‘Journal No. 30 is out’

     

Issue No. 30 of The Journal of the Masonic Society is in the mail now, providing indispensible insights into things Masonic to members of The Masonic Society and to non-member subscribers. Click here to join us.

In other news, the bustling Forum, our on-line place for discussion among paid members, has been reborn in time for a new year. Thanks to Bro. Nathan, the change is from phpBB, which is fraught with technical inferiorities, to XenForo, which is a contemporary platform with a better look and improved functionality. I just logged on, and I’m very pleased with the results.

And don’t forget our upcoming annual meeting. Click here for details.

But about the new Journal: Progress, even when arrested, seems to be a theme.

Bo Cline, a Past Grand Master of Alaska and a Past President of The Masonic Society, gives us “Ahead of Their Time: The Grand Lodge of Washington, and the Aborted Recognition of Prince Hall Freemasonry” in which he recounts the story of William Henry Upton.

Upton was grand master of the Grand Lodge of Washington at the close of the nineteenth century—so you see how incomprehensively ahead of his time he was—when he guided the grand lodge through the revolutionary process of extending recognition of Prince Hall Masons in Washington.

Of course it was not to endure (it wasn’t until 1990 that the two grand lodges in Washington established relations), but the details are amazing.

Executive Editor Michael Halleran, a Past Grand Master of Kansas, suggests “Let Him Wait with Patience?” in which he analyzes the effects of the crazy membership drives on Freemasonry in the United States. This is not a familiar retelling of the arguments over one-day classes and other exertions to boost membership; Halleran follows “doctrinal shifts” in Masonic history to form his bold conclusion summarizing where Masons are today, and hinting at where we must go tomorrow.

And one aspect of Masonic progress that is near to my heart is communications, namely those strategized by lodges to maintain a consistent reputation and relevance within their communities. Here, Ms. Emily Limón, the Grand Lodge of California’s vice president of communications and the executive editor of California Freemason magazine, outlines her plan for a professional Masonic awareness campaign. And—Hey!—it’s not about membership development. Owned media and shared media; paid media and earned media; goals and results are explained clearly. Freemasonry has a unique reason for being, she says, and strategic communications “can make all the difference in motivating members, educating the public, and moving the organization forward for future generations.”

(Not for nothing, but I was saying that to anyone who would listen fifteen years ago in my home jurisdiction. The closest I came to any success was seeing the PR committee in another jurisdiction brazenly plagiarize my Masonic media plan.)

In his “Thoughts on the Craft,” Stephen J. Ponzillo, Past Grand Master of Maryland (To be clear, it is not necessary to be a grand master to write for The Journal of the Masonic Society!) explains demographic changes in Freemasonry, drawing a conclusion about today’s youngest Master Masons that may be surprising to a certain kind of thinker stuck in the past.

Elsewhere in the name of progress in this edition of The Journal, President Jim Dillman of Indiana writes of “New Horizons for the Masonic Society” in his eighth and final President’s Message. He does not say goodbye as he welcomes Ken Davis to the presidency, but promises to continue serving The Masonic Society for as long as he has something to offer. And that he has. TMS is planning several historic initiatives to be unveiled in the near future. (Actually, we will share some of this information at our annual meeting next month.) The Masonic world is going to take a new look at The Masonic Society.

In other regular features of The Journal, Masonic Collectibles by Yasha Beresiner shares several hilarious vintage Masonic postcards. Book reviews delve into new titles (John Bizzack’s Taking Issue and the long awaited Masonic Perspectives by Thomas W. Jackson, for starters) and a classic text from eighteenth century German Enlightenment.

Membership in The Masonic Society costs only $39 a year—the best money you’ll spend on a Masonic affiliation outside your lodge. January 1 is a great time to start.
     

‘Journal 29 is out’

     

The Journal of the Masonic Society No. 29 has been reaching Society members these past weeks. Dubbed “The Review Issue,” this Journal offers opinions on a variety of goods marketed to Freemasons—from books to clothing to regalia, and beyond—in addition to feature articles, Masonic studies, analysis of the state of the Craft, plus the Journal’s regular features.

