100115-177

Weekly Masonic Newsletter 15 January 2010

Number 177 Find old issues here

Pennsylvania Grand Master makes reforms … rattles some Brethren 4 Lincoln Degree … open to the public in Quincy 2 Dwindling membership in Kansas 7 Indoor Golf in Halifax MA 10 Aleister Crowley 11 Jewish Masonic point of view 14 Jeremy Ladd Cross 17 History of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Part 1. 22 Masons run Coyote Calling Contest 23 Jose Rizal Day in the Philippines 24 Winter Social & Dance in Quincy 28 MA 8th District List of Events 29 MA 8th District NEW List of Fraternals & Officials 29 Roast of RW Lonnie Piper 3

Rural Lodge AF&AM

1170 Hancock Street, Quincy MA, USA

www.RuralLodge.org Answering service: 781 682 8206

Master 2009-2010 Wor William S McFadden

Testimonial Dinner

RW Lonnie Piper 6:00pm Saturday 23 January 2010 at Quincy Masonic Building

The Not-So-Secrets of the Temple PA Grand Master’s reforms.

Op-Ed Contributor

By HOLLY BRUBACH New York Times.

8 January 2010 Pittsburgh IN the final days of a year dominated by repeated — and mostly unheeded — calls for full disclosure on the part of Wall Street banks, pharmaceutical companies, the NFL and any number of other organizations, transparency arrived out of the blue from an unlikely quarter if ever there was one: the Freemasons.

Thanks go not to Dan Brown, whose latest novel, “The Lost Symbol,” focuses on the notoriously mysterious fraternal order, but to Tom Sturgeon, a career law-enforcement officer, who was installed as Right Worshipful Grand Master for Pennsylvania on28 December. His ceremony, in a break with centuries-old Masonic tradition, was held at a convention center here and open to the public. “We need to make Freemasonry more contemporary,” Mr. Sturgeon told me, “to make it reflect 2010, not 1910 — or 1810.”

Nonetheless, the audience of about 1,200 people seemed to consist primarily of members and their families with a sizeable contingent of Masonic dignitaries from 13 other states and Canada.

Many had come in full regalia, sporting tailcoats, purple moire or black velvet “collars,” satin aprons embroidered with esoteric symbols, white gloves, swords — all telegraphing distinctions of rank legible only to insiders.

Freemasonry in America is organized by state — there is no higher governing body — and Pennsylvania is the largest Masonic jurisdiction in the world, with a spectacular temple in Philadelphia, completed in 1873, as its headquarters. Mr. Sturgeon was sworn in reciting the same oath, or “obligation,” Benjamin Franklin recited 275 years ago when he took the same office.

If the ceremony at the convention center was any indication, it appears that not much has changed in the interim, although the torches around the altar are now electric and the musical repertoire has been updated to include “Beer Barrel Polka” and “No Man Is an Island.” Membership has been declining (currently 120,000 in Pennsylvania, down from 260,000 when Mr. Sturgeon joined in 1965) and the median age has been steadily climbing (now 68).

“Brethren, ladies and friends,” Mr. Sturgeon greeted the audience for his installation. “The 21st-century Masonic Renaissance starts today!”

The “renaissance” is Mr. Sturgeon’s agenda for reform, jump-starting a membership drive with a new strategy that permits “selective invitation,” replacing the old “To be one, ask one” policy that forbade Masons to proselytize. He also decreed a lifetime dues exemption for any Mason over 60 who brings in two new members under 30. Like other Pennsylvania grand masters before him, Mr. Sturgeon designed a necktie, to be distributed as a token of appreciation. Typically, the ties are a vehicle for the Masonic insignia; his is more in the style of Jerry Garcia, something he thinks younger guys might be more inclined to wear.

In his most radical move, Mr. Sturgeon has mandated that the ritual be published in book form. In Pennsylvania, since the order’s beginnings, each Mason has learned his obligation from another Mason, one on one.

The ritual had never been written down. For the two lowest ranks of Freemasonry it lasts 30 minutes or so; for the third and highest degree it takes roughly an hour and runs to some 8,000 words. “It might take a man away from home maybe 50 nights to sit and learn it,” he said.

Though candidates will still be required to perform the ritual from memory, the printed text allows them to learn it on their own. Mr. Sturgeon assured his fellow masons that photocopying will be prohibited, that all copies will be signed out and strictly audited. Even so, this announcement met with silence, a response he had foreseen. “Many Masons will tell you that one of the great bonds of this fraternity happens when I meet with you 40 times to go over this work, and I become your mentor,” he said. “Now, that’s true. But for the greater good, we have to make a decision.”

Not a secret society but “a society with secrets” is how the protagonist of “The Lost Symbol” describes the Masons. Has that secrecy served a purpose? Is the famous Masonic bond based, at least to some extent, on shared information that nobody else knows? If that was once the case, it seems safe to say that it isn’t any longer, now that detailed accounts of the Masons’ procedures have been posted online, including YouTube videos of the secret handshake.

The drama seems to be in short supply. Any Dan Brown fans who came to the convention center in Pittsburgh expecting daggers pressed to bare chests or red wine drunk out of a skull surely left disappointed. Mr. Sturgeon says that he thought Mr. Brown made that stuff up until a friend reminded him that in one ceremony they attended for a branch of Masonry called the Scottish Rite there had indeed been a skull; he is, however, quite certain that he didn’t drink wine out of it. And if there is a pyramid with Freemasonry’s highest secrets inscribed on it, as “The Lost Symbol” purports, he has yet to hear about it.

Some Masons may regret losing the mystique — though surely not as much as the conspiracy theorists, who now have less room for speculation about the order. While it’s hard to put much store in allegations that Freemasonry is Satan worship or a plot to dominate the world when its membership has included such disparate characters as Count Basie, Daniel Boone, Winston Churchill, Paul Revere, Clark Gable, J Edgar Hoover, Mozart, Colonel Sanders, Peter Sellers, Cy Young, Pushkin and Brad Paisley, those suspicions thrived nonetheless. The conspiracy theorists, it seems, needed the Masons’ secrecy even more than the Masons needed it themselves.

GL Louisiana to recognize Prince Hall?

Louisiana brethren report that a resolution has been filed for the upcoming grand session of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana to establish fraternal relations with the Most Worshipful Prince Hall F&AM for the State of Louisiana and Jurisdiction. Grand Lodge meets 6 and 7 February 2010.

Editor: This information was gleaned from Bro Chris Hodapp’s informative and authoritative blog. You should check it out, too. I’d tell you the URL for this site, but you can simply Google the words HODAPP BLOG and you can access it any time.

Pennsylvania Masons push back against Grand Master’s reforms Editor: This is also from Bro Chris Hodapp’s blog. You really should check it out!

Hot on the heels of the "21st Century Renaissance" rule changes announced by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania's Grand Master Thomas K. Sturgeon reported on the preceding RL Newsletter page a website has been launched that is pushing back.

The Pennsylvania Masonic Restoration website proclaims: The Pennsylvania Masonic Restoration is a movement initiated and sustained by Pennsylvania Freemasons who believe in the oaths they took to preserve and maintain our Masonic customs, ritual, landmarks and usages. We believe that Pennsylvania Freemasonry is unique in the world and represents hundreds of years of tradition and the hard work of millions of Freemasons. It should be preserved and passed down to future generations of Freemasons as well preserved and maintained as it was for us.

To that end, we seek the restoration of our Masonic heritage. It is not our goal to challenge the authority of the Right Worshipful Grand Master nor to interfere with the administrative functioning of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. We hold our oaths inviolable, including our requirement to support the Constitution and all rules, edicts and/or resolutions that may be issued. It is our hope and our goal to see the recent detrimental changes made to our ritual and customs repealed. Until that is accomplished, we seek to find ways for our Pennsylvania Masonic Brethren to meet the conflicting challenge of obeying the directives of the Grand Lodge and honoring the specifics of the oaths we took as Freemasons which directly contradict some of those directives.

Editor: Masons should indeed respectfully question Grand Lodge changes, although such objections may prove fruitless. Pennsylvania Masons should also be aware of the groundswell of Masonic change that is washing around them, much of it initiated by the ideas emanating from progressive Grand Lodges like GL Massachusetts.

Non-recognition of Prince Hall used to be the norm in this land, but bit by bit that has changed. Even with the possible turmoil associated with such changes, the GL of Louisiana is courageously looking into changing its time-honored custom.

Beginning this Sunday, January 17, the Masonic Lodges of Woburn will be serving their "World Famous All You Can Eat Breakfast Extravaganza" on both the First and Third Sundays of every month.

Breakfast is served from 8:00am to 10:30am I n the Bro. Albert Finethy Banquet Hall of the Woburn Masonic Building, 17 Arlington Road, Woburn.

