A Sad Thing

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

Not long after becoming a Master Mason I went to a Third Degree ceremony at my Lodge.  As I stood in line for coffee I heard two men behind me, not from my Lodge, have the following conversation:

Joe: "Well, I hear So-And-So Lodge over in Whatever-Town just initiated an African American.*

Frank: "Oh, so he's both a brothaaaah and a Brother."

Joe: "He ain't my Brother."

*For the record, Joe did not say "African American."

I was stunned.

It was as close as I have ever come to an out of body experience.  Yes, I should have said something.  Yes, I should have taken a stand; but in my mind, I wasn't even there anymore.  I couldn't be there.  I don't associate with that.  It couldn't be happening.

Unfortunately, it did happen.  I came to hope it was an isolated event.  I found out it wasn't.  Not often but every now and then I'd go to a function where someone would make an offhand remark, a quip, tell an inappropriate joke, some of them having a purposeful intent, some without a clue they've said anything unsuitable.

I could go on with examples but the question that comes up is, "What does a guy do?"  I have learned bigots don't change.  They're dug in and any opposition just makes them dig in more. 

When I was in college supporting the seemingly ubiquitous civil rights movement, if you had asked, "Way in the future, say in the year 2015, do you think things will improve significantly," my naïve answer would probably have sounded like a chorus of Crystal Blue Persuasion: "In every nation there'll be peace and good, brotherhood..."

Wow.  Was I ever wrong.

This week, the tipping point came for me in one of my Lodges.  What was passed around on the Lodge's email list was one of those seemingly innocuous little things meant to be funny.   Had that been the end of it I probably would have, like before, let it roll off my back and come away just a little more discouraged about some of our members' levels of ignorance.

Thing is, it didn't stop there.  A poop-storm (you may have a more colorful term) ensued when one of the Brothers had the audacity to suggest it was racist.  The whole thing flamed out in an explosion of profanity that would embarrass the most hard-core longshoreman.  That did it.  I channeled my long-dormant inner tree-hugging-flaming-bleeding-heart-hippie liberal, symbolically ran to my window and did my best Peter Finch imitation:

"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

I won't spiral into the madness of Finch's portrayal of Howard Beale in Network, but I mean it.

For starters, I am no longer a member of that Lodge.  To be fair, there are Brothers there who found the situation as abhorrent as I did, and they have been supportive. I could have stayed to "fight the good fight" or make change from within.  Aside from the fact it would be a long, if not futile exercise, in this case I wanted to make the statement: I will not be associated with it.

For me, no longer do the offhand remarks, quips and inappropriate jokes get a free ride.  I know for certain the Grand Line officers in my state stand solidly against such bigotry and that will help (See "The Incident" in the Midnight Freemasons blog HERE).

We like to say Freemasonry makes good men better.  We all have shortcomings but by any sane standard the "good men" category excludes racists.  Unfortunately, more than a few have slithered into our fraternity.  It's a sad thing.

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33°, is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is the editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Worshipful Master. He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. His latest book, Freemasons: Tales From the Craft, will be released later this year.

Social Media and The Craft

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Aaron Gardner 32°, MPS

Being a Soldier and Freemason, my experience with the Craft has been anything but ordinary. When I started researching Freemasonry I was overseas in Italy, using the Internet to find all the information possible before finally deciding to petition to my home lodge in Flushing, Michigan. When I finally made it back to Michigan, I was a special case.  The Grand Lodge allowed me to be Initiated, Passed and Raised in the same day. This was allowed only because I was leaving Michigan shortly thereafter to be stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Before arriving in Oklahoma, I researched different lodges in the area. I signed up for a website called The Freemason Network, which was hosted by the Southern Jurisdiction, Scottish Rite. I have written a few things for that website and eventually my ideas and articles grew outward toward a more public domain called Celestial Brotherhood, which I still write and operate today. Shortly after arriving at Fort Sill, I was attached to a unit that was deploying overseas. From there I would continue my blog as well as write for this website and I would get the majority of my masonic education, brotherly contact and article ideas from different magazines and social media. 

