The Cross Keys March 2018
Number 207
The Monthly Newsletter of Lodge Houstoun St. Johnstone No.242
Cross Keys March 2018
From the Editor The opening article relates to an issue which has been discussed for many years with no real solutions. Indeed, it is not just a masonic problem, but all organisation suffer from numbers in the current climate. However, this article looks at it from another angle and perhaps the numbers are not a problem. Read on….. The article entitled Enough is Enough was published by the UGLE after an erroneous article appeared in a newspaper which clearly had not be researched or verified. All masons should be aware of its content and how ridiculous some articles in papers are, if we didn’t know that already. Another short article is about one Russian Freemason and this will follow on in April about another, Melissino who developed his own Rite. Looking at Freemasons across the world, it is quite amazing to see how the Craft has developed into the current system or systems. Many well educated brethren have developed degrees and rites and this is a strength although it does make the history very complicated which university researchers have discovered. This, however, makes it exceedingly interesting. The Cross Keys is a free magazine distributed across the many countries in order to spread the good (and sometimes not so good) qualities of the Craft. All views are of individual brothers and not any organised body. Editor: Bro. N. Grant Macleod PM of Lodge Houstoun St. Johnstone No. 242 PM of The Anchor Lodge of Research No.1814 Past Provincial Grand Secretary of the Province of Renfrewshire East. Proof Reader: Bro. Allan Stobo PM of Lodge Houstoun St. Johnstone No. 242 Treasurer 242
All Scottish Constitution.
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In this issue: Whither are we going?.......... 3 Ancient Egypt ……………... 4 Enough is Enough …………. 5 External Influences ……….. 6 The Grand Mystery ……….. 7 Scottish Rite Temple ………. 8 Alzheimer’s ………………... 9 Royal Arch ………………… 10 Minute Book ……………….. 11 Russian Freemasons ………. 13 Sheffield Utd ………………. 14 Jersey Temple ……………… 15 Book Review ……………….. 17
March Meetings Thursday 8th MM by OBs Thursday 22nd PGL Visitation & Lecture 7.30pm start
W
Whither are we going?
here is Craft Masonry going? How do we get it back on track? What are we going to do about the continuing loss of membership?
There is a requirement by Candidates, before they can even go to another Degree, to write a paper about what they understand from the ceremonies that they have already been through. There is a much more philosophical view of what Masonry means to the individual.
No-one has got any adequate answers to these problems which have befuddled Grand Lodges now for a most ten or fifteen Many younger brethren have a spiritual years. Scotland, England, Australia, New growth and development than exists with Zealand and Canada, all have a crisis in Craft many current brethren. Know thyself is more Masonry. In Australia the loss in State Grand prevalent today in a fast moving world than Lodges of Craft Masons has almost ap- ever before. Lodges should be able to offer proached catastrophic proportions. For ex- more than mere ritual often done badly in ample, Queensland had, for a huge state, some lodges. about 27,000 Masons; today Queensland has 13,500 Masons. So And maybe because we this is an indication We are far too obsessed with replacing are Anglo-Saxons and that it is not just the not French or Italian, the numbers that we are losing? changing social order we have to now go back that is making Freemaand make Freemasonry sonry unattractive for men to join. attractive where it’s not just merely going through a ceremony, having a dinner and goWe have got to start looking at what the ing home, however well it’s done but the past is all about. We practise our rituals men, whatever age they are when they are very diligently. We put our hearts and our being initiated, feel that their lives have been souls into trying to make the Candidate for changed irrevocably from the time that they Initiation feel that he has gone through stepped into that Lodge room. There has got something very special. After you have been to be some form of view that they are being through any initiation you should actually regenerated as human beings and that they feel that you have been touched in a very have got to go out into the world and really special way, that you are a changed man, practise those virtues that we would expect something invisible has happened to you. I of Masons and I don’t mean charity. don’t believe that this is always the case. We are far too obsessed with replacing the We are obsessed with charity in Freemasonnumbers that we are losing. ry. What I mean is “Charity of the Heart.” I think it is about time that we all actually Maybe we have got to sit back and take loved our Brethren from Grand Lodge downstock and look at some of our continental wards and do not think that we are merely counterparts where Masonry is actually backsides on seats, paying capitation fees, quite stable. If you look at French, Belgian, and where nobody really cares very much Swedish or German Masonry, far from it be- and brotherly love is an empty statement. ing in decline it has stabilised and actually Many brethren are being lost to newer orhas maintained its numbers. We have to ders that offer better teachings. ask: “Why have they had success where we have not?” The answer is that they come I really do believe that we have to have a funfrom, a different school of thought. Their damental re-think of what we believe MaMasonry is very esoteric in part. sonry should be.
