One of the Best Masonic Weeks... Ever

It's been awhile since I posted last. I have been extremely busy with my family, my Lodges, my Chapter, and my Council. However, all that work and good cheer has culminated in one of the greatest weeks I have had since I first petitioned my lodge. Where to start? I guess from the beginning.

On Saturday June 23rd, the Grand Chapter met for its Annual Convocation. This year was the 150th Annual Convocation. Our Grand Chapter had some business that it hadn’t had in more than sixty years. Our Grand Chapter chartered not one but two new Chapters, Overseers Chapter No. 103 and Anoka-Shekinah Chapter No. 104. I have now seen two lodges and two chapters receive charters in the state of Minnesota. This should end all the doubtful talk out there that Masonry is dead. There is fervency and zeal in Minnesota Masonry. What a proud day.

Companions of Anoka-Shekinah Chapter No. 103

Companions of Oveseers Chapter No. 103

Oh, oh, oh, and there was that little thing about Corinthian Chapter No. 33, the Chapter that I happen to be the High Priest of, was just award the membership award for last year for the highest net increase in membership. Hughie and I were completely without words... for about a minute. It’s because of the dedication of the companions in Corinthian Chapter and many great friends of the Chapter (James, thank you) that we are thriving. I know we will continue to serve as a beacon for Capitular Masonry with many petitions signed and petitioners ready and willing to jump into this major undertaking.

Okay, now that I’m done talking about Chapter, let me talk about my Saint John the Baptist’s Day. My wife and I woke up and got ready early on Sunday. Our son woke up just a little later. We were getting ready to go to church. But this wasn’t just a normal Sunday, this was June 24th, the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist, one of two patron saints of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. We hopped into the car and drove to Faribault.

I entered the Faribault Masonic Temple not really knowing what to expect. I’m a member of two lodges and Faribault No. 9 happens to be one of them. We had been throwing out an idea of reviving an old tradition of Masonry. There is documented evidence that Masons would, on the Feast Day of Saint John, process to a house of worship. We finally felt that we should and could do something like this. We received special dispensation to open our lodge, call to refreshment and process to Our Merciful Savior Episcopal Cathedral.

I’m not an Episcopalian. However, I do know about Our Merciful Savior because of its connection to a very prominent Minnesotan. Our Merciful Savior served as the cathedral for Bishop Henry Whipple. Bishop Whipple is best known for pleas of clemency to President Lincoln for 303 Eastern Dakota men who had been put on trial and sentenced to die as a result of the Dakota Wars that raged through the state of Minnesota. President Lincoln commuted 264 sentences but allowed 38  prisoners to be hung in the largest mass executions in American history. The memory of that sad day remains in Minnesota even now. Here is a copy of his letter to President Lincoln. This was a man holding to his principles against the hostile winds of Manifest Destiny.

Here's a video about Bishop Whipple and the Cathedral:



Going back to the Procession, I found it amazing that a mere twelve brothers could do something as historic as this. With our piper at the head of the line, our Master next to the Chaplain holding the Holy Bible, we began marching down the street. The walk was beautiful and the downtown quite empty. As we crossed Central and saw the Cathedral’s bell tower in view, I finally felt the historic nature of this event.

We entered the Church to the sounds of of a bagpipe echoing off the vaulted ceiling. Again, I had never seen an Episcopalian service before so it was a very new and richly rewarding experience to see how others worship G-d. The Worshipful Master was introduced and invited to give a few words. Worshipful Master Jimmy gave a short and respectful address explaining who we were and why we were there.

After the Church service ended, we assembled and processed back to the Masonic Temple. Of course, now the sleepy town had awoken and it was fun to see the confused faces as we walked back to the door. We closed the lodge, changed cloths, and had a picnic at the park across the street from the church.

Assembling Outside of the Church Before Processing in

Sorry for the, “and this one time at band camp” feel of this post. Right now, all I can think of is what we have done not what it means yet. I’m still wrapping my head around this. Everything we did was positive and it’s hard for me to get fully grasp right now.

We are starting to plan our next year’s Saint John’s Day procession. My hope is that we make this an annual event. Thanks to Our Merciful Savior Cathedral for allowing us to join you, thanks to all the brothers who attended and as always, a special thanks to the families that came, especially my wife, the love of my life.

