THE PENNSYLVANIA FREEMASON
Issued Ever y Three Months By The Right Worshipful Grand lodge of The Most Ancient end Honorable Fraternit y of Fre e ond Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania end Masonic Jurisdiction Th ereunto Belo ng i ng, through its
COMMITTEE ON MASONIC CULTURE- William E. Yeager, Past Grand Moster, Chairmen; William E. Montgomery, G. Edward Elwell Jr. Fra nk R. lee ch, William A. Carpenter, Charles A. Young and Ashby B. Paul.
APPROVED AND AUTHOR IZED ro BE PRINTED BY CHARLES H. NITSCH
Right Worshipful Grand Master
WILLIAM A. CARPENTER, Editor
Mailing Address: The Masonic Temple Broad and Filbert Streets, Philad e lphia 7, Pa
Vo l. III May, 1956 No.2
Seek And Ye Shall Find
The maki ng of a Freema son co nsi s t s in a continued course of educat ion, of training , and of character forming. While it may be accepted tha t it is an innermost d es ire, foll owed by obli gations that ma kes o n e a me mbe r of the Craft, ye t in a tru er form and be tt er sense, a man is ne ve r a Freemaso n unt il he tru thfu ll y and loyally l i ves up to his obliga · tions. And he cannot do that un til h e understa nds them, and eventually knows the ir scope a nd real mea nin g Freema s onry can ve r y well be div ided into m a n y phases. Its landmarks, its custo ms, its constitut ion and its laws , just t o m en tion a few if stud ied and mastered, can provide a most interesting co ur se for th e Master Mason seeking M aso ni c kn owledge. Its hi sto ri ca l bac kground ca n provide a mo s t in te r es ting program of inves tiga tion to th e member attracted t o a d esire f or research
On e p ecu li arit y about Freemasonry is that it will stan d in vestigation. The deep e r the re sear ch , the more extensive the kno wledge of its hidd e n art and secret mysteries, the mor e hi ghly it i s appreciated. A member of the Craft who merely takes his degrees in a li stless, careless sor t of m anner, and then remains as just a sp ecta t or at Lodge me e tin gs, ma y hold to the opinion tha t Freemaso nry diffe r s little from other soc ieties To th e co ntrar y, the Master Mas on who delves deepl y into Masonic lite ratu re, takes a li vel y interest in every part of th e Ritulistic and lodge
Work, and learns th e ori gin , m ea nin g and mora l b ea rings of i t s sy mbols, ca nnot poss ibly fall into s uch a n error. To him Freemasonry has a refin in g an d eleva tin g influe n ce not to be found in th e ordinary run of societi es. The philoso phi es of Freemasonry, when di scovered and then accepted an d pract iced , provide th at si mpl e but profound solution to th e p robl ems of hum a n r elationsh ips. May it be accepted th at Freem as onry is a way of li ving to th e Maste r M aso n who is interested enough to appraise and value th e wea lth that s h is, and hi s alone, by v irtue of his Mason ic members hip
The best informed Master Mason is the Master Mason who reads and s tu d ies. Cons eque ntl y, if we want Freemaso nr y to be of pract ical u sefuln ess and cu ltural attainment, we, as Free masons, must n ot n eg lect our Mas onic reading, our Ma son ic st ud y ing and our search for more Maso nic Light.-W. A. C.
Masonic Portrait of Brother George Washington
BY WILLI AM J. P ATERSON Grand L ibrarian and Curator
Through th e th ou ghtfulness and munificence of Broth e r J ohn Wanama ke r, Chairman of th e Committee on Libra ry and Mu se um, this extraord inar y oi l painting of Brothe r George Washington, adorned with Masonic clothing, was prese nted to the Ri ght Wors hipful Grand Lodge Free and Acce pted Maso n s of Penn sy lvania on December 7, 1910, th erefo re i is proper to call attention to the appropriateness of its having a p lace in the Maso nic Temple, Philadelphia
The original of this painting, a preciou s relic, is the cheris hed property of Alexandria Lodge No. 22, Alexandria, Virginia, of wh ich Washin gton was Maste r. The Artis t , William Williams, painted th e portrait from life while Wa s hington was in Philadelphia as Presi dent , at the r equest of Alexandria Lod ge No. 39, Ancient York Masons of Fairfax County, Virgin ia, Se pte mber 1794. This Lodge was or iginally chartered a t an Extra Grand Communication of the Grand Lodge of P ennsylvania on Feb ruar y 3, 1783, and on June 24, 1 784 Washington was elected a n honorar y member.
