‘Freemasonry is a verb in New York’

     

Where else should a Knight of the North be than in the service of the NorthStar Project?

NorthStar is a Grand Lodge of New York initiative being rolled out under the direction of Deputy Grand Master Jeffrey Williamson. While it is a strategy to improve membership development and membership retention, it is a comprehensive approach that makes Masonic education the common ground on which Masons young and senior may build tomorrow’s Freemasonry together. It will put very deliberate action into key teachings of the fraternity, and that’s why it will succeed.

NorthStar is understood under two denominations: Candidate Selection Process and Success Coaching. The former is a vetting system that will screen potential petitioners to ensure appropriate and informed guarding of the West Gate. This is apart from, and in advance of, the procedural investigation of a candidate already undertaken by the lodge. I’m always reluctant to use business jargon in discussing Freemasonry, but I suppose this can be considered Quality Assurance. Candidate Selection permits the prospective petitioner to learn about both the Masonic fraternity at large, and the particular lodge he has contacted, while allowing the lodge to assess the man, and decide if he is the right fit for Freemasonry, and, if so, which lodge would be best for him. The right lodge may turn out to be a different lodge than that he contacted to inquire into membership. Success Coaching is the logical next phase of the strategy. If you are familiar with the term “godfather,” as employed in Continental Masonic systems, then you know this Grand Lodge is embarking on a change of culture that will instill action into brotherhood.

Freemasonry is a verb in New York.

In this endeavor, the Success Coach fulfills a great duty to the candidate, from the petitioning phase through his Masonic maturation. Just as the Selection Process is distinct from the standard candidate investigation, the coaching is not to be confused with the mentoring that helps the candidate prepare for the initiatory degrees. It is to be the method of instructing the new Freemason in the meaning of Masonry. This plan acknowledges that Freemasonry is a lifetime pursuit, and that Masonic education is essential for advancing on the path. While many mistake Masonic education for ritual instruction and etiquette lessons, it is explained in perfect clarity in NorthStar that education shall encompass “the Craft’s history, purpose, operation, symbolism, law, philosophy, obligations and ideals.”

This is where I’ve always wanted to be in Freemasonry—aiding others in acquiring the meaning of Masonry, and metabolizing the tenets and values for the improvement of the individual, and the invigoration of the fraternity. As of Monday night, about 75 of us from various Metropolitan lodges are certified to bring the NorthStar Project to fruition in our lodges and other lodges. This is a very ambitious enterprise that could reform an entire culture in the Craft that for decades has acquiesced to initiating every man with a pulse who asks, before practically abandoning him to find his own way after his Third Degree, and then barely noticing his absence and inevitable quitting the fraternity. To too many Masons for too long that has been the accepted lodge model, but NorthStar delivers the guidelines that bring focus and purpose to the art of initiation and to the making of a Mason. Light added to Light.

     

‘Past MWM Night’

     

The flier says it all, so click on the graphic to enlarge, but I do want to say the dinner to be served at this event will be terrific. I have eaten in Bro. Thind’s restaurant and enjoyed every forkful, so, in addition to “the food that lasts for eternal life,” enjoy a great meal.
     

‘Western NY Lodge of Research’

     
Buffalo is far beyond my orbit, but here’s what Western New York Lodge of Research No. 9007 has planned for the coming months. From the publicity:

Stated Communication
Saturday, February 13
10 a.m.
Cheektowaga Masonic Center
97 Lucid Drive in Buffalo
Program: “The Gothic Cathedral Builders” by Mark Robson.

Discussion Group
Saturday, March 12
10 a.m.
Masonic Service Bureau
121 South Long Street in Williamsville
Program: “The Book of Enoch” (The group circulates a PDF to be read before the meeting.)

Field Trip to the Morgan Monument
Saturday, April 9
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Batavia Cemetery
Batavia, Genesee County, NY
A visit to “the infamous statue and obelisk erected in 1883.”


This research lodge does something that I admire: meeting monthly! The regular communications are held in February, May, and October on the second Saturdays, but there also is the Discussion Group that gathers in each of the other nine months.
     

