A Three Day Long Meeting with No Minutes

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Robert H. Johnson

July 11th, I pulled into my driveway at 10:30 P.M. I’d been at a Lodge meeting that was meeting for the last time before they merged into another. I was relieved knowing I wouldn’t have to make the 60+ mile drive again. No sooner had I walked in my house, did I have to start packing.

All the necessities packed away neatly, bags set by the front door. “Alexa, set an alarm for 5:10 A.M.” Lights out. The next thing you know I’m at 29K feet on my way to Burbank airport and from there, to South Pasadena Masonic Lodges MasonicCon (SPML). I know you all likely read reviews of the MasonicCon event which has occurred every year at (the only US based lodge I’m a member of that has a charter currently), Ezekiel Bates, in Attleboro, MA.

Two years ago, Dago Rodriguez came out to be a vendor. He was representing the Southern California Research Lodge’s magazine, The Fraternal Review. One of the best out there. Dago went home after that weekend, two years ago and started planning his own MasonicCon. And by God, SPML with Dago as Worshipful Master knocked it out of the park.

I could give you a full rundown of events as I’ve done before, but this time I’ll be brief. We started with a seven course festive board with multiple toasts celebrating pop-culture icons within the craft. That was Friday night. The festive board included our ladies and many guests of honor. It went till midnight and was amazing.

Day two began the speakers. We heard from Angel Millar first, who spoke about art in Freemasonry and pop culture iconography. I personally enjoyed this presentation the most over the weekend. Nothing against my other friends, you know...we just have favorites sometimes 😀

The other speakers included Charlie Fisher, Bryan Simmons, Mike Jarzabek, Adam Kendall, Joseph Wäges and Art de Hoyos. By the way, Art de Hoyos was amazing--speaking on esoteric Masonry. (Not his typical thing, and it was so perfect. Thank you, Art!)

There were screenings as well. Perhaps one of the most interesting things about these MasonicCons, is that each one carries a regional flavor. In Attleboro, it’s the original recipe. It’s Coca-Cola. Refreshing, original and feels like tradition. SPML was distinctly “Hollywood”.

We watched the finale of Sacred Steel Bikes, with Brother Jason Wilson, the star of the show. After was a Q&A with Brother Adrian Fulle of Variety Content Studio. A unique part of the day was a screening of the movie, Fight Club. It’s been 20 years since the movie came out, and it has a distinctly philosophical flavor. Bro. Fulle grilled Dago Rodriguez, myself and Mike Jarzabek in a panel Q&A about the movie and topic of the Duality of Man. I think we did the movie justice, but I may be biased 😉

At 6:00 P.M. we broke for dinner. I took off to King Taco with my Brothers from EB for some amazing Mexican food. After dinner we talked about the benefit of these conferences. Not only to support the research we’re doing, not only to have fun, but to come together and share. To see what works and what doesn’t and to go back home with those nuggets of success. We implement those things, and slowly and incrementally change the fraternity--across the nation, for the better.

Next up? 8:00 P.M. we watched High and Outside: a baseball noir, directed by Bro. Evald Johnson and starring Bro. Phil Donlon. This movie was fantastic. Dark and reflective. Afterward, I conducted the Q&A / Interview with these two Brothers. They shared their personal experiences on the movie, life, struggles and everything else that goes into making a movie of this caliber.

10:00 P.M. we were able to see for the first time, Illuminated, the true story of the Bavarian Illuminati. An incredible documentary written, directed and narrated by Bro. Johnny Royal, whose previous major project was 33 & Beyond: The Royal Art of Freemasonry. Since the movie isn’t out yet, and I think I am among the lucky few to have seen it, all I will say is that it is a must see. After the film, I again interviewed and conducted Q&A with the director, Johnny Royal. He was very candid about the issues he faced while making the documentary but also shared personal thoughts on why it was important to tell the story of Adam Weishaupt. When we asked Johnny what the goal of all this is, he gave an eloquent answer,

“Uplifting consciousness, and making this realm a better place is what we’re trying to do.”

Was that it? No. We made our way back to the hotel and got some rest. Sunday began at 10:30 A.M. with a screening of some “sizzle” reels from Tim Hogan on a couple of new projects he has coming up. I can’t say much about them, but rest assured they look fascinating. Also, I feel compelled to tell you that Tim Hogan bought me a coffee. That, ladies and gentlemen is how you know you made it to the big time. 😎 Thanks Tim!