A circu la r letter was se nt from th e Grand Lodge of P en n syl va nia unde r date of February 23, 1 787 informing Lodge No 39 th at the Gran d Lodge had b ee n establi shed independently of Great Bri ta in and tha t it d es ir ed the return of their Warrant in order to renew it under the new organization
On April 28, 1788, the Grand Lodge of Virginia was organized and the L odg e de cided it would be mor e convenien t o work under i ts authorit y than that of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Therefore, on Octobe r 25, 1 788, th e Lod ge made app li cation t o the Grand Lodge of Virginia for a renewal of their Warrant and stated it was th e d esir e of the memb ers of the Lodge tha t our Brother George Washington s h ould be na med in the Char ter as Mas ter of the L odge. The desire of th e Lod ge was granted and its regist r y numb e r was changed from No. 39 to No. 22 under the title of Alexandr ia Lod ge No. 22
After the dea th of Washington th e Lod ge in th e yea r 1804. again r eq ue s t ed permi ss ion t o change i t s nam e so as t o embrace that of "Wash ington ," and th e Grand Lodge of Virginia granted their wishes and named it Alexa ndria Was hin g ton Lodge No. 22 without the Lodge ch anging the ir sa id Charter.
The portrait owned by th e Grand Lodge of Penns yl va nia is an excellent reproduction of
the original and was painted by Fann y Burke, a descendent of Washington's great co -worke r Thomas Jeffe r so n , for Brother Wanamaker who was the donor of this most valuable gif t, and it is in Grand Lod ge Mu se um with many other priceless possessions
It will be observed that the portrait pres e nts a fa r differe nt personal appea ran ce from man y others made a t the sa me period. Washington was th en sixty-fo ur years old. He had passed through innume rabl e cares and unparalleled responsibi lities, and none could pe rform the duties h e was called upon to do without betra ying th ose bodily sig ns of care and prematur e old age, wh ich ar e so faithfully depicted in th e por trait. The p a inter ha s given u s a livin g, truthful, r ep re se ntation of the man as h e was, not of the imaginary her oi c figure with wh ich others ha ve attempted to flatter. The app ea ran ce o f the man whose c haracter and noble examp le will eve r li nger in our memory for time t o come, i s in s triki ng contrast to tha t portra ye d by other artists.
Grand Lodge of S. Carolina
Honors R. W . P. G. M. Lehr
On April 26, 1956, in Charleston , S. C., Br o th e r Ralp h M. Leh r , Right Worshipful Pas t Grand Maste r of Penn sylva nia , received the Albert Gallatin Macke y Medal fr o m the Mos t Worsh ipful G ran d Lod ge o f Ancient Freemasons of So uth Ca r olina.
The presenta ti on was made b y th e M. W. Grand Master of South Car olina, Brother J. Ans el Eaddy, in recognition of Broth er Le hr 's "o utstandi ng service to Freemas onr y durin g the year 1955."
Pennsylvania Work is Sublime from its Simplicity
Albert G. M ackey, in hi s En cyclo pedia of Freem aso nr y, h as see n it fit ting and pr oper to use the very words of a Past Grand Maste r of P e nnsy va nia , Brother Ri chard Vaux, as pertaining to th e Rituali s ti c an d Lodge Work of Lodges in P e nn sy lvania.
Brother Va u x, who se r ved as Grand Master in 1868 a nd 1 869, s peaks of the Masonic Works o f his Ju risdiction with p a rd onable if n ot impartial, commendat ions :
" Th e P en n sylva nia Rituali s tic a nd Lod ge Wo r k is su blime from its s implicit y. That i t i s the Ancient Work is bes t sho wn co nclus ively, h oweve r, from thi s s ingle fact it is so s imple so free from th ose displays of modern inve nti o n s t o attract the attentio n , with out e nlig htening, improvin g, or c ultivating the mind. I n thi s Wor k every wor d has its s ignificance Its types and symbo ls a r e but the language in which t r uth s conveyed. These are to be s t udied to be und e r s tood. In the spoken lang ua ge no sy non y ms are p e rmitted. In the ceremon ia l no inno va tion s are tolera ted. In the Ritual no modern verbiage is a ll owed ."
