Another Great Raising with My Prince Hall Brothers

Well brethren, I attended another Prince Hall raising on Saturday,9/23 and again it was a memorable event. I really like the idea of bringing masons in as a class, multiple candidates. It is always advantageous, IMHO, to go through an experience with peers. The trials and tribulations these particular PH candidates experience is pretty traumatic compared to the MS systems of progression through the gates. Everyone probably feels that there is a certain part of the MM degree that is more important than another, but my experience at the PH raising, they feel the most important part of the degree is the going through the gates. They make the situation as real as possible, and very trying on the candidates psyche. For that brief period of time, their candidates really experience the feeling of rfns trying to extrt something from them, really experience fidelity and the repercussions of holding firm. I know the men we bring in would probably have offered anything up as a scrt of a mm, just to survive.
I love the differences in the ritual of the transition from 1st sect to 2nd sect, the incident that transpires, I've never seen in our MS procedures, and the affect of it is awesome. The lecture, charge and symbolism explanation is done in a 1st class manner.
I noticed no introductions of 33rd's and KYCH's, which I am all in favor of. The PM's are given the most respect and as a visiting PM, the hospitality and respect is flattering and honoring. At refreshment, a full meal was prepared by the OES, myself and fellow brother sat at the head table with the sitting master's of the various Blue Lodges participating in the raising, and the candidates served us and semi waited us. The other brethren went through a line to serve themselves, but the candidates, with humility, had no problem taking care of the master's and visitors. A few hundred dollars was collected from passing the hat around for the stars effort.
We then returned for the lectures and charges, which were phenomenal. I followed along in my ritual book, and they have a 20 minute extra part to the charge which is not in my book. Things were done by memory, the portrayal of the degree was second to none, the fellowship was more than what we experience when visiting other MS lodges, and it is because of this that I have problems circumscribing my desires and keeping my passions within due bounds in regards to recognition because of race. How any mason and GL can and does get away with NOT recognizing PH masons because of color is beyond my comprehension. Men, with two arms and two legs, two eyes and two hands, who practice the same masonry we do, have to rely on small minded men for "recognition" or labeled "regular" and be considered equal. The rest of American masons are not saying you have to go to their lodges and intermingle, but "recognition" should be as universal as the way one becomes a MM. Because of my experiences and relations with the Ph's, I would be apt if visiting the states were recognition has not migrated to yet, to visit or call upon the PH's of those states than the MS GL's. Even if I would be in "violation" of my GL codes, I would rather show brotherhood and acceptance to the "underdog/minority" group, because I have problems with ego maniacs and control freaks. I would not be able to sit down with men who would not allow recognition, accept the decision of that policy from their GL. At some point, doing the right thing should outweigh clinging to a membership. Maybe it is easier for me because I have walked away from wrong actions and have taken stands. My integrity is more important than being a member of something. Trying to right wrongs is worth any repercussion, whether being banned from gradeschool Masonic forums or taking on the wrath of my GL for standing up for justice. I've offered up my dues card to a DDGM before, taking a stand on BS actions and ways.
I look forward to more fellowship with my PH brothers, and look forward to visiting Fla, and attending a PH meeting to find out what those repercussions will be due to their non recognition status. I hope it will put someone in an unpleasant predicament to take actions against me for sitting in an unrecognized lodge. I need to plan my next trip to Fla. Oh, and by the way, I will avoid traveling through NC and spending any of my hard earned money in their state as my own little boycott of racists GL states.

To my PH hall brethren, thank you so such for an incredible experience in masonry, I can't wait till we meet on the level again!
So Mote It BE!

CENSORSHIP AT THE THREE PILLARS FORUM

I feel priveledged that I was banned from a Masonic Forum called The Three Pillars.
Anytime a coward reacts with that type of action, it makes me feel that I must have hit a nerve. Well good Mother F-ers. I take pride in the fact that cowards and hypocrites don't want me around. The truth always hurts, so ban someone who speaks the truth.
The Three Pillars would rather protect Racists, than it being exposed by a concerned, hard working mason who is involved in bringing the two groups together.
Good thing masonry is about truth and equality and freedom.
I prefer to associate with real men with real convictions who walk the walk instead of talking the talk only.
It looks like someone just threw gas on my fire!



Hello tubulcain420,

The following is an email sent to you by Weifarere via your account on The Three
Pillars. If this message is spam, contains abusive or other comments you find
offensive please contact the webmaster of the board at the following address:

moderators@thethreepillars.com

Include this full email (particularly the headers). Please note that the reply
address to this email has been set to that of Weifarere.

Message sent to you follows
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have broken the rule and your account has been deleted.


CONCRATULATIONS NORTH CAROLINA! WAY TO GO FORWARD INTO THE 21ST CENTURY! WAY TO
BE AN EXAMPLE OF BROTHERHOOD!


An unconfirmed report has just reached us that at Friday's Annual Communication
of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, held in Winston-Salem, a vote was held on
whether the Grand Lodge of North Carolina would recognize the predominantly
black Prince Hall Grand Lodge of North Carolina.

Our source tells us that the proposal did not pass. He reported that the vote
tally was 685 votes for recognition, 404 votes against, but a 3/4 majority is
required for a proposal to be carried by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina.

According to the Grand Lodge of North Carolina's website, the Grand Lodge's
Mission Statement is: "The mission of Freemasonry in North Carolina is to raise
the moral, social, intellectual, and spiritual conscience of society by teaching
the ancient and enduring philosophical tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief, and
Truth, which are expressed outwardly through service to God, family, country,
and self under the Fatherhood of God within the Brotherhood of Man."

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. WAY TO MAKE US PROUD OF OUR FRATERNITY. After I spent
all day raising 5 candidates at the Prince Hall lodge yesterday, I get this news
from NC. Way to make me proud to be associated with you.

You embarrass me.
un masonic and un american behavior associated with masonry !

Thumbs up NC

Masons groups join in 'brotherhood'

Masons groups join in 'brotherhood'
Race separated men for 150 years; now, they'll grow stronger together
By MIKE CHALMERS, The News Journal
Posted Sunday, September 17, 2006



WILMINGTON -- With regal pomp and the flourish of a pen, two of Delaware's oldest organizations ended more than 150 years of racial separation Saturday.

The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Delaware, whose members are white, and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Delaware, whose members are black, signed a compact of recognition at a two-hour ceremony at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington.

The event celebrated what one speaker called "the universality of our brotherhood."

"Now, we have two grand lodges in Delaware," said Ronald W. Conaway, grand master of the traditional Grand Lodge. "That's something this grand state can be proud of."

James R. Fitzgerald Jr., grand master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, said masonry itself is not racially discriminatory, but men's application of it has been in the past. Saturday's ceremony was one step in changing that practice.

"This is the future of our organizations, as we become stronger in mutual recognition," he said. "With these newfound friendships, we hope that masonry in Delaware will go to another step."

Masons from both grand lodges packed the Opera House's third-floor hall. They wore black tuxedos, white aprons decorated with symbols of the office they hold and gold "collars" made of sparkling chain links. Their enthusiastic baritone voices reverberated through the hall, and their applause was muted only by the white gloves they wore.

With the signing, Delaware became the 38th state where the traditional and Prince Hall grand lodges have agreed on some form of mutual recognition. The remaining states are all in the southeastern United States.

Discussions about mutual recognition of the two grand lodges began four years ago over a dinner in Dover. James S. Russell Jr., grand master of the traditional Grand Lodge, and Solomon Henry, grand master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, discussed ways to bring their organizations closer together.

Delaware masons formed their traditional Grand Lodge in 1806, forged from four lodges chartered in Maryland and Pennsylvania. It now includes 28 subordinate lodges and about 5,400 members statewide.

In 1849, black masons formed their own Grand Lodge in Delaware, known as a Prince Hall lodge after a black mason in the late 1700s. The group now has 550 members and 12 lodges.

The mutual recognition is long overdue, said Robert McGee, first district deputy grand master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge. Racism kept the groups apart for too long, he said.

"We both practice the same principles and morality," said McGee, a mason since 1978. "It's a shame it's taken so long to sign this compact."

McGee said he became a mason because his father was one and because the group's ideals meshed with his own sense of civic duty. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge is involved in mentoring teens and feeding the hungry, he said.

"I felt right at home joining an organization like this," McGee said. "We're on the same wavelength in terms of what we want to do with our communities."

Attending the ceremony was Floyd Bagwell Jr., grand master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge in Connecticut. His organization and the traditional Grand Lodge in Connecticut became the first groups to formally recognize each other in 1989.

Also, the grand masters from the traditional and Prince Hall grand lodges in Maryland, which recognized each other in April, attended and addressed the Delaware members.

Ronald Belanger, of the traditional Maryland Grand Lodge, said the term "recognition" doesn't go far enough in describing the ceremony played out Saturday. The two grand lodges have always known the other existed, of course. What's different now, he said, is they acknowledge their shared heritage and values.

"For years, we have sat here and listened to stories and tales and misconceptions about why we should not offer the hand of brotherly love and affection and respect to one another," Belanger said. "After 157 years, we're going to stretch our hands across a chasm of ignorance and intolerance and say, 'Welcome, my brother, welcome.' "
Contact Mike Chalmers at 324-2790 or mchalmers@delawareonline.com.

these are the comments posted to this article:
View All Comments

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:05 pm
As Mr. Henrick wrote I also left my lodge here in Delaware for many reasons but the biggest was the rift between the Grand Lodge and Prince Hall. It made me ashamed to be a member of a fraternity where I could not sit in open lodge with a member of my family because of skin color, this pact between both Grand Lodges is a huge step and will strengthen both fraternities.

