All things Shrine International on Masonic Central.

The song bring out the clowns starts to ring in my head when ever I start to think about the Shrine in a large way.  Not out of any misanthropy but because of their excellent work and commitment to the happiness and well being of so many children.

To say the name of the Shrine International and instantly the image of charity, children’s hospitals, and Red Fez’s comes to mind, but behind those iconic images is an organizational powerhouse that, some suggest, drives the future of the Masonic fraternity.

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Joining Masonic Central this week is Imperial Sir Jeff Sowder who is Imperial Outer Guard for Shriners International to talk about all things big and small as it relates to the Shrine.  Of particular interest:

• The History of the Shrine – How it formed, why it formed, and how its original formation has evolved.
• The Present Day Shrine International – The Hospitals, Conventions, the 1.8 million a day in Charity, The iconic Clowns, and some of the recent controversy.
• The Future of the Hot Sands – Growth, Diversity, and Its lineage to the ancient fraternity.

So many questions have swirled about the connections of the Shrine and the blue lodge that its time to put them to task and ask them of the Shrine themselves, and Imperial Sir Jeff Sowder has graciously stepped up to explore these topics and more about the “world’s greatest philanthropy.”

You can join the live Masonic Central program on Blog Talk Radio Sunday May 2nd, at 6pm PST/9pm EST and join our live interactive chat room to send us your questions and talk about the program, or you can call in with your live questions to 347-677-0936 during the show.

It promises to be an interesting and entertaining evening to say the least and a great way to discover more about this charitable powerhouse of the Masonic family.

Listen to Masonic Central on Blog Talk RadFor more information on the Shrine, visit: Shrine International

To Be a Shriner Now, visit: Be A Shriner Now

Masonic Traveler – the book

This is a bit of shameless self promotion but I wanted to get the word out.

After a lot of effort and energy, hand wringing and procrastination, I can truthfully say that with enough thought, you can manifest your intentions into being.  I present to you my humble journal of a Masonic Traveler.

Its been a long road, a journey of unknown adventure and destinations.  Its not a travelogue, but a collection of thoughts on things of interest to all Masons discovered on the road of the blog masonictraveler.blogspot.com

The book is an adventure that has taken me through thousands of pages in hundreds of books.  An adventure that has allowed me to meet and befriend a hundreds of brothers from around the world, and find resonate fraternity in places I was long told there was none to be found.

And after so much time on the virtual road, there was bound to be a physical destination…

That destination culminated in the book Masonic Traveler.

I like to think of it not as journey’s end, but  just the first stop on the trail.  So, without further adieu, I make this gentle announcement about my new book Masonic Traveler which is printed and in hand now!

You can follow more on the subject at MasonicTraveler.com

You can also find it on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com now too!

Just a quick update, I wanted to add a few additional places you can find the work.
Barnes and Noble
Amazon USA
Amazon Ca
Amazon UK
Amazon De
Amazon Jp
A1 Books
Powell’s

Tyranny and Diety – their place in Freemasonry

If Freemasonry had a specific dogma Albert Pike would of been one of its most profound Prophets.  As it stands, he sits in a pantheon of others such as Mackey, Wilmshurst, Webb, and Preston, just to name a few.

The reason I mention Pike in this way, is that for many years his work Morals and Dogma was the field manual given to all Scottish Rite masons for years, so much so that the deep red tomes still frequently show up in used book stores and on Ebay fetching a fair price for such an old body of work.

But the reason I mention Pike and M&D is that amongst the strum und drang of what some states (read Grand Lodges) are doing to some of its members or the shock and surprise that one state picked up a former (read expelled) member of another, Pike talked about these very things in his commentary to the Rite’s degrees.  Essentially, had we (Freemasonry) done our homework or applied the degrees so judicially bestowed upon us, that maybe we could see through the smoke that we ourselves are generating over these epic events.

Truthfully, I was surprised in coming across the passage while doing my work for the Guthrie Scottish Rite College of the Consistory.  Surprised because his wide spread distribution in the past and the little regard given to him today.

Let me just say that Pike was talking about the very things we face in adversity today more than 100 years before it was ever an issue in the 50+ jurisdictions of Grand Lodges.  So say what you want about Pike, personally I’m finding much in his ideas on how masonry should govern itself.