The breakfasts are open to everyone (Masons, Non-Masons, friends, family, passers-by - all are welcome!), and the cost is still a ridiculously cheap $5 for adults, $3 for kids under 10.

I hope to see you on Sundays!

Bro Kevin J. Willis

Editor: Brothers, take a walk on the wild side – go visit some brothers you didn’t know; leave having made more warm relationships!

KS: Fraternal reorder: Clubs, lodges face dwindling membership in modern world Lawrence World Lawrence KS 10 January 2010 Ask any member of the millennial generation - accustomed to fraternizing on Facebook, Twitter and smart phone apps - what Masons, Eagles and Knights of Columbus are, and he's likely to answer, "Some random bands on MySpace?" Yhat's just one of the problems facing local fraternal organizations whose very existence is being threatened by irrelevance in a modern world.

"Most American fraternal organizations reached a peak in membership in the early 1950s," explains Howard Duncan of the Lawrence Freemasons, part of an international club established "for mutual help and fellowship.

It has been declining since then, Masonry among them. A lot of The interior of the former Lawrence Freemasons’ site, the Scottish Rite Temple, 1001 Mass., people got out of the military is shown in this Journal-World file photo. The Lawrence Freemasons moved from the service in World War II and downtown location to a new site at 1601 W. 23rd St. in 2005, saying the new site would be joined Masons and other fratereasier to maintain. nal groups - which is why it reached a boom. People who joined at that time are, like me, quite old and appearing in obituary columns."

Nationwide, membership in the Masons fell from more than 4 million in 1963 to about 1.6 million in 2005.

That year, the average age was 62. Duncan says there are currently around 600 members in all of the Masonic groups in Lawrence, which is down considerably from decades past, although he wouldn't venture an estimate. “Recently we've been pretty good about new members coming in, but membership right now is a lot lower than it was 10 years, 20 or 50 years ago."

Another challenge for the Masons is their ban on proactive, formalized recruiting.

"The Masons have a long-standing tradition that you do not recruit," Duncan explains. "One of the vows you take when you join the Masons was that you were not solicited. You joined of your own free will and accord."

From left, Dana Laudick and her parents, Doris Bateson and LeRoy Bateson, pose in the foyer of the Eagles Lodge, 1803 W. Sixth St. Like other local fraternal organizations, the Eagles have seen dwindling participation as younger generations fail to refill the membership ranks.

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LAWRENCE KS Youthful unenthusiasm Lacking a glitzy "This is not your grandfather's lodge" marketing campaign, what's a centuries-old men's club to do?

Duncan says, "We have to wait until someone expresses an interest, then go ahead and tell them about it."

The Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization exclusive to practicing Catholic men, 18 years and older, recently retained a volunteer membership director who uses lists of new parishioners from St. John the Evangelist Church and word-of-mouth to find new blood.

Even so, member Joe Laframboise says his club's membership skews to the over-40 set. He blames a societal shift for the younger generation's lack of interest.

"When I was growing up - and I'm over 50 - we just had regular TV, for example," he points out. "There wasn't cable TV, the VCR and DVD hadn't come around yet. There are just so many other distractions, if you wish. You can do a lot of different things different ways - by yourself, in a group."

Laframboise cites the book, "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community," written by Robert Putnam in 2000, who reported that the number of Americans attending club meetings has declined by 58 percent in just one generation. Two-parent working families and increased options for free-time activities are to blame, according to the author.

"People are just doing things by themselves on their computers, and they're not interested in belonging to a group," Laframboise says.

Doris Bateson, who with her husband, Leroy, has been active in the local Fraternal Order of Eagles since the '70s, says she is particularly disturbed by how the "Bowling Alone" problem affects Generation Y. "The reason young people aren't getting involved is because they're not fraternally oriented. We're going to have to figure out a way to change that if we're going to survive," she says.

Bateson, who is a Past International President of FOE, believes the way to do that is to emphasize community service. “Recently at (Aerie) 309, we've gotten more involved in community projects like the St. Patricks' Day parade and the Boys and Girls Club. The younger generation is joining because they want to be involved in community projects, and that's a good thing."

Still, Eagles membership is down - approximately 20 percent for women and 50 percent for men - since the Batesons helped build the current Eagles Lodge at 1803 W. Sixth St. The smoking ban, which went into effect in 2004, didn't help either. “We lost 200 members with the smoking ban," says Leroy Bateson. "And bingo attendance dropped, too."

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LAWRENCE KS Mysteries revealed Dana Laudick, 57, daughter of Leroy and Doris and FOE member, sees another reason for the organization's degeneration.

"Young people are more than willing to help, and they're great at participating in charitable fundraisers. But - and my mother will disagree with me because she's 80 and a charter member the rituals that some of these organizations adhere to - the stuff that goes on at the meetings - these kids aren't at all interested in that. It's boring to them. It's dated. You've got a 1520 minute ritual that they perform just to open a meeting.

They're not going to sit through that."

She said her 22-year-old son recently joined the lodge, primarily to use the lounge where liquor prices are lower than bars around town.

"We may have to start doing things a little differently than we did 100 years ago in order to get the involvement and do good things for the community," Laudick says.

The rituals, which are often elaborate and shrouded in secrecy (although the Internet has forced some secret ceremonies out of the closet), have proven to be a double-edged sword, at least for the Masons.

Duncan says, "The mysteries of Masonry have been amplified far beyond what they are in movies - 'National Treasure,' for instance - and, of course, in Dan Brown's recent book, 'The Lost Symbol.' (The book) in fact, has sparked some interest."

"There's not a lot of mystery," he adds. "What's secret is the means by which we recognize one another, in case unusual help is to be requested. To that extent, it's secret. But some of our meetings are open - installations and award ceremonies are open to the public."

Future shock So, what does the future look like for local lodges?

Leroy Bateson worries about the Eagles but doesn't think the organization is looking at extinction anytime soon.

"I won't go as far as to say it won't be around at all because in places like California and Ohio, it's going strong. But in the state of Kansas, we had 43 aeries in 1992, and now we're down to 30."

Laframboise says, "Knights are here to serve, not to be served, and that's what we will continue to do."

"There is not even the slightest seed of a doubt in my mind that Masonry will survive," Duncan asserts. "It has done so for more than a millennium. I do not worry about the survival of Masons in Lawrence or the rest of Kansas, even though continuance will necessitate changes."

I ask of each Mason, of each member, of each brother, that he shall remember ever that there is upon him a peculiar obligation to show himself in every respect a good citizen; for after all, the way he can best do his duty by the ancient order to which he belongs is by reflecting credit upon that order by the way in which he performs his duty as a citizen of the United States.

Bro Theodore Roosevelt

St Paul’s-Algonquin Lodge First Annual Indoor Golf Tournament 7:00pm Saturday 30 January At the Tee Box, Halifax MA Entry deadline is 30 December, and space is limited to 24 Brothers.

Entry fee is $60pp. Proceeds will be used to support activities of the lodge.

Prizes will be awarded to First, Second and third Place. Closest to the pin prize!

Snacks will be served and The Tee Box has a pool table and a beer and wine license as well as several hi-def televisions.

Registration: Bro Jesse 617.512.5028 JesseK@stpaulsalgonquinlodge.com

Aleister Crowley: Freemason!

Part 6of 10

By Bro Martin P Starr Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, vol. 108 (1995) 6. ENTER REUSS AND YARKER Mathers’s defeat by Crowley and the attendant publicity resulted in the latter being deluged by innumerable ’sole authentic Chiefs of the Rosicrucian Order'. One of the more persistent of these was Theodor Reuss, Frater Superior and Outer Head in mundo of the Ordo Templi Orientis.

The primary basis of Reuss' various fraternal enterprises including the Ordo Templi Orientis was a charter for a German Sovereign Sanctuary of the Antient and Primitive Rite issued 24 September 1902 by its Grand Hierophant 97°, John Yarker, to Reuss and two colleagues. When Reuss first came to call on Crowley in the spring of 1910, he at once offered Crowley the VII° of the Ordo Templi Orientis, which was considered to be the equivalent of the 33°. By this time Crowley’s interest in Freemasonry had cooled considerably, as he thought it 'either vain pretence, tomfoolery, an excuse for drunken rowdiness, or a sinister association for political intrigues and commercial pirates'. (Crowley, Confessions, 628) Reuss attempted to convince Crowley that there were a few men who took Freemasonry seriously, and, more importantly, that the rites concealed profound magical secrets.

No doubt Reuss spread the good word about Crowley to John Yarker, who sent his Arcane Schools to Crowley for review, which appeared in the September 1910 issue of The Equinox. The review, written with the usual Crowleyan flourish towards those he wished to praise, contains these sentiments, pregnant with the assumptions of the Esoteric School of Freemasonry and a precursor of what was to come: He [Yarker] has abundantly proved his main point, the true antiquity of some Masonic system. It is a parallel to Frazer’s tracing the history of the Slain God. But why is there no life in any of our Slain God rituals? It is for us to restore them by the Word and the Grip.

