‘The wait for Waite is over’

    

Yesterday afternoon, Weiser Antiquarian Books released its anticipated latest catalogue—no, not another Crowley collection—comprised largely of titles from the study of one Arthur Edward Waite. There are 101 books in this batch, and more than half are written or edited by our Masonic Brother.

Weiser Antiquarian Books

And there are a few about Waite, such as the elusive 1932 “Check List” of his writings, published privately (and this copy is signed) by H.V.B. Voorhis, a Past Master of The American Lodge of Research, and a friend of Waite.

A number of the books have been sold already, including—drat!—one first edition (1924) of The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross, a hardcover in VG+ condition. But there are many more from Waite on subjects including Alchemy, Éliphas Lévi, Hermeticism, Holy Graal, Kabbalah, Magic, Paracelsus, Tarot, Thomas Vaughan, and more. Not Freemasonry though.

Other authors featured in Catalogue 287 include Johann Georg Faust, Manly P. Hall, MacGregor Mathers, Israel Regardie, and more.

(Hey, with Hanukkah just two months away, if someone were to make me the gift of this two-volume set, I’d be one happy and grateful reader!)

     

‘The first Masonic medal’

     

Leftfield Pictures/History Channel

A segment from the once popular television program Pawn Stars uploaded to YouTube this week exhibits what was called “the first Masonic medal.” The token has George Washington in profile and the date 1797 on the obverse, and a collection of Craft lodge symbols on the reverse.

Leftfield Pictures/History Channel

Not knowing much about such a thing, pawn shop proprietor and star of the show Rick Harrison summoned an expert numismatist and appraiser to explain what it’s about. David Vagi, director of Numismatic Guaranty Company in Florida (he is flown to Vegas for his appearances), is renowned as an authority on coins from the ancient world, but I’m skeptical about his knowledge of things Masonic. As you know, our fraternity is a quirky society with practically endless possibilities and improbabilities in its material culture, as we’ll see here.

When Vagi termed this piece “literally the first Masonic medal; what they call Masonic pennies,” I lost faith in his evaluation. But he also said it was struck by Peter Getz, a Pennsylvania Mason who worked as a silversmith and engraver, which is corroborated by historical and numismatic sources.

And then there’s the November 1974 issue of The Pennsylvania Freemason, the periodical of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. A short article accounting for the then seven medallions known to have been commissioned by the Grand Lodge (I don’t know if there have been more from the past fifty years) says:

Click to enlarge.

Washington 1797 Medallion

The rarest medallion in the collection is the Washington medallion struck by Grand Lodge in 1797.

It was struck in recognition of the anticipated election of Bro. Washington as General Grand Master of Masons in the United States.

The proceedings of Grand Lodge, dated January 13, 1780, states:

“The Ballot was put upon the Question: Whether it be for the Benefit of Masonry and ‘a grand Master of Masons thro’out the United States’ shall now be nominated on the part of this Grand Lodge…

Sundry, respectable Brethren, being put in nomination, it was moved that the Ballot be put to them separately, and His Excellency George Washington, Esquire, General and Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States being first in nomination, he was balloted for accordingly as Grand Master, and Elected by the unanimous vote of the whole Lodge.”

 

This action of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania did not meet with favor by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. The office was never established.

It created the belief among Masons that such an office did exist, and that Washington occupied it. The error was further compounded by the abbreviated legend on the reverse of the medal:

“G.W.G.G.M.” – George Washington General Grand Master.

The medal is of bronze, 1 3/8 inches in diameter and 1/16 inch thick. One side of the medal has the bust of Washington in uniform and carries the legend “G. Washington, President, 1797.”

The reverse side shows emblems of Masonry surrounded by the inscription “AMOR • HONOR • JUSTITIA,” and the initials “G.W.G.G.M.”

Around the rim on both sides is a rope-like design which could symbolize the cable tow.