FREEMASON
A Message from Our Grand Master
THE Annual Confe r ence of Grand Maste r s of Maso n s in North America was convened in th e City of Wash ing t o n , D. C. on Feb ruar y 20 and 2 1, 1956 with 363 regis tered from 56 member an d seve n fo reign jurisdic ti ons. All 49 Grand M as ters of the Uni ted States were present. The Di st ri ct of Columb a ha s its own Grand Lodge, thus 49 Grand Masters o f the United Sta tes.
The Conference has no l egis lative function s ince each G r and Lod ge is sove rei gn in its own J urisdiction. It meets to exchange v iews and t o di scu s s mutual probl em s
The r esponse to th e address of welcome was deli vered by Broth er Jo se ph A. Bat chelor, Grand Master of Indiana, who said:
"Yes, we are differ e nt in our practices. During th e life span of our respective jur is di ctions we ha ve each deve loped some of ou r ow n forms, observances and methods of procedure. In ma n y ways these con stitute interesti ng va ri a ti o n s that add richne ss to our traditions.
" But how ever we diffe r in external forms or in me th ods of operation , we h ave always the unifying influence of common a llegia n ce to th e same basic prin c iples So long as we are cosmopolitan in our thinkin g and have such opportunities for the fr ee commun ica tion of our ideas as are afforded in this grea t Confe r ence and in our interjurisd ictional v isi ta ti ons, th en we can n ever truly wander far a pa rt.
"We are abou t t o di s c u ss s ome very interesting qu es tion s It would be very u nu s ual and probabl y unhealth y if we s h ould all ag r ee on a ll of th em But th e importan t thing is the manne r of our ag r eeme nt or disagreement, fo r h e r e it becomes a matter of mutu a l gr owth in the solu tion of common problems. We a re grateful fo r tha t free exchange of ideas ."
F i ve t opics were di sc us sed, one Grand Maste r takin g the affirmative, one th e nega ti ve Afte r each topic had be en thorou ghl y discussed, a vote was taken to test the opinions of the Grand Maste r s presen t Onl y Grand Mas t e r s were permitted to vote
Should We Change Our Theory of Non-Solicitation For the Degr ees?
30 voted "Y e s "-5 vote d "No"
Is DeMolay a Prop e r Activity for Grand Lodges and Subordinate Lodges?
23 voted "Yes"-13 voted "No"
Should a Numerical Limit Be Pla ced on the Membe rship of Our Lodges?
17 voted "Yes"-23 vote d "No"
Should Jurisdictional Limits in States and Pro v inces Be Abolished?
21 voted "Yes"-20 voted "No"
S hould Our Ritual Obligations Conform Wit h Our J>rinciples and Practices?
12 voted " Yes"-30 voted " No"
Your Grand Ma s t er was assigne d the affirmat ive of the topic "Should a Num e ri ca l Li mit Be Placed on the Members hip of Our Lodges?"
His address follows:
" Brother Chai rman and Br e thren of the Confere n ce :
" Th e Grand Lodge of Penn s ylvania has giv e n considerab e atte ntion to th e m atter of placing a numeric al l imit on the memb e r ship of Lodges
" Th e Ju risdiction of P enn s ylvan ia has 585 Lodges with a t otal m emb e r ship o f 252,453, or an a ve rag e membership of 432 per Lodge. We have 126 Lodges wi th a membersh ip of over 600 and of th ese 126 Lod ges 2 1 ha ve a m emb ers hip of over 1000. One Lodge has 207 5 members:
" Let us co mpa r e these figu res with th ose of so me of the foreign Juri s di c ti ons. England h as 550, 000 m emb e r s in 6626 L odges, an average of 84 membe r s per Lodge ; New Zealand h as 4-1,938 members in 379 Lod ges, a n a ve r age of 110 members pe r Lod ge; Sou th Australia has 24,20 4 members in 186 Lodges, an ave rage of 130 memb ers p er Lod ge; Cuba has 3 1,9 19 m embers in 3 12 Lodges, an average of 102 members peM Lodge.
" At the Conference of Grand Mas t e r s in 1947, Brother Richard A. Kern, R .' W. Past Grand Mas ter of Pennsy lvania, addres:; ing this Conference, sa id Now i s th e time to think of fostering more Lodges to take care of the increas ing memb ers hip, rather than letting our Lodges become to o l a rge and impers onal. I s trongl y feel that we s hould l imit th e number that may b e initiated b y an y Lodge in a given month.'