The Journal is the primary, but not only, benefit to members of The Masonic Society—the best $39 you’ll spend in Freemasonry. Membership is open to regular Freemasons from recognized grand lodges. Click here for more membership information.

Patrick C. Carr, the Right Worshipful Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, treats us to his “In Search of the Genuine Æthelstan,” in which he reviews the known history and biography of the early English king who figures so prominently in Freemasonry’s embryonic literature. Carr reasons “While we cannot ever know exactly what impact King Athelstan and his rule did directly for the Craft, we can agree that King Athelstan and his actions provided the world with a laudable set of values in which we should meet, act, and part. Whether or not it directly impacted the creation of the fraternity is irrelevant. What it did manage to do was place the beliefs of the king strictly into the rituals and the belief systems that Freemasonry still teaches today.”

Always a popular topic of conversation is Albert Pike’s Morals and Dogma, the dense collection of lectures the early Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction) intended to accompany the 32 degrees, as worked by A&ASR bodies for many decades. Giovanni A. Villegas, of Jacobo Zobel Memorial Lodge 202 in the Philippines, bravely offers his “Unabashed Literary Book Review” outlining the problems he perceives in the text. “The true test of understanding Morals and Dogma is finding the honesty to first admit that one does not fully understand it,” he says, “or at least not immediately.” He continues, explaining how factors such as the period style of the writing, Pike’s lifting of text from earlier sources, and Pike’s personal interpretations of mystical subjects conspire to leave readers in 2015 vexed. He concedes M&D is “essential reading” for the Scottish Rite Mason who can weather it, but also recommends the casual reader seek out more recent texts, including Rex Hutchens’ A Bridge to Light, and, of course, Arturo de Hoyos’ Annotated Edition, which provides tons of clarifications, corrections, references, and other useful guides to those who want the full Morals and Dogma experience.

Yasha Berensiner’s regular feature “Masonic Collectibles” treats us to a look at William Hogarth, the eighteenth century (today is his 318th birthday) English artist and satirist—and brother Mason—whose “comic histories” paintings chronicled London life, and didn’t spare the Masonic fraternity his lampooning. Perhaps you are acquainted with his Times of the Day prints but, if not, seek it out, and get an eyeful of the one titled “Night.”

Under “Thoughts on the Craft,” Stephen J. Ponzillo, III, a Past Grand Master of Maryland, visits the touchy topic of lodge dues and other expenses in his “The Cost of Belonging: Is it Enough?” In the early years of this century, when the Knights of the North and the Masonic Restoration Foundation were advancing the simple view that lodges must collect in dues the revenue they need to function properly and survive into the future, it was so inflammatory to the establishment that a mere whisper of responsibly addressing lodge financing would prompt anger and panic. Today, younger and wiser heads are prevailing in lodges all over the country, and appreciation for the cost of living these days affects how forward-thinking lodges plan their financial futures. In his article, inspired by a recent discussion on the Masonic Society’s Facebook page, he scores several points structured around his comparing and contrasting cost of living figures of 1957 and 2014. It’s actually not simply a matter of inflation; Ponzillo illustrates the more significant facts of what Freemasonry asked men to pay for initiation and dues during those two periods. It’s about the percentage of a man’s annual income. In 1957, for example, a lodge that collected a $75 initiation fee from a man who earned $5,000 for that year was taking 1.5 percent of that income. In 2014, a man making just less than $70,000, and paying a $250 initiation fee, gave about a third of 1 percent of his annual pay to join a lodge. Is it enough? Indeed.

In his President’s Message, Jim Dillman humorously bemoans his efforts to meet his deadline, but in all seriousness, he writes on “Uncovering Freemasonry’s History,” urging us to look at what is right in front of us—as in lodge records, ephemera, books, etc. stored away in lodge closets and corners. “I’m going to challenge each of you to take a day, a week, or a month off from social media or your time-waster of choice, and devote the time you would have spent to some sort of Masonic research. Go back and read the minutes of your lodge from 50 or 100 years ago,” he says. “Dig through some of those old boxes lying around.” I know we all want to uncover the mysteries of Masonic secrets, but a curious and diligent brother can do his lodge great good simply by bringing to life local Masonic history for his own lodge.