For us, who have the inner knowledge, inherited or won, it remains to restore the true rites of Attis, Adonis, Osiris, of Set, Serapis, Mithras and Abel. (op. cit., p. 240).

Yarker, old and with few allies left alive, welcomed Crowley with open arms, gladly recognizing his Mexican 33° and conferring upon him by patent dated 29 November 1910 the 33° of the irregular 'Cerneau' Scottish Rite, the legitimacy of whose claims Yarker had argued in print for decades; in addition, Yarker granted the equivalent degrees in the other 'fringe' Rites he controlled, the 95° of the Rite of Memphis and the 90° of the Rite of Misraim. Between Yarker and Reuss, there must have been enough links to cover the world of irregular Masonry, so much so that Crowley found: From this time on I lived in a perfect shower of diplomas, from Bucharest to Salt Lake City. I possess more exalted titles than I have ever been able to count. I am supposed to know more secret signs, tokens, passwords, grand-words, grips, and so on, than I could actually learn in a dozen lives. An elephant would break down under the insignia I am entitled to wear. The natural consequence of this was that, like Alice when she found the kings and queens and the rest showering upon her as a pack of cards, I woke up. (Crowley, Confessions, p. 629).

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ALEISTER CROWLEY Reuss again visited Crowley in the spring of 1912, claiming that Crowley had clearly published the central secret of the IX° of the Ordo Templi Orientis and must be obligated to secrecy. After some persuasion, Crowley took him seriously, and Reuss straightway proceeded to issue a charter dated 21 April 1912, in the name of 'Aleister St. Edward Crowley, 33°, 90°, 95°, X°', styling him National Grand Master General for Great Britain and Ireland, with the British section to denominated 'Mysteria Mystica Maxima'.

Yarker, perhaps anticipating his demise, gave Crowley a further 'Dispensation' dated 7 August 1912, 'to take precedence of all previously constituted Authorities with special power to revive the dormant Mount Sinai and Rose of Sharon', two London chapters of the Antient and Primitive Rite. It was perhaps at Yarker’s insistence, considering that a mason of the Antient and Primitive Rite was supposed to be 'a member of a Lodge in good standing, working under a grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons', that Crowley once again tried to establish a connection with Regular Masonry.

CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

WISDOM FROM THE MILITARY MANUALS 'If the enemy is in range, so are you.'

- Infantry Journal 'It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.'

- US. Air Force Manual 'Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.'

- General Mac Arthur 'Any ship can be a minesweeper. Once.'

'Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do' - Unknown Marine Recruit 'If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him.'

- USAF Ammo Troop 'You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3.'

- Paul F. Crickmore (test pilot) 'The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.'

'When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.'

The three most common expressions (or famous last words), in aviation are: 'Why is it doing that?'

'Where are we?' and ...

'Oh s...!'

'Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight.'

Ten guides for Freemasons I am the representative of my Lodge and of all Free and Accepted Masons.

Whatever I do or say reflects directly upon myself and my fellow Freemasons everywhere and on our good works.

I am responsible for what my Lodge and Freemasonry represent.

They can be no more than what my fellow Freemasons and I make them.

I should not criticize what my fellow Freemasons do for Freemasonry unless I have a better suggestion and I am prepared to do it myself.

I must remember that the fact that I bear the name, Master Mason or Freemason, is not enough.

I must continue to be worthy.

My fellow members and I are our Lodges and Freemasonry.

Without our active support they cease to exist.

My Lodge does me a favor by calling upon me. I am not doing the Lodge a favor by serving.

It is both an obligation and a privilege to help the Lodge and Freemasonry.

I should treat my fellow Freemasons with the same respect, honor, and understanding that I would like to receive from them.

It is not a right to be a Freemason, it is an honor.

I should respect that honor by abiding by all of the precepts of my Lodge, my Grand Lodge, and Freemasonry as a whole.

Whatever differences my fellow Freemasons and I may have, we are all bound together by the bonds of our loyalty to The G our families, the Lodge, and Freemasonry.

The willing Master Mason and his understanding family are the lifeblood of the Lodge and Freemasonry.

A

O

T

U ,

Moment Magazine

The Jewish Masonic POV Part 2 of 2 “Moment Magazine, dedicated to serious, highly-literate, intellectual journalism, provides the American Jewish community and other readers with a much needed independent forum that is not tied to any organization or point-of-view. Moment is committed to portraying intellectual, political, cultural, and religious debates within the community, and to educating readers about Judaism’s rich history and contemporary movements, ranging from left to right, fundamentalist to secular. Through a high level of civil discourse, Moment strives to counteract anti-Semitism, promote Jewish continuity, and encourage constructive, meaningful discussion about Jewish life and civilization. There is no other American magazine that can reach out to and include such a wide spectrum of American Jews, sparking intelligent conversation on issues so crucial to the Jewish future.” http://momentmag.com/Exclusive/2010/2010-02/201002-Freemasons.html

Beyond Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol The True Story of Jews & Freemasons Sarah Breger interviews Rabbi Shafir Lobb, a member of the OES. Discovering Science in the Zohar Throughout The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown extols the importance of the Zohar, the classic book of Kabbalah, as an incredible source of knowledge from which modern science can draw. As one scientist explains to another in the beginning of novel, “Human beings are poised on the threshold of a new age when they will begin turning their eyes back to nature and to the old ways…..back to the ideas in books like the Zohar and other ancient texts from around the world.” Shafir Lobb, rabbi of Congregation Ner Tamid in Tucson, Arizona, a teacher of Kabbalah and member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the auxiliary women’s group of Freemasons, discusses the use of the Zohar in The Lost Symbol.

In The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown suggests that all knowledge can be found in books on ancient teachings, and that science is just trying to catch up. Have you found that in your study of the Zohar?

The Zohar would certainly say that. Moshe de Leon, the Zohar’s redactor, would argue that there is nothing else and that the Zohar contains everything.

What is an example of the Zohar’s value to modern scientific thought?

Dan Brown didn’t have to go far in the Zohar to find something scientific. The Zohar states: “Deep within the spark gushed a flow, imbuing colors below, concealed within the the mystery of the Infinite. The flow broke through and did not break through its aura. It was not known at all until, under the impact of their breaking through, one high and hidden point shone. Beyond that point, nothing is known. So it is called the Beginning.” It struck Brown that this sounds like String Theory.

Is this the first time such scientific thought has been connected back to ancient thought?

No, indeed one of the things that Einstein said helped him formulate his thoughts on the universe was to think about the Creation story.

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INTERVIEW WITH A MASONIC RABBI Are there other overt Jewish references in Dan Brown’s book?

The evil character is named “Malach,” which in Hebrew means angel. I see this as a Christian concept that the Devil is a fallen angel. Brown may be exploring the role of an angel of God. When is an angel doing good and when is it a Malach Hamavet [an angel of death]?

How do Freemasons react to your being a rabbi?

The Masonic community is not surprised at all, since a good part of the Masonic community cuts across Jewish lines. If you were a macher or “big-shot” in the Jewish community in Arizona and wanted to be part of a service organization you would look to be part of something like the Masons. And on the altar in the Masonic lodge there is a Christian scripture, a Koran and a Tanakh. The one at our local lodge is an Orthodox Birnbaum Tanakh. I actually teach a Kabbalah class that takes place at a Masonic temple and a few Masons come to the class. All the members of the Masonic group are very interested in my Jewishness.

What is the Order of the Eastern Star?

It is an independent body made up of females who have a connection to a Mason. It can be a father, a brother or even a more tenuous connection. Eastern Star draws on the Biblical stories of Jephtah’s daughter, Ruth, and Esther, as well as Christian stories, such as the story of Martha. It uses them as a way of teaching traits to which one should aspire—like Esther’s bravery and Ruth’s fidelity.

What does your congregation think about the fact that you are a member of a Masonic group?

It’s not an issue. In our congregation we have two widows of Masons and a woman who is in the Eastern Star.

How does Judaism inform your choice to be in the Eastern Star? And how does being a member of the Eastern Star inform your Judaism? Do they share anything?

Masonic organizations are very involved in charity or tzedakah. Masons run hospitals and help take care of families who are ill. All traditions care about some of the same things. I wear the ring with the 5-pointed star from Eastern Star that my mother-in-law gave to me, and on my other hand I wear the six-pointed Star of David.

WISDOM FROM THE MILITARY MANUALS 'Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we have never left one up there!'

'The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you.'

- Attributed to Max Stanley (Northrop test pilot) 'There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.'

Sign over the Squadron Ops. Desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970 'If something hasn't broken on your helicopter, it's about to.'

'You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal.'