‘Postal Service to issue Richard Allen stamp’

     
While at the local post office Tuesday afternoon, I spotted the promotional poster on the wall announcing the upcoming issue of a stamp commemorating Richard Allen as part of the Black Heritage series. From the publicity:

Courtesy USPS

A 49¢ Forever stamp.    

Richard Allen: Preacher, activist, and civic leader Richard Allen (1760-1831) was an inspiring figure whose life and work resonate profoundly in American history. This stamp coincides with the 200th anniversary of Allen’s founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the most important institutions in African-American life, as well as his election as its first bishop.

The stamp art is a portrait of Allen, a detail from an 1876 print titled “Bishops of the A.M.E. Church.” Featuring Allen in the center surrounded by ten other bishops and six historical vignettes, the print is from the collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia. The noon ET February 2 First-Day-of-Issue ceremony will take place at the Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia.


In Freemasonry, Richard Allen was a member of African Lodge No. 459, the original Prince Hall Masonic lodge in Boston, and it was he who founded a daughter lodge in Philadelphia also named African Lodge. This event ignited the process of the Boston lodge becoming a grand lodge, and the rest is history. I do not know if any of that would be significant in the eyes of the U.S. Postal Service, but I recall there was a petition several years ago to create a stamp commemorating Prince Hall himself. I don’t know the disposition of that, but I hope there is such a stamp in production.
     

‘Shakespeare at Anthroposophy NYC’

     
When you are active in Freemasonry and/or kindred arts, you appreciate and endeavor to harness the science of language and, with that in mind, I will be at Anthroposophy NYC on the 21st for this lecture and performance. From the publicity:

Shakespeare and the Mystery

of the Human Being

Presented by Michael Burton

Thursday, January 21

7 p.m.

Anthroposophy NYC

138 West 15th Street

New York City

Magpie file photo

This evening revolves around the dilemma spoken aloud by Hamlet when he asks, “To be or not to be?” The question means much more than just, Does one go on living? It asks how a person is going to live: With truth, with authenticity, or in a manner that turns their life into a lie? Through 17 excerpts from Shakespeare plays (with Hamlet the most used), actor Michael Burton unfolds this meditation on what it means to be a human being.

Michael Burton has worked with artistic speech and drama for more than 35 years as a writer, speech performer, actor, speech therapist, and voice teacher. He is the author of In the Light of a Child, which turns Rudolf Steiner’s Soul Calendar into poems for children, and is used by many Steiner/Waldorf teachers and parents. He has written and performed one-man plays about Rembrandt, Beethoven, Dag Hammarskjold and World War II kiwi soldier Jim Henderson.

Burton’s visit is connected with Lemniscate Arts’ project, begun in 2012, to awaken forces of renewal worldwide for the performing arts initiated by Rudolf Steiner. The goal is a globally touring repertory production including symphonic eurythmy (like the New World Symphony Tour of 2004-5), a Shakespeare play using artistic speech and eurythmy, and a new mystery drama written by Michael Burton from an outline of scenes developed by Marke Levene with the characters in Rudolf Steiner’s Mystery Dramas.


Click here for more on Hamlet and the power of language.

Burton will perform again, on the following night, at the Waldorf School of Princeton.
     

‘Rosicrucian wedding invitation’

     
A much anticipated convivial appointment will prevent me from attending, but there is no reason why you should miss the Rosicrucian Order’s program Saturday afternoon where one of the original Rosicrucian manifestos will be the topic of discussion. From the publicity:

The Chymical Wedding:

A Marriage with the Soul

Saturday, January 9

1 to 3 p.m.

Rosicrucian Cultural Center

2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd.

New York City

Courtesy AMORC

On the four hundredth anniversary of the publication of the third Rosicrucian manifesto, join Grand Master Julie Scott in an exploration of the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz, an initiatic narrative describing one person’s quest on the way to the marriage with his soul.
     

‘Collectanea: Cerneau in print’

     
By now some of you may be tired of me promoting and encouraging membership in the Grand College of Rites, something I’ve been doing here and there in social media and in my travels for about fifteen years, but if you are a thinking Mason, then the GCR merits your attention.

