This article was originally published in Issue 3 of Masonic Magazine

A Commentary on King Solomon’s Prayer
By Bobby Lynn Shehorn

Many Masonic authors mention the influence that Gnosticism had on the gradual development of the Speculative Freemasonry that perpetuates today. In their noble efforts to theorize the genealogy of the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, many historians include the Middle Eastern religious movement known as Gnosticism in their linear pedigree of the Craft. The influence of gnostic thought, on the seventeenth-century Brethren, who probably wrote the ritual that we still recite, is evident in King Solomon’s prayer in the Third Degree of Blue Lodge, or Craft Masonry.

Gnosticism, derived from the Greek word gnosis, meaning “wisdom” or “knowledge,” is a term for the religious system that developed in Egypt and the Middle East before and after the beginning of the Christian era. These sects and their Gnostic systems shared doctrines with Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, along with Hellenism and Hermeticism. The generic term of gnosticism refers to a general philosophy or school of thought that emphasizes a spiritual quest for knowledge. Gnosticism, in this broad sense, could apply to all of the ancient mystery religions, as well as Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, and yes, Freemasonry.

The Gnostic movement embodied many religious sects, including the Valentinians, founded in Rome around 140 CE, and some of these similar, but separate, gnostic schools were branches of early Christianity. This movement flourished through the third and fourth centuries, and found notoriety in the fifth century with an influential group known as the Manicheans. The Great Gnostics were eventually over shadowed by the widely-promoted Pauline doctrines of the new Church of Rome, that considered its Gnostic opponents to be heretics and a competitive threat. The doctrines of the Manicheans continued to have an influence well into the Middle Ages throughout Europe and Asia, and these Gnostic beliefs show its effect on the Ethiopian Christianity of the fifteenth century. The Mandeans, a religious sect that live in present-day Iraq, some believe to be the direct descendents from this ancient gnostic religious movement.

In 1945, new interest in Gnosticism emerged from the discovery of a cache of third- and fourth-century Coptic documents, found near Chenoboskia in Egypt. These forty-four, leather-bound manuscripts are referred to as the Nag Hammadi Codices from the name of the immediate area of discovery. Before these important records re-surfaced, the only information on the Gnostics came from bias accounts of the Heresiologists of the early Christian Church, and a few of the Gnostic manuscripts that survived Roman persecution. The Nag Hammadi collection is a topic of study for many theologians, and includes works such as The Gospel of Truth, The Treatise on the Resurrection, and the Book of Thomas, to which the writer has referred in this commentary.

Common beliefs of the Great Gnostics include two major doctrines:
1. Their concept of Gnostic Dualism referred to their belief that the human entity is divided into two, unique and independent parts: matter and spirit. It also alludes to Man’s earthly struggle between the natural forces of good and evil. Their belief in an ineffable, transcendent Supreme Being of pure spirit explains this concept. This is in contrast with the “Demiurge,” or Creator of the material world, who is an evil god and the enemy of mortal man.
2. The Gnostics believed that every person is born with a divine “spark” that could individually develop during mortal existence, by quest and attainment of pure knowledge. They taught that this inherent energy could be aroused or awakened, resulting in potential spiritual illumination of the individual. This higher self-awareness provides redemption and salvation by the result of ultimate wisdom of one’s inner-self. In their dogma, Christ, the Redeemer sometimes plays more the role of the Revelator, or Illuminator of the gnosis or knowledge, and less the character of the “suffering Savior.”

King Solomon’s prayer in the Hiramic Drama of the Third Degree in Masonry exemplifies the application of gnostic symbolism to the ceremonies of the Craft. Here follows the “Prayer of the Third Degree” taken from the latest Texas Monitor of the Lodge, and is believed to be the universal version:
“Thou, Oh God, knowest our downsitting and our uprising, and understandest our thoughts afar off. Shield and defend us from the evil intentions of our enemies, and support us under the trials and afflictions we are destined to endure while traveling through this vale of tears. Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth as a flower and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not. Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with Thee. Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; turn from him that he may rest till he shall accomplish his day.
For there is hope of a tree if it be cut down, that it will sprout again; and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. But man dieth and wasteth away, yea, man giveth up the ghost and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the floods decayeth and drieth up; so man lieth down and riseth not up till the heavens shall be no more. Yet, Oh Lord, have compassion on the children of thy creation; administer them comfort in time of trouble; and save them with an everlasting salvation.”

This wonderful composition may first appear to have been taken verbatim from the Holy Bible, as the familiar style and tone is indicative of the Scriptures. In actuality, King Solomon’s prayer is a compilation of edited excerpts from the books of Psalms and Job, which was revised and amended by, as of yet, an unknown author. The Third Degree prayer consists of nine sentences and the first is a rearranged version of the second verse of the 139th Psalm. Lines three through eight are edits from the fourteenth chapter of Job, but the second sentence and the last sentence are not in the Bible in any form.

The source of this fine spiritual work may always be a mystery. Original history of the Third Degree is scant, and the early mention of Hiram, or hint of more than two degrees in Masonry, appears in Pritchard’s Masonry Dissected, printed in 1730. This record implies that a three-degree system was developing in Britain by the later part of the seventeenth century. It is not certain why some Scottish Lodges do not use this prayer in their Masters Degree; nor if the prayer might be a later addition to the original drama. The scriptural passages in this piece are obviously taken from the King James Version of the Bible, and insure that the prayer could not date before the KJV’s first printing in 1611.

“Thou, Oh God, knoweth our downsitting and our uprising, and understandeth our thoughts afar off.”
In the opening line the compiler changed the original verse of Psalms 139:2, by substituting the first person plural “our” for the first person singular “my.” This line is a reference to the omnipresence of an all-powerful Supreme Deity, but substitutes the psalmist’s personal lament, for an unselfish invocation for the whole human-race, reflecting the Essenes’ disdain for personal prayer. Although taken alone, this modified verse may not appear to be gnostic in any manner. By closer analysis, however, “our downsitting and our uprising,” may be interpreted as a dualistic reference to the earthly ups-and-downs, in the mortal battle between the forces of good and evil. The phrase, “understandeth our thoughts afar off” in context, is a plea to the Omnipotent for his acknowledgment of “our thoughts,” and may refer to the aspirants’ good intentions in their quest for gnosis, in contrast to the “evil intentions” mentioned in the next line. This theological dualism can be compared to the general principals in Taoism, and with similar concepts of Zorastrianism.

“Shield and defend us from the evil intentions of our enemies, and support us under the trials and afflictions we are destined to endure while traveling through this vale of tears.”
The second line forms a brilliant transitional phrase that enjoins the opening line from Psalms to a body of Joban verses. Not only is this sentence functional, but it defines the Gnostic influences of the compiler(s) and sets the tone for the whole piece. Through the knowledge of the ages, man must “Shield and defend” himself from life’s endless struggle with evil. With that internal, divine spark and the mandate of Destiny, the good traveler will pass through this valley of sorrow to emerge triumphant. The Eastern principles of Karma and Dharma are also evident in this section.

“Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.”
Underscoring the brevity of life, this opening verse of Job 14 exhibits a strong concept of gnostic thought. Perpetuating a philosophical tradition that originated in Sumer in the second millennium BCE, the Great Gnostics believed that humans possessed an inherent, original sin, and were destined to struggle in a predominantly evil life that was created and controlled by an evil god. The Gnostics’ mischievous Demiurge, who they believed not only created the material world, but also made the heavens, they equated with Jehovah, the Hebrew god. The All-Powerful fabricated this divine destructive force and maintains order and control over the entire existence. There are several versions of the creation myth in Gnostic literature, and although these greatly differ from the familiar account in Genesis, most mention the existence of Man’s original sin. Although many world religions agree with this concept, the Great Gnostics became notorious for this belief from the immoral actions of their extreme fundamentalists that disregarded and disrespected all human life, even their own, in a world they regarded as totally evil. The more-learned Gnostics seemed to parallel the Buddhist’s idea of Dharma or the Brahmin concept of Maya in their relationship to the material world.

“He cometh forth as a flower and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not.”
The first half of the fourth line of the prayer of the Third Degree compares the birth of man to the blooming of a flower. This timeless metaphor is most visually effective in the symbolism of the lotus blossom, used especially by eastern religions. The author of Job 14:2 also alludes to the fleeting and final phase of the existence of Man, “cut down” by the scythe of Time. This is consistent with the Gnostic born-to-die attitude; but the symbolism of the flower adds the allusion of the human body as a beautiful and growing life-form that accomplishes the highest goals, only to wither and die. The second part of this quote calls to mind the Mystical or the Metaphysical, by the reference to “a shadow.” This has always been a term that represents the spiritual body, released from the deceased at the time of death. The Ancient Egyptians were rather explicit in their description of the various forms in the afterlife. The Gnostics shared their belief in the existence of a spiritual body, an ethereal mirror image of the physical body, which separates from the corpse at death but may be perceived from the mortal plane. However, this Gnostic spirit no longer accompanies the soul after the death of the flesh, and so “continueth not,” but is left behind in another realm of existence.

“Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with Thee; Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; turn from him that he may rest till he shall accomplish his day.
The first two phrases of this section are symbolic of the manifest destiny of man. This coincides with the Great Gnostics’ belief that its “Good God” carefully constructed a master plan for “his days” and “his months” of existence. One cannot overlook the possible implication of applied Astronomy or Astrology, then synonymous sciences to the Gnostics, but this influence is only relevant to the material universe, and could not effect the timeless, higher plane of the supreme God. “Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass,” means that the divine plan for Man includes the boundary of death, over which the mortal body may not cross. The phrase: “turn from him that he may rest till he shall accomplish his day”, is the first of a series of further allusions to reincarnation. Line six, Job 14:6, is a plea to God for him to ease Man’s transition into the afterlife, so he may be reincarnated and furnished the opportunity to continue his spiritual quest for Gnostic nirvana. This process of successive births is similar to the Buddhist’ samsara, or “dance of death.”

“For there is hope of a tree if it be cut down, that it will sprout again; and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.”
The negative tone of the Joban poet has now turned around to a positive revelation. The artistic use of a tree to symbolize human existence prevails in the art and literature of many religions and philosophies. Here, is it used to express the faith in the Gnostic belief that after death, there is rejuvenation and continuation. This might be only a reference to the transformation of the soul, but may also represent the analogy of the budding, “tender branch,” of the body, which would be reborn to grow and die again.

“But man dieth and wasteth away, yea, man giveth up the ghost and where is he?”
Both parts of this transcription of Job: 14:7 recall the symbolism in some of the previous lines. The first phrase emphasizes the inevitable fate of death, while the latter segment reminds us again of the separation of the spirit from the soul. The question: “and where is he?” seems to be an attempt to promote the Gnostic quest and the contemplation of a life after death. Another point here is that by the use of the word “he” in this section, the writer is making the distinction that only the soul, and not the spirit body, maintains the individuality of the entity in the afterlife.

“As the waters fail from the sea, and the floods decayeth and drieth up; so man lieth down and riseth not up till the heavens shall be no more.”
Again, the Masonic compiler chose to skip two verses of the fourteenth chapter of Job as he did between lines four and five of this prayer. Here, in line eight he resumes with Verse 10 of the Book of Job, a reference to Man’s resurrection. This line may be the most important part of this work, because in context, it underlines the principal Masonic lesson that is taught in the Hiramic Drama of the Third Degree. Some ancient schools of gnostic thought believed that the physical body did not rise after death; but that it was Man’s immortal soul or “intellect,” not his lifeless and decaying body, that experiences resurrection into “the heavens.”

The beautiful prayer closes with a benediction written by the compiler: “Yet, Oh Lord, have compassion on the children of thy creation; administer them comfort in time of trouble; and save them with an everlasting salvation.”
This concluding line is similar to Isaiah 45:17 by the fact that it also mentions an “everlasting salvation.” To the Gnostic, this would be a plea to his Supreme God for Man’s consolation in all of the running battles along the mortal path of self-awareness. As the traveler gradually awakens that spirit of God within himself through his successive incarnations, the adept obtains eternal salvation, but only by the blessings of the Almighty.

Thus, in King Solomon’s prayer in the Masters Degree we find elemental examples in the Hebrew scriptures, which prevailed in the doctrines of the Gnostic movement. Whether Gnosticism is a physical link in the historical lineage of the Craft, or that the Gnostics passed any Masonic principles to the European medieval stonemasons—either directly or indirectly—we can only speculate. By the study of this Masonic ritual prayer, however, we find an underlying Gnostic influence on the seventeenth and eighteenth-century Brethren, who molded our Ancient Craft into what it is today.

Bibliography of Sources

Budge, E.A. Wallis, Egyptian Religion, (New York: Gramercy Books, 1959, 1996).

Crafts, George R. ed., The Mysteries of Freemasonry, (The Morgan Exposé), (Kila, MT: Kessinger), [originally published in 1852].

Doresse, Jean, The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, (New York: MJF Books, 1958, 1986).

Duncan, Malcom C., Duncan’s Masonic Ritual and Monitor, (New York: David McKay Co.), [published c.1865].

Holy Bible, King James Version, Kelchner Illustrated Ed., (A. J. Holman, 1934, 1968).

Jung, C.G., Psychology and Alchemy, 2d Ed., (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1968, 1993).

Layton, Bentley, The Gnostic Scriptures, (New York: 1987, 1995).

Mackey, Albert G., Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Revised and Enlarged by Robert I. Clegg, (Chicago: Masonic History Co., 1909, 1956).

Megill, Rev. Gregory A., “Job 14 and the Worshipful Master’s Prayer,” Transactions, Texas Lodge of Research, Vol. XXI, (Waco, TX: Texas Lodge of Research AF & AM, 1986).

Monitor of the Lodge, Monitorial Instruction in the Three Degrees of Symbolic Masonry, (Waco, TX: Grand Lodge of Texas, AF & AM, 1982, 1998).

Pfeiffer, Vos, and Rea Pfeiffer, eds., Wycliff Bible Dictionary, (Peabody, MS: Hendrickson, 1975, 2001).

Poole, Rev. Herbert, ed., Gould’s History of Freemasonry, Vol. I, (London: Caxton, 1951, 1956).

Pritchard, James B., ed., The Ancient Near East, Vol. II, A New Anthology of Texts and Pictures, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1975).

Randolph, Kurt, Gnosis, the Nature and History of Gnosticism, (Edinburg, Scotland: 1977, 1998).

Robinson, James M., ed., The Nag Hammadi Library in English, 3rd Ed., (New York: Harper San Francisco, 1988, 1990).

Strong, James, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1984).

This article was originally published in Issue 3 of Masonic Magazine

As we bring this issue of Masonic Magazine to a close, I thought I’d take advantage of this space to reflect upon a few things that have been discussed within the pages of this edition.

If you have read all of the articles in our biggest issue to date, you have no doubt noticed a recurring theme– Freemasonry has lost its identity.

As W. Bro. Hodapp asked in his guest editorial, “Whatever happened to Masonic Pride?”

There was a time in North American Masonry, as I pointed out in my article on the Detroit Temple, that we Masons were proud of our craft and were willing to dig into our pockets to erect wonderful buildings that we could be proud of.

Today we will argue for hours on end to ensure that our dues never go over that magical $50 mark, when our predecessors were quite willing to give a week’s wages or more to their craft.

But is it any wonder that we place so low a value on the craft when the average Mason does not understand the meaning of the fraternity to whom he pays his dues and to whom he is asked to donate his time. This is not merely my assessment of things, but is the message that the Masonic information Centre has revealed in their excellent publication, It’s About Time.

Instead of setting dues at a level that would allow us to support great buildings like the Detroit Temple, we continue to drain our resources by running one fish fry and fund raiser after another to offset our deficit. And while we are spending time trying to fix one deficit, we create another—a long line of Masons who do not understand Freemasonry.

Perhaps if we began offering men what we say we offer them, then we would not be seeing so many good men leaving the craft in disgust. Freemasonry is supposed to take a good man and make him better not take a good man and make him bitter.

It’s About Time that we started having less fund raisers and more fun raisers.

Why not take some of that money we are giving to outside charities and spend it on ourselves through better programs, festive boards, lodge rooms and regalia.

Is that selfish? Not really.

If every lodge made a commitment for the next ten years to stop giving to our institutionalized charities and instead look after our own buildings and programs, we could create a large number of Masons who understand that Freemasonry works best when each Mason makes the teachings of the craft an integral part of his daily life.

Then we would not need to have fund raisers because our brethren would do what needs to be done by instinct rather than by coercion.

And that’s the last word.

Stephen Dafoe

This article was originally published in Issue 3 of Masonic Magazine

By Christopher L. Hodapp, PM

Last summer – the beginning of last summer, as a matter of fact – I stacked a dozen bags of mulch and topsoil next to my garage. Now, I had every intention of spreading that stuff all over my garden. I had big plans, but I got sidetracked. Things happened, and there are loads of really outstanding excuses as to why I never got around to it. So they sat there. All summer, fall and winter. They’re still there. As I write this, I figure it’s been about 270 days since I put them there. I see them every single day of my life. I walk right past them twice a day. The fact is; I don’t notice them anymore. They’re torn now, leaking and ugly, providing fodder and a new home for the chipmunks. They’re an eyesore. I’m sure they’re responsible for plummeting property values in my neighborhood.

Well, perhaps it’s not that drastic, but you get my point.

Which brings me to the discussion of our Masonic Temples. I joined a suburban Masonic lodge that had recently moved to an office building put up in the 1960s. I joined what I knew was the oldest, largest and greatest gentlemen’s fraternity in the world. So, when I walked into my lodge for the first time, I was a little surprised at how shabby it all looked. The walls were covered in sickly, institutional green wallpaper from the early days of the space program. The lobby and lounge area were decorated with two mismatched and startlingly horrific couches that no penniless college student would have had in his apartment. A pittance of library books was moldering on collapsing particleboard shelves. The carpets were worn clear through to the concrete floor in some places, which were a little hard to see because of the broken light fixtures. Still, it was not an especially prosperous lodge, so I knocked it up to the place having fallen on hard times.

Months later, I strolled into the once-impressive downtown Temple that is home to ten lodges and many appendant groups, as well as our Grand Lodge office. That’s when I came to the realization that the problem is endemic throughout the Masonic fraternity. Low-wattage light bulbs installed in every room to save money cast a dim, pallid glow over the whole place. I saw peeling plaster and paint. Couches purchased in the 1930s with broken legs, held up by bricks. An auditorium that had sat unused for almost 40 years, filled with old files and trash. No climate control, rendering it uninhabitable for almost five months out of the year, making it an eight-story Petri dish for mold and mildew. In a word, it stank.

Criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling developed the `broken windows’ thesis to explain the growth of crime and decay in urban areas that are plagued by vandalism and unkempt property. The theory goes that if a building has broken windows, graffiti on the walls and trash in the foyer, it encourages – nay, invites – vandalism, crime and further deterioration. If the landlord doesn’t fix the problem immediately, he’s a big part of the problem, because he is providing an atmosphere of decay for the whole neighborhood, whose inhabitants will come to believe their community is a lost cause.

Broken windows are more than just bleak and ugly pockmarks. Sixty years ago, a broken window would get a kid in serious trouble. Neighbors would round up the miscreant and there would be a price to pay for causing the damage. But the proliferation of broken windows, with no consequences for the offenders, signals a loss of control, a lack of caring, and a devastating loss of pride.

I contend that the same theory can be applied to our aging, decaying Masonic buildings. The more we neglect our Temples on the outside, the more they rot spiritually on the inside, spiraling into lethargy and failure. One of the most misunderstood phrases in Masonry is that the fraternity regards the internal and not the external qualifications of a man, and we’ve gone on to believe it about our Temples. The truth is that what is on the outside is a reflection of what goes on inside. We’ve been breaking our own windows. And it’s high time we got in trouble for it.

Our grandfathers and great grandfathers built these magnificent monuments to Masonry. In 1892, the Freemasons of Chicago built the tallest skyscraper in the world, 22 stories high, and it remained the tallest building in Chicago for more than 30 years. In 1926 the Masons of Detroit opened the largest Masonic building in the world, home to almost thirty different Masonic bodies, with room for a total of fifty. It had more than a thousand rooms, three auditoriums including one that seated 4,100 people, restaurants, ballrooms, hotel rooms, a barber shop, even an indoor pool. They believed “build it and they will come.” They donated lavishly to their fraternity and constructed splendid Temples for us, designed to last for generations as proud symbols of Freemasonry. And they spent lots of their own money, at a time when there were no tax incentives to do so; nor were there social safety nets for their retirements. Yet, they still gave much in both time and treasure to Freemasonry for these places we now treat with such slovenly and appalling neglect. What our forefathers constructed for the Ages, we now scornfully dismiss as white elephants.

In the effort to be politically correct, we don’t call them Temples anymore, but our fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers sure did. These were Temples to the ideals of Freemasonry. Great things went on inside of them, and the community knew who and what the Freemasons were and what they stood for. As America expanded and new towns were founded, the Masonic Temple and the local church were some of the first buildings erected. The Masonic Temple was vital to a community. Balls were held there. Politicians spoke there. Visiting celebrities and luminaries were feted there. Today, thousands of people drive past our faceless buildings and never know what they are. Ask a hundred people in your town if they know where the Masonic lodge is, and you’ll be depressed beyond belief.

These are not white elephants, my brothers. These are our Temples, our heritage. They are priceless, irreplaceable treasures. And we throw them away now like they don’t matter, like they are not worth fighting for. We are murdering our own posterity out of sheer Scrooge-like stinginess, as if we don’t believe in ourselves and in our fraternity anymore. Instead, we believe the myth spun by the popular press that we’re dying, nothing but a sad collection of old men in decaying halls. That IS what they say about us, and we go right on giving them little evidence to the contrary.

The men who built these Temples only wanted us to do one thing: treat them with respect. Maintain them. Paint the walls every once in a while. Keep the light bulbs changed. Replace a carpet when it gets worn out. Reupholster a chair when it becomes torn or better yet, replace it. No one is asking us to build new Temples. The least we can do is protect them until a new generation comes along that cherishes them as our grandfathers did. But as every year ticks by and one more Temple goes away, we will never get them back. And we certainly won’t ever have the vision or the guts to build another.

Lodges that sit, year after year, whining that no one is showing up, yet failing to change one single aspect of the way they do things, are not just shooting themselves in the foot. They are taking careful aim at their own heads and blasting away. When new men see these tumble-down places, so obviously uncared for by our own members, why would they want to join us? And if they do join and are treated like greedy, bratty interlopers for daring to suggest spending any money, they won’t come back.

When lodges fail to attract new men, it is bad leadership. When lodges lose men after they join, it is bad leadership. When lodges let their buildings fall down around their heads while they hoard money for some nebulous future disaster, it is bad leadership.

What has happened to the philanthropic brethren in this fraternity, the men who thought so much of it that they gladly and lavishly donated to build these places? My own lodge’s original three-story brick building was entirely financed by one individual brother’s gift in 1907 of what would today amount to almost $700,000. We stopped asking our members for money for our own Temples long ago in favor of our Masonic Homes, the Shrine Hospitals, the Dyslexic Centers, the CHIPs programs, the York Rite Charities, and more. But as wonderful as those programs are, we are making a big mistake if every penny we have goes into them. Our institutionalized charities have robbed us of the first duty we have as Masons - namely, to look after each other, and to keep Freemasonry safe and proud and strong for our members and for the next generation. Or a simpler way of putting it is; we don’t ask anymore. We don’t ask ourselves to step up to the plate to collect $2000 for carpeting, or $4000 for a furnace, or $10,000 for a parking lot, or a million for a new building. Churches do, and so do every other kind of community organization, from YMCAs to country clubs. So did Lodges, once. Why don’t we now? Do we think so little of our fraternity now? Is it not worthy now? What has happened to our pride?

And don’t think it’s because our lodges have 300 members but only 10 ever show up. If you look at your old minutes, Masters were lamenting tiny turnouts at the height of the building boom in the 1920s. In those days, just being a card carrying Mason still required certain responsibilities to the lodge, responsibilities we don’t ask of our stay-at-homes these days.

Don’t misunderstand - not every clapboard lodge building from the 1920s necessarily needs to be preserved, any more than my rural uncle’s outhouse from the same era. One neighbor’s historic landmark is another’s ramshackle, pigeon-infested eyesore. In a lot of cases, we really do have too many lodge buildings. We don’t walk or ride a horse to the Stated Meeting anymore, so we no longer need a lodge every five miles as the crow flies. It is a far better use of our resources for there to be many smaller lodges that meet in one common Temple.