As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental aircraft, having torn off the wings and tail in the crash landing, the crash truck arrives; the rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks, 'What happened?'

The pilot's reply: 'I don't know, I just got here myself!'

- Attributed to Ray Crandell (Lockheed test pilot)

Sad Tales of Rejection A mini-series of reminders for those thinking of submitting pictures or a story to the media whether you are sending to RL Newsletter, The Trowel or your local newspaper.

Sad tale of rejection # 2 It was a great puff about the upcoming Masonic fundraiser, and how more visitors would increase the amount given to charity. The event was novel and newsworthy. Our readers would really have been interested in going.

Bad news. I received the info on the day after RLNewsletter had been sent out for the weekend of the event.

RULE NUMBER TWO Your news must be timely.

Trowel magazine has distinct deadlines (just like the IRS!). Contact the editors to find out what those are. And don’t wait on the deadline – submit ASAP, because the closer you get to the dadline, the smaller is the allocated space.

RLNewsletter – email the info to me no later than Wednesday of the week in which it should appear, and remember it needs to be inserted in time for people to make the reservation deadline for your event. We don’t have the space constraint that Trowel has (except I do try hared to keep it under 30 pages).

Exception: NEWS must be timely; FEATURES don’t have to be (although it helps).

A publication might take your timeless reflection as a feature story. Watch out, though : there’s usually no urgency to publish features. If a better article comes along, they’ll bounce your feature.

Masonry is too great an institution to have been made in a day, much less by a few men, but was a slow evolution through long time, unfolding its beauty as it grew.

Indeed, it was like one of its own cathedrals which one generation of builders wrought and vanished, and another followed, until, amidst vicissitudes of time and change, of decline and revival, the order itself became a temple of Freedom and Fraternity.

Reverend Brother Joseph Fort Newton

Bro Jeremy Ladd Cross Masonicworld.com STB-JU83 JEREMY LADD CROSS

By RW Bro James R Case, Historian Grand Council of Connecticut R & SM. Delegations of Royal and Select Masters from nearby Councils will conduct a pilgrimage, on or about Saint John's Day in June 1983, to the grave of Jeremy Ladd Cross in Haverhill NH. The 'Father of the Cryptic Rite' was born 200 years ago on 27 June 1783.

Reputable Masonic historians and encyclopedists credit this 'famous Masonic author and lecturer' with having a 'wide spread influence on the practical workings of Freemasonry'. A few detractors have maligned Cross as a 'charlatan', a 'degree peddler' and one who 'made his Masonry a very nice paying investment'.

Occurrences which took place 125 years ago cannot be judged by today's standards, rules and regulations. A close review of his diary and letters, and more attention to chronology, brings out the high-spots in the career of this 'plain New Hampshire lecturer', the subsequent disseminator of the Royal and Select Masters degrees, combined in the present 'Cryptic Rite', a term he never used.

As a country boy with scant schooling, Jeremy went down to Portsmouth, the political, social and commercial metropolis of the state, learned the hatters' trade, and encountered his first setback in business, having made an unfortunate choice of a partner.

He was twenty-three years old in 1807 when he applied for membership in prestigious old St. John’s Lodge, of which the Master was Rev. George Richards, an accomplished ritualist. Cross served some time as Junior Deacon and late in 1813 took a dimit and began a circuit of northern New Hampshire and adjacent Vermont, as a journeyman in his trade. He never went back to his mother Lodge.

He was carrying a certificate from the Grand Lecturer which attested his proficiency in the ritual. The version then in use had been agreed upon by conferees from New Hampshire and Massachusetts some years earlier.

Cross was instrumental in the revival of interest in North Star Lodge at Lancaster; was paid his shekel in Aurora Mark Lodge at Bradford; was arched in Champlain Chapter at St. Albans VT; and acquired the Select Masters degree (and perhaps others) during an extended sojourn at Hopkinton. He became highly proficient in all the degrees which he had regularly received or may have been favored with, in return for his 'instruction in the degrees of the Lodge'. He had knowledge of the Past Master's degree and the order of High Priesthood, but not acquired through election.

With savings from his trade and lecturing, in May 1816 Jeremy set out for Providence RI, where Thomas Smith Webb was then active in Lodge, Chapter and Encampment (later Commandery). His objective was to 'perfect himself in the work of the Chapter'. During a stopover in Boston he records that he lectured before and received the 'sanction' of grand lodge officers.

Delegates from Massachusetts and Rhode Island were about to sail for New York, where the General Grand Chapter was to meet. Cross went along with them as a visitor, having no credentials. During the session he made the acquaintance of Philip Eckel of Baltimore and John Hart Lynde, Deputy Grand High Priest in Connecticut, among others. He is said to have visited Columbian Council, and to have obtained the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite but those matters are not documented. NEXT PAGE

Bro Jeremy Ladd Cross Of greatest importance was a certificate of a sort over the names of all the General Grand Chapter Officers, which was printed in the introductory pages of the 'True Chart' he issued three years later. The fact of its being in print implied more than the document stated.

TRUE CHART Cross continued to Philadelphia where Webb, John Snow and others had gone to persuade Pennsylvania to join a coalition of Grand Commanderies, an attempt which failed. Cross was refused permission to lecture in Pennsylvania, where he reported finding 'ignorance and obstinacy'. Undaunted, he crossed the river into New Jersey, visiting lodges there and in Delaware en route to Baltimore. Here he conferred with Eckel, who invoked 'the authority in me vested' and gave Cross permission to confer the degrees of Royal and Select Masters on any group of the essential nine Royal Arch Masons wherever he traveled, found a welcome and was successful in recruiting.

Striking out for the west he visited several places in Pennsylvania and Ohio. A visit to Lexington KY coincided with the presence of Webb and John Snow perfecting the organization of a Grand Chapter for the state, and a local encampment of Knights Templar. Cross found the atmosphere congenial, prolonged his visit, lectured and communicated the Council degrees. He visited Madison IN and St. Louis and then proceeded down the Mississippi.

At Natchez he spent twelve days and installed the officers of a Chapter which Benjamin Gleason had congregated earlier in the year. Pointedly he reported he did not confer the order of High Priesthood as he 'did not possess it regularly'. He was never elected to the top office in Lodge, Chapter or Commandery.

In New Orleans he was 'received and acknowledged by the Consistory, presented with a full and perfect set of all the degrees, their histories, accompanied with the drawings, emblems, seals, etc.'

On 27 May 1817 Cross was back in Baltimore and now obtained 'authority' to issue warrants to Councils he had organized or might establish in the future. In a letter to Eckel he wrote "There are so many of these little Degrees that are given by anyone and in any place which are of no consequence that the Brethren have but little confidence in this unless it has the appearance of some kind of sanction, and I think those who receive it would not make sufficient application to perfect themselves in the History Work and Lectures unless there was an inducement held out for an office in the Council' .

After a years absence and a brief visit to the old homestead, in August he was again in hospitable Hopkinton and then to Boston where he established a Council and obtained the degree of Knight Templar in an 'irregular encampment'. At Providence he perfected himself in the degrees of the Chapter with Webb and 'rehearsed' the degrees of the Lodge with grand lodge officers, Webb then being Grand Master. At Hartford he found the Grand Master and Grand Secretary 'lacked Masonic fire' so on to New Haven, where he conferred with Lynde about employment by the Grand Chapter of Connecticut.

Again he headed south, going to New York City by steamer, and then across New Jersey and Delaware, leaving warrants in several places and thus earning his passage money. He arrived at Richmond early in December, attended a meeting of the 'working committee' of the Grand Lodge and, on Christmas Day established a Council with John Dove as TIM. He mentioned a hotel bill of $8.75 for three days’ sleep.

On his way north he organized a Council at Dumfries, was at Fredericksburg for observance of St. Johns Day in December, visited the Lodge at Alexandria and at Washington learned that Lynde had died. He continued to Connecticut in expectation that their agreement would be honored. Waiting for Grand Chapter in May, he made a swing around eastern Connecticut, warranting six Councils, noting that in New London he 'rcd $55 for 7 days work'. At Norwich he made the acquaintance of James Cushman, of whom more later.

Bro Jeremy Ladd Cross He now chose New Haven as his place of residence and made his first business arrangements when he 'Agreed with Amos Doolittle to engrave RA aprons and go 1/2 on expense and profits'. After a tour of western Connecticut he attended meetings of the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter.

Cross became a Grand Lecturer in 1818, following appointment by the Grand Chapter of Connecticut, each Chapter having been assessed $20 to cover four days instruction. In 1819 he and Cushman were appointed Grand Visitors, now to act under direction of the grand officers, with a prescribed limit to their expenses.

For the next few years Cross sat pro tem in different chairs at Grand Convocations, reporting his activities as one of three Grand Visitors. His last appointment was made in 1823 and no mention is made of him in Grand Chapter records after 1826. However, his 'True Chart' had been recommended and he was a committeeman on such business as aprons, procurement of jewels, robes and certificates. Inexplicably his name is not on the membership list of Franklin Chapter in New Haven.

