‘Firefighters may reconsider relationship with Freemasons’

    

London Fire Brigade

This photo from March 2020 depicts Metropolitan Grand Master Michael Snyder presenting the first of the trucks to Fire Commissioner Andy Roe.

Several years after accepting a £2.5 million gift from London Freemasons, which was disbursed to acquire two aerial ladder fire trucks, the city’s Fire Brigade is second-guessing its association with the Masons, The Guardian reported Friday.

Last year, an investigation of complaints from firefighters produced a report, titled “Independent Cultural Review of London Fire Brigade,” that labeled the fire service “institutionally misogynist and racist.” What has that to do with Masonic philanthropy? The aggrieved also found time to object to Freemasonry because it is a “secret society” without female members.

The Guardian quotes firefighters labor union boss Gareth Beeton saying “The union’s women’s action committee is backing this. The fire service is a public sector organization, and it should not be funded by organizations like this one.” And an unnamed Fire Brigade source supposedly said they are “considering our options for this relationship now.”

At more than 200 feet, these trucks’ ladders are the tallest in the Brigade’s fleet (furnish your own William Preston joke), and they feature yellow Square and Compasses with “Donated by London Freemasons” in white against the red background.

In recent years, Freemasons there also have donated helicopters and boats to public safety uses. Maybe it is thought in some quarters that not having these assets is preferable.

     

‘Possible Influence of Plato’s Works in Masonic Ritual’

   

Maryland Masonic Research Society will do it again next month. From the publicity:

Possible Influence of Plato’s Works

in Masonic Ritual

Edward D. Johnson, 32º, is Past Master of Pentalpha Lodge 194 in Germantown, Maryland and Past President of the Maryland Masonic Research Society. He also is a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Washington, Orient of District of Columbia; and the Maryland College of SRICF. He actively pursues and stays abreast of the latest in Masonic scholarship through his memberships in Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle, Scottish Rite Research Society, the Philalethes Society, and the Masonic Society. He has been published in the SRRS’ Heredom and The Plumbline on multiple occasions.

This meeting will be March 18 at the Odd Fellows Lodge, located at 6 Ingleside Ave. in Catonsville.

I’d love to hear this, but the meeting is too far away. I believe Plato does influence Masonic ritual somewhat, but I think his influence is felt almost everywhere, so don’t listen to me.

     

‘Masonic relief for Türkiye’

    

Grand Lodge is fundraising to assist earthquake recovery work in Türkiye.

Either click here to contribute, and mark it for Disaster Relief and Türkiye; or, if mailing a check, make payable to Masonic Brotherhood Fund and add “Türkiye” in the memo.

The Grand Lodge of Türkiye, headquartered in Istanbul, is in amity with the Grand Lodge of New York.

     

‘A square is the fourth part of a circle’

    

“I can’t quite understand why we call it ‘Square.’ Maybe we should rename it ‘Madison Round Garden.’”

  

Eric L. Adams

110th Mayor of New York City

February 7, 2023

New York Post

The fourth and current Madison Square Garden under construction. Saturday is the fifty-fifth anniversary of its opening.

Hizzoner’s comment yesterday about MSG is real, sadly. It sounds like something out of a Seinfeld script, but the chief executive of our city, allegedly a lifelong resident too, is unaware of the World’s Most Famous Arena’s commonly known history. For those not from the area, the original MSG (circa 1880) was situated at Madison Square Park, itself a block from Masonic Hall. The second one was there too until about a hundred years ago. The current venue is the fourth landmark to have the name, despite its location about a mile from the park.

Anyway, his remark reminds me of the obvious line from the Fellow Craft Degree.

     

‘Masonic philatelists will meet again’

    

Smithsonian

The first post-pandemic meeting of the George Washington Masonic Stamp Club is scheduled for three weeks from today at the Washington Masonic Memorial in Virginia.

That’s Sunday, February 26. Meeting at 2 p.m., but the brethren gather to socialize at 1:30. If there be anyone in waiting to receive the Master of Philately Degree, it will be conferred. (Contact Secretary John Allen here if you expect to receive the degree.) By 4:30, everyone will head to Theismann’s Restaurant and Bar, near the train station, for a no-host meal.

I wonder if changing up the day’s agenda might spark things for the club. You’d think the proximity to Washington might inspire them to host speakers from the Postal Service or the Postal Museum or a historian or something.

     

‘Knapp-Hall tarot returns!’