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 11:07 am
Mr. Henrick,

You give hope to the thought of a racially void world. I am a member of a fraternity founded by African American men. We have long had white members. Though their numbers are few, While I was completing our ritual I learned that our founders never included exclusionary language to deny membership based on race or creed in our constitution.

Many members of my organization are also Masonic men as they pledged my organization as undergrads and later pledged Mason after college. These men pointed out some of the same things you said in your post regarding the two different Lodges of Mason. Something interesting that they did share with me on one occasion was that a couple of our founders were Masonic before founding our fraternity for college men. They pointed to the separation of the two houses as one reason they ensured admittance to our fraternity would never be on the basis of race or creed.

Congrats to all Masonic men. This is a great day for your organization. I imagine it's like getting a visit from a brother you heard of, but never really knew!

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:01 am
One wonders if a "white" Lodge will now allow blacks to join their Lodge. Racial segregation has long been practiced by the Masonic Lodge. I was informed at my Third Degree that we must never give an application to a black man because "he will be refused entrance into the Lodge." And this lecture was given by a man who was well acquainted with the law at the time because he mentioned it. Apparently, the law didn't apply to the Masonic Lodge. This was just one of the reasons why I eventually quit the Lodge.

Freemasonry requires that an applicant believe in God. That sounds good but Satan also believes in God, so that requirement doesn't amount to anything. God requires people to "love one another." There is no love in racial segregation. Jesus said: "They honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me."

Racism is a sin because it condones non-acceptance of other members of God's creation. And many Christian men go along with this segregation. It used to infuriate me on Masonic Sunday when Masons made their annual church visitation, to listen to one of their members take the pulpit to promote Freemasonry, knowing that they also support racism.

This official recognition of black Lodges really is no big thing. The article shows the shame of what the "white" Lodges have done for many years, and it doesn't show that anything is going to change. Throwing racism out of the Lodge is a must but it must first be thrown out of the hearts of men, and I doubt this can be achieved.

THE CONVENTION THAT CHANGED THE FACE OF FREEMASONRY

THE CONVENTION THAT CHANGED THE FACE OF FREEMASONRY
Short Talk Bulletin, January 1936
By Allen E. Roberts

We are indebted to Wor. Brother Roberts, a noted Masonic scholar and author, for accepting the challenge of preparing this Short Talk Bulletin. It is another example of his concern for the work of the Masonic service Association.

For more than one hundred years many Freemasons have been misinformed. They have not been told the full story of one of Free-masonry's most important events.

This story starts in December, 1839. It began with a resolution adopted by the Grand Lodge of Alabama, which requested all Grand Lodges to send a delegate to the City of Washington on the first Monday in March, 1842, "for the purpose of determining upon a uniform mode of work throughout all the Lodges of the United States and to make other lawful regulations for the interest and security of the Craft." (The emphasis is mine, for this indicates what I mean when I say we have been misinformed.)

The Convention was held on March 7, 1842, "in the Central Masonic Hall at four and a half and D Streets N.W." Ten Grand Lodges were represented. And these representatives refused to seat a delegate from the Grand Lodge of Michigan, declaring that it had not been established under constitutional principles. The report was made by Charles W. Moore, Chair-man of Credentials Committee and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. The Convention upheld his report.

After due deliberation, it was concluded that not enough Grand Lodges were represented, and there was not enough time to formulate a uniform ritual that would be acceptable to all Grand Lodges. Differences of opinion among the committee selected to develop a uniform mode of work were too many and not reconcilable. The Convention voted to request each Grand Lodge to appoint some well-versed Mason and style him as a Grand Lecturer to report to a Convention to be held the following year.

The report of another Committee was to have important, immediate, and far reaching effects on the Grand Lodges of the country. The "Committee on General Regulations Involving The Interests and Security of The Craft" reported in several areas. It recommended that the Representative System "already adopted by some of the Grand Lodges" be extended to all Grand Lodges. To protect the Fraternity from unworthy men claiming to be Masons, the Committee recommended that "certificates of good standing of visiting Brethren who are strangers" be made available by the Grand Lodge to which they belong. "These certificates will not only shield the Institution," said the committee, "from the undeserving, but will furnish the widow and orphans of the deceased Brethren the best evidence of their claim upon the Fraternity."

This Committee also considered as "reprehensible" the practice "of receiving promissory notes for the fees for conferring Degrees, instead of demanding the payment thereof before the Degrees are conferred."

The Committee considered it an "impropriety" to transact "business in Lodges below the Degree of Master Mason, except as such that appertains to the conferring of the inferior Degrees and the instruction therein." It credited the Grand Lodge of Missouri for bringing this to the attention of Freemasons everywhere. The Committee went on to say "Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts are not members of Lodges, nor are they entitled to the franchises of members."

The suspension of a Mason for non-payment of dues was also considered by the Committee. It believed that uniform legislation should be adopted by the Grand Lodges to protect the Fraternity.

It wasn't long before several Grand Lodges changed their laws to conform to the recommendations of this Committee. Certificates or cards were issued by Grand Secretaries to members of Lodges. And Grand Lodges ordered lodges to set cash fees for conferring degrees. Representatives were appointed by some Grand Lodges that had never done so before. And many Grand Lodges changed from conferring all business in the Entered Apprentice Degree to that of the Master Mason Degree.

Maryland was one Grand Lodge that acted almost immediately on these suggestions. on May 16, 1842, it voted to elect one Grand Lecturer to attend the conference in I843. It ordered the Grand Secretary to procure certificates to issue to Master Masons in good standing. It ordered all Lodges to conduct their business in the Master Mason Degree. It said "that when a Mason is suspended for any cause whatever, he is for the time of such suspension debarred from all rights and privileges of the order."

In 1842, some Lodges in Virginia started conducting their business in the Master Mason Degree. So it went over the next several years, but it was as late as 1851 before the Grand Lodge of Maine changed from working or conducting its business in the First to that of the Master Mason Degree.

It might be well to consider why some of the leaders of Freemasonry were concerned about the looseness of the ritual, as well as many other facts of the Fraternity.

Looking back to the year 1826, and the two decades that followed, it is found that in 1826, one William Morgan, who had purported to be a Freemason, disappeared. Freemasons were accused of murdering him, although there has never been any evidence that he was harmed in any way. He merely disappeared. This set off a hue and cry against Freemasonry. In many instances, Grand Lodges could not find a quorum to meet. Lodges turned in their charters by the hundreds. Freemasons quit by the thousands. Freemasonry was in deplorable condition.

During this period many of the ritualists and the men who had been dedicated to the principles of Freemasonry were lost to the Craft. Many died. Others quit because of the persecution handed down to their families because they would not renounce their membership in the Order. For these and various other reasons, Masonic Lodges were not operating anywhere near their capacity.

This was the state of affairs in the late 1830s, when Alabama called for a Convention to rectify many of the things that had gone awry. These were some of the things causing the Convention meeting in Washington to make the recommendations it did. These were some of the things carried into the Baltimore Convention of 1843, the Convention which we have heard so much about.

The ritual in its various forms did take much of the time of those attending the Baltimore Convention from May 8 to 17, 1843, meeting in the Masonic Hall on Saint Paul Street with sixteen of the twenty-three Grand Lodges in the United States represented. But many hours were taken to discuss the several points brought out during the convention held in Washington. And it approved everything that had been accomplished in the District.

The evening session was opened with the address of the President of the Convention, John Dove of Virginia. His opening remarks stated the purpose for the Convention: "For the first time in the Masonic history of the United States of North America, the Craft have found it necessary and expedient to assemble by their representatives, to take into consideration the propriety of devising some uniform mode of action by which the ancient landmarks of our beloved Order may be preserved and perpetuated, and by which posterity in all times to come may be enabled to decide with certainty upon the pretensions of a Brother, no matter in which section of our blessed and happy land he may reside; and, finally, and we hope no distant date, to transfer those inestimable privileges to our Brothers throughout the Masonic World." Dove's statement shows that much more than the ritual was involved.

The following day, May 9, the "Committee on the General Object of the Convention" submitted its report. It said: "The objects of the Convention are two-fold, viz.: 1. To produce uniformity of Masonic Work; 11. To recommend such measures as shall tend to the elevation of the Order to its due degree of respect throughout the world at large."

Four standing committees were appointed:

On the work and lectures in conferring Degrees.
On the Funeral Service.
On the ceremonies of Consecration and Installation.
On Masonic Jurisprudence.
It is interesting to note the prominent Masons who were appointed to the Committee on Work. John Dove, at the insistence of the Convention, became the Chairman. John Barney of Ohio, S.W.B. Carnegy of Missouri, Charles W. Moore of Massachusetts, and Ebenezer Wadsworth of New York were the other members.

On the morning of May 10, this Committee recited the lecture of the First Degree. The Convention adopted the work of the Committee by a vote of fourteen to one. Ebenezer Wadsworth of New York, cast the dissenting vote. The following day, the Committee reported "on the opening and closing of ceremonies of the First Degree" and their work was accepted by the Convention. Then the Chairman of the Committee, John Dove, assisted by Charles Moore, reported the lecture of the Second Degree. This work was also accepted by the Convention. But evidently Ebenezer Wadsworth was not happy with the work that had been accepted by the Convention. He "requested to be excused from serving longer on the Committee on Work." He was excused and Brother Edward Herndon, of Alabama, substituted.

At the Friday morning session, "the opening work of the Third Degree was accepted by the Convention with a vote of twelve to one "with New York dissenting."