There is a lot more to Issue 29: “The Masonic Baseball Game,” current news from around the globe, the detailed calendar of Masonic events through next May, and a great “Guide to Masonic Encyclopedias” by Tyler Anderson of New Mexico, among other attractions.

In other Masonic Society news, the Board of Directors and Officers gathered in St. Louis over the weekend to give shape to some serious plans for the Society’s future. We’ll meet again at Masonic Week to finalize some of these designs upon the trestleboard, and when you find out about them, your eyes will pop. Stay tuned to The Magpie Mind in February for those details.

The Masonic Society Board of Directors’ marathon planning session over the weekend at the St. Louis Airport Hilton just happened to coincide with the annual meeting of something named St. Matthew’s Grand Lodge. In fact, when I arrived at the hotel Friday afternoon, I found the lobby crowded with their members and Eastern Star ladies having a grand time. This photo partially shows the schedule of Saturday events posted in the lobby. Unfortunately, I couldn’t undertake my usual membership development efforts, as St. Matthew’s exists outside the mainstream of the Masonic fraternity. (Click here for membership guidelines.) I wonder what they thought of us!

And speaking of Masonic Week 2016, the registration information should be posted this week, I’m told, and you’ll see the Masonic Society’s banquet has been moved from the Friday night to Saturday, making us the only official dining choice for that evening. President Dillman will announce the choice of keynote speaker shortly, and I hope those of you who will attend Masonic Week will elect to be with us that night. We will have a number of big announcements.

See you there.

This blurry photo shows the left arm of the guy in front of me on line to board the plane back to New York. That tattoo is an attempt (it doesn’t have it quite right) to ink the Hand of Fatima, or the Khamsa, an ancient symbol from the Middle East that is significant to both Jews and Muslims. ‘The eye in its palm wards off the evil eye,’ according to The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols. In modern times, it is a kind of peace symbol, showing how the two great faiths share much in common, the book also says.

     

‘Journal 28 in the mail’

     

Issue No. 28 of The Journal of the Masonic Society is arriving in members’ mailboxes now. Some of the highlights include:

Editor Michael Halleran considers the importance of candidate proficiency examinations. “It seems clear that suitable proficiency means comprehension—not just a rote recitation—of the experience of the degree, enriched with appreciation of the implements of Masonry and some understanding of the symbolism of the fraternity, as specified by the grand lodge,” he rightly writes. “Sadly, we have all witnessed perfunctory examinations, but these do no one any favors.”

It’s very simple to me: Since Freemasonry uses the building arts metaphorically, we’d view the prospective member as raw material. When your basic building blocks show no understanding of the fundamentals of Masonic thought, you’ll have a fraternity that serves no vital purpose. Just shallow sociability, perfunctory charity—oh, wait.

Bro. Richard Bunn, in his article, draws comparisons between architectural cornerstones installed ceremonially and elements of the Hiramic drama. “If the Freemasons had been farmers, they would have seized upon the metaphor of the seed—as utilized by ancient agrarian societies in their mystery dramas, the most famous example being the Peresphone myth, which elucidates on the esoteric phenomenon of sowing, i.e., the seed, after being buried in the earthen furrow, rises again in the new stalk—but as the Gentlemen Masons were Symbolic builders, they chose the stone, like the medieval alchemists before them, to teach the same lesson of regeneration, or immortality of the soul,” he says in one breath. “Regrettably, with the ceremony of the laying/dedication no longer being in high demand, twenty-first century Freemasons are rarely, if ever, exposed to the profound symbolism attached to one of the fraternity’s most ancient and important observances. The symbolism of the ceremony of the laying of a cornerstone and the Degree of Master Mason are so interconnected that it is my contention that if the mystery drama of the latter did not directly arise from the former, then, the two ceremonies, one public and exoteric, the other private and esoteric, evolved contemporaneously.”

