‘Second Circle: St. Andrew’s Day ... 2010’

    
Today is the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist, remembered fondly in Freemasonry as the anniversary of the day in 1717 when four lodges in London introduced (or revealed) Freemasonry to the world, and also formed the Premier Grand Lodge of England. But you know all that. Tonight is The Masonic Society’s New Jersey Second Circle’s celebration of St. John the Baptist Day (if you’re a Mason in or near New Jersey, you’re probably tired of hearing about it), and it occurs to me that I never even told you about our St. Andrew’s Day Feast that took place ... seven months ago! I’ll never catch up on all the past events I want to tell you about.

The following is the story that appears in the Spring issue of The New Jersey Freemason magazine:

The Masonic Society celebrates St. Andrew’s Day

The Masonic Society seized the Feast Day of Saint Andrew as an apt occasion for eating, drinking, and advancing in Masonic knowledge together. It was the first event in New Jersey for the growing education foundation, established in 2008 by several dozen Masonic educators, authors, researchers, curators, and others to serve the fraternity in North America. There are more than 70 New Jersey brethren among its 1,200 members.

Right Worshipful Ben Hoff, Grand Historian, shows the brethren how Masons centuries ago ritually gestured with their tankards and glasses at The Masonic Society’s Saint Andrew’s Day dinner November 30 at Bloomfield Steak and Seafood House.

A group of 30, coming from all over the state, and several wearing their kilts, assembled at Bloomfield Steak and Seafood House, a historic site built in 1670 that once hosted Bro. George Washington during the Revolution, for a full course dinner and an educational program supplied by two Grand Lodge officers. RW Ben Hoff, Grand Historian, spoke on the origins, evolution, and significance of toasting in Masonic ritual. What began as a means for Masons to quietly identify each other in taverns by holding their drinking vessels certain ways, became elaborate gestures that we still use today in our Table Lodges. RW Fred Waldron, District Deputy Grand Master of the Eighth Masonic District, addressed the brethren on the subject of Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland and Scottish Freemasonry, whose feast day is November 30.

“It’s not like Masons need excuses to get together for a great meal and the chance to learn about their Craft,” said W. Bro. Jay Hochberg, a Founding Fellow of The Masonic Society who organized the event. “That is instinctive. We’re already planning our next dinner for Friday, June 24, 2011 – the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist – at a site in central Jersey.”

Membership in The Masonic Society is open to Master Masons. For information, visit The Masonic Society or contact W. Hochberg at euclid47@.... The Society’s annual meeting will take place Friday, February 11 during Masonic Week in Alexandria, Virginia; and its semi-annual will be held this summer in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Those who attend New Jersey Second Circle Gatherings receive a gift bag at the end of the evening, containing mementos and other items - modest but hopefully appropriate. (You should see what I'm procuring now for the next St. Andrew’s Feast in November.) What our guests last November received were “aids for the body, mind, and soul.” What follows is the explanatory literature included in each bag:

For the Body: Apple a Day!

The Laird family has been making Applejack in New Jersey since 1780. In fact, their distillery received the very first federal liquor license.

William Laird, a County Fyfe Scotsman, emigrated from Scotland in 1698 and settled in Monmouth County. Believed to be a distiller by trade, he applied his skills to the most abundant natural resource available in this area of the New World: apples.

Applejack was a well known “cyder spirit” throughout growing America. In the 1820s, evangelist John Chapman, better known as “Johnny Appleseed,” preached to congregations along the Ohio River Valley, and distributed apple seeds to his followers. He also instructed them in the production of Applejack, hence the continued popularity of Applejack in the region.

Robert Laird served under George Washington during the Revolution, and the Laird family supplied the troops with Applejack. Records show that prior to 1760, Washington wrote the Lairds, requesting their Applejack recipe, which the Lairds gladly supplied. Entries in Washington’s diary in the 1760s show his production of the “cyder spirits.”

Please enjoy this spirit in the spirit of Scottish heritage and New Jersey history.

Calmness for the Mind!

“There’s peace in a Larrañaga;

there’s calm in a Henry Clay…

And a woman is only a woman,

but a good cigar is a smoke.”

Bro. Rudyard Kipling

The Betrothed

1886

The brand Henry Clay was created in the 1840s in Cuba. Named after the American statesman who served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in the early 19th century, it was considered one of the finest of all Havana cigars. Henry Clay (1777-1852) also is remembered as Grand Master of Kentucky. He was an unsuccessful candidate for president, including a loss to Andrew Jackson, Grand Master of Tennessee, in 1828.

This cigar was made in the Dominican Republic. Its maduro wrapper, comes from the Connecticut Valley; the filler and binder leaves make a robust blend of Piloto Cubano-grown Dominican tobaccos. It is an old-world style, and full-bodied smoke, recommended for enjoying after a hearty meal. It perhaps is best balanced with a lighter beverage, such as a lager or a mixed drink with a vodka or gin base. Or maybe Applejack!

For the Soul: ‘The Prophet’

Khalil Gibran (1887-1931) was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer. Born in modern-day Lebanon, he emigrated to Boston as a child. He is best known in the English-speaking world for his book The Prophet, a series of philosophical essays. First published in 1923, The Prophet never has been out of print. It is an early example of Inspirational fiction, and the book sold well initially, despite a cool critical reception. Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind only Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.

The eponymous prophet of the story is Al-Mustafa, who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years. He is about to board a ship which will carry him home when he is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses many issues of life and the human condition. The story is divided into chapters, each poetically addressing an important aspect of existence.

“The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed. The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.”

It is hoped you will find his philosophy congruent with Masonic teachings, and that you will enjoy the beautiful language of Gibran’s prose. The edition of The Prophet included in your gift bag tonight was printed only three weeks ago.