At Grand Lodge in May 1818 he was appointed Grand Lecturer, an assessment of $10 was made on each lodge, with a recommendation that other (rival) lecturers not be employed. A year later his accounts were 'liquidated' and he was directed to act thereafter under orders from the Grand Officers. He is listed immediately following the Grand Secretary among those present in 1823, and was installed while the office of Grand Lecturer was proposed in a revision of the constitution, it was omitted from the final version adopted in 1824, after which the name of Cross does not appear in reports of Grand Communications. He had affiliated with Hiram Lodge in 1818 but became a charter member of Adelphi Lodge when it was organized in New Haven in 1923. He was never elected to any station in either, or any lodge as far as known.

With less than a decade of official recognition Cross had acquired the 'R.W.' and 'G.L.' which appear on his headstone. His reputation was firmly established and there is plenty of evidence to show that he continued to lecture and instruct for the rest of his life. A pertinent echo of sentiment among delegates to Grand Lodge appears in the minutes of the session in 1842, when the appointment of a Grand Lecturer was proposed, considered and negatived, experience with a former grand lecturer having been unfortunate.

Cross had continued to 'sell' the degrees of Royal and Select Master and had warranted as many as eleven Councils in Connecticut before delegates assembled on 18 May and organized the first Grand Council in the world, which has continued its existence and in-dependence to the present day. Cross is not recorded among those present at the organization meeting. He did serve as TIM of Harmony Council in New Haven for eight years.

In Templar circles 1818 was an important year for Cross. In September he had visited Providence, was 'healed' in St. Johns Commandery and received the Order of Red Cross. On October he affiliated with Washington Commandery at a meeting in New London. Here an arrangement was made with Henry Fowle, Deputy General Grand Master, for publication of a 'Templars Chart', the silent partner to have one third of the profits. Such was his ability to memorize that a short time later he was able to communicate the work in 'the valiant Orders of Knighthood' to Cushman who later was active in Virginia Templary. Although New Haven Commandery was organized in 1825, Cross did not affiliate. His few visits were connected with the design or procurement of a uniform.

In December 1819 the 'True Masonic Chart or Hieroglyphic Monitor' was copyrighted. The foreword admitted that few changes had been made in earlier texts of 'illustrations' by Preston and Webb. But Cross included forty pages of pictured emblems and from that time his Monitor became so popular it ran through sixteen editions in which Cross had an interest. Webb had died in 1819 but his name and that of Cross were used for years on pirated or 'improved editions' of their monitors.

Bro Jeremy Ladd Cross The 'Monument' with such components as the 'Weeping Virgin', 'Broken Column' and 'Father Time', often attributed to the inventive genius of Cross and Doolittle, definitely was not. The text of the lecture is in the cipher notes of John Barney in the ritual as he obtained it from Gleason at Boston in 1817. An earlier and much better engraving appears on a wall chart published by 'Comp. H. Parmalee' in Philadelphia under the title of 'Masonic Mirror and Symbolic Chart' and for which a copyright was secured in August 1818.

Cross did not abandon his lecturing entirely but was going into business in a big way. He had earlier sold aprons from a Providence maker and arks from a Hartford builder. Now he began to develop a system of production in New Haven. His True Charts were being shipped all over the country which then had little Masonry west of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. He supplied satin as well as leather aprons, robes, capes and accessories. Doolittle printed diplomas and Select ' flaps' . From some of Cross' letters we learn about prices and the extent of his business.

John Barker was another disciple of Cross. He went to Charleston, South Carolina for his health, became active in Masonic circles and was appointed an agent of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite. Leaving Virginia and North Carolina to Cushman Barker traveled throughout the south and disseminated the degrees of Royal and Select Masters in several locations, the Supreme Council having jurisdiction over the degrees which were then considered detached or 'floating'. Barker knew that Cross had numerous documents and miscellanea from the Consistory in New Orleans, and worked out an exchange, whereby Cross turned them all over to the Supreme Council and in turn was rewarded with membership and a 33d degree patent. Cushman as courier also received the degree.

Cross himself was never in Charleston.

Cross did not lecture in Massachusetts lodges as Benjamin Gleason served there officially, nor in Rhode Island where Webb lived several years. In Vermont neither his book nor his work found favor. Pennsylvania was inhospitable, Maryland was Eckels territory. Except in New York City, Cross deferred to Salem Town, although Wadsworth, Eno and Hayes were named among his proteges. Ohio and points west were left to Barney. This distribution of territory which existed, perhaps was prearranged, gave rise to the idea that a 'Lecturers' Union' existed. One disgraceful action in which collusion is apparent was the vicious campaign against David Vinton.

The anti-Masonic frenzy, sparked by the disappearance of William Morgan from Batavia NY in 1826, fostered by designing politicians and uncomprehending ordained critics of the fraternity, had its effect on Cross and his supply business. New Haven was the citadel of Freemasonry in Connecticut and braced against the storm, but Jeremy felt that New York City was a more fertile field, a better shipping point from which to satisfy the great demand in the southern states, and a more favorable place for a man going into business as wholesale paper dealer and publisher.

Cross signed the 1832 'Declaration of Principles' widely publicized in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He then moved to New York City, 'entered into mercantile employ' and prospered. He is listed in the city directory in 1834 and omitted 20 years later, having retired to Haverhill in October 1853. His parents were dead and he lived with a spinster sister in the old homestead. Cross never married, although his diary occasionally hints at an interest in some charming female, apparently never pursued or perhaps nor reciprocated. He left a considerable estate.

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

Bro Jeremy Ladd Cross In New York City Masonry did not suffer as much from the Morgan incident as from personality differences within Grand Lodge circles and among the most contentious and disruptive was Henry C Atwood a 'favorite pupil of Cross'. His ambitions and troublemaking extended to the Ancient and Accepted Rite, and Cross was persuaded to bring out his 33d diploma and accept the spot as titular head of the 'Atwood' Council. Other respectable individuals who had been named without being consulted did not serve. Within a year Cross was superseded, having insisted on Royal Arch membership as a pre-requisite for admission, and Templar Knighthood for advancement.

Jeremy took his Masonry into retirement with him, encouraged the reactivation of Grafton Lodge in Haverhill, installed and instructed the officers and was a regular attendant until a few months before he died on 26 January 1860. His headstone memorializes a Right Worshipful Grand Lecturer and features an emblem of the 33d degree. All very complimentary to a 'modest, devoted and influential Mason.' Still more so is the epitaph which reads 'A Pattern Son and Brother', one who was truly 'amiable, distinguished and exemplary'.

Notes and further reading.

The 'History of the Cryptic Rite' by Hinman, Denslow and Hunt, prints the diary of Jeremy Ladd Cross in the appendix. Reprints of the Proceedings of the several Grand bodies in Connecticut are basic references. Histories of the Rite in North Carolina and Virginia are interesting reading. Authorized histories of the Scottish Rite, both South and North, as well as Folger's, are not always in agreement. An 'illustrated' twenty page biographical pamphlet by Brother Case, compiled for the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire in 1958, is out of print.

Entries in Masonic encyclopedias vary in length and content.

Editor: You can find the celebrated Monitor of Jeremy Ladd Cross at Google

Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be strong men.

Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks.

Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle.

Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God. Rev Phillips Brooks

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Part 1 of 6 The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the and), commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite, is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry.

A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. In the Scottish Rite the central authority is called a Supreme Council. The thirty-three degrees of the Scottish Rite are conferred by several controlling bodies. The first of these is the Craft Lodge which confers the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason degrees. Craft lodges operate under the authority of Grand Lodges, not the Scottish Rite. Although most lodges throughout the English-speaking world do not confer the Scottish Rite versions of the first three degrees, there are a handful of lodges in New Orleans and in several other major cities that have traditionally conferred the Scottish Rite version of these degrees.

The Scottish Rite is one of the appendant bodies of Freemasonry that a Master Mason may join for further exposure to the principles of Freemasonry. In England and some other countries, while the Scottish Rite is not accorded official recognition by the Grand Lodge, there is no prohibition against a Freemason electing to join it. In the United States, however, the Scottish Rite is officially recognized

by Grand Lodges as an extension of the degrees of Freemasonry. The Scottish Rite builds upon the ethical teachings and philosophy offered in the craft lodge, or Blue Lodge, through dramatic presentation of the individual degrees.

There are records of lodges conferring the degree of "Scots Master" or "Scotch Master" as early as 1733. A lodge at Temple Bar in London is the earliest such lodge on record. Other lodges include a lodge at Bath in 1735, and the French lodge, St. George de l'Observance No. 49 at Covent Garden in 1736. The references to these few occasions indicate that these were special meetings held for the purpose of performing unusual ceremonies, probably by visiting Freemasons.