After this, Bryan Simmons, the architect of the original MasonicCon in Attleboro, MA gave a talk on “Hope”. It was a perfect way to end the day. A talk that told us to get off our butts and do the work instead of hoping for it to transpire. Thank you Bryan.

I could go on about the amazing weekend, I could regale you with the intellectual musings of Joe Wäges and Adam Kendall, I could tell you that Art de Hoyos is an undercover spicy meme lord, I could tell you that I met with the Grand Master of the Women's Masonic Lodge of California, I could tell you that Dago Rodriguez lost it at the end of the weekend with tears of thanks. But some things you just have to experience. This weekend was certainly that. A real experience.

In life we go through the motions, the ordinary. If we’re lucky we have occasions that stand out. The birth of children, graduating, marriage, becoming a Master Mason or adept in your own practice, landing your dream job, parachuting, climbing a trail, and sometimes it’s a weekend with 150 best friends--Thank you all for these memories. I will treasure them always. As for the next iteration? Well, I think I'm just going to plan a Masonic Con for Chicago--2020. Look out, it's gonna be rad.

www.masonicconchicago.com

~RHJ

RWB, Robert Johnson is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. He currently serves as the Secretary of Spes Novum Lodge No. 1183 UD. He is a Past District Deputy Grand Master for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focus on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four, works full time in the executive medical industry. He is the co-author of "It's Business Time - Adapting a Corporate Path for Freemasonry" and is currently working on a book of Masonic essays and one on Occult Anatomy to be released soon.

The Masonic Tax

by Midnight Freemason Emeritus

Bro. Aaron Gardner R. Gardner 32˚

Some of you probably clicked on this article because a notion of  “Masonic Tax”  and perhaps the idea is deplorable, to say the least. What would it mean to have a Masonic tax? Is it something that the government is imposing on people who join the fraternity, in some poor attempt to stifle membership rolls from increasing and the first step to banning the fraternity? Is it extra dues paid to the Grand Lodge of a State. Or is it the most probable, just a bunch of made up mumbo jumbo used to arouse the feelings of the reader, (mainly you)?

As interesting as it may be to fantasize about Orwellian ideas of government becoming a tyrant seeking to complete the elimination of Freemasonry, as Nazi Germany failed to; this is not what I am referring to with “The Masonic Tax”. It also isn’t a different form of dues to the Grand Lodge. No, that is expected to be paid and is paid by your lodge with the money you pay to your lodge. Actually, “The Masonic Tax” is both something I made up to arouse your feelings, and something a little more than that. I can see your face now; screaming at your computer, tablet, or cell phone (whatever form of media you use to read this website), “Just tell me already!”

Fine, I will. It's something we pay on a regular basis. A lot of the time we don’t even think about what we're doing when we pay it. It's an open event to anybody who wants to attend, Freemason or not. I'm talking of course about Masonic dinners. Originally, it's was a form of fundraising to help support the lodge and its functions. However, it doesn’t do that. Instead it takes the money out of hardworking Freemasons who are dedicated to the craft and won’t even flinch when asked to help a cause. These Freemasons are what help make the lodges successful in their endeavors and this article is not intended to humiliate or discourage Freemasons from attending events such as these. My lodge has one every month known as the Swiss Steak Dinner. Most lodges have different things they do, I actually just heard of a local lodge that sells Pasties (a delicious meat pie), which I intend to go buy a dozen of at once. If your lodge does one of these fundraisers, I would like you yo look and see what you see.

The first thing I would like you to notice is how much it costs to put on one of these events. If your lodge is anything like my lodge, there is a lot of time and effort put forth by some of the lodge brethren. In today’s society time is equal to money. So how much does it cost for a brother to take time out of his day to come, prepare food, serve food, and clean up afterwards? I understand there are a lot of brethren who are retired and they have time to do things like this, which is awesome. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case with every brother in the lodge. Some of us have jobs, families and other obligations that take precedence over our labors in lodge. When we first entered the fraternity we were paid a promise by the Worshipful Master and the lodge brethren that our labors and endeavors in Freemasonry will never get in the way of our God (whichever religion you practice), our nation, our families, or our occupations. We should take this promise seriously when making it to incoming brethren.

Secondly, I would like you to take note of how much money is spent on the event and take into account the money being made by the event. If the money being made is less than how much is spent, it is a failed project and should be considered for revising. It is a fundraiser after all, and a fundraiser that is losing money isn’t what your or my lodge needs. Sure, the events can be fun to attend and work, however, if it doesn’t bring in the mullah, it isn’t worth the time or money spent.