And finally, a word about our venue. We’ll do it again here in November. Bloomfield Steak and Seafood House is an ideal place for Masonic meetings, not only because it returns us somewhat to our roots in the taverns, but the story of this particular building is amazing, and even involves some notable Freemasons. Here is how the Township of Bloomfield describes the site in its literature:

Back in the 1600s, they built for longevity. Take for instance the Joseph Davis House, now the Bloomfield Steak & Seafood House, at 409 Franklin Street. The house was built long before the introduction of cement and yet, “it will likely last 1,000 years,” said Ann Hardy, chairperson of the Historic District Review Board. The main walls are two feet thick at base and the cellar walls measure eight to 10 feet thick.

The Davis house is a monument to the early history of Bloomfield, the oldest of the town’s pre-Revolutionary War homes. It is listed on both the state and national historic registers, which do not dictate uses of listed properties. The home is used as a restaurant and no part of it is open for touring, but, “externally, you can still tell it is a very old house,” said Hardy. “It’s one of many houses in Bloomfield that have become different things over time.”

Built by Thomas Davis in 1670, the house was occupied by his descendants until 1903. It has been associated with many historic events:

• During the Revolution, a tunnel in the cellar ran to the foot of Orange Mountain and was used by women and children to escape the British.

• A wounded English soldier was taken in by the Davis family and nursed back to health. To show his appreciation, the soldier built the well that still remains on the property, and hewed the stone wash basin that sits next to the well.

• General George Washington and General Henry Knox stopped at the homestead for directions to Morristown and were entertained for dinner.

• In the late 1700s, when the home was occupied by Deacon Joseph Davis, worship services were regularly held in the house. Otherwise, the closest churches were in Newark or Orange. In 1796, when the First Presbyterian Church on the green was built, Deacon Davis, a founding member, provided, for the sum of eight pounds, the land on which the church still stands.

• The charter of Bloomfield was signed in the house’s “beam ceiling room” by General Joseph Bloomfield in 1796. A group of citizens meeting at the home named the town after Bloomfield, who was a New Jersey governor and Revolutionary War officer.

During the past two centuries, the Davis Homestead has been a farmhouse, hospital, church and restaurant. Only a handful of property transfers has occurred since Revolutionary War times, but what a tale the building tells from its early days!

There had been a Masonic lodge in Bloomfield for generations. Bloomfield Lodge No. 48 was chartered on November 9, 1824. It surrendered its charter exactly six years later, a victim no doubt of the Morgan scandal, but was revived in January of 1856 as No. 40. It no longer exists (it is part of the lineage of Essex Lodge No. 7), but it had been located on the corner of Broad and Liberty streets, practically right around the corner from this restaurant.

Bro. Joseph Bloomfield of Trenton Lodge No. 5, was among the founders of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, serving as its fifth Grand Master. During the Revolution, he was a major in the Third New Jersey Regiment. After the war, he served the state as attorney general before resuming military service as a brigadier general of militia. He served as governor of New Jersey for most of the time between 1801 and 1812, but upon the outbreak of war with Britain again, he served as brigadier general in the U.S. Army.

He returned to government service after that war, representing New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Well, I’m off to North Brunswick shortly to host tonight’s Second Circle Gathering. We have two dozen guests coming, and I want to make sure I’m the first one there. Hopefully it won’t take me seven months to tell you what happened!
  

‘Bloomsday to go a Twitter on Thursday’

    

It deserves more attention in Freemasonry, but James Joyce’s novel Ulysses is the story of a man named Leopold Bloom, who happens to be a Freemason. The story is famous, albeit not widely loved, in literature because its plot is patterned after Homer’s Odyssey, the author uses unknown vocabulary and stream-of-consciousness narrative, and the novel was banned and burned for allegedly being obscene until a court decision rendered the novel safe for American readers.

But it is newsworthy this week because all the action in the story takes place on June 16, 1904, known in literary circles as Bloomsday, and this Thursday – Bloomsday 2011 – the entire text of the novel is supposed to be Tweeted on Twitter. I say supposed to be because I don’t know who will text the novel’s approximately 265,000 words, divided into that medium’s 140-characters-per-message format, or why.
    

‘A night at Navesink’

  

I just learned that Bro. Tim Wallace-Murphy will return to New Jersey this Friday night to appear at Navesink Lodge No. 9 in Red Bank.

True to form, Bro. Tim will speak on "From Egyptian Mythology to Jewish Mysticism; Rome and Greece to the Druids and the Gnostics," according to the lodge's announcement. He will trace the development of the Western esoteric tradition through the centuries to the advent of Templars, Rosicrucians, and Freemasons, and continue to the present.

If you haven't met Tim anywhere on his never ending tour, you surely have encountered his many books or have seen him in any of numerous documentaries, where he is called upon to explain matters of the Western mysteries.


And if you can get to Red Bank, it'll be well worth your time. The lodge does require reservations, and will accommodate the first 95 guests who contact Bro. Fred Stein at devilsfan37(at)verizon.net

Navesink Lodge is located at 152 Maple Ave. Dinner will be served at 6:30. Admission is free, and is open to Apprentices and Fellows. Copies of Tim's books will be available for sale.

‘Second Circle’s St. John’s Day’

    
The New Jersey Second Circle of The Masonic Society will host its Saint John’s Day Feast on Friday, June 24 in North Brunswick, New Jersey.

An evening of good company, good conversation, and good food, with the added attraction of a very special guest speaker, awaits you.

In honor of St. John’s Day, we will welcome to our podium the Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University, who will tell us about a fascinating gnostic religion that dates back to antiquity, yet still survives today.

Dr. Charles Haberl’s topic is the Mandaean faith, a tiny Abrahamic religion that upholds John the Baptist as its ultimate teacher. This religion exists in and around Iraq, but is almost on the verge of extinction. What he has to say about the Baptist in particular should intrigue every Freemason, and the plight they suffer today makes Dr. Haberl’s presentation even more compelling.