The medal closely resembles both in drawing and execution the Washington half dollars of 1792 engraved by Bro. Peter Getz of Lancaster, Pa., a Past Master of Lodge No. 43, F&AM of Lancaster.

Two of the three known medals are in the Grand Lodge collection.

In the end, Mr. Vagi valued this piece at $40,000, “maybe a touch more.” Mr. Harrison and the seller did not achieve a meeting of the minds.

If you’re scratching your head over “the Washington half dollars of 1792” because Washington didn’t appear on a U.S. coin until 1932 (and he would have been appalled at the suggestion his likeness should appear on the Republic’s money), don’t doubt your sanity. “Medals, tokens, and coinage proposals in this interesting series [of Washington pieces] dated from 1783 to 1795 bear the portrait of George Washington,” says the guide known informally as “Yeoman’s Red Book.” “Many of these pieces were of English origin and were made later than their dates indicate.”

Whitman Publishing, LLC

“Dies engraved by Peter Getz of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, are believed to have been made to produce a half dollar and cent as a proposal to Congress for a private contract coinage before the Philadelphia Mint became a reality,” the book also says. Now, if you have one of those, you could be looking at six figures, depending on which one and its condition.

     

‘Retired Senator made Mason on Sight’

     

Bro. Pat Roberts, retired U.S. Senator in white apron, and MW Jack Kyle Lewis are flanked by four of the Grand Lodge of Virginia’s District Deputy Grand Masters after the Grand Master made Roberts a Mason on Sight last Wednesday at Andrew Jackson Lodge 120 in Alexandria. (I nicked this photo off Shelby’s Facebook.)

A longtime reader—there literally are several of those—saw the post the other day about Naval Lodge, and took the opportunity to tell me about something novel in the Grand Lodge of Virginia.

Last Wednesday, the sixteenth, Grand Master Jack Lewis exercised a prerogative very rarely seen in the jurisdiction by “Making on Sight” retired U.S. Senator Pat Roberts a Mason. He is a member of Andrew Jackson Lodge 120 in Alexandria. This lodge, now in its 170th year, meets inside the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.

Sometimes it is called “at Sight,” and it is found among Mackey’s Landmarks, although not every grand lodge permits it.

There was no mention of this on the Grand Master’s schedule, and I don’t see anything official about it. I was able to find a few mentions on Facebook. I guess we’ll have to wait for the next issue of The Herald. All I know about Sen. Roberts is he represented Kansas in the Senate from 1997 to 2021, and served in the House of Representatives for sixteen years beforehand.

Congratulations to all involved!

The Grand Annual Communication is a few weeks away. Richmond is too far for me, but I hope to attend someday.

     

‘Our craving for remembrance and a tangible blessing for posterity’

    

Grand Lodge of Rhode Island

Next Saturday morning, Rhode Island Freemasons will gather at Freemasons Hall in East Providence (222 Taunton Avenue) to commemorate the centenary of the temple’s cornerstone ceremony, which occurred Saturday, October 25, 1924. Today, the building also is the headquarters of the Grand Lodge, but then it was home only to Rising Sun Lodge 30 which, by then, had been at labor half a century, having been established July 4, 1874. From the publicity:

A Century of Masonic Heritage

The magnificent Temple was built in 1924 for Raising [sic] Sun Lodge No. 31 [sic] and was designed by renowned architect William Gilbert Upham of Norwood, Ma. Who was a member of Orient Lodge and specialized in the design of Masonic Temples.

The original Cornerstone was laid on October 25, 1924, by the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Henry C. Dexter and it was rededicated in 1992 when Grand Lodge took ownership of the property.

The ceremony of rededication is an ancient, solemn and significant event in Freemasonry. It marks the renewal of our commitment to our principles of Truth, Relief and Brotherly Love, and the consecration of our meeting place.

Freemasons Halls:

Temples of Virtue

Freemasons Halls have a long history and are rich in symbolism, they are literally Temples erected to Virtue. These buildings serve not only as the physical place where Masons meet but also as enduring material representations of our ideals.

