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Archives for July 2014

Bar Sinister Clandestine Hazing

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Chris Hodapp posted today about a petition to prevent (prohibit, bar, ban, make illegal by presidential power?) clandestine Grand Lodges. Note – the post is now archived.

The text of the petition, which you can read at petitions.whitehouse.gov, says:

Grand Lodges of Freemasons began in 1717, in London, England. All Grand Lodges in the world must have a direct lineage to this Grand Lodge to be Masonically legal. This process in proving legitimate origins has been upheld in the case of Supreme Grand Lodge Modern Free Accepted Masons of the World vs. Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Georgia Docket no. 14374, United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit. Other courts have established this precedent as well. There are only 94 legal Grand Lodges in the United States, the Prince Hall Grand Lodges, and the State Grand Lodges, all having legitimate origins from the Grand Lodge of England, but more than 450 fraudulent Grand Lodges exist, unregulated, committing extreme hazing and fraud on unsuspecting men. Stop the fraud.

Hodapp closes his post with an appeal to “Sign the White House petition…by August 4th. to be considered by President Obama, the petition requires 100,000 signatures (with roughly 400 at the time of my writing).

Your decision to sign is your own. But, before you put finger to keyboard to commit your pixelated signature I thought it would be good form to consider some of the aspects included in the petition itself.

All Grand Lodges in the world must have a direct lineage to [the Grand Lodge of England] to be Masonically legal. I suppose, in a broad context, which would be the case assuming that the UGLE is the chief franchiser of the Masonic Brand. But, since when is the President the arbiter of brand recognition? I’m sure the Supreme Court could weigh in on the matter, but ownership aside, it seems like a Masonic disagreement would be outside the scope of their jurisdiction. Lineage is only important to those who believe it to be so. Would saying all protestant churches are breaking Christian law by not following the lead of Rome?

Historically speaking, it sets the 1717 foundation of the Grand Lodge system as the chronological benchmark for legitimacy. Given that the foundation of a “grand lodge” out of severally existing lodges suggests that the incorporation of the fraternity is where our lineage begins.

The petition mentions a civil case from 1954, Supreme Grand Lodge Modern Free Accepted Masons of the World vs. Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Georgia. That proceeding as essentially about:

This action was instituted by appellee, a Georgia corporation, to enjoin appellant, an Alabama corporation, from engaging in conduct alleged to constitute unfair competition against appellee, and from holding itself out as a Lodge of Freemasons or as a member of the Masonic Fraternity. It was further prayed that appellant be enjoined from using the name ‘Supreme Grand Lodge, Modern Free and Accepted Colored Masons of the World.’

History and jurisprudence was the outcome.  I’ll leave it to you to decipher the legalese.  My take, neither site had a writ or warrant, instead “…both plaintiff and defendant trace their legal origin to a charter issued by a state court [in 1890].

Ironically, a search on Google for the 94 legal Grand Lodges turned up another legal brief involving two ‘clandestine’ Grand Lodges from 1949 – Most Worshipful Lodge v. Sons etc. Lodge – 94 Cal. App. 2d 25

Two actions involving conflicting claims of rival colored Masonic organizations were consolidated for trial. The first was an action for conversion in which a cross-complaint was filed asking damages for fraud. The second action was one brought by the Hiram of Tyre Grand Lodge against the Sons of Light Grand Lodge to enjoin the latter from conducting a grand lodge of colored Freemasonry in California. fn. 1 The trial court found against Light in both actions. Thereupon Light attempted to appeal from both judgments. However, this court heretofore granted a motion to dismiss the appeal in the conversion case on the ground that the judgment [94 Cal. App. 2d 28] was not final, an accounting being required. (Most Worshipful Sons etc. Lodge v. Sons etc. Lodge, 91 Cal. App. 2d 582 [205 P.2d 722].) The present appeal deals only with the injunction action and the first action will be disregarded.

While not delving into the legalese, the outcome, in so far as I can discern from that legal action was:

The position of the courts as regards rival fraternal organizations is well stated in Cuney Grand Lodge v. State (1926), 142 Miss. 894 [108 So. 298, 302]: “The court cannot judicially know what the principles and degrees of free Masonry are, or of any particular brand of doctrine known as free Masonry, if there be differences of organization and principles. That is a matter with which the state is not concerned so long as [94 Cal. App. 2d 35] no fraud is used to deceive a person solicited to join or be received into these orders.”