Social Media plays an important role in the world today. Though obviously true for the Profane world, it is just as vital – though not as obviously so – for the Craft. There isn't a social media site out there that doesn't have some kind of Masonic posting or subgroup. From all the Masonic groups and pages on Facebook or the Masonic “subreddits" on Reddit to individual blogs or websites, no matter where you turn on the Internet there is something about Freemasonry. One might have to search a little harder on some sites than others, but overall Freemasonry has a huge footprint in the world of Social Media. Now, what does this mean to the Fraternity?  Does this movement benefit the Craft, or is it detrimental?  The answer is found in how we engage in social media as men and Masons.

Many may say that it is detrimental and could only hurt our Fraternity, no matter what discussions take place. One should remember however, that Social Media is a tool and should be treated as such. It is a universal tool that could help our trowels and cable tows reach further lengths than we otherwise could have imagined. Lengthening our cable tows is a double edged sword. Though we can go further with our influence, we can also hang ourselves with the extra rope. That old saying, “Think before you act” is even more important today with Social Media. Everything we say, do and take pictures of is now more easily accessible. The profane can look at our Social Media pages and use our actions against us. So we must remember to enlarge our square, compasses and our plumb accordingly.  In addition to twisting our words the anti- or non-masonic community can also illegitimately obtain our secrets. This has already taken place to some degree, as the grips, names, and rituals can all be found on the Internet. However, just because all of the secrets of Masonry can be found online, isn't a legitimate excuse to slack in our obligations when it comes to what we put on Social Media.  

In order to ensure our secrets stay secret we must remember to keep our obligations, regardless of medium. It doesn't matter if you are discussing Blue Lodge, Scottish Rite or York Rite information, our obligations state that we will never reveal, always conceal the Secrets of Freemasonry. If the profane find out something we hold dear to our hearts as a secret and publish it online, it is not our responsibility to confront them, nor shall we forget to uphold our obligations. If a man gives you a grip and asks you what it is, you simply tell them it is just a hand shake, or something of that nature. How they found out about the grip is inconsequential. The only thing we can do is protect it still. The grip itself is not secret, but the use of it is.  Knowing the actual secrets of Freemasonry is just as important as keeping them.  Engage your Grand Lodge and have open and free discussions regarding the Secrets of Freemasonry.  Part of the issue we see is that individuals want to protect the secrets, but don't really know what is and what is not secret. 

Some may say, if Social media can hang our Fraternity, “Why don’t we just stop the use of it?” In today’s society, such an inward subculture will die out without interaction with the outside world. Good men would never come to Freemasonry unless they have a family member in the Fraternity.  I would not have petitioned the Grand Lodge of Michigan, and likely never became part of the Scottish Rite, if not for the information provided online. Social media helps us stay in contact with one another and it is easier to contact a brother overseas online now than it is through “snail mail.” 

The world is changing around us. As a Fraternity, we need to adapt to the changes. Social media is a great way to get information out to the world. If a Lodge posts, on their Facebook group or Twitter, of an event they are hosting, brothers of that and surrounding lodges will have the information and can further disseminate the same to everyone they know. This has the potential to raise awareness, become public, and raise more money for our good causes. It is important to our Craft, that we stay with the times and progress forward. The fewer lodges that go dark, the more relevancy and influence we have on the world. Only the dead have a valid excuse to never change.

~AG

Bro. Aaron Gardner , an American Soldier who just recently transitioned into the Reserves after 8 years serving the Active Duty Army. He dedicates the majority of his free time to Freemasonry with his constant studies, writing and traveling from lodge to lodge to learn as much as he can regarding Freemasonry. He likes to relate his everyday life to the Craft and anything he finds he wants to spread to the world. It is his passion to study people, religion, history and Freemasonry. When he isn't working as a Soldier he is dedicating his time to the amazing and supportive Emily, writing about Freemasonry and writing his very own novel. His blog page is Celestial Brotherhood.

Quick Masonry

by Midnight Freemasons Contributors

Michael H. Shirley

&

Todd E. Creason

If you hang around on Masonic Facebook pages, blogs, and chatrooms for more than about five minutes, you’ll likely encounter some variation of this question: do Blue Lightnings/One-Day Classes/Short-form Catechisms shortchange new members? Do they experience “Real Masonry™” or “Cheap Masonry”? And, while there are sometimes thoughtful exchanges posted in response, too often what happens is a series of assertions that do not examine the question, but assert that it should take time and effort to become a Mason, and that the products of those classes/short catechisms will invariably drift away, to which others shout back, “I was the product of a one-day class, and I’m twice past master of my lodge.” And so on, ad infinitum.  

We came to Masonry by different routes, and the lessons we learned in our journeys continue to inform our attitude about the process. Our stories may be instructive.

Todd: I really didn't have a choice--I was going through long form. Raymond VanBuskirk, a Past Master of the Lodge, told me in no uncertain terms that if I wanted his signature on the top line of my petition, I would "go through traditional" and learn the long form just as he had. I did want his signature, he had been like a grandfather to me when I was growing up, so I agreed. I spent six months memorizing the first and second degree catechisms. To this day, I think that "going through traditional" is the best way to go. I believe I got more from the experience by taking on that challenge. The difficulty in learning the catechisms and obligations is part of the experience, and should be--it shows the candidate’s true desire to join the Fraternity and his willingness to accomplish something that is very difficult to do. I'll also tell you it was one of the most difficult challenges I'd had up to that point, and having accomplished what I believed at times to be impossible made me a lot more open to taking on goals that seemed daunting in scale after I was raised a Master Mason.

Michael: I tried to do that, and sat on my porch every night memorizing the first-degree catechism. I was two pages into it when the semester began, and work intruded (I’m a history professor). I simply didn’t seem to have the time or energy to memorize the remaining nine pages. Teaching, writing lectures, grading papers, and advising students (not to mention being the father to two young children) took up nearly all of my time. Then, in early October, a student of mine who’d been at my first degree came to my office and said, “I have something to make your life easier.” After realizing that no one had ever said those words to me (or since, come to think of it), I took the short-form catechism he’d brought with him and realized that I already knew the whole thing. I demonstrated my proficiency and was passed to the degree of Fellowcraft within two weeks, and was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason the following month. While I’m sure that the experience of memorizing the long-form catechism would have been a splendid challenge, the short-form catechism enabled me to advance before I forgot why I petitioned for degrees in the first place.  

Todd: I'm a traditionalist. If I had to do it again knowing everything I know now, I'd probably go through exactly the same way. I've studied history most of my adult life, and part of what attracted me to Freemasonry to begin with was the idea of being part of something that was deeply traditional and hundreds of years old. But most of my motivation for going through traditional was the idea of experiencing something in the same way Raymond VanBuskirk had experienced it seventy years earlier in the same Lodge, and my great-grandfather Clarence Swengel had experienced it nearly a century before at Neoga Lodge. I wouldn't do it any differently, but I've come to know that the value I've taken from this Fraternity isn't in all those words I memorized long before I'd even attended a Lodge meeting. It was the first few steps of the journey itself that really mattered.

Michael: I’ve had the honor of conferring many degrees, both in my own lodge and in others. The many Brethren whom I met at the Altar of Masonry professed to be deeply moved at the Work. I’ve also helped with Blue Lightnings, including one where we conferred Second and Third Degrees on fifteen candidates at the Danville, Illinois Masonic Temple (Illinois rules require that Blue Lightning candidates must receive their First Degrees in their home lodge). The logistics of a Blue Lightning are certainly different, but the Brethren who received their degrees that day proclaimed themselves delighted at finally proceeding in their Masonic journeys, and were deeply appreciative of the many Brethren who came to help. They seemed no less moved than the Brethren who received their degrees in the traditional way. What seemed to matter in both cases was the seriousness and brotherly love exhibited by the Brethren who came to help confer the degrees.