Grand Lodge of Rhode Island

Many Freemasons have enjoyed the brotherhood fostered within these walls. Here, they have become great leaders, shared knowledge, worked together for common goals, and nurtured their dreams. These buildings are silent witnesses to history, having seen generations of men strive to become better versions of themselves and contribute positively to the world.  

These are only a few reasons why the rededication ceremony will be a very significant event. It is definitely something to witness. The ceremony is open to Freemasons of all degrees and the general public and will begin at 10 a.m. with a procession from Haven Methodist Church on Taunton Ave. to Grand Lodge.

Looking back the hundred years, the occasion’s oration was delivered by W. Bro. Chester W. Barrows, Grand Orator, who also served as an Associate Justice of the state’s Superior Court. Excerpted:

We are laying a cornerstone of a Masonic Temple. Freemasonry as an institution is already old. It will continue to exist while men are social beings. It has certain attributes that do not change, but its character at any given time will be affected markedly by the men who then compose it. We are the Rhode Island Masons today. We shall leave our more or less lasting marks on the organization. What shall our imprint be?

Grand Lodge of Rhode Island

We have placed beneath this stone certain temporal and transient things deemed by us of some importance. There, sealed away from mortal sight and corroding air, they will be preserved long after we have been forgotten. Antiquarians, a half century or more from now, when this temple shall be razed to give way to a more glorious one, will curiously examine these tokens, will try to follow the thoughts that influenced us, and to discover what manner of men and Masons we were. Today’s civilization, with all its wonders, will doubtless seem as curious and quaint to them as our ancestors’ does to us. Our Masonic forbears led a simple life as we see it. Their opportunities were limited, but we know their sterling, though stern, worth. What we are, what our influence is upon the Order, in part, is due to what they were. We glory in their pioneering for institutions adapted to free-born men and dedicated to God and native land.  Ours is not to pioneer, but to preserve those institutions. If our efforts shall appeal to those who follow us, as do our grandfathers’ to us, we may feel that this generation is a not unworthy link in the chain of progress.

Chester Barrows

Why do we have a ceremony at the laying of a cornerstone? Because it is traditional perhaps, but what reason is there for the continuance of tradition? What is there here to talk about? Talk often is only the outward evidence of a vacant mind, the rambling of aimless thought. Such is not for us on this occasion. Nor is the fact that here is our own building a cause for boastfulness. Is not the real reason for this occasion that we are doing something which we hope will be worthy of remembrance; something for which we believe our “Children will rise up and call us blessed.” At man’s best, there is always an aspiration to do or say something worth preserving. The endless struggle to be remembered is traceable through the ages. We hate the thought of being forgotten. A few exceptional individuals successfully perpetrate themselves, but most persons fail to do so.

 

As groups, however, men often can succeed when singly they would fail. Among the lasting and proper accomplishments of a group is the erection of a Masonic Temple. When we lay the cornerstone of such a building, we have taken a step toward satisfying our craving for remembrance, as well as left a tangible blessing for posterity. We are warranted in talking about it.

This is a cornerstone. We shall not presume to tell you of the part that it physically plays in the structure. We only know that it rests upon what has been done. It supports what is to follow. It bears the relation to the building that your life and mine bear to past and future human life. As we prove square and true, so will our descendants.

The following year, W. Barrows would be elevated to Rhode Island’s Supreme Court, where he would serve until his death in 1931 at age 58.

Locate your copy of this Grand Lodge’s 1925 Proceedings to marvel at this wonderful speech in its entirety, as well as to peruse the lengthy list of those “temporal and transient things” deposited inside the “beautiful, neatly engraved copper box, hermetically sealed,” placed inside the cornerstone.

Also, I can’t help but claim to have found on other pages a terrific name for a lodge: What Cheer.

What Cheer Lodge 21 was set to labor in 1857 in Providence. The phrase “What cheer?” is elemental to Rhode Island lore and concerns the arrival of Roger Sherman himself upon the shore of the Seekonk River where he was greeted thusly by local Native Americans. Read more about that here.