What I found was a small passage in the 10th degree that speaks to how a Freemason should see other faiths, that

“No man is entitled positively to assert that he is right, where other men, equally intelligent and equally well-informed, hold directly the opposite opinion.”

In that passage, Pike is asserting his idea of toleration to the aspect of religion, that no individual can assert that another individuals outlook of the divine spark is any more right than their own, asking the impossible to answer question “What is truth?”

Asking that question make me wonder if the same question can be extrapolated up to establish the definition of what truth means.

In the degree, Pike says (again about religious toleration):

Real knowledge never permitted either turbulence or unbelief; but its progress is the forerunner of liberality and enlightened toleration. Whoso dreads these may well tremble; for he may be well assured that their day is at length come, and must put to speedy flight the evil spirits of tyranny and persecution, which haunted the long night now gone down the sky. And it is to be hoped that the time will soon arrive, when, as men will no longer suffer themselves to be led blindfolded in ignorance, so will they no more yield to the vile principle of judging and treating their fellow-creatures, not according to the intrinsic merit of their actions, but according to the accidental and involuntary coincidence of their opinions.

Whenever we come to treat with entire respect those who conscientiously differ from ourselves, the only practical effect of a difference will be, to make us enlighten the ignorance on one side or the other, from which it springs, by instructing them, if it be theirs; ourselves, if it be our own; to the end that the only kind of unanimity may be produced which is desirable among rational beings,–the agreement proceeding from full conviction after the freest discussion.

What stands out to me, especially in this instance with so much hand wringing and heated exchanges, is the second paragraph, even more specifically:

Whenever we come to treat with entire respect those who conscientiously differ from ourselves, the only practical effect of a difference will be, to make us enlighten the ignorance on one side or the other.

The key here seems to be the idea of treating with respect those who differ from ourselves, which applies to all sides in this discussion.

Pike in his conclusion cites a Roman quote saying:

Men in no respect so nearly approach to the Deity, as when they confer benefits on men. To serve and do good to as many as possible, there is nothing greater in your fortune than that you should be able, and nothing finer in your nature, than that you should be desirous to do this.

Which is, after all, the reason for being a Mason, right?

Side Note:
I’ll be publishing more in the days to come, but the book Masonic Traveler is available now at MasonicTraveler.com – look for more soon!

Lest We Forget

Ohio Grand Master Terry W. Posey has posted on his blog some more reasons  for Ohio’s decision regarding former West Virgina Grand Master Frank Haas. Let us not forget the issues in this case and become so caught up in protocol and procedure that we forget about civil and human rights, inalienable rights given to us by God. And let us remember that no one over rules God.

Withdrawl of Recognition by the Grand Lodge of West Virginia

On April 22, 2010 the following was sent to those member Grand Lodges of the Conference of Grand Masters of North America.

I write to provide some explanation of the actions taken by Steubenville Lodge #45, regarding the Masonic membership of Frank J. Haas.

Frank J. Haas was Grand Master of The Grand Lodge of West Virginia in 2006. The following items were proposed to be changed by him and those changes passed at the 2006 Grand Lodge Session held in Wheeling, but the vote was abruptly set aside less than two weeks later. This was and is again the current Masonic law under The Grand Lodge of West Virginia.

1. The Grand Lodge of West Virginia forbids the Pledge of Allegiance at lodge meetings.

2. The Grand Lodge of West Virginia is the only Grand Lodge to refuse by law to allow DeMolay, Rainbow, or Job’s Daughters to meet in any lodge rooms. Their lodges are forbidden from donating any money to any charitable organization, including Masonic youth organizations or permitting them to earn money on the lodge premises.

3. The Grand Lodge of West Virginia is the only Grand Lodge in the United States not to belong to the Masonic Service Association.

4. The Grand Lodge of West Virginia forbids the charter of a Royal Arch Chapter to hang in its lodge rooms. No Masonic art that includes symbols of any other Masonic organization except the symbolic lodge can hang in West Virginia lodge rooms (this includes portraits of Past Grand High Priests and Past Grand Commanders). The Grand Lodge of West Virginia has banned books, movies, slideshows, songs, CD’s, an Ohio singer, and websites.