If we don’t present a dignified face to the outside world and provide meeting places that our old and new members can be proud of, we are slitting our own throats. It is better for us to meet in a hotel ballroom than in a fallen-down barn of a place that we refuse to maintain. At least a hotel will keep it clean, climate-controlled and well lit. But if we have any desire to really rebuild this fraternity, our Temples need to regain their place at the center of our communities, as they were 60, 80 and a hundred years ago. They need to be places we want to come to, and bring our friends and families to. They need to be comfortable and inviting, places where brethren want to congregate before and after meetings, instead of eating, meeting and fleeing. That isn’t going to happen with $45 annual dues and no strategic financial planning for the future.

There are happy stories in Freemasonry about some of our Temples around the country. Visionary men are now transforming the downtown building I spoke of earlier in this piece. Capital campaigns and a 501c3 tax-exempt foundation have been created, and they are seeking donations and community participation. Dancing, theatrical and singing groups are now renting the auditorium, and they see more potential for the space than the last four decades of Masons did, under whose noses it sat unused and neglected. It sat unused because we walked past it for forty years and never even saw it any more, like those bags of mulch in my front yard. But now that there is new life in the building, the resident Lodges are awakening. Checkbooks are opening. Lodge rooms have been plastered and painted, furniture has been bought, social rooms have been redecorated, and there’s even a rumor of air conditioning coming to this Temple nearly a century after it was built. Just as broken windows encourage rot, investment and vision are now encouraging growth.

And something even more important.

Pride.

Chris Hodapp is a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge #643 and the Master of Lodge Vitruvian #767 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of “Freemasons For Dummies.”

This article was originally published in Issue 3 of Masonic Magazine

By Stephen Dafoe

The Poet’s Tears & The Masons’ Shame

Robbie Burns is standing in Detroit’s Cass Park with his arms folded. The poet’s stance suggests that he might be contemplating his next literary work, except for the tears in his eyes.

Looking northward toward the intersection of Temple Avenue and Second Boulevard, where the cornerstone to the famed Detroit Masonic Temple was laid in 1922, he can see a garbage bag lying on the street beneath the very spot where George Washington’s working tools were once used to spread the cement for the stone.

Burns wonders why nobody bothers to pick it up.

He wonders what happened to the pride and optimism that made the neighborhood so vibrant during the 1920s and he wonders why his Masonic Brethren no longer seem to share that fraternal pride. He knows, all too well, that if something drastic does not happen soon, his beloved Masonic Temple will be boarded up just like the Hotel Fort Wayne, the Temple Towers and many of the other buildings in the neighborhood. And he is afraid; afraid to be left alone in the ghetto that the neighborhood has now become.

Of course, Brother Burns is just a bronze statue. The poet’s likeness was erected in 1921 by the Detroit Burns Club in Cass Park, which takes its name from another famous Mason, Lewis Cass, who was not only Michigan’s first territorial governor, but also the first Grand Master of Masons in Michigan.

While bronze statues are not capable of sentient thought, Burns’ statue, if it could think, would not be alone in its assessment of the probable fate that awaits the world’s largest Masonic Temple.

Russell Spice is the secretary of the Masonic Temple Association of Detroit, a position he has held for the past eleven years. In fact, Spice has been on the board for the last 27 years and is the association’s longest serving member. As such, he is knowledgeable, candid and certainly pulls no punches when it comes to talking about his Temple.

“We are broke,” Spice said. “We have a negative balance sheet; the bills cannot be paid and there is a grave situation of [boarding] up the building and closing it.”

The probable loss of the Detroit Masonic Temple is quite possibly a microcosm of the state of North American Freemasonry today. While the loss of any Masonic building shows that there are not enough financial resources in that jurisdiction to support a building, there is a much bigger picture to be seen. The closure of any Masonic Temple shows that there is not enough support in principle, membership or cash to continue on with the traditions started by the Masons of a bygone era, who, with hammer, saw and clear vision, set out to create physical landmarks on the North American landscape inside of which they could practice the philosophical landmarks of their craft.

Each time a Masonic building is allowed to rot from lack of care or pride, it is akin to placing an aged loved one in a nursing home, there to rot alone, unloved and forgotten. When we allow this disrespect of our collective Masonic heritage to occur in favor of supporting yet another charity, the principles of Freemasonry take yet another devastating blow.

Like all the great physical landmarks of Freemasonry, the Detroit Masonic Temple and its plight is a cause for which all Masons ought to rally around. In order to understand why this building is so important to the craft, we need to examine how the Temple came to be, what it once was and then reflect upon what we have allowed it to become through our own neglect.

Designs Upon a Trestleboard

Towards the end of the 19th century, the various Masonic bodies, then meeting in Detroit, were scattered. According to Spice, who is well versed in the history of Detroit Masonry, “the Masonic fraternity in Detroit decided they wanted to build a building that they would own because all the different branches were renting in different parts of the city and we decided to come together as one and build our own.”

Those plans commenced on August 11, 1892, when three lots were purchased at First Street and Lafayette Boulevard at a cost of $50,200, which would be over $1.3 million in today’s money. Soon after, this newly acquired property was merged with that owned by the Michigan Sovereign Consistory and the present Masonic Temple Association of Detroit, which Spice is currently secretary of, was born.

Despite the fact that the United States was in the midst of an economic depression, the Masons of that era were determined to push forward to make their dream of a new Masonic Temple a reality. The cost of that dream was $344,198 or $80 per member. To put those costs into a modern perspective; the new Temple, which opened in 1895, was erected at a cost of over $7 million or $1,642 per member in 2006 dollars.

The Lafayette building was a seven-story tall red brick building; 140 feet in height with a basement that plunged 12 feet below the grade and consisted of a total volume of 1,743,600 cubic feet of space. The auditorium seated 750 people; 450 on the main floor and an additional 300 in the balcony area (1).

As impressive as the new Temple was, it became obsolete early into its second decade of existence. A publication put out in 1926, telling the story of the present Detroit Masonic Temple, provides us with an insight as to why.

Notwithstanding the careful planning and wise devising of the committee, the Order outgrew the Lafayette Boulevard Temple in twelve years and in 1908 it was crowded to capacity. The growth of the Order had been so rapid that it was found necessary to place restrictions on the use of the dining room service, the assembly halls and other parts of the Temple. With the idea in mind of enlarging the Temple then in use, the Temple Association finally purchased 50 additional feet of land on Lafayette Boulevard from the Newland Estate and 16 feet from the Benevolent Order of Elks. (2)

George D. Mason & Co., who would go on to design the present Temple, was employed to draw the plans for the enlargement of the Lafayette Temple. Postcards from the early 20th century clearly show the difference between the 1895 Temple and the proposed expansion. It was decided however, that the additional land would not be sufficient to carry out the plans and in 1913, the Temple Association decided to look for land elsewhere in Detroit.

After much consideration, they settled on a parcel of land which consisted of 350 feet on Bagg Street (now Temple Avenue) and extending eastward to the Northeast corner of Second Boulevard, where the cornerstone of the new Temple was laid in 1922.

Originally the Temple was to be in the shape of a Master’s gavel, with the ritual rooms comprising a tower to the Northeast and the auditorium / dining facilities forming the handle of the gavel to the west. These plans were scrapped when the Moslem Shrine Temple purchased 50 feet of land on Bagg Street and decided to come on board with the new project.

With Mason & Co. turning in modified designs, which now included plans for a 10-story Shrine headquarters, the Temple Association went about securing subscriptions to finance the new Temple. As with most Masonic buildings of that era, the Detroit Temple was built entirely free of debt. Those initial subscriptions from Masons amounted to $2.5 million or just under $27 million in today’s currency and the final building costs were $7 million or $74 million by today’s comparison. Clearly post-World War I Masons were prepared to express their fraternal optimism in terms of dollars and were not the least bit reluctant to put their pocketbooks where their dreams lay.

Ahead With Optimism

If Lewis Cass could have seen the gathering of his brethren that assembled in the park that bears his name at High Twelve on Thanksgiving Day, 1920, he would surely have been proud of them; for thousands of Masons and their families filled the park; so many in fact that they flowed out onto Second Boulevard and Bagg Street.

Although little has been written about that groundbreaking ceremony; a panoramic photograph taken on the occasion sums up the story with but a single word—pride.

Masonic Pride was certainly the order of the day. Templars, in full regalia lined one side of the assembled masses; Master Masons another. A Band in full attire was present to provide musical accompaniment for the auspicious occasion as many in the crowd waved placards and hoisted Old Glory proudly towards the sky in honor of this great Masonic architectural undertaking.

Nearly two years later, on September 18, 1922, thousands once again gathered to witness the laying of the cornerstone at the corner of Second and Temple. As with the House of the Temple in Washington DC (see issue 1) and the George Washington Masonic National Memorial (see issue 2) George Washington’s famous trowel was brought from the Virginia lodge that bears his name. There, in the Northeast angle, Washington’s trowel spread the first cement that would be used to erect this Temple of 20th century Masonic Pride and optimism.

That Temple was opened four years later on Thanksgiving Day, 1926; its rooms dedicated and consecrated for Masonic use in full ceremony by the Grand Lodge of Michigan.

Not Just Another Masonic Temple

This Masonic Temple was not just another Freemasons’ Hall. Indeed, never before or since has so large and complex a Temple been constructed, including the one made famous by King Solomon.

It is hard for anyone who has not passed through the doors of the Detroit Masonic Temple to fully comprehend just how unique and special this building was to those viewing it for the first time in 1926 or to the millions who have entered its doors since.

The 1926 booklet published by the Temple Association gives us an indication of just how massive the building as a whole was by stating that

there are 1,037 rooms in the Temple, the roof of copper concrete and asphalt is 80,000 square feet in area-or nearly two acres; the excavation for the foundations required the removal of 1,620,000 cubic feet of earth: 3,850,000 bricks were used for partitions and walls; the exterior contains 100,000 cubic feet of stone from the quarries of Indiana, and the structural steel used in the erection of the building weighs 16,000,000 pounds.

But the Masonic Temple Association of Detroit was not the only group boasting of the size and scope of the new building at the time of its construction. An advert for Richardson Roofing, who provided the Temple’s roof, found in the January 12, 1924 edition of the Literary Digest reads in part:

This beautiful structure can accommodate more than 15,000 people without the least confusion. Its electrical plant is large enough to supply power and light for a small city. (3)

Similarly, manufacturers of everything from trucks to urinals were only too proud to take out full-page ads in a variety of publications boasting that their product line was the brand chosen to be used for or by the Detroit Temple. Apparently 1920s Masonic Pride was contagious, at least where the new Temple was concerned.

Not only was the building to be used for Masonic and public purposes, it would be a place for Masons to relax and enjoy some recreation. The building included a 3-chair barber shop, a shoeshine parlor, 15 bowling alleys, billiards room, a world-class gymnasium, bakery, cigar shop, a roof-top garden and a swimming pool. Unfortunately the swimming pool was never completed and despite rumors that it was an architectural flaw that prevented its completion, the Temple Association denies that there is any truth to the rumor. The simple fact of the matter is that the Depression hit and there were not the funds available to complete the plans for the pool.

What did get completed was a 12 million cubic foot Gothic structure consisting of 28 units, which were broken into three sections: the Ritualistic Tower, the Auditorium and the Shrine Tower.

The first of these, the Ritualistic Tower, soars 210 feet above Temple Avenue and is comprised of fourteen stories, including a designed but never completed Master Masons’ auditorium, which would have seated eight hundred Masons. Below the empty auditorium there are seven lodge rooms, each with its own unique decorative style; Byzantine, Corinthian, Egyptian and Italian Renaissance, being but a few examples of the variety of architecture found in them. An additional two lodge rooms were planned for but, like the auditorium, never completed. In addition the Ritual Tower included a Chapter room, Commandery Asylum and a meeting room for the Scottish Rite.

According to the booklet on the Temple, at the time of its opening, the Ritualistic Tower provided “a home for twenty-six Blue Lodges, the Consistory, two Commanderies, five Chapters and the Council.”

The auditorium section, which was the handle in George Mason’s original gavel design, consists of far more than the famous 4,404 seat auditorium, which has seen everything from rock acts like Jimmy Hendrix and the White Stripes to the theatrical plays of Andrew Lloyd Webber grace its massive 5,500 square foot stage over the years.

Directly above the auditorium is a 17,500 square foot drill hall designed for the uniformed bodies of Freemasonry, which, at the time of its construction, consisted of the Commanderies, Consistory and the Shrine Patrol. The entire floor is a floating floor; one of only three in the United States in existence at the time. The floor’s hardwood was laid on felt in order to provide cushion, thus preventing foot and leg fatigue for Masonic marchers. For the last decade, New York’s famed Rockettes have rehearsed their annual Christmas Spectacular in the Detroit Temple’s Drill Hall. In addition, the rival Fox Theatre often uses the floating floor for their rehearsals, allowing the Fox to showcase one show in their theatre while rehearsing the next across town in the Drill Hall.