On Monday morning, May 15, the following was reported: "The undersigned Committee on the Dedication, Consecration and Installation of Lodges, etc., having had the several subjects submitted to them under consideration, beg leave respectfully to report that they have examined and carefully compared all the various authors and systems which they have been able to obtain, and present the following, viz.:

"That the forms in the 'Monitor,' under the authorship of M.W. Thomas S. Webb, republished in 1812, possesses the least faults of any which have been before them, and has a high claim to antiquity, and having been in general use as a standard work for nearly half a century, possess no errors of material as to require alteration, except as follows." There followed six minor changes that it recommended be made, three of them in the Installation Ceremony.

Concerning the "Certificates of Good Standing," the Convention said that the Washington Convention of 1842 earnestly recommended to the consideration of the Fraternity "such Certificate, and where it has escaped attention in the deliberations of any Grand Lodge, this Convention call it to their view, as being a check admirably calculated to preserve the Fraternity from unworthy Brethren from a distance, and an additional means of protection to the good and the deserving."

The Convention adopted a resolution that was to have far-reaching and controversial effects:

That a Committee be designated to prepare and publish at an early day, a text book, to be called "The Masonic Trestle-Board," to embrace three distinct, full and complete "Masonic Carpets," illustrative of the three Degrees of ancient Craft Masonry; together with the ceremonies of consecrations, dedications and installation; laying of corner-stones of public edifices; the Funeral service, and order of processions. To which shall be added the Charges, Prayers and Exhortations, and the selection from scripture, appropriate and proper for Lodge service. The Committee further report, that they deem it expedient that a work be published to contain archaeological research into the history of the Fraternity in the various nations of the world.

The Committee on Masonic Jurisprudence reported it had considered whether or not "the evils which this Convention has met to rectify and remove, have arisen from any defect or fault in the present system of organizations as adopted by the Fraternity of the United States." It concluded the evils existed, mainly because of the individual action of the numerous Grand Lodges in the United States. Inter-communication between Grand Lodges did not exist. The "purity and unity" of work prevalent in Europe was therefore missing.

"UNITY throughout the whole Masonic family is essential," claimed the Committee. "Any system of polity tending to throw obstacles in its way must be wrong. The simple truth that we are all Brethren of one family, and look up to one common Father, the Lord our God, is the basis of all the ancient constitutions . "

To correct the "evils" that prevailed, the Committee said it had considered two plans:

"1st. A General Grand Lodge of the United States. 2nd. A triennial convention of representatives of the several Grand Lodges of the United States."

It went on to state: "Your Committee, without encumbering their report with long arguments, beg to recommend the latter course as being that, which in their opinion, will best attain the end proposed." So, contrary to what many Freemasons have been led to believe, the Baltimore Convention of 1843 did not recommend the establishment of General Grand Lodge. It did recommend "the several Grand Lodges of the United States to enter into and form a National Masonic Convention."

The Jurisprudence Committee had also considered a question about whether or not a Lodge could try its Master. It concluded: "The Master is an integral part of its government, unable to sit in judgment on himself, and yet without whom the Lodge could not act, without, as it were, committing felon de se (suicide). The Committee offered the following, with which the Convention concurred.... "a subordinate Lodge has not the right to try its Master, but that he is amenable to the Grand Lodge alone."

The Committee considered sojourning Masons as "freeloaders." It believed all Masons living in the vicinity of a Lodge and not a member of it should be required to contribute "a sum equal in value to the annual dues per capita of the subordinate Lodge in whose jurisdiction they reside." The Convention voted to recommend that all Grand Lodges take this recommendation under advisement.

In an attempt to bring unity "Throughout the world in all things pertaining to Masonry," the Convention approved a recommendation to send "a Delegate from the Masonic Fraternity of the United States to their Brethren in Europe."

On the evening of May 15 the Committee on Work exemplified the opening and closing of the Lodge in "the Third Degree." The ceremonies for opening and closing a Lodge were exemplified on the morning of the 16th. Then the Convention adopted a resolution thanking the Grand Lodge of Maryland for its hospitality. It was especially appreciative of Maryland assuming all expenses. This was followed by the presentation of the "Lecture of the First Degree."

It was "Resolved, that the interest of the Masonic Fraternity, and the good of mankind may be greatly promoted by the publication of a periodical devoted to Free-Masonry. This Convention, therefore, cheerfully recommend the Free-Mason's Monthly Magazine, edited and published by Brother Charles W. Moore, of Boston, Massachusetts as eminently useful and well-deserving the generous patronage, support and study of the whole Fraternity." The Convention concurred.

Each delegate contributed $5.00 to defray the expenses of printing. It was resolved to hold the next Convention in Winchester, Virginia, "on the second Monday in May, in the year 1846." This was never held.

The evening session of May 16th was devoted to the degree work. "The President repeated the first section of the F.C. and M.M. Degrees; and Brother Moore, the second sections of the same Degrees. The Committee then exemplified the work in the Third Degree."

On the morning of the last day of the Convention, the Master Mason Degree was exemplified. Then, while the President was absent from the hall, "Brother Carnegy took the chair," and a resolution praising John Dove of Virginia was unanimously adopted. Albert Case of South Carolina was also thanked for his work as secretary. The concluding session was held in the afternoon of May 17th. The Convention approved a letter, read by the Secretary, Albert Case, to be sent to "the Masonic Fraternity of the United States." Each paragraph contained the flowery language of the day pleading with the Freemasons of the country to unite in love, friendship and brotherhood.

This letter, written immediately following the anti-Masonic craze that began in 1826, called upon all Lodges "to exercise their powers and cleanse the sanctuary" of unfaithful Masons. It concluded by asking all Freemasons to "Be true to your principles, and the great moral edifice will stand beautiful and complete. Together, Brethren, be true and faithful."

The President thanked the delegates for the compliments paid him, and for their diligent work. He called upon the Chaplain to dismiss them with prayer. The Convention was then adjourned sine die.

The Convention was ended, but its accomplishments would change the face of Freemasonry throughout the United States.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Page copyright © 2005, Lodge Vitruvian, No. 767, F. & A. M.
Content copyright © The Masonic Service Association of North America

FREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM pt 1

AN EXPOSITION OF THE COSMIC FACTS UNDERLYING
THESE TWO GREAT INSTITUTIONS AS
DETERMINED BY OCCULT INVESTIGATION




The great law of analogy is everywhere the master key of all spiritual mysteries, and, although Masonry and Catholicism do not begin till we arrive at the Earth Period, they have their prototype in the earlier Periods; we shall therefore briefly touch upon the essential facts.

In the Saturn Period, the Earth-in-the-making was dark; HEAT, which is the manifestation of the ever invisible fire, was the only element then manifest; embryonic mankind was mineral-like, the only lower kingdom of evolving life. Unity was everywhere observable, and the Lords of Mind who were human then, were at one among themselves.

In the Western Wisdom Teaching we speak of the highest Initiate of the Saturn Period as THE FATHER.

In the Sun Period the root of a new element, AIR, was evolved, and coalesced with the true fire, which, mark again, is always invisible, and which manifested as HEAT in the Saturn Period. Then fire burst into FLAMES, and the dark world became a blazing ball of luminous firemist at the word of power, "LET THERE BE LIGHT."

Let the student ponder well the relation of FIRE and FLAME; the former lies sleeping, invisible in everything, and is kindled into light in various ways: by a blow of a hammer upon a stone, by friction of wood against wood and by chemical action, etc. This gives us a clue to the identity and state of THE FATHER, "whom no man hath seen at any time" but who is revealed in "The Light of the World," the Son, who is the highest Initiate of the Sun Period. As the unseen fire is revealed in the flame, so also the fullness of the Father dwelt in the Son, and they are one as fire is one with the flame in which it manifests. This is the root of all true Sun and Fire worship. All look beyond the physical symbol and adore "Our Father Who art in Heaven." The Mystic Masons of today hold this faith in fire as firmly as ever.

Thus it will be seen that the Unity which prevailed in the Saturn Period continued in the Sun Period. The ordinary humanity of that time has now evolved to the glory of Archangels; some were more advanced than others, but there was no antagonism among them. Our present humanity had advanced to a plantlike stage, and was slightly above the new Lifewave started in the Sun Period, and unity also here prevailed.

In the Moon Period contact of the heated sphere with cold Space generated moisture, and the battle of the elements commenced in all its fierceness. The heated ball of fire endeavored to evaporate the moisture, force it outwards and create a vacuum wherein to maintain its integrity and burn undisturbed; but there is and can be no void in nature, hence the outrushing steam condensed at a certain distance from the heated ball and was again driven inwards by the cold of Space, to be again evaporated and propelled outwards, in a ceaseless round for ages and ages, as a shuttlecock between the separate Hierarchies of Spirits composing the various Kingdoms of Life, represented in the Fire-Sphere and Cosmic Space which is an expression of the Homogeneous Absolute Spirit. The Fire Spirits are actively striving to attain enlargement of consciousness. But the Absolute rests ever clothed in the invisible garment of Cosmic Space. In 'It' all powers and possibilities are LATENT, and It seeks to discourage and check any attempt at expenditure of latent power as dynamic energy required in the evolution of a solar system. Water is the agent It used to quench the fire of active spirits. The zone between the heated center of the separate Spirit Sphere, and the Point where its individual atmosphere meets Cosmic Space, is a battleground of evolving spirits at various stages of evolution.

The present Angels were human in the Moon Period, and the highest Initiate is The Holy Spirit, (Jehovah).

As our humanity and the other Kingdoms of Life on earth are variously affected by the present elements, so that some like heat, others prefer cold, some thrive on moisture and others require dryness, so also in the Moon Period among the Angels, some had affinity for water, others abhorred it and loved fire.