Dr. Haberl also is an Assistant Professor at the Department of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures at Rutgers. He has served as an Undergraduate Fulbright Faculty Advisor and as a member of the Advisory Committee for Study Abroad Programs in the Middle East at Rutgers, as well as a juror and panelist for the United States Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarships for Intensive Summer Institutes. With James McGrath of Butler University, he received an NEH grant to translate the Mandaean Book of John in 2010. We are very fortunate to have him.

The Masonic Society’s St. John’s Day Feast

Friday, June 24 at 7 p.m.

Sir John’s Restaurant

230 Washington Place, North Brunswick

$50 per person. Reservations are required and can be made ONLY by sending your payment, via PayPal, to: masonicrsvp@gmail.com no later than Monday, June 20.

Great food: Unlimited hot hors d'oeuvres (served butler style), your choice of entree is Baked Stuffed Chicken or Roast Top Sirloin of Beef or Broiled Stuffed Filet of Flounder. Plus side dishes, salad, desserts with coffee etc., and unlimited soft drinks. (Cash bar only.)

NAME YOUR ENTREE when you transmit your payment.

It is NOT necessary to be a member of The Masonic Society to attend this special event. ALL Masons, their ladies, and friends are welcome to this fraternal and spiritual celebration of one of the Patrons of the Craft. Remember it was on June 24, 1717 when the Grand Lodge of England was formed, ushering in the age of modern Freemasonry as we know it.

Seating is limited, so no walk-ins can be accommodated. No reservations can be honored without advance payment via PayPal.
   

'210 in 2011'

  
Brethren, be sure to raise your glasses at some point today. (No time like the present!) On this date in 1801, the Mother Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree was formed in Charleston, South Carolina.

And this year marks the 20th year of the Scottish Rite Research Society's labors. What better way to celebrate both milestones than to enroll in the SRRS?

Members of the SRRS who were
in good standing in 2010, are now
receiving both Volume 18
of Heredom, and Albert Pike's
Masonic Formulas and Rituals.

Grand Archivist and Grand Historian Ill. Arturo de Hoyos has published the fruits of his recent years of research and editing. Titled Albert Pike's Masonic Formulas and Rituals, this beautifully bound and hefty work of scholarship is a time capsule that transports us to the era before Albert Pike revised the Scottish Rite's rituals, creating the fraternity we know today. In its pages, we see what Pike and his contemporaries knew as their corpus of rituals, although we enjoy the benefits of modern publishing.

In addition, and in yet another instance of the SRRS serving the Craft at large, this book reveals the three lodge degrees (and more) of what was Adonhiramite Masonry, affording us a look into a French Masonic order of the 1780s wherein Adoniram was the architect and builder of King Solomon's Temple. This is almost archeological in perspective, considering the bloodbath of revolution that nearly would eradicate Freemasonry in France several years hence.

And that's not all! (Are ya following me, camera guy?)

There are early versions of York Rite degrees and orders, and the four degrees of the True Masonry of Adoption. Championed by some of the same French elites behind the Adonhiramite rite, this system of degrees brought women to see the light by which Masons work.

I don't claim to have read all of this already; I received my copy only a week ago. Whenever I receive a tome of this scope, my first action is to turn to the Rose Croix chapters (pun!) and see what's going on there, and then I try to begin at the beginning. I'll be gnawing on this for a number of months, so if you see me clutching this to my chest, it may be best to just wave hello from a distance. In the meantime, join the Scottish Rite Research Society.
  

'Sunset on ICHF 2011'

 

The George Washington Masonic Memorial,
overlooking King Street in Alexandria, Virginia,
site of ICHF 2011.

 
The third International Conference on the History of Freemasonry is itself history. The fourth conference will be convened in the north of England in 2013, and the fifth will take place in Ontario in 2015.

Bound for ICHF

    
Wow! When I said in the post below that I may be spending too much time blogging, I didn't think I'd take a sabbatical of 90 days, but that's how it worked out for a variety of humbling reasons.

The Magpie Mason will be back to its usual tricks in June with coverage of things Masonic. I still have to tell you about the Rose Circle conference, Trevor Stewart at The Players, a few great nights at Nutley Lodge, and even some events from Masonic Week. Man, that feels like it was five years ago. Plus, there's my lecture to the Joseph Campbell Foundation's New York City Chapter, and some other odd, improbable curiosities. There are many other things that I'll get to during the course of the summer, as the recollections return to view. Hope I don't forget anything.

Oh yeah! The Masonic Society's New Jersey Second Circle Gathering. Our St. John's Day Feast on Friday, June 24 in North Brunswick, New Jersey. A very special evening is planned!

At the moment I'm off to bed so as to arise in four hours to drive to the George Washington Masonic Memorial, the site of the 2011 International Conference on the History of Freemasonry. Been waiting two years for this.

Complete Magpie coverage, etc., etc., to come. Monday.
    

‘Templar no more’

  
Last month, I decided to annul my standing and rank in the Knights Templar, the chivalric branch of the York Rite of Freemasonry. I have received the demit certificate. Below is the text of my letter requesting the same, addressed to Trinity Commandery's Recorder.

March 18, 2011

Sir Knight and Dear Mario,

I have acquired some degree of experience in Freemasonry over the years, so I know that requests for demits sometimes are meant to send negative messages. I assure the Fratres of Trinity Commandery that no such malice or other hard feelings are at work in my decision to leave the Knights Templar. I know that no explanation is required when asking for a demit, but I want my brothers and friends to know that this is a consideration of conscience for me; an entirely personal and difficult decision reached after a lot of thought. You see, I am not a Christian. I never have been a Christian, and I’m sure I never will become a Christian; therefore my membership in the Order has been based on a fundamental untruth that I have come to regret. My religious faith was no secret to those who recruited me for membership, nor was any membership standard withheld or misstated to me at the time, but what happened is my own views of how to manage the discrepancy have evolved over the years, and I now realize this tough choice is necessary.

