A Radical Idea

TBL Staff · 12-06-2007, 03:04 PM

It's not often we will cross post a members post to a news article but we felt, given the questions about this topic, this post would be the exception. The following is a quick accounting of what transpired between Halcyon and the Grand Lodge of Ohio. This was taken from Richard Graeter's "Reform Freemasonry" essay. It's worth a read.

---------- A Radical Idea -------------------

Imagine, for a moment, a Grand Master armed with both the vision to dream an unbounded future for Freemasonry and the courage to pursue the dream. Looking around, he sees the glaring disconnect between the mindless repetition of today’s rote “tradition” and the core purpose and core values that Freemasonry used to represent. Seeking to recapture that which was lost, he creates a new haven for experimentation—an at-large Grand Master’s district. The purpose for this special district is to create a home for new lodges to creatively explore new and innovative ways to practice the timeless core of Freemasonry in a manner relevant to today. Freed (by special dispensation) from the weight of rules,
regulations, and district deputy grand masters, these lodges answer only to the Grand Master himself, who in turn, wisely, benevolently, gives them the freedom to create, be fruitful, bountiful, and multiply!

Alas, we all know that the above scenario is all but impossible in the oppressive climate that governs grand lodges. So, if grand lodges will not suffer creativity, will not suffer successful lodges to orbit their Grand Hairball, then perhaps the time has come for those lodges that dare to accelerate to escape velocity and, following the challenge of Dr. Harari, start with a new dream, a bold vision with audacious goals.

The challenge, according to MacKenzie, is to orbit the Giant Hairball, which means to actively engage in the opportunities that an organization presents without being sucked into the Hairball of the organization.

Orbiting is responsible creativity: vigorously exploring and operating beyond the Hairball of the corporate mind set, beyond “accepted models, patterns, or standards”—all the while remaining connected to the spirit of the corporate mission. To find Orbit around a corporate Hairball is to find a place of balance where you benefit from the physical, intellectual and philosophical resources of the organization without becoming entombed in the bureaucracy of the institution.

The challenge to the Hairball is to allow people to achieve orbit. But the more massive the Hairball grows, the greater gravitational pull it exerts, sucking everything into the “nothingness of corporate normalcy made stagnant by a compulsion to cling to past successes.”16 In such cases, orbiting may not be possible (nor tolerated by the Hairball), leaving one with the stark choice of remaining to be suffocated by the soul-crushing rule of what worked in the past or flying out into deep space, liberated, but alone.

A very recent occurrence provides an example of what can happen to lodges that dare try to orbit the Grand Hairball. A few years ago, a group of young men dedicated themselves to reinvigorating their local lodge in Cleveland, Ohio. The newly renamed Halcyon Lodge, #498 F & AM, beholden to the Grand Lodge of Ohio, has a rich history going back to 1877. They occupied a magnificent temple, which sadly, in a refrain all too familiar to most masons, was deteriorating due to lack of attention and money. The building was home to a number of nonproductive masonic tenants and little else.

The young men of Halcyon Lodge decided that it was time to take aggressive action. First, they raised their outdated and grossly insufficient annual lodge dues to $150. This caused a mass defection of “veteran” masons who apparently did not think that their masonic experience was worth 42 cents a day. Had any who were truly in distress asked for remission, it certainly would have been granted.

None did.

Next, the men of Halcyon Lodge took on their non-productive masonic cotenants. They asked them to pay their arrearages and begin contributing to the restoration of the Temple building. Their masonic brethren answered this call by abandoning the temple to find cheap space in some other crumbling masonic edifice. Ultimately, the men of Halcyon were left in sole possession of a tenantless building that needed work. So they rolled up their sleeves and set to work!

They restored the grandeur of their lodge room, the elegance of their dining hall, and added amenities like wireless Internet, HDTV, and workout equipment. But they did not stop there. Seeing the opportunity in their underutilized asset, they endeavored to build out rooms to serve the non-masonic community as well.

After meeting with their local youth boxing association (a 501(c)(3) charity), they built a boxing ring! Their aim was to reimagine their heretofore mostly empty temple into a vibrant community center that could once again teem with life.

Then, this lodge full of enthusiastic young men did the unthinkable: they gave their shining temple away! One of the largest budget items for any lodge that owns a temple building is real estate taxes. In Ohio, fraternal groups are not exempt from real estate taxes; but charities are. So, in an inspired maneuver, the young men of Halcyon Lodge formed a charity for the community and gave their building and a substantial sum of money to this new charity that was created to serve not just masons, but the community at-large. Now they could not only claim an exemption from the heavy burden of real estate taxes, but they could grant deductions from Federal income taxes for donations made to the entity. And as their mission had expanded to serving the community as a whole, they could now solicit support from that community.