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Ancient Egypt & Freemasonry? Freemasonry means different things to different people. Ask ten Freemasons what they do and why they do it and you’re likely to receive ten different answers. But common to every variation of answer will be the strain that Freemasonry makes good men better, being as it is a system of selfimprovement tried and tested over centuries. The uneducated with no interest in mystical traditions and the esoteric may regard Ancient Egypt as little more than a place of pagan worship, strange hieroglyphics and monuments erected by thousands of Hebrew slaves. But those more learned, especially those having undertaken the initiative rituals of Freemasonry, will see a link between the Egyptian metaphysical tradition and modern mystery schools, of which Freemasonry is one. Masonic teaching centres on its initiation rituals. Each of Freemasonry’s three degrees takes the candidate through a journey steeped in history, symbolism and allegory to teach him lessons of how to raise his divine spark, realize his relationship to a higher power (God, Grand Architect, Supreme Being, etc) and live a life of moral rectitude. Another link between modern Freemasonry and Egypt is the Isis - Osiris story that formed the crux of the Ancient Egyptian belief system. In the Egyptian rites, Horus is the savior-avenger, son of Isis, magically conceived through ritual after the brutal murder of her husband / brother Osiris. We can apply this myth to modern Freemasonry’s allegory of the murder of Hiram Abiff, the chief architect of Solomon’s Temple. Isis, made a widow by Osiris’ murder gives birth through initiation ritual to Horus, the redeemer, raised solely that me may avenge the destruction of wisdom (by Set aka chaos) and restore peace, harmony
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and the just god, in whom there is no death (the Divine Spark within). Another similarity is the white apron. When a candidate becomes a Freemason, he is presented with a white apron consisting of a square overlaid with a triangle (semi circle in Scotland). The apex of the triangular flap represents the divine spark we must endeavour to recover. It is the part of us made in the image of our Creator, and there’s no better geometric figure to symbolize this than the triangle. After all, geometrically a triangle is the very first shape that can be made by drawing straight lines. This is why the number 3 was venerated by the ancients and still is to this day. The Masonic symbol of the Point Within a Circle inside two parallel, perpendicular lines is steeped in antiquity. Early Egyptian monuments have been discovered inscribed with the symbol of God — represented by the Alpha and Omega — in the centre of a circle bordered by two perpendicular, parallel serpents. In many ancient belief systems and mystery schools, a circle was used to symbolize God as, like a circle, God has no beginning and no end. The connections between both systems are many and only a few are presented in this article. To say that Freemasonry was born from the Egyptian Mystery Schools and their initiation rituals is true in part. Nobody can claim to know the full history of Freemasonry and the origin of each of its symbols. The Egyptian Mystery Schools played a part in its development, as did those of the Greeks, Romans, Druids, Essenes, Cathars, Rosicrucians, Alchemists, and the guilds of the Medieval Stone Masons. By Bro. Michael Schiavello PM Lodge 44 (Las Vegas)
Enough is Enough The following is the response from the English Grand Lodge about an article that appeared in The Guardian newspaper which contained a number of errors: At the United Grand Lodge of England, we value honesty, integrity and service to the community above all else. Last year we raised over £33 million for good causes. As an organisation we welcome individuals from all walks of life, of any race, faith, age, class or political persuasion. Throughout our 300 year history, when people have suffered discrimination Freemasonry has embraced them into our lodges as equals. The United Grand Lodge of England believes that the ongoing gross misrepresentation of its 200,000 plus members is discrimination. Pure and simple. Our members shouldn’t have to feel undeservedly stigmatised. No other organisation would stand for this and nor shall we. I have written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to make this case. I appreciate that you may have questions about who we are and what we do, so why not ask those who know? Over the next six months our members will be running a series of open evenings and Q & A events up and down the country. These will be promoted in the local media and on our website. I am also happy to answer any queries directly. Please feel free to write to me here at Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ and I will come back to you. We’re open. Dr David Staples Chief Executive The United Grand Lodge of England