[8] The injunction in this case went too far. It should have been limited to prohibiting defendant, its officers, agents, servants and employees from representing that its grand lodge and its subordinate lodges were or are the only bona fide grand lodge and subordinate lodges of Freemasonry in California, or making any representation or performing any act which would tend to confuse, in the minds of the public, or prospective members, its organization with plaintiff and its subordinate lodges, or by misrepresentation to attempt to lure away plaintiff’s members…

The findings of Cuney Grand Lodge v. State State said:

State may forfeit charter of fraternal corporation soliciting members by falsely representing that they will be received into regular Masonic lodges throughout the United States, and may restrain re- ceiving members by such means pending trial of forfeiture proceedings. Cuney v. State, 142 Miss. 894, 108 So. 298 (1926) page 31.

So, where does that leave us. I suppose it means if an organization solicits members “by falsely representing that they will be received into regular Masonic lodges” the state can withdraw their incorporation. But, what if no claim is made? And who has the time, or money, to enforce these kinds of actions when it would be an uphill battle to prove who owns the Masonic trademark. But, at the same time, it seems a petition like this deliberately hurts other organizations that may share the name Freemasonry, which takes us into a whole ‘nother debate on what it means to be clandestine. Why lose the trees for the forest when the real issue is violence and hazing.

What the petition comes down to is a plea to stop malicious and dangerous hazing. So, in light of that, I’ve created a petition to make hazing of any kind illegal. Perhaps you’ll consider adding your signature to this petition instead.

Anti hazing literature from Miami University
Anti hazing literature from Miami University

The Life Lessons Of Right Eminent Grand Commander Sir Ronald D. Gerac

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Sir Ronald D. Gerac, M.Ed. Right Eminent Grand Commander Lone Star Grand Commandery Order of the Knights Templar
Sir Ronald D. Gerac, M.Ed.
Right Eminent Grand Commander
Lone Star Grand Commandery
Order of the Knights Templar

Sir Ronald D. Gerac, M.Ed. Right Eminent Grand Commander Lone Star Grand Commandery Order of the Knights Templar, Prince Hall Texas is a Freemason of preeminence. You perhaps have heard the saying used in advertisement, “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.” Well when EGC Gerac talks, Freemasons listen – intently.

Gerac is that kind of individual who can enter a room and immediately takeover. He gives you the sense that he is in command all the while being able graciously to poke fun at others and himself.

Gerac is an optimist and he never hesitates to attempt to lift all in his presence up to the next level. He is our chief cheerleader.

Gerac understands fully and completely that Freemasonry is a way of life. Therefore, you will often hear him talking about life and how the virtues of Freemasonry are applicable to our daily lives, right here, right now.

His 2014 Allocution to his Commandery illustrates this approach, always in a colorful way.

A year ago, I charged you to not live your 2013 as 2012: The Sequel. Well, did you, or did you not? Are you experiencing new levels of life that are 180 degrees away from where you were, or are you still continuing to do the same things you were doing and expecting a different result? Have you surrounded yourself with likeminded people for your spiritual growth, or are you still hanging around negative people? It’s okay if you are. Believe me, because negativity has its own share of benefits.

Negativity serves a purpose. It helps you to see the positive in the world, just as the darkness allows you to see the stars. If you didn’t have negative experiences, you would never be able to appreciate the positive ones. If you were never sad, you wouldn’t know what it felt like to be happy. If you never felt fear, you wouldn’t know what faith felt like. If you were positive ALL the time, then you wouldn’t even know you were being positive because there would be no contrast. You would feel the same all the time.

Negativity forces the BELIEVER to feel those painful emotions so that he or she can recognize and appreciate the positive emotions. Negativity builds character and strength when we persevere and overcome it. It causes the BELIEVER to build mental and emotional muscle. Here’s some advice for you who have had your fair share of negativity: increase your positive to negative ratio up to 3 to 1; that is, three positive emotions for every one negative emotion. Research shows that teams, couples, or individuals that experienced interactions at a ratio greater than 3 positives to one negative emotion were more productive and higher performing than those with a lower ratio. You have already had your first positive for the day. God woke you up. Did you thank Him for doing that? Do it before it’s too late. Here’s your second positive: Each and every one of you in this room today has had a part, albeit small or large, in helping me become who I am today. Because of your thoughts, prayers, conversation, advice, support, a smile, or maybe even something as small as a status like on Facebook, I am, and Marvin Sapp said it best, I’m stronger; I’m wiser, I feel better. So much better. The God I serve has blessed me with so many friends like you-some closer than others-but a blessing from God has no rank and only one value: priceless. Now you all are on your own for your third positive and don’t hold me responsible for your one negative.