Below the auditorium there are two ballrooms; the Crystal and the Fountain. The smaller of the two, the Crystal Ballroom, was designed in an Italian style and derives its name from two large crystal chandeliers found in the room. At the time of its creation, this room was considered large enough to accommodate 900 for dinner or 1,500 for dancing. Modern fire code regulations have reduced the maximum capacity by almost half. While by today’s standards, this seems like quite a large ballroom, no matter how many are currently allowed to occupy it, it is the larger of the two that gives an indication of just how much socializing went on in the Detroit Temple during the mid-1920s.

Two large staircases; one on either side of the room lead to the large, circular banquet and dance hall called the Fountain Ballroom, which was advertised at its opening to be big enough to seat 1,800 for dinner and 3,000 for dancing. Again these numbers have been reduced by almost half.

The room takes its name from the large mosaic fountain, which was once a central feature of the room. Until recently, the namesake fountain had not been seen by Masons of the present era. It was discovered by accident in the course of some repair work to the dance floor.

According to Russell Spice, the wooden floor of the Fountain Ballroom always felt a little different and had a bit of give to it. Eventually, this floor began to have some serious problems and the cost of replacing the floor was estimated at a half a million dollars. This amount was too much for the troubled Temple and the maintenance man was instructed to tear the floor up in one corner to see what was underneath.

Much to everyone’s surprise and delight, they discovered that beneath the decaying wood floor, was a Terrazzo floor in pristine shape. Spice checked the records of the Associations minutes from the time when the Temple opened onward. He discovered that after the first year of operation the Mason’s wives had complained that dancing on the terrazzo floor caused their legs and back to hurt So much so that the Association covered it in wood. Taking a lead from the Commandery Drill Hall, the new floor consisted of 2 x 4s, lined in felt, overtop of which the hardwood floor was laid.

All that they had to do was to tear up the hardwood, pick up the felt-lined 2 x 4s and give the underlying terrazzo floor a quick sweep and mop—problem solved.

The End Of One Problem And The Start Of Another

If all of the Detroit Masonic Temple’s problems were as easy to fix as tearing up an old wooden dance floor, the plight of the building would not be so grave.

Recent departures by the Shrine, in August of 2003, and the Scottish Rite, in January of 2006, have deprived the Detroit Temple of much needed financial resources.

The 10-story Shrine Tower had been the home of the Moslem Shriners for 77 years, but it seems they did not understand that the $22,000 they paid each month was not rent, but more like a condo fee for the upkeep of the property. With their departure, the Temple Association lost over a quarter of a million dollars per year in revenue.

According to Spice, the consensus of opinion is that “they felt they were paying too much for a building they didn’t own.”

“You have to understand how this building is put together,” Spice said. “It’s an association just like a homeowner’s association in a condominium complex.”

That association was formed by the Masonic fraternity, with each group having a number of seats and votes on the Temple Board.

“The Scottish Rite had nine seats, the Shrine had six and all the York Rite and Blue Lodge bodies had one seat [each]. So we had 40 some seats. The title of the building and the title of the land is in the name of the association; so the Shrine would say ‘we don’t own the building, the association owns it,’ which is a true statement; except they owned part of the association. When they moved out, we had 35 seats on the board—they had six of the 35, so they had 6/35 or one 1/7of the ownership of the association, which owned the building. Granted, they couldn’t go out and sell a seventh of the building and take the money.”

Whether the Moslem Shriners are in better shape since their move from Detroit or not largely depends on who you talk to. According to Spice, when you compare how much the Shrine was paying to the amount of space they had, it worked out to about $4.00 per square foot. Considering that the going rate in Detroit currently ranges between $8 and $14 per square foot, Spice feels his Detroit Temple was a bargain.

According to other sources, the present building used by the Moslem Shriners is said to have cost $4 million and was purchased with cash. If this is in fact the case, it does not take an accountant to figure out that $4 million, properly invested would have generated enough interest to more than pay the $250,000 a year they were paying to the Temple Association for a 10-story facility.

Just prior to Thanksgiving, 2005, almost 85 years to the day of its groundbreaking ceremony, the Temple Association was forced to lay off half of its employees. At that time they had 40 full time and 200 part time employees.

As if the Shrine’s departure was not taxing on the remaining members, the January 1st departure of the Scottish Rite from the building further injured the struggling Temple’s chances of survival. At the time of their departure, the Scottish Rite was paying $390,000 per year for their share of space in the 550,000 square foot Temple.

Unlike the Moslem Shriners, it seems the Scottish Rite has not immediately moved into a new building. According to sources inside the organization, they are planning to move into the struggling Dearborn Masonic Temple, which rumor has it, is being given to the Scottish Rite, who will spend a couple of years renovating the building.
The Scottish Rite are presently renting space in an old school building until their new facilities can be completed.

With the AASR’s departure, the Temple, which optimistically started its life as a home for the York Rite, Scottish Rite and the Shrine, is now living its last days as a purely York Rite building.

According to Spice, there are now only 15 groups, consisting of 10 lodges, 2 Chapters, 1 Council, 1 Commandery and the York Rite Sovereign College, still meeting in the Temple.

“The Shrine and the Scottish Rite moving out took so many members and such a large portion of our budget that the Association cannot adjust quickly enough and we could be forced to close our doors,” Spice said of the harsh realities now facing the Temple.

This is not the first time that the Temple has been in financial trouble. When the stock market crashed in 1929, the building fell upon hard times and had to take out a mortgage to survive. Unfortunately the times proved to be too harsh and the Temple defaulted on the mortgage declaring bankruptcy around 1932. But they were able to operate under Chapter 11 restructuring and weathered the storm of the Great Depression.

The Masonic boom of Post World War II Masonry allowed the Temple to rebound, but never to the status and prestige of those men who raised the money to build it in the first place.

In reflecting on the ups and downs of the Detroit Temple over the years, Spice recounts a story from 1990, when he was president of the temple Association. At that time, he was frequently invited to attend various functions held by the bodies then meeting in the Temple.

At a Past Master’s Night, an old Past Master stood up and told the crowd that, in his year, they did Master Mason Degrees every Friday night and on some Saturdays three different degree teams were working simultaneously to get all the candidates through.
The same master told that while he was Master, the manager of the Detroit Tigers and four of his ball players joined. The crowd was so large that they used the main theatre for the Master Mason degree, which was filled to standing room only status—5,000 Masons.

Spice confirms the reality of the story and just how busy the building was in the 50s by recounting how the minutes of one lodge tell how there was a Master Masons’ dinner every fourth Friday. Would-be diners were encouraged to reserve a spot early as seating was limited to 2,000 Masons.

Despite the fact that countless thousands of men became Masons in the late 40s and early 50s, little was done to complete the Temple or provide funds for its future upkeep.

“Nobody valued Masonry high enough. They were still paying the old dues; the old structure—they weren’t getting enough money from these guys,” Spice said.

It is a refrain that is common today and a real part of the problem experienced by too many lodges. In 1892 Masons were donating an average of $80 per member in 19th century dollars, to build a new Temple and over a century later, modern Mason won’t spend $80 per year in dues to support the same.

On the subject of post-world War II Masons, Spice is as candid as he is in his views on the fate of his beloved Detroit Temple:

“I would say that the guys that came after world war two weren’t the visionaries that you had earlier. I think they were, as your other authors will tell you (your bowling alone, people like that). Those people will tell you that they were joiners that wanted to hang out with other men. But I don’t really see them as visionaries and they really didn’t build anything; you know we didn’t go get the golf course back [The Masonic Country Club was lost for taxes during the Great Depression. Ed.], we didn’t finish the building. We just maintained it.”

Indeed, the generation of Masons who flooded the craft after World War II, was far less committed to completing the dream that the Masons of a previous generation had started. They were content to utilize the splendor of the Detroit Masonic Temple, but unwilling to utilize their financial resources to complete the Master Masons’ auditorium, swimming pool or to do anything more than simply maintain the building. Today’s Mason seems even less committed—perhaps they have simply accepted defeat.

From Grandeur to Ghetto

Today the Detroit Masonic Temple is the last stronghold of a bygone era that has seen the Cass Corridor, now called Midtown; go from the grandeur of early 20th century optimism to the ghetto it has become today.

The Hotel Fort Wayne, which once occupied the corner adjacent to the Detroit Temple now stands empty and boarded up; on one corner of the hotel are carved the words, “Wayne Lodge No 104 Knights Of Pythias”—the last memory of the fact that this section of Detroit was once planned to be home to a large number of Fraternal Orders, all built up around the Detroit Masonic Temple.

Across from the Temple stands the once proud Williamson Apartments, which was renamed the Temple Towers, soon after it was announced that the Masonic Temple would soon begin construction. The interior of this 64-unit apartment building built in 1917 has been all but destroyed by the squatters and junkies who have made it their home off and on over the years.

Despite successfully suing the city in 1998 to block a proposal to turn the Temple Towers into a shelter for Homeless AIDS victims, the association has been very supportive of the plight of the homeless over the years. Each year the Temple Association donates their kitchen and dining rooms to the Salvation Army who feed up to 3,000 of the area’s homeless each Christmas and Thanksgiving.

From the outside, the Masonic Temple still displays its pride although its surroundings have been weathered by the elements and soiled by urban decay. One has to navigate past empty fast food containers and other debris of unknown origins to approach the Temple. The staircase leading to the underground driveway where Ballroom patrons once escaped the elements is now home to a shopping cart filled with a homeless person’s worldly possessions.

The intricate carvings crafted by Corrado Parducci and his team of stonemasons now carry eight decades of wear and tear. This is not the fault of the Temple Association. As an historical monument, the Association is not permitted to sandblast any part of the exterior. As such, the sculpture of operative masons and knights all seem to be weeping; the result of years of water and grime running down their stone faces.

Inside the building, the Association has done its best to maintain the interior with what limited resources they have at their disposal. According to Spice, “the number one comment we get is how well it is maintained. People are surprised about that.”

Indeed, for all its hard times, the Detroit Masonic Temple’s interior has been well looked after. While walking through its various rooms one is reminded of the once well-to-do gentlemen, who has fallen upon hard times, but still meticulously grooms himself each day. Though some of his clothes are a little threadbare, he still carries himself with dignity.

Perhaps the most impressive and pristine aspect of the building is the Knights Templar or Commandery quarters found on the third floor of the Ritual Tower area.

On first entering the Templar Parlor, one is immediately impressed with the elegant Tudor style, chosen by the designers for the room. With its staircase leading to an upstairs alcove, large conference tables and comfortable seating arrangements throughout, one gets the feeling that this room was once a great place of refuge for the Templars of the roaring 20s to enjoy a few minutes of fellowship ahead of getting on with the work of the evening.

Here amid the high oak paneled walls and elegant furniture, one finds two Knights in full armor guarding the doorway to the much larger Templar Asylum—the room used by the Commandery to hold their meetings and to initiate new members.

The Asylum is breathtaking in its design and was styled after a room in the Tower of London. Here, it is said, the Crusading knights would receive their orders before heading off to war. Whether the story is a matter of historical fact or merely another case of Masons taking poetic license with history, one can clearly feel a medieval flair to the Templar asylum with its authentic Gothic design of high Ogive arches, flagstone flooring and stained glass windows.

Like most rooms in the Ritualistic Tower, the Templar’s Parlor and Asylum feels unexplainably haunting; almost as if the rooms are now occupied by the ghosts of what once was and the feeling that those ghosts have resigned themselves to the fact that what once was is unlikely to ever be again.

Few Options Remain

There are few options left for the Detroit Masonic Temple. Indeed by the time this article is published, the Temple, like so many Masonic buildings in Michigan and elsewhere may be nothing but a boarded up memory.

Mortgage

During the rough times of the Great Depression, the Temple association took out a mortgage to save the building. As Russell Spice said on the idea of mortgaging the 80-year-old building, ““when you go get a mortgage you have to have a business plan to tell them how you are going to pay it back. Just because you own a property that is worth so much; if you can’t turn any of it into cash, you can’t repay the mortgage.” The harsh reality is that, given the fact that so few Masons are left to support the Temple, no bank will seriously consider lending money to save it.