Along the way these young men also embraced the Traditional Observance Lodge movement, adopting TO practices like use of a Chamber of Reflection and an intensive candidate education program. They created an impressive web site that quickly became recognized as being one of the best lodge-hosted web sites on the Internet.

So, these enthusiastic, dedicated young men: revived their lodge, attracting new young candidates to Freemasonry that had previously not found anything there to interest them; restored their magnificent temple building; invited the community into their newly restored building, turning a once mysterious
building into a hub of community activity (and exposing many people to Freemasonry for the first time in the process); and solved the intractable real estate tax problem by transferring their building to a 501(c)(3) charity. Any one of these feats would be impressive, but the young men of Halcyon Lodge did them all in less than three years!

And what was the Grand Lodge of Ohio’s response to their inspired success? Was their success acknowledged? Were they asked to share their model as a template for other lodges to follow? Were they even given an “atta-boy” from any grand lodge officer? No. They were investigated, intimidated, castigated, probated, and threatened. Why? Power and control, as always. In Ohio, the grand lodge tightly regulates temple companies that own masonic buildings. In the eyes of the grand lodge officers, the real estate transaction must have seemed like a plot to free Halcyon Lodge from the power and control of the grand lodge, and that they could not suffer.

Apparently, they did not care that the Halcyon Model made good sense or even that it was wildly successful; all that mattered was their power and control. Ultimately, on November 12, 2007, the brothers of Halcyon Lodge returned their charter to the Grand Lodge of Ohio following a visit by a delegation of grand lodge officers sent to threaten them into submission.17 Apparently, the Grand Lodge of Ohio will suffer no orbiting satellites, no matter how successful they may be.

Perhaps in the end, the need for grand lodges is more illusion than reality. Like the Wizard of Oz, grand lodges attempt to project an image of being great and powerful, but if you follow Toto and look behind the curtain, all too often you find petty men, frantically turning knobs and pulling levers in a vain attempt to appear more important than they really are. In order to encourage and organize the creation of new lodges, eliminate the artificial divisions of state boundaries, and liberate lodges from the whims of petty men vested with a little brief authority, perhaps it’s about time we begin exploring a new organizational structure for the 21st Century that is independent of the antiquated grand lodge system. Exploring this new organizational structure is the topic in the next and concluding section, Freemasonry 3.0.

-------------------

tubulcain · 12-06-2007, 03:41 PM

no replies?
what do you know

George the 3rd · 12-06-2007, 07:42 PM

Never! And I mean NEVER, have I ever said that I disagree with the ideals and desires the Masons of Halcyon Lodge #498 had when it came to reinvigorating and revitalizing Masonry in the 21st Century. In FACT, and I'm sure most of the so-called "Masonic Malcontents" will not believe me when I state this, I have been working for EXACTLY the same ends as have been expressed by those clamoring for reforms and a more progressive approach to Masonry.

I could fill a page with my experiences in these areas, the ridicule I have endured by "the old guard", and the suspicion, apprehension and distrust that has been leveled at me for the attitudes, ambitions and hopes I have expressed in the over 25 years I have been a Mason.

But that is not the point. The point is: being right does not guarantee that the right will prevail. If it is a struggle, or even a battle, it must be struggled for or fought for "SMART"!

Know your adversary and know his strengths and weaknesses.

The article rightly points out that the idea of creating a charity to allow a building to become a way for tax relief rather than a tax burden is probably, in most cases, the "right" thing to do. But there is a way to get it done and a way to do it that will almost assuredly result in failure.

I have no way of knowing what the legal outcome of the adventure at Halcyon will be. But I do know this. If the experiment proves to be a misadventure, then those who are seeking the same results but via different methods will have their efforts frustrated and set back as a result.

In 1968 I was 20 years old. Don't preach to me about revolution. Been there, done that. But there is a reason the Ritual points to the three steps in the Master Mason lecture. Youth, without the attainment of knowledge, is "force" in chaos. Maturity uses the knowledge attained and applies it to the task at hand. "Ordo ab Chao"

So, my reply? I agree in principle with EVERYTHING Brother Graeter is saying regarding the need for Masonry to relate to the 21st Century. And I disagree ENTIRELY with the way the former Brothers of Halcyon went about trying to achieve their laudable goals.

"Georgey"

P.S. In the 21st Century, there will be many of us "baby boomers" who will still consider themselves Masons. And while the "numbers" may be dropping off, most of us plan to be around at least another 20 or so years. At the core, we share the same set of values, Masonic values. Why would those of you who see us as merely "flying monkeys" want to disenfranchise and discard us? If you have a "new and improved" Masonry to sell, do a little effective advertising. You might be surprised who might be willing to buy it.

D. W. Brown · 12-06-2007, 08:16 PM

Who is to say you are not a apart of that advertising campaign, right now dear Brother.