The continued cycles of condensation and evaporation of the moisture surrounding the fiery center eventually caused incrustation, and it was the purpose of Jehovah to mold this "red earth," translated ADAM, into forms wherein to imprison and QUENCH THE SPIRITS OF THE FIRE. To this end, He issued the creative fiat, and the prototypes of fish, fowl and every living thing appeared, even including the primitive human form, which were created by His Angels; thus He hoped to make all that lives and moves subservient to His will. Against this plan a minority of the Angels rebelled; they had too great an affinity for FIRE to bear contact with water, and refused to create the forms as ordered; but thereby they at the same time deprived themselves of an opportunity of evolution along the conventional lines, and became an anomaly in nature; furthermore, having repudiated the authority of Jehovah, they must work out their own salvation in their own manner. How this has been accomplished by LUCIFER, their Great Leader will be made plain in the following articles; for the present, suffice it to say, that in the Earth Period, when various planets were differentiated to provide proper evolutionary environment for each class of Spirits, the Angels under Jehovah were set to work with the inhabitants of ALL PLANETS HAVING MOONS; while the Lucifer Spirits have their abode upon the planet Mars. The Angel GABRIEL is representative on earth, of the Lunar Hierarchy, presided over by Jehovah; the Angel SAMAEL is ambassador of the Martial forces of Lucifer. Gabriel (who announced the coming birth of Jesus to Mary,) and his lunar angels are therefore the givers of physical life, while Samael and the hosts of Mars are the Angels of Death.

Thus originated the feud in the dim dawn of this Cosmic day, and that which we see as Free Masonry today is an attempt by the HIERARCHS OF FIRE, the Lucifer Spirits, to bring us the imprisoned spirit 'LIGHT,' that by it we may SEE and KNOW. Catholicism is an activity of the HIERARCHS OF WATER, and places 'HOLY WATER' at the Temple door to quench the spirits seeking light and knowledge and to inculcate FAITH in Jehovah.

As the vernal equinox is said to be at the first point of Aries, no matter where in the constellations it falls by precession, so the point where the human seed-atom comes from the invisible world and is taken in hand by the Lunar God of Generation, Jehovah, through his ambassador, the Angel Gabriel, is esoterically the first point of Cancer. This is the Cardinal sign of the watery Triplicity, and is ruled by the Moon. There Conception takes place; but were the form built of water and its concretions alone, it could never come to birth, so four months later when the fetus has reached the stage of development corresponding to the second sign of the watery triplicity, Scorpio, the eighth sign, which corresponds to the house of death, Samael, the dauntless ambassador of the Lucifer Spirits, invades the watery domain of the Lunar Hierarchy and introduces the fiery spark of the spirit into the inert form, to leaven, quicken and mould it into an expression of itself.

There the Silver Cord which has grown from the seed-atom of the dense body (located in the heart) since conception, is welded to the part that has sprouted from the central vortex of the desire body, (located in the liver,) and when the Silver Cord is tied by the seed-atom of the vital body, (located in the solar plexus,) the spirit DIES to life in the super- sensible world, and quickens the body it is to use in its coming earth life. This life on earth last until the course of events foreshadowed in the wheel of life, the horoscope, has been run; and when the spirit again reaches the realm of Samael, the Angel of Death, the mystic eighth house, the silver cord is loosed, and the spirit returns to God who gave it, until the dawn of another Life-day in the School of earth beckons it to a new birth that it may acquire more skill in the arts and crafts of temple-building.

About five months after the quickening, when the last of the watery signs, Pisces, has been passed, the representative of the Lucifer Spirits, Samael, focuses the forces of the fiery sign, Aries, where Mars is positively polarized, so that under the impulse of their dynamic energy the waters of the womb are voided, and the imprisoned spirit is liberated into the physical world, to fight the battle of life. It may blindly butt its head against the Cosmic forces typified by the first of the fiery signs, Aries, the Ram, which is a symbol of the brute strength brought to bear upon the problems of life by the most primitive races; or it may adopt the more modern method of cunning, as a means of attaining mastery over others, which characteristic is indicated in the second of the fiery signs, Leo, the Lion, the king of beasts; or perchance it may rise above the animal nature, and aim at the stars with the bow of spiritual aspiration, typified by the last of the fiery signs, Sagittarius, the Centaur. The Centaur is just ahead of the watery sign Scorpio, a warning that one who tries to reach that prerogative as "PHREE MESSEN," a son of Fire and Light, will surely feel the sting of the Scorpion in his heel, which will goad him onward upon the path where men become "wise as serpents." It is from this class that Mystic Masonry is recruited with men who have the indomitable courage TO DARE, the unflagging energy TO DO and the diplomatic discrimination TO BE SILENT.

by
Max Heindel
[1865-1919]

The frequency field, the ocean, the all-surrounding substance in which individuals are suspended, is a great sea of undifferentiated energy.

 













"In higher dimensions, everything radiates its own nature. You know it, by becoming it. You pass over to the standpoint of the other and know it as it knows itself - from the inside-out. Knowing by becoming permits deep and rapid communication. Unlike the third dimension, in the higher dimensions everything is illuminated by an inner light that is a direct expression of its spiritual frequency. There is no reflected light from an external source such as a sun or moon. The inner light is modulated by the entity’s individuality, which expresses as a distinctive array of sound and color.

"Growth in higher awareness is directly proportional to your ability to operate with ease in realms of symbolic intelligence. Symbols contain and transmit meaning and can be used to invoke possibilities from the Void. Symbols are bodies for the energies that occupy them.

"Everything in existence has a spiritual signature, which is a symbol. To invoke the symbol is to summon the creature it represents. This, of course, is the basis for all sacred magic. Manipulating symbols is manipulating the energies they contain and transmit. Ancient symbols still carry a full charge of energy and can be summoned as allies."

Leland R. Kaiser, "Self-Transcendence" 

GL F&AM, PHAGL, AF&AM, And Other Alphabet Soup Systems

GL F&AM, PHAGL, AF&AM, And other Alphabet Soup Systems
Thinking about this recognition/regular/clandestine/irregular Masonic Divisive BS:

I associate with Prince Hall Masons, been to raisings and Blue Lodge fish fry with them. A Prince Hall Brother works at the VA hospital where I have an account, he and I have fellowship quite often.
Now, there is another black gentleman who works there as well, who is a mason, but not a Prince Hall Mason. He is not that well informed about his system, but seems to go under International AF&AM or something or another, but is not recognized by prince hall's.
the 3 of us will sit and talk masonry, have fellowship as 3 brothers, recognition and system does not come into play,we treat each other as equals, on the level, and we can't understand why they(PHA and AF&AM) don't intermingle and open up the brotherhood.

Restrictions with regard to the admission of candidates both for initiation and affiliation.

 






Restrictions with regard to the admission of candidates both for initiation and affiliation.


This is regarded generally as a wise step, for there is grave danger in the counting of heads. When undertaken, the counting should be of souls. In other words, it should be the spiritual and not the material progress that ought to be appraised; and the same, or even greater, regard should be paid to the capability of candidates to assimilate and disseminate the tenets of Freemasonry by practical exemplification in their lives as is paid in some jurisdictions to their material position in life. It is just as necessary to know whether they will live the Masonic life as it is to know whether their circumstances will enable them to pay the dues required for their initiation and the continuance of their membership.
Did you ever sit down and examine your thoughts and actions, and ask then yourself for a straightforward, honest answer to the question: "What have I done for Freemasonry?" Can you find anything in your life that you wold have done differently if you had not been a mason? In other words: has Freemasonry in any way influenced your course of life? How many times have you recognized the fact that some poor , miserable, unfortunate wretch was your brother? How often has your heart gone out in charity for the faults, needs, and woes of others? How often have you used your influence to reclaim he erring brother? Have the tenets of Freemasonry been exemplified in you, or have you been living a lie?

Freemasonry is a great university, where men come together on the common ground of mutual esteem, respect, and fraternity. There the minor differences of creed and opinion are forgotten: hand clasps hand, eye greets eye, and earts thrill and throb in unison. All recognize and acknowledge the inherent right of each member to his own individual belief, so long as that belief is founded on the great tenets we seek to inculcate---Faith, Hope, Charity, and Toleration; such charity and toleration as will impel us, before passing judgement upon another's acts, to endeavor to learn and understand the motive, for only as we understand correctly the environment and motives of another can we rightly determine whether his act, be it good or ill, is one upon which we can honestly and impartially pass judgement. 

The Restaurant At The End Of The Masonic Universe

 









The Restaurant At The End Of The Masonic Universe
By Stephen Dafoe



So there is this restaurant chain with locations throughout North America. Its slogan is a pretty catchy one and the chain's management uses it on a daily basis to motivate staff and to recruit new patrons to the chain's thousands of locations.


The slogan is "we take good food and make it better" - eight simple words, which have struck an emotional chord with millions of people who like to eat.


There is no marketing genius behind the slogan or the success of the same in attracting people to the restaurant chain. Everyone likes good food, so it is unlikely that there is a person alive who would not like good food made better. Who could resist such a slogan?


Sadly, the restaurant chain seldom lives up to its own slogan. The restaurants are often poorly decorated - their tables and chairs wobbly and in need of repair. Staff often quarrel with one another and the management, too often, seem only to be concerned with climbing the corporate ladder to the head office. The food, so much talked about is bland at best and dreadful at worst.


Yet as each new patron comes in for the first time to sample this "good food made better" he sees a group of smiling faces, all lapping up the meal as if it was the greatest food on the planet - just like the advertising people said it was.


The new patron does his best to eat his meal even though the food offered does not appeal to the palate as sweetly as the words used to describe it. Not wishing to show his displeasure to his two friends who sponsored him - for it is, after all, an exclusive restaurant - he sits in silence eating his meal with each mouth full being as forced as the smile on his face.


Sometimes the patron simply pays his tab, leaves the restaurant and vows never to return to the establishment. However, sometimes the patron decides that maybe he just went on a bad night - perhaps the staff was having a bad day because the regular cook was away. Perhaps those people enjoying the meal were just being kind and did not want to offend the new cook.


