Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM

Texas Masonicon

July 31, 2018 by Fred Milliken

What is Texas Masonicon? Here is how they tell it:

In their efforts to seek more light, the brethren of Fort Worth Lodge #148 began a tradition of bringing in guest speakers for Masonic educational talks. Talk after talk, our membership flourished and was enriched. After how much we have enjoyed the benefits of this program, we have decided to share this experience with other brothers who desire to seek more light.

Masonic education is a critical component to every brother’s journey in the Craft. However, it can be extremely hard to come by, even though our fraternity is filled with extraordinary speakers who will gladly share their research. We felt it was our responsibility to share the results of our educational program and create a Masonic educational event that would benefit the Craft on a larger scale. The location? The Fort Worth Masonic Temple.

They’re calling it: Texas MasoniCon

The last two Aprils Ezekiel Bates Lodge in Attleboro, Massachusetts has held a Masonicon. It is generally an all-day event of Masonic speakers from different parts of the country gathered together to make presentations and includes followup workshops and group participation.

PM of Fort Worth Lodge #148, Rhit Moore, will tell you that this is a team effort. But we know he is one of the driving forces behind this Masonic Conference. We have chronicled the accomplishments of Moore here on Freemason Information before: http://ep9.f3a.mwp.accessdomain.com/2018/02/the-secret-of-a-successful-lodge/

Texas MasoniCon is intended to be an annual Masonic educational conference, and will bring together interested Brothers looking for more light in Masonry with knowledgeable authors and dignitaries from around the country.

Their keynote speakers for their inaugural convention will be three distinguished Masonic authors: Bro. Michael Poll is the founder of Cornerstone Publishing, V.E. Piers Vaughan is Past Grand High Priest of New York, and Bro. Chuck Dunning is the founding Superintendent of the Academy of Reflection.

MICHAEL POLL

Michael R. Poll is the owner of Cornerstone Book Publishers. He is a Founding Fellow and Past President of The Masonic Society, a Fellow of the Philalethes Society and Fellow of the Maine Lodge of Research. and a contributor to Heredom, the publication of the Scottish Rite Research Society.

A New York Times Bestselling writer and publisher, he is a prolific writer, editor and publisher of Masonic and esoteric books, having published over 200 titles.

PIERS VAUGHAN

Very Excellent Piers Vaughan is a Past Grand High Priest for New York Grand Chapter. His Masonic membership began in England in 1979, and he joined a number of Orders before joining St. John’s Lodge No. 1 in New York. He has traveled extensively across the USA and in many countries abroad giving lectures on a number of topics, ranging from history to talks on the symbols and esotericism of Masonry. An interest in 18th Century French Masonic Ritual led him to translate a number of important treatises and rituals into English.

V.E. Bro. Vaughan has written the Capitular Development Course, and Renaissance Man & Mason.

CHUCK DUNNING

Chuck Dunning has been a Master Mason since 1988, is a member of Blue Lodges and Scottish Rite Valleys in both Texas and Oklahoma, and also belongs to a number of Masonic research societies. In the Scottish Rite, Chuck is a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor, Director of Education for the Guthrie Valley in Oklahoma, and a Class Director for the Fort Worth Valley in Texas. In 2012 he became the founding Superintendent of the Academy of Reflection, which is a chartered organization for Scottish Rite Masons wanting to integrate contemplative practice with their Masonic experience.

Bro. Dunning has authored Contemplative Masonry: Basic Applications of Mindfulness, Meditation, and Imagery for the Craft.

Their guest speakers are experts in Masonic leadership and education. They are:

Brad Billings – PM, Texas Lodge of Research
David Bindel – PM, Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge
Larry Fitzpatrick – Past Grand Orator, GL of TX
Pete Normand – PM, Texas Lodge of Research
Roberto Sanchez – author The True Masonic Experience
John Tolbert – past DDGM

It is events like this one that is educating a new batch of leaders for the Masonic Fraternity of tomorrow. It is also a way of holding first rate Masonic Conferences that seems to be popular and catching on all across the U.S.A. There is a new day dawning on Freemasonry in America. American Masonry is becoming more national and less parochial in its outlook and that is helping it keep up with the 21st Century and the Information Age.

If you haven’t been to a Masonicon try it. You’ll like it!

A Historic Occasion Between Two Texas Grand Lodges

November 26, 2016 by Fred Milliken

Worshipful David Bindel, Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge No. 1283

On November 17, 2016 Deputy Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas F & AM Michael T. Anderson spoke at Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge No. 1283, Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM upon the invitation of Worshipful David Bindel. Worshipful Bindel remarked that he thought this could be a historic moment being that this might be the first time a Prince Hall Grand Lodge Officer addressed a Lodge of the Grand Lodge of Texas.

The Lodge opened on the Third Degree at 7:15 PM with a procession of Lodge officers and visitors marching into the Lodge. The Lodge was promptly taken from Labor to Refreshment whereupon Worshipful Bindel announced that this Special Communication was one of a series labeled “Building The Temple,” whereby the Lodge focuses on engaging in dialogue to construct something useful and grow together in Masonic light and in our appreciation of each other.

Without further ado, Worshipful Bindel introduced DGM Anderson reciting his brief Masonic biography after which he gave him the floor.

DGM Anderson began his address by admitting that he had not prepared a formal presentation. He then proceeded to speak from the heart starting his remarks with the importance of the Altar in the Lodge. He went through the meaning and moral teachings of the Three Lessor Lights and the Three Great Lights. Anderson asked those assembled where else could they find an organization that taught such high moral standards.