Especially now.

The Grand College of Rites is custodian of a multitude of defunct Masonic rites and orders, conserving their rituals and publishing them for education Masons, like you and me, in its annual edition of Collectanea, edited by Arturo de Hoyos, Grand Archivist extraordinaire. It is about to go to press with its 2015 book William H. Peckham’s Cerneau Scottish Rite, Part 1: 4°-9°.

This will be the first time complete Cerneau rituals will be available in print, says Grand Registrar Gerald Klein in a letter to the membership. Those who were members in good standing for 2015 will receive this volume of Collectanea soon. If you are not a member and will attend Masonic Week next month in Virginia, you may join there. (Don’t quote me, but I believe you’d receive this Cerneau book there and then.) The ideal way to join is simply to click here and download the petition for membership and send it in.

Annual dues cost a mere $15. (In New York City, you can’t even take yourself to the movies for fifteen bucks, so just sign up already.)

So who was William H. Peckham? He was Sovereign Grand Commander of the Cerneau Scottish Rite during the 1880s. Look into some of his correspondence, courtesy of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge of New York, here.

But about the Cerneau book. From the publicity:


Named after Joseph Cerneau (1763-184?), “Cerneauism” was a rival and illegitimate form of Scottish Rite Masonry that challenged the Southern Jurisdiction and Northern Masonic Jurisdiction during most of the 1800s.

Cerneau, a Frenchman and resident of Havana, Cuba, was a jeweler and Secretary of a Pennsylvania lodge, La Temple des Virtus Theogalis. In 1806 he was appointed Inspector of the 25-degree Order of the Royal Secret (Rite of Perfection), with authority to create one new 25° Mason each year in Cuba. In 1807 he moved to New York City. After the Mother Supreme Council in Charleston created the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in 1813, Cerneau’s Consistory put forth a Supreme Council of 33 degrees and claimed territory over the “United States of America, its Territories and Dependencies.” In 1853 it chartered two Blue lodges in New York City, which may have sealed its fate as forever illegitimate.

Despite its many ups and downs, the Cerneau Supreme Council became a strong rival to the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, and in 1867 merged with the NMJ. In 1881, dissatisfied former members of the Cerneau Supreme Council renounced their vows of fealty, withdrew from the NMJ, and reactivated the Supreme Council for the United States of America, its Territories and Dependencies. Eventually the conflict between the Supreme Councils (primarily in the NMJ) spilled over into Blue lodges. The courts ultimately upheld a grand lodge’s right to control what Masonic groups its members could belong to, and only then did “Cerneauism” come to an end.


So I’m looking forward to this edition of Collectanea to see what the hubbub was all about. If I’m not mistaken, to this day those visiting a lodge in Pennsylvania must affirm to the brother tiler that they are not members of the Cerneau Masonry. But to be fair, it must be remembered that Cerneau died in the 1840s, and the more infamous deeds undertaken in his name followed in the ensuing decades.

Cerneau was a jeweler by profession. I would love to see what he crafted for the officers of his Consistory.

The annual meeting of the Grand College of Rites will convene Saturday, February 13 at 8 a.m. amid the Masonic Week events in Arlington, Virginia. Hope to see you there.
     

‘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.
     

‘Holy Nights at Anthroposophy NYC’

     
Anthroposophy NYC has released its calendar for its Holy Nights celebrations. The Anthroposophical Society of New York City is located at 138 West 15th Street in Manhattan. From the publicity:

Twelve Holy Nights

The end of December and beginning of January bring an ancient time of the year more recently known as the Twelve Nights of Christmas. Anthroposophists observe them as the Twelve Holy Nights, though with Christmas eve and Epiphany/Three Kings Day (January 6) they occupy fourteen days of the calendar.

Courtesy Anthroposophy NYC

Rudolf Steiner’s research showed this time of year to be a kind of opening in which meditative or contemplative consciousness might experience the year ahead from a higher standpoint. For a quarter century, Anthroposophy NYC has hosted evenings of short programs, singing, refreshments, and community across these Holy Nights. All evenings take place at 7 p.m., except for a Sunday potluck and festival on January 3 at four o’clock. The dates are listed below with the presenter and the topic she or he is working with. Two wonderful evenings are crafts evenings.