He decides to give the "good food made better" joint one more try.


Returning on another night he sees the same dozen patrons who were there the month previous - they are still arguing with one another about which fork you should use for the salad and the proper way to hold a wine glass. The manager is still ignoring the new customers in favor of the company higher-ups seated at a back table who he is trying to convince of his suitability for a more prominent position in the firm.


What's worse - the food is still bland, boring and not what the sign on the door proclaims - yet the regulars are still lapping it up like it's their last meal.


This time the patron decides that the marketing slogan is nothing more than eight simple words cleverly arranged to deprive him of his hard earned money.


The thought occurs to him that maybe he could pull the manager away from the corporate wheels long enough to suggest a few small things that could truly make the good food better. However, he has a sinking feeling that he would be told, "but we've always cooked it this way before" or "we tried that once and the patrons didn't like it." He feels he might even be told that "the head office would never allow it."


So instead of voicing his concerns, exercising the old business axiom that the customer is always right, he says nothing. Instead he leaves the restaurant and vows never to return - either canceling his pre-booked reservations on the way out the door or never returning and having his membership cancelled by the chain via a nasty letter.


He wonders how it is that the restaurant survives and why the same dozen diners seem to enjoy the food so much.


His conclusion is a simple one - they like things the way they are and the establishment will never change so long as the chain is run by people who like to make bland food and patronized by people who like to eat the same.


And so we come to a problem that is rife within Freemasonry today.


We advertise ourselves as an organization that makes good men better, and while that is precisely what we have done for millions of men over the centuries, it cannot be argued that we are letting down the many young men who enter our doors who feel cheated and deceived.


"I really feel that I have been sold a pack of lies," wrote one such young mason recently on an Internet discussion forum.


How sad it is that a young man, who has been a Mason for one year would feel that he has been lied to by an organization that has Truth as one of its three greatest attributes.


"This is not the Masonry I signed up for," he continued in his posting and in so stating arrives at the crux of our problem.


Freemasonry in large parts of the United States and Canada is not offering what it is advertising, but if it advertised what it offered - would it receive many new candidates.


"Freemasonry - we take good men and let them sit in a room and listen to the reading of minutes and 45-minute debates on spending $50 on why we should or should not buy a plaque to show what great guys we are."


It just does not have the same marketing strength as "Freemasonry - we take good men and make them better."


Unfortunately our young brethren, past and present have tried to improve what Freemasonry offers within the tiled recesses of our lodges, but are met with resistance at each step of the way.


We say we are about making good men better through self improvement - yet few are the lodges who apply the working tools within the body of a lodge to educate our young members as to how to do this.


The Masonic Information Center (MIC) recently released a publication entitled, "It's About Time." The publication identifies the problems currently confronting Masonic identity and offers sound solutions for the same.


One of the most powerful statements in the 17 page document follows:


"The Square and Compasses, the best known symbol of a Mason, cannot replace the identity of living the life of a Mason, which is itself perpetually in a state of improving ourselves in body, mind, and spirit. Masonic imagery is a valuable resource when it inspires us to take new action consistent with our personal growth and enlightened thought. We must discover our own Masonic calling, our own place in the history of Masonry, by making authentic Masonic performance our top priority."


However, we have allowed, as the MIC points out in the publication, Masonry to be shaped by the 20th century's emphasis on the Masonic ritual being the completion of the Mason's education about his fraternity.


Like the analogy of the restaurant chain, little changes in how lodges deliver Masonic lessons because the same dozen patrons sit in her seats and run the show.


Those men, like the restaurant patrons in our analogy, come back month after month and year after year because they enjoy the bland food - a meal that is largely comprised of recitation of minutes, tedious debates over how funds are dispersed and arguments over when and how to salute the Worshipful Master.


And when a young man, initiated, passed and raised leaves because he finds the meal unappetizing, he is viewed as a disgruntled customer, which the restaurant is better off without.


The recipe of Freemasonry is as sound today as it was three hundred years ago - it is the present kitchen of stubborn cooks who need to be tossed out.


This article ran as the editorial in our fourth issue.

http://www.masonicmagazine.com/issue4editorial.html 

Look At Em Go! The Illuminati!

 


If the founding fathers of this country, MANY of whom were Masons, took the attitude of "peace and harmony" that we take today, we'd all be sending the Queen Mum a birthday card! There are times when you MUST stand up and speak out....

February 17, 2006

Dear Friends:

I'm 99% certain that some of you won't like what I'm about to say if your Fez says "Divan" or "PP" on it.... But, as we all know, this won't be the first or last time that happens. And if you'll read this with an open mind, you'll have to agree I'm right on the points I make.

Every now and then, a fact hits you so hard and so squarely in the face and you just have to comment on it... This is one of those times.... like many before now and many in the future, I'm sure!

Anytime you have the inmates running the asylum, you have nay-sayers... so I'm ready for the typical mail I get after emails like this. I have a tee-tiny file all set up for it. And I also have a folder set up for the mail that is supportive of this position! That email ALWAYS outnumbers the naysayer's by about 25 to 1. And that is precisely why this list of mine is so widely read. It's one of the only, if not the only, voice that lays it on the line without being censored by "the powers that be" within the fraternity. Plus, I'm not now, nor ever again in the future, running for any Masonic related office and so I don't have to be p.c. just to garner and retain votes — or cower before the "movers and shakers" — or any of those other ridiculous and antiquated ways of living. I think that might be one of the reasons why so many G.L. and Imperial Officers around the country are on the list — as well as MANY readers across the pond. They read what is REALLY going on in certain areas without the information being filtered....

As you'll read below, Shrine membership is down to 411,000 from about 940,000 in 1980. I have some thoughts as to why.... However, first let me say that I tip my fez to Imperial Sir Ralph. He's doing a phenomenal job getting the information out and I consider him to be one of the greatest assets of the Shrine. Like me, he loves email and he knows it's CRITICAL to share vital information with our membership. Great job, as always, Ralph! And while I'm at it, let me say that our Imperial Officers are doing all they can do, and more, with what we — as Shriners — give them to work with. The problems, as I see them, originate at the local level and our national leaders have little, if anything, that they can really do to correct them. For the THOUSANDS of hours that our Imperial officers donate to our Fraternity over their 10 year time in the line, they should NEVER hear that they are the problem or that they should be able to solve our problems. So let me go on record as saying we should get off their backs and look to ourselves to get these problems fixed. Imperial doesn't have a magic wand. WE, as Nobles, do! IF we will use it.

411,000 Shriners left on our way to MAYBE 100,000, if we are lucky, before we either implode or turn the corner....

I don't think we can turn this battleship before then because, as I've said before, we have FAR too many "fiefdom's" which are "holy ground" to their tenant's and these guys would rather drive this fraternity into the ground, rather than give up their perks...or not have people kiss their butts at every meeting, or be revered for what they did DECADES ago....

How do I know??? Well, after 5 years as EWG Chairman at my local temple (where our EWG results were pretty darn good) I spent 2 years on the Divan before deciding to reclaim my life and not run for office again. (It turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made.) Plus, along the way, I was on the investment advisory committee and prepared incredibly detailed financial reports including projections for 5 years in the future -- on EVERY line item on the budget based on up to the minute, accurate financial data. (Including those line items that contained those "sensitive" expenditures.... which weren't really discussed with the Nobility that much..) There were also more than a few other stops in positions of responsibility so I'm comfortable saying that I know what's going on, generally speaking, on these matters. And, as a CFP, I understand financial statements and spreadsheets pretty well.... The numbers were frightening, to say the least. The loss of income and increased expenditures by 2006-2007 would make a grown man cry.... I know that I was shocked to see how bad the problems were, and even more shocked to find out that the guys above me on the line, at that time, wouldn't take action because it would negatively impact "their" year.... That's funny to me. "Their" year.... I thought the years in a Shrine Temple belonged to ALL of the Nobility.... didn't you?

That particular temple is lucky to have another outspoken man on the Divan now. He's a PP and is the Recorder. The first one in years to actually do anything, as far as many of us are concerned. He at least shows up, knows the rules, works, is liked by the staff and respected by the Nobility. He's a successful businessman, who is through running for office and as such, speaks his mind without fear of political fallout. He's written some great articles recently in their monthly publication which tell it like it is. BRAVO SIR! That Temple has to depend on catering and rentals to cover a huge part of their expenses because there just aren't enough Nobles to pay all of the bills any longer. Gee... I wonder why there aren't enough Nobles there any longer???? Or why the average age of their Nobility is about 68. (Nothing wrong with 68! But it's harder for a 23 year old Shriner to be "in touch" with a Noble 45 years older than him than it would be to be in touch with a Noble 10-20 years older. Birds of a feather, STILL flock together....)

Now, on a general level and not specific to any particular Temple — WHY do MANY (not all) Temples have such massive losses in the Nobility? Let me think... How about these for starters:

1. Incompetent Divan Officers.

2. Fiscal foolishness.

3. Fiscal improprieties.... (oh yes)

4. People in positions of leadership who should have been run out of the Fraternity on a rail, YEARS ago.

My personal opinion, and my personal research CLEARLY suggests to me that younger, professional, intelligent men — especially those with families — have NO interest in being part of ANY group that is run by people decades older than them who are primarily interested in getting free clothes (Divan uniforms) purchased for them by the dues of their members, or getting free "adult beverages" purchased for them from the dues of the many, or having MANY trips and dinners paid for them by the Temple. The "old ways" created the image of "old white men who are often drunkards". (I told you that some of you wouldn't like this email...) But friends, the truth is that description is the EXACT description used by people as they answered this question that I asked them — "What comes to your mind when you think of a Shriner?" I assure you — I was speechless when I kept hearing those words, or similar (and worse) words used to describe our Fraternity.... That's what they thought... and MANY people said the same thing.... Sure, there were some good comments too. But there were FAR too many negative comments for my tastes...