" In m y addr ess delivered in Grand Lod ge on December 27, 19 55, I re comm e nd ed a careful stu dy of th e d esirability of s ma ller Lodges The smaller L odges wi ll encourage more Brethren to aspire t o office and se rve their Lod ge more full y " I have vi s ited man y Lodges in our Jurisdiction and h ave found in those Lodges hav ing a l a rge nu mb er of pe titioners, that th e meetings were t oo lon g The Lodge was t oo b usy obliga tin g great numbers of new Bre thren. There was no time for furth er p e r s onal interes t and, as far as we were concerned, they became jus t so m a ny mor e n ames on the Secretary's r oll.
(Continued on page 2)
A
Message from Our Grand Master
(Continue d from page 1
"It is extr e mely important t o h ave ample tim e during the eve ning f or fraternization. H ow can a new membe r r eall y learn to know his Bre th ren when th e membership runs into great n umb er s? We can be a ssure d tha t , in the foreign Lodges whose membe rs hip I have previous ly menti on ed, a new Brother has ample opportunity to r eall y le arn to know his Brethren and th us bec ome a real a sse t to Fre ema sonr y .
"As a prac ti cal exampl e, I should like t o s tat e that in Philadelphia, my hom e city, we hav e 96 Lodges with a t otal memb ers hip of over 54,000, an ave rage members hip of 563 per Lo dge The s mallest Lod ge ha s 49 m embe rs, th e lar gest 2075 .
"The Freemasons in Philad el ph ia have pledged th em sel ves to raise, by personal subscripti on, th e sum of $ 500 ,000 as t heir s hare toward buildi ng an additi on t o the Hos pital at om Ma s onic H o mes at Elizabethtown. It was s ugges ted th a t each L odge set a s its qu o ta SlO per member. Th e $500,000 goal h as nearly been r ea che d.
"It i s s ignificant to not e th a t th e s malle r Lodges ha ve done much better in rais ing their quot a than the larger Lodges W e feel this i s an indi cation of th e gre at er inte r est in Free m as o nr y i n s malle r Lo dges
" By th eir works, ye s h a ll know them.
"My immediate pr ed ec ess or, R. W. P ast Grand Master, Ralph M. Lehr, constitu t ed fiv e new Lodges in 1954. I am following his pattern. Several n ew Lodges a r e in th e making and one will be co ns t it ut ed in the suburbs of Philadelphia on March 8th next.
Development of Capitular Masonry in Pennsylvania
By WILLIAM E MoNTGOMERY
The bas is fo r the ritt1alis t ic work of the present thr ee S ymboli c D eg r ee s was evolved between 1717 a nd 1723 through th e effo rts of Dr. J. T. Desagu liers, th e r e cognized ritualist of Freemasonry; Ge or ge P ay ne, th e law-giver of th e Order; Dr. Anderson, th e h is torian; and several associat es.
Th e fru i ts of their l abors to a cons iderable extent have st ood the t es t of time, but as is tru e with so many man-mad e thin gs, perfectit;m itself was not achieved. As the years passed, errors and omissions were noti ced and efforts )llade t o correct them. I n an attempt to rem ed y th e m os t se riou s of the se r it uali s t ic and symbolic defect s, certain chan ges were s ugges t ed in th e 173 0 's, and later (1753) were included in th e Third Degree or wer e in corpora ted into a n ew or fourth d eg r ee which was calle d the H oly R oyal Arch .
I n spi t e of the denunciation of the ultraco nservatives and th e " die-hards" of the eighteent h century th e R oyal Arch Degree slowly but s ure ly became r ecognized as a n essential and integral part of the Ma s on ic sys te m As n ea rl y as ca n be asce rt ai ned it was firs t conferred in this country in 1758 in Ro ya l Arch Lodge, No 3, of Phi ladelphia In t hose da ys no Chapters existed and th e d egree was confe rred in th e Lod ge itself under conditi on s and requirements whi ch va r ied considerably in th e different Lo dges. Gradually here in P ennsylva ni a and elsewhere, separ a te organizations, called c hapt er s did come in to ex is tence within
"Earl ier I referre d to P as t Mas ter K ern' s r e ma r ks abo u t l imitin g the numb er of pe ti tions in l arge r Lodges Hi s suggest io n was put in t o qur Law in December 1950, wh en Broth er Willi a m E. Yeager was Grand Ma s te r.
