The Grand College of Rites

By Midnight Freemason Contributor

W.B. Gregory J. Knott

The Grand College of Rites of the United State of America (GCR) is one of the lesser knows bodies of Freemasonry. GCR was formed in 1932 when Sovereign Sanctuary of the Egyptian Masonic Rite of Memphis voted to transfer control of their degrees to the newly formed GCR.

The purpose of the GCR is to “dedicated to preserving the history and rituals of defunct and inactive Masonic orders.” By controlling the degrees under their jurisdiction, the GCR ensures that these older rituals aren’t subject to the occasional resurrection that often occurred.

Equally important is the preservation of the rituals for study by interested parties. The GCR annually publishes Collectanea, which is available exclusively to members of the GCR. Collectanea is a combination of a summary of the annual meeting minutes and a printing of one of the rituals for one of the rites or degrees controlled by GCR. In the 2015 edition The William H. Peckham “Cerneau” Scottish Rite 4°- 9°.

Illustrious Arturo de Hoyas, Knight Grand Cross, is the Grand Archivist for the GCR. Brother de Hoyas has done some outstanding work in researching these old and obscure rituals.

At Masonic Week 2016, Jeffrey N. Nelson of Bismark, ND was installed as Most Illustrious Grand Chancellor for 2016-17.

I joined the GCR a number of years ago and have attended the annual meeting at Masonic Week. Membership is open to any Master Mason in good standing. Annual dues are only $15 and this includes receiving the annual edition of Collectanea. I would highly recommend that anyone interested in learning about these old rituals to join the GCR. Back issues of the publication are available for purchase to members of GCR.

~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), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign-Urbana. He is also a member of ANSAR Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The Masonic Society and is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and The Philathes Society. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts—an Eagle Scout himself, he is a member of the National Association of Masonic Scouters

AMD - Masonic Week 2016 Wrap-up

By Midnight Freemason Contributor

W.B. Gregory J. Knott

Greg Knott and Jason Richards

I attended the 2016 AMD – Masonic Week that was held in Crystal City, Arlington VA near the Reagan National Airport. This was the first year for this location after the last three in Reston, Virginia. For those that don’t know, this event is organized by the Allied Masonic Degrees (AMD) and is co-hosted by several other Masonic organizations such as the Knight Masons, Blue Friars, The Masonic Society, etc. It is a four day event running Thursday – Sunday that includes business meetings, special degrees, expensive dinners and most importantly lots of great conversations.

This event tends to attract many of the big names in Masonry such as Brent Morris, Thomas W. Jackson, Jason Richards, Jon Ruark, Robert Davis and more. Its great fun getting to speak with them person. In all, there are typically 300-400 brethren from around the United States and a foreign lands that come to DC for this meeting.

Many of the masonic bodies that hold their meetings here are invitational only and seem to have many of the same members who simply trade sashes and titles between the various business meetings. However that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do at AMD – Masonic Week. For example, I attended the Society of Blue Friars to see Michael Halleran become a member of this esteemed body. Blue Friars are a group of masonic authors and one can only be elected by the membership. Their meetings are open to the public however and it always includes a great lecture.

On Saturday afternoon, I was initiated into The Royal Order Masonic Knights of the Scarlet Cord of the United State of America, which is a relatively new body in the United States having been established here in 2012 via the United Kingdom. There are 6 grades to this order and I was given the first 3. A very interesting experience. The brethren who performed the degrees did a great job in putting on the degrees.

Take a look at the Masonic Week website for more details on what takes place during this event. If you ever have the chance to attend, I highly recommend it. I want to especially thank Brother Moises Gomez of New Jersey who does a great job in coordinating the entire event. Without his efforts it wouldn’t happen.

~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), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign-Urbana. He is also a member of ANSAR Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The Masonic Society and is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and The Philathes Society. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts—an Eagle Scout himself, he is a member of the National Association of Masonic Scouters

Our Nation’s Capital

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Gregory J. Knott

Fellow Midnight Freemason Todd Creason and I recently attended Masonic Week 2015 in Reston, VA.  While there, we took some time to tour our nation’s capital city, seeing many of the Masonic sites, plus many more.  I love visiting Washington DC.   The history, architecture, and sites are something I never get tired of seeing and I have been nearly 30 times.

Last year I became a dual member of Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington DC.   This lodge is one of the oldest and most historic in the District.   The Brethren there, have welcomed me with open arms and I consider them true friends.

I also enjoy taking pictures and have taken more than 15,000 pictures of the DC area.   I plan to share some of these over the coming year and will be working with Brother Creason on future posts that feature my pictures with his writing to highlight some of the sites I have visited.

I have a Facebook page Freemason Photography that I have started and will be feature pictures of not only DC, but also from across the country.   So to get us started, here is a very small sampling.

The U.S. Capitol Building

House of the Temple – Home of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, SJ

Brother John Paul Jones – father of the US Navy

Spring cherry blossoms on the National Mall 

with the Jefferson Memorial in the background.

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), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign-Urbana. He is also a member of ANSAR Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The Masonic Society and is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and The Philathes Society. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts—an Eagle Scout himself, he is a member of the National Association of Masonic Scouters.