All the evenings are free with donations much appreciated, along with seasonal refreshments brought by you (beverages are provided). Every program evening also needs some help, starting at 6 p.m., to open up, tend to the tree and the roses, set up refreshments, greet arrivals, clean up, and close up. Please contact Phoebe Alexander to offer help.

A beautiful new art exhibit, “Color: In and Out of Form,” with works by Sara Parrilli and Laura Summer, is open.

And remember, the Rudolf Steiner Bookstore has its holiday sale (15 percent off) through January 6!

Friday, December 25

Christmas Day

No program, branch closed.

Saturday, December 26 at 7 p.m.

Phoebe Alexander: Catching Light

Beeswax Stained Glass (art/craft)

Sunday, December 27 at 7 p.m.

John Beck: “Caterpillar Soup

and the Miracle of Change”

Monday, December 28 at 7 p.m.

Cliff Venho: “Christian Morgenstern,

That the Earth May Become a Sun”

Tuesday, December 29 at 7 p.m.

Sylvia Mandel, Carlos Cadena,

and Giorgi Khatiashvili:

Healing with Sound and Color.

Wednesday, December 30 at 7 p.m.

Laura Tucker and Vincent Roppolo:

Christmas Poetry Workshop

Thursday, December 31 at 7 p.m.

New Year’s Eve: “What a Year!”

Led by Walter Alexander and John Beck.

Friday, January 1 at 7 p.m.

New Year’s Day

“A Janus Event: Looking Forward and Back”

(art with Joyce Reilly)

Saturday, January 2 at 7 p.m.

“Window Stars for Three Kings”

(paper craft with Kelly Beekman)

Sunday, January 3 at 7 p.m.

Three Kings/Epiphany Festival

and pot-luck

(poets, singers, musicians needed).

Monday, January 4 at 7 p.m.

Tom Roepke:

“Knowing Ourselves, Knowing Each Other”

Tuesday, January 5 at 7 p.m.

Fred Dennehy: “The Inklings”

Wednesday, January 6 at 7 p.m.

Epiphany/Three Kings Day

Walter Alexander: “The Moment of Recognition”

     

‘It’s Oscar night!’

     

Oscar Alleyne

This just in: Oscar Alleyne will be our keynote speaker at The Masonic Society’s banquet at Masonic Week on Saturday, February 13 in Virginia.

Masonic Week program here.

Masonic Week hotel reservations here.

Masonic Week dinner reservations and attendance registration here.

With a reorganization of the Masonic Week schedule being introduced this time, The Masonic Society’s banquet is the only official dinner on the Masonic Week calendar for the Saturday night, so I hope to see you there.
     

‘Lecture: As Above, So Below’

     
Bruce Lee Webb, co-author of the book As Above, So Below: Art of the American Fraternal Society, 1850-1930, will appear at Morbid Anatomy next month to present a lecture on the subject of the material culture of fraternal orders. (He is in town for his exhibit at Metropolitan Pavilion.) From the publicity:

As Above, So Below: Art

of the American Fraternal Society, 1850-1930

Illustrated Lecture with Bruce Lee Webb

and Lynne Adele

Wednesday, January 20 at 8 p.m.

Admission: $8—tickets here

Morbid Anatomy Museum

424 Third Avenue, Brooklyn

Featuring more than 200 outstanding objects and historical photographs from the collection of co-author Bruce Lee Webb and his wife Julie, augmented by key examples gathered from other important private and public collections, the newly released book As Above, So Below (University of Texas Press) provides the first comprehensive survey of the rich vein of art created during the Golden Age of the American fraternal society.