Sir Ronald D. Gerac, M.Ed. Right Eminent Grand Commander Lone Star Grand Commandery Order of the Knights Templar with Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis
Sir Ronald D. Gerac, M.Ed.
Right Eminent Grand Commander
Lone Star Grand Commandery
Order of the Knights Templar
with Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis

In this last Templar year, I have come to notice an emergence of one particular type of behavior from people within our own circles that has brought itself to a level of profound disturbance within my spirit. People who we used to confide in are now, as they say, “all into their feelings” and don’t want as much to do with us as they used to. Bonds are breaking down. Friendships are being destroyed. The group dynamic in our Commanderies and Palaces is being threatened. In some cases, marriage relationships are cracking down the middle. That hand to your back for comfort has a knife in it. “We used to be cool, but now, I don’t know WHAT happened.” You have people that barely know you making opinions about you from other folks. They smile in your face. You know the rest of the lyrics. So what happened to these almost impenetrable friendships and relationships?

Allow me to talk to you about gardening for a few minutes. If you have ever done any type of gardening, you know that, for one, it does take work to yield a desired result. It also takes an investment of time and patience to do that work. You must have the right working tools to work with in order to keep your garden thriving. Other than drought, a gardener’s worst enemy is the weed. A weed masquerades itself like a plant. It needs water and sunlight to survive, just like a plant. Many times, an unsuspecting gardener is providing care for weeds and doesn’t realize this fact until it’s too late. What do we know about these weeds?

  1. Generally, weeds have absolutely no redeeming value as far as food, nutrition, or medicine are concerned. They multiply rapidly, are often poisonous if eaten, they taste bad, and they have thorns or other physical features that make them difficult to remove.
  2. Weeds compete with beautiful flowers, grasses, and other beneficial plants for water, sunlight, and nutrients, and making them starve to death. They cause a growth imbalance in beneficial plants because they quickly absorb more of one nutrient than another.
  3. Weeds compete for space. They appear as if they must be seen.
  4. Weeds are parasitic. In some cases, they can attach themselves to neighboring plants and steal their nutrients.

If you haven’t caught on yet, let me help you out just a little bit. SOME OF YOUR SO-CALLED FRIENDS ARE WEEDS.

  1. They have absolutely no redeeming value to your life. The more gullible people they talk to, the more rapidly they multiply. The more minds they poison. Their attitudes and dispositions become the thorns that make them difficult to be around.
  2. When they are around, it seems as if they starve you of the essentials of positive living that you are more used to experiencing daily. Do you ever get that feeling of being choked when these so-called friends come around? Does the tenor of your conversation change around them?
  3. When they are around, they absolutely must be seen and heard.
  4. Some of them siphon from the necessities of life that you originally allocate to close family members…money, food, transportation, advice, time, and love.

When some of us read the first part of John 10:10, we take it for the face-value literal translation that we receive when we read it.

The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy.

We take that to mean the stealing of worldly goods and possessions. We think of the physical killing of people. We think of the destruction of actual edifices and physical buildings. We don’t look deeper into it to see that the writer also meant that for those that steal, they rob us and others of the truth. While they are not speaking the truth, or the whole truth, they kill synergetic and kindred spirits among friends and brothers. They purposely destroy relationships…friend to friend, husband to wife, Master or Matron to the membership. Sir Knights and Princesses, the ENEMY himself is the source, but we are too blind, or as they say, “all into our feelings” to see it clearly.

Get out of your feelings. Wake up and see the destruction that you had a hand in, but caused by that so called friend of yours who you thought was giving you good, sound advice, but actually was just spreading mess and gossip, much like a weed spreads its seeds and multiplies at a rapid rate. Kill your weeds. Yes, KILL YOUR WEEDS. Not by standard weapons of defense and harm, such as a firearm, knife, or some blunt object like a baseball bat or a frying pan. Once you recognize who the weeds are in your life, the best way to kill that weed is like this: ***pick up cell phone, slide ringer over to IGNORE*** Ignore the phone call from the weed. Block the number if you have to. Don’t nurture it by giving it the time or attention it needs to survive. We say “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine?” Don’t let YOUR light shine on the weed to help it grow. Let the weed find someone else to poison. If you must converse with the weed, combat it with truth. Don’t allow the weed to come to you and say, “I heard this from somebody…I won’t say who, but this is what I heard.” That is POISON attempting to spread POISON. Anyway, if what that “somebody” said was true, then they need to be MAN or WOMAN enough to say it to your face. Don’t lower your standards to hear it from someone else. Kill your weeds. Prune them out of your life. If they are not helping you to become a better person, why are you still listening to them? Why do you take their word over someone more credible? Why don’t you ask the direct questions yourselves? And better yet, why haven’t you told that weed of a friend that you are not having that from them anymore? You complain about what you allow when you have the power to stop it altogether.