A new feature, “Retrospective,” invokes lessons from the past we ought to take to heart today. This time, a concept from 1864: “The extraordinary and ruinously rapid growth which Freemasonry has experienced during the past few years has only become possible in consequence of a neglect properly to exercise the privilege of the ballot. Hundreds, nay, thousands of improper persons have been permitted to receive the degrees, who, under a proper exercise of the ballot, would never have been allowed to cross the threshold of our institution.”

Yes, that’s from 1864, not 1964.

Speaking of changes, Bro. John Bizzack returns to The Journal with “Paradigms and Periods of Transition in Freemasonry,” in which he explains what a paradigm is and how it works, and how Masons can attain a keener understanding of their fraternity’s need for constancy in Masonry’s reason for being. “The idea has never been for men to change Masonry, but for Masonry to change men. Its core values and lessons can be challenging to incorporate into one’s life,” he writes. “It takes discipline of the mind. It takes effort. But the fraternity offers true camaraderie for those who choose this difficult psychological and philosophical journey. Incredible, life-altering changes occur as a man develops and uses a value-driven moral compass.”

He continues: “The landscape has changed. Freemasonry is indeed in a paradigm shift, one that was readily identified by leaders in the fraternity in the mid 1960s and that set the course for the natural turbulence that follows any time a paradigm begins to shift. That very shift gives us the signature of the fraternity today: dwindling numbers and a sense of baffling urgency to find answers, to stop the revolving door of men in and out after only a couple of years of membership.”

Bro. Mark Tabbert, Director of the Museum and Library Collections at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Virginia, spends a lot of time these days researching and writing what I am confident will be the definitive Masonic biography of George Washington—a comprehensive study of all Washington’s Masonic words and deeds that will serve for generations. His article in The Journal this time is “George Washington Meets a Past Grand Master of England.” How did our future first president’s interactions with the Fourth Earl of Loudoun during the French and Indian War impact England’s military strategy in that conflict? You’ll want to read this one.

In his always engaging regular feature “Masonic Collectibles,” Bro. Yasha Beresiner shares an item that actually cannot be gathered into a collection: a singular ephemeral tract of anti-masonic propaganda from 1698(!). From the pamphlet: “Knowing how that God observeth privilly them that in Darkness they shall be smitten and the Secrets of their Hearts layed bare. Mingle not among this corrupt People lest you be found so at the World’s Conflagration.”

There’s no pleasing some people.

And getting back to cornerstones, Bro. Stephen Ponzillo, a Past Grand Master of Maryland, hits the books to provide some biographical knowledge of the men whose names are inscribed on the silver plaque set into the cornerstone laid in the U.S. Capitol on September 18, 1793. Reflections on brother Masons who ought not be forgotten.

Plus, there are the regular attractions. President Jim Dillman tells us about the upcoming Quarry Project in Indianapolis. In “Book Reviews,” we have six titles of Masonic and related importance, including Frances Timbers’ Magic and Masculinity: Ritual Magic and Gender in the Early Modern Era, and Roscoe Pound’s Lectures on the Philosophy of Freemasonry. “News of the Society” informs us of the many successes enjoyed by various members of The Masonic Society as they pursue their labors in various employments throughout the fraternity, plus some other oddities you may not have heard yet. And, under “Conference, Speeches, Symposia & Gatherings,” is a list of educational and cultural events around the nation upcoming in the next few months.

‘Masonic Treasures’ is the regular feature on the back cover of The Journal. This issue treats us to the tracing board artwork of Bro. Jorge Soria of Grapevine Lodge No. 288 in Texas. Such low tech devices were common in the 18th and 19th centuries as aids to imparting lessons in Masonic symbolism and thought, but were replaced by electronic media as generations passed. However, thanks to artists like Soria, lucky lodges again are able to employ graphic crafts to instruct their candidates through the degrees.

And finally, if you wish to advertise your books, regalia, wares, organized events, or other Masonic-friendly goods and services, please contact yours truly here. Our rate card is here.
     