     

PRS

It is time for a follow-up to last October’s post about the purported return of the Knapp-Hall tarot deck from the Philosophical Research Society. The PRS now advises there is a delay in shipping, but the decks are available. This is a limited run of 1,500 in a design consistent with the original 1929 printing. Price: $100. From the publicity:

PRS

The Revised New Art Tarot aka the “Knapp-Hall Tarot” was originally published in 1929, a collaboration between illustrator & artist John Augustus Knapp (1853-1938) and writer, sage & teacher Manly P. Hall (1901-1990). It was released the year after Hall’s monumental encyclopedia of esoteric traditions and symbols, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, illustrated by Knapp, and over the years this exceedingly rare and beautiful Tarot has come to be known as the Knapp-Hall deck–with original examples selling for thousands of dollars, when they can be found.

It initially was issued with 78 cards, a two-piece, plum fabric-covered box, and a 48-page booklet containing “An Essay on the Book of Thoth” written by Hall. The Knapp-Hall Tarot Deck has been re-printed several times over the years but always with different dimensions and new designs for the reverse of the cards. For this Limited Edition of 1,500, we have replicated the graphics, texture, feel and dimensions of the original 1929 Revised New Art Tarot as closely as possible given modern printing methods. Card images were taken from scans of an original 1929 deck with only minimal corrections for wear and tear. The sepia tone of the card stock, due to aging, has been preserved to reflect what a 1929 deck would look like today.

Please note that this beautiful Tarot is smaller and more delicate than most modern decks, so treat it with care in handling. Any imperfections in the cards (for example, the Knight/Warrior of Pentacles has a smaller border than the other cards) are present in the original 1929 deck scanned for this edition.

     

‘Skeletons in the Lodge Hall’

     

Click to enlarge.

If you think I know where Freemasonry’s skeletons are buried, wait until you hear from Heather! The perfect choice for the Sankey Lecture, Heather Calloway is the Executive Director of Indiana University’s Center for Fraternal Collections and Research.

She’s got a million stories. Attend the lecture in person or online. Don’t cost nothin’.

     

‘New short film from UGLE’

    

It strikes me as unusual when a Masonic grand lodge displays continuity in thought, word, and deed, but in this instance it’s the United Grand Lodge of England, which employs paid professionals who support the fraternity leadership, so there is that asterisk. I refer to “Inventing the Future,” the current messaging heralding this year’s commemoration of the 300th anniversary of Anderson’s Constitutions.

I have relayed the news of Quatuor Coronati 2076’s events in celebration of the tercentenary. (Forget about the Virginia conference. Mark said it is not to be.) An exhibition in the Museum of Freemasonry is open through the end of the year. I told you about the historical reproduction of the text from Lewis Masonic. Ric Berman’s book, Inventing the Future, is out. Yesterday was a rare Especial Meeting of the Grand Lodge, attended by 1600 visiting brethren, in London. And I learned last night of a newly released short video and a podcast upcoming, both devoted to “Inventing the Future.”

The Surrey 1837 Club

Yesterday inside Freemasons’ Hall, London.

I am beginning to discern a pattern.

This short film, produced by Matthew Mitchell, is a treat. This facet of “Inventing the Future” is a 29-minute speculation, leavened with humorous dialogue, into how the Constitutions were conceived and written, plus how the Duke of Montagu came to be the first noble Grand Master of the flourishing Grand Lodge of England. To wit:

The new podcast is still to come, and I certainly will link to it when it debuts, but it will be apart from the also new Craftcast, the UGLE’s official podcast.

     

‘Art exhibit highlights PHA Masons’

    

MMCA photo

An art exhibition in Wisconsin highlights the presence of Prince Hall Freemasons there.

“Dark Matter” by Faisal Abdu’Allah, features larger than life-size portraits, on tapestries, of local Masons in a collection named “Prince Hall” that is on display at Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

“I began to understand and see the presence of Prince Hall in just Madison alone, and the level of purpose and how they are changing the community through various acts of generosity,” Abdu’Allah told Wisconsin State Journal for a story published last Monday. “I would hope people see past the form of representations of what we see—these men with aprons and gloves and hats, and what we assume the Masons to be—and see it more as a chapter in excellence and generosity.”

The portraits show six brethren of Capitol City Lodge 2 attired in their Craft Masonry regalia in images that began as photographs which then were printed on the fabric.