This is not to say I feel any shame or guilt for my decade of membership in the Knights Templar. Quite the contrary! I believe the Order of the Temple is among the most vital initiatic ceremonies in the entire corpus of Masonic degrees, and furthermore that this ritual in the hands of Trinity Commandery is brought to its most profound potential. More than the best commandery, we all know that Trinity is a very special band of brothers. It has been my great honor and privilege to have been inside the Asylum with Thurman Pace, Bud York, Mel Melendez, R__ M______, John Corrigan, and so many others.

In addition, I have always been proud of my efforts for the betterment of the Order. Contributing toward Trinity’s ritual work; laboring for seven years as editor of the New Jersey supplement of Knight Templar magazine; and serving in 2007 as Grand Historian have been enriching experiences that I always will treasure.

But it is time for me to go. I will see you all in our other stations and places amid our other labors, so this is not goodbye.

Thank you all!

I was halfway through writing the letter when I realized it was the birthday of Jacques DeMolay. Entirely coincidental. My good friend and brother John had been Grand Commander until March, so I waited until he had left office before sending this request. The timing of the date was not intentional, unless my subconscious was getting the best of me.

My task now is to try as hard as I can to think back, to reach back more than ten years, to remember why I joined. The real reason, beyond being recruited by trusted friends. I know what I think today, but what was on my mind then? There is something important in there.
  

‘Orations in Ramsey’

    
It’s been a long day, capped with a great feast at Sagaponack, and I’m too tired and overfed to post a Magpie recap of the utterly mind-roasting event hosted this afternoon by the Rose Circle Research Foundation. And tomorrow I want to get to the New York Public Library to catch “Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam” on its final day of exhibition. (It opened in October, and I just haven’t been able to get there. I missed MOBIA’s “A Light to the Nations,” and I ain’t missing this one!)

Where was I going with this?

Yes! Bedways is rightways now. I’ll post Rose Circle photos and info tomorrow. In the meantime, here is an update on New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education No. 1786:

We are going on the road next month. When the lodge was organized nine years ago, we spoke of maybe holding our meetings in different venues around the state, for the sake of variety and to bring our work to lodges far and wide. The brethren of Hawthorne-Fortitude Lodge No. 200 in Ramsey approached us last year and offered their hospitality, ergo our presence on Saturday, March 12. Lodge opens at 9:30 a.m. Attire: suit and tie. Lunch to be served afterward.

On the agenda:

“Ode to Joy,” a paper on the glorious Ninth by Ludwig van, presented by Bro. Howard Kanowitz; and

“Masonic Trestleboards,” an A/V presentation by Bro. Ben Hoff.

I was going to have a paper of my own on the subject of Ramsay’s Oration and what I suspect is its proper context within the Romantic Movement in the arts of that period, but it is incomplete. Perhaps less time blogging would be helpful.

Hawthorne-Fortitude Lodge No. 200 is located at 24 North Franklin Turnpike in Ramsey.
    

‘Stellar Theology in the Lamp of Knowledge’

    

Nutley Lodge No. 25 continues its Lamp of Knowledge Lecture Series March 21 with a presentation by RW Bro. Rashied Bey, who will speak on “Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy.”

Lodge opens at 7:30 p.m. (almost exactly 24 hours after the Vernal Equinox). 175 Chestnut St. in Nutley.

Apprentices and Fellows, properly avouched, are welcome.

Bro. Rashied is a member of Cornerstone Lodge No. 37 under the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York.

‘Wendell K. Walker Lecture 2011’

    
Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2 has announced the Annual Wendell K. Walker Lecture will take place on the evening of Thursday, March 24.

Bro. Trevor Stewart

on “Masonic Lodges in Colonial North America.”

The Players

16 Gramercy Park South

Manhattan

Cocktails at 7 p.m. in the Sargent Room (cash bar)

Dinner at eight in the Ball Room – $65 per person

Attire: Business

Open to Freemasons and their guests

Advance reservations are essential, and must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, March 18. Leave a note, with your e-mail address, in the Comments Section below (which will not be published) and I’ll send you the contact information.

Bro. Trevor Stewart is a retired lecturer who was educated at Birmingham, Sheffield, Durham and Newcastle universities. His academic work specialised in 18th century English literature, and his doctorate research focused on a coterie of gentlemen Freemasons who lived in the north of England during the Enlightenment period.

Trevor has continued to give fully documented papers on various Masonic subjects in American, Belgian, French, German and Scottish lodges – at both lodge and Provincial Grand Lodge levels – as well as in many English Lodges and Royal Arch Chapters, and in London’s ancient Guildhall. He also has taught in history seminars at Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard universities, which focused on newly discovered contributions which early 18th century English Freemasons made to the development and spread of Newtonianism. In October 2007 he was invited by the Pennsylvania Academy of Masonic Knowledge to give his paper titled “A Way Forward – Some Seminar Techniques.”

Trevor contributed papers on Freemasonry in the Enlightenment period to international conferences held at the Canonbury Masonic Research Centre in London, the University of Bordeaux, and the International Conference on the History of Freemasonry in Edinburgh in both 2007 and 2009. He has published several other papers in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, the annual book of transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076; for Leicester Lodge of Research; for Hibiscus Masonic Review; and The Ashlar, the leading Masonic quarterly in Scotland. He edited the 2005 and 2006 editions of The Canonbury Papers for the Canonbury Masonic Research Centre in London. He also has edited From Across the Water, an anthology of eight past papers from AQC on North American Freemasonry in the colonial era.