By the turn of the twentieth century, an estimated 70,000 local lodges affiliated with hundreds of distinct American fraternal societies claimed a combined 5.5 million members. It has been estimated that at least 20 percent of the American adult male population belonged to one or more fraternal orders, including the two largest groups, the Freemasons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The esoteric knowledge, visual symbols, and moral teachings revealed to lodge brothers during secret rituals inspired an abundant and expressive body of objects that form an important, but largely overlooked and often misunderstood, facet of American visual culture. Co-authors Lynne Adele and Bruce Lee Webb will introduce the audience to fraternal societies and explore the functions and meanings of some of their favorite objects, selecting from paintings and banners, costumes and ceremonial regalia, ritual objects, and an array of idiosyncratic objects that represent a grassroots response to fraternalism. As Above, So Below will be available for purchase at the museum, and the authors will be on hand to answer questions and sign books following their talk.

Lynne Adele, an independent art historian, has specialized in the work of self-taught artists for more than 25 years. She has a lengthy art museum and commercial art gallery background, has curated exhibitions, lectured widely, and written and contributed to numerous exhibition catalogs, books, and journals on American folk art. Her exhibition catalog Spirited Journeys: Self-Taught Texas Artists of the Twentieth Century (1997) has become a standard reference in the field. She lives in Maryville, Tennessee.

Bruce Lee Webb has been a collector and dealer of fraternal objects for more than 25 years. He is a Scottish Rite Mason, Royal Arch Mason, Cryptic Mason, and Knight Templar; he is also an Odd Fellow, and is a Royal Purple member of the Odd Fellows Encampment. He has been initiated into the Order of the Eastern Star, Rebekah, and Knights of Pythias. With his wife, Julie, he founded Webb Gallery in Waxahachie, Texas, in 1987, specializing in the work of self-taught and folk artists.

Tickets are non-refundable unless the event is canceled.
     

‘Masonic Week 2016 registration is open’

     

Ease your worried minds. Hotel registration and meals reservations for Masonic Week 2016 are now open. Click here and scroll down to get started. The program for the multi-day event is here. (Separate websites.)

The meal reservations form is here.

The February festivities will take place at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.

     

‘Two interlaced deltas enclosing a protractor’

     

I searched through The Magpie photo archives hoping to find a shot of an Assistant Grand Lecturer wearing the apron of his office to illustrate this excerpt from the new issue of The Empire State Mason Magazine, and found Yves! Anyway, in the back of the book, Bro. Richard Kessler, the Right Worshipful Grand Lecturer, has a regular column titled, appropriately, “From the Grand Lecturer,” where this time he addresses three common questions. The first is: “Does the insignia on the Assistant Grand Lecturer apron have any significance in our ritual?”

Before I transcribe his answer, let me try to explain the design of the apron of the Very Worshipful brethren who wear it: No purple or gold, but a blue trim around a white background upon which lie a black equilateral triangle interlaced with a white equilateral triangle, forming a six-point star, within which is a protractor with its straight edge horizontal and its curved side above. Got it?

RW Kessler’s reply:

It does. The following is the symbology which has been used by Grand Lecturers in our jurisdiction: The Seal of Solomon or Shield of David is a hexagonal figure consisting of two interlaced triangles. The creates a six-pointed star. Upon it was inscribed one of the sacred names of God, from which inscription it was to derive its talismanic powers. These powers were reputed to be very extensive. It was called the Sacred Delta by the Ancients and was known as the symbol of the Great Architect of the Universe and also as the element of important ceremonies.

Magpie file photo

VW Bro. Yves Etienne
at Shakespeare 750
on September 2, 2010.

The interlocking triangles, or deltas, enclosing the protractor designate the Grand Lecturer or Assistant Grand Lecturer and are explained as follows: The two triangles, one white and the other black, interlacing, exemplify the mingling of opposing forces in nature: darkness and light, falsehood and truth, ignorance and wisdom, evil and good. They also are symbolic of the union of the body and soul. The protractor in the center of the two triangles is a symbol of wisdom and truth, and is emblematic of precision and perfection, which we hope for, both in our ritual and our lives. The emblem symbolizes one endowed with knowledge, who strives to overcome ignorance with wisdom, speak truth, and bring Masonic Light to the Craft.