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External Influences on the Craft There are a huge range of influences of the Craft from ritual to format so I would like to focus on one. Rosicrucianism. Lodges did not originate from old Rosicrucian societies, but formed from the ancient craft of stonemasonry and then developed by many brethren over many years. So what influence did brothers of the Rose & Cross have on us? In 1598, William Schaw, Master of Works to the King in Scotland, issued his first set of statutes giving masonic lodges rules from which to work across the whole country. Indeed, really a first set of constitutions for the Craft. This was published only 16 years before the first Rosicrucian document, the Fama. It all likelihood, Rosicrucian ideas had existed before this and Schaw, being an educated man, may have been exposed to them or Hermetic/ alchemical ideas. Schaw died in 1602 and approximately 120 years later, the development of our two degree system to the current system was under way. Rosicrucianism was based on Christian Rosenkreuz’s teachings. He was a doctor who discovered and learned esoteric wisdom on a pilgrimage to the Middle East among Turkish, Arab and Persian sages, possibly Sufi or Zoroastrian masters, supposedly in the early 15th century; returned and founded the Fraternity of the Rose Cross. It is described that his body, as discovered by a Brother of the Order, was in a perfect state
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of preservation 120 years after his death (which occurred in absolute secrecy) – as Rosenkreuz had predicted — in a heptagonal chamber erected by himself as a storehouse of knowledge. Coincidence? Of course. Did the surge of non-operative gentlemen who join operative lodges in the 17th century have joined looking for enlightenment? Rosicrucian enlightenment that was popular across Europe. Perhaps. This might explain why they disappeared from lodges very quickly as they did not contain mystical knowledge. The conjecture that the Craft might have been influenced by Rosicrucian ideas is more likely than the converse. King Solomon’s temple was a popular narrative among Hermetic circles and Rosicrucian masons such as Moray and Ashmole might have had an influence in adding such lessons. Of course, Rosenkreuz was not real, but was the personification of the true pansophist who would be able to lead the way out of the intellectual and spiritual chaos of the early 1600s. In the 21st century, where a recent survey revealed only 28% of people have a religion and with a decline of morals, normal human values of decency have disappeared in many areas. Now more than ever, do we need a resurrection of the Christian Rosenkreuz ideology.
The Grand Mystery Laid Open An academic of Freemasonry, Bro. Jan Snoek, believed the word was never lost, but the method of pronouncing the word was lost. This is a Kabbalistic way of thinking and apart from Rosicrucian documents, it seldom appears in other masonic documents. However, there is one exception—the Grand Mystery Laid Open (a masonic exposure) which appeared in 1726 with the following questions and answers: Q A
How many signs has a true mason? Nine which are distinguished into Spiritual and Temporal
Q A
How many Temporal signs are there? Three
Q A
Have the six Spiritual signs any names? Yes, but are not divulged to any new admitted member because they are Cabalistical
Q A
What is it? (Referring to a secret word) It is a cabalistical word
After the five PoF, it continues: Q A
Who is the Grand Master of all lodges in the world? INRI
Quite why this document refers to Kabbala is uncertain, but as an exposure, it is unlikely to have ‘invented’ items as it was meant to reveal the secrets of the Craft. Therefore, it is possible that there were some Kabbalistic influences on the ritual. This, however, might only have been in one area and by a few brethren enlightened in such mysteries. The title ‘Grand Mystery’ might even be a hint of what was contained therein. All speculation, but proof that the evolution is indeed an incredibly complicated story that might never be unravelled.