Next, who attends these functions? From my experience, it isn’t non-masons. Just last month I attended my lodge’s Swiss Steak Dinner and it was packed. I have never seen that many cars in the parking lot at once, even on installation night. However, as I looked around the crowd, I could pinpoint every person and knew they were affiliated with Freemasonry in some form. Either they were Masons themselves, or they were wives of Masons. Each paying a portion of their monthly income to dine with each other, at a fairly reasonable price. This is fine, as it is expected for a brother to help support another lodge’s functions, but we must consider what Freemasonry is. It’s a business. We are a business, in the business of making Freemasons. The event is a supposed to be a fundraiser to raise money for the lodge’s charity events. Who really needs to be there? The members of the community who are not affiliated with Freemasonry, that's who.

By establishing events that the community supports, you will have people there that aren't Freemasons. You will be taking donations and money from people that are not affiliated with the Craft and support your endeavors within the community. The lodge’s functions should be community oriented because it is the community that supports you. Without the community, there is no lodge. There will be an article about “Community Freemasonry” at a different time, so I won't go into the details here. If only Freemasons attend these events, what are we doing them for? We are taking money from fellow Freemasons to help support our lodge, we have only Freemasons to talk to at the event; and even though the event is well attended, it is a failed success. We successfully raised money to support our lodge, but we took it from brothers who already support our lodge through their dues, their time, and their commitment. Is that the success we want? If it is, why not just raise dues and save the money, time and effort cooking a meal?

As I mentioned previously, we are in the business of making Freemasons. By only having Freemasons around at our lodge functions, we aren’t doing ourselves any good. Not only are taking a brother’s money, we aren’t talking to people outside the craft about Freemasonry, showing them what we do and showing how much we care. If you intend to have events like this, advertise them. Not just on a billboard sign in front of the lodge, spend money to advertise. Put the events in the local newspapers or the town’s calendar. Put the event all over the Internet. A lot of the reason our craft is losing great members to death and not having great members to replace them, is because we don’t advertise any of these events to the younger generation. Perhaps that is because of a generational gap between current members and non-members. It is true that some younger Freemasons join the Craft and feel dissatisfied with it because of this gap. But we need to get on the level of the younger generations to interest them. Take a look at where they get their information—"Mybooktwitgram", or whatever they call it these days. If we take videos of events going on, things we do, we need to put it all over social media. Take pictures, and show them what we are doing and how they can join us on any of these events. Whether it's just having dinner with us or cleaning up the river view park.

Millennials just want to feel like they are a part of something, like they can make a difference in the world. Let’s show them how we do make a difference, invite them to these dinners or events which our lodges are having, then perform the community outreach. If we just talk about enlightenment, they won’t show; if we light the torch, they will come. Show them how they can make a difference. That is what we are here for—not to tax our fellow brethren, but to raise Master Masons… To inspire… To put our mark on the world… To make a difference.

~AG

Aaron Gardner - Emeritus Contributor 

You Say You Want A Revolution…

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Adam Thayer

I suppose I should start by telling you how Masonically lucky I am. At the perfect place in my life, I stumbled into Freemasonry, and have found something to commit myself to. I’ve established close friendships with my brothers, first in my home lodge, then later across the state, and finally worldwide. I’ve been blessed with a platform to write on, with like-minded brothers who teach me more than I could ever hope, and a great base of readers who encourage me to ever work harder. Thanks to brothers like Robert Johnson, I’ve expanded into audio, and I get to tell people around the world some of the cool articles I’ve found.

I love this fraternity, and am continually blessed by applying its teachings in my life.

Lately, however, I’ve noticed a growing trend towards.... let’s call it “dissatisfaction”. Maybe it’s been there all along, and I’m just now noticing it. Maybe, as some have said, the “honeymoon period” is over.

In some, it is pretty light and good natured (Hey, these minutes sure are boring). In others, it has become the kind of unhappiness that leads men to leave for good. In a few cases, I’ve even seen it becoming self-destructive, leading to ever more outlandish acts to voice their dissatisfaction.

The membership of our fraternity, in short, is suffering a crisis.

The issue of homosexuality in Freemasonry has become a lightning-rod for these problems, with brothers choosing sides, and vehemently digging in and defending their positions, but it is not the root cause of the problem, just the hot-button of the moment.

I’ve seen some men calling for a revolution, of sorts, similar to the rift that occurred between the Antients and the Moderns.

"You say you want a revolution, well you know we all want to change the world. But when you talk about destruction, don’t you know that you can count me out?"