George the 3rd · 12-06-2007, 08:49 PM

Back when alcohol was seen as sinful, "medicine shows" traveled the country selling cure-alls to the righteous. Home made hooch bottled up as miraculous elixirs. And the "god-fearin" people took it home, sat on the porch, took a swig and felt better.

But it was a scam and today, if you want a little buzz, you go and buy a bottle of Jack.

What I'm trying to say is the Grand Lodge system today is not the Grand Lodge system of 100 years ago, 200 years ago or 300 years ago. We are the Grand Lodge, as Brother Graeter has so effectively pointed out. But if it is destroyed, then what is left may not be anything of enduring value.

In the 60's the Reverend Martin Luther King and President Lyndon Johnson would get on the phone and negotiate, compromise and in the end, each got what they needed, even if it wasn't what they thought it was what they wanted in the beginning. I don't know if any of this makes any sense, especially for those that want it "all" and they want it "now".

Every man that is involved in the Halcyon issue and every other similar issue across America, north and south, initially petitioned a Lodge under the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge, knocked on the door of the Lodge the night he was made a Mason and swore to maintain and support the Masonry that is embodied in that system. I agree, he did not swear to never attempt to guide it and improve it. As a worker in the quarries and in the temple he, in fact, has an obligation to do so.

But Masonry did not ask him to join it, he asked it if he might be accepted into it. That is a subtle yet significant FACT.

That's where I'm coming from and that is what I'm trying to sell. If that is the same "advertising campaign" you are involved with then we have more in common that you or I probably realize. But, unfortunately, the net doesn't allow for inflection and tone in postings on forums such as this. You may have made a sarcastic, mocking remark or you may have offered a compliment. Only time will tell.

Georgey

D. W. Brown · 12-06-2007, 09:31 PM

I mean it sincerely Georgey, do you like chess?

tubulcain · 12-07-2007, 04:57 AM

Bro Georgey=],
How do YOU know every angle was not exhausted prior to the main event?
How do you know what entirely we endured to lead up to the main event?
How do you what tactics were being employed against them(right I know never in a million years, but play along for the sake of argument) that led to the main event?
How long were were halcyon guys claiming their stuff had been earmarked, and ways to get at it were being persued by others?
When the boys were crying wolf, they meant it, and when the wolves showed up, no one was around to help the little boys watching the flock, so they chased off the wolves, again!, and went about tending to their flock. Period.
nothing more nothing less
we were thrown to the wolves, survived, and then went after again.
When a group of men get kicked to the curb, we moved on and did our own thing.
There are maybe 5-10 masons in ohio and elsewhere who REALLY know anything. You, theron, greg, WS, Bro Dale Bro Brandt etc..only really know and have been privy to such a small amount of the WHOLE story, that to cast such convincing judgement is mind boggling. But hey, it is what it is.
But we have chosen to stay away from the mind set and people over at LRUS, but they have seem to come over hear to continue a discussion on that topic.
Not only come over here, but ARTY PETEY is challenging brothers to go at at LRUS where it is a neutral ground for open masonic discussion and debate!=]

news will come out as it necessary.
we know how the brothers at LRUS feel about the topic, why drag it over here.
it does not have to be debated and refuted at EVERY forum.

remember, there is a long history and things did not just happen over night!
And the stuff was going on LONG before anyone ever heard of a "jeff peace".

Brother Geo, I hope one day this shizzle will all be over and all of us can have fellowship together and rid our frat and this planet of any kind of division and malice!
So Mote It Be

George the 3rd · 12-07-2007, 01:49 PM

What's Up

Fifty-nine (Twenty-five) years and my life is still
Trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination

And I realized quickly when I knew I should
That the world was made up of this brotherhood of man
For whatever that means
And so I cry sometimes
When I'm lying in bed
Just to get it all out
What's in my head
And I am feeling a little peculiar
And so I wake in the morning
And I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream at the top of my lungs
What's going on?
And I say, hey hey hey hey
I said hey, what's going on?

ooh, ooh ooh
and I try, oh my god do I try
I try all the time, in this institution
And I pray, oh my god do I pray
I pray every single day
For a revolution
And so I cry sometimes
When I'm lying in bed
Just to get it all out
What's in my head
And I am feeling a little peculiar
And so I wake in the morning
And I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream at the top of my lungs
What's going on?
And I say, hey hey hey hey
I said hey, what's going on?

Fifty-nine (Twenty-five) years and my life is still
Trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination

4 Non Blondes

D. W. Brown · 12-07-2007, 02:05 PM

Georgey,

I'm glad you like music but I stopped coorelating my life to song lyrics when I was a teenager.

George the 3rd · 12-07-2007, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D. W. Brown

Georgey,

I'm glad you like music but I stopped coorelating my life to song lyrics when I was a teenager.

that's unfortunate