"OuT Ahim an Re zon the Constit uti on of the Grand Lodge of P e nn sylvania, n o w r ead s :
(At th e cl ose o f ea ch Maso ni c year wh e n a Lodge rep orts a m e mb ers hip of 600, suc h a Lodge may r ece ive on ly 10 pe titi·on s for I n i ti a ti o n and Members hip monthl y ; if 700 members, on ly 9 pe ti tion s fo r Ini ti ati o n and Me mb ers hi p monthl y ; if 800 me mb ers, o nl y 8 pe t ition s for In itiation and Member s hip m onthl y ; if 900 memb e rs, onl y 7 petitions for Initia t io n and Me mb e rs hip m o nthl y ; i f 1000 membe r s, o n ly 6 pe titi o ns f or I n iti a ti o n and Me mbers hip monthl y ; a n d if 1100 m emb er s or m ore, onl y 5 petitions for Ini tia ti on a nd Me mb ers hi p Monthl y.)
" Th e Grand Lodge of P e nn syl vania d efi n itel y is in fa vo r of placing a numeri ca l limit on th e me mbe r s hip of our Lodges "
the structure of the Lodge itsel f. In 1791 , th ey were fo rmall y r ecog ni ze d by th e Grand Lodge of P enns ylvan ia and were accord ed pe rmi ssion t o confer the Ro ya l Ar ch Degree under the warrants of the Lodges to wh i ch they we re at ta che d. The Firs t Ch ief (as th e pres iding officer of the Chapter wa s th e n called} was req uire d to sec u r e the warran t of th e Lo dge from the Worshi pful Mas ter th er eof, exhibit it d ur in g the session of the Chapte r , and th e n r et urn the wa rrant t o th e Wo rsh ipful Mas ter afte r the Chapter had been closed.
On November 23, 1795 th e Grand Chapte r of Penns yl va ni a was co ns ti tut ed th e fir s t Grand Chapter in the Wes t ern He mis ph er e I t was no t independent, how e ver , but was u nde r t he direct control o f Grand Lodge . And the Chapters did not have charte rs of their own b ut con tinue d to work und er the warrants of th e Lodges I n fact , the principal va lue of the newly-formed Grand Chapter see ms t o be that i t became eventuall y a s tepping s tone for somethin g better.
I n certain oth er ju r is dictions ho wever, Grand Chap ters began to be establis hed wh ich we r e e ntirely se parate f rom an d ind ependent of th eir r es pec ti ve Grand L odges From tim e t o tim e in Pennsylvania, agita ti on was started among the mor e active Companions t o organ ize a Grand Chapte r wh i ch should exercise complet e an d exclusive dominion ove r its own affairs . This agitati on bore fruit on January 5, 1824, whe n both Grand L odge and Grand Chapte r met on the same day and an agr eement was r each ed whereby an ind e pende nt Grand Chapter sho uld be crea ted , t he final separation to be effective in Ma y of that sa me year
From Our Grand Secre tary's Office
EXEMPLIFICATION OF THE WORK
On Tuesd ay evening, Ma r ch 6, unde r the dire c tion of Bro th e r Andrew J. S ch r ode r , Instru c t or of th e Ritu a listic Wo r k, the t h re e
Deg rees wer e exe mpl ified in the pr esence of the R. W. Grand Maste r , Brothe r Charles H. Nitsch, in t h e a udit o r ium of Town H all, Broa d and Ra ce S t r eets, Philadelphia. Thi s is t h e first t ime in th e memory of th e Grand S ec r e ta r y th at th e Annua l Exempl ificati on of t he W ork has bee n h el d anywhere h ut in th e Ma so ni c T empl e in Phi ladelphia T ha t th e sh ifting o f the scene of opera ti ons was worth whil e, th e man y Bre thren who were in atte nda nce have alre ad y t es ti fie d. No one was deni e d admiss io n be cau se o f ove r crowdi n g, and all prese nt were able t o he a r and t o see ever y thing that took plac e
TilE MARC H Q UA RTERLY COMMUNICATION
Brownstone Lodge No. 666
Buildirtg New Masonic Hall
Gr o und breaking ce r e m onies for Brownston e Lodge N o 666's new Maso ni c Hall we re he ld on Sa t urda y aft erno on , Mar ch 17. Des pi te a h eavy s n owsto rm o f t h e prev iou s da y and a bitt er wind, approxim a t el y 100 members of the Lodge t urn ed o u t t o ta ke pa rt -in th e a ctive s tart of c o ns truction of th e new Mas oni c b u il d in g. Brown s tone Lodge, wh ich was cons tituted ba ck in 1910, was nam ed f or th e well known b r o wn s t o ne quarri es l o cat ed n ear H umme lsto wn, th e t o wn in wh ich t h e Lo dge is now l oca ted The pres en t Lo dge R oo m is very s ma ll and is on the t hird floor o f a bank building The n ew Maso ni c Hall will be l ocated in H ers he y, wh ich is n ea re r th e cen te r o f the a rea i n wh ich mo s t of the Browns t one members r es ide . T he buildi n g will be e re c te d on a spac ious corner plot, with amp le parking s pa ce, in a n ewl y devel oped sec ti on.