    

‘Naval Lodge 4 at the U.S. Capitol’

     

Naval Lodge 4

Worshipful Master Peter Rogers with the brethren

of Naval Lodge 4, FAAM, at the U.S. Capitol last night.

 
As reluctant as I am to inflame the Tinfoil Hat Crowd, I want to salute Naval Lodge 4 in the District of Columbia for hosting a meeting inside the U.S. Capitol last night.

You probably are wondering how, but it takes a personal connection to arrange such a thing.

(These photos are on social media, so I’m not betraying secrets in this edition of The Magpie Mason.)

Naval Lodge 4

Naval 4 typically meets in a building on Pennsylvania Avenue, about half a mile east of Capitol Hill, so they didn’t even have to leave the neighborhood.

For this special occasion, the lodge hosted Bro. Chris Ruli, author of the new book Brother Lafayette, a chronicle of the French freedom fighter’s tour of the United States in 1824-25.

As an aside, yesterday was the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s visit to George Washington’s grave. On Mount Vernon’s website, we read:

When Lafayette returned for his grand tour of the United States in 1824 at the invitation of President Monroe, he briefly stopped at Mount Vernon again to pay his respects. It was later recounted that Lafayette visited Washington’s tomb alone and returned to his party with tears in his eyes.

Naval Lodge 4

The brethren in the Rotunda beneath John Trumbull’s General George Washington Resigning His Commission, the 12x18 oil on canvas painted 1822-24.

Well done, brethren! Excellent.

     

‘The Knight-Scholars are at labor’

    

Belated congratulations to the brethren of Academia Lux Borealis 25, the lodge of Masonic research and education chartered early this year by the Grand Lodge of Alaska.

This grand jurisdiction has the smallest membership in the United States, with 1,377 accounted in 2023, yet the 665,000 square miles of The Last Frontier make it the largest state in our country. Unsurprisingly, this lodge meets online, monthly on fourth Wednesdays at 7 p.m. local time. So the coming meeting, for example, will be next Wednesday at three o’clock Eastern.

By Travis Simpkins

The lodge’s website conveys the inspiring story of how ALB came into existence, which you can read here. Secretary John May is a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge and current Grand Treasurer too, suggesting it’s good to have friends in high places.

But not every gathering is virtual; the brethren meet in person on weekends. In spring and fall, they congregate for their retreats; the Autumnal Retreat was last weekend, in fact. The rules say due and timely notice is disseminated to the brethren ninety days in advance; reply is required; and a request to be excused is mandatory for those who cannot attend.

From the bylaws. Click to enlarge.

Keeping everything simple is a great way to meet on the Level. Setting annual dues at $175 should bolster participation.

Perhaps the most revealing page on the lodge’s website provides the Obligation:

Obligation of Academia Lux Borealis

Darkness gathers and my labor, my quest now begins.

I will be chivalrous, inquisitive, and righteous.

I will take the less traveled, mysterious paths.

I will be without fear in the face of ignorance, tyranny, and fanaticism.

I will always seek and speak the truth, even if it leads to my death.

I shall cast off ego, wear no crowns, and win no glory.

I will live and die at my labors.

I am he that builds, maintains, and sustains the Temple.

I bring Light to the darkness.

I am the sword and shield that guards the Craft, the dawn that wakes the sleepers, a Knight-Scholar of Alaska.

I am the fire that burns against the cold, of the Light that brings enlightenment, the quill and candle of knowledge.

I obligate my labors, my quest to the glory of the Great Creator, henceforth.

It shall not end until my death.

     

‘Some background on Ashmole’s Free Mason Acception’

    

John Riley’s portrait of Elias Ashmole, c.1681-82, hangs in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University, a gift from Ashmole personally. (Prints, in various sizes, available from the gift shop here.) That book under his right hand is Ashmole’s The Institutions, Laws, and Ceremonies of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (1672), a 1693 edition of which is displayed at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia.

