people crazy), and finding the right subscription memberships for further Light in Masonry.

I’m exhausted just talking about these.

     

‘Research chapter offers English Mark, banners presentations’

    

Massachusetts Chapter of Research will host its regular online gathering tomorrow at 7 p.m. to hear two presentations—but I don’t know where! From the anemic publicity:

We will have two speakers at our January Convocation:

Comp. Adri Leemput, of Cambridge Royal Arch Chapter, will speak on the Mark Master Degree as worked by the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales and its Districts and Lodges Overseas.

Ex. Jeffrey S. Bennett, of Arlington Chapter 376 in Texas, will continue his lecture series with a presentation on the Banners of the Veils.

If you find out where on the web this will be, please leave a comment below.

     

‘A festive season festive board’

    

I need to get out more.

Last night was the occasion of the First Capitular District’s long-awaited Annual Festive Board, which doubled as a Bring-a-Brother introductory dinner to encourage Master Masons to delve into the next four chapters of the mysteries. I forgot how much fun these nights are, and it was great sitting among so many friendly faces I hadn’t seen in a long while: Christopher, Grant, Harold, James, and more. Ted would have been on my left, but he is still on the mend. The ALR was very well represented, with the Master, Wardens, Trustees, a Past Master, and others in attendance.

My place at the table was reserved, otherwise I would have gravitated to where Bro. Edward, the Junior Warden of my lodge, was sitting. I’m not used to the VIP treatment. A great meal, too. Roast beef, fish, different chicken dishes, pasta, and more, and in such abundance I think a lot had to be forcibly sent home.

The wine for the evening was Yellow Tail’s Pinot Noir, which I don’t remember having before, but that definitely felt right. With wine, I’m like a child, preferring juicy, fruity French reds (I was hoping any of the Beaujolais Nouveau releases would be on the table), but this semi dry from Down Under was fine with me.

RE and RW Rubin responds to Happy Birthday wishes.

For sweetness, there was cake! Bro. Steven Rubin, Deputy Grand Master of our Grand Lodge, elected to be with us to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. “You stole my youth!” he thundered in response to the Happy Birthday “singing,” eliciting clamorous laughter from the fifty or so well wishers who too might swear we were thirty years old just a minute ago.

The ritual was a new one on me. I guess because this was Royal Arch, the gesticulating gave shape to a triangle and then a circle, plus some pointing of a sort I’m not used to. But the toasts were those you would expect. And the Magpie Mason was called on to reply to the Toast to the Visitors.

RE Anthony Klimathianos accepts an award from RE Michael, president of the First Capitular District Association. Anthony is a Past Grand Lecturer, and he exhorted the Master Masons present to explore the whole York Rite.

It seems like I’m in the Jacobean Room ten times a month, so it felt unnatural pretending to be a visitor but, in truth, my Royal Arch chapter is more than fifty miles away, down in central New Jersey. I just never got around to affiliating here in the city.

Most Excellent, Right Excellent, Excellent Sirs; Companions, Brethren, Masons all:

It is an honor to tender a reply to this, the Toast to the Visitors. You know, in lodge we are brethren/brothers, and in chapter we are companions.

The word derives from Latin: “com,” meaning “together with;” and “pan” being bread. Thank you for your welcome; for the opportunity to break bread together with you; and for your attention.

My neighbors and others signaled their appreciation for the brevity.

A raffle prize I wouldn’t mind claiming! A copy of one of Angel’s books and a bottle of the Water of Life.

A great night that I hope encourages the Master Masons present to continue the Masonic journey into the Capitular Rite for all the obvious reasons.

     

‘New Yorkers honored at GCNJ today’

    

M.E. Jason Sheridan, right, accepts Honorary Membership in the Grand Chapter of New Jersey from outgoing GHP Matthew Macready today at the 166th Annual Convocation of the GC of NJ.

I have to admit to not being active in Royal Arch Masonry lately. There just isn’t enough time to attend everything, but I was able to take in the 166th Annual Convocation of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of New Jersey today. M.E. Matthew Macready concluded his term as GHP by lavishing many awards on officers and visiting dignitaries, and the new MEGHP is Mark Megee, an old friend.

Statistically, the Grand Chapter now has seventeen local chapters as Zerubbabel 63 confronted the last resort, after a few years of trying to stay alive, and returned its charter. Statewide membership there stands at 1,084 now, far below the standard ten percent of Master Masons figure you typically see.

Speaking of visiting dignitaries, as the Grand Chapter of New York’s Grand Representative, I was delighted to see a delegation of eminent New Yorkers led by M.E. Jason Sheridan, who himself has one week in office remaining before he is succeeded during the GCNY’s Convocation in Binghamton next Saturday. He was accompanied by M.E. Piers A. Vaughan, PGHP; RE Larry Barnard, G. King; RE Steven Shearer, G. Scribe; RE Mark Peerson, G. Captain of the Host; and RE Gill Calderon. Plus, Harold Kahn, in his capacity as Associate General Grand Chaplain of the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons International, was present, accompanying REC Teko Foly, General Grand King. I think that was everyone from New York. Apologies if I missed anyone.