Let me offer some thoughts on each of the 4 items above. I'm sure that most of this won't come as a surprise to many of you, but then again, it might. And if nothing else, I hope it will cause you to stand up in the next Stated Meeting and ask some HARD questions of the sitting Divan Officers — and then have the guts to not let them off the hook until they answer. They know the answers... believe me. They just don't want to give you those answers... not then and not in a public forum! You'll see the sweat on their brow and you'll see 'em squirm when you start to ask these... trust me....

1. Incompetent Divan Officers. We've all seen them. They are often identified by the fact they love to say, "I just want to be a PAST Potentate." Where DO we find some of these people? I know! We find them with the help of some of the very people that should have been run out of the Fraternity years ago. These aren't leaders. They are minions. They are "yes men"... or I should say, "yes boys".... Brothers, if you keep electing incompetence to the Divan's of North America, we'll be LUCKY if we have 100,000 Shriners before we turn off the lights....

2. Fiscal foolishness... Wow... SO many things, so little time. Let's start with temples who are begging for funds for the building campaign in their monthly newsletters while at the same time they are out buying potentate pins, potentate cups, sending divan members on expense paid trips (check your Temple budget under "fraternal relations") and more.... If you'll look at the FINE PRINT in some of the budgets being passed en masse, you'll see what I mean. Just keep looking... and digging!

3. Fiscal Improprieties. In my opinion, buying clothes for the Divan, buying liquor for only the Divan and their selected few, and worse isn't foolish. It's WRONG. Dead wrong. And when that same Temple is begging for funds for the building fund, at the same time they are blowing money on these "perks"... it's more than wrong — it's an impeachable offense. I guess it's okay for the cooks to put food from the Temple kitchen in the car of the Chief Rabban... but if it's okay, why would they have to whisper?? To me, that just looks like "something is fishy." Look at Units too! I know of one Unit that wanted to use BUILDING FUNDS to send select few of their members to Imperial! They thought they were pretty funny guys by hiding the funds of the unit in an account controlled by 2 of their wives and not giving a financial report when Divan officers would visit at their Stated Meetings.... The potentate at the time got wind of it, (gee... how did that happen?) and read them the riot act! He required the funds to be put back into the unit account at once! And of course, they weren't the only ones doing it, just the only ones that got caught....

4. People in positions of leadership who should have been run out of the Fraternity, YEARS ago.... We all know them... they pretend to be our buddy when in reality they are the kind of blight on the Fraternity that runs good men off and keeps quality men from inviting their friends to join. You tell me... when you have an Imperial Potentate visit your Temple and attend a dinner with the leaders of the Temple and their wives, do you think it's appropriate for one of the more notorious wives to holler out at the Imperial Potentate like she's at a junior high school football game? Sure, she did it, not the Shriner, but she barely beat him to the punch. And when you have these kind of people in your midst, do you tolerate them or set them straight? I bet you do what most people do... you tolerate them — at the cost of losing good men, while taking in more 3rd rate men. Why??? Because we value FAR TO HIGHLY "peace and harmony". Brothers, listen up — if the founding fathers of this country, MANY of whom were Masons, took the attitude of "peace and harmony" that we take today, we'd all be sending the Queen Mum a birthday card! There are times when you MUST stand up and speak out....

With those few topics addressed and a few thoughts on each one laid before you, let me end by saying the ACTIONS STILL SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. What actions am I proposing? Glad you asked! First — ONLY actions that are in keeping with our Masonic laws, codes, rules and regulations. ONLY those. Period. NO exceptions. There is plenty that all of us can do while remaining FAR inside the "acceptable" boundaries of conduct.

Next, stand up and speak out! ASK QUESTIONS DURING STATED MEETINGS!! (without tipping off the Divan you'll be asking them....) You have a RIGHT to know the answers to questions like:

1. Are ANY of the Divan uniforms paid for by Temple funds, and if so, how much did they cost US, the Nobility. Don't accept the pat answer, "Nobles, you approved the budget for that...." Wanna know when you approved the budget for that? I'll tell you when... when you let them read a 2-3 minute version of your budget that night instead of the ENTIRE budget.... Why would you do that? I'll tell you that too.... You let them do that because they ALWAYS do it "that way" and you were in a hurry to go home and "get that borin' meetin' stuff over...."

2. Are ANY funds of this Temple used to buy liquor for the Divan and if so, how much did it cost US, the Nobility. Don't accept the pat answer, "Nobles, you approved the budget for that...." Wanna know when you approved the budget for that? I'll tell you when... when you let them read a 2-3 minute version of your budget that night instead of the ENTIRE budget.... Why would you do that? I'll tell you that too.... You let them do that because they ALWAYS do it "that way" and you were in a hurry to go home and "get that borin' meetin' stuff over...."

3. Are ANY of the trips being taken this year, by the Divan and their select few, being paid for by the Temple and if so, how much did it cost US, the Nobility. Don't accept the pat answer, "Nobles, you approved the budget for that...." Wanna know when you approved the budget for that? I'll tell you when... when you let them read a 2-3 minute version of your budget that night instead of the ENTIRE budget.... Why would you do that? I'll tell you that too.... You let them do that because they ALWAYS do it "that way" and you were in a hurry to go home and "get that borin' meetin' stuff over...."

4. Are any of our elected or appointed divan officers, men who are, or have been in the last few years, the subject of written complaints by other Temples for their public conduct, drunkenness and aggressive behavior. Remember, Brothers, if these people continue on the path they have been on, YOUR Temple may well find itself on the 6 pm news when, and if, these people "act up" again.... We aren't talking about good natured kidding here. We're talking about public displays of disrespect brought about because the person was, again, drunk. And if there ARE any people like that on the Divan, ask the Potentate right then and there why he would appoint someone like that to a position when there are hundreds of other men who wouldn't be such a liability to the Temple and ultimately to the Kids in the Hospital. We do what we do to help the kids, right? That's why I became and remain a Shriner. I thought that was "reason #1" why ALL of us became Shriners. To help the kids... isn't it?

My suggestion is that you, as the person asking the question, ask the other Nobles who would like an answer to these questions, stand up with you. The sight of a roomful of people standing, expecting an answer, will be rather hard (impossible) to ignore without sending another clear message.

You might be asking, "what torqued Carl so hard that he'd take the time to send this out?" The answer is simple — our Fraternity and it's ability to help kids in our hospitals is fading before our eyes! We MUST DO SOMETHING, NOW!!! Read what Imperial Sir Ralph says. It's what I quoted at the top of this note... 411,000 men! Down from 940,000 only a few short years ago! The Shrine is down over 50% in membership during the time I've been a second generation Noble. I deeply believe the 4 points I made above are CLEARLY a HUGE part of the reason. I know of more than a few Temples who have ALL 4 of these issues in place. And you know of them too.. But what are we going to do about it? (talk is cheap!) I've started this ball rolling. What will YOU do?

Will you stand up at the next Stated Meeting and ask these questions? Will you stay the course and get the answers then and there, or will you vacillate and let them stall the Nobility again and again....

Or...

Will you as a Divan member, stand up FIRST and address these questions? There are Nobles from almost every Temple in Shrinedom on this list reading this along with you. Can you imagine how impressed they'd be if you took the high-ground and brought these issues to light before they bring them to light?

I'd be impressed to have the divan at my temple do it. But I won't hold my breath....

What you do is up to you. But if some folks don't have the backbone to stand up and stay the course, we're going to need somebody to turn off the lights as they exit the building... and soon.

Do something productive at the NEXT Stated Meeting and EVERY stated meeting after that until membership is turned around!

And congratulations to those Temples who have long ago addressed these issues and ARE showing an increase in membership! We tip our fez to you!

Best Wishes,
Carl E. Jones, CFP
Topper the Magic Clown
Past Master, Knox Corinthian Lodge #851
Past President, MWSA, 14th Masonic Districts, Dallas, Texas 

An Incredible Exchange About GL Of Georgia @ Burning Taper Blog

"Everything is perfect in American Freemasonry"
was posted at http://burningtaper.blogspot.com/2006/08/everything-is-perfect-in-american.html , an interesting discussion about the RRCG/jeff peace and the GL of Georgia ensued and some interesting things came to light....
This article was about how great the status quo is in masonry and some felt it was done by UGLA members. Some feel the UGLA was spawned because of the expunging of masons in Georgia and Arkansas.


Jeff(not jeff peace) http://www.blogger.com/profile/20612217 said...
I fear these men(UGLA) have turned to practicing something other than Freemasonry, for every word out of their mouths seems to be filled with bitterness and spiteful revenge.

Is it possible that they are fast becoming the very enemy they decry?

How can they speak of Brotherly Love while at the same time critizing the integrity and intentions of the other Brethren, as if seeking to spur on an Exodus from the Fraternity instead of a Conversion within it. Thinking that the tree is bearing no more fruit, they have decided to attempt to chop it down and use it for wood to build a small house, destroying the possibility of leveraging the precious seeds of the tree which does indeed have fruit on it, if you look close enough.

Yes, there is hope of a tree, if it be chopped down, it will sprout again, and that its tender branch will not cease. But this may not happen if the tree has been deliberately poisoned.

The Degrees of Freemasonry carry with them powerful egregores from time immemorial. These sacred convergences of energy have been carefully cultivated for centuries by our Brethren, whether they know it or not. And I am here to say that they are still available in mainstream Masonry, and I defy anyone who says otherwise, because I have felt them for myself.