In 2004, Trevor was appointed by the United Grand Lodge of England to be the Prestonian Lecturer, during which time his speaking tour brought him to the United States. He is a Past Master of three English lodges, including Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, and is currently Master of Lodge Sir Robert Moray No. 1641, a research lodge in Edinburgh. In December 2007 he was elected to Honorary Membership in both Alpha Lodge No. 116 in East Orange, and St. John’s Lodge No. 1 in New York City. He recently was elected to Honorary Membership in Cincinnati Lodge No. 3 in Morristown, and Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge No. 10 in Westfield, and he is particularly delighted to be associated so strongly with New Jersey Freemasonry. He was created a IX° (Magus) by the Masonic Rosicrucians in Washington in 2007.

Trevor has held office in all of the Orders which grace the English Masonic landscape; is a Life Member of various Scottish Orders, including the Grand Lodge of the Royal Order of Scotland; has been honored with Grand Rank in the Rectified Scottish Rite in Belgium; and has achieved the 30° in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in Germany. In the SRIA, the earliest modern Rosicrucian society, he was a member of its High Council, a Chief Adept of a Province, Director-General of Studies, and an active member of its Executive Committee. He edited the SRIA Transactions of 2005.

The Players is a private club founded in 1888 by Edwin Booth, Mark Twain, William T. Sherman, and a dozen others for the “promotion of social intercourse between members of the dramatic profession and the kindred professions of literature, painting, architecture, sculpture and music, law and medicine, and the patrons of the arts.”

The Wendell K. Walker Lecture is an annual event in memory of Bro. Walker, a beloved leader in the field of Masonic education.

Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2 is one of the oldest fraternal and social institutions in continuous existence in the City of New York. Chartered on December 15, 1760, “Old No. 2,” as it is popularly styled, has, for two-and-a-half centuries, exerted a civilizing and fraternal influence in New York.

    

‘Masonic Week 2011: Knight Masons’

    
I thought I’d be done with posting reports of Masonic Week by now, but you get what you pay for. Once again, sorry for the bad photographs, etc., etc.


The Grand Council of the Order of Knight Masons met for its annual meeting last Friday morning, as did Great Chiefs Council 0.


My notes from this meeting are even worse than my other notes. I must have used my notepad as a coaster at some point, as there is a perfect circle, in Guinness residue, that has soaked through the first several pages of the book. But the highpoints of this meeting are still in my memory.

Our new Great Chief is M.E. Kevin B. Sample.



The Grand Staff of the Grand Council of Knight Masons of the USA
gather for their swearing-in.



M.E. Kevin B. Sample, left, is congratulated by his predecessor,
M.E. Edward Fagan. Note the signet of office on Kevin's gloved finger.


No warrants for new Councils were issued, but Grand Council is eyeing two possibilities that I suppose may be acted on this year. The rare title of Honorary Past Grand Senior Knight was bestowed on Dan Pushee and Buddy Wagner. Grand Scribe Doug Jordan, during his travels, was honored by the Grand Council in Ireland. Doug also announced he is stepping aside as Grand Scribe, and that Peter C. Cook will be taking over. The dormant position of Grand Superintendent is being reinstituted, to assist Councils with ritual work and maybe to help create more Councils. Several were appointed then: George Haynes will serve for Pennsylvania, and another Cousin was named for New York – nice small jurisdictions! – but I failed to catch his name. Total membership in the United States at the end of 2010: 7,950. (Please apprise me of any errors or omissions in the comments section below.)

In other news, Knight Masonry has caught on in England, which surprised me because I would have guessed it existed there already. A recent ceremony at Mark Masons Hall saw the constitution of new Councils there, thus Great Chiefs 0 may no longer initiate English Masons. (The purpose of Great Chiefs Council is “chiefly” to initiate Masons who reside in areas where no Councils exist.)

The next annual meeting will take place Friday, February 10. See you there.


Graphic courtesy of Bro. Jeff at Lodgical.
    

‘To know the unknowable’

    

“Aloha is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. Aloha means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return. Aloha is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence. Aloha means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable.”

Hawai`i Revised Statutes Section 7.5

Yes, that is public law in the State of Hawaii. It also says:

In exercising their power on behalf of the people and in fulfillment of their responsibilities, obligations and service to the people, the legislature, governor, lieutenant governor, executive officers of each department, the chief justice, associate justices, and judges of the appellate, circuit, and district courts may contemplate and reside with the life force and give consideration to the “Aloha Spirit.” [L 1986, c 202, §1]

What I would give to see the criminals who govern New Jersey live up to that standard.

But I digress. Just announced:

On Monday, April 4, Nutley Lodge No. 25 will host a highly distinguished Mason, who will present “Freemasonry and the Spirit of Aloha.”

This Brother is a Pennsylvania Past Master. He is a lifelong student of the martial, meditative and metaphysical arts having received the title of Kahu from Kahu Lanakila K. Brandt on the Big Island of Hawai`i along with permission to teach the ancient Hawai`ian metaphysical tradition known as po`ohuna. He is also a lineage disciple in the Chinese/Hawai`ian martial arts style of Grand Master Daniel K. Pai and the founder of Dragon Moon Martial Arts Association in Bristol, Pennsylvania. He is a member of four Blue Lodges, including Honolulu Lodge, and a member of numerous appendant Masonic bodies. An attorney at law by profession, he enjoys the history, teachings, tradition, and universal brotherhood found in the ancient and gentle Craft of Freemasonry.

Nutley Lodge No. 25 is located at 175 Chestnut St. in Nutley. The meeting (Master Masons only) will open at 7:30.

    

‘Masonic Week 2011: Blue Friars’

    
The annual meeting of the Consistory of the Blue Friars was the occasion of the welcoming of its 100th member: Alton Roundtree, a Past Master of Redemption Lodge No. 24 and the inaugural Master of David A. McWillliams, Sr., Research and Education Lodge, both under the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. You more than likely have heard of this brother, as his fame extends far beyond our nation’s capital and across the jurisdictions of Freemasonry. I’ll stand corrected, but I would say he is most celebrated for co-authoring, with Paul Bessel, Out of the Shadows: The Emergence of Prince Hall Freemasonry in America in 2008.