A lecture on the history of PHA Freemasonry in Wisconsin was presented by W. Bro. Alan Chancellor at the museum on January 19.

“Dark Matter” is scheduled to close on April 2.

     

‘Anniversary edition of Anderson’s Constitutions’

    

Lewis Masonic

Lewis Masonic has revealed its new edition of The Constitutions of the Free-Masons, published to commemorate the tricentennial anniversary of its first printing in London. Better known as Anderson’s Constitutions, it is the book of jurisprudence, history, and other guidance commissioned by the first Grand Lodge of England, its authorship attributed to Rev. James Anderson, although it is thought that senior Grand Lodge officers had weighty editorial input.

Lewis Masonic

Left: front cover of the new edition.
Right: the original. 

It looks like a beautiful reproduction. On social media, Lewis Masonic says:

After careful examination of the original copies held in the archives of the Museum of Freemasonry in London, the cover border and central design have been painstakingly reproduced. Inside the contents are clear and set out in a way that is faithful to the original in terms of typeface, spelling, and format. The various decorations have also been carefully restored whilst keeping their character. Each copy bought directly supports the work done by the Museum of Freemasonry in London.

Read more about it here.

Of course the original dates to 1723, and this year there will be various celebrations of its publication. From Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076 to New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786—and, I’m sure, other venues—discussions and toasts in honor of this seminal text shall be heard. The United Grand Lodge of England will hold an Especial Meeting to celebrate the text’s tercentenary next Tuesday.

     

‘Jersey research lodge to host Shawn Eyer at Washington Memorial’

    

New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786 sent a delegation to Princeton Lodge 38 Monday night to demonstrate to the brethren there what a research lodge is and does, and our next meeting as a lodge will be an emergent—out of state!

We have rented a lodge room at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Virginia for a meeting on Sunday, February 19 at 4:30 p.m. as part of the Memorial’s cornerstone centennial and Washington’s Birthday celebrations. Our speaker will be Bro. Shawn Eyer, the Memorial’s Director of Education and the editor of The Philalethes magazine.

Shawn Eyer by Travis Simpkins

He will discuss “Holy Symbols, Infinite Wisdom: Freemasonry’s Mystical Ground Plan in Prestonian Thought.”

Shawn says:

William Preston (1742-1818) and his brethren devoted decades to the cultivation of the Masonic ceremonies and catechisms which underlie the common degree workings as they are now generally performed in English-speaking lodges. Despite the ubiquity of Preston’s work, many know little of Preston himself, nor of the specific characteristics of his style of Freemasonry. The Prestonian concept of Freemasonry will be explored in this talk, providing a new way to appreciate the common Preston-Webb lectures.

If you are a Master Mason in good standing in the area, please come visit and profit from this revealing presentation. (Bring Masonic identification and your apron, and be prepared to work your way inside a tyled Masonic communication.)

“LORE” will continue in the celebrations on Monday the 20th by marching as a unit in the City of Alexandria’s 2023 George Washington Birthday Parade, followed by the Memorial’s cornerstone ceremony re-enactment for its hundredth anniversary. Please feel free to march with us in the parade, and definitely don’t miss the cornerstone ceremony at the Memorial.

Other than that, New Jersey LORE will meet again on our regular schedule on Saturday, March 11 in our new meeting space at Freemasons Hall in North Brunswick, home of Union Lodge 19. Hope to see you at all the above.

     

‘Bonhams auctions antique Masonic punchbowl’

    

Bonhams

Bonhams, the London-based auction house founded in 1793, placed under the gavel yesterday one of those beautiful Chinese-made punchbowls you see in many Masonic museums.

Dating to the Qianlong period (c. 1780), the porcelain piece sold for $12,750 at the dealer’s New York location on Madison Avenue.

Bonhams

It depicts the checkered pavement, pillars, G, sun & moon and Pleiades, and the S&C of the Second Degree. And you’ll see a lewis, and a few things that I thought didn’t exist in our degrees until the Thomas Smith Webb era. My brain is going soft. I’ll have to hit the books and look into it.

Bonhams

Anyway, my bid of $357, plus a Shriner belt buckle, didn’t prevail.

     

‘T.S. Webb Chapter to meet!’

    

UPDATE 2: There is a new website here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

‘Have dinner with the Masonic Society’

    

I’ve been remiss in touting the Masonic Society’s annual dinner next month during Masonic Week. That’ll be Friday, February 10 at 7 p.m. in the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. The dining fee costs $60 and when registering, you’ll see a choice of entrées.