Anderson spoke about how when he was young, he was a bit on the wild side, and that it was the lessons of Freemasonry that made him into the man he is today. He told us all that he rarely read the Bible when he was young and rarely went to church, but that Freemasonry and the study of its morality, not only made him a better man but led him to studying the Bible and a regular attendee at church.

Anderson stressed the importance of the Masonic philosophy that it is the internal not the external characteristics that recommend a man to be made a Mason. He was emphatic that this one tenet of Freemasonry was responsible for bringing together men of many different walks and stations in life. Can you not see how much more peace and harmony there would be in this world if this tenet was universally adopted, he asked?

He spoke briefly on Prince Hall Freemasonry saying if you want to know about us look at me. I am a product of what we are all about. In contrasting the number of years Masters and Grand Masters serve in each Grand Lodge, he said that he thought five years was the right number for the time of service. The first year, he said, the Master tip toes around not wanting to offend anyone. In the second year he begins to formulate his programs and the stamp he wants to put on his Lodge. Then he has three years to implement his vision. Anderson said he served ten years as Master of Pride of Mt. Pisgah No. 135 but he only intended to serve five. But after five years, some of the Brethren of the Lodge came to him and implored him to continue otherwise many would become inactive.

Brethren Who Gathered At Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge

Taking questions from the Brethren, he articulated the importance of the 24” Gauge. He remarked that eight hours in the service of God did not involve going to church, but rather was all about helping others, doing God’s work in the world. He further expounded that if a man doesn’t work he doesn’t eat. Anderson told us that he had taken a lot of jobs in his life he didn’t much care for but that it put food on the table.

Another question had Anderson expounding on the symbolism of the Point Within A Circle. Anderson said that the point was you and I and the circle was God, that which had no beginning and no end. In our journey through life, if we listen, if we have an open mind, if we are attentive, then we will touch God and God will touch us as we venture out to the outer edges of the noble life.

DGM Michael T. Anderson and PGM Elmer Murphy

There were a couple of questions that followed about what can we do as Masons to promote peace and harmony in the world. It seems to many that we are becoming more and more divided and at odds with each other. Anderson went right back to the theme that it is the internal not the external that a Mason looks at in another. It was at this point that Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas, Elmer Murphy, rose and came out to Anderson and put his arm around him and related an old story in his family about a Black man who helped his father to pick up body parts after an explosion at a chemical factory. He was a big man, Murphy said and then something about his being in the Navy. I loved that man, I heard him say.

DGM Michael T. Anderson Shows His Certificate Of Honorary Membership In Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge

I don’t even know if I have that story right since I was concentrating on what I saw before me rather than what was being said. Here was a PGM of the Grand Lodge of Texas and the DGM of the most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas arm in arm reinforcing the concept that it is the internal not the external part of a man that is important. And when PGM Murphy completed his tale he hugged DGM Anderson, whereupon every Brother in the room rose to give them both a thunderous applause.

WM David Bindel Presents DGM Michael T. Anderson The Gift Of A Gavel

Back in 2006 both Grand Lodges did not recognize each other. In 2007 a Compact of Recognition was signed, but without intervisitation and Masonic intercourse. Just last year those last barriers were removed. And this evening witnessed further progress in Masonic closeness.

The speech being over introductions of all visiting Brethren were made. It was duly noted that we had a Brother from the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland, and a Cuban Brother who was a member of a military Lodge in South Korea.

Worshipful Bindel then presented DGM Anderson with a gift of a gavel and a certificate that made him an honorary member of Jewel P. Lightfoot. Lodge was left to expire at midnight and we all took off for the Komali Mexican Restaurant.

At the restaurant, we satisfied ourselves with good food and libation. But most of all we experienced that Masonic tenet of Brotherly Love and Affection. There were many toasts offered and many new friends made. When we finally parted it was midnight and I returned home with the knowledge that this had truly been a historic occasion.

Brethren At The Komali Mexican Restaurant

Third Degree On The Blue Ghost

September 17, 2016 by Fred Milliken

Recently, the Bee Hive attended a third degree ritual aboard the The Blue Ghost, an Essex class aircraft carrier out of Corpus Christi Bay in Texas. The event was hosted by Oso Naval Lodge No. 1282 at the Museum on the Bay on Saturday, September 10th, 2016.

Master Mason’s Degree

U.S.S. Lexington

Known as “The Blue Ghost,” the Lexington is one of 24 Essex class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, is named in honor of the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington. She was originally to have been named Cabot, but she was renamed while under construction to commemorate USS Lexington (CV-2), lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942.

The Lexington was commissioned in February 1943, and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, receiving the Presidential Unit Citation and 11 battle stars for World War II service. Like many of her sister ships, Lexington was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950’s, being reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA), and then an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific, but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, on the east coast as a training carrier (CVT).

She was decommissioned in 1991, remaining active longer than any other Essex-class ship, and was donated for use as a museum ship here in Corpus Christi. Lexington was designated a national Historic landmark in 2003. Though her surviving sister ships, Yorktown, Intrepid and Hornet carry lower hull numbers, Lexington was laid down and commissioned earlier, making Lexington the oldest remaining aircraft carrier in the world.

I head up Route 358 from North Padre Island to the Crosstown Expressway and then onto Route 181 in Corpus Christi, Texas. As I cross the bay on a high arching bridge, there she is, The Blue Ghost in all her magnificence. Coming off the bridge I wind my way around to ground level and park a block away. I walk towards my destination. A double sized golf cart waits for me at the bottom of the ramp. Soon I am on my way up the long ramp that will take me on board the retired aircraft carrier, the USS Lexington, The Blue Ghost. I am here to witness a Third Degree on the Lexington by a very special Degree Team.

I think back to the meaning of Lexington to me. Lexington seems to end up following me or I it wherever I go.

I was born and raised in Lexington, Massachusