Dan Brown Sequel

Jeffery Trachtenberg wrote a very interesting article about what ate Dan Brown may have in mind for his book. I hope we find out more so that officers of lodges, such as myself, have time to prepare for the onslaught of new petitions into the fraternity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120122061077215305.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I have read various news articles about the release of Dan Brown's newest book and a supposed specific date that he has in mind. I am wondering, what date could he possibly have been thinking of? I have racked my brains of all the important dates in Masonry or American history but I don't see the connection. I will list various dates that I know and perhaps someone can leave a comment helping solve this mystery.

June 24th -> Feast of St. John the Baptist
December 27th -> Feast of St. John the Evangelist
July 4th -> American Independence Day
June 24, 1717 -> Formation of the United Grand Lodge of England.
March 6, 1775 -> Prince Hall initiated
The date that De Molay died was October 13th, 1307.

Third Degree

I want to thank everyone who participated in the Third Degree that Corinthian Lodge #67 put on last Tuesday. I believe that it was one of the best third degrees that I have seen in a long time. This event is very auspicious for the coming year and I am very excited to see it unfold.

Masonic Tours in the Twin Cities

I have discovered something very interesting about Google Maps for anyone in the Twin Cities area or about 20 other regions in the country. On Google Maps, they have added what is called Street View which allows a person to take what amounts to a virtual tour of the city. I have been using this feature to check out Masonic Lodges in my area so that I know where they are when I want to visit them. Lodges could really use this feature to showcase where they are on a map, both on a map view but also on a street level shot. Unfortunately, they do not have my lodge photographed but there are many Masonic Centers around Minneapolis, Saint Paul and many of the suburbs, as well as other jurisdictions in the country. http://maps.google.com/

Happy Holidays

I just want to wish everyone happy holidays. I hope everyone will be safe this holiday season and have fun with your family and friends.

Open for the Public

In the Journal Standard, a paper from Illinois, an article describes the Freeport Masonic Temple and how it has been opened to the public for rentals as well as being open to the public for tours. Brothers, we should be opening our doors to the public. There are many misconceptions of the Craft and I think the first major way that we can end them is by casting light on them. The Masonic Services Association printed a very good piece on how Masons can speak of the Craft without endangering their oath.
It is essential that we, as the Fraternity, guide the discussion and not let those that wish to harm us get the final salvo. One of the first ways is to invite the public to see what we do, whether that be our charitable works, or inviting a guest outside the Craft to educate the brothers on a subject such as an expert on local or national history, etc. I am not suggesting that we allow a non-member during a meeting. However, we are an educational, charitable and fraternal organization desiring to make good men better and the public should be allowed to know this fact.