Robert Dupel

The keynote speaker will be Robert Dupel, who is both Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Quebec and the Grand Master of Canada’s Allied Masonic Degrees. He will present “It’s About Me,” which, I’ll guess, may be rich in Masonic motivation.

Sorry to say I won’t see you there. It’s our fourteenth event at Masonic Week (because we missed 2021 when the pandemic pre-empted Masonic Week) and I’ve attended all but one, but I don’t see myself joining in Masonic Week any further. My first was in 2002, and I guess I simply have had enough.

That’s the Masonic Society’s current events, but there is a lot more news that was announced recently by President Oscar Alleyne.

New Treasurer and Secretary

The Society has a new Secretary. The mighty Nathan Brindle has retired after serving since our launch in 2008. Nathan was both Treasurer and Secretary, and I can tell you that, having been a Board member and an officer (2008-22) myself, he had a lot of work! Administering all the membership needs, from enrolling new members to creating the patents to invoicing for dues; handling the finances, from depositing dues to getting the tax returns filed; webmaster, including the TMS store; generating the reports the Board needs to see; and a lot more. And that’s on top of his myriad other stations and places in the fraternity. And, oh yeah, his family and career. We were lucky to have you, Nathan, and I salute you, sir! Former President Jim Dillman has taken over the Treasurer’s desk. That’s good luck for us too.

The new Secretary is Shamus Driver. I don’t know Shamus, but if the Board elected him, then he’s right for the job. Plus, he’s in Indiana, which is important, as that has been our headquarters where all the hospitality suite libations are stored.

New Vice Presidents

I regret to see the departure from the First Vice Presidency of Greg Knott who resigned recently. We’ve lost Vice Presidents before. The recently deceased Rex Hutchens was one of our inaugural veeps, but he had to step aside because the TMS workload was more demanding that he expected, and he already had tons to do elsewhere in Freemasonry of course. (The Masonic Society is not a place to just receive a title and loaf around. There’s a lot of work to do.) And we lost another VP several years later. Literally. At the mall.

I was looking forward to seeing Greg become President next year, knowing he possesses the talent and temperament to steer our quirky and diverse team. Maybe he could return some day. So, Mark Robbins is elevated from Second Vice President to First; and Mason Russell moves from our Board of Directors to the Second Vice Presidency. Congratulations!

The Journal is coming

You wonder why you haven’t received a Winter issue of The Journal of the Masonic Society. It is because a double issue of Freemasonry’s pre-eminent periodical is in production and will reach you soon. Having adhered to the tradition of our Past Presidents not meddling in the decision making, I do not know the particulars of that, but as the Masonic Society nears its fifteenth anniversary (May 1), things are as lively as ever.

     

‘Challenge coins to benefit PTSD research are back’

    

“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.”

President Theodore Roosevelt

July 4, 1903

In very high demand, with supply recently exhausted, our Grand Master’s challenge coin is back!

Heads.

With the face of Bro. Theodore Roosevelt on the obverse and the Grand Lodge seal on the reverse, the token is a fundraiser for The Battle Within Foundation, the group that supports research into PTSD to help military veterans. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has afflicted thousands of warriors with injuries that cannot be seen. In too many instances, the pain results in suicide.

Tails.

TR, of Matinecock Lodge 806 in Oyster Bay, is Grand Master Richard Kessler’s favorite U.S. President, I’m told, ergo his smiling face scrutinizing squint on the coin. Senior Grand Deacon Larry Kania is charged with distributing the challenge coins (please pray for him), and he can be reached here. He has 500 to share at $20 each.

What is the Masonic link to The Battle Within Foundation? It is our Grand Master’s sponsored charity, and it was initiated by the brethren of Harmonie Lodge 699 after the suicide of a Brother in 2017. Read more here and here.

     

‘Psycho-libel to be topic at library discussion’

    

Speaking of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (see post below), the Masonic Library and Museum in Philadelphia will host a speaker next Saturday to discuss what may be the granddaddy of conspiracy theories.

Bro. John Minott, of Lodge No. 2, will present “Freemasons and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” This lecture, beginning at 3:30, may be attended both in person and via Zoom. Click here to make arrangements. From the publicity:

The Protocols, first published in 1905* and still going strong today, purport to describe a fraudulent Jewish plot for world domination, with the Freemasons as their unwitting stooges. This talk will delve into the history of this anti-Semitic publication, and how Freemasons came to be featured in it.