For Your Saint John's Day Celebrations...

Saint John the Baptist by Titian

LiveScience is reporting that Bulgarian archaeologists may have found, at the site of an old church on the island of Sveti Ivan (Saint John) in Bulgaria, some remains of Saint John the Baptist. You can read the full article here. Of course, this would not be the only place that Saint John is believed to be interred. There is a legend that the head of Saint John (or Yahya), a prophet in Islam, is in his tomb at Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

Shrine of Yahya in Umayyad Mosque

Saint John plays a special role in Masonry, as we are all doubtlessly aware. One of my favorite articles was this one by Greg Stewart of Freemason Information. My lodge, Faribault Lodge No. 9, will be hosting a Saint John's Day event that we haven't done in awhile, if ever. (I'm still looking through the records which are very old.)

Here are all the details:

It is with great pride that we invite all of you to join us and our families as Faribault Lodge No. 9 revives the old tradition of celebrating Saint John's Day, Sunday June 24th. We will open our lodge at 8:45 am and form in procession to walk the four blocks to Our Merciful Savior Episcopal Cathedral. We will process in with the congregation at 9:30 am and attend services. Your families may also join us as well but only Masons may be in the procession.

The dress for church is dark suit and tie for the members of Faribault Lodge No. 9. For all other Masons, we would appreciate a jacket and tie but a tie and dress shirt is acceptable. After services have completed, you may either cross the street to Central Park or you may process back to the lodge where we will proceed to close the lodge. You can change clothes at the Lodge building before the picnic. 

After our procession, we will have our Saint John's Day picnic with our families at Central Park. Central Park is across the street from the Cathedral. Please bring a picnic lunch for your family only as we are unsure how many people will be attending. If you do not feel comfortable attending the service, which is perfectly acceptable, you are still most welcome to join us at the picnic. The picnic will likely start 11:30 am.

This tradition is indeed very old. We find references, in many historical accounts, of Masons, in full regalia, processing to a house of worship during the feast days of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist. Visiting different houses of worship continues as a tradition in many Grand Lodges as a way to introduce themselves to local religious organizations.

We are especially lucky to be attending services at Our Merciful Savior. For those unaware, Bishop Henry Whipple, a well-known humanitarian, was the first Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota and his Cathedral was Our Merciful Savior. In fact, it was the first Cathedral in the state of Minnesota and continued to serve as the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota until 1941. It also has the distinction of being the first Episcopal Church in the United States of America to be designed as a cathedral.

Faribault Lodge has had many prominent members including Past Grand Master Frederick E. Jenkins (1922) and General James Shields. General Shields was a charter member of Faribault Lodge No. 9. He, along with Senator Henry Rice, served as the first senatorial delegation from the state of Minnesota. General Shields also has the distinction of being the only United States Senator to have served three states.

Again, all Masons are invited to attend. We will be in full regalia for this procession. If you are a lodge officer or Grand Lodge Officer, please bring your officer's apron and jewels. Also, we may not have enough white aprons; if you are not a member of Faribault Lodge, please bring your lodge's aprons to ensure all Masons are properly attired. We have also created a Facebook Event page which you can find here.

I just recently joined Faribault Lodge No. 9 and have had a blast. I hope to get more historical papers about Faribault and Corinthian out into the future.

Do you have a comment? Leave it below. 

Where have you been? 2012 Edition

As happens about once a year, I have been remiss in my blogging duties. And guess what, it happens at around the same time every year. The reason for this is that the month before summer is when everything is getting wrapped up. Many lodges go dark for the summer because most of our buildings are old and don't have A/C.

I have been crazy busy. My mother lodge, Corinthian Lodge No. 67, is experiencing a major rebirth in interest. We are doing degree work a lot. We are wrapping up the last class on June 5th. It has been an amazing journey as a brother in this lodge. We have seen our lodge grow and prosper and have actually seen positive growth. Degree work can be taxing but thankfully, we have knowledgeable brothers who perform the work well and have the fortitude to keep going.

My other lodge, Faribault Lodge No. 9 has been very good about seeking lessons of the past and using them for growth into the future. The lodge is one of the oldest in the state, actually, it was chartered before the formation of the state, and has a very colorful history. The current Master is writing a history of the lodge and I hope that when he's done with the paper, he will publish it here. (That's right Jimmy, I'm calling you out.)