Bro. Alton G. Roundtree,
Blue Friar No. 100

I wonder if there is a single facet of Masonic history that can be told accurately and in a linear narrative, free of byzantine confusions, detours, and expectations of willing suspensions of disbelief, but I doubt that exists. The complicated story of Prince Hall Freemasonry is no exception, which explains the heft of the book Roundtree and Bessel produced. His Blue Friars paper last Friday is titled “The Two Conventions that Changed Freemasonry,” and it recounts the dizzying story of the 19th century rivalry between different Prince Hall grand lodges, vying for establishment, recognition and, naturally, members. Conventions held in 1847 and 1878, and larger-than-life characters like Thornton A. Jackson, figure hugely in the creation of modern day Prince Hall Freemasonry.

I don’t want to give away too much because you should read Out of the Shadows and because this paper will be published, possibly in Heredom.

Grand Abbott S. Brent Morris closed the meeting on a humorous note when, in thanking Roundtree for his presentation, he said “I am shocked – shocked – to find out there were feuds in Prince Hall Masonry, because in our Freemasonry....”

The Society of Blue Friars is a fraternity of Masons who are published authors. Both Morris and Roundtree are Founding Fellows of The Masonic Society.
    

‘Masonic Week 2011: Nine Muses’

     
There now are more than 400 councils of Allied Masonic Degrees in the United States, and they all are special, but there is one in particular that is constitutionally capped at nine members, all of whom are elected for life, and “who have made outstanding contributions to the field of Masonic Literature Research,” according to said constitution. It is called Council of Nine Muses No. 13, and it also meets only once annually, at Masonic Week during AMD’s various events.

Prior to the installation of officers, the exiting Master delivers a lecture, and this year it was M.V. David Hargett’s turn. I believe he said the title of his paper is “Faith, Hope, and Love.” Of course that trio of virtues is known well to Freemasons, especially to those of us with a Rose Croix background.

It’s funny, but attending weddings over the years, I have noticed how common it is for there to be readings of St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians for its discourse on love. I think it funny because it is clear St. Paul is not writing of romantic or marital love that would fit the occasion of a wedding; his subject actually is a form of charity, but he also makes it understood it isn’t the-giving-of-alms kind of charity, but rather the spiritual gift of brotherly love form of charity (from the Latin caritas) necessary to community life. And that is where Bro. Hargett was going as well on Saturday morning, despite the approach of Valentine’s Day.

“I am grateful for a fraternity that allows me to embrace all mankind,” he said. “All nations in a brotherhood of man under the Fatherhood of God.... Freemasonry is a sacred thing because we can see the religious faiths of all men, and use our own faith to bring us closer to God and to one another for the noble and glorious purpose of making brotherhood a reality....

“When a man knows how to pray, how to love, and how to hope, he’ll know Freemasonry.”

He said a lot more, but I believe that is the gist of his prepared remarks. I have no idea if he chose this message for that day for any particular reason, but it meant an awful lot to me. Furthermore, his soft-spoken delivery made this lecture sound like the most important thing said all weekend. Maybe it was.
     

‘Masonic Week 2011: Grand College of Rites’

    
(Many of the photos I shot at Masonic Week are blurry or otherwise unusable. Wanting to travel light, I brought my Panasonic Lumix – a perfectly serviceable camera – instead of the Nikon, which was a mistake for this kind of interior photography. Lesson learned. Won’t happen again.)

It was love at first sight, when I happened upon the Grand College of Rites while surfing the web for odd Rose Croix rituals one day about nine years ago. It seemed to me to be the perfect Masonic fraternity: one overall purpose expressed in one quality publication introduced at its one meeting per year. And I have looked forward to, and have enjoyed those single meetings yearly, and always look forward to Collectanea, the book produced by Arturo de Hoyos and the GCR’s Publications Committee.

The College hosted its 80th Annual Convocation Saturday morning in Alexandria, Virginia during Masonic Week, for the changing of the guard, the unveiling of the new Collectanea, and other necessary business, etc.


M.I. Franklin Boner invests our new
Grand Chancellor, M.I. Martin Starr,
with the jewel of office.

Our new Grand Chancellor is M.I. Martin P. Starr of Chicago, taking over for M.I. Franklin Boner. Among the necrology for the year is the loss of the Grand Seneschal, R.I. Sid Dorris of Tennessee, who passed away last fall. Taking his place in the officer line is R.I. Jeffrey N. Nelson of North Dakota, who is now Grand Mareschal (Grand Marshal).

And [drum roll please] our new Grand Seneschal is [fanfare please] R.I. Aaron Shoemaker of Missouri!

Aaron could not be with us this year, and yet he was with us because his labors for the College are vital.

In other headlines, three Fellows of the College were tapped to receive the Knight Grand Cross: Matthew Gibbon and Scott Schlappi, who staff the registration desk outside the meeting, and M.I. Starr, upon his installation as Grand Chancellor.

The College now has 1,222 members (excluding new members who just joined at the meeting).

Other notable deaths in the past year include two Past Grand Chancellors: William H. Thornley, Jr. (1998) and Frederick H. Lorenson (2003).

But about the new Collectanea: This, the 2010 publication, contains the Craft degrees of the Rite of Strict Observance, plus two high degree rituals from the 18th century. In introducing the text, Grand Archivist Art de Hoyos explained it is similar to that he’d published a few years ago in Heredom, but with some ambiguities and inaccuracies stemming from their translations corrected. Strict Observance, he added, was the rite promoted by Baron von Hund, and it is the ancestor of CBCS and the Swedish Rite. The two high degrees are translations of original French into German and into English here. They have Rosicrucian similarities, said de Hoyos, and these rituals were saved from confiscation by the Nazis during their destruction of Masonic lodges.

These Craft degrees are fascinating for their differences from the Anglo-American work we know so well. Unless I misunderstand, there is a break from Newtonian thought.