‘Yesterday, today, and tomorrow in the new Journal’

     

Issue No. 25 of The Journal of The Masonic Society is reaching members’ mailboxes now, so here is my latest reminder to you to join the Society and start enjoying the benefits of being part of a dynamic Masonic fraternity that thinks highly enough of you to publish the best magazine in the English-speaking Masonic world.

Of course I cannot be unbiased.

In this issue of The Journal:

In “Worthy of Being Worn: The Importance of Masonic Regalia,” Patrick Craddock—a one-man cottage industry in the design and manufacture of Masonic aprons and other textiles—renders an illustrated history of the evolution of what we call “the badge of a Mason.” Patrick, whose apron enterprise has been so successful he has been able to make it his livelihood, explains the artistry and industry of 19th century aprons, and takes us to the present day with the importance the “Observant Mason” assigns to this highly personal ritual garment.

In his “From the Editor” Column, our Executive Editor, Michael Halleran, who happens to be Grand Master of Kansas in his spare time, suggests “colonization” be employed to save struggling lodges that are short on manpower. In colonization, participating brethren of nearby lodges petition for affiliation in the troubled lodge “with the express purpose of revitalizing it.” Once elected to this plural membership, the “colonists” take up the labors of remedying the problems the lodge faces. It won’t work in every case, Halleran concedes, but it can be a more attractive option than consolidation or, naturally, going dark.

Checking in from Down Under, Kent Henderson brings us up to date on “How Masonic Education Has Transformed Freemasonry in Australia,” in which he notes real life examples of how the Craft there made candidate comprehension of Masonic ritual and symbol key to his advancement to the next degree. Not sweaty haste to push through as many as possible to prop up lodges with fresh blood—which we all know does not work—but instead thoughtful instruction and measured progress. Kent knows about such things. If you are keen on these European Concept and Traditional Observance movements, you owe Ken and his brethren at Lodge Epicurean a round of drinks, because they pioneered it all at the close of the last century. Get the magazine to read exactly how man-made miracles are wrought in the Land of Oz.

Speaking of Masonic education, those of us who may not be able to visit San Francisco any time soon have the benefit of hearing from Adam Kendall, Collections Manager and Curator of Exhibits at the Henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum at the Grand Lodge of California, for his highlight of the upcoming exhibition there titled “The Masonic Art of Education.” This will showcase historic tracing boards, modern tracing boards painted by Angel Millar, floor cloths, Magic Lantern images, and other visual arts the fraternity has embraced over the centuries to explain this thing of ours to initiates.

And speaking of timeless customs, author John Bizzack of Kentucky remembers “Nine Lost Traditions in Freemasonry,” in which he guides us through elements of lodge life that recall a much larger time. Some of these you may have seen (Chain of Union); some you may have heard of (Purging the Lodge); and others may be news to you.

In the back of the book, José O. Diaz of Ohio State University leads us on a tour of the library of Lancaster Lodge No. 57 in Ohio. This ain’t some locked barrister bookcase of untouched 100-year-old Mackey books. Lancaster Lodge’s library has survived inundations and conflagrations to pass to posterity its treasures, and Diaz tells a most inspiring story.

Throughout the pages, this issue of The Journal delivers Letters to the Editor, Book Reviews, Masonic Collectibles by Yasha Beresiner, and other attractions that make The Journal of The Masonic Society the most accessible periodical you’ll find. Membership in the Society confers much more than the quarterly Journal. Check us out. Everybody says it’s the best $39 you’ll spend in Masonry.
     

'Emulation exemplification'

  
Wallkill Lodge No. 627 will meet in the Grand Lodge Room in Masonic Hall to host brethren from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Essex of the United Grand Lodge of England for an exemplification of the Master Mason Degree in Emulation ritual.

Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m.
Masonic Hall, Second Floor
71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan

Often thought to be the official or—gasp!—only Craft ritual in the United Grand Lodge of England, Emulation actually is one of many rituals in England, but it is the most widely used within UGLE, and is the best known by those of us outside UGLE. (Of course UGLE has no official ritual. Imagine that.)

About twelve years ago, when I was a relative newbie in Masonry, I purchased from Bro. Yasha a weathered copy of the second edition (1970) of Lewis Masonic's printing of the ritual. Its introduction explains the history of Emulation.