On this date in 1646* Elias Ashmole was made a “Free Mason.”

You probably knew that even if you’re not in the habit of noting the anniversary when it arrives. And what has it to do with us today? I don’t know, except I think it proper to remember the early Free Masons despite the tantalizingly little we know about them.

This edition of The Magpie Mason takes a quick look inside The Diary and Will of Elias Ashmole, in which pages we locate the source of that blurb which appears in so many Masonic history and reference books. After the date and time (“Oct. 16. 4:30 p.m.”), there is only this single sentence:

I was made a Free Mason at Warrington in Lancashire, with Colonel Henry Mainwaring of Karincham in Cheshire; the names of those that were then at the lodge, Mr. Richard Penket Warden, Mr. James Collier, Mr. Richard Sankey, Henry Littler, John Ellam, Richard Ellam, and Hugh Brewer.

Title page of the aforementioned Ashmole book on the Order of the Garter displayed at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia.

It’s an interesting diary that frustrates through omission of details, like the exact place of this acception into Free Masonry; and alternately serves odd points, such as Ashmole being named Elias, rather than the agreed upon Thomas (after his father’s father), because his godfather at the christening blurted out “Elias” for a reason he couldn’t explain afterward. And then there are circumlocutions, like referring to the Civil War as “the troubles in London.”

Anyway, what I mean to share here are the footnotes the editor of this 1927 printing added to give some biography to those names. To wit:

  1. Colonel Mainwaring, b. 1608, a scion of the younger branch of the Mainwarings of Peover, succeeded to the Karincham estate in 1638.

  2. Richard Penketh, son of Thomas P. of Penketh Hall, d. 1652.

  3. James Collier held lands at Newton-le-Willows, d. 1674.

  4. Richard Sankey was the father of Edward S., b. 1621, who was evidently the copyist of a Sloane Masonic MS.

  5. The Ellams were of a yeoman family then long resident in the parish of Winwick, Cheshire.

  

  

Gosh, I wonder what the lodge meetings back then were like. Service club activities? 50-50 tickets?

Title page.

In time, I will look into the life stories of these men. They do not sound like obscure English countryfolk. I have to believe each is biographized in early AQC volumes.

*They used a different calendar back then, so just play along.

     

‘Do you know about the 1781 Society?’

    

New York Freemasonry has a corps of philanthropists who commit to support our Brotherhood Fund which aids distressed brethren and their families in times of need. I was late in learning about this, but it has appeared on my radar because a 1781 Society cocktail hour will cap our Masonic Con weekend in January.

(Tickets to Masonic Con New York can be had here, and there is an option to also buy tickets to the after-Con cocktail party. I’ll have much more on Masonic Con very shortly, but we have six amazing speakers booked, plus other major attractions.)

Anyway, the 1781 Society welcomes contributions of many denominations but, as the Society says: “This isn’t just a donation—it’s an invitation to become part of something truly special. Join the 1781 Society and add your name to this list of those preserving the legacy of Freemasonry in New York!”

Read all about it here.

     

‘Cryptic degrees at historic Johnstown’

    

UPDATE: Postponed. Date TBA.

Magpie file photo

Our Cryptic companions upstate have a day of degrees planned for next month. From the publicity:

St. George’s Council 74

Degree Festival

Saturday, November 16

22 North Perry Street

Johnstown, New York

Program:

10 a.m. - Registration

11 - Royal Master Degree

12:15 p.m. - Lunch

1:15 - Select Master Degree

2:45 - Super Excellent Master Degree by Columbian Council 1

4:45 - Cocktail Hour

5:45 - Dinner

Most Illustrious Daniel D. Elliott, Grand Master, will attend with Grand Council Officers.

Register by contacting the Illustrious Master here. $60 per person, which includes lunch, dinner, and pins. (Donations for drinks.) Make checks payable to St. George’s Council 74.