Friends, let’s nurture each other. Let’s help each other rise to the next level. Let’s strengthen each other through prayer, advice, random acts of kindness, and love.

I conclude with this thought: Life is like a camera. FOCUS on what’s important. CAPTURE the good times. DEVELOP from the negatives. And if things don’t work out, TAKE ANOTHER SHOT.

May God bless our active and retired Armed Forces personnel, first responders, local law enforcement, and firemen. God bless America. God bless the Lone Star Family. God bless Prince Hall Masonry in Texas and abroad. And may God have mercy on us and bless us all.

Humbly submitted,

RDG

Sir Ronald D. Gerac, M.Ed.
Right Eminent Grand Commander
Lone Star Grand Commandery of Texas
Order of the Knights Templar

And in another address to his Commandery, again always in a colorful way:

Templar standard flagTo All Sir Knights and Princesses beholding to the Lone Star Grand Commandery, Order of the Knights Templar, and the Lone Star Grand Guild, Heroines of the Templars Crusade, State of Texas and its Jurisdiction, Prince Hall Affiliated:

Some time ago, you all heard me speak of this thing called a “Masonic Turd.” For those of you reading this and thinking, “What the…?!” In short, it is my own colorful way of describing a Masonic error that has gone uncorrected for a period of time. I know it is not the most prudent term that can be used to label such a situation, but one must admit that it does grab the attention of the listener.

I remember a long time ago, a famous comedian was telling a joke about a neglectful family. I am in no way channeling the joke right now, as I cannot remember the whole thing. Besides, the joke is not the focal point here. The comedian said the family had a dog who would just defecate at will and on cue anywhere in the house. When the dog “dropped one” in the living room, no one in the family bothered to clean it up. The turd just sat there. In fact, it sat there so long that the next generation treated it as a drink coaster. They just started setting their drink on it like it was just a part of the furniture. The sad part is this: to the new generation, it was furniture. This was an error that had gone uncorrected for quite some time.

Anyway…

I reintroduce this topic because it seems like since I first brought this term to light a little over a year ago, I have personally encountered more situations where a Masonic error has gone uncorrected. One case involved a principal officer in an organization whose duty was to give a monthly report on all the sick and shut-in members on the roll and an annual report on all members reported for the calendar year. Not only did this principal officer not perform the prescribed duty, but no other member or officer charged him to do so. Eventually, others did not regard the proper practice of this ever so significant duty. Another case involved a Lodge in one situation and a grand body in another separate situation where neither entity knew how to handle and process a demit certificate. In both cases, they just allowed their respective situations to just “sit” there. The problem is simple, either the teachers are NOT teaching, or the learners are NOT listening.

How will we ever get bigger and better if we don’t improve ourselves in Masonry? I again ask each of you, Sir Knights and Princesses all, to look deeply within your Asylums and Palaces. Examine your processes and methods. Do they fall in concert with your constitution? Are officers well versed in their primary and ancillary duties? Are officers and members asking questions? Are officers “just winging it?”

I challenge all constituent Commanderies and Guilds to identify the top three processes and methods that are in dire need of improvement. Make this new Templar Year the year where those identified areas of need will no longer be a concern for you. Let’s start now and not later with improving the way we operate internally. Let’s improve our systems and processes. Let’s ask questions when we don’t understand. If you do not, you will die on the vine and it will take Miracle Grow to rejuvenate your organization. Don’t be like the “turd” that no one ever wants to clean up. Put on your gloves, grab your cleaning supplies, and let’s get to cleaning up our Masonic errors.

Sir Ronald D. Gerac, M.Ed.
Right Eminent Grand Commander
Lone Star Grand Commandery of Texas
Order of the Knights Templar

Here endeth the Life Lessons of EGC Roanald D. Gerac. Take due notice and govern yourselves accordingly.