The Emulation Ritual's Master Mason
tracing board, as depicted in the 1970
printing of the ritual by Lewis Masonic.

Emulation Working takes its name from the Emulation Lodge of Improvement whose committee are the custodians of this particular ritual.... The Emulation Lodge of Improvement for Master Masons first met on 2nd October 1823. The Lodge was formed for Master Masons only, and worked, in its earliest years, only the Masonic lectures. However by about 1830 in accordance with general practice the ceremonies were also being rehearsed—always with considerable attention to accuracy, so that no alteration might inadvertently become practice. The Lodge of Improvement has met uninterruptedly since those days, so soon after the settling of the ceremonies by Grand Lodge in 1816, for the purpose of demonstrating unchanged, so far as has been humanly possible, the Emulation Ritual in accordance with the original method. Since June 1965 the variations permitted by the Grand Lodge Resolution of December 1964, with consequential amendments, have also been periodically demonstrated.

There was no officially sanctioned publication of the ritual until 1969.

One cannot reveal on the web the differences between this ritual and our rituals that might further induce you to attend this event, but differences are present, and are obvious in symbols and Working Tools. In fact, as regard the Compasses, Emulation makes a striking theological point that is bound to raise eyebrows. And of course there are "Americanisms" that are absent from this English work.

Believe me, if you read this blog regularly, a guy like you has nothing better to do on a Friday night. Get to Masonic Hall. Bring your regalia and identification.
    

‘The Merry Month of May’

The Magpie Mason regretfully will be absent from the Main Event of the Month of May. (I can’t be everywhere!)

To celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society in 2010, The Masonic Society, in conjunction with Library and Museum of Freemasonry, will host its first UK-Ireland Symposium in London, May 28-29.

On Friday, May 28, the organizers will host a private guided tour of the exhibition Freemasons and the Royal Society at Freemasons Hall. This happens to be the closing day of this exhibition. That evening, an informal dinner and drinks await attendees at the Prince of Wales on Great Queen Street.

The Saturday, May 29 event will take place at Kensal Community Center, located at 177 Kensal Road, London, W10 5BJ. The speakers for the day will be:

Michael Baigent (Holy Blood and Holy Grail, The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception) presenting “Aspects of the Royal Society.” A Q&A session will follow, and then a complimentary lunch.

The second speaker, Robert L.D. Cooper (The Masonic Magician: The Life and Death of Count Cagliostro and His Egyptian Rite, The Rosslyn Hoax) will discuss “A Scottish View of the Foundation of the Royal Society.” The afternoon will end with a second Q&A session.

The registration fee for Saturday is only £10.

The event organizers are none other than Masonic Society Founding Fellow Yasha Beresiner, Fellow Martyn Greene, and Founding Member David Naughton-Shires. Well done brethren! I am very sorry I cannot be there.

Even though I’ll miss the event, this is an event not to be missed! Folks, if you are in or around London, you will want to be there, so sign up here.

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But The Magpie Mason will be busy throughout the month. The Architects will meet on Thursday. Tim Wallace-Murphy will visit Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge on Friday. Scott Chapter No. 4 follows the next Friday. The day after that, the Scottish Rite’s 23° will be conferred aboard the USS New Jersey. The second half of the month promises a Knight Masons meeting, Scottish Rite elections and installations, and speaking engagements of Steve Burkle at Ocean Lodge No. 89 on May 27... and yours truly at historic Alpha Lodge No. 116 the night before!

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired already.

‘A Year Savored’

I want to tell you about the progress enjoyed by The Masonic Society, the research and education foundation serving the Craft in North America.

We marked our first anniversary on Friday, and during year one our membership has grown to more than 750.

Issue No. 3 of “The Journal” will arrive in our members’ mailboxes during the coming week, and Issue No. 4 is well into production now. The Journal is a full color magazine containing Masonic information written by authors from all over the world. Speculative papers, news stories, fiction, poetry, great photography, insightful opinion and other editorial elements reviving the golden age of Masonic publishing.

