Civility: Can We Talk?

 by The Midnight Freemason

Todd E. Creason, 33°

Can we talk?  Too often in our society today, the answer is no.  Scroll through your social media feed for five minutes. Read the comments on any news article. We even struggle to talk around the table during family gatherings. What you will find, more often than not, is not a conversation—it is a collision. 

I’ve never seen it this bad in my lifetime.  And I can almost hear people reading this assigning blame to one person or another, or this political party or the other, or this news media source or another.  And that’s the problem.  And unfortunately, the world has seeped into some of our Lodges creating debate and dissention amongst the Brethren—in fact it’s a big part of the reason I took a step back for a few years. 

I’m sure it’s not the same everywhere, but in general, I think a step back is what the Fraternity itself needs.  There’s a reason we’ve been around as long as we have.  We have a vital mission.

Freemasonry, and I’m talking traditional Freemasonry, could actually do a great deal of good in promoting the ideas of civility in the world.  Our history and our traditions would certainly show that civility has been important to us going back centuries.  That’s because our primary goal, our main purpose, has been character development.  To encourage and build men of strong character, principles and values.

But we seem to have shifted our focus.  If we want to continue being relevant, we have to get back to building men of good character.  We spend so much time being a charity these days we’ve drift away from our primary purpose, which is being an institution of learning.  In the beginning the charitable side of Freemasonry was the natural result from building men of character.  Now it’s all fund-raising and very little enlightenment or personal development. 

The world has plenty of charities.  What the world lacks is morality, decency, virtue, and character—which would include civility.  What the world needs is what we used to focus on a lot more.

Let’s get back to building.

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog and is a regular contributor. He is the award-winning author of the Famous American Freemasons series.  He is a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL) and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He is also a member of St. Joseph-Ogden Lodge No. 970 (IL).  He is a Past Sovereign Master of the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research. (FMLR). He is a charter member of Admiration Chapter No. 282 and a Past EHP.  You can contact him at webmaster@toddcreason.org

Passing the Light

By Senior Midnight Freemason Contributor

Gregory J. Knott, 33°

It was the day we had hoped to avoid, but reality said otherwise, Ogden Lodge No. 754 voted to merge with St. Joseph Lodge No. 970.

The last few years for Ogden Lodge have been a struggle.  Not unlike many lodges right now, our membership was aging, costs to operate the building had risen dramatically and consistently obtaining a quorum to open and meet was a constant challenge.  St. Joseph Lodge was facing similar challenges and members from both lodges began conversations about merging.  

Ogden and St. Joseph are two small communities about five miles apart in east-central Illinois.  We share a long history together.  Ogden Lodge was chartered in 1877 and St. Joseph Lodge in 1914.  When the St. Joseph lodge was formed, most of the original members had been members of Ogden Lodge.

In 1963 our two communities voted to merge our high schools, forming St. Joseph-Ogden High School.  It was a similar story at that time: both high schools were challenged to offer all they could to students, were already sharing teachers and classes and finally the public decided they would be stronger together.  63 years later St. Joseph-Ogden High School is one of the premier public schools in our area.

Our conclusion was also similar for the two lodges, coming together would make us both stronger and ensure that Freemasonry could thrive in our communities for the generations ahead.  Through numerous discussions, we decided to sell the Ogden Lodge building and meet in the St. Joseph Lodge building.   As of this writing the Ogden building was listed for sale and sold quickly to a local business.

At Ogden, we held a short ceremony to pass the light from Ogden to St. Joseph.   Written by PM Steve Guess, this ceremony was a meaningful way to pass the light.  The ceremony said in part: 

Brethren, we assemble tonight not in sorrow, but in reverence.

For one hundred and forty-nine years, the light of Masonry has

burned in this place through the labors of the Brethren of Ogden

Lodge No. 754.

Generations of good men have entered these doors seeking light.

Here they met upon the level, worked upon the square, and

parted upon the plumb.

Within these walls friendships were formed, lessons were learned,

and the timeless principles of Masonry were passed from one

generation to the next.

Tonight, we honor the legacy of this lodge, and we celebrate the

continuation of its spirit as our brethren join with St. Joseph Lodge

No. 970 to make the new St. Joseph – Ogden Lodge.

