tubulcain

Whoever has the great fortune,
To be a friend’s friend,
Whoever wins the love of a lovely woman,
Add his jubilation to ours!
Yes, anyone also who has a soul
To call his own on this earth!
And anyone who never could, should run away
Weeping from this brotherhood!

Chorus
Those who occupy the great circle,
Pay homage to sympathy!
It leads to the stars
Where the unknown is enthroned


Joy, all creatures drink
At the bosoms of nature,
All good, all evil
Follow your trail of roses.
Kisses she gives us, and wine,
A friend, proven in death.
Pleasure was given to the worm,
And the cherub stands before God.

Chorus
Do you fall before him, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek him above the starry canopy,
Above the stars he must live.

__________________
Know you not yet, weak and superb man,
That the humble insect hidden beneath a leaf
And the imperious eagle who flies to heaven's dome,
Amount to nothing in the eyes of the Eternal.
All men are equal: not birth but virtue
Distinguishes them apart."

George the 3rd

antoninus9

George the 3rd wants us to believe in double standards: one for the common Mason and another for the Grand Lodge.

The Grand Lodges and officers are not honoring their vows dear George. They meet with clandestine Masons, go to their gathering in France, even have friendly chats with them on the phone. What if a common Mason did the same? He would be accused of being in violation of the same oath and obligation just broken by his Grand Officers.

Masons also swear to never cheat, wrong or defraud a brother but...

Grand Masters expel brothers without due process (even other Grand Masters) and accuse them through edicts of Masonic crimes while allowing them no voice in their own defense. That shure sounds like a violation of oaths and obligations.

At Halcyon the Grand Master threatened to take-over an entire lodge without providing justifiable cause to the officers or members. He did NOT try to reason or discuss the issue; he just made demands. He got a response - his charter in his hand and was asked to leave the building.

I too believe that reason and brotherly discussion/negotiation should prevail among Masons, but this is not possible when a Grand Master prefers force to reasonable discussion.

What happened at Halcyon has been coming for a long time. They may be the first but will not be the last to take these actions. The Grand Lodges have overdosed on power and exist only to serve the ego and vanity of the men in them. Corrective actions are necessary to preserve the integrity of the fraternity. Halcyon took a corrective action to maintain its building and its lodge.

Jeff

__________________
Jeff Peace
Lodge des Neuf Soeurs No. 1

George the 3rd

I fail to see how any definition above applies to either the "Men of Halcyon" or, by the consequence of their actions and others like them, the state of Masonry!

__________________

antoninus9

If you can't understand it then I can't help you to.

__________________
Jeff Peace
Lodge des Neuf Soeurs No. 1

witnessofjesus

Althought I do agree that Grand Masters should not have unchecked power, I also must confess, as has Brother Hodapp that, "I'm a shameless supporter of mainstream Masonry. I want the big buildings, the magazines, the books, some kind of recognition system to keep any nitwit who buys an apron and says he's a Mason from being equated with those who really are, the semblance of standards and practices administered by somebody in charge, and a nice retirement home when I'm done. I'm just crazy enough to think that the mainstream system is better than chaos, but I'm a big "order" kind of a guy. Those who think I'm a chump for siding with the mainstream establishment are free to do so. It doesn't cause me any sleepless nights."

However, I do agree that something should be done such as forming an Executive Committee or Committee of Appeals in each state, composed of the PGMs of that state, who can keep the power of a GM in check, and even bring him up on Masonic charges should the abuse of power be a proven fact, and that such Committee composed of PGMs of that state should be given the authority to overturn Edicts expelling members without the usual Masonic trail required by Masonic law.

I think if such were instituted among men and Masons, that this grand exodus from the Grand Lodge systems would stop and we, as men and Masons, could once again rest in peace knowing that the GM doesn't have unlimited power, and that he is in check by a board composed of all living PGMs of the state to which a brother, or a lodge, wronged by the current GM could appeal to for an alternative investigation and inquiry and possibly a more equitable decision on their behalf, and at least the benefit of a trail where the said brother, or Lodge, could defend its position and at least be heard by such Committee.

But I do not oppose the Grand Lodge system, and am so thankful that such nonesense as all this going on in both WV and OH does not exist in VA or DC of which I am a member and proud Master Mason of each Grand jurisdiction.

antoninus9

Bro. Eric,

I hate to disappoint you but the Grand Lodge of Virginia is being sued for wrongful expulsion of a member. At the present time a judge is holding the Grand Master in contempt for refusing to obey a court order.

The problem is everywhere. The GL's do a good job of keeping it quiet.

Do a Nexus Lexus search for pending cases against the GLVA.

Jeff

__________________
Jeff Peace
Lodge des Neuf Soeurs No. 1

witnessofjesus

Jeff,

Actually, now that you mention this, I do recall something being said about this during our last GL session that I attended, but it is not of the magnitude that it will affect a large group of brethren as the events in Ohio and WV have done.

This is, as you've stated, a lawsuit that may be against our GL, but it does not concern a large group of Brethren and its effect on the Fraternity as a whole is almost nada.

Thank you for pointing this out though, I had almost forgotten about it because it is so insignificant in the Grand scheme of things to be of no concern to myself or most other Masons in Virginia. I do hope that justice will prevail on the part of all involved.

Sincerely,

Eric

D. W. Brown

Ouch, I don't really know how to respond here so I'll leave it up to the readers interpretation.

__________________
Dale Brown, 3° (apostatised my 32°)
TBL Staff

Grand Orient de France | Grand Orient of the United States of America
The Burning Taper | Halcyon Lodge | The Philalethes Society
Regulus Lodge | Sirius Lodge | Emeth Lodge | Euclid Lodge

antoninus9

Bro. Eric,

What if you were that one brother? How would you feel about Freemasonry?

In my opinion what affects one brother should affect us all equally. We are sworn to be his brother.

__________________
Jeff Peace
Lodge des Neuf Soeurs No. 1