‘The True Masonic Light’

  
Listen, when Brent Morris takes you aside twice in one night and tells you to post more often, you do what the man says. So here we go.

There actually is a lot of catch-up to do. Just in the past week or so was the Emulation ritual at Walkill Lodge, two of my nearly acceptable speaking engagements, the Scottish Rite symposium at Lexington, and — last, but certainly not least — The Bernie of 2012 on Monday night. I’m tired from just trying to remember it all. Magpie coverage of the above to come shortly, but first, because I posted this on ML a few hours ago unleashing the huge secret, is this bit of news.

Some weeks ago I mentioned there are things underway in New Jersey Freemasonry that portend a brighter future here. Well, I’m quarterbacking this one.

With a committee of six brilliant, audacious, and damned handsome visionaries, I am in the process of starting a new Scottish Rite Lodge of Perfection. If Supreme Council issues the requested charter, it would be named Architects Lodge of Perfection, inspired by the Grand Master Architect (12th) Degree of traditional Scottish Rite Masonry.

Click here to read a bit of Ill. James Tresner’s Vested in Glory, courtesy of the Valley of Bakersfield in California.

Its purpose would be to serve as a philosophical research society. It will not confer degrees, but instead would provide the academic study of Scottish Rite rituals, past and present, from Entered Apprentice to Royal Secret. The brethren would meet several times a year to discuss the rituals, symbols, and ideas. Readings of rituals, commentaries, histories, etc. would be assigned in advance with plenty of time to prepare for these meetings.

As the Master Architect Degree (A&ASR-SJ) says: “Wisdom is the True Masonic Light.” The degree synopsis in Ill. Arturo de Hoyos’ Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide says: “The ceremonies of this Degree are brief, but its significance is profound. Here you are taught the symbolic meanings of the Master Architect’s tools, the most important of which instructs us to solve the great problems presented by the universe, to know and understand the lofty truths of philosophy and to communicate it freely to others, particularly by our actions. Only the best and wisest in us and among us should rule. For if it be any other, the low and the ignoble will presume, and soon prevail.”

That summarizes the twin ambitions of this project. The tangible goal is to educate Scottish Rite Masons; the intangible aim is to build a generation of informed Scottish Rite Masons who should raise the standard of leadership for their Lodges, Councils, Chapters, and Consistories.

Membership would be open statewide to Sublime Princes in good standing in their home Consistories (although I can’t see us turning away brethren from other states if any want to participate).

The paperwork is well underway. If all goes smoothly, there could be a charter in August, which would lead directly to an inaugural meeting in September. I will post more about this in the meantime, but please wish us luck!
  

'Re-enactment relocation'

    
The first announcement said Federal Hall. A follow-up notice said St. Paul's Chapel, although I think that was an accident. Now comes word that the Grand Lodge of New York's annual re-enactment of the first presidential inauguration of Bro. George Washington will take place at Masonic Hall.

Bronze likeness of George Washington
taking the presidential oath of office.

Same day: Monday, April 30.
Same time: High Twelve.
Location: Renaissance Room, Sixth Floor, Masonic Hall.

This change was decided due to the lawlessness in the streets (my words, not Grand Lodge's) on and around Wall Street. In the interests of safety and preserving the historic George Washington Inaugural Bible, this very enjoyable celebration will take place under a Masonic roof.

It's a shame decent people cannot use public spaces, but that is where we are today as a society. And no, I do not believe Washington and the other Founders waged the Revolution and founded our free society so that there can be anarchy and filth in the streets. They created a land governed by laws, not a mobocracy. The French Revolution was mob-friendly. The American Revolution was very different. End of lecture. Sorry.

There will be a collation after the ceremony. Details, like cost, menu, etc., are yet to be determined.

If you can get there, please do so. You'll enjoy a singular occurance in Masonic culture.

Masonic Hall is located at 71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan.
    

‘See who wants admission’

     

Two of my favorite people talking
to each other: Bro. Oscar Alleyne,
who helped organize this event,
and Bro. Jason Sheridan, soon
to be Grand Director of Ceremonies
for the Grand Lodge of New York.

It was time for the long awaited evening of Emulation exemplification yesterday, when Wallkill Lodge No. 627 hosted an all-star line-up of ritualists from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Essex under the United Grand Lodge of England, named the Teddies for Loving Care Masonic Demonstration Team, in the Grand Lodge Room of Masonic Hall in Manhattan.

Click here for a little background.

I think it is safe to say the use of ritual in English lodges is misunderstood by most Masons in the United States. Here, for some seventeen decades, we have been enforcing uniform ritual work in each of our individual jurisdictions, concentrating so intently on perfect memorization and recitation that we really have forgotten the principal point of it all. The brethren in England do that also, I am told, but the difference is diversity of rituals within the single jurisdiction. Although Emulation is thought to be the only ritual in England, the truth is there is no standard work for UGLE. There are many rituals employed.

Watching this was my first experience with Emulation, and it was fun. There are many interesting differences from what I know and have seen in my travels, but nothing so distracting or confusing as to be unrecognizable. And of course it helps to have read the ritual a number of times over the years.

The Teddies for Loving Care Masonic Demonstration Team travels and exemplifies ritual work to raise funds for its philanthropy, the goal of which is to provide teddy bears and other soft toys to children being treated by Accident and Emergency Units in order to calm the children and distract them from the distress of their injuries, making it easier for the medical staff to treat them. (We have a similar program here in New Jersey, where we hand Past Grand Masters highballs of single malt to soothe their anxieties caused by the surrender of authority, and I must say, it works like a charm.) Click here to read more about this clever program in England.