I know, it’s rather trite to quote The Beatles in a piece on social change, but sometimes you just can’t write it any better than they did.

While I’m not afraid to fight for improvement in our fraternity, it’s important not to allow our passions to lead us into the destruction of those values we hold so dearly, and it’s equally important that we not allow our arguments to bubble out into the public view where it starts to hurt our reputation.

I don’t have any right to tell you that, because if you’ve followed me online, you’ve seen me speak vociferously regarding some of our issues. Had you asked me a week ago, I would have told you that it was important to fight the status quo, because the status is not quo. (Yes, I frequently quote Dr. Horrible in my daily life)

This week, I received feedback on another piece I had written from a non-Mason. It’s usually pretty cool when you get to hear from someone outside the fraternity on things they have picked up on from reading through our writings here, except this time the message wasn’t as great; he told me that he’s been thinking about joining for a long time, but that he keeps hearing about all the troubles we’re having in the fraternity, and he is reconsidering where his search for light is going to take him.

Reading it, I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. In my zeal to seek improvements for our craft, I’ve contributed to scaring away the very men we’re trying to attract!

Gentlemen, I want to see a better tomorrow for Freemasonry, but I realized something important: it isn’t going to come from me. Or from you. The future of Freemasonry is going to come from the men who haven’t joined yet, and it’s our job to protect the fraternity until they get here, so that they may find in it all of the things we ourselves were searching for.

Because after all, don’t you know it’s gonna be alright?

~AT

WB. Adam Thayer is the Senior Warden of Lancaster Lodge No. 54 in Lincoln (NE) and a past master of Oliver Lodge No. 38 in Seward (NE). He’s an active member in the Knights of Saint Andrew, and on occasion remembers to visit the Scottish and York Rites as well. He continues to be reappointed to the Grand Lodge of Nebraska Education Committee, and serves with fervency and zeal. He is a sub-host on The Whence Came You podcast, and may be reached at adam@wcypodcast.com. He will not help you get your whites whiter or your brights brighter, but he does enjoy conversing with brothers from around the world!

What is a Masonic Symposium?

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Gregory J. Knott

WB Steve Harrison presents

One of the most exciting developments in Freemasonry of late is the growing amount of lodges, research societies and others that are hosting a Masonic Symposium. But what exactly is a Masonic Symposium?

The Greeks seem to be the origin of the symposium “The Greek symposium was a male aristocratic activity, a tightly choreographed social gathering where men drank together, conversed, and enjoyed themselves in a convivial atmosphere. Bedecked in garlands, participants reclined—one or two to a couch—in a room designed to hold seven to fifteen couches with cushions and low tables.”

I was privileged to recently attend a symposium hosted jointly by The Masonic Society and The Philalethes Society. The event was held at the Valley of Chicago Scottish Rite Cathedral in Bloomingdale, Illinois.

An all-star line-up of presenters was on tap for the day. Leading off was The Midnight Freemasons very own WB Steve Harrison who gave an amazing talk on “The Mystery of Oak Island: Masonic Connections to a Real National Treasure Site”. Brother Harrison was followed by WB Shawn Eyer whose presentation was entitled “The Role of Song and Music in Traditional Freemasonry”. Many of you know may know Brother Eyer with his role as Director of Communications at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial and as Editor of The Philalethes Journal.

Returning after lunch, WB Mark Robbins gave his talk, “Freemasonry and Law Enforcement: Compatible or Conflicting?” that delved into some of the laws that have been passed over the years in the United Kingdom, trying to force members of the judiciary and law enforcement to register if they were Freemasons.

Next was WB Alton Rountree, who is Editor of The Phylaxis Society magazine. Brother Rountree focused his remarks on how to conduct quality masonic research “Masonic Historical Research and Presentation: Intricate and Acceptance”.

We finished up the evening with a fine dinner and an excellent presentation by WB Andrew Hammer, whose talk “Observing the Craft: The pursuit of excellence in Masonic Labour and Observance”, who has also published a very popular book by the same title.

I believe it is extremely encouraging to see so many of these events popping up across the country. It is starting resurgence of interest in masonic research. Has your lodge considered hosting such an event? You could start simple, by even having just one speaker. Masonic education should be a part of every lodge meeting, even if it is simple as reading the Masonic Short Talk Bulletin that is sent to every lodge by the Masonic Service Association.

Who knows, perhaps sometime you will see “The Midnight Freemasons Symposium” coming to a town near you.

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.