Masonic Week

by Midnight Freemason contributor

WB Gregory J Knott

     Earlier this winter I had the opportunity to attend Masonic Week in Reston, Virginia.  Masonic Week is considered by some to be the event for Masonry nationally if you want to meet the authors, movers and shakers in Freemasonry.  Despite the many high profile attendees, many people I speak with still don't know what Masonic Week is.

 
  Masonic Week is really a series of meetings of Masonic Bodies that use this opportunity to come together in one location and share Masonic fellowship.  The Allied Masonic Degrees (AMD) are the center piece of the meetings.  AMD was the original organizer of Masonic Week and it has been held in the Washington DC area since 1938.  Numerous including the Masonic Society, the Philalethes Society, Knight Masons and many others held their meetings. 

 
  The absolute best part of Masonic Week is meeting the brethren attending.    I had the opportunity to listen and/or speak with Masonic authors Christopher Hodapp, Brent Morris, Arturo de Hoyos, Andrew Hammer and John Palmer.  The Masonic Society hospitality suite was one of the favorite stops on the weekend.  Here in an informal setting, you can converse with some of the most well informed brethren in Masonry today. 

   
 Brother Jay Hochberg of the Magpie Mason, has an excellent series of articles from past years of Masonic Week. 

   
 Masonic Week 2014 is already in the planning process and will once again be held in the Hyatt at Reston, Virginia on February 13-16, 2014.   I would encourage all that can attend to do so.  It will be an experience you will never forget.

~GJK

WB Gregory J. Knott is the Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He's a member of both the Scottish Rite, and the York Rite, and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club in Champaign-Urbana. He's also a member of the Ansar Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts--an Eagle Scout himself, he serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. & A. M. as their representative to the National Association of Masonic Scouters.

About The Mark Twain Masonic Awareness Award

"We are all alike, on the inside."

~Mark Twain

Polar Star Lodge No. 79, St. Louis, MO

Bro. Christopher Hodapp posted an excellent piece this week about this years Mark Twain Masonic Awareness Award winners on his blog Freemasons For Dummies this week.  It's an interesting article about the history of the award, and the criteria for winning it.  Be sure to check it out.

I know I mentioned it before HERE, but Illinois had its first winning lodge in 2011--St. Joseph Lodge No. 970.  It's a lodge I'm very familiar with, so I want to congratulate them again, and all the 2011 winners for a job well done:

Alabama - Rising Sun Lodge #29 Decatur, Alabama

Alaska - Matanuska Lodge #7 Palmer, Alaska

Arkansas - Key Lodge #7 Siloam Springs, Arkansas

Arizona - Oasis Lodge #52 Tucson, Arizona

Illinois - St. Joseph Lodge #970 St. Joseph, Illinois (Go Illinois!)

Michigan - Byron Lodge #80 Byron, Michigan

Minnesota - Red Wing Lodge #8 Red Wing, Minnesota

Nevada - St. John Lodge #18 Pioche, Nevada

New Hampshire - Benevolent Lodge #7 Milford, New Hampshire

New Mexico - Chapman Lodge #2 Las Vegas, New Mexico

Ohio - North Bend Lodge #346 Cleves, Ohio

Ohio - Oxford Lodge #67 Oxford, Ohio

Pennsylvania - Manoquesy Lodge #413 Bath, Pennsylvania

South Carolina - Mariner Lodge #2 Charleston, South Carolina

Utah - Damascus Lodge #10 Provo, Utah

Virginia - Herndon Lodge #264 Herndon, Virginia

Virginia - Fredericksburg Lodge #4 Fredericksburg, Virginia

Washington - Daylight Lodge #232 Seattle, Washington

~TEC

 

What Is the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry?

Home of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville (IL)

This time of year, many of the Scottish Rite Valleys in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction are holding their Fall Reunions.  In fact this weekend is my valley's reunion, the Valley of Danville (IL).  I get this question every once in awhile, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to try and answer it. 

Once a man becomes a Master Mason in his local lodge, or Blue Lodge, he has received the highest degree in Freemasonry--the 3°.  However, that doesn't necessarily mean he's done. If he wants to, he can decide to continue learning more about the principles of Freemasonry by joining one of appendant bodies of Freemasonry where he can receive additional degrees--additional degrees, not higher degrees. As I said, there is no degree higher than that of Master Mason. The York Rite is one of these appendant bodies (and I'll talk about them another time), and the Scottish Rite is another.

Officers of Danville's Lodge of Perfection

The Scottish Rite offers twenty-nine additional degrees--and no, you don't have to be from Scotland, or go to Scotland to receive them. If you're a Master Mason, you can do that a little closer to home.

The degrees are performed like stage plays and often include elaborate costumes, lights, sound, music, and special effects.  The allegory in each of these degrees illustrates a particular principle, virtue or tenet meaningful to the Scottish Rite Mason.  Every year (in most places twice a year) a Scottish Rite Valley meets in what they call a reunion. That's the place where Scottish Rite Masons come together to socialize, and to put on degrees for new members who have petitioned to join the Scottish Rite.  Another purpose of a reunion is to continue the tradition of the Scottish Rite by conferring the 32° on another group of worthy Master Masons.

Lunch at the Valley of Danville Reunion

Reunions are a fun time for Scottish Rite Masons.  It gives us a chance to visit with friends we may only see twice a year at reunions.  For those that enjoy participating in the portrayal of the degrees it's also a great deal of fun. There are a lot of ways to participate--some like acting in the degrees and learning parts. Some help with lighting and sound, makeup, costumes, or helping to direct the degrees. If the only thing you know how to do is read, they'll give you a script and have you prompting the actors. It doesn't matter what you're good at or what you enjoy doing, the Scottish Rite Valleys have a real knack for putting it to use. And as I and many others have learned, the Scottish Rite also has a way of bringing out talents we might not have known we had. 

But the Scottish Rite is more than just about reunions, degrees, and socializing--the Scottish Rite's goals, like with all the bodies of Freemasonry, is to make good men better, and the world a better place.  And at the Valley of Danville, we've been doing that for 107 years. 

~TEC

If your interested in learning more about Freemasonry, there isn't a better place to begin than with the book Freemasons for Dummies by the Illustrious Christopher Hodapp, 33°.  I had a chance to meet him a few months ago in Chicago, and told him how much I've enjoyed his books--he's written several, and all of them are excellent. His Freemasons for Dummies book is a particularly good resource for those interested in learning more about Freemasonry, and it's a book I've often given to perspective members.  You might also check out his blog Freemasons for Dummies.