If I’m not mistaken, this apron design and the office of Very Worshipful Assistant Grand Lecturer were devised in the 1990s with the goal of imparting to the brethren not only ritual instruction, but also the meanings of ritual elements and symbols. In 2015 the focus has been the Entered Apprentice Degree, and the results are conversations about the meaning of Masonry. Imagine that. The first time I saw one of these aprons, I assumed it was the apron of some crazy lodge at Masonic Hall that provided its brethren Masonic instruction with alchemical or other esoteric influences. You see all kinds of aprons at Masonic Hall.
     

‘Masonic Lodges in Constantinople (Not Istanbul)’

     
As I’ve noted here and there over the years on The Magpie, I very much enjoy finding on other blogs that typically have nothing to do with Freemasonry interesting posts that are entirely about Freemasonry and, on Monday, the Adrian Harrington book dealer blog gratified that itch in a most interesting way.

Mr. Harrington has been in the book trade in London for 45 years; in fact, three generations of his family now operate the business. Click here to see the website, and be sure to visit the Occult & Esoterica listings.

The blog post in question shares a rare document that came to the dealer inadvertently. He explains:

Letterhead of the Greek lodge. © James Murray 2015

Working with rare and valuable books has a tendency to make the extraordinary seem rather ordinary. You start to wonder how certain agglomerations of leather, cloth, paper, and ink can be worth so much. These doubts are cast aside, however, when confronted with something that makes a personal connection with you. The truth is that books, letters, and diaries provide the most direct links between individuals from the past and those living in the present. Although it is the messages they transmit which are invaluable, surely paper and ink are no less valuable as tangible markers of history than art or architecture?

It is with these thoughts in mind that I encounter a fascinating letter, pulled from a mass of moldering legal documents. It is a personal missive, possibly wrapped up in a bundle of paperwork by accident, and now in my hands entirely by chance.

The letter in question. © James Murray 2015

Read all about it, and see more photos, here.

Sapuncakis Köşkü. © James Murray 2012

     

‘Masonic Knowledge next March’

     
The Pennsylvania Academy of Masonic Knowledge has announced the program for its March 19, 2016 session at Elizabethtown. From the publicity:

Registration is required. Please see the Grand Lodge website for registration information.

The Masonic Roundtable

A weekly Hangout of Masons

from across the country.

Tuesdays at 10/9C.

The Masonic Roundtable is a weekly panel of Masons from around the United States who discuss the latest and greatest in Masonic news, events, scholarship, and happenings.

Jon T. Ruark
Bro. Jon Ruark is a Past Master of The Patriot Lodge No. 1957 in Fairfax, Virginia. His love of technology and gadgets led him to start The Masonic Roundtable as a Hangout on Air. His Masonic interests lean toward the esoteric and philosophical aspect. He lives in Virginia with his wife, three children, a dog named Copernicus, and two cats; Tesla and Edison.

Jason Richards
Bro. Jason Richards is an officer in Acacia Lodge No. 16 in Clifton, VA, where he was raised in 2012. A historian by trade, his favorite Masonic topics include the history of American Freemasonry, the socio-cultural impact of Freemasonry, and the evolution of Freemasonry since the early 1900s. He is the writer of the Masonic blog The 2-Foot Ruler: Masonry in Plain Language. He lives in Virginia with his wife, cats, and ever-expanding collection of bow ties.

Juan Sepúlveda
Bro. Juan ‘One’ Sepúlveda is a member of Eola Lodge No. 207 F. &AM in Orlando, Florida. He is a professional artist and shortly after becoming a Freemason, he decided to develop a collection of Masonic Art and Custom Masonic Aprons. It was a natural progression to his creative work, since he is passionate for history, Masonic education and allegorical teachings. Today, Juan’s artwork is part of private and corporate collections in the United States, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Australia. Juan Sepúlveda is the host of The Winding Stairs Freemasonry Podcast and is a public speaker who specializes in the topics of Art, Freemasonry, and the art of self-improvement.