The new issue includes:

RW Marc Conrad of Louisiana on Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”
Bro. Will Highsmith of North Carolina on the Order of the Arrow.
New Jersey’s own W. Cory Sigler on “Designs Upon the Trestleboard.”
W. Nathan Brindle of Indiana on “Dues That Don't.”
RW Yasha Beresiner on the August Order of Light.
Plus a recap of the Masonic Week activities, and a lot more.

A subscription to this magazine is only one of the benefits of membership.

In addition, members mingle in the Society’s on-line forum, where hundreds of Masons from around the globe interact every day, helping each other advance in their Masonic knowledge. The forum is buzzing with 484 members discussing 2,065 topics, sharing photos, files, and all kinds of information concerning Freemasonry.

But The Masonic Society is much more than a great magazine and a stimulating website. We also come together as brothers and fellows in the spirit of our Masonic ancestors who gathered convivially in the taverns. We hosted our “First Circle Gathering and Banquet” in February during the Masonic Week festivities in Virginia. Our inaugural Semi-Annual First Circle meeting will take place Oct. 24 (details to be announced), and we’re also looking to host a variety of social events locally across the country.

Roger and Yasha at our banquet Feb. 13.

And of course it wouldn’t be a Masonic organization without goodies like pins and membership cards, but the Society cranks up the quality of these items, producing elegant symbols of membership that are earning accolades. In addition, each member receives an 11x14 patent, personalized and highly stylized that you’ll want professionally framed. It is a very impressive document, on parchment with a hand-stamped wax seal.

But the true benefit of membership in The Masonic Society is the learning experience. Whether it’s an eye-popping topic in the magazine, or just simple conversation in the forum, there is no end to what a Mason can learn from his brethren in this organization.

Our President is MW Roger VanGorden, Past Grand Master of Indiana. Our Editor-in-Chief is W. Bro. Chris “Freemasons for Dummies” Hodapp. And our Directors, Officers and Founders include many leaders in Masonic education, including authors, publishers, curators, lecturers and more.

Brethren, at a mere $39 annually, The Masonic Society provides a very stylish, educational and, frankly, fun way to broaden your Masonic horizons without conflicting with your already busy Masonic schedule.

Hope you check us out.

Society of Blue Friars

I’m going to jump out of chronological order, just for my own convenience, in recapping the events of Masonic Week. On Friday we enjoyed the 65th Annual Consistory of the Society of Blue Friars.

This might be the perfect Masonic fraternity: one meeting per year, no dues, no ritual, no rank for us on the sidelines, no problemo.

Perfect!



There are three officers: Grand Abbot S. Brent Morris, Deputy Grand Abbot Arturo de Hoyos, and Secretary General Dick Fletcher. Then there are the Blue Friars themselves. These are published authors in the Masonic world (not dopey bloggers, but real researchers and writers) hailing from all over the globe. There have been 98 Friars to date, of whom 25 are active now. To become a Friar, an existing Friar nominates a Mason from a Grand Lodge in amity with his own, and then the Grand Abbot makes the selection, choosing one per year, unless the current membership falls below 20, in which case the Grand Abbot may choose multiple nominees.

(The title “abbot” shares etymological roots with the salutory appellation of our Operative Grand Master, but I digress.)

The first Grand Abbot and first Friar was none other than J. Raymond Shute, II of North Carolina. A very interesting man and Mason who was crucial in the history of the Allied Masonic Degrees of the United States. His leadership was equally vital to most of the other organizations that have comprised the doings of Masonic Week since its inception more than 70 years ago, like the Grand College of Rites and the Masonic Rosicrucians.

Shute was a state senator in North Carolina, representing its 19th District in 1934-35. He later served two terms as mayor of Monroe.

Blue Friar (2000) Art de Hoyos and the 2009 Blue Friar.

But we gathered on Friday to welcome the newest Blue Friar, Bro. Yasha Beresiner, Past Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 in London. (It’s funny how these things work out, but Bro. Yasha also was to be the keynote speaker that evening at The Masonic Society’s First Circle Gathering.)