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Scottish Rite Cathedral, Texas
The Scottish Rite in San Antonia, Texas has a magnificent building with a very interesting history. Construction began on it in 1922 and was completed in 1924, at a cost of $1.5 million. The building features notable architectural elements including: gabled front portico, Corinthian columns, a terracotta frieze, and elaborately sculpted bronze front doors featuring George Washington and Sam Houston (to the right). The building houses a library and museum and their website has a guided tour of the building: http://librarymuseum.albertpikedemolay.org/ It has been a Texas Historical landmark since 1987 and the building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1996. As a result, the building looks as good today as it did in the 1950s photo above.
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Can Masonry help Alzheimer’s? MANY FREEMASONS KNOW of someone who has suffered or died from Alzheimer’s. More than five million Americans are living with the disease. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. What may be of a more immediate concern for Masons is that an estimated one in three of our older members and/or their spouses will either develop Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia in their life time. But did you know Masonry is fighting this dreaded disease. How? Read on! We know there is a large number of Masons who are in the age group likely to develop this terrible disease. Yet, being an active Mason may actually help fight off Alzheimer’s! One of the factors in the cause of Alzheimer’s is "decline of intellectual stimulation." Masonry offers a direct counter to that decline in several ways. Masonry is, by its very nature, a social activity. Involvement in meetings in and outside of the lodge and special events, allow our Lodge members to have a continued contact with friends and brothers with whom they can interact. There is an occasional stimulating conversations, discussion, activity planning and/or simply enjoying the company of other Masons, all of which contribute to mental stimuli thereby fighting Alzheimer’s before it begins! Remarkably, even Masonic ritual also contributes to the war against the disease. By being an active Mason, in your Lodge or Valley, you are forcing your brain to learn, retain, and present parts of our rituals during opening and closing of the Lodge and in the performance of the degrees. This is particularly important to those members who are over 60 years of age. The very performance of the various parts helps the retention of memory and the prevention of Alzheimer’s. By encouraging the member to take on new roles goes a step further in keeping the brain active, thereby fighting the disease. Both the Scottish Rite and other Orders offer a series of degrees beyond the Lodge with rituals that can be taken, observed, and learned, all of which will contribute to the continued stimulation of the brain, keeping those nerve cells in the hippocampus active and firing.
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Masonic literature opens up a world of books and articles that present stimuli. One can read the host of historical Masonic books and articles. How might they benefit us? By making the Mason use his mind to determine which are facts and which are fiction, is adding to the mental stimuli needed to fight Alzheimer’s. Likewise there are a host of books on the more esoteric side of the Craft, which may challenge the member’s personal beliefs and ideas. Try reading The Origins of The Freemasonry by David Stevenson, one of Gould's volumes, the history by Bernard Jones in his Compendium, Harry Carr’s World of Freemasonry, Walter Wilmshurst’s The Meaning of Masonry, Fabio Venzi's Freemasonry, the Esoteric Tradition or any other of thousands of books on Masonry. All of the above shows that Masonry is contributing to brain fitness goals:
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Encouraging members to becoming a life-long learner;
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Learning a new skill, a new part in your lodge’s ritual, or developing a program;
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Trying new, novel intellectual tasks, and get out of the old repetition of over-learned tasks. Shaking up your routine makes your brain work harder.
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Performing a new role of a new degree; Embracing mental challenges by reading, learning, and seeing the analogies between Masonic rituals and other activities from around the world.
Masonry provides the Mason and his family with a social life, and by being an active Mason you are staying mentally active (provided you stay awake in the meetings) all the while improving your memory, reasoning, and thinking skills—all of which are ways to help ward off the onset of Alzheimer’s. By being an active Mason you are in the first line of attack against this disease. Bro. Walter Benesch Washington, DC from December edition of the Scottish Rite Journal
Royal Arch Question The following quote has been taken from the 1998 Roll Book of the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland. A question was sent to the Grand Scribe E regarding the VSL in the mark section of a RA Chapter. The answer also included “the mark degree is reckoned as the Fourth Degree in Masonry” although it does mention that in Craft lodges it is part of the FC. I have to ask, by whom is it considered the fourth degree? And it then follows that the RA degree is the 5th or 6th (depending on whether the veils ceremony is a degree)? Surely not!!