I was also fortunate to have met WBro. Andrew Hammer of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 while he was in MN. Calling him an enlightened Mason is like saying that Tesla was kind of smart. Masonry needs more observant Masons and more observant Masonic practice. I was very impressed and I hope to meet him again to "talk shop."

I was at the Grand Lodge Annual Communication and I'm happy to report that I had a great time. I met Cliff Porter and Rex Hutchens. It was like meeting a couple of rockstars. Knowledgeable and cool are just two of the adjectives I used when I met both of these brothers. Both of them exemplify what observant Masonry should strive to be. I will write more about what I learned at the Annual Communication in a later post.

The Washington Bible on the Altar

It was at this Annual Communication that I was also fortunate to be sitting in the presence of history. The altar bible that was used was the George Washington Inaugural Bible. It was on this Bible that President Washington swore to uphold the Constitution of a very young nation. It was on this Bible that the Executive Branch was born. Owned and safeguarded by the brothers of St. John's Lodge No. 1 AYM, this important document is a symbol of Executive power. I have no words to describe what I felt in that room.

As I am very active in the York Rite, serving my second term as High Priest has been rewarding yet again. We are seeing many petitions as brothers start to see the value in joining Chapter. I'm ready for the excoriating comments but I believe that a Master Mason must go through the Royal Arch degree to really understand the lessons of Masonry. Maybe I'm just biased. (Hate mail protocols engaged)

Upon a lot of reflection, I have petitioned Faribault Commandery. I sat down with several brothers and have come to the conclusion that I can go through with the Orders. My opinions continue to be informed by all of you and I'm curious to experience the Orders and learn what I can from them. (Head shaking emails engaged)

This summer promises to stay busy. I planning a visit to Castle Island Lodge, MN River Valley Lodge, and a whole host of other lodges just waiting to be explored. I also hope to blog more. Masonry is a part of my life and I like sharing it with you.

Please leave a comment below.

The Speculative Freemason Blog

I love blogging. I think more brothers should blog because of just how much fun it is to chat with brothers from all across the world. Ideas are exchanged that help your Craft grow and get better. That's why I'm happy to report that one of my best friends in Freemasonry is now a blogger.

Worshipful Brother Gary Thomas is one of the Master Craftsman who raised Red Wing Lodge No. 8 from the rubble to be a beacon of Masonry in Minnesota. In fact, Red Wing Lodge just won the Mark Twain award from MSANA. Anyway, Worshipful Brother Gary is the LEO of Red Wing Lodge and has a lot of things to say about Masonry. So many things, in fact, that Gary need a channel to post everything he had in his head.

I am happy to point out Gary's blog, the Speculative Mason. The first article is about an interesting video that he presented in one of his LEO talks. Go ahead and check out his blog. You will not be disappointed.

GL of MN Annual Communication 2012

Well, this year, I'm very far removed from any important duties. I'm currently the Marshal of Corinthian Lodge No. 67 and a member of Faribault Lodge No. 9. I'm not a line officer in anything but the York Rite nor do I have a vote at the Annual Communication. That means, relaaaaaaxation. I get to sit and listen to the proceedings and see many of brothers I get to see once a year with a sense of calm.

This year proves to be extra exciting. The first big thing at the Annual Communication will be the George Washington Inaugurial Bible. That's right, the Bible that George Washington (and many successive Presidents of the United States of America) took his oath of office to serve as the first President of the United States will be on display. The Bible is owned by St. John’s Lodge No. 1 A.Y.M., F.&A.M., Grand Lodge of New York. This is a very great opportunity for the Masons of Minnesota. You can read more about the Washington Bible by visiting the Grand Lodge website.

Furthermore, the Annual Communications featured speaker will be WBro. Cliff Porter, Past Master of Enlightenment Lodge No. 198 in Colorado Springs, CO. He’s a writer of many great books including his current tome, The Secret Psychology of Freemasonry: Alchemy, Gnosis and the Science of the Craft. He also blogs at the Relevant Mason which is filled with great thought-provoking pieces about Masonry and the practice of Masonry. I am very excited to meet him and gain further knowledge into the esoteric side of our Craft.

It appears that the Annual Communication will be pretty swell this year. I hope to see as many of you there as possible. It’s going to be great.