The two -story br ick s tru ct ure will be 50 feet wid e and 109 feet l on g The 48 b y 64 foot L odge Roo m will b e l ocated in th e second story al ong wi th the associa ted r oo ms, whi le th e so c ial r oom wi t h s tage , ki t chen fa cil ities and h ea ting and air cond i tioning plant will b e in the first s t ory . T h e b u ilding a nd eq uipm ent is expected to cos t appro x im a tely $ 125,000.00
Brother Claude R. Gre iner, a Pas t Master of Browns tone L odge was th e Arc hi te c t for the bui ld in g, whi le Brother Mart in L . Haldeman, als o a member of thi s Lodge , is th e General Contractor. Broth e r R obe r t M. Miller, P M., is pres ident and Wi lliam Kis hpaug h i s secretary, of t he Br owns ton e M a s onic T emp l e Association. -A. B. P.
Masons res id ing in the s tr icken a r eas, an d upo n th e approva l of the Co mm ittee o n Finance a nd th e R W. Grand Master, it had made gifts an d n on -interest bearing loans in the amou n t of $68, 738. 11 to a id in t he rehabilitat ion of those b r ethren who had suffe r ed losses.
L odges were r e imburse d for di r ect gran ts in the a m ount of. S 2,035 11
Gif t s were m ade t o in di vidua ls i n th e amount of. 19 ,953 00
No n -i nt erest bea ring l oans we r e made in the amount of 46,750 00
T ota l in g $68,7-38 .11
S pr-in gfield Lodge No. 779
Grand Lodge wa s opened i n Ample F or m on Wednesda y , March 7, a t 7 P M. , with 245 Lodge s r epres ente d Rep orts we r e r eceived f rom th e Com mitt ees on Finan ce, T emple, Mas onic Cu lture an d Childre n' s Se rv ice
Brother Ralph M. Lehr, R. W P ast Gr an d Mas te r , informed the Brethren of the progr ess of the Bui ld in g ·and Ex tens ion P rogram at t he H om es a t El izabethtown.
Brother Max F. Balc om, R W Sen ior Gr an d Warden, pr ese n ted a r e port of t h e meeting of th e George Washin gton Masonic Na t io na l Memorial Association h eld in Al exa ndr ia, Vi rginia, on Februar y 2 2, 19 55
Brother W LeRoy Mc Kinl ey, R. W. J unio r Grand W a rde n, r eported on the Confere n ce of Grand Mas te rs of Mason s in N ort h Ame ri ca, h el d in Washington, D . C. on Februa r y 2 0th and 21st
51000 for Tamaulipas R e lie f
The Comm i ttee on Emer ge n cy Relief r eported hav ing made a con trib ut ion of $1000 .0 0 to the Grand Lodge of Ta mau l ipas, Mex ico, f or t he r eli e f of it s members who we r e v icti ms of th e tremend o us hurricane of Novembe r, 1955 .
Aid for Victims of Flood s of August 19 55
The Committee on the Genera l Rel ief F und pr esented a rep ort whi c h d isclosed that, u po n the recommendation of t he S pec ia l F lo od Reli ef Committee appointed by the R. W. Gr an d Maste r to inves t igate th e e x te n t of the d amage caused by th e devastat in g floo ds of August 1955, and th e conseq uent financial l osses s uffe re d by th e members of ou r L od ges an d othe r
Me rely to Know Is Not Enough!
By G E ORGE A AVERY
R ight W orshipfit l Grand Secretary
"Though I u nder stand all myster ies, and have not charity , I am nothing."