At the closing, we ceremonially passed the light to St. Joseph Lodge WM Jeff Baine who will carry the light from Ogden to St. Joseph.   We are planning a similar ceremony in the near future that we will receive the light in the St. Joseph Lodge as we welcome our new combined membership.

It was an emotional day for me personally.  I am a member of both lodges, but I was raised in Ogden Lodge and began my journey in Freemasonry at the Ogden altar.  Looking ahead, I foresee a new combined energy for the St. Joseph-Ogden Lodge.  We will be able to better serve our membership and communities. 

The WM said the following words as we closed the work of Ogden Lodge:

Brethren of Ogden Lodge No. 754,

Tonight, we stand at a moment that few lodges ever reach.

For one hundred and forty-nine years, the doors of this lodge

have opened to men seeking light. Within these walls, good men

knelt at the altar and took solemn obligations. Here friendships

were forged that lasted lifetimes. Here we mourned our departed

brothers and welcomed new ones into the fraternity.

Think of the men who sat in these very seats before us.

Farmers… soldiers… teachers… fathers… grandfathers.

Men who came here after long days of work, not for glory or

recognition, but because they believed in something greater than

themselves — Brotherhood, Charity, and Truth.

They lit the lights of this lodge long before any of us were born.

And tonight, we are the stewards of that light.

A lodge is more than a building.

It is more than a charter on the wall.

It is the spirit of the men who gathered here.

That spirit cannot be closed…

and it cannot be extinguished.

The work of Ogden Lodge does not end tonight.

Instead, it continues as our brethren join with the brothers of St.

Joseph Lodge.

The light that has burned in Ogden for nearly a century and a half

will not go dark.

It will simply shine in a new place.

And someday, years from now, when future Masons meet in St.

Joseph - Ogden Lodge… they may not know all our names.

But they will still be working by the same principles.

They will still stand upon the same foundation.

And part of that foundation will always be Ogden Lodge.

So mote it be.

~GJK

Gregory J. Knott, 33° is the Senior Contributor for the Midnight Freemasons.  He is Past Master of both Ogden Lodge No. 754 and St. Joseph Lodge No. 970.   He is also an avid photographer since retiring.  You can see more of his photography at https://whyknottmedia.com/ 

Are You Changed?

by Midnight Freemasons Founder

Todd E. Creason 33°

We all knock on the door for a different reason.  We're all looking for something--that's what brings us to the door of the lodge to begin with.  Some of us find ourselves there because it's a family tradition.  Our fathers, and uncles, and grandfathers were all Masons.  There's a lot of different reasons.  We're looking for a connection in the community.  We're looking for new friends.  We're looking for opportunities to serve our community and we know the Masons play a big role in that.  

But sometimes we miss the forest for the trees.  We miss the main purpose of the fraternity, which is to give us the guidance and instruction on how to become better men.  In fact, I'd say most members of our fraternity these days rarely explore and apply what masonry actually teaches us about character.  About finding our purpose. We don't use those resources we have in the fraternity to truly explore those questions we all have about why we're here, and what we are meant to do with these few years we have on this earth.  

I'd have to admit that's why I joined twenty years ago.  I was looking for meaning in my life.  I was in my mid-thirties.  I had a good job, a wife that loved me, good friends, and a nice home.  But I wasn't content.  I didn't feel like I'd discovered what life was all about.  I hadn't found that thing yet that tied it all together for me.  

So I knocked on the door.  And I wasn't disappointed in what I discovered.  I found hundreds of years of wisdom in how to rebuild myself from the inside out.  And my life changed almost immediately.  I read a few hundred books, and wrote a few books.  I couldn't guess how many articles I've written, and blog posts I've posted.  I've shared a lot of what I've discovered over the years right on here--The Midnight Freemasons.

But my journey didn't stop there.  It lead me back to faith, and another transforming experience as God called me to a very different path in life than the one I'd been on.  Not everyone's path will lead them to the pulpit, but mine certainly did, and that path began at the lodge door.  That's when my course in life began to change.  

Masonry is about more than friendships, and service, and activities, and meetings.  It's about growth.  And we recite those words, and hear those concepts in our meeting and degrees, but so few of us realize that's what it's all about.  It's about building character.  It's about finding our way of making this world a better place.  About figuring out what we were built to do, and to find ways to do it!  It's about letting ourselves be remade into something the creator can use for His purpose.  