5. Family members cannot be pallbearers at a Masonic Funeral in West Virginia unless they are Masons. The ashes of a deceased brother cannot receive a Masonic Funeral in West Virginia, because it is by their Masonic law declared “undignified.”

6. Almost no one with a physical disability can be elected to receive the degree of Freemasonry in a Lodge under The Grand Lodge of West Virginia. The cause of the injury, be it military service or anything else, does not matter.

The above-referenced reforms were passed as part of the “Wheeling Reforms” at the 2006 Grand Lodge Session of The Grand Lodge of West Virginia but were set aside by the succeeding Grand Master less than two weeks later. That action has brought about the turmoil in the Craft in West Virginia and ultimately resulted in the expulsion of Frank J. Haas, the Grand Master who proposed the reforms.

All of these topics have been the subject of much discussion on the websites, including http://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com and masonic-crusade.com and blogs and the Philalethes publications. This has also been widely reported in detail in the popular press by the Associated Press and with a color spread in the New York Times.

I have observed the situation for two and a half years. In a most respectful tone, I wrote to three Grand Masters of West Virginia and offered my good offices to mediate its conflict. All offers were ignored or rejected.

Steubenville Lodge #45 regularly received and investigated a petition from Frank J. Haas to receive the degrees of Freemasonry in that Lodge.

He made a full disclosure of the Notice of Expulsion by the Past Grand Master of West Virginia and answered all questions presented to him by the Steubenville Lodge’s Committee of Investigation. The Lodge did the necessary background work, including a home visit. They were convinced that he was a good man and true, and he met all requirements, including residency for the requisite time, for membership.
I thoroughly researched the Code of The Grand Lodge of Ohio and determined that there is nothing to prevent his receiving the degrees. Inasmuch as he is an Ohio resident, the Constitution of The Grand Lodge of Ohio confers jurisdiction over his membership to The Grand Lodge of Ohio.

After he was unanimously elected to receive the degrees by Steubenville Lodge #45, I concurred with the Lodge that the laws of The Grand Lodge of Ohio had been complied with, and the Lodge proceeded to confer the three degrees of Freemasonry on Frank J. Haas, who for years had been an honorary member of that lodge. On April 17, 2010, he received the three degrees of Freemasonry in Steubenville Lodge.

On the next business day, the Grand Master of West Virginia withdrew fraternal relations with The Grand Lodge of Ohio because of the action taken by Steubenville Lodge.

The Grand Lodge of West Virginia has withdrawn its fraternal recognition of other Grand Lodges before. In 1991, Charles E. Forsythe, then Grand Master, issued two edicts regarding Prince Hall Masons. His edicts forbade members of The Grand Lodge of West Virginia to be present in Lodges under the Grand Lodges of Connecticut, Wisconsin, Nebraska, State of Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, and North Dakota, all of which had recognized the regular Prince Hall Grand Lodges in their states.

Despite the unfortunate action taken by The Grand Lodge of West Virginia, I am convinced that Steubenville Lodge #45 acted consistently with the Code of The Grand Lodge of Ohio, and I find no fault on their part or that of Brother Haas.

The Grand Lodge of Ohio acted consistently with Ohio law. We ask our sister Grand Lodges to respect our law.

Fraternally,

Terry W. Posey
Grand Master

Addendum to Blog Article on 4/23/2010:
I have been informed by the Grand Master of West Virginia that this withdrawl does NOT interfere with fraternal relations of appendant bodies and that members can continue those relationships.

A quote by Martin Luther King: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about those things that matter.”

http://gmohio.blogspot.com/2010/04/withdrawl-of-recognition-by-grand-lodge.html

One of the other violations Haas was convicted of is discourse with a clandestine Lodge. Haas met with Prince Hall leaders to discuss recognition.  He did not go to the Grand Lodge building of Prince Hall nor did he invite them to the building of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia.  Rather they met at a neutral site – a hotel.

If it is illegal to even talk to Prince Hall Masons then it is impossible to ever negotiate recognition.  By codifying non Masonic discourse outside Mainstream Masonry you have institutionalized racism.