A Fraternity Who Helped Found This Nation

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BedfordBattleFlagHAPPY JULY 4th – INDEPENDENCE DAY

THE BEDFORD FLAG

From the Bedford Massachusetts website:

A colonial militia flag preserved in the Bedford Free Public Library,
Bedford, Massachusetts

THE BEDFORD FLAG

The Bedford Flag is the oldest complete flag known to exist in the United States.  It is celebrated as the flag carried by the Bedford Minuteman, Nathaniel Page, to the Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775, the beginning of the American Revolution, but it was already an antique on that day.  It was made for a cavalry troop of the Massachusetts Bay militia early in the colonial struggle for the continent that we call “the French and Indian Wars.”

The flag is a piece of crimson silk damask measuring about 27” long by 29” wide.  This small square shape indicates that it was a cavalry flag.  Into the rich red damask is woven a pattern of pomegranates, grapes, and leaves.  The design is painted on both sides of the flag, mainly in silver and gold.  The emblem consists of a mailed arm emerging from clouds and grasping a sword.  Three cannonballs hang in the air.  Encircling the arm is a gold ribbon on which the Latin words “VINCE AUT MORIRE” (Conquer or Die) are painted. On the reverse of the flag, the design is slightly different: the sword extends in front of the ribbon instead of behind; it is held left-handed; and the motto is read from bottom to top instead of top to bottom.

A narrow area would have been folded and stitched to make a sleeve for the pole to go into.  Some of the holes the needle made are still faintly visible.  All but a single thread from the silver fringe that once edged the flag has been lost to history. That one strand was discovered microscopically during the flag’s 1999-2000 conservation at the Textile Conservation Center in Lowell, Mass. Evidence was also found that there may once have been a tassel attached at the hoist side of the flag.

THE ORIGIN OF THE FLAG

Exactly who made the flag and when it was made are not known. Physical and historical evidence point to an origin early in the eighteenth century. The distinctive floral pattern woven into the damask has been dated by textile experts as appropriate to the early 1700s.

When did the Page family first receive the flag? Displayed in the Flag Room in the Bedford Free Public Library is an original commission dating 1737.  It names Minuteman Nathaniel Page’s father John “Cornett of the Troop of horse.”  A cornet was the cavalry officer just below lieutenant whose duty it was to bear the flag.  In fact, Nathaniel’s father, uncle and grandfather are all mentioned within the Bedford and Billerica Town Records as “Cornet Page,” indicating that a Page had been carrying the flag for the local militia troop as early as 1720. It was the custom in the English militia for the colonel of the regiment or the new captain of a unit, not the cornet, to arrange for the flag.  Thus it was not a member of the Page family but an officer of higher rank who designed and procured the flag.

Similarity to sketches of a flag made soon after 1660 for another Massachusetts cavalry, the Three County Troop, has made historians wonder if perhaps the Bedford Flag is indeed that early flag.  However, the emblem, an arm holding aloft a sword, is a common one in European heraldry during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and is certainly not unique to the Bedford Flag. Most tellingly, a spectroscopic analysis of the paint used on the emblem revealed a pigment called “Prussian blue” that did not exist before 1704, so the flag cannot date from before that year.

THE FLAG’S ROLE
DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

The flag was still in the custody of the Page family at the time of the American Revolution, and it is believed in Bedford that Minuteman Nathaniel Page took it with him to the battle at Concord.  Nathaniel told the story to his grandson, Cyrus, and it was written down after his death by the nineteenth century historian, Abram English Brown.  This account says:

“Our people were not surprised when the messenger reached this house…  We had agreed at the last drilling to meet, in case of alarm, at the tavern in the center of the town, kept by Jeremiah Fitch, sergeant of the militia company.  The horseman banged on the house and cried out, ‘Up, Mr. Page, the regulars are out.’  We were not long at our preparations, and were soon at the tavern.”

A. E. Brown continues, “On the arrival of the [Bedford] Company at Concord, they assisted in removing the stores to places of greater safety.  Tradition says that Cornet Nathaniel Page laid down his flag and went to work, and when returning to look for it ‘found the boys had got it and were playing soldiers.’”  He took it up and went to face the British regulars at the North Bridge.

While there is no contemporary account to corroborate this story, Nathaniel Page is listed in the official military rolls of the men who were paid for service in the American forces on April 19th.  The flag is more than old enough to have been there with him on that day. His father, uncle and grandfather had served as cornets in the militia.  Did Nathaniel bear the flag to Concord as he said he did? That is clearly quite possible.