Todd: There was a snowstorm the evening before my 3rd Degree--several inches of snow, thirty mile-per-hour winds, and icy snow drifted roads. By 5 that morning the wind had died down. My degree was scheduled for 10 o'clock. My wife and I spent a couple hours digging my truck out of the driveway, but all the while I was waiting for the call saying my degree would have to be rescheduled. The call never came, and so when I finally got my truck out, I made the treacherous trip to the lodge. It was full of men. Master Masons had come from several local lodges, and even Raymond, who was nearing ninety at the time, made it to the lodge for the degree. As any Master Mason will tell you, that experience is something they'll never forget. It was the same for me. When I left that day, I felt different. I wasn't just a Master Mason, but I was part of something and I knew it. All those men had braved the snow and the ice to provide me with that experience on a cold Saturday morning. I'd reached that goal I'd worked towards for six months, but I knew that wasn't it. I was just at the beginning of a journey--I'd merely taken the first three steps along a very long path.  

Michael: My lodge is one block from my house, and it wasn’t snowing, so I walked there for my Third Degree. The dining room was full when I got there, and much to my surprise, I found Past Grand Master David Miller and Grand Master Noel C. Dicks there in all their regalia. (I wasn’t special: Noel Dicks lives twenty miles away from me, and his lodge—Arthur Lodge No. 825—was then the go-to lodge for degree work in our district. Since I was going to be the first Master Mason raised in my lodge in three years, it was apparently an all-hands-on-deck evening.) Most Worshipful Brother Miller obligated me, and Most Worshipful Brother Dicks raised me to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason, and that moment of raising was so moving that I wasn’t entirely sure what had happened. I felt different, more alive, and very much more in contact with the Supreme Architect of the Universe than I had after my first two degrees. Petitioning for my degrees had been a leap of faith, and that faith had been rewarded. The ritual to which I’d been exposed, and the example of the men who’d initiated, passed, and raised me, had planted me firmly on the road to Masonic enlightenment. The catechism I’d memorized almost didn’t matter. What did matter was that I wanted to deserve the work they’d done. I wanted to be worthy to be called “Brother.”

Michael/Todd: If you went through short form, you probably believe short form can have tremendous advantages for a candidate. If you go through long form, you'll most likely extoll the advantages of going through in the traditional way. But the question remains--is one way better than the other?  

As it turned out, even though Todd learned a lot of ritual in the very beginning, the precision and discipline of performing Lodge floor work has never been something he's excelled at even after hours of practice. As Senior Deacon during his Lodge's Rededication, he has the dubious honor of being the guy who smacked the Grand Master of the State of Illinois in the knee with his rod turning a poorly executed turn. After he served as Worshipful Master of his lodge, he took a comfortable seat behind the Secretary's desk where he plans on staying for a long, long time--there have been no injuries since he took that chair four years ago. Nearly all his contributions to Freemasonry are done behind the scenes--writing, organizing, managing.  

And Michael, who took the shortcut, has learned the ritual well enough to teach it. He's twice past Master of his lodge, is a Certified Lodge Instructor, and serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois as an Assistant Area Deputy Grand Master.  

So what’s the answer? Long form or short form? We’re not here to give you that answer. Maybe it's not even the right question to ask. Perhaps the question should be, which one is right for the candidate? We’re all different, and we learn in different ways. Some people learn to swim best by being thrown in at the deep end of the pool, while others would scream for the lifeguard and never go near water again. Some need to move quickly, whether because of the way they prefer to learn or because of the circumstances of their lives; others would be best served by careful lessons, starting in the shallow end, taking their time, and really absorbing everything before moving on to the next step on their Masonic journey. Some lodges, with healthy and active memberships, have programs for bringing new members along that sometimes starts well before they’re even allowed to petition. Other lodges haven’t the wherewithal to do that yet, and need to bring members along as quickly as they’re able. In both cases, focusing on the new Brother has to be at the center of their efforts. 

