Southern Hospitality

By Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Gregory J. Knott

During a recent visit to New Orleans, I had the privilege of attending a third degree at Perfect Union No. 1.  Perfect Union is the oldest lodge in Louisiana.  According to some research I did, Perfect Union was chartered March 30, 1794 by the Grand Lodge of South Carolina, as Parfaite Union No. 29.  It’s work, was originally conducted in French and later in English, later it came under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana after the grand lodge formation.

My friend, brother Michael Poll, owner of Cornerstone Publishing and the Editor of the Journal of the Masonic Society, picked me up and gave me a quick tour of downtown New Orleans.  We drove by the former grand lodge building, which is now a Hilton Hotel and other buildings with a masonic connection.   I inquired, about the damage done by hurricane Katrina a few years back and Mike was able to describe the devastation the entire region suffered.  Many of the areas have come back and others have not.

We arrived at Perfect Union Lodge, which meets in the lodge building of Germania Lodge No. 46, as do several other masonic lodges.  This lodge building suffered damage as a result of Katrina, and has been restored and updated.   The ground level is a dining room and the lodge room is on the upper level.

Wonderful smells were flowing out of the kitchen as we entered the dining room, and as I expected, the brethren were serving a traditional southern dish of red beans and rice.   Though I had never meet any of these brethren prior (other than Mike and his two sons), I was greeted like an old friend.   The food and conversation was fantastic.

This being my first visit to Perfect Union, I met with an investigation committee so that I might be properly examined and thus proving myself to be a Master Mason.  

Upon entering the lodge room on the second floor, I immediately noticed some differences to the lodge rooms I am familiar with in Illinois.  In particular, the secretary and the treasurer desks appeared to be backwards.  Each desk had a symbol on the front of that particular office, and this is how I knew they appeared to be reversed.   But this is one of the unique differences of freemasonry in Louisiana.  

There are a number of lodges, that work under the Scottish Rite blue lodge ritual.   These lodges, were formed prior to the adoption of the current Louisiana Blue Lodge ritual and were permitted to keep their historical rituals.  Thus, some of the officer stations, are in different locations than in what is referred to locally, in the York Rite lodges.  Perfect Union Lodge, works the current Louisiana ritual and the third degree that I was to see, would be conducted in this manner.   

One of the unique artifacts in the lodge, was a statue of King Solomon.   This statue used to be on the grand lodge building in downtown New Orleans, but was removed and kept after this building was sold.  I have never seen anything quite like it.

The candidate being raised that night, was the nephew of the DDGM.    Brother Poll and his sons were all members of the degree cast.  Present in the room were a Past Grand Master of Louisiana, and DDGM’s from several neighboring districts. 

The work differed from the Illinois ritual I am accustomed to, yet the words were familiar.   The degree was performed with great precision and the candidate was raised in due form.

Visiting other lodges and jurisdictions, is truly one of the greatest privileges of being a freemason.  If you are taking a business trip or a vacation, I encourage you to see if there is a local lodge that may be meeting.   You will make new friends, and enjoy the fraternal comradery that our great organization is founded upon.

My thanks to Brother Poll and the other brothers of Perfect Union Lodge No. 1, for allowing me to visit and witness a third degree.

~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.  

That Ashlar Ain't Going To Chip Itself: Part 1

by Midnight Freemasons Founder

Todd E. Creason

I often hear grumbling from new Masons that education is not being provided in their lodges.  Sadly, that's true in a great many places today.  In fact, I was disappointed myself when I became a Master Mason and found the same thing true.  I expected that what I had learned going through my degrees would be further explained and expanded upon.  That wasn't the case.  I joined the York Rite and found the same thing true.  I joined the Scottish Rite and found the same thing true.  It seemed to me that beyond the degrees, all those bodies at that time were offering their members were business meetings, long on business and completely devoid of any educational aspects. 

However, it does no good to grumble about it and try and push your Lodge into doing education.  The truth of the matter is that in many places, it's not that these bodies won't do education--it's because they can't.  It's been so long since education has been a part of that culture that many in leadership of these bodies have never learned anything beyond what is contained within those degrees, and the ritual itself.  There are no Masonic scholars or teachers there! 