Nick Johnson
Bro. Nick Johnson is best known as the lead blogger at the Millennial Freemason blog. A lover of codes, symbols, esoteric craziness, and “secret” stuff, he became interested in Freemasonry and its symbols as a young man. With the help of his grandfather, Bro. Nick joined Corinthian Lodge No. 67 in Farmington, Minnesota in the spring of 2006 and served as Master in 2010. He is also a Past High Priest of Corinthian Chapter No. 33, RAM; Deputy Master of Northfield Council No. 12, R&SM; and Generalissimo of Faribault Commandery No. 8. He’s also involved in AMD, Knight Masons, and the Sovereign College. He lives in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area with his wife and kids, and some cats.

Robert Johnson
Bro. Robert Johnson is a Freemason in the First North-East District of Illinois, and is the Senior Warden of Waukegan Lodge No. 78. He is also a member of the York Rite bodies Royal Arch, Cryptic Council, Knights Templar, AMD and the Scottish Rite (32º). Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts Whence Came You?, a weekly podcast (internet radio program) which focuses on Freemasonry. In addition, he produces video shorts focusing on the fraternity, and will write original Masonic papers from time to time. He is the managing editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog as well. He is a husband and father of three. He works full time in the safety industry and is also a photographer on the side as well as an avid home brewer. He is also working on three books, all of which are Masonic in nature. Also, he does not have any cats.
     

‘Grand Master Mason’s Choice single malt’

     
The fun side of Freemasonry offers a variety of activities and goods that complement the serious aspects of practicing the Craft—sometimes these things mix—and now I see how the Grand Lodge of Scotland has announced the release of a Scotch whisky under its own name for us to enjoy at Festive Board or in the home. The press release is a bit confusing (70 cl is about 2 ounces shy of the 750 ml bottles to which we Americans have grown accustomed, and the claim of 46 proof is, thankfully, an error—the spirit is 92 proof; they mean 46 percent alcohol by volume), but here it is:

Grand Lodge of Scotland Whisky

The Grand Lodge of Scotland has launched its own Single Scotch Malt Whisky named: The Grand Master Mason’s Choice.

Specially selected and produced by the Isle of Arran Distilleries for the Grand Lodge of Scotland, this is robust 46% proof (sic) single malt of character.

The 70cl bottle comes boxed and uses the Grand Lodge tartan as its main design theme. The label on the reverse of the bottle bears the following message:

The Grand Master Mason’s Choice

The Grand Lodge of Scotland has had the pleasure of representing Freemasons working under the Scottish Constitution since 1736.

Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest secular fraternal societies and originated in Scotland. Below we explain Freemasonry as it exists under the Grand Lodge of Scotland which is the corporate body governing Freemasonry in Scotland and Scottish Masonic Lodges in many other parts of the world.

Freemasonry is a society of men concerned with moral and spiritual values. Its members are taught its precepts by a series of ritual dramas. These remain substantially the same form used in Scottish Stonemasons’ Lodges and use Scottish Stonemasons’ customs and tools as allegorical guides.

The essential qualification for admission into and continued membership is a belief in a Supreme Being. Membership is open to men of any race, color, or religion who can fulfill this essential qualification, and who are of good repute.

For many years Freemasons have followed three great principles:

Brotherly Love

Every true Freemason will show tolerance and respect for the opinions of others and behave with kindness and understanding to his fellow creatures.
Relief

Relief

Freemasons are taught to practice charity and to care, not only for their own, but also for the community as a whole, both by charitable giving, voluntary efforts, and works as individuals.

Truth

Freemasons strive for truth, requiring high moral standards, and aiming to achieve them in their own lives.

The cost for a bottle of Grand Master Mason’s Choice is £40 [about US$61 as I type this]. We will ascertain the age and post the details. Apologies for the omission.

At this time this whisky is only available from the Grand Lodge shop within Freemasons’ Hall (after 10 a.m. due to Scottish licensing laws), but arrangements are in hand to allow for it to be shipped worldwide. Details will be posted on this page as soon as they are available.

In Scotland in is illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18 years - Section 110 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.


So there it is. If you had trouble locating Old Masters, an 80 proof blended whisky with the Square and Compasses on its label, take heart because it wasn’t that great anyway. It was okay, no better or worse than Johnnie Red or Dewar’s, and it cost around fifty bucks per bottle. I’m hoping someone at Masonic Week will have a dram of this to share.