Arguing about long form versus short form or traditional versus Blue Lightning misses the point. The parable of the tortoise and the hare is instructive, but it can also be misleading. We all wind up at the same finish line. What matters is the journey we take to get there. Slow and steady can win the race, particularly when pitted against fast and careless, but speed is not the issue: what matters is steady. However a new Brother best learns, whatever the circumstances of his life that may limit the time he can devote to learning his catechism, if his lodge is steady with him, he will be firmly grounded in Masonry. When our journey is done, that will have been what mattered.

TEC/MHS

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog and continues to be a regular contributor. He is the author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series. He is a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and currently serves as Secretary.  He's also a member of Homer Lodge No. 199.  He is a member the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, the York Rite Bodies of Champaign/Urbana (IL), the Ansar Shrine (IL), Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees, Charter President of the Illini High Twelve in Champaign-Urbana (IL), and a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research.  He was recently awarded the 2014 Illinois Secretary of the Year Award by the Illinois Masonic Secretaries Association.  You can contact him at: webmaster@toddcreason.org

R.W.B. Michael H. Shirley serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois, A.F. & A.M, as Leadership Development Chairman and Assistant Area Deputy Grand Master of the Eastern Area. A Certified Lodge Instructor, he is a Past Master and Life Member of Tuscola Lodge No. 332 and a plural member of Island City Lodge No. 330, F & AM, in Minocqua, Wisconsin. He currently serves the Valley of Danville, AASR, as Most Wise Master of the George E. Burow Chapter of Rose Croix; he is also a member of the Illinois Lodge of Research, the York Rite, Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees, Eastern Star, Illini High Twelve, and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon. The author of several articles on British history, he teaches at Eastern Illinois University.You can contact him at: m.h.shirley@gmail.com

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Ira Gilbert, PM, PDDGM

“Auld Lang Syne”, the song usually sung at New Years, that says,”we will drink a cup of kindness dear, for Auld Lang Syne”. The lyrics of the song celebrate the use of intoxicating beverages. Just how does this relate to Freemasonry, one might ask? The song lyrics are from the poem written by Bro. Robert Burns, the renowned Scottish poet. Robert Burns was initiated into St. David Tarbolton Lodge in Scotland on July 4, 1781. 

The history of the use of intoxicating liquor and freemasonry is fascinating. The use of intoxicating liquor in a lodge hall is covered by Code 485 in the Book of Constitution and By-Laws of our Illinois Grand Lodge. This Code states, “A lodge shall not on any pretense, introduce intoxicating 

Liquors at any official lodge function in the building where the lodge is meeting during such an event”. Code 486 goes further, stating, “Masons are prohibited from appearing in drinking saloons in their Masonic clothing and any Mason thus offending shall be disciplined”. This is the state of the current Masonic law regarding intoxicating liquors in Illinois. 

But it was not always thus. When I became a Mason, anyone in the business of dealing with intoxicating liquors could not become a Mason. Thus, tavern or bar owners, liquor store owners, distributors, etc., were forbidden from petitioning a Masonic lodge. However, the history of our fraternity discloses that in earlier times this prohibition of intoxicating liquors and the holding of Masonic meetings in establishments that sold these beverages was not only tolerated, but it was the rule. 

Prior to the year 1717 groups of operative, and later speculative Masons met together as individual lodges. On St, John the Baptist Day, June 24, 1717 four lodges got together in the City of London, to form the first Grand Lodge. These four lodges met at, The Goose and Gridiron Ale House in St. Paul’s Churchyard, The Crown Ale House in Parker Lane near Drury Lane, The Apple Tree Tavern in St, Charles Street, Covent Garden, and at The Rummer and Grapes Tavern in Channel Row, Westminster. As it can be seen, all four of the original lodges that formed the Grand Lodge of England meet in venues that served alcoholic liquor. Three of these lodges are reported to be still in I

In the year 1716, these four lodges along with some other “old Brothers” met at the Apple Tree Tavern and formed the Grand Lodge pro tempore, placing the oldest Master Mason in the chair. These brethren resolved to hold an Annual Assembly and feast. This culminated in the formation of a Grand Lodge as set forth in the preceding paragraph. The meeting on June 24, 1717 took place at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House. These facts were set forth by Dr. James Anderson who wrote the Anderson Constitution in the year 1723.   