So what I'm encouraging you to do, is to do the same thing I did.  Educate yourself!  There is no shortage of material.  There are libraries in many Lodges--sadly many unused, but on the bright side, you'll have the place to yourself.  Many of the terrific books on Freemasonry are available at Barnes & Noble or can be ordered from Amazon.  There are vast resources available through Masonic research organizations.  See if your state has a Lodge of Research.  There are great resources available like the Library at the House of the Temple with extremely knowledgable individuals like my friend Arturo de Hoyos there to assist you with your research topics.  The more you explore the topics of Freemasonry, and the more you network, the more like-minded people you're going to encounter--Masons interested in bringing education back to Freemasonry. 

Take personal responsibility for your education, and begin learning and researching.  And then share what you're learning!  Be the change!  You be the one to bring that education back to your Lodge, to your Valley, to your Chapter.  Travel to other Lodges.  Speak.  Write.  Network with Brothers that share your interests.

That's what I've tried to do.  And along the way I've run into a lot of Masons wanting to do the same thing--that's how this blog the Midnight Freemasons got started.  I started pushing out pieces back in about 2006 or 2007, and then a few years ago I got the idea to turn it into a contributor blog--then there were two of us, then six, then ten, and now 12 (there have been as many as 14 Midnight Freemasons)--and I couldn't even guess at this point how many guest contributors we've had over the last few years, and how many more we've got coming.  Our Editor Robert Johnson has the Whence Came You? Podcast.  He's was also instrumental in creating and being a member of The Masonic Roundtable podcast.  Just about all of the Midnight Freemasons have expanded into their own education projects.  It's an amazing thing to see--the remarkable research that's being shared, and the creative ways that it is being done. 

Fellow Midnight Freemason Greg Knott and I are very passionate about this subject, and have pushed hard on this topic for many years.  And we've had great success at it.  We've put together presentations, videos, and written numerous articles.  As a result of our efforts, we've run across many other Brothers wanting to do the same thing, and they've helped us put together a new High 12 Club that meets each month--simple format, we have a meal in a local restaurant, and we have a speaker that teaches our members something new.  And these Masons we've linked up with helped put together a new Royal Arch Chapter of the York Rite, Admiration Chapter, with a focus on Masonic education.  Not even chartered yet, Admiration Chapter is already experiencing tremendous interest, and is already growing rapidly.

As I wrote in my first book, Freemasonry has always attracted industrious men.  If you want education in your Lodge, and if you're reading this blog there is a good indication that you do, then don't wait for somebody else to do it.  Take your education upon yourself, seek out others with those same interests, network with knowledgeable people within the Fraternity to assist you with finding materials relevant to your research interests.  And when you feel comfortable that you've become knowledgeable enough to do so, by all means share it! 

I'll tell you from experience--there are no limits to what you can accomplish in this Fraternity if you're willing to apply yourself.  As you work on improving yourself through this process of learning, you'll be able to help improve others as well.  And I think you'll discover as I have, that there is nothing more satisfying.

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33°, FMLR is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog and is a regular contributor.  He is the award winning author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series. He is the author of the From Labor to Refreshment blog.  He is the Worshipful Master of Homer Lodge No. 199 and a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754, where is currently serves as Secretary.  He is the Sovereign Master of the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees.  He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research. (FMLR) and a charter member of a new Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter U.D.  You can contact him at: webmaster@toddcreason.org

New Approaches to Old Problems: The College Fraternity Connection

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Bro. Chris Streeper

I have been a Freemason for ten years now. During my travels throughout my Masonic career I have had the good fortune meet many brothers and visit several lodges throughout the United States and internationally. Throughout my short time as a Mason I have read dozens of books on the Craft, participated in several surveys, and attended countless conferences and seminars. Nearly the entire time I have been a member of the Craft I have been subject to discussions about how to solve the overall decline in membership.

To say that membership is on the minds of our Masonic leadership at all levels of the fraternity would be an understatement. Most of the discussion over the past years has dedicated itself to lack of interest expressed by young American men in joining fraternal organizations of any type. (Membership is not exclusively a Masonic problem.) Recently I have observed a shift in the discussion moving from our membership problem being a recruitment issue to a retention issue. I would agree more that we have a retention issue than anything else. This idea however would be better discussed at another time, but it should be mentioned that Bro:. John Ruark of the Masonic Roundtable has begun working on a survey dedicated to shedding more light on our nationwide retention woes. The following, is an “outside the box” approach to advertising Freemasonry to vast group of potential members whom we already have close ties with; the collegiate fraternities.