Selling The Building

Surely a building with over 1,000 rooms including a world class theatre in an area that could be at the forefront of a major urban revitalization project must have a potential to be sold; for even the most undesirable property has some market value. However, one must remember that the Detroit Temple was opened eighty years ago and, even though well cared for, little has been done to install more modern building features that are mandatory under present day building codes. This is certainly not a problem for this or any older building so long as the building remains in the current owner’s hands. Most areas, and Detroit is no exception, have a grandfather clause. A building only needs to be fully brought up to code when it changes hands. As such any potential buyer would need to bring the building up to code prior to making so much as a nickel from the investment. This could add countless millions of dollars to the costs for any potential buyer and immediately crushes the prospects of the building being sold.

Partnerships May Hold The Key

When the first Masonic Temple was built, it was created through a partnership of the various Masonic bodies, then operating in Detroit. The same level of fraternal cooperation was used to create the present Temple Avenue building. Now that the Shrine and Scottish Rite have abandoned that long-standing partnership in favor of greener pastures, perhaps it is time for the remaining members of the Detroit Masonic Temple Association to consider bringing in outside partners through a Joint Operating Agreement. As such, much needed funds could be injected into the building to not only save it, but to also expand it, and perhaps even act as a catalyst for a major rejuvenation of the Midtown area. Since ownership of the building does not change hands in a Joint operating Agreement, the grandfather clause would apply, allowing the Temple Association time to slowly bring the building up to code as it begins to enjoy new revenues created by such a partnership. This of course is pure speculation on the part of the author, although rumors of just such a plan have been circulating in Detroit for some time.

Would You Give If It Were In your Power?

When the Shrine and Scottish Rite vacated the Detroit Temple, in 2003 and 2006 respectively they took with them $654,000 per year in much needed revenues. Granted, the highly popular and successful Masonic Theatre, now operated by the Nederlander family, provides the Temple with the bulk of its annual revenue. Although various rentals in the building provide additional income; still it is not enough to save the building from being boarded up.

The Detroit Temple was built with Masonic pride from the contributions of the Masons who were proud to erect the building, but a lack of that same Masonic pride will ultimately leave the largest Temple in the world as empty as the buildings that now surround it.

Many Grand jurisdictions regularly collect money from their members in support of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. But is a building erected in honor of American Masonry’s most famous son more worthy of the craft’s attention and charity than the largest building ever erected for Masonic usage?—apparently so. It is a sad fact that the Grand Lodge of Michigan collects $1.00 per Michigan Mason, approximately $70,000 per year, in support of the GWMNM, but does not collect a single penny to support the Detroit Temple.

There are presently 1.5 million dues paying Freemasons in the United States of America. If each one of those Masons gave but fifty cents per year, the Temple would replace the funds previously provided by the Shrine and Scottish Rite and have some hope for a continued existence.

Robbie And Me

In October of 2005 I stood beside Robbie Burns’ monument, which stands vigil in the park named for the first Grand Master of Michigan. Burns and I stood there silently looking northward towards the pile of rubbish that now surrounds the famed Temple of Detroit. We could not help but wonder if, like the fate of Hiram, the traitorous craftsmen would ultimately cast this body in the refuse as well.

Written on the back of Burns’ monument one finds words from his poem Tam o’ Shanter: “Nae man can tether time nor tide.”

As the prophetic words of the bard sank in and I contemplated the probable fate of this once proud and great Masonic Temple, I realized that it wasn’t the statue of the bard that was weeping.

Footnotes

1 http://detroitmta.lodges.gl-mi.org/oldtemple.html
Accessed: January 29, 2006
2 Detroit Temple Book
3 Richardson Roofing Ad. Literary Digest, January 12, 1924, pg 45.

This article was originally published in Issue 3 of Masonic Magazine

It seems a little unusual to do a book review on something that is only 17 pages in length.

Although brief, the Masonic Information Center’s (MIC) new publication, “It’s About Time, is so important, we felt that it would be well worth offering a few words of commentary on it.

Back in 2004, the MIC delivered a report to the Conference of Grand Masters of North America suggesting a need for a Masonic Awareness program.

Yes we know; that generally means more billboards, newspaper and magazine ads and commercials on radio and TV. Uncle Hiram wants you to join the US Masons.

But It’s About Time is not what you would expect from an awareness program. In fact, the publication is the report of a special task force of the MIC who investigated the matter of public awareness.

Some heavy hitters were on this special task force; among them, S. Brent Morris, Robert E. Davies, Dick Fletcher, Gary Leazer and Jim Tresner.

The findings of the report are particularly interesting to those of us who have shaken our heads at the circus atmosphere in which Grand Lodges have operated in their drive to fill the lodges through one day classes and recruitment drives.

One of the most profound aspects of the document is when they quote Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, who said “One thing that tells me a company is in trouble is when they tell me how great they were in the past.” Freidman was actually quoting a business consultant named Michael Hammer, who said, “When memories exceed dreams, the end is near.”

It’s About Time, does not pull any punches with respect to where North American Masonry stands:

“Our Masonic memories are to be treasured, but our Masonic dreams have faltered. Simply put, we have forgotten our Masonic identity so that our memories truly so exceed our dreams. It is about time we brought our actions in line with our aspirations.”

While immediately illustrating the well-know statistical numbers of how many Masons there once were as compared with today, the report does not pull out the usual myths about the decline. Although they present them, they take the stance, Okay, what are we going to do about them.

The special task force who wrote It’s About Time are of the belief, as are many readers of this publication, that it is about time that we be realistic about our declining numbers.

To this end, they argue that decline in membership is not our biggest problem, but rather is a symptom of the problem. For the MIC, the real problem is that we Freemasons have lost our identity:

“As Masons we have taken our fraternity’s identity for granted, and we have allowed the general public to forget how important we are to the fabric of society. We forget that we DO for each other, our lodges, and ourselves enriches the quality of life for our families and communities.”

The recommendation of the report is that we must take ownership of an identity that separates us from other men’s organizations. That is a pretty difficult task when the majority of our craft leadership believes us to be the Rotary Club in regalia.

As the report says, “It is about time that we did something as a fraternity for our fraternity—brother by brother, lodge by lodge.”

Part two of the report examines Freemasonry from the standpoint of the past, present and future and looks at some of the things Freemasonry did in the past.

While most readers are familiar with what the craft has accomplished in the past, I will skip over those aspects and draw the reader’s attention to the report’s view of Masonry today:

“Today Masonry is shaped by the 19th century concept of social benevolence and the 20th century emphasis on ritual as the completion of a Mason’s education about the fraternity.”

Continuing their examination of present day Masonic conditions, the report offers seven items of interest, but two in particular jump out to those of us who have bemoaned the decline in Masonic education.

“Current Masons do not understand the true meaning of our fraternity.”

That a group of some of the most distinguished minds in North American Masonry has written these words, must surely bring a smile to those of us who read them for the first time.

Sadly, the talent that compiled the report are not presently at the helm of our Grand Lodges and it can only be hoped that those who are will take the advice being offered.

“A reliance on historic heroes inhibits Masons from achieving contemporary significance.”

Indeed, Washington, Franklin, etc. are important men and Masons, but it is time that we drew our attention to some contemporary Masonic role models from which to draw inspiration. Perhaps in so doing we will place men upon a pedestal to which the average craftsman has a possibility of reaching.

The final part of the report offers suggestion for what steps we need to take, as a fraternity, to restore our identity, primarily within ourselves.

As the writers state, “The Square and Compasses, the best known symbol of a Mason, cannot replace the identity of living the life of a Mason, which is itself perpetually in a state of improving ourselves in body, mind, and spirit.”

It’s About Time is a breath of fresh air in a fraternity that has become stale because of a resistance to change from the mediocrity of reading minutes and frying fish.

The document is available free of charge on the Masonic Information Center’s web site at:

www.msana.com/itsabouttime.htm

This is a must read document for any Mason who is concerned with the direction the fraternity is headed and I encourage all readers of this magazine to download the publication and share it with their lodge.

This article was originally published in Issue 2 of Masonic Magazine

By Stephen Dafoe

In the 30 years between the start of the 20th Century and the commencement of the Great Depression, American Freemasons spared no expense in turning their dreams and goals into tangible edifices that survive to this day, testament to the high regard with which Freemasons of that era held the Masonic craft.

With a name that is nearly as long as the building is tall, The George Washington Masonic National Memorial at Alexandria, Virginia, is one such fine example of the Masonic pride that the Fraternity permanently carved upon the American landscape during those early decades of the 20th Century.

Designs Upon A Trestle Board

On February 22nd, 1910 a number of Masons from several American jurisdictions met at Alexandria, Virginia to discuss the possibility and feasibility of erecting a memorial to George Washington the Freemason. Neither the location nor the date of this meeting was by chance; for the date was the occasion of the 178th anniversary of Washington’s birth and the lodge, which sponsored the gathering, was Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22; the very Lodge of which Washington himself was the Charter Master.

Writing in the July, 1922 edition of The Builder, M. W. Bro. Louis A. Waters, then President of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association, said of this inaugural meeting:

As they met in the historical lodge room of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, the sacred environment and the hallowed memories of him who presided over the lodge while he was Chief Magistrate fired them anew with the spirit of Masonry. Though fully conscious of the fact that the history of Washington, the Mason, is a sacred heritage of the Republic, they strongly felt, as all Freemasons truly feel, that Washington’s connection with Masonry and the inspiration he gave to the Fraternity are especially dear to the brethren.1

M. W. Bro. J. Claude Keiper, speaking before the GWMNMA in 1915, said of the desire to build a monument to Washington the Mason:

Monuments commemorative of the patriotism of Washington, his valor and prowess as a military leader, memorials designed to perpetuate his wisdom and virtue as a statesman have been erected throughout all our land by a loving and grateful people, but nowhere, so far as I know, save in the hearts of his appreciative brethren, has there been erected a memorial of the character contemplated by this Association.2

It is difficult for a Mason outside of the United States to understand the deep reverence that American Masons pay to the memory of George Washington. Suffice it to say that I have yet to visit an American Lodge that did not have some tribute to his memory; if not in the Lodge proper at least in the anteroom. Whether it be a portrait, a bust or some other item; there is a great certainty that an homage to Washington the man and Mason will be present in an American Lodge. By contrast, far fewer are the number of Canadian Lodges that will have a portrait of Sir John A. MacDonald (Canada’s First Prime Minister) or King George VI on hand, but American Masonry has always had, at least since the end of World War I, a nationalistic and patriotic flavor to it.

This spirit is no better exemplified than in the words of M. W. Bro. George L. Schoonover, founder of the National Masonic Research Society and its publication The Builder (see Editorial, Issue 1).

Writing in the editorial of the April 1919 edition of The Builder, Schoonover said of the Memorial to Washington and the patriotism behind it:

The coming of Peace has thrilled American Masonry with a vision of the new duties incumbent upon it. No effort will be spared to see that every Mason in America shall behold that vision and appreciate it. To build such a memorial, to assist in making it a living, throbbing, pulsating center of the patriotic fervor of the Fraternity-that is the new purpose, and that will be the fulfillment.3

And later in the same editorial:

His voice once gave commands to thousands of Americans, when that title had but just been born. It had called the Craft to labor when but a handful were within the tyled sanctuary to respond. The day is at hand when millions, newly baptized in an Americanism made doubly dear by new sacrifices, shall stand in this new Temple and be blessed with the opportunity to listen to that voice - hushed, yet revivified. The Craft, too, will resume labor. Not in the ritualistic sense, as degree mills, but as a mighty force for the stabilizing of those great principles which are the common heritage of our Fraternity and our Republic.