The RA is often cited as the fourth degree in the English Constitution and the argument is feasible, but not the MMM. A degree which Scots tend to confer annually is often done with a bit of humour. It’s difficult to take it seriously as a contender as a ‘real’ degree in the masonic progression. I’m sure there are plenty of RA Masons with views at where the degree stands and no doubt it may differ from constitution to constitution. I would be very interested to hear some views and happy to publish some.
Freemasons and their Sons Are you a father, do you have a son, is he in the lodge? I wonder how many can answer “yes” to these questions. It is a real shame when a son opts not to join and yet this is more and more the case today. It was a very common phenomenon not so long ago, but today less so. Why should this be? The Craft has not changed that much (is that an issue?). All too often I hear a son doesn’t want to join because it has taken their father away too much from family life. In many cases, this might well be the reason despite lodges telling brethren that family and work commitments must come first. To a certain extent then, these brethren are not doing what their lodge has instructed them. Sadly today, many brethren are being called up to do more and more due to depleted numbers. However, the days of visiting 3/4/5 times per week are probably gone as young brethren with young families are not willing to make this commitment unless, of course, they want to alienate their children or seek a divorce. The expectations of masters must change and their ability to visit must be respected. There will always be brethren who can be deputised, whether they have retired or their children have moved on. Let’s use them officially and that way, we might retain some older brethren and PMs who feel they are done. Cross Keys March 2018
The above is an excerpt from Bro. George Draffen’s book Masonic Records 1736—1950. It lists all lodges, home and abroad or defunct, chartered by the Grand Lodge, Mother Kilwinning and the Lodge of Melrose. The various re-numbering exercises at GL show the numbers 242 had before. A quick check of the GL Yearbook will shown
that Lodge St. Ninian’s Operative is no longer active and the Number 243 is omitted from current lists. Below is the table showing the colours of the regalia—in 1848 and 1896, it was only crimson which explains why we have an old crimson leather apron (no blue at all). From 1904, it is the current crimson and blue.
Masonic Dates Continuing with some notable dates: 1732—General James Keith is master of a lodge in Russia
1733—Lodge of St. John formed in Boston, Massachusetts 1735—Formation of a lodge in Stockholm, Sweden 1736—Formation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland 1737—Chevalier Ramsay delivers the famous oration promoting other orders 1738—First attack on the Craft by the Catholic church 1739—First PGM appointed 1740—Grand Lodge of All England becomes dormant 1742—William Preston (Prestonian Lecture) in England born in Edinburgh Cross Keys March 2018
Puerto Rica
Symbolism Misconceptions
Lodges do not need to be huge and fancy. This lovely lodge room in Cider, Puerto Rico of Respectable Lodge Eternal Spring No. 59, is completely functional to enter an apprentice. It might be small, but it has more than some Scottish lodges have in their lodge room. Any candidate being entered is likely to remember his degree in this temple. To the right, have symbols been inspired from elsewhere? In all likelihood, they have as very few symbols today are completely original. Whether they have been plagiarised directly or indirectly doesn’t really matter as whoever has designed a symbol, cannot do so in a bubble without any knowledge of the past. Perhaps if we see some masonic symbolism in signs then we should take it as a complement.