When leaders discuss new member recruitment and retention at our various conclaves I cannot help but wonder why Freemasonry has not reached out to its collegiate counterpart. Not through a formal recruitment initiative, but via a constructive approach involving members of local lodges in college towns who happen to be members of social Greek Letter fraternities. The men of the Greek system have already demonstrated an interest in fraternalism and have already had exposure to ritualism. In fact, a large amount of the social fraternities owe at least some of their existence to Freemasonry. In a sense, these men are already our “friends and brothers” who could easily make the transition to membership in the Craft.

I am a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity. At least two of our three founders were documented Freemasons. Brother James Frank Hopkins was chiefly responsible for drafting Sigma Nu’s rituals and ceremonies. Although very thinly veiled, the tenants of Freemasonry found their way into the forms and ceremonies of Sigma Nu where they remain mostly unchanged today. My father was a member of Lamba Chi Alpha Fraternity while he was in college. He has mentioned to me that there were many similarities in the rituals and symbols used in his fraternity and the Scottish Rite. From Kappa Sigma, to Alpha Tau Omega, to Sigma Chi, to Sigma Alpha Epsilon... there are many Freemasons who were members of social fraternities during their college years. The question is not the relationship between Freemasonry and the Greek system, but how we capitalize on what seems to the next logical step in these men’s fraternal profession.

Many of the graduates from my own chapter of Sigma Nu have approached me about Freemasonry over the past few years; most recently at our annual spring formal. From discussions I have with other masons in similar situations with other Greek letter organizations I hear similar stories. A solution to our membership woes is staring us in the face, the question is how do we develop a relationship with the Greeks without actively recruiting their members; a clear violation of our core tenants. The answer I believe, is proper marketing.

The first step is to identify members of the Craft who have Greek letter affiliations. This could be done via a Grand Lodge survey, or via a committee at the individual lodge level. Once those members are identified, the secretary should create a log these affiliations and they should make an effort to reach out to the closest chapter of their college fraternity. Dependent on Grand Lodge legislation, these members could even extend the use of the lodge room for initiation ceremonies once a semester. (The building would be opened by Masonic alumni who then sits in during the initiation of which ever fraternity is using the lodge.

Of course this only works if you have Master Masons who are members of the local fraternities, but odds are you do.) The Worshipful Master could host a dinner for the chapter presidents all the local fraternities or invite the chapter officers to attend open meetings and events. The activity matters not, the point is to develop a relationship with a seemingly unending reservoir of potential members whom are already familiar with the workings of the Masonic Lodge. Obviously lodges which are situated near a college will experience the most benefit from this idea, but lodges in large metropolitan areas could benefit also as many fraternities have alumni chapters in big cities.

This proposal is just one of many fresh approaches to issues which have lingered within lodges for decades. I am firmly convinced that if lodges were to identify their members who were initiates of college fraternities that we could develop a positive and lasting relationship with a seemingly unending source of quality new members. All it takes is a little initiative to identify the members of your lodge who were Greek and put them to work. I’m certain that they will readily and happily accept the charge.

~CS

Bro. Chris Streeper is a York Rite Mason and a member of Dickinson Lodge #1324 AF &AM in Dickinson, TX. He is an alumnus of Sigma Nu Fraternity, a veteran of the United States Coast Guard and a professional educator.

The Masonic Pilgrimage

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Robert Johnson, PM

Well, it's just four days until I hop in WB:. Scott Dueball's car and we ride down to Springfield Illinois for the Grand Lodge annual meeting. We call it a pilgrimage because we are called back home per se. It's a time of great fellowship, of rekindling the fire that burns inside the active mason. All year long, I look forward to the Grand Lodge Sessions and to seeing the faces of brothers I only see but once in a great while.

It's a time to gain new insights and learn new things, as the Grand Lodge has panels and learning sessions set up for Masons with a gamut of interests. And don't even get me started on the shopping. I love Masonic trinkets as much as the next Brother, but man...at Grand Lodge, it's definitely over the top. I will definitely be found perusing the tables for hours.

As Grand Lodge Sessions wraps up on Saturday the 8th, I'll be getting ready for the next pilgrimage, all the way down to St. Louis MO. for the Valley of St. Louis's Fall Reunion the following weekend. I absolutely love that old Masonic superstructure in the down town area. If you haven't been there, you have to go. It's just amazing. I hope many of you are getting ready for your own Masonic pilgrimages, whether it's to your Grand Lodge proceedings or a reunion or perhaps its a special time for blue lodge events. Whatever it is, have fun, share in fellowship and stay on the level! See you all when I get back, and of course on the old interwebs.

~RHJ