Americanism, then, shall be the meaning of this new Temple. No other meaning would be just. Symbol it must stand of the rebirth of a great Fraternity. To have it otherwise would be a travesty. ‘A Center of Light’ it shall be, bearing in mind that the modern center of light, more than a campfire or a lantern hung in the belfry of a church tower, is a dynamo. As there radiates from Mt. Vernon a sweet-scented memory, kept green by the hands of patriotic women, so let this new Temple be a radiating center of the value of our Country, our traditions, our form of Government, our right to think, our right to worship, our right to be upstanding men, our right to look God in the face as a loving Father! Let it be our great, outstanding memorial that the Hun did not win! A symbol of our thanksgiving that the spirit of Washington still lives, in the hearts of his countrymen! Of joy that Freemasonry, the cradle of freedom, may work its sweet ministry among men, an apostle of Brotherhood!
Then will our memorial to Washington the Mason have become a Living Memorial.4

It is important to realize that Schoonover was writing less than six months after the conclusion of the First World War and the jingoism inherent in his editorial is to be viewed from that context.
There can be no argument that the motivation behind the erection of the GWMNM was one of patriotism and homage to the father of the United States, but when the GWMNMA first met on February 22nd, 1911 above Alexandria’s City Hall, their original concept of the memorial would be a place to house the many relics of George Washington in the possession of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, since many of these relics had been damaged by a fire in 1871.
George D. Seghers, the current Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the association, writing in the February 2001 edition of the Scottish Rite Journal, said of the origins of the memorial:

The idea of erecting a National Masonic Memorial to George Washington was formulated by several members of Alexandria–Washington Lodge No. 22, in Alexandria, Virginia. The Lodge had lost several invaluable artifacts and relics of Washington in a series of fires. The Lodge, under the leadership of Past Master Charles H. Callahan, 32°, K.C.C.H., decided to erect a fire-proof building to house the Washington relics entrusted to their care by the Washington family. The original idea soon grew to erect a National Masonic Memorial to America’s most distinguished Mason, George Washington.5

It is worth noting that M. W. Bro. Callahan was the author of the books, Washington, the Man and Mason and also The Lodge of George Washington and his Masonic Neighbors, both of which are well-regarded books on Washington’s Masonic affiliations.
Callahan however would play another important role in the story of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial and its home on Shooter’s Hill.

Breaking New Ground In Masonic Pride

There is some debate over the etymology of Shooter’s Hill. Some claim that it derives its name from the fact that it was once home to two forts during the Civil War era. From this vantage point, Union soldiers or “Shooters” could protect the approaches to Alexandria and Washington, DC against the possible attacking Confederate forces. Others claim that the hill was originally called “Shuter’s Hill, after an early resident of Alexandria. Regardless of the origins of its name, it was on Shooter’s Hill that the Brethren of Alexandria originally donated two acres of land for their dream to become a reality. By 1919, the association had acquired an additional 29 acres of land upon which the new memorial to Washington would take shape.

An interesting coincidence to the location is that many years earlier, Thomas Jefferson had chosen this location as the location for the Nation’s Capitol, but Washington vetoed the idea. As Washington owned land surrounding the area, he felt that the choice of that particular area for the Nation’s Capitol might be misunderstood and motives called into question.

On June 5th, 1922, with onlookers protecting themselves from the rain that fell that day, Louis A. Watres, President of the Association and Charles A. Callahan, who was instrumental in the early plans of the memorial, turned over the first shovels of sod.

There was some concern that the soil on Shooter’s Hill may not be a solid enough foundation for the new memorial, as the test bore, which plunged to a depth of 200 feet did not hit hard rock. The soil beneath was found to be blue-gumbo clay and seemed an unlikely foundation for a building that would rise so high, both figuratively and literally. However, the U.S. Geological Survey gave them the green light and the project moved forward.

It is hard for us to imagine today the massive undertaking that a building such as this must have been in the early 1920s. The foundation, which was bowl shaped was dug into the clay soil by steam shovel and the soil was then carted away by mule-drawn wagons.

A Buck a Head

Unlike buildings constructed today, Masonic or otherwise, the George Washington Masonic National Memorial was built without mortgage or debt. The Association had decided early on that it would not borrow money to build this new memorial. Instead, they would build each stage as the funds were made available and those funds came from the generosity of the American Brethren.

Writing a month after his initial sod turning in 1922, M. W. Brother Watres, spoke of how they were funding the memorial that would arise from its bowl-shaped foundation:

In 1917 the Association resolved to broaden its organization and to commit the Masons of the United States to ‘the erection of a Temple costing not less than $500,000 with an endowment fund of $250,000.’ As the importance of our great movement has developed, however, it has been resolved to make our objective as many dollars as there are Masons in the United States, approximately 2,500,000, and to arrange for every Grand Jurisdiction to fill its quota, which is as many dollars as there are brethren in the respecting jurisdictions.6

Requesting a dollar per mason in 1917 may have been seen as an ambitious request considering that in today’s money that is equal to $15.53. But give they did and, in some jurisdictions, even more than was requested. Watres tells, for example, of how, by 1922, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts with 92,000, Masons had donated over $110,000 to the cause.

The idea of building without debt would prove to be an excellent one, for had the Association borrowed the money, one can but only wonder what calamity may have befallen the George Washington Masonic National Memorial once the Depression hit in 1929.
Clearly the financial planning and fund raising methods of the GWMNMA was the first cornerstone of the memorial to be laid. If this is the case, then the building had three cornerstones in total.

The Cornerstones: Both Of Them

Watres had hoped for the cornerstone to be laid on November 4th, 1923, which would have been the 170th anniversary of Washington’s initiation into Freemasonry. Unfortunately the 4th of November fell on a Sunday and for this or some other reason, the ceremony of laying the cornerstone was scheduled for three days earlier on November 1st.

According to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial’s web site, there was a bit of last minute scrambling when it was discovered that the cornerstone was too small. Quick carving was soon begun in order to get a new stone ready in time for the ceremonies.

Masonic Cornerstone ceremonies were once a staple of the craft that attracted large numbers of dignitaries and onlookers. The laying of the cornerstone on that November day was no exception. On hand for the ceremony were then-President Calvin Coolidge, former President and Freemason Howard Taft (who was Chief Justice at that time), the Governor of Virginia and many Grand Masters from across the United States.

Using the same trowel that Washington used to lay the foundation stone of the Nation’s Capitol, President Coolidge, who was not a Freemason, spread the first cement.

He was followed by Chief Justice Howard Taft, the 27th president of the U.S. and the only person in American History to have held both offices. Taft was a Mason, having been made a Mason at sight in 1909 while he was President-elect. Following Taft in spreading the cement for the cornerstone was “Acting” Grand Master of Virginia, Charles H. Callahan, who, along with Watres, had turned the first shovels of sod a year previous. Following Callahan, each Grand Master present took his turn with the most famous trowel in U.S. or Masonic history by spreading cement to make ready for the recently created cornerstone.

From the laying of the cornerstone in Masonic style that November’s day in 1922, it would take another decade before the building was completed and ready to be dedicated.

Dedicated to the man and the mason

The week of May 7th – 14th, 1932 was a time of great celebration among members of the Masonic Fraternity; for it was during that week that the United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission acknowledged the Masonic fraternity. It was also the week chosen by the Association for the dedication ceremony of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. A twenty-two year dream had finally become a reality for American Freemasons and they were going to celebrate in style.

Few can understand what a massive event this Masonic celebration was, as few Masonic events before or since have drawn such a crowd. To understand the scope of the dedication ceremonies we need to rehearse the plans to accommodate the visitors that day. The Masonic Service Association’s Short Talk Bulletin for that month had the following to say on the crowd handling plans:

Because of the enormous number of visitors expected, automobiles and buses will be barred from Alexandria after 9 o’clock in the morning of May 12th. Twenty-five to fifty thousand automobiles, all trying to reach Alexandria at the same time, would jam even the new Memorial Boulevard, and there is no place in Alexandria to park so many cars, even if they could all arrive safely at the same time. Visitors to Alexandria on May 12th should plan to go from Washington by railroad; steam trains will leave all day long at five minute intervals. The railroad authorities promise ample accommodations, no matter how large the crowd.7

The crowds did show up as expected and the area was abuzz with Masonic and patriotic pride. The U.S. Navy positioned the frigate U. S. S. Constitution on the Potomac at Alexandria for the entire week and special loud speakers were installed on the platform on Shooter’s Hill in order that the presentations could be heard by all who might attend the festivities. Like many Masonic celebrations of years gone by, the parade was a spectacle of American fraternal pride. As the memorial had been funded by all the Grand Lodges, there were delegations from many jurisdictions along with Templars, Shriners, members of the Grotto and other Masonic bodies. There were Masonic marching bands as well as the Army, Navy and Marine Bands all marching in procession and all reviewed by the Grand Masters of the, then, 49 jurisdictions.
Many historic items were brought for the ceremony that day. So many in fact, that it is doubtful that this large a collection of Masonic artifacts has ever been seen in one place since; save possibly a museum. Writing in the same Short Talk Bulletin, the author tells us in detail of the artifacts present that day:
The gavel used at the laying of the corner stone of the United States Capitol will be in the hands of the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Virginia. The Bible from Fredericksburg Lodge, on which Washington was obligated as an Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason, will be present on this historic occasion, as will the Bible from St. John’s Lodge, of New York City, on which Washington took the oath of office when he became the first President of the United States. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts will bring to the dedication its famous urn, in which is a lock of Washington’s hair. This urn, the handiwork of Most Worshipful Bro. Paul Revere, is the most precious possession of the Grand Lodge of the Bay State, and is handed from Grand Master to Grand Master at the St. John’s Day Communication.8
The ceremonies were a full day’s event.
Starting with the parade at 9:30 AM, the dedication of the memorial immediately following, the appearance of President Hoover to a twenty-one gun salute at 1:00 PM and concluding with a Stated Communication of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 in the newly dedicated memorial that evening, May 12th, 1932 was a celebration the likes of which, sadly, has not been replicated in Freemasonry since.
But we are fortunate to have, as a testimony to that era of Masonic pride and determination that was the early decades of the 20th Century, this memorial to Freemasonry, which is visited by over 50,000 people a year.
No words can better express the legacy of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial than those penned in the aforementioned Short Talk Bulletin of May, 1932:

The great structure is now much more than either monument or memorial. It is the living embodiment of the faith and patriotism and practice of Freemasonry; it is a demonstration both to the world at large and the world of the Craft that fifty Grand Jurisdictions can labor unitedly to a common end.9

Footnotes

1 Watres, Louis A. The George Washington Masonic National Memorial, The Builder, July 1922.

2 Keipers, J. Claude. The Memorial To Washington. The Builder, July 1915.

3 Haywood, H. L. A Living Memorial. The Builder, April 1919.

4 Ibid.

5 Seghers, George D. The George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Scottish Rite Journal, February, 2001.

6 Watres, Louis A. The George Washington Masonic National Memorial, The Builder, July 1922.

7 Dedicating the Washington Masonic Memorial. MSA Short Talk Bulletin Vol. X, No. 5, May 1932.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

This article was originally published in Issue 2 of Masonic Magazine

Author: Christopher Hodapp
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 0-7645-9796-5
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 368

Alright, how does one review a book that is not only written by a Brother Mason, but one whose author is a personal friend? That’s a pretty tough row to hoe, in and of itself. Add to that the fact that the author in question is the Worshipful Master of a Lodge that you are an honorary member of and you are faced with an even tougher writing assignment. It would be very easy to pass on the assignment to someone else, but that would be a cop out. No; you simply grit your teeth, read the book and write the bloody review.

Lucky for me, Freemasons for Dummies by W. Bro. Christopher Hodapp, W. Master of the “World-Famous” Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a great book.

Sadly, prior to its publication, a number of Masons were reportedly upset to have the word “Freemasons” associated with the word “Dummy.” They felt it brought Freemasonry into a negative light. But, if these Brethren had the opportunity to sit in a few of the lodges I’ve had to sit in, they’d quickly realize that as often as not the words are as likely to be synonymous as they are an oxy-moron.

But I digress.

If you are unfamiliar with the Dummies series of books, then chances are you haven’t been in a bookstore since Guttenberg invented the etch-a-sketch and this review is not meant for you. Please push on to another rack; I hear Road & Track has some cool pictures this month.

Now where was I?

The Dummies books published by Wiley now boast over 400 titles all following their extremely successful format. These books are not high-brow intellectual reading; they are meant to be educational, informative and most of all fun. That is why you don’t see Dummies books in the $5.99 remainder bin. Combining large headings, illustrations and short chapters, the series provides you with what you need to know about a subject and nothing else.
Hodapp’s addition to the Dummies series is no exception.

Chris is an accomplished writer having worked in the advertising and commercial filmmaking industries for a number of years. His writing style is light and playful, which makes him an excellent choice for this genre of book.

In the course of 368 pages, Hodapp gives the reader an inside look into, as the cover says, “the history, beliefs, and rituals of Freemasonry.” Now before anyone decides to run out and start a new Morgan affair, Bro. Chris does not disclose anything he shouldn’t, although some Past Master will no doubt contend that no Masonic book should ever be published because you just don’t talk about Freemasonry. Nonsense.

This book is a great read for Mason or non-Mason alike. It addresses our history, our customs and our philosophy. It explains the different branches of Freemasonry and dispels many commonly held myths about the Fraternity, including some that we Freemasons believe ourselves.