T hese words, fr om one of the most fami li a r portions of the S cr iptures, the thirteenth chapte r of Paul's Fi rst E pistle to the Corinthians, express a truth which all F reemasons should constantl y bear in mind. How nicely they fit into the patte rn of our philosophy immediate ly becomes a ppare n t when the meaning of t he term " Mys t er ies" is understood
A petitio n was r eceived for a new Lodge , t o be he ld a t Spri ngfi el d , Delaware County, P e nnsylvan ia, to be called Springfield Lodge No 779, sig ned by three Master Masons, r ecommend ed by B rother W alter L. Moore, D istr ict D epu t y Gran d Master of Distric t 36, and by Geo rge W Bartram L odge, No 2 98, containing the s ignat u res of 133 Maste r Masons as Warrant Memb ers, wh ich was r eferr ed t o th e Grand O ffice rs wi th power to act.
S pringfield Lodge No . 7 79 was cons ti tu t ed in th e Mason ic T emple, Ches ter, P en n syl va n ia, on T hursday, March 8 , a t 4 P M. T he r e we r e 130 Warran t Membe rs T hree of the pe ti tio n ers
we r e unab le to be p r esent a t th e consti tut io n because of illness
Annual Sta t is ti cal Repot t The Gran d Secr eta r y prese n ted the followi ng s tat istica l r epo rt fo r t he year ending December 27, 1955 :
There was o ne Lodge cons ti tuted during th e year, maki ng a to tal of 585 L odges in the J urisd iction
D uri ng the year 8, 9 32 candi da tes we r e in itiat ed a nd 566 Masons were ad m itt'ed to members hi p, a gai n of 9,498
Su s pensio n s t otaled 71 9, 379 res ig ned , and 4,779 d ied d uring th e year, r epresenting a loss of 5,877.
T he net i nc r ease in membership fo r t h e yea r o f 3 ,621, ad de d t o t he memb ership o f 248 ,83 2 re po rted f or December 27, 19 54 , m a kes a tota l me mb ershi p as of D ecembe r 27, 1955, o f 252,453
T he deeper feel i ngs of the ancient Gr eeks ea rl y fou nd exp r ession in the p r actice of cert ain religious a nd semi -religious rites which were kep t sec ret f r om all except t he initiated . These were kno wn a s Mys teries, and correspo nd ed to the secret societies of our day I n i tia ti on included an oath of secrecy . It f u rther consisted of various stages or degrees, m ade up of lectu r es, elements of sacred drama, a nd other ce r emo ni es . T o confer the forn degrees of the Eleusi nian Mysteries took a period of ni ne full d ay s
The s imi lariti es between the Myste r ies a nd mo d er n Freemasonry have given r ise , from ti me t o time, t o atte m pts by overzealous Maso ni c sc h ol a rs , desiring to establish the antiquity of th e Craft, to trace an unbroke n co n nect io n be tween the Mysteries and Freemasonry S uch e ffor ts, however, have al ways proved wh oll y u nsuccessfu L Th e Mys t eries ga ined great popularity; firs t amo ng the Greeks , and, at a later period, among the Roma ns a s we ll Undoubtedly P aul k new of them . I ndeed, he may have been an initia t e , al though th ere is little evidence to suppo r t su ch an assump tion H owever, it seems l ogical to conclude that wh en he speaks of "und erstand ing all mys t eries, " he is referring to thes e secre t soc ie ties which flourished in his day
If thi s be so, t h en there can be no doubt abou t his m ea n in g : " T hough I have been in it iate d i n to t he Mysteries, and know their ri tua l , t h e ir s ymb ol is m, a n d the high an d en nobl ing prin ciples of religion and mor ality th ey t each, bu t h ave not charity, I am n othing!"
W ha t P au l said about the Mysteries may be said with equal tr uth about Freemasonry As Masons, i t is of v i tal i mpo r tance that we know all we ca n ab out F reemasonry . But if we m erely k n ow, i t is not enough ! We ca n not m easu r e our sta tu r e by the rule of the mind We must use t h e yardstick of the heart !
D o we live wha t we know? Do we love both God an d man? D o we serve as best we can?
G EORG E A. A vERY, Grand Secretary
O ur answers t o these questions g ive us the t rue measu r e of what we are as Masons. " T hough I understand all mys te r ies, an d have n ot cha ri ty I am nothing "
CHARLES H. NITSC H, Grand Ma ster