Piers Vaughan receives
the Harold D. Elliott II Award.

In other news, Jason and Piers (and the other GHPs visiting) were made Honorary Members of the Grand Chapter of New Jersey. In addition, M.E. Macready opened a “Chapter of Rabboni of Excellent Masters” (I have to admit to not knowing what that is. Maybe he meant Lodge. I don’t know. I’ve been away too long.) to invest Piers with the Harold D. Elliott II Award in recognition of Piers’ many years of labor on behalf of the Capitular Rite. If you don’t have them, be sure to get his two books on Capitular education.

There were two other Elliott Award honorees, including E. Mike Loiacono, Past HP of my chapter, Scott 4, who did great work, particularly with education, during 2022. I’m sorry to say I didn’t get to a single convocation that year, so I definitely missed out. Congratulations, Mike!

M.E. Matthew Macready presents the Harold D. Elliott II Award to E. Michael Loiacono, Past HP of Scott Chapter 4.

    

‘T.S. Webb Chapter to meet!’

    

UPDATE 2: There is a new website here.

UPDATE: It’s going to be a true reorganization meeting!

Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research 1798 will meet in March! That hasn’t happened in quite some time, as I understand it.

The most recent Convocation I attended was in 2015, but I doubt that was the most recent one. The chapter’s meetings are supposed to be held, at least, during the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of New York’s annual festivities. This year, the weekend affair will be hosted in Binghamton, March 9-11.

The research chapter’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday the ninth, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. I don’t have a meeting agenda or even an idea of who’s in charge. Like I said, it’s been a long time.

And I’m sorry to say I cannot attend any of the events, but don’t let that stop you. Click here to register.

Keeping research lodges afloat is difficult, and maintaining research chapters, where subject matter is even more compartmentalized, is extremely challenging. There are several such chapters around the country (California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Virginia, maybe more), but their activities are sporadic, to say the least.

Masonic scholarship never has been popular in the fraternity. We eggheads who manage to keep these groups open are no more than one in a thousand, it seems to me. I look forward to hearing of Thomas Smith Webb Chapter’s progress, and I wish the companions success.

And don’t forget to keep me on the membership roll.

     

‘Observant Masonry coming to NY Royal Arch’

    

The 226th Annual Convocation of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the State of New York just concluded—oh, ten weeks ago. I’m finally getting to it.

M.E. Jason P. Sheridan is the new G.H.P. “Chapter Pride” is the motto for his term in office.

Inspired by “Pride in Freemasonry,” the byword of Grand Master James Sullivan during his term a decade ago (Jason was on his staff), Chapter Pride means to remind us to relish the Royal Arch experience.

“I believe strongly that as we lived through the pandemic, we reassessed those values that are most important to us,” said the new GHP in his speech. “It is no longer a constant work life that is key, but flexibility of work that allows us to live our lives to the fullest. Likewise, by focusing back on our individual chapters and feeling the sense of pride when we are with our companions is the most important thing I can communicate as part of my message for 2022. Let the focus be on our chapters.”

One component of Sheridan’s term, with education, communication, charity, and other essentials, is Observant Masonry. Jason is a longtime member of Ancient Chapter 1 in Manhattan, and he also is with Suwassett Chapter 195 on Long Island. Suwassett has adopted elements of the Observant model, and wouldn’t we all be wise to do the same?

Of course excellence cannot be imposed, but chapters desirous of enhancing their Masonic enlightenment now have a resource for guidance. The Observant Chapters Committee promulgates guidelines to follow. (There is a twelve-page booklet, but I don’t think I’m permitted to share the link.)

“Observant Masonry has become a familiar phrase, synonymous with excellence in ritual, education, and the formality of its events and festive boards,” Sheridan also said. “It will not be for every chapter, but there are a number of chapters I know very well that would appreciate this recognition from Grand Chapter.”

The installation of officers on March 5 in Utica was a memorable ceremony. It was fun seeing so many Masons again after prolonged absence caused by the pandemic. Jason was obligated with his hands upon a familiar looking VSL. It resembles the George Washington Inaugural Bible; it was published by the same printer as the Washington Bible, but this edition is improved with illustrations not included in its famous sibling.

GCNY

The day before, I had the good luck to have arrived in time to attend the Order of AHPs. I received the Order in my own jurisdiction in 2006, but hadn’t seen it since. (It’s always scheduled on the Saturday of Masonic Week!) But that was very impressive and touching. My thanks to David D. Goodwin (speaking of Masonic Week), who happened to have been in front of me in the procession into the room, and who reminded me—I hadn’t a clue—of the pass. Whew!

The time and place of the next Grand Convocation will be March 9-11, 2023 in Binghamton. I hope to see you there.