Said to the Apprentice:

“There is nothing here that does not present the opportunity for much contemplation. Apply yourself to it. To investigate mysteries is not forbidden to a noble student of wisdom. But do not err by placing too much confidence in your own opinions. The heart of man has its own hidden lacunae, and love of discovery makes one proud, and leads from one error to another. If you share your ideas with your Master, and lend yourself to his instruction, I do not doubt that when you become more familiar with our mysteries, which may still appear rather obscure to you now, you will praise three times that very day when you succeed in rejoicing in the Light.”

Said to the Fellow:

“You still find the doors to the innermost part closed. But I must not forget to mention the seven steps which you were so happy to climb today, and by which we actually brought you nearer to the entrance to the door of our sanctuary. They represent the seven principal virtues of a Freemason: obedience, silence, constancy, brotherly love, charity, courage, and resolution in death.

“These excellent qualities should not be lacking in any true Freemason; they are not mere adornments, but are rather essential parts of a good Brother. Obedience is the basis of all, and resolution in death is the last and most sublime test of our fidelity.

“Let everything, my Brother, that you have learned of our mysteries, be eternally locked away in your heart from all those who are outside. Submit to those who, as honest and true Brethren, offer you a helpful hand. Follow those whom we honor as the Superiors of our Lodges, and in the future they will open to you the inner sanctuary of our secret edifice, since you, my Brother, will explore the most profound sources of our mysteries, and will, as is much as is humanly possible, search and fathom them. If you discover something here and there that is obscure, then recall that the way to perfection is never free of all difficulties, and that wisdom often lays obstacles in the way, in order to keep lesser souls back, and to stimulate virtue.”

Said to the Master:

“You further beheld the body of a murdered victim, who was completely covered with blood. We have maintained this custom since time immemorial, as a sure sign that those who approach us are not condemned by their consciences for evil deeds, that they are pure and innocent, and that we can take them as true and faithful members into our bosom. What has been our reason for this I cannot yet reveal to you. Perhaps your own thoughts will lead you down the track of this mysterious custom....”



Past Grand Chancellor Franklin Boner, center, greets our two new recipients

of the Knight Grand Cross. Fellow Matthew Gibbon and Fellow Scott Schlappi

have been the brave guardians of the registration table for many years.

    

‘Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research’

    

You know about lodges of research, but what are not as common are chapters of research. Royal Arch chapters set to labor for the purpose of researching, accumulating, and presenting Royal Arch education for debate and discussion. Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research No. 1798, warranted by the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the State of New York, will meet next month.

Thursday, March 3 at 4 p.m.

Wolf Road Holiday Inn

205 Wolf Rd.

Albany, New York

Topic: the founding of Cedars Chapter No. 335 in Beirut last year.

Business: election and installation of officers. R.E. Piers Vaughan to be High Priest.

Piers promises meetings in Manhattan and elsewhere about the state during his term.

Also, please know the chapter’s 2010 Book of Transactions has been published, and is now available. Members in good standing will receive it either at this meeting, or through the mail. Others may purchase it through our website.
    

‘Cole mining’

    
Way back a long time ago, when I was a junior in high school, my teacher of U.S. history sadistically assigned his class, as requisite to passing the course, what seemed like impossibly obscure topics for research papers. Obscurity is in the eye of the beholder, of course, and to a 16-year-old underachiever, the prospect of delving into the life and work of one Thomas Cole, father of the Hudson River School in the fine arts, was akin to being sentenced to a gulag to mine coal, barehanded. This was far before the internet, Google, and the rest; it was merely the dawn of the PC age itself. Research meant legwork at the library, and my subject Thomas Cole required travel to the public libraries of neighboring towns which, to me, was as unheard of as Cole himself. It was a good thing my friend Tim had access to a car – would have been even better if one of us had a driver’s license – so to foreign libraries we went to achieve our respective advancements in knowledge.

If you had tried to tell me then that decades later I would happily drive 250 miles to enjoy lectures on topics ranging from our Mr. Cole to the KKK, I would have smacked you, but there I was at the Scottish Rite’s National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts last April being impressed by David Bjelajac’s talk, augmented by PowerPoint graphics of Cole’s work.

It’s funny what happens when you get a little culture in you.

Turns out Thomas Cole was a Freemason who made symbols familiar to the initiated eye key components in some of his work. Professor Bjelajac will appear at Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, on Sunday, March 6 to present his lecture Thomas Cole, Freemasonry and the American Hercules.

Cedar Grove

Thomas Cole National Historic Site

218 Spring Street

Catskill, New York

The lecture will begin at 2 p.m., and tickets, at $8 each, will be available on a first come, first served basis.

From the Cedar Grove website:

Thomas Cole, Freemasonry and the American Hercules

Thomas Cole became a Freemason in Zanesville, Ohio, during the summer of 1822, and soon composed sublime mountainous views that drew upon Masonry’s mysterious emblems. First publicized in New York newspapers by William Dunlap, a brother Mason, Cole’s paintings captured the patronage of the Empire State’s Masonic elite. David Bjelajac, Professor of Art and Human Sciences at George Washington University, reinterprets Cole’s The Titan’s Goblet (1833), which honored New York Governor De Witt Clinton, Erie Canal builder, art academician and leading Freemason. This small, enigmatic painting draws upon Masonic ritual and Herculean myth, and looks forward to Cole’s famed Course of Empire and Voyage of Life series.



The Titan's Goblet is on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.



Thomas Cole's The Voyage of Life series
is on view at the National Gallery of Art.
This is Childhood.



The Voyage of Life: Youth.



The Voyage of Life: Manhood.



The Voyage of Life: Old Age.

Please pardon these low resolution images. Reproductions of these oil-on-canvas works are available in various media if you shop around.