His topic for the Blue Friars that morning was Scottish influence on the early development of Speculative Masonry. Starting us at 1176 C.E., when the first stone bridge was erected in England, he led us forward two centuries to the period when the first organizations of stone masons, with their own rules and regulations, appeared in London and York. He explained how the English had guilds, and the Scots had corporations, which were very similar, but with this difference: The guild had a lodge at its worksite. The corporation had a lodge of its own, not linked to any particular construction site, “a physical body that runs parallel to the corporation of stone masons.” We’re not sure what they did – it seems they did seek to avoid the authority of the civil government – but they did have candidates.

Fast forward to the late 16th century and we see “non-Masons are being accepted, men of standing and authority.” A degree system was in place, with advancement from the 1° to the 2°. And there was a Master’s Word.

Schaw’s Statutes of 1598-9 provide 28 rules and regulations. There were regular meetings with minutes taken. “These separate the lodges from what they had been.” The first Schaw Statute appears Dec. 28, 1598 – unmistakably only a day after the Feast Day of St. John the Evangelist, the patron of Scottish stone masons lodges.

Shortly thereafter are dated the first clues of Speculative Masonry in England, namely the odd diary-like jot by Elias Ashmole, clearly a gentleman who never labored in stone.

1646 Oct. 16 4H.30pm I was made a Free Mason at Warrington in Lancashire, with Coll: Henry Mainwaring of Karincham in Cheshire. The names of those that were then of the Lodge: Mr. Rich Penket, Warden, Mr. James Collier, Mr. Rich. Sankey, Henry Littler, John Ellam, Rich. Ellam & Hugh Brewer.

In 1682 he was invited to attend the lodge of the Stone Masons Company of London. What did he do in London then, asked Beresiner. The answer will settle the question of the origins of Speculative Freemasonry, “I’m convinced.”

After the Great Fire of London, no building could be constructed unless made of stone. The only surviving documents of the Stone Masons Company are its treasurer’s reports. There was a single fee paid by members, but a double fee paid by outsiders. There must have been an Acception Ceremony! In time, the lodge would separate itself from the Company, and the six years between the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge and the publications of its Constitutions would see “unadulterated pleasure and enjoyment by the Masons.” The Tavern Age.

Returning to the reach of Scottish influence, Beresiner expanded on the significance of the Constitutions. Dr. James Anderson, the author, was initiated in Scotland. He “digests” the Old Charges of Scotland’s Operative Masons, making “obvious references to Scottish Masonry.” Cowan, Entered Apprentice and Fellowcraft are “terms that appear in English for the first time in the Constitutions of 1723.”

Brent Morris brings the Q&A to a close.

Unfortunately only an hour is allotted to the Blue Friars, and our time together was coming to an end. To allow for a Q&A session, Grand Abbott Morris adroitly concluded the lecture, explaining that “Those who insist on either English or Scottish origins miss the point that it’s the British Isles.”

It’s Yasha!

The Masonic Society has announced the keynote speaker at its first banquet will be RW Bro. Yasha Beresiner, one of the Society’s Founding Fellows.

An introduction is not necessary, and would take too long anyway. For a look at his Masonic credentials, click here.

The Masonic Society banquet is the new addition to the Masonic Week events. It will take place Friday, Feb. 13. Tickets cost $65 per person, and must be reserved in advance. Click here.

In Freemasonry, Bro. Beresiner has just about done it all, but in my estimation he has the best job around: that of traveling to Masonic museums, libraries and meeting spaces to examine and photograph the countless artifacts, art works, manuscripts, letters, records, folk art, etc., and writing his findings for one of the best magazines serving the Craft.

It is not necessary to be a member of the Masonic Society to attend this banquet, but if you’ve read this far, you ought to consider joining. Membership is open to brethren of jurisdictions constituent to the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America, and those jurisdictions in amity with the same.

RW Yasha also is world famous for his research work within Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 in London, and other lodges of Masonic education. He is somewhat personally known to many Masons around the world through his distribution of many valuable books. Without him, I might not know anything about Emulation ritual, and my oldest copies of Ars Quatuor Coronatorum came from him. It’ll be great to finally meet him.