Russell Dickson

The secret vault of St. George’s 74, which is part of the Fourth District, is located in Schenectady, but this will take place inside the stately home of historic St. Patrick’s Lodge 4. I’m thinking of going. It’s about four hours north of the city.

And don’t forget the Most Illustrious Grand Master’s Reception on November 2. The deadline for reservations is approaching. Click here.

     

‘Drink brandy like George Washington’

    

Mount Vernon

Apropos of nothing, except that I like brandies and that George Washington was a Freemason, the distillery at Mount Vernon will release a new batch of bottles next week.

Weighing in at 80 proof, George Washington’s Peach Brandy™ is heftier than the Hiram Walker sweets I somewhat remember quaffing in the woods with my idiot friends in junior high school, so it may merit the use of a snifter. Or at least its $10/ounce price tag could inspire measured consumption. Going on sale October 17 at noon. From the publicity:

Brandy Produced

in the 18th Century

By 1799, George Washington had become one of the largest whiskey producers in the United States. Today we continue the tradition of producing whiskey and other small batch distilled spirits at our historic distillery.

Washington maintained orchards on his estate and these orchards supplied the peaches needed to produce the brandy at the distillery. The ledgers indicate that small amounts of peach brandy were produced in 1798 and 1799. A portion was sold at market and the remainder was sent to the mansion for use by the Washington family.

After aging for eighteen months in used bourbon barrels at Mount Vernon, this brandy was bottled and labeled by hand. Mount Vernon staff, working with craft distiller consultants, produced this brandy using traditional eighteenth century methods. The brandy was double-distilled in copper pot stills heated by wood fires.

This special bottle of George Washington Peach Brandy™ is one of a limited number of bottles distilled at Washington’s reconstructed distillery at Mount Vernon. Buy in person at The Shops at Mount Vernon (3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon, Virginia) or buy online.

Bottle size: 375 mL

Alcohol content: 40 percent

Proof: 80 proof

     

‘Washington Bible in Illinois’

    

Magpie file photo

The George Washington Inaugural Bible, owned by St. John’s Lodge 1 in New York City, will be on public display Sunday in Illinois.

Perhaps not since the early Mormons settled in Illinois in the 1840s has so significant a Masonic VSL been seen there, but the George Washington Inaugural Bible will be put on public display Sunday at Euclid Lodge 65.

Euclid 65 was set to labor October 2, 1849, and to mark its 175th anniversary, the lodge will host an open house from 11 a.m. to three in the afternoon. The lodge is located at 31 West Jefferson Avenue in Naperville.

As you know, the historic Bible is owned by St. John’s Lodge 1 in New York City. It was this lodge that provided this KJV Bible, printed in 1767, to the inauguration of President George Washington in Manhattan April 30, 1789. You can read about that here.

The lodge shares this national treasure by occasionally honoring requests to exhibit it around the country.

Read Euclid Lodge’s history here.

     

‘The official Masonic Lodge skillet’

    

The manufacturer is Lodge Cast Iron. The designs are Masonic—one skillet for each of the Craft degrees. Orders are accepted now for December delivery, so you can enjoy Masonic Lodge pancakes for Christmas. Actually, these are small, at 3.5 inches in diameter, so make that silver dollar pancakes. The ad says they’re ideal for baked goods, but I’m thinking egg McSammiches. Anyway, this is a fundraiser for Landrum Lodge 48 in Savannah, Georgia. From the publicity:

Masonic Cast Iron Minis

Pre-Order: $99.99

Click here

Limited edition of 1000, produced exclusively for Landrum Lodge 48 in Savannah, Georgia. We are proud to partner with Cast Iron Savannah to present a unique set of three miniature cast iron skillets made by Lodge Cast Iron, each beautifully crafted to represent the degrees of Freemasonry. The Entered Apprentice, with the Square & Compasses and sun & moon; the Fellow Craft, with Square & Compasses and two pillars; and the Master Mason, with Square & Compasses and sprigs of acacia.