No matter what your experience in Freemasonry or how extensive your Masonic library is, Freemasons for Dummies is a welcome addition to any Mason’s library and an excellent gift for a newly raised Master Mason.

In this day of instant information, the book’s format provides a great depth of knowledge without the normal requirement of lengthy attention spans. You can read this book from cover to cover or jump around its many sections as you please.

Outside a Masonic roast-beef supper, it is the best twenty-bucks you’ll spend this year. I highly recommend it; in fact I recommend you buy a couple of copies because the first one will be dog-eared in no time.

This article was originally published in Issue 2 of Masonic Magazine

The deacons cross their wands at the door as the Worshipful Master gives three sharp knocks that causes every Mason in the room to immediately rise and stand at attention responding in true Pavlovian fashion. After a brief announcement at the door, in it comes, a sea dark blue cloth trimmed in dark gold braid. The Grand Lodge Officers have arrived.

To some in the room their presence creates an aura of awe and respect, in others one of disgust and contempt. One Past Master turns to a young Mason and says, “Ahh, these glittering fools don’t care or listen.”

It is under this pomp and circumstance that many North American Masons have their only contact with the Grand Lodge Officers of their respective jurisdiction. Their only interpretation of what they do comes in that rare meeting when they make an official visit. It is only when you have seen Grand Lodge Officers in golf shirts and blue jeans, wracking their brains to address the problems confronting Freemasonry today that you get a true appreciation for just what they do.

But that doesn’t happen, does it?

Sure it does and it has been going on for 65 years in Western Canada.

This past October, I was honored to be asked to be the keynote speaker at the 65th Annual “Inter-Provincial Conference of the Officers of the Four Western Jurisdictions.” And here I thought the “George Washington Masonic National Memorial” was a long name. For the sake of brevity and to save my fingers, we’ll just call it the Western Canada Conference, or WCC.

What is the WCC? Well for starters, it is probably one of Freemasonry’s best kept secrets, even though it is open to any Master Mason and always has been, insofar as I know.

Every year since 1940 the jurisdictions of British Columbia & the Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have assembled their Grand Line Officers for the conference, which is held in Alberta. The Grand Masters, Deputy Grand Masters, Grand Senior and Junior Wardens and Grand Secretaries are all in attendance for the three-day session.

This is not simply a getaway to the mountains for Grand Lodge-types; there is a great deal of work that goes on, with little time for sight seeing.

Each year the Grand Senior Warden of each jurisdiction must prepare a paper on some aspect of Freemasonry. This paper is then delivered to the conference. The room is divided into four groups chaired by the Grand Junior Wardens. Members of the groups are mixed up from the four jurisdictions and over the course of the four presentations; each person will sit in each jurisdictions group.

These groups discuss each paper following the presentation, and these discussions are limited to half an hour. Following the discussion, the Grand Junior Wardens report the groups’ findings to the entire conference.

All of these presentations, discussions and reports are then published in the annual proceedings, which are sent to each Grand Lodge Library in North America.

Over the last 65 years the range of topics have been far and wide and an examination of them shows that some problems of the past are still with us. For example, in 1954 “Apathy and the Master Mason” was discussed and in 1971, “Problems of Leadership” was presented.

This year I decided that with the opportunity to address the entire Grand Line of four jurisdictions, I’d best use the opportunity wisely, because a chance like this only comes once in a lifetime. I decided to speak on behalf of every disenfranchised young Mason in North America. I showed statistically that our present day membership woes are nobody’s fault but our own; that here in Alberta we are gaining 4% per year and losing 2% through death. The real loss in membership, as I told my audience, was from demits and suspensions for non-payment of dues. Simply put, we were boring our new members to death. We are seeing a large influx of young men from Generations “X” and “Y” and if we are to survive, we must understand that we have four generations of men in our lodges today, and we’d best start to understand what makes them tick. The talk didn’t pull any punches and I really did not know what kind of reaction it would get.

The reaction was positive. In fact one jurisdiction booked me to deliver the same talk in April of 2006 and another jurisdiction expressed interest in doing the same at some point in the future.

Over the next two days, four papers were presented. I had truly expected to hear papers waxing on about our charities and how great they are or bemoaning why young men don’t “join-up” like they used to. Of the four talks presented by the Grand Senior Wardens, three of them echoed what I had to say.

Rt. W. Bro. Stephen Godfrey, of British Columbia and the Yukon, delivered the first paper, entitled, “Living in the Possibility.” He opened the address with a quote from Alvin Toffler:

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.

The emphasis on his paper was on the need and necessity to educate our members in the principles, history, and philosophy of Freemasonry.

Similar themes were delivered by Rt. W. Bro. Ken Butchart of Manitoba and Rt. W. Bro. Bob Drury of Alberta. Butchart’s paper addressed the need to raise the bar in our lodges and that we must stop taking the quick and easy paths available. Drury’s paper, the shortest of the four, was no less forceful or poignant. Rt. W. Bro. Drury discussed the awful habit of abandoning young Masons after their third degree and offered solutions for making changes to this bad Masonic habit.

While all of the talks were well prepared and presented, it was the discussions on them that truly showed the value of this annual gathering. There was not one Mason in any of the groups I sat in that did not have a love and passion for the Masonic Fraternity. They offered their opinions and listened to others and I sensed a great desire among all of them to go forth and put what they had learned to practice.

On the following morning, the conference met for the last time and we were all given an opportunity to speak. I issued a challenge to the four jurisdictions to take an opportunity to speak to each generation of Masons in their jurisdiction and especially Generations “X” and “Y”.

Do Grand Lodge Officers listen? Well I certainly cannot speak for every jurisdiction, but a couple weeks after the conference, I was sitting in the lounge at Freemasons’ Hall in Edmonton, when I was handed a flyer by a young Mason there.

It was a request from the Grand Master of Alberta, M. W. Bro. Rex Dawson regarding a special meeting he was calling for November 25th. The flyer went on to say that he wished to address Masons under the age of 40 about the Future of the Craft and to give them an opportunity to speak.

Yes, they do listen.

This article was originally published in Issues 2 and 3 of Masonic Magazine

By Fred Milliken

PART 1

It didn’t start out this way originally, I am sure, but in rural/suburban Middle America, when a man joined a Masonic Lodge, all the Brethren were Christian and Protestants to boot. It seemed only natural to offer prayers in the Lodge to Jesus. Every Mason believed in Jesus’ divinity, right? And what other Holy Book would be on the altar other than the Bible? All the Brethren believed in the Bible and no other Book, right?Other Lodges in other countries could use other Holy Books but right here, all Masons were Christians, so why would the Lodge bother to display any other Holy Book? This isolated practice was never stopped. Nobody ever said, “You can’t do it that way.” It became an accepted practice because it became a tradition.

As time went by this tradition spread and grew. Then came the late Twentieth Century’s Evangelical resurgence. Mainline Protestant churches, Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Unitarians, among others, who had been losing members since the 1960s plummeted to new lows in membership. Many small, non-denominational sects and churches grew at astonishingly fast rates as did more established conservative Christian churches. They were Fundamentalist, Born Again, Charismatic and Pentecostal movements, and “Literalists”, and as their numbers increased inside the lodge room, they were instrumental in spearheading drives to codify their beliefs into Freemasonry. This is something Freemasonry should never have allowed, but it did. Now as we begin the 21st Century “Literalists” have flexed their muscles in every Jurisdiction of every state and are no longer just a product of the “Bible Belt”.

In civil politics we now have the Red States and the Blue States, dividing America into two different cultures, into two radically different ways of looking at things. These two sides are sworn enemies and are constantly at each other’s throats. This civil battle fueled by “exclusiveness” has bled over into Freemasonry.

What has happened in some (but not all) American jurisdictions is that Freemasonry has lost its universality. As I write this column, I have no idea what Brother Leon Zeldis is going to write in his article for Masonic Magazine, but I am betting that he has a few words about how Freemasonry in Israel is a beacon of toleration and close cooperation between cultures that have been enemies for centuries; about how many different religions and races come together peacefully before the altar of Israeli Freemasonry in a region rocked by terrorism. Such Masonic universality can be found in Great Britain, France, Germany, India, Singapore and elsewhere about the Masonic world. It can be found as close by as Canada, which I can attest to from first-hand experience. But not in the good old USA. In many jurisdictions, there is only Christian Freemasonry and only Christian practices are allowed in the lodge room. It is perfectly legitimate for Christian Evangelicals and Christians of any persuasion to join the Craft; in fact I welcome them with open arms, but to remake Freemasonry in the name of your church and your religion is to deliberately bypass the Masonic concept of universality and to bring the Red State/Blue State mentality into the lodge room.

Specifically I am alluding to the prohibition of “demon rum” in the Masonic Hall, the banning of “Las Vegas night fundraisers” because gambling is evil, allowing only the Bible to be placed on the altar (except at Obligation), and the insistence that the Bible be the King James version when there are available, in today’s world, far more ecumenical Bibles, the presentation of Masonic Bibles to newly raised Masons and looking the other way when prayers to Jesus are used in Lodge.

Expanding on these points a little, the judgment of whether liquor, card playing, smoking, and gambling are evil is a personal decision between a Brother and his God and a democratic decision of each local Lodge. Prohibiting Masons from working in the liquor business is clearly religious discrimination and a very vivid example of Evangelical corruption of Freemasonry. Freemasonry should make no ruling on these matters one way or the other. In some jurisdictions only the Bible is permitted on the altar except when a candidate wishes to be Obligated on another Holy Book. This is because “Literalists” have ruled that Masonic ritual says “Holy Bible, Square and Compasses” not “Holy Qur’an” or “Holy Gita, Square and Compasses”. In Canada the words “Holy Bible” are not used. Rather, they substitute “Volume of Sacred Law”. I have sat in a Texas lodge where at the end of the Obligation the new Brother is told to reverence the book upon the altar — “which I assure you is the Holy Bible”. I have also sat in a Texas Lodge with the District Deputy, the representative of the Grand Master, present where prayers to Jesus were offered and not a word of correction was given. Passing out Masonic Bibles without also being able to offer Masonic TaNaChs, Masonic Qur’ans, Masonic Gitas is rank discrimination.

American Freemasonry needs to stop trying to make Freemasonry a Christian Fraternity and to stop carrying rigid Christian dogma into the lodge room. Does it need to be said again that Freemasonry welcomes every religion, race, creed, culture, political opinion and economic circumstance? Do we really believe that we all meet on the level? Codifying one particular set of beliefs into Freemasonry is to indulge in the religious sectarianism which we say we are against.

Does that mean that that I would like to see Evangelical Christians go somewhere else? Absolutely not. What I would like to see is that we maintain the vision of Freemasonry where all shades of opinion and lifestyle are welcome and where all differences are left at the door as we enter. I do not want to impose my set of beliefs on Freemasonry and I ask others not to do the same. Freemasonry needs to remain neutral and bring people together, unifying mankind on common ground without accentuating our differences or putting into policy exclusionary practices.

Some suggestions that might help are:

1 Specific moral decisions should be a matter between a Brother and his God. Remove all attempts to codify rigid Christian dogma into Grand Lodge by-laws, rules and regulations. Allow each local Lodge to decide democratically what practices it will participate in.

2 That Grand Lodges require every one of its chartered Lodges to have on its Masonic altar at all times five VOSLs – The TaNaCh, a Protestant Bible, a Catholic Bible, The Gita and The Qur’an.

3 That the ritual “Holy Bible Square & Compasses” be replaced with “Holy Book, Square & Compasses” and elsewhere in the ritual “Holy Bible” be replaced with “Holy Book”.

4 That the three Bible lessons in the degrees be changed to one Bible lesson, one Qur’an lesson and one Gita lesson.

5 That the practice of giving out Masonic Bibles after raising be terminated.

PART 2

We left off with gambling, liquor and including other Holy Books on the altar and in the ritual. Not exactly the toughest and most controversial issues facing Freemasonry. We have saved those for this column. But whether a minor or a major stumbling block, one theme runs throughout those groups who seek to remake Freemasonry. They are agenda-driven people who cannot peacefully coexist with others who hold opposing beliefs. Perhaps it is because they feel threatened by anything that would challenge their basic assumptions. In many cases I find their mindset to be attempting to eradicate evil. All other beliefs other than their own are satanic, evil, and these other beliefs must be removed from every association they come in contact with or they must remove themselves to safer ground.