So my question for you is this.  Are you changed?  Are you a Mason that "gets it" and applies those principles we teach to your life, or are you pretty much the same now as you were when you joined.  I encourage you to dig deeper.  Apply those lessons and see what happens.  You were put here for a purpose.  Start working on that ashlar, and see where that path that started at the lodge door may lead you.

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is the award-winning author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series.  He is a Past Master Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL) where he currently serves as Secretary. He is a Past Sovereign Master of the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research. (FMLR). He is a charter member of Admiration Chapter No. 282 and a Past EHP.  

Service To Others

 by Senior Midnight Freemasons Contributor

Greg Knott, 33°

Col. Richard B. Bushing and Greg Knott

Since retirement, I have been pursuing a hobby and perhaps more in aviation photography.  I have attended numerous airshows, visited air museums, stopped in small towns looking at the military aircraft they have on display in front of the American Legion Post and more.

My travels have taken me across the US, including a recent trip to Arizona.   I made my way to Tucson and visited the Pima Air and Space Museum.  This museum is adjacent to Davis-Mothan AFB, home of the 309th Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG)B and the museum has been the recipient of many of the retired aircraft that come to their final home in aircraft boneyard at Davis-Mothan.   

The museum now has a collection of over 400 aircraft, with most of them in great condition.    These aircraft range from pre WWII aircraft to modern recently retired aircraft.   Most of the planes were flown to the museum for their final flight.  The Arizona desert is a great place to keep planes, when they are outside for display. 

On the grounds of Pima Air and Space is a smaller museum, the 390th Memorial Museum.   This museum pays tribute to the crews who flew in B-17 bombers during WW II.  A fully restored B-17 is prominently featured in the building and the exhibits tell the stories of those who flew aboard the B-17 and the ground crews who supported them.

The particular day I was visiting, the museum had an author, Col. Richard B. Bushing there to talk about his book “My Wars”.  Col. Bushing had a 32 career as an aviator in the United States Air Force, first serving as a B-17 pilot during WWII and finishing his career flying an F-4 in Vietnam.

Col. Bushing told the stories of the B-17 crews.  He recounted the heavy losses they sustained as they flew from bases in England, flying over the English Channel with missions in Germany and elsewhere, to bomb amongst other targets, factories that were vital to the German war efforts.    Most of the time, the B-17 did not have fighter escorts, as the escort planes did not have sufficient range to stay with the B-17.  This changed later in the war as the P-51 Mustang came into service and it had sufficient range to escort the B-17.   The famed Tuskegee Airmen were amongst the crews who flew the P-51 and served as escorts.

The Germans knew the B-17s were on the way, as their radar could pick them up as they left England.  The Americans primarily bombed during the day, as US Army Air Force leadership thought that was the most effective method.   The crew flew at altitudes of up to 29,000 feet and faced heavy flak from the Germans below.   The B-17s had to fly in tight formations to help their rate of survival and to be most effective.  

B-17 losses were often heavy.  Each B-17 had a 10 man crew and when a plane was shot down, the crew’s only hope was to bail out of the plane and hope to evade capture by German forces on the ground.  

Crews were under extreme duress.  The B-17 is an unpressurized plane, which meant that above 10,000 feet, crews had to wear an oxygen mask.   This was in addition to heavy jackets and clothing to keep them from freezing to death.  The air temperature could drop to -50 degrees below zero.   All the while the plane had to be flown, the radio manned, the bomb site scoped in for accuracy, 50mm guns to be manned and reloaded. 

If a crew member was able to fly and complete 25 missions, they would have completed their service and rotated back home.  Crews only had a 25% chance of completing their 25th mission.  Hundreds of crew members were lost after being shot down and hundreds more were taken as prisoners of war after being captured by the Germans.

The bravery of these crews is easy to forget today, as we are now 80 years after the close of WWII.  Yet the events of the current day are still influenced by those brave service personnel from decades ago.   Col. Bushing at 102 years of age is one of the very last of the surviving B-17 crew members.   He has made it his life’s mission to tell the stories of these brave men, in hopes of keeping their story alive and help ensure the sacrifices they made are not forgotten.

I want to thank Col. Bushing for his service and all those who flew, manned and crewed the B-17s to help ensure our freedom.

~GJK

Greg Knott is the Senior Contributor to the Midnight Freemasons and a member of the craft since 2007.