When the fraternity of Freemasons emigrated to the United States, the first lodges were lodges formed as Provincial Lodges in the colonies. Some of these lodges were loyal to the King, and others were formed of patriots who were some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and writers of our United States Constitution. 

Prior to becoming a Mason, Benjamin Franklin wrote, in his Philadelphia Gazette, for December 8, 1730, “that there were several lodges of Freemasons in this Province ….”. Franklin became a Mason about two months after this article appeared. This fact in our Masonic history was recorded in Libre B, the oldest Masonic document for this county still preserved. Libre B also recorded, in June, 1731, that there was a lodge that met at the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. This lodge met at the Tun Tavern monthly from June 24, 1731 until June 1737. After a year passed, the final meeting at Tun Tavern was in June, 1738. 

The only lodge remaining today of the approximately 100 of the early lodges is St. Andrew’s Lodge of Boston. Among the brethren of St. Andrew’s Lodge were Paul Revere, John Hancock, along with others who were signatories to our founding documents. St. Andrew’s Lodge met at the Green Dragon Tavern, another establishment serving intoxicating liquors. In fact, the minutes of St. Andrew’s Lodge for one meeting in 1773 states that, “the consignees of Tea took up the brethrens’ time”. On December 16, 1773 the minutes of St. Andrew’s Lodge are filled only large capital “Ts”. This happened to be the date of the Boston Tea Party.   

The history of Freemasonry in the United States is silent as to its association with drinking establishment until it was re-established as a result of the Morgan Affair. The disappearance of Captain William Morgan resulted in an anti Masonic sentiment in the United States. For many years anti Masonic feeling was strong in the United States. An anti Masonic political party was formed which actually ran candidates for public office. 

But the desire for banding together in fraternal organizations did not go away. Freemasonry was still present, although it could successfully re-establish itself. It was the result of this re-establishment that the Grand Lodges did not wish to anger the anti Masonic populace. During the 1840s, in an effort to rebuild the image and public confidence in the fraternity, that Grand Lodges passed regulations prohibiting the use of alcoholic beverages in Masonic buildings and meeting in order to diminish the possibility of boisterous behavior that often took place in the lodge meetings prior to the Morgan affair. 

During the early 1800s there was also a growing temperance movement in the United States. Temperance associations were formed and the populace produced a growing animosity against the use of alcoholic liquor. This reached its zenith when the 18^th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1920, ending in 1933. Use of alcoholic beverages was not only banned in lodge halls by order of the many Grand Lodges, it was illegal throughout the United States. This prohibition against the use of intoxicating liquors has existed to the present time in various forms throughout Freemasonry in our country. 

The Auld (old) Acquaintance with intoxicating liquors has, indeed, “been forgot” in the United States. The Codes cited at the beginning of this paper are still in existence.  The words, "auld lang syne”, translated from the old Scotch, literally means, from times long ago. We, in Freemasonry, have forgotten the times long ago when the use of intoxicating liquor was not only condoned, but also our lodges met in drinking establishments. 

~IG

Bro. Ira Gilbert was raised on January 8, 1968 in Isaac Cutter Lodge #1073 and was Master in 1972. Isaac Cutter Lodge merged with Chicago Lodge #437 and he is now now a member of Chicago Lodge. Bro Gilbert is a member of A. O. Fay Lodge #676 as well. He is also a member of the Valley of Chicago Scottish rite. Bro. Ira's dedication to Masonic Education has afforded him the ability to serve on the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Education and the Grand Lodge Committee on Jurisprudence. Bro. Ira comes from a Masonic family, his father being Master of Universal Lodge #985, now a part of Decalogue Lodge through a series of mergers. His father was also a Grand Lecturer. His main interest in our fraternity lies in the philosophy and history of our ritual and in Masonic Jurisprudence. Bro. Ira was a DDGM twice, once in the 1980's and once four years ago. He is also a fellow of the Illinois Lodge of Research and the ILOR awarded him the Andrew Torok Medal as well.