I do not know if a schism can ever tap into and maintain these egregores: perhaps so, but (and I think it is more likely) perhaps not. Without them, it can never be Pure Ancient Craft Masonry, so far as to enable it to carry on for centuries and communicate the true Masonic secrets from generation to generation.

But then, I guess that isn't what these folks are looking to be.

Wed Aug 23, 02:56:14 PM


Anonymous said...
Jeff... you're a delusional moron. The 'Antient' Grand Lodges are stealing you guys blind.

Wed Aug 23, 04:21:59 PM


Scott Rassbach said...
Anonymous:

Ad Hominem attacks from behind the cloak of anonymity are not an effective way to make your point. Why is it necessary to call people names, when you can just make your point, instead?

Wed Aug 23, 05:01:08 PM


Anonymous said...
Scott,

I'm sorry. I guess nobody told you that Ad Hominem attacks and character assassination is now perfectly acceptable among Masons. Yep! It's true. The Grand Masters of the 'Antient' Grand Lodges layed the foundation for this new Landmark. You gotta love those guys. They are so smart.

Wed Aug 23, 06:25:28 PM


Mary and the Widow's Son said...
Gentlemen,

Are there any Masons here among us?

As Bro. Scott says, ad hominem attacks express no real point. Say what you will about others' ideas or comments, but please say it with at least the due respect one human owes another.

I think the points made in this letter, however tongue-in-cheek and/or sarcastic, are that, in the opinion of the letterwriter (and probably many others), the Antient lodges and/or Grand Lodges have:

1) tried to silence men of conscience who have spoken up against what they see as wrong practices within Freemasonry, making use of intentional slander, innuendo and illegal expulsions;

2) perpetuated racism into the 21st century while claiming to be a fraternity "uniting all Mankind";

3) set up certain men to be "more equal" than others, through giving Past Masters votes in Grand Lodges and through a self-perpetuating line of command in the Grand Lodge which effectively keeps alternative or opposing viewpoints forever silenced.


— W.S.

Wed Aug 23, 06:27:06 PM


Tubulcain420 said...
pretty simple when you put it that way

Thu Aug 24, 04:56:49 AM


Grouchogandhi said...
I confess!

I wrote it. I wrote it all!

Thu Aug 24, 06:03:07 AM


Jeff said...
A delusional moron? I'm not exactly certain, but I think that just serves to prove my original point.

Thu Aug 24, 08:00:35 AM


Anonymous said...
We don't need a bunch of mystical mumbo-jumbo clouding the real issues that face Freemasonry. When I read posts about "egregores" it's easy to just jump to the next relevent post.

The post that referred to you as a "moron" expressed my thoughts as well.

Thu Aug 24, 08:37:36 AM


Tom Accuosti said...
So Jeff can use "egregore" correctly in a sentence, and he's the moron?

Jeff was addressing one of the real issues in Freemasonry: he sees brothers carping at each other out of spite and bitterness. We apparently have some "mainstream" GLs that have not worked hard enough to bring their minds into the 21st (or the 20th!) century. But we also have brothers who, in their bitterness about the mainstreamers, choose to display their own brand of spiteful rhetoric.

Jeff's point was that in spouting bile at each other, we all undermine the foundation of what brought us into the fraternity in the first place.

The Tao of Masonry

Thu Aug 24, 11:24:57 AM


Anonymous said...
It looks to me like the Grand Lodge of Georgia is where all the bitterness started. The longer it goes on the more nasty and bitter the dispute becomes. Maybe the Grand Lodge should try to work things out with these brothers and retore peace and harmony. Think of how much Masonic energy is being wasted over this.

Freemasonry needs these brothers as much as they need Freemasonry. We can all work together if everyone will just stop fighting long enough to talk.

Thu Aug 24, 01:07:13 PM


Bro. Secretary said...
I’ve had to sit back and witness this from day one. Since that time my lodge has lost almost all of its officers and virtually ever young man we had. I haven’t said anything because I kept hoping that someone in the Grand Lodge would have enough common sense to see it for what it was, but that hasn’t happened.

This whole thing boils down to a personal dispute between PGM Buster Horne and Bro. Jeff Peace. They got into it at the Scottish Rite over Masonic education. Jeff apologized to Buster but that wasn’t good enough. The RRCG flourished and that made Bro. Horne mad and he set out to destroy it and have Jeff expelled. He pressured Grand Master Garner to declare it clandestine and expel all of the members. Al felt guilty and tried to give them a way out but by then everyone was mad and it didn’t work.

The truth is the RRCG was a great idea that proved itself in Georgia. Buster should have just let it go but his pride was wounded.

Now that the truth is out can someone from either side of this mess step up to the plate and work things out?

Thu Aug 24, 01:25:47 PM


Anonymous said...
The RRCG also personally attacked MWB Horne and the AASR on its website as well as on Tracingboard.com. I believe that the bridges were nuked a long time ago.

Thu Aug 24, 02:43:14 PM


Jeff said...
I seem to be hearing Ruffians yelling from the adjacent rocks and caves, rather than Brethren clothed in white gloves and aprons craving an audience with King Solomon. The Anonymous (or more than one Anonymous) person here would at least gain a sliver of credibility if they could back up their words with their identity.

I too understand UGLA as the direct result of a quarrel between Jeff Peace and his Grand Lodge. It was born in bitterness.

Thu Aug 24, 02:49:52 PM


Bro. Secretary said...
Let's keep it honest. Bro. Horne went after them in public at a Scottish Rite meeting and then travelled around to the Atlanta lodges claiming they were clandestine. The postings to the web were a result of what Bro. Horne did and not the other way around.

The RRCG was a group of young Masons who became the victims of Bro. Horne's bitterness towards Jeff and eventually all of the young guys.

Jeff and the other brothers were very active Masons. How fair is it that they should have been treated so poorly as a result of an argument with Bro. Horne? I'm sure every brother has had his fair share of disputes with others. This amounts to making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Thu Aug 24, 03:10:24 PM


Darren Simpson said...
Jeff,

Those that hide behind the cover of Mr. Anonymous don't even take ownership of their own words! At least you put your name to your posts. To say that the venom is coming from the UGLA... I havent read one single post that was not verifiable. This post was tongue-n-cheek and was quite humorous when viewed in perspective. The only ones who might find it non-flattering might be some of those Blue Lodge GL's.
This is just a sarcastic play on the real issues facing many GL's.
No... you don't reconcile with folks that stab you in the back, Masonically.

Darren

Thu Aug 24, 06:04:40 PM


Bro. Secretary said...
I don’t believe any of this will be resolved until the air has been cleared and the facts made available to everyone. This whole thing has become a big secret that’s not to be discussed, but by not discussing it the situation only gets worse.

Bro. Horne may be guilty of being prideful and allowing his pride to interfere with his judgment, but he is as much a victim of this as Jeff and the other guys. Unfortunately, Buster was lied to by three people about Jeff, the RRCG and Sandy Springs Lodge. All of these brothers had a motive and something to gain. Isn’t that the way it always works? Rick Longnecker, Ed King, and Larry Hicks convinced Buster that Jeff was up to no good and Buster reacted by attacking Jeff. Rick saw this as a way of buddying up to Buster in order to move from KCCH to 33rd. Larry saw Jeff as a threat to his position in the Valley of Atlanta because Jeff knew more about the degrees than he did. Ed King wanted to settle his long running fight with Jeff on the Philalethes forum by having him expelled.

Jeff has continued to believe that Buster was the source of his problems but what he didn’t know was that Buster had been to lied to. After today I’m sure he will find out.

I’m going to continue posting more details on this mess until someone throws in the towel and starts acting like a Mason.

Thu Aug 24, 06:17:02 PM


Anonymous said...
Bro. Secretary, what do you expect us to do? Jeff and Brian did everything they asked and then the Grand Master issued the stupid edict and refused to even speak to them or any of us. How can you expect us to resolve anything when we can't even have a discussion with them?

The one question I would like to have answered is why Grand Master Garner wouldn't let us have a Traditional Observance lodge in place of the RRCG. I know this was brought up but he didn't even bother to respond.

Thu Aug 24, 09:37:02 PM


Tubulcain420 said...
GL officers are infallable, admitting any wrong doings would be a chink in the Almighty GL's.
The same way the chruch for hundreds of yeras, through the sword, maintained the earth was flat, while claiming to have divine right and knowledge.

Fri Aug 25, 07:02:57 AM


Bro. Secretary said...
How many of you know anything about Masonic grandfathers? An understanding of them is important in the case of the RRCG. In Georgia every Grand Lodge officer was appointed to the grand line by someone. The brother who appointed you to the grand line becomes known as your “Masonic Grandfather.”

MW Bro. Albert Garner’s Masonic Grandfather is MW Bro. Buster Horne.

It’s important to understand this relationship when you consider what happened to the RRCG. MW Bro. Garner issued the edict against the RRCG, not because they were clandestine, but because MW. Bro. Horne called upon him to return a favor.

Was this Masonic or in the best interest of Masonry is Georgia or was it purely personal? The answer lies in another series of events that have since been shrouded in secrecy. Secrecy is the essential element that holds this house of cards together.

Bro. Horne thought is would be easy to have Bro. Jeff expelled quietly by filing charges against him in one of the lodges to which he belonged. This backfired when the lodge refused to hear the charges because they saw them as being politically motivated. This forced Bro. Horne to seek another way of having Bro. Jeff expelled.

Fri Aug 25, 09:31:41 AM


Bro. Secretary said...
If you will recall I said that Bro. Horne had been lied to about Bro. Jeff and the RRCG. The effects of these lies wouldn’t be felt until a specially called meeting of the Scottish Rite Membership Committee. Ill. Bro. Leonard Buffington, the Masonic grandson of MW Bro. Albert Garner and Sovereign Grand Inspector General of Georgia, called this meeting for the purpose of hearing the proposed plans of the Membership Committee. In attendance were Leonard Buffington, Albert Garner, Buster Horne, Grand Master Tommy Blanton, Jeff Peace and the rest of the Membership Committee.