The set will come in a custom printed cardboard box fit for display. Crafted in South Pittsburg, Tennessee with iron and oil, its naturally seasoned cooking surface is the perfect size for serving individual cookies or brownies.

Features

🍳 Seasoned with 100 percent natural vegetable oil

🍳 Arrives in a special edition gift box

🍳 Masonic designs on front and Lodge logo on back

🍳 Ready-to-use 3.5 inch skillet

🍳 Made in the USA

🍳 Made without PFOA or PTFE

🍳 Dimensions:

Length: 6 in. Height: 0.93 in. Width: 3.93 in.

Cooking Surface Area: 5.68 sq. in.

Weight: 0.62 lbs.

     

‘Civil War Dinner at Gettysburg’

    

Rest assured peace and harmony will prevail at the Civil War Dinner next month in Gettysburg.

The brethren at Good Samaritan Lodge 336 will host their fourth such occasion—and the second this year. I think this would make a fine start to a great weekend for visiting the historic battleground town. From the publicity:

Good Samaritan Lodge will host our fourth Civil War Dinner on Friday, November 15.

These events continue to grow in popularity with excellent presentations and delicious dinners. You don’t want to miss out!

Dinner choices will be Union or Confederate.

Come hear the stories of Nick, an Adams Express agent; Liberty Hollinger Clutz, a young girl who witnessed the Battle of Gettysburg; and two others.

Proceeds to benefit the clothes-for-kids program and other charities. Buy tickets here. $50 per person or a $250 for a table of six.

I don’t know exactly what the menu will offer, but click here to get a possible idea.

     

‘Where there is darkness, light’

    

The Catholic Store

The inkling for this Magpie post has been rolling around the cavern of my skull for years but, as today is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, it occurs to me to type it up.

Aside from Grotto once yearly, it’s been more than two decades since I’ve truly filled any chaplaincy role in Freemasonry—I was working my way East in the local Rose Croix chapter, and I must say I was good at it—but my thinking here concerns adapting what is known as the Prayer of St. Francis for Masonic use.

One English translation of the original:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

It really fits. So, if you happen to be a chaplain or grand chaplain somewhere, maybe this idea could work for you in certain circumstances. Customize as needed.

N.B.  There is nothing historical that actually connects the prayer to St. Francis. The Franciscan Order does not include it among the prayers attributed to its founder, for example.

     

‘2025 Prestonian Lecture’

    

Cheshire Freemasons

The announcement came months ago, so I’m not breaking news here, but the United Grand Lodge of England presents its Prestonian Lecturer for 2025: RW Bro. Simon Medland.

This Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Cheshire and Past Grand Sword Bearer will discuss “Our Friends in the North,” a “reflection on the growth of Freemasonry from its early, proto-Masonic beginnings in Chester, Cheshire, and nearby Provinces,” says Quatuor Coronati Lodge’s website.

(Speaking of QC2076, now is the time to renew your membership, or to join, the lodge’s Correspondence Circle if you want to receive the coming volume of Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, the annual book of transactions.)

Bro. Medland is a fourth generation Freemason in Cheshire, having been initiated by his father, a Past Senior Grand Warden there, in 1986 at the now defunct Hamilton Lodge 5454, founded in 1934 with the help of Bro. Medland’s great-grandfather.

Of course, 2025 will bring the tercentenary celebration of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire, the oldest Province, making Medland’s appointment, and his chosen subject, all the more apt. Congratulations!

Click here to view an introductory interview with Medland on the Cheshire Freemasons’ YouTube channel.

     

‘Prince Hall pocket watch on PBS’

    

PBS

Maybe you saw this when it first was broadcast in 2009, but an Antiques Roadshow episode recorded in Atlantic City was repeated Monday night, and it includes an appraisal of a beautiful nineteenth century gold watch with a Prince Hall provenance.

PBS

PBS

PBS

The segment runs about three minutes and it’s first in the line-up. Enjoy.