The seed of the myth of Stuart Jacobite influence on the higher degrees may have been a careless and unsubstantiated remark made by John Noorthouk in the 1784 Book of Constitutions of the Premier Grand Lodge of London. It was stated, without support, that King Charles II (older brother and predecessor to James II) was made a Freemason in the Netherlands during the years of his exile (1649– 60). However, there were no documented lodges of Freemasons on the continent during those years. The statement may have been made to flatter the fraternity by claiming membership for a previous monarch. This folly was then embellished upon by John Robison (1739–1805), a professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, in an anti-Masonic work published in 1797. The lack of scholarship exhibited by him in that work caused the Encyclopaedia Britannica to denounce it.

A German bookseller and Freemason, living in Paris, working under the assumed name of C. Lenning, embellished the story further in a manuscript titled "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry" probably written between 1822 and 1828 at Leipzig. This manuscript was later revised and published by another German Freemason named Friedrich Mossdorf (1757–1830). Lenning stated that King James II of England, after his flight to France in 1688, resided at the Jesuit College of Clermont, where his followers fabricated certain degrees for the purpose of carrying out their political ends.

By the mid-19th century, the story had gained currency. The well-known English Masonic writer, Dr George Oliver (1782–1867), in his "Historical Landmarks", 1846, carried the story forward and even claimed that King Charles II was active in his attendance at meetings—an obvious invention, for if it had been true, it would not have escaped the notice of the historians of the time. The story was then repeated by the French writers Jean-Baptiste Ragon (1771–1862) and Emmanuel Rebold, in their Masonic histories. Rebold's claim that the high degrees were created and practiced in Lodge Canongate Kilwinning at Edinburgh are entirely false.

James II died in 1701 and was succeeded in his claims to the British throne by his son, James Francis Edward Stuart (1699–1766), the Chevalier St. George, better known as "the Old Pretender", but recognized as James III by the French King Louis XIV. He was succeeded in his claim by Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charles"), also known as "the Young Pretender", whose ultimate defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 effectively put an end to any serious hopes of the Stuarts regaining the British crowns.

The natural confusion between the names of the Jesuit College of Clermont, and the short-lived Masonic Chapter of Clermont, a Masonic body that controlled a few high degrees during its brief existence, only served to add fuel to the myth of Stuart Jacobite influence in Freemasonry's high degrees. However, the College and the Chapter had nothing to do with each other. The Jesuit College was located at Clermont, whereas the Masonic Chapter was not. Rather, it was named "Clermont" in honor of the French Grand Master, the Comte de Clermont (1709-1771), and not because of any connection with the Jesuit College of Clermont.

CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

SD: Masons to host Coyote Calling Contest Hot Springs Star Hot Springs SD 12 January 2010

Editor: It’s interesting to see what Masons are doing around the nation and the world. We reprint some of these event ideas so that other brethren may use them. A Rubber Duck race, for example, can be used in any location with moving water. However, I couldn’t recommend this kind of event for downtown Chicago or Edinburgh!

HOT SPRINGS – The Hot Springs Masonic Lodge will host its 7th annual fundraising Coyote Calling Contest ,the weekend of Jan. 22-23.

The fundraiser begins on Friday night at the American Legion in Hot Springs with an all-you-can-eat fish fry from 5 to 7 p.m., including registration for the Coyote Calling Contest from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The Mason’s Ten-Gun Raffle will also culminate during the evening where participants have an opportunity to win one of 10 guns with the purchase of a raffle ticket. Only 750 tickets are being sold and all proceeds go to benefit Masonic Charities.

A Calcutta of the Coyote Calling teams will also be held on Friday at the American Legion, starting at 7:30 p.m. An 80 percent payout is planned with 20 percent going to Masonic Charities. Must be 18-years-old to participate.

The actual Calling Contest will commence on Saturday morning at first light, featuring two-person teams.

For more information, raffle tickets and details about registering a team, call Doug Pirnie at 745-6882 (days) or 833-2174 (evenings).

Editor: see here for more info on coyote calling.

As a denizen of Boston, coyote calling was new to me. Apparently there are small ‘whistles’ that are used, and there is electronic calling equipment that is available. We live and learn.

MA: Masons install trio as grand masters (sic) Springfield Republican Springfield MA 13 January 2010 BOSTON - Three Western Massachusetts residents are among the district deputy grand masters installed recently at the Grand Lodge of Masons for the state.

Paul A Cataldo, of South Hadley, Raymond J Kallaugher, of East Longmeadow, and James L Beauregard, of Springfield, were installed at the fraternity's Boston headquarters and will serve for the coming year.

The 38,000 Freemasons and 232 lodges in the state are organized into 32 districts, each lead [led] by a district deputy grand master.

Philippines: Jose Rizal Day 11 January 2009 Negros Chronicle Dumaguete City Philippines Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holidays, one date stands out in the Philippine calendar at the end of the year. On December 30 morning the holiday celebration is put aside and the whole Philippines commemorate and remember its hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. His death by firing squad at the age of thirty five changed the course of Philippine history and inspired the revolt of the Filipinos against the Spanish colonizers. Dr. Jose Rizal, more known as the Philippine National Hero, was a brilliant Filipino: a botanist, scientist, sculpter, artist, ophthalmologist, zoologist, linguist, educator and martyr.

On 30 December, celebrated as Rizal Day, all government units all over the country celebrated the 113th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal. Here in Dumaguete City, a celebration takes place at 7 am at the Quezon Park. All provincial and local were in full attendance. This year, the celebration took on a special flavor as the students from the Ramon Dumaguete Science High School performed the reenactment of the execution of Rizal. They however, incorporated other aspects of Rizal’s life, like his family, his childhood, his life philosophy, his works and his death by firing squad. Everyone in attendance was one in their comment that the students did a well presentation. Undoubtedly their long preparation for this presentation inspired them with the ideals of the national hero.

Guest speaker of the affair was Dr. Earl Jude Paul Cleope who gave many interesting historical information about Dr.Jose Rizal. Dr. Cleope posed a reflective question at the start of his message. “Is Dr. Jose Rizal still the Philippine National Hero?” The situation where our country is now in calls for heroes not against foreign invaders but against internal corruption and greed. Rizal, who called our youth the hope of the Fatherland, would be saddened to see the state many of our young are in right now. The youth needs model heroes to inspire them.

I saw some friends who are members of the “Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines ” or Freemasons for short. They are from the “Mt. Kaladias Lodge No. 91” or the 91st lodge created in the Philippines, which was chartered in 1924. Presently they have about 64 active members that include businessmen, professionals and retired private or government. Dr. Jose P. Rizal being once a member of the fraternity, every freemason deem it their duty to attend the Rizal Day celebration.

JOSE RIZAL DAY Other groups like the Knights of Rizal, the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and the Girls Scout-Negros Oriental and Siquijor Council, the Department of Education and the faculty from NORSU and many others were in attendance. The program ended with the song “Bayan Ko”, the song of nationalism and freedom during the Martial Law years. All in all, it was a good occasion to reflect on the works of Rizal. His last work, “MI ULTIMO ADIOS” written just before he died embodies all: his love for country and the Filipinos. Jose Rizal’s famous quotations: “He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish.”

“It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal.

“It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice.”

“While a people preserves its language; it preserves the marks of liberty.”

“There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves.”

“He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination.”

“The youth is the hope of our future.”

MORE ABOUT BRO RIZAL

Rural Lodge Military Night 20 May 2010

Quincy Masonic Building 1170 Hancock Street An enduring salute to our military.

Roast Beef, Family Style $15 Invitation to all, Masons, non-Masons.

Military and retired military are invited to attend in their service uniform (or just your military hat, as you wish) Collation of dessert and beverages in the Oak Room.

CA: On the hunt for Santa Cruz's explosive past Michelle Camerlingo Press Banner Scotts Valley CA 8 January 2010 Barry Brown’s cerulean eyes sparkle behind his glasses when he talks about gunpowder. Or, more specifically, the black gunpowder that was produced at the California Powder Works, which operated on more than 200 acres along Highway 9 midway between Felton and Santa Cruz in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The 70year-old retiree knows more than a thing or two on the topic — he’s in the process of writing a book (already 400 pages deep) and regularly gives tours of the site for Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. The former television director and cameraman recently received his second Dolkas Award ($1,000 to a project that advances community awareness about regional history) from the Museum of Art and History and a grant from the Hagley Museum and Library in Delaware for the work he’s dedicated his energy to for seven years.

“I hope to finish the book in the next year and then move on to write a screenplay,” said Brown, whose fascination for the subject is infectious.