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Russian Freemasons Over the course of the next few editions, I will look at some Russian Freemasons and give a very brief outline of their background. The first is Alexander Fyodorovich Labzin who was born in Moscow in April 1766. From an early age, he showed an extraordinary capacity and interest in education when only ten years later he entered a classical school attached to the Moscow University and in 1780 became an undergraduate of that university. Much of the education at that time in the university was conducted by prominent masons such as Novikov, Heraskoff and Schwarz. He left university four years later and entered into Government service making a brilliant career and ending as Vice President of the Imperial Academy of Arts. However, he was an active freemason during this period. He joined Lodge of the Dying Sphinx in St. Petersburg and became master in 1800. Labzin was also able to continue writing and published many works of a spiritual and moral nature often translating many works from German mystics. He wrote most articles for the periodical The Sion’s Messenger which really continued the work of Russian masons of the 18th century. The publication was stopped in 1806, but re-started in 1817 by order of the Emperor. Unfortunately, he had one failing—his quick temper which after refusing to apologise to a friend of the President of the Academy who he believed should not be given honorary membership to the Academy, was dismissed and sent to a small district on the Volga. With little money, he and his wife suffered greatly until local freemasons came to his assistance. Sadly his health never recovered and he died in 1825 aged only 59. His gravestone has the following verse from another brother: All his life he was true to the teaching of Christ He lived in accordance with his faith And, having shown the brethren the way to the saviour’s word, He sanctified the rest of his days by suffering.
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PGL of Renfrewshire West Stakeholder participation and Social Inclusion. When I worked in local government (Oh, how I miss it), these were phrases which caused eyes to roll and great sighs to be emitted! Towards the end of my working life, I was required by Central Government to develop a rolling three-year plan for the development and improvement of my function (Procurement) and this had to include comprehensive sections on Stakeholder participation and Social Inclusion. Strangely enough, when I had started in Local Government more than thirty years previously, these terms were unheard of and perhaps it was just my imagination but the roads seemed in better condition, bins were lifted regularly, children seemed better educated and life seemed much more simple (even without computers)! Oh well, that’s progress I suppose but it did seem as if we had more time to get on with the “day job” as in recent years, it was as if most of my time was taken up with strategic planning, otherwise known as justifying my existence. To be fair (and this is just a personal comment), I sometimes think that we could do with a wee bit more long-term strategic planning within our organisation. At Grand Lodge, there is much discussion going on regarding the re-organisation of the committee structure but I can’t help but feel this is the wrong way round. Perhaps it might be better if we developed a 5/10 year plan of where we want the Craft to be with objectives and measurable targets and then developed a committee structure to deliver? Back to stakeholder management and social inclusion! I’m not suggesting that each Lodge develops a comprehensive and complicated plan for its future objectives but it would not do any harm to give some thought as to how to develop stakeholder (member) participation and inclusion (making members feel part of the Lodge, particularly new members, a Best Practice Guide if you like). Towards the end of my Commission, I was drawing attention to the poor retention rates of new members within the Craft and according to the figures which have become available, it is likely that for every new initiate who joins a Lodge, only one in five will still be regularly attending his Lodge with-
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in five years with the greatest loss taking place within the first 18/24 months. It is very clear that unless we make an effort to involve (inclusion) the new members at the outset and make him feel part of the Lodge (become a stakeholder), then the new member will begin to drift away from the Lodge and what is undoubtedly true is that once a member has stopped attending, it is extremely difficult to encourage them to return. There is a small working group set up by the Information and Communications Committee of Grand Lodge who were initially tasked to look at the subject of Recruitment and Retention (which is where the retention figures came from) and which has more recently turned its attention to how to encourage new members to become more involved in the Lodge. To this end, it is hoped that in the not too distant future, the Grand Lodge of Scotland will publish a booklet which will deal with two aspects of interest; firstly, Masonic Etiquette and secondly, Encouragement of new members, which will be in a simple “do’s and do not’s” format. Now I’m sure if this publication comes to fruition, many will look at it and simply ridicule it and state that the contents are just common sense but I wonder how many of the suggestions are actually practised within a Lodge nowadays. The “Best Practice” guide is intended to cover a new member’s journey from initial enquiry to join a Lodge through to his becoming an active and contributing member and I have provided a flavour of the content below, which deals with stimulating the interest of the new member. On becoming a full member: Ignoring a new member will be the quickest way to lose him; Encourage him to visit other Lodges; Encourage him to attend practice sessions; Encourage his interest in learning ritual (get him first, to read a portion of ritual at a practice session, before delivering it from memory); Make him feel included by getting him involved in helping with refreshments, selling raffle