When a Christian asks if you have been SAVED what he is asking is whether or not you believe correctly according to his interpretation of Christianity. If you don’t then you are going to hell, because it is not what you do but what you have accepted as truth that will get you into heaven. And if he likes you and calls you a friend then he must change you or lose you in the end on the other side. I know many good people who think this way. And they are certainly entitled to their belief. But their concern for others and themselves leads them to change everything they come into contact with. Thus has sectarian dogma been codified into Freemasonry. I asked an educated family member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod what she thought about efforts at ecumenicalism, and she did not know the meaning of the word. For some it is hard to fathom that toleration of another point of view does not mean acceptance of it. It means that you will leave the judgment up to God. This is what we are supposed to do in Freemasonry, leave the dogma and differences outside the door and enter as one, as Brothers. But Born Again Biblical Literalists just cannot do this. Let’s take a look at some of the remaining tough issues.

HOMOSEXUALITY

Gay men are being black balled all across North America. This is not due to any “official” position of Freemasonry but because of the personal beliefs of those who not only have to violate the unwritten law of Freemasonry that you leave your agenda outside the door but is more a reality of all those who have banded together to white ball fellow believers into the system. Thus you have in many cases a majority of “true believers” inside the Craft who have told me personally that homosexuality is against the laws of God, that it is all written out plainly in the Holy Bible, and that since that Holy Bible adorns the altar of Freemasonry and is “the rule and guide of our faith”, that the case against homosexuality is iron clad. If 99 and 44 one hundredths percent of all churches and Christians were to go along with that interpretation, then said Brothers might have a good point. But, however, there are many who have another interpretation. The Unitarian Universalist, United Church of Christ and Episcopal Churches not only accept homosexual parishioners but also ordain homosexual clergy including an Episcopal Bishop. Many civil laws protect everyone from the discrimination of sexual orientation. In addition many businesses and corporations voluntarily refuse to consider sexual orientation a question for employment.

It has been my personal belief that Freemasonry, standing for the religion, the morality upon which all men agree, espouses general morality. The specific applications of those general pronouncements are something that Freemasonry does not get involved with. That is sectarian religion. Take murder for instance, a general immorality upon which all men agree. If we then say that abortion is murder and therefore Freemasonry should take a stand and declare the Fraternity to be pro-life, we have interpreted a general principle into a specific ruling. Thus we have not left the differences that divide us at the door but have brought them inside the Lodge room. When Freemasonry says that sectarian religion belongs outside the door, what it is saying is that differences of opinion over the application of general morality into specific rulings do not belong in the Lodge room or in the rules and regulations and by-laws of Freemasonry. These concerns are best left up to a matter between a Brother and his Creator.

But this is not where Literalists want to leave these matters. They want specific Masonic rulings on abortion, homosexuality, divorce, drugs, sex, Rock ‘N Roll, video games, euthanasia, cloning etc. If they can’t get Freemasonry to adopt rulings in its by-laws, they can see to it that only true believers survive the black ball. This is the Christianization of Freemasonry.

RACISM

What does racism have to do with Christianity and Freemasonry? It is a question I have asked myself over and over again. And the hypothesis that keeps coming back is that after the Ku Klux Klan lost its mass appeal in the 1930’s, it went underground and infiltrated and mated with Freemasonry. The Klan was very emphatic that it was a Christian organization, hence the burning cross. Its white hooded robes were said to imitate the Knights Templars. It was also billed as a fraternal organization, one which advocated white supremacy, opposed gay rights and was anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant. So the KKK was Christian and fraternal and used to secrecy.

In the 1920’s the Klan had a membership close to 4 Million; 15% of the eligible population were members. Freemasonry in the same period had a membership around 3 million and at its very peak in the 50’s and 60’s just barely topped 4 million. By the middle of the 1930’s KKK membership had dropped into the thousands. Where did they all go? Is it not possible that they went straight into Freemasonry to legitimize themselves? What would be more attractive to them than a highly regarded organization that made full use of the secret ballot thus enabling them to carry out their mission of a society of only white, Protestant Christian and English speaking people. And isn’t that what Freemasonry really is, White, Protestant Christian and English speaking. And the way it stays that way is that you black ball everybody else.

Might this also explain why 40 years after handling Governors Wallace & Faubus and passing major Civil Rights Legislation, Freemasonry is just getting around to recognizing Prince Hall. Except for Confederate Freemasonry that is, the twelve states of the South that show no inclination to do so.

I get a charge out of those Masons who claim Prince Hall is a “jurisdictional dispute”. In the 1700’s when Prince Hall was formed it petitioned established Grand Lodges then but was denied. White Freemasonry forced Prince Hall to go form its own Grand Lodge and system. Now that they have made them separate and kept them that way they say if only Prince Hall was not a separate Grand Lodge they would recognize it. This is arguing in circles. Just as bad is the Texas Grand Lodge’s two-step dance declaring Prince Hall regular but clandestine?? Oh and don’t forget the Grand Master of Texas banning the Philalethes society from the state after it invited a Prince Hall Mason to speak to its Dallas chapter. It is not hard to see through the rhetoric to the real reason blacks are kept out. And kept out they are. It is not uncommon for a black petitioner to be told to go petition Prince Hall. Separate but equal was put to death a long time ago in civil society. But it is still alive and flourishing in Freemasonry.

MINORITY REPRESENTATION

I had the opportunity, having just arrived from Massachusetts, of attending the session of the Grand Lodge of Texas and the installation of a new Grand Master in December, 2004. Grand Lodge met in what looked like a giant auditorium holding thousands and it was packed. As I surveyed the room I was deliberately looking for Black & Hispanic representation. I did not notice one black and very few Hispanics nor any Asian, a significant Texas minority (It’s possible I missed a few). The Grand Lodge was 99 and 44 one hundredths percent white. There is no doubt in my mind that it is kept that way by the forces of anti black, radical, Christian Literalists. Just this year it was announced that the population of Texas for the first time in its history consisted of less than 50% white Caucasian.

The Masonic Service Association of North America has released some interesting membership statistics, see: http://www.msana.com/msastats.htm The three top states in 2002 in Masonic population and their losses in one year to 2003 were:

Pennsylvania 133,676 -3,760 -2.8%
Ohio 131,557 -1,929 -1.5%
Texas 123,588 -10,611 -8.6%

No other state came close to 100,000 in membership. The top losers by percentage were:

Texas -8.6%
Arkansas -7.3%
Georgia -5.35%
California -5.1%
Alabama -4.2%

National Average -3.3%.

The only Southern state to do well was Louisiana and some of their Masonry is quite different. The jurisdictions that lost the most members were generally Confederate Masons.

The new waves of immigration, legal and illegal, that are coming to the United States are non-English speaking minorities that are in the majority non-white and non-Protestant also. They are waves and waves of Hispanics from Mexico and South America, Kreyol- and French-speaking Haitians, Portuguese-speaking Brazilians and Cape Verdeans, and Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean Asians. The USA is no longer a WASP nation. It becomes more diverse each year. It would seem that Freemasonry’s attempts at keeping itself white and Christian Protestant and English speaking pure is not only immoral it is a major contributing factor to a rapid decline in membership.

In a time of declining membership for Masonic Lodges, WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY! We cry and moan about closing and merging Lodges and the lack of new petitioners. Yet at the same time we black ball many non-white, non-English speaking, non-Christian applicants which will soon comprise 50% of our population. Or we refuse to hand out a petition to the impure. We do this in the name of keeping Freemasonry a WASP organization. A well known Texas Grand Lodge Officer is quoted as saying that, “He is uncomfortable sitting in Lodge with non-Christians.” “Ethnic Cleansing” remains alive and well in Freemasonry.

We need to remind ourselves that there is no litmus test to joining Freemasonry. That toleration of different races, creeds, political persuasions, economic circumstances, lifestyles and religion are a hallmark of our Fraternity; that Freemasonry was instituted to be non judgmental and welcoming to all men of good character who express a belief in Deity. Until we realize these ideals we have a corrupted Fraternity.

Next column - THE SOLUTIONS. If you have a solution to these problems or even if you see no problems please drop me a line and let me know if I can use your thoughts and quote you in the next issue.

This article was originally published in Issue 1 of Masonic Magazine

By Fred Milliken

It was somewhere around two years ago that I read some material on the changing direction of men’s and women’s career paths. It seems more and more guys are stopping at a High School education and immediately entering the workforce, while more and more girls are continuing on to higher education and high priced careers. High School honor rolls show that two-thirds of honors students are females. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 1972, women were 42% of the college undergraduates, but by 2001 they were 56%. In 2001, women represented 60% of the Bachelor’s Degree recipients.

Moving on, what do Annika Sorenstam, Suzie Whaley, Jan Stephenson, Michelle Wie, and Se Ri Pak have in common? They have all crashed the men’s PGA tour.

And this year who has not heard of racing car sensation Danika Patrick? Her achievements have boosted racing attendance and viewing by 25%.

All this is enough for me to conclude that the 21st Century is the Century of the ascension or re-ascension of women, except in age old traditions. It is ironic that those institutions and organizations that have been around the longest and show centuries of tradition are those that exclude or limit full participation by women. The two most notable are the Christian Church and Freemasonry. In the case of the early First Century Church there were leadership positions occupied by women. As time went by the Church became dominated by male leadership but it didn’t start out that way. Is that true in Freemasonry? Well let’s take a look.

In the “York Manuscript No. 4,” written in 1693 and belonging to the Grand Lodge of York (England) we find that it gives “he and she instructions.” In 1696 two widows are named as members in the Operative Masons court. In 1714 Mary Bannister was apprenticed as a Mason for seven years.

In the early 1700’s, as best as I can tell around 1712, Elizabeth St. Leger, later Elizabeth Aldworth, was initiated into Lodge No. 95, Cork, Grand Lodge of Ireland and later became its Master. Upon her death she was given a Masonic funeral. It is worth noting that this occurred before the Grand Lodge of England was formed and exclusion of women became an “ancient landmark” with Anderson’s Constitutions in 1723.

You have to jump all the way to 1893 for the next big development for Women in Freemasonry. Actually that’s not as bad as it looks considering that the 19th Amendment to the American Constitution was not ratified until 1920. In 1893 Le Grand Loge Symbolique Eccossaise, Le Droit Humain, French Co-Masonry, was formed in Paris. In 1903 the first Co-Masonry Lodge was formed in the USA.

Next was the development of women-only Lodges, often offshoots of Co-Masonry. First was the Honourable Fraternity of Antient Masonry founded in England in 1908. This group was followed by the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons in 1913. Today it is estimated that 60,000 female Masons belong to these two English Grand Lodges. In 1945 in France the Union Maconnique Feminine de France was formed as an all women’s Grand Lodge.

There is more that can be reported worldwide, but needless to say there are women in Freemasonry all over the world. Those who say there never was a women Freemason are wrong. Those who say, “there is no tradition of women in Freemasonry,” are also wrong. It has been more than one hundred years with women Freemasons performing essentially the same work we men do. I anticipate the next rebuttal. But, but……, you say, all this is not recognized. It is irregular, clandestine. Commenting on the two Female Grand Lodges in England in March 1999 the Grand Lodge of England stated that:

“Freemasonry is not confined to men” and except for the fact the Lodge membership was female, they were otherwise “regular”.

There is a new age dawning. It is the age of the ascension of women, everywhere in every walk of life, co-equals and second to none. While most of us in North America are under obligations not to be at the making of a Mason of a woman, that does not exclude dialogue. I see three steps we in North America should take right away:

1) Talk to women Masons. This business about there being a prohibition of no Communication says nothing about discourse but rather forbids sitting together with a woman Freemason in a tiled Lodge meeting or Communication.

2) Socialize and share projects with women Freemasons. Again while we cannot sit in Lodge with them we can unite in a dinner or a community or charitable affair.

3) Rent space to them. Lodge buildings are under funded and in need of more tenants to help pay the bills. This is a much better idea than fund raisers for those who won’t raise dues.

I respect those male Freemasons who want a men’s only Lodge. No one should have fraternal intermingling of the sexes rammed down their throat. On the other hand I respect those women who claim the right to experience all the joys of fraternal communion that men do. Why should they be denied? So let us open up lines of communication, dialogue, and sharing, and see where that takes us, operating within the legality of our Grand Lodges. And let us always respect the freedom of choice, the choice that Burger King advertises when it says “Have it your way.”

As a Roman Catholic Mason I have a good sized wager with a close Masonic friend on who will first treat women as co-equals, the Church or the Fraternity. If you want to know where my money was placed, well you will just have to E-Mail me. I have enjoyed this opportunity to put a bee in your bonnet.