The California Powder Works was created in 1861 by San Francisco capitalists wanting to profit off the need for black gunpowder production on the West Coast. The Works operated until 1914. Over the site’s 50-year history, there were 50 explosions and fires that left many people dead. Shrapnel propelled by the blasts still scars the surrounding redwoods. “The lumber yards still won’t take any trees from the area because of that,” Brown said.

Now a community known as Paradise Park, the site is home to 369 residences, many of them built on top of the old concrete wheel mills. Everyone who lives there today is a Freemason or Eastern Star member, including Brown. “When I retired here, being a fairly active guy, I needed something to do,” Brown said. “In the process of prowling the park, I saw remnants of gunpowder and discovered some old photos of the powder mills.” Soon after his discovery, Brown signed up for classes to learn how to restore the old photographs.

“I picked up names and stories of the powder mill along the way,” he said. “My grandfather also told me some stories, because he lived here in 1905. It became personal at that point.”

Brown’s dedication can be seen all over the park. He produced all of the 30 self-guided tour signs, which are filled with historical references, stories and restored photographs spread throughout the 136 acres. Brown explained that the site was originally chosen to produce gunpowder because it combined the three most important elements for manufacturing the product: The San Lorenzo River was a water source, the surrounding forests supplied the wood, and the proximity to the ocean was ideal for shipping.

Just three short years after the site started operation, the California Powder Works became the first black powder producer on the West Coast and the largest and most prolific maker of explosives, including brown prismatic powder and smokeless powder. “The plant supplied guns for the Great White Fleet in Manila during the Spanish American War,” Brown said. The operation began shutting down as the need for black powder declined and the Santa Cruz population expanded, Brown said. Most of the buildings were sold for scrap, and the plant was completely closed by 1914. The area was abandoned for the next 10 years until a group of Freemasons bought it for summer campsites, which developed into the more permanent community there today, Brown said.

Walking though the park, with its historical covered bridge, old mansions and cannon remnants, it’s easy to see how Brown’s fascination took shape. “It’s really amazing what these people did here back then,” Brown said. “I think it’s a very relevant history to spread.”

Join Pot of Gold Court (Amaranth) and Milton Lodge for a

Winter Social Dance and Instruction Saturday 13 February 12010 Quincy Masonic Bldg 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM Partners dance instruction 6:00 – 7:00 PM Line dance instruction – just for fun – later in the night Tickets are $20 per person (price includes DJ, dance instruction and buffet dinner) For Reservations Call Debra Dunham at 617-283-9650 Or e-mail – funassassin@att.net

Everyone is welcome!

You don’t need to be a couple to join us for this party

8th Masonic District Calendar District Deputy Grand Master of the 8th Masonic District: RW Richmond Peter Carlson.

It’s not just for candidates!

Master of the 8th Lodge of Instruction: Wor Bob Whitehouse.

8th District Calendar online 8th District Lodge of Instruction is held on the first Wednesday of each month at Quincy Masonic Building, 1170 Hancock Street.

LOI Dinner Reservations

Make personal reservations with your lodge JW. Lodge Junior Wardens: make a list of these names and give them to the JW of the LOI, Wor Arthur Dunham Each reservation needs to be by name and lodge.

Those with named reservations can purchase a dinner ticket at the LOI. Those without reservations will be able to purchase a ticket only if extra food is available, after all with reservations have been served.

DDGM’s Fraternal Visits Thursday 4 February Wednesday 10 February Friday 12 February Thursday18 February Tuesday 23 February Thursday 11 March Tuesday 23 March

Rural Lodge Norfolk Union Lodge Milton Euclid Delta StPaul’s-Algonquin Macedonian

DDGM’s Official Visits Friday 8 October Milton Thursday 14 October Wednesday 13 October Thursday 21 October Tuesday 26 October Tuesday 23 November Thursday 2 December

StPaul’s-Algonquin Norfolk Union Lodge Euclid Delta Macedonian Rural Lodge

NEW! 8th District List of Fraternals & Officials

January 2010 Friday 15 Saturday 16 Tuesday 19 Thursday 21 Saturday 23 Saturday 23 Tuesday 26 Tuesday 26

MOVPER Taleb Grotto First meeting of the new MASSACHUSETTS LODGE OF RESEARCH At North Reading Lodge. Installation of officers will be done by the Grand Master.

More info on Facebook.

Weymouth United Regular Communication. Master: Wor Brian Hughes Euclid Lodge Regular Communication. Master: Wor Lance Powers District Breakfast at Braintree Building 8:00-11:00am Celebration of RW Lonnie Piper’s term as DDGM Macedonian Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Ned Bean Delta Lodge Official Regular Communication. Master: Wor Jack Inglis

Wednesday 27 WMASEM (Worshipful Masters Association) Thursday 28

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Saturday 30

StPaul’s-Algonquin First Annual Indoor Golf Tourney 7:00pm

FEBRUARY 2010

Wednesday 3 8th District LOI Consistory performing the Lincoln Degree RW Peter Smith, Director Thursday 4 Thursday 4 Wednesday 10

Rural Lodge Regular Communication.

Master: Wor Bill McFadden. FC Degree Fraternal Visit of RW Richmond Peter Carlson, DDGM of the 8th Masonic District Rural Lodge Beverage Tasting and DJ Norfolk Union Regular Communication. Master: Wor John Milson Fraternal Visit of RW Richmond Peter Carlson, DDGM of the 8th Masonic District

Thursday 11

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Thursday 11 Friday 12

St Paul’s-Algonquin Regular Communication. Master: Wor Alex Nicoll Milton Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Paul Ricciardi Fraternal Visit of RW Richmond Peter Carlson, DDGM of the 8th Masonic District Amaranth & Milton Lodge Winter Social & Dance, with Dance Instruction Quincy Masonic Building 6:00pm $20pp includes dance, instruction, buffet dinner.

Weymouth United Regular Communication. Master: Wor Brian Hughes Euclid Lodge Regular Communication. Master: Wor Lance Powers Fraternal Visit of RW Richmond Peter Carlson, DDGM of the 8th Masonic District MOVPER Taleb Grotto Grand Lecturers’ meetings. Coffee 8:00am, start 9:00am. Mandatory for senior officers & Ritualist Several locations around the state, including Brockton. 2nd Degree.

Macedonian Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Ned Bean Delta Lodge Official Regular Communication. Master: Wor Jack Inglis Fraternal Visit of RW Richmond Peter Carlson, DDGM of the 8th Masonic District

Saturday 13

Tuesday 16 Thursday 18 Friday 19 Saturday 20 Tuesday 23 Tuesday 23

Thursday 25

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Saturday 27

District Breakfast at Quincy Building 8:00-11:00am

MARCH 2010

Wednesday 3

8th District LOI Civil War and Masonry RW Philip A Drouin

Thursday 4

Rural Lodge Regular Communication.

Master: Wor Bill McFadden. MM Degree Norfolk Union Regular Communication. Master: Wor John Milson

Wednesday 10

Thursday 11 Thursday 11

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Tuesday 23

St Paul’s-Algonquin Regular Communication. Master: Wor Alex Nicoll Fraternal Visit of RW Richmond Peter Carlson, DDGM of the 8th Masonic District Milton Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Paul Ricciardi Weymouth United Regular Communication. Master: Wor Brian Hughes Euclid Lodge Regular Communication. Master: Wor Lance Powers MOVPER Taleb Grotto Rural Lodge Square Dance with Wor William Wallace White Macedonian Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Ned Bean Fraternal Visit of RW Richmond Peter Carlson, DDGM of the 8th Masonic District Delta Lodge Official Regular Communication. Master: Wor Jack Inglis

Saturday 27

District Breakfast at Weymouth Building 8:00-11:00am

Friday 12 Tuesday 16 Thursday 18 Friday 19 Saturday 20 Tuesday 23

Thursday 25

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Saturday 27 APRIL 2010 Thursday 1

Wednesday 7

Square & Compasses Day throughout Massachusetts

Rural Lodge Regular Communication. Master: Wor Bill McFadden. EA Degree

Thursday 8

8th District LOI Fire Safety Ken McHugh, Chief of Braintree FD Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Thursday 8 Friday 9 Wednesday 14 Thursday 15 Friday 16 Saturday 17 Tuesday 20

St Paul’s-Algonquin Regular Communication. Master: Wor Alex Nicoll Milton Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Paul Ricciardi Norfolk Union Regular Communication. Master: Wor John Milson Euclid Lodge Regular Communication. Master: Wor Lance Powers MOVPER Taleb Grotto Beyond the Third Degree seminar Weymouth United Regular Communication. Master: Wor Brian Hughes

Saturday 24 Saturday 24 Tuesday 27 Tuesday 27

Rural Lodge Heritage Tour of Lexiington & Concord District Breakfast at Braintree Building 8:00-11:00am Macedonian Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Ned Bean Delta Lodge Official Regular Communication. Master: Wor Jack Inglis

Thursday 22

MAY 2010

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Wednesday 5

8th District LOI National Heritage Museum Aimee Newell, Curator

Thursday 6 Wednesday 12

Rural Lodge Regular Communication.