PGL of Renfrewshire West (ctd) tickets, putting away Lodge furnishings etc at the close of a meeting. This will help him to get to know the other members of the Lodge. Now, I’m sure many of you will already be criticising the format and content, too obvious – too simplistic perhaps but now ask yourselves, can you honestly say that the five steps above are practised within your own respective Lodges. If they are, that’s great but I suspect that too many times, new members are left to their own devices. They do not feel as if they are included or have become stakeholders. The quickest way to lose members is to ignore them. The duty of the Master, Wardens, Office-bearers and members of a Lodge does not end with the conclusion of the Candidate’s degree – it is just beginning! Finally, during the last couple of weeks of my Commission as Provincial Grand Master, I did try to get around as many of the Lodges as possible to express
my thanks for all the support over the last five years. If I missed you at any of the meetings, please be assured that I very much appreciated all the support of the Commissioned and elective office-bearers of Provincial Grand Lodge, of Lodges and of individual brethren. I wish the new Commission and newly installed non-commissioned office-bearers of Provincial Grand Lodge every happiness and success and hope that they will be able to enjoy the same level of support that I received during my tenure of office. The installation of the Provincial Grand Master, Brother Robert McIntyre and his Commissioned office-bearers by the Grand Master Mason, Brother Charles Iain Robert Wolrige-Gordon and a deputation from the Grand Lodge of Scotland will take place on Saturday 17th March 2018, within the Saloon of Greenock Town Hall at 1.00 pm prompt. Brethren attending the meeting are requested to be seated by 12.50 pm. Thanks to Bro. Jim Livingstone IPPGM for this article
Provincial Grand Master Brother Robin McIntyre and members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Renfrewshire West at the annual meeting on Friday 2nd February 2018.
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Sheffield Utd The vast majority of Sheffield football fans would immediately recognise the name of Charles Clegg. But what about Charles Stokes who died 104 years ago last October. A football administrator par excellence who was around at the birth of most of Sheffield’s football institutions and is single-handedly responsible for the creation of Sheffield United. Until two years ago he was Sheffield United’s longest ever serving Chairman but that accolade now belongs to current Honorary Chairman, Kevin McCabe. Charles Stokes was born on the 30th December 1847 and died 8th October 1913 and is buried in Sheffield General Cemetery, off Ecclesall Road. He was Sheffield’s first dentist in 1864 and lived and ran dental surgeries on London Road for most of his life. He had various dental establishments throughout his career, working at number 192 in 1881 and number 78 in 1901 and bought number 240 London Road when it was built. His son Percy picked up the drill after his father’s death and 240 London Road is still a dentist today. He was also active in the Freemasonry world, becoming a Grand Deacon of The United Grand Lodge of England and this photo from Tapton Hall shows him in his Grand Deacon’s regalia.
His importance to the Blades was also recognised in life when he became Sheffield United FC Chairman in the 1896-97 season when the clubs first chairman M.J. Ellison died. He remained chairman for a total of 18 seasons until he died.
Unique Apron? A printed apron with a segmental flap depicting two pillars and Knight Templar and Ancient & Accepted Rite symbols. Knight Templar breast jewels in various styles, one with a mixture of some A&A Rite symbols. Supreme Council Building, London.
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Jersey Masonic Hall
The magnificent building above has been the home the Jersey lodges since 1844. It has been ransacked by Nazis, refurbished eight years ago costing £50,000 and now faces an annual repair bill of £2500. As a result, the brethren has sought permission to build flats to the rear of the building. Under the plans, the caretaker’s home to the rear of the temple would be demolished to make way for five one-bedroom, and one, two-bedroom flats. The planning application also includes proposals for a new kitchen, stores, meeting room and a lift in the main building. It’s great to see the freemasons on Jersey take the initiative to save their building. This might be the way forward for many lodges which unfortunately are just simple closing their doors, selling up and meeting in local premises or another lodge room or returning their charters. Perhaps Grand Lodges/PGLs can offer support and advice if a lodge would like to develop their building or ground?