     

'The Templar test'

    
The dates of the next International Conference on the History of Freemasonry have been announced. ICHF will return to Scotland for 2013. Next up will be a repeated call for papers this summer, followed by the release of a list of chosen presenters in the form of a tentative conference agenda early next year.

No one has any idea which scholars will be selected to present which researched subjects, but I hope you will consider this challenge if you have bought into the Templar myth of Masonic origins. I predict no research paper will seek to advance the notion that our Masonic fraternal order has its roots in the medieval military order commonly called the Knights Templar, and I ask you to understand why.

Scores of accomplished academics and other skilled scholars from around the world will present their findings on a dizzying variety of subjects during the three days of this conference, but I don't think anyone will attempt to advance the supposition, which was born in about the mid 18th century, that Freemasonry descended from the medieval Templars. My challenge to you is simply to ask yourselves why that might be. In the very land where the Templars allegedly appeared out of nowhere to vanquish the English and save Robert the Bruce's rear end at Bannockburn, a three-day conference on Masonic history will make no claim of paternity against these alleged forefathers of Freemasonry.

Remain calm, be open-minded and circumspect, ask yourselves why that is, and form an objective answer.
    

'Sotheby's to auction Mozart letter to Mason'

    
If your lodge has a spare $400,000 laying around, you might cause your trustees to cast their eyes to Sotheby's, which will auction a letter signed by Bro. W.A. Mozart in which he seeks financial assistance from a brother Freemason.

Described by Sotheby's:

Mozart, right, in lodge.

Autograph letter signed "W.A. Mozart" to Michael Puchberg, June 1788. A frank and revealing appeal by Mozart for financial assistance, in which he discusses his famous string quintets in C major and G minor and the piano trio in E major, K.542.

Estimate: 200,000-300,000 GBP

It is the auction institution's May Musical Manuscripts sale, 29 documents in all, including a Mozart fugue not listed in Köchel(!), and a corrected music exercise by pupil Thomas Attwood. These papers are among the highlights on exhibit in New York City through Friday. The gavel of the auction will sound in London May 29.

For more information, contact the auction house's specialists in London.
   

‘Beethoven’s Tenth discovered in Masonic library’

  

Beethoven, by Andy Warhol, 1987.

WQXR host Naomi Lewin reports today on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday that a manuscript described as two movements of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 10 has been discovered in the archives of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library, located in Masonic Hall, the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of New York.

Livingston Library Executive Director Tom Savini is quoted only briefly, but the report explains that the manuscript may have seen the light of day already, just more than a century ago, when Masonic archives were being transferred from the previous Masonic Hall to the current building, and may even have been seen by Gustav Mahler, then the conductor of the New York Philharmonic, who was known for rearranging certain Beethoven works.

It never has been established if the great composer was a Brother in the Craft, although the themes of some of his best known works show Masonic thinking, and some of his collaborators, like Schiller, who wrote the Ode to Joy libretto for Symphony No. 9, were Freemasons.

The 5:35 audio of this Sunday, April 1 story can be heard here.

'99 Degrees of fun!'

    
"That's ninety-nine degrees of fun right there!"

Bro. Colin Peterson
Indiana


One of those wonderfully positive developments pending in New Jersey Freemasonry I mentioned in a post somewhere below is the symposium the Scottish Rite will host on May 19. Coming to the podium are Ill. Robert Davis of the Valley of Guthrie, Oklahoma; Ill. Chris Hodapp of the Valley of Indy; and Ill. Brent Morris of the Valley of, among others, Washington, DC.

I believe the reputations of these nationally treasured scholars and brethren speak for themselves, and I predict you'll learn not only some more about Freemasonry from their presentations, but also be shown new ways to look at our Craft.

Click here to register. It's only $50 per person, which covers breakfast and lunch, and souvenirs. This is open to (regular/recognized) Master Masons.

This is a Mohamad-Moises Production, so you are guaranteed an unforgettable day.
    

'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.
    

'ALR on the 29th'

     

The American Lodge of Research will convene its 353rd Stated Meeting on Thursday, March 29 at Masonic Hall.

71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan.

     

‘Tree of Life Seminars’

    
The brethren of the Scottish Rite of Washington, DC and the fratres of the Masonic Rosicrucians of DC will co-host a series of seminars beginning next month, featuring knowledgeable speakers offering eight approaches to learning about the Tree of Life as a “Pathway to Enlightenment.”

More great news: one need not be physically present in DC. These sessions will be available via the web. Admission to all eight seminars, whether in person or via the internet, costs $90, but those who register before Saturday, March 10 will benefit from a discount, bringing the total cost to $75.

You can’t go to the movies eight times for $75. Or $90.

The schedule: All sessions will take place on Sundays, from 4 to 6 p.m. Panelists for discussion: TBA.

March 25 – Kabbalah and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Dr. Darryl Carter.

April 22 – Sufism and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Dr. Julianne Hazen, Director of Sufi Studies, Sufi Center, Medina, New York.

May 20 – Vedanta Yoga and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Ill. George R. Adams, 33°, GC.

June 17 – Science and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Dr. Pierre Gaujard, Physicist.

September 16 – Buddhism and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Ven. Bhante Katugastota Uparatana, Buddhist Chaplain, American University, Washington.

October 7 – Esoteric Christianity and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Fratre Marcel Derouches.

October 21 – Taoism and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Dr. Darryl Carter.

November 11 – Freemasonry and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Ill. George R. Adams.

Read about the presenters here.