Master: Wor Bill McFadden. FC Degree Norfolk Union Regular Communication. Master: Wor John Milson

Thursday 13 Friday 14 Saturday 15 Tuesday 18 Thursday 20 Thursday 20 Friday 21 Saturday 22 Tuesday 25 Tuesday 25

St Paul’s-Algonquin Regular Communication. Master: Wor Alex Nicoll Milton Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Paul Ricciardi Rural Lodge Cape Cod Dinner Train Weymouth United Regular Communication. Master: Wor Brian Hughes Euclid Lodge Regular Communication. Master: Wor Lance Powers Rural Lodge Military Night MOVPER Taleb Grotto District Breakfast at Quincy Building 8:00-11:00am Macedonian Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Ned Bean Delta Lodge Official Regular Communication. Master: Wor Jack Inglis

Thursday 13

Thursday 27

JUNE 2010

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Wednesday 2

8th District LOI RW Roger W Pageau Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts

Thursday 3

Rural Lodge Regular Communication.

Steak & Lobster Dinner Master: Wor Bill McFadden. MM Degree Norfolk Union Regular Communication. Master: Wor John Milson

Wednesday 9

Thursday 10

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Thursday 10 Friday 11 Tuesday 15 Thursday 17 Tuesday 22 Tuesday 22

St Paul’s-Algonquin Regular Communication. Master: Wor Alex Nicoll Milton Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Paul Ricciardi Weymouth United Regular Communication. Master: Wor Brian Hughes Euclid Lodge Regular Communication. Master: Wor Lance Powers Macedonian Lodge Regular Communication. Master Wor Ned Bean Delta Lodge Official Regular Communication. Master: Wor Jack Inglis

Saturday 26

District Breakfast at Weymouth Building 8:00-11:00am

Thursday 24

Old Colony DeMolay. Master Councilor: Jacob Yanovich

Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, NSW 13 January 2010 What began as a walk to the supermarket for actor William McInnes and his children becomes a philosophical stroll down memory lane - a reminder of the inevitability of change and the endurance of parental love.

Early evening, walking with my son, my daughter and my dog along our street to the local supermarket. My son has a part-time job, packing shelves and doing things teenage schoolboys do at part-time jobs they have at the local supermarket.

My daughter asks me, "Why do you always sing Dean Martin songs in the shower?"

"They're not all Dean Martin songs," I tell her.

"Then why do they sound the same?" laughs my son.

"All good songs sound like Dean Martin songs," I say.

Both my parents liked Dean Martin. I laugh. We have lived in this street all my children's life.

The houses, almost all, have been or are in the process of being renovated. The street is quiet but is full of the kind of activity so many streets like this across Australia see: a builder's skip full of rubbish, people in the garden finishing off the weekend by weeding and clearing, some kids using a wheelie bin out in the street as wickets in a game of street cricket. A car turns into the street, chugs towards the players and a cracking voice calls out the timeless warning of the suburbs. "Car coming!" Wickets are wheeled to the side gutter to let the car pass. Outside one house, a plumber's van. It's Sunday evening. Time and a half. The plumber will charge extra.

It makes me think of fathers. Many years ago when I was, I think, as old as my son, a friend was told by an uncle of his that if you ever wanted to get a cheap deal from a tradesman, shake hands and press a certain knuckle on his hand. "If he's a Freemason mate, he'll look after you."

I had no idea what a Mason was but I told my father. "Oh for Christ's sake, why would you do that?" he sighed.

"To get looked after."

My father told me that I should never pretend to be something just to gain a bit of advantage. "If anyone wants to be something then let them but just don't try and bullshit your way in to be cut a bit of slack. Do that and you're a drongo."

He shook his head and sighed. "Masons."

Nearly 20 years later, my son is a toddler and my daughter only an idea. We are renovating our house, for the second time. It's a long weekend. I am digging merrily away on a Saturday when I hit a water main. Water floods.

These things happen. I call a plumber. He fixes it. It is very hot, so perhaps it is the heat. On the Sunday I swing with my pick and, with unerring accuracy, I hit the main again.

These things. Happen. The plumber arrives. Laughs. Time and a half. He fixes the main.

It is Monday. A public holiday. Yes, it must be the heat. These things happen in threes. My pick loves the water main. When the plumber arrives, he greets me like an old friend. "Mate, I should take you with me!"

We shake hands.

I look at him and I think of that knuckle. That knuckle can cut me a bit of slack. I forget which one it is but press on and don't let go of the plumber's hand .

He looks at me and I press his knuckle with my thumb. Perhaps if I only pressed one, even a wrong one, it would have been all right.

However I pressed every knuckle I could find - after all, it was double time.

The plumber wasn't a Freemason. He looked at me and I looked at him. I pressed a knuckle again. And smiled.

It all made sense to him. Three calls out. Nobody could possibly be that inadequate with a pick. He drew his hand back as if it had been burnt and said, in a rather unreconstructed tone, "Friggin' pervert!"

He got in his truck and drove off while water seeped around me: a bloody drongo. I laughed and wondered why didn't I listen to my father. Perhaps that is what all children must ask themselves at some stage during their life.

My daughter asks why I laugh and I say I was thinking of my dad and plumbers and leave it at that.

Fathers. We walk past the house of a man who owns little fluffy dogs. He walks them in the morning. Once, instead of the usual neighbourly nod, he stopped and told me how, the night before, his son had graduated as a doctor.

"We came here with almost nothing," he said, "and we own our home and my son, my son is a doctor. My son." And he laughed and whistled on with his fluffy dogs.

I think of him and my son says beside me, "They had to let some people go at the supermarket last week." I look at him: "Sacked them?" He nods. "I don't think I'd like to be sacked," he says. I nod.

As a teenager, I got the sack from the supermarket where I worked. I didn't really like working there that much but when they let a lot of us go, I felt pretty lousy.

That night, my father had leant on the door to my bedroom and said in his big voice: "You'll be all right." And he'd ambled off, humming Dean Martin.

So I punch my son in the arm and say, "You'll be all right." My son laughs and shakes his head.

We stop outside a house. All the cladding is gone and hand-made garden statues have been parked out the front with of bits of plaster and wall. There's Snow White with her eyes too close together and a collection of weird-looking dwarfs standing forlornly, victims of planned disaster. A shower is there too: the whole shower casing, dull ruby-pink in colour, plus a soap holder, taps and invalid handles.

It's a shock to see such a private bit of a home thrown out.

The old man who had lived here and stood in that shower would slowly pedal an old bicycle around the streets, a woman walking beside him. She was his daughter.

"Not bad for 89, eh?" he'd say to me as his daughter laughed.

Once, outside the house, he was having trouble getting on the bike and she stood beside him gently holding his elbow. "All right, all right," he snapped. "Go easy, Dad," his daughter said softly.

I asked if they needed a hand. The old man looked away. His daughter said they were fine. The old man held his daughter's hand.

"Remember when we made those?"he said, nodding towards Snow White. His daughter laughed. "You shouted so much. And I still think her eyes are close together."

Her father smiled a little and she helped him on the bike.

"Not bad for 91, eh?" she said. She said it with pride. "No, not bad at all," I said.

Fathers and children.

"Poor old Snow White," my daughter says. "They're throwing her out." And I hold her hand.

The street is changing. The old man died a year or two before. New people were in his house: their new home. Renovating it.

We often imagine we can somehow manage time: put things off and deal with stuff later.

But life isn't like that. It goes on and we go with it. We are finite. I walk along our street with my children. My son is already taller than me and my daughter is growing up. I am growing older. One day other people will make their home in the house in which we live.

Make it their home.

Yet even though a street may change, some things don't. A father and his children. I think of the man with his fluffy dogs and his pride in his son. I think of the father and daughter - how all those years after making garden statues, he reached for her. How she steadied him; how proud she was of him.

Nobody has the secret to being a perfect parent and nobody has the secret to living, no matter how many life-guidance gurus bang on.

All we can do is be: be with people we care about.

My father would yell and carry on. But I think I am more impatient than he was, even though he had five children.

He had a habit of bursting out with a "Hoy! You!" to one of us kids and then smothering us in a bear hug.

"You know, you're all right!" he would growl.

I never knew why he did it. But as I walk with my kids and our dog I think I see why. Life goes by. We grow and change. But if we care and let those we love know, maybe some things will always remain strong.

"Hey, you two," I say. "You're all right!" I try to sing a Dean Martin song. And our dog barks.

Graeme Marsden is District Ambassador for the 8th Masonic District of Massachusetts, editor of this Rural Lodge Newsletter and the lodge website.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Please let him know if you have news, however brief.

Gmarsden@colehersee.com