John Minott

A graduate of Stanford University, John Minott, a member of Lodge No. 2 in Philadelphia, has been a tour guide of the Masonic Temple for twenty-seven years.

Minott’s name may be familiar to you, as he is a frequent speaker on subjects concerning Masonic history and various bizarre fears of Freemasonry.

* Paul Calderwood’s paper, “As We Were: Freemasonry and the Press,” in the new AQC (135), puts the date at 1903.

     

‘Bizzack and Dunning at Pennsylvania Academy…in Philly!’

    

The next session of Pennsylvania Academy of Masonic Knowledge will be hosted in the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia, rather than the usual venue on the Elizabethtown campus. That is part of the sesquicentennial celebration of the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

The speakers on Saturday, March 18 will be John Bizzack and Chuck Dunning! From the publicity:

Pennsylvania Academy

of Masonic Knowledge

Masonic Temple

1 North Broad Street, Philadelphia

Saturday, March 18

Registration 8:30 a.m. Program 9:30

W. Bro. John W. Bizzack on “Quandary in the Quarries: Rediscovering the Business of Our Masonic Lodges.”

W. Bro. C.R. “Chuck” Dunning on “Compassion and Gratitude in Masonry, Psychology, and Contemplative Practice.”

Read their biographic summaries here, but if you have read any of these eminent Masons’ books and other writings, you know theirs are voices to be heard.

I don’t see a link for advance registration, but I’m sure that’ll be added soon. And if you can’t be there, I bet the session will be streamed live and viewable on YouTube later as well. This is not to be missed.

Also, be on the lookout for a date in June to be announced for a rededication ceremony at the Temple. I’ll share it here when I know.

     

‘Art which affects the passions by sound’

    

Sorry for the blur. It’s the only image I have.

True Craftsman’s Lodge 651 has a concert planned for April. Guitarist Alessandro Minci is a Mason at labor in Numa Pompilio Lodge 1334 (GOI) in Frosinone, Italy.

A graduate, with honors, of Alfredo Casella Conservatory of Music, Minci is a well known performer, having played in a number of festivals around the world. You can read more about that here.

As you can see on the flier, an “evening of Masonic musical magic” awaits us April 14. This definitely is a lodge activity I support. See you there.

(If you are unsure about recognition, we Americans are in amity with the Grand Orient of Italy. The English have other ideas about il bel paese.)

     

‘Be an Azim pinball prophet’

    

Azim is starting the year right. On Friday the 27th, the Prophets will gather at the nearby Barcade for drinks and the Iron Maiden Pinball Tournament.

Be the Azim Arcade Pinball Champion of the World!

Get there at seven o’clock. Wear your fez (duh) and your “Azimian best.”

Barcade is located at 148 West 24th Street (between Sixth and Seventh) in Manhattan.

     

‘M&D’s Apprentice up for discussion in the Reading Room’

    

Masonry should be an energy, finding its aim and effect in the amelioration of mankind. Socrates should enter into Adam and produce Marcus Aurelius; in other words, bring forth from the man of enjoyments the man of wisdom. Masonry should not be a mere watchtower, built upon mystery, from which to gaze at ease upon the world, with no other result than to be a convenience for the curious. To hold the full cup of thought to the thirsty lips of men; to give to all the true ideas of Deity; to harmonize conscience and science, are the province of Philosophy. Morality is Faith in full bloom. Contemplation should lead to action, and the absolute be practical; the ideal be made air, food, and drink to the human mind. Wisdom is a sacred communion. It is only on that condition that it ceases to be a sterile love of Science, and becomes the one and supreme method by which to unite Humanity and arouse it to concerted action. Then Philosophy becomes Religion.

You didn’t get that in your EA Degree, didja?

Those sentences are a snippet of the first chapter, titled “Apprentice,” of Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike. This chapter is the material for the January 31 meeting in the Reading Room, hosted by Craftsmen Online. Click here for the text.

Sponsored by Deputy Grand Master Steven A. Rubin, the Reading Room is a hybrid meeting space with an in-person panel for discussion that the rest of us may join via Zoom. Hosts Bill Edwards and Michael LaRocco will welcome Cliff Jacobs and Walter Cook at seven o’clock to delve into this opening chapter of M&D.

All Master Masons in good standing are welcome to attend. (If you miss it, catch it later on YouTube.) For more information, visit Craftsmen Online here.