From the National Gallery’s website:

Cole’s renowned four-part series traces the journey of an archetypal hero along the “River of Life.” Confidently assuming control of his destiny and oblivious to the dangers that await him, the voyager boldly strives to reach an aerial castle, emblematic of the daydreams of “Youth” and its aspirations for glory and fame. As the traveler approaches his goal, the ever-more-turbulent stream deviates from its course and relentlessly carries him toward the next picture in the series, where nature’s fury, evil demons, and self-doubt will threaten his very existence. Only prayer, Cole suggests, can save the voyager from a dark and tragic fate.

From the innocence of childhood, to the flush of youthful overconfidence, through the trials and tribulations of middle age, to the hero’s triumphant salvation, The Voyage of Life seems intrinsically linked to the Christian doctrine of death and resurrection. Cole’s intrepid voyager also may be read as a personification of America, itself at an adolescent stage of development. The artist may have been issuing a dire warning to those caught up in the feverish quest for Manifest Destiny: that unbridled westward expansion and industrialization would have tragic consequences for both man and nature.

The name Bjelajac is uncommon, so if it rings a bell for you, it may be because the professor is related to Bro. Michael Bjelajac, Past Master of Gate City Lodge No. 2 in Atlanta.
    

‘Masonic Week 2010: Society of Blue Friars’

    
This edition of The Magpie Mason is the fifth attempt to catch up on 2010 events I haven’t told you about. Every time I post one of these, I remember yet another, so this may take a while. In fact, this one dates to Masonic Week 2010, nearly a year ago, and I want to finish catching up before this Masonic Week arrives in only two weeks!



Blue Friar No. 93 Thomas W. Jackson, left, and the newest Blue Friar, No. 99, Pierre “Pete” Normand, Jr. react to a funny remark from Blue Friar 95, Mark A. Tabbert (not shown) at the 66th Annual Consistory of The Society of Blue Friars February 12 during Masonic Week 2010 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Friday, February 12, 2010

After the dual meetings of the Knight Masons, it was time for the 66th Annual Consistory of The Society of Blue Friars. The likelihood of cronyism is much lower here because, while it is not stated as such in the rules, it evidently is a longstanding tradition that those tapped to join the Consistory be published authors or otherwise reputable writers and educators. I’d rather hang out with these guys any day.

The perils of the snowy weather affected this meeting also. It was said, but I still don’t know if in jest, that Grand Abbot S. Brent Morris would not be able to attend, for although the major roads had been cleared of the record snowfall by Friday morning, he wasn’t about to shovel his driveway! Well, he’s earned that right.

So, the lovely and talented Tom Jackson of Pennsylvania – the mere mention of whom induces agita in some grand officers I know – assumed the presiding officer’s duties, and did a fine job of welcoming the 2010 Blue Friar – that’s No. 99, for those keeping score: Pierre “Pete” Normand, Jr. of Texas!

I’ll admit from the start that I cannot do justice to Bro. Pete’s Masonic resume, but here are the obvious highlights:

• Past Master of Sul Ross Lodge No. 1300, Texas;
• Past Master of St. Alban’s Lodge No. 1455, Texas;
• editor, (the former) American Masonic Review;
• Past Master and Fellow of Texas Lodge of Research;
• author, The Texas Masons: The Fraternity of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons in the History of Texas;
• editor, The Plumbline, the newsletter of the Scottish Rite Research Society;
• Honorary SGIG (33°), A&ASR-SJ; and
• Founding Fellow of The Masonic Society.

After 11-and-a-half months, my notes are among That Which Was Lost, but Pete’s address concerned something near and dear to the Magpie Mason’s heart: the origins and successes of what now is called European Concept and Traditional Observance practices. His presentation followed the outline sketched by someone else I’m fond of: Bro. John Mauk Hilliard. In brief, and with my own editorializing:

Excellence in ritual: Before thinking that phrase speaks for itself, please understand that the excellence involves more than perfect memorization and flawless recitation, because artistic ability is equally vital. You see, the benefit ought to belong to the aspirant, in the form of his comprehension and enlightenment. It is not about the ritualist and his next gold pin.

Masonic education: Lodges must teach the meaning of Masonry by instructing the brethren in the meanings of our rituals and symbols, as well as in overall philosophy, history, jurisprudence, and other aspects of Masonic culture. Why does this need to be pointed out?

Table Lodge/Festive Board: Is there a better way to spread the cement than to dine together, sharing a convivial ritual experience? Great food, great company, great conversation. We aspire to these in our other walks of life, so why not in the lodge?

Charity: The real thing, and not just having the treasurer cut a check to this or that or the other, but having the brethren sink their hands into the mortar of their community, giving their own time, talent, and toil to benefit others.

Attire: Proper dress for the Speculative Mason really should be black tie, plus regalia that is equally resplendent. It is often said in Masonry that it is the inner qualities of the man, and not his outer characteristics, that make him suitable to the Craft, but it is forgotten how that message originally was directed to wealthy Masons, and now it is commonly misinterpreted as an excuse for the less motivated among us (I’m as guilty as anyone) to not go the sartorial extra mile.

Exclusivity in membership: There is no reason to initiate every man with a pulse. In my jurisdiction, if you can fog a mirror, pay the paltry petition fee, and pass a criminal background check, you’re in. Consequently we are well stocked with men who really should have joined the Elks or Kiwanis. Those are worthy organizations that need good people too. Instead, they are Masons, and they are the reason why so many lodge events and projects are incongruent with the sophistication of our Order’s teachings and ethos.

Commitment: Whether a brother sits on the sidelines or labors his way to the East, every Mason needs to support his lodge in tangible ways. Attendance and participation are required. Lodges that do not demand these do not get them. My lodge has about 500 members, 450 of whom exist only in a database.

It’s a short list, and it is irrefutable. Amazingly, in 2011 these guidelines still are heretical to many.

I can’t wait for the 67th Annual Consistory next month on Friday the 11th.