Bro. Jeff gave a presentation about the proposed changes the committee was recommending. During his discussion of the Masonic Code of Georgia and the requirements for forming new lodges Bro. Horne stood up pounding his fist on the table and pointing to Bro. Jeff calling him a “liar.” Bro. Jeff and the rest of the brothers at the meeting sat silently. Bro. Horne then went on to say that the requirements mentioned by Bro. Jeff were not true. Bro. Jeff said that he was simply quoting from the Code book. Bro. Horne once again said he was a liar.

Grand Master Blanton then asked for the Code book. After reading the sections in question he handed the book to Bro. Horne. Bro. Jeff had been correct in his statements about the Code and was not lying. Bro. Horne then sat silently and never offered an apology or explanation for his outburst.

It’s important to realize that at no time did Bro. Jeff raise his voice or act inappropriately at this meeting. He simply did his job and left.

Bro. Jeff has kept some secrets too but I’ve never understood why. I think it’s time these become known as well. Jeff was the appointed Fellow to the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite. He was also the newly appointed line officer to the Lodge of Perfection. Bro. Horne was the Personal Representative to the SGIG. Without warning or reasons for his actions Bro. Horne removed Jeff from both positions. It was one of the most ruthless and petty acts I have ever witnessed at the Scottish Rite. Bro. Horne didn’t stop there he followed up by stopping all Masonic education at the Valley of Atlanta.

It wasn’t long after this that Bro. Jeff was called on the carpet by Ill. Bro. Leonard Buffington, SGIG, for failing to show up at the meeting with Ill. Bro. Seale in Florida. Jeff explained to him that Bro. Horne had removed him from the position of Fellow.

Bro. Horne was running his own personal agenda and keeping it a secret from the Sovereign Grand Inspector General. Like I said earlier, this house of cards is held together by many secrets.

Fri Aug 25, 12:51:11 PM


Tom Accuosti said...
There are two things that bother me about this situation.

One is that is seems as if none of the men - Masons all - seemed to be able to overcome their own pride, and in so doing allowed the situation to spiral out of control. All that stuff that we learn as young Masons about "whispering good counsel" and about acting with "affability" and "tolerance" took a back seat to the egos of everyone involved. That, to me, is a damned shame.

But a bigger shame, in my opinion, is in the actions of the GM Garner. It's easy for me to say this from the ignorance of the situation and with my butt parked in a comfy chair 1,000 miles away, but Garner had a responsibility to check things out for himself as Grand Master, especially because of the volatility of the circumstances. Just as a lodge is run by the Worshipful Master and not by the Past Masters, so should the Grand Lodge be run - that is, managed - by the Grand Master. To allow Past Grand Masters to influence him to that degree is virtually an abdication of his duties.

Shameful indeed for all Masons.

The Tao of Masonry

Fri Aug 25, 03:15:01 PM


Bro. Secretary said...
It appears that MW Bros. Garner and Horne formed a conspiracy against Bro. Jeff and the brothers of the RRCG, but they were too smart to leave themselves that exposed. MW Bro. Garner tapped Bro. Ed Tante, a Columbus attorney, on the back and asked if for his assistance. Bro. Tante was well rewarded for his cooperation by being made Mason of the Year by MW Bro. Garner at the Grand Lodge communication in October. It was Tante who wrote the edict, established the timelines, and prepared all of the letters and forms to be used against the young brothers.

Bro. Horne only had one last thing to manage before the conspiracy would be complete: he needed to get the edict approved at the annual communication of the Grand Lodge. As Chairman of the Jurisprudence Committee he hid the edict inside a lengthy document that he new would be approved without being read by the attending brethren, which in fact it was. Now all that was left was to issue the letters and forms.

It’s important to understand that MW Bros. Garner and Horne side-stepped the Masonic Code in issuing the edict in the way that they did. The RRCG had formally requested recognition by the Grand Lodge and this was never denied. It couldn’t be denied because they had met all of the requirements. Instead a vague edict never naming the RRCG was sent out that declared all unrecognized bodies to be clandestine. The formal request by the RRCG for recognition was never brought before the Grand Lodge as required by the Masonic Code.

The young Masons were well within their rights to refuse to sign the forms sent to them demanding they declare their guilt. These brothers were innocent of any un-Masonic conduct.

There’s more to this story yet…

Fri Aug 25, 05:11:05 PM


Anonymous said...
Tom, you know I thought this whole thing was about pride and ego, especially when it concerned Jeff Peace. Now I’m beginning to see things a little different. I never knew Jeff was so involved in working to help turn things around. Ed told me he had never held any position in the fraternity.

We should all be ashamed of what happened in Georgia. I don’t know about you but I would have refused to sign a confession of guilt too if I thought I was innocent. To me this isn’t about the RRCG as much as it is the un-Masonic conduct of Grand Lodge officers against brothers without a way to defend them selves.

Bill

Fri Aug 25, 07:15:04 PM


Bro. Secretary said...
When you step back from this situation and contemplate its meaning to Freemasonry and Masonic jurisprudence you come away with a few interesting thoughts.

Motives:

Bro. Jeff was working to make Georgia Freemasonry enjoyable for young people by trying to understand what they wanted. He worked hard to build a more youthful membership at the Valley of Atlanta. He did the same thing at his lodge. His motive was to build a better Freemasonry in Georgia.

The members of the RRCG wanted more Masonic education and a better Masonic experience.

MW Bro. Horne was motivated by misinformation and pride.

MW Bro. Garner was motivated by peer pressure.

Everyone else involved had something personal to gain from it.


Jurisprudence:

The RRCG did what was requested of them. They submitted their materials and met with the committee appointed by MW Bro. Garner. MW Bro. Garner instructed the committee to not reveal or discuss anything with the members of the RRCG. He kept everything a secret that should have been made available not only to the members of the RRCG but to the Grand Lodge of Georgia. He acted both inappropriately and ultimately un-Masonically.

The brothers from the RRCG should all be immediately reinstated and receive an official apology from the Grand Lodge of Georgia.

The conspirators, including the Past Grand Masters, should all be brought up on charges in their respective lodges for gross un-Masonic conduct to include defaming the good name of Master Masons, failure to negotiate in good faith, and conspiracy against brother Master Masons. There is more than enough evidence in the form of emails to prove beyond any shadow of doubt that they are guilty of all of the above.

Should they be expelled? I leave that up to your personal judgment and that of the Georgia Trial Commission.

It is my opinion that this type of behavior by Masons towards other Masons is at the root of our present membership problems. If we continue to allow this type of behavior to go unpunished then we will reap the results of our own apathy.

Fri Aug 25, 08:28:28 PM


Bro. Secretary said...
This my final post. Before I finish I must also address Bro. Peace’s sarcastic web page about MW Bro. Horne. When did it happen and why?

The web page in question came after MW Bro. Horne called Bro. Peace a liar, removed him from the Lodge of Perfection line, and secretly took away his status as a Fellow to the Supreme Council. These events, however, did not trigger the creation of the web page.

Each year the Valley of Atlanta holds a meeting for all of the newly made members. Supposedly this meeting is to learn what they would like to see at the Scottish Rite and how they believe things might be improved. Each year the answers are pretty much the same and nothing is ever done to address the issues. Bro. Horne was late for this particular meeting and showed up towards the end. He read the list that had been created which included things like –

More education
Take the degrees more slowly
Plan events for young Masons

After reading the list of recommendations MW Bro. Horne told the group that all of these things had been tried before and failed, and that they were a waste of time. As he was leaving one of the new brothers yelled to him and said, “Are you looking for quality or quantity?” to which MW Bro. Horne replied, “Quantity.”

Bro. Peace took offense at this remark and published it on his web site. It was removed about eight hours later after a brother whispered words of counsel in his ear.

At a meeting with several Past Grand Masters, including MW Bro. Horne, Bro. Peace apologized for his actions and the apology was warmly received and accepted by all, including MW Bro. Horne. A few months later Bro. Peace had lunch with MW Bro. Horne and again apologized for his earlier actions.

All of us have done things that we regretted but usually our pride comes between us and remedying the situation. Bro. Peace conducted himself like a Mason by overcoming his pride and doing what was right as opposed to what was easy.

MW Bro. Horne used his influence as a Masonic grandfather to carry out a personal vendetta. I’ll leave it up to your judgment whether or not this should be viewed as acceptable conduct for a Mason of his stature.

Sat Aug 26, 11:53:58 AM


Anonymous said...
Brothers,
you think you have problems in Ga.?
If you were to know all that has gone on, and is going on in Arkansas you would not belive it!
Laws are being broken by the current members of the Grand Lodge, and several Jr PGM's. They are making up the rules and laws as they feel that will benifit them.Plans to expell more are in the works, DDGM's are holding practice trials for expelling anyone who will speak up!
There have been over 20 expulsions of good and true Master Masons, not only not by the by laws, but without benifit of legal trials.
Any good mason would not belive what has taken place! Unless you can see first hand, you would say "impossible", but is is, and has! Should this continue, I fear that Masonry in Arkansas will soon not longer be!

Sat Aug 26, 02:23:18 PM


Josh Feldman said...
I used to think the UGLA was about a gigantic ego trip but now I realize it's about brotherhood. These guys stuck together through some very bad circumstances. I don't think the brothers in my lodge would have stood behind me if it meant losing their membership. As a young Mason this is the kind of brotherhood I want and need in my life. Do I have to quit mainstream Masonry to find it?