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Adverse Comments from Pike “The Blue Degrees are but the outer court or portico of the temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine he understands them. Their true explanation is reserved for the Adepts, the Princes of Masonry…..it is well enough for the mass of those called Masons, to imagine that all is contained in the Blue Degree; and who so attempts to undeceive them will labour in vain, and without any true reward violate his obligation as an Adept. Truly Masonry is the veritable
Sphinx, buried to the head in the sands heaped round it by the ages.” From Morals & Dogma P.819 What exactly is he getting at? That masons who progress no further than lodge or chapter know little about the Craft in general. Most would agree with this statement, but to say they are being deceived for some kind of ‘godly’ knowledge is a bit far fetched. I would agree that Masons who don’t venture further are missing out on an unmissable journey. If you haven’t already, take that step.
Unusual Certificate Old Honorary Membership certificate from Lodge Clydesdale No.551 in Larkhall, Lanarkshire dated 1916. It is rather curious as the PM jewel on the left is English and the jewel on the right is more akin to Royal Arch Masonry than the Craft. However, as these were governed by the lodge and not Grand Lodge, lodges made their own design and possibly this depended on the background of the brother drawing the symbols.
Cross Keys March 2018
Spiritual Meaning in the Craft It is obvious that Freemasonry impacts the lives of those that become involved, though it impacts each life differently; what one Freemason gains from the Craft is sometimes very different from what another Mason gains. I was talking to a fellow brother concerning the different ways we get inspiration and meaning from Freemasonry, a conversation which many Freemasons have probably had over the years.
For me there is a spiritual meaning in the way we acknowledge the Great Architect, and how the teachings follow a moralistic pathway. The initiatory experience could certainly be seen as spiritual, with the way that initiation has been vital to societies and religions dating back to the earliest recorded times. In my recent book The Lost Rites and Rituals of Freemasonry (book review to follow in April), I discuss how certain Masons used Freemasonry as a gateway to explore other ways of contacting the Divine, these Masons embracing the spiritual values of the Craft and creating further degrees to search for the Divine. The lodge room as sacred ground still reverberates with us, with the theme of architecture embodying the Divine.
tered Apprentice to Fellow Craft, then to Master Mason, each degree making a good man better, making him more professional in his outlook. We learn from the working tools how education is important, and we learn the ritual, not just to perform it better in the ceremony but to understand it better. It is not surprising that Freemasons support education in their society, with many lodge records showing donations for local schools, colleges and libraries. And education certainly entwines with charity as a meaning of Freemasonry, not just in the way that Freemasons mutually support each other in the lodge but also in the way they support their communities, donating to hospitals, hospices, care homes and many other worthy causes. Charity has been a focus of Freemasonry for centuries, with evidence of charitable giving in the eighteenth century. Be it esoteric meanings of a spiritual nature, education, moral improvement, charity or just a meeting place with likeminded people, Freemasonry does mean many things to different people. This is the philosophy of Freemasonry; to make the world a better place, something that many Freemasons have tried to do from George Washington to Edward Jenner. This we can learn from our ritual, a deeper understanding of how to improve the world around us. By Bro. David Harrison (Masonic Author)
This certainly entwines with an educational meaning; the pathway of learning from En-
Cross Keys March 2018
Foundation Stone
It’s great to see some old traditions being maintained today. The Grand Master of Russia Bro. Andrei Bogdanov, is seen laying the foundation stone of a new lodge.
New Children’s Library Bulgarian brethren have worked together to renovate this children’s library in Sophia. It is part of the Angels Foundation which looks after orphaned children. It enables them to grow up in a normal, family environment. This month also marks the 136th Anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.
Cross Keys March 2018
In Memoriam It is with deep sadness and much regret that we have to inform you of a loss sustained to the craft in Renfrewshire in the passing to the Grand Lodge above of the following Brother: Bro. Rev. Arthur Sherratt PM 370
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Cross Keys March 2018