Years ago I was told by many a Mason to shut up, stop creating such a ruckus and let time heal all wounds, for in time all those racists and all these divisions will disappear as the Old Guard dies off.

The years have come and gone and now I am a senior citizen and the Old Guard has died off.  But the racism in Freemasonry and the overbearing, over controlling, tyrannical Grand Lodges are still with us.  Frank Haas and West Virginia,  Atlanta’s Gate City Lodge and the Grand Lodge of Georgia and Derek Gordon and the Grand Lodge of Arkansas have all been with us lately.  And tomorrow we will be pointing to another horrific incident in the annuals of Freemasonry. And this will go on and on until we come to some sort of understanding that all the jurisdictions in the U.S.A. are one big family that needs to pull together.  We can find a way to do that while still maintaining state jurisdictional hegemony if we put our minds to it, work together and approach this as a problem to be solved rather than something to be ignored because it’s not my jurisdiction.

War Declared

It all started with somebody who was willing to break the code of mutual support…………no matter the deed.  Most Worshipful Terry W. Posey writes on his blog:

“Frank Haas is a Judge in West Virginia and until several years ago was Grand Master of West Virginia. The story of his being expelled from the Grand Lodge of West Virginia is well-documented in various Masonic and other publications. I have reviewed as many as were available, including West Virginia’s Proceedings, the New York Times and www.masonic-crusade.com .”

“He moved to Ohio last year. After that, he petitioned Steubenville Lodge # 45 for the degrees of Freemasonry.”

“I thoroughly researched the Code of the Grand Lodge of Ohio and there is nothing to prevent his receiving these degrees. Inasmuch as he is an Ohio resident, the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Ohio confers jurisdiction over his membership to the Grand Lodge of Ohio and the lodge’s membership.”

“He made a full disclosure of the Notice of Expulsion by the Past Grand Master of West Virginia and answered all questions presented to him by the Lodge’s Committee of Investigation. The Lodge did the necessary background work, including a home visit. They were assured that he was a good man and true, and he met all requirements, including residency for the requisite time, for membership.”

“Steubenville Lodge # 45 gave a unanimous ballot approving his membership.”

“On April 17, he received the three degrees of Freemasonry in Steubenville Lodge.”

http://gmohio.blogspot.com/2010/04/frank-haas.html

The response was for the Grand Lodge of West Virginia to withdraw recognition of Ohio.  The Grand Lodge of Ohio’s website reports it thusly:

“The Grand Master of West Virginia, Gregory A. Riley, Sr., issued an edict on April 19, 2010 withdrawing fraternal recognition from the Grand Lodge of Ohio because Steubenville Lodge No. 45 elected Frank Haas to membership and conferred the three degrees of Masonry on him on Saturday, April 17, 2010.”

http://www.freemason.com/component/content/article/1-headlines/349-grand-lodge-of-west-virginia-withdraws-fraternal-recognition-from-ohio.html

If West Virginia can withdraw recognition of Ohio so quickly and easily, why is it that some of the Grand Lodges in the United States who are really doing a wonderful job have not withdrawn recognition from West Virginia, clearly a rogue Grand Lodge, a long time ago?  It seems to me that only the bad guys have the chutzpah to take action.

And if the Conference of Grand Masters is truly our national voice in American Freemasonry why has it not voted on a proposal to withdraw recognition from those Grand Lodges who trample on the civil rights of their Brethren and who refuse to recognize Prince Hall?

Why is it that American Freemasonry refuses to police itself?  Are we waiting for the civil courts to step in?  Do we really think that the actions of one Grand Lodge has no bearing on the public’s perception of all of American Freemasonry?  Are we going to stand by and do nothing while one after another after another of these incidents of tyrannical power gone amuck , these actions of Right Wing Masonic Militia take place?

Will there be any national response to the plight of Derek Gordon?

The Beehive will wait to see further developments as this may be one of many battles to come.  Widely rumored in Prince Hall circles is the story that the UGLE is seriously considering withdrawing recognition from all American Grand Lodges who refuse to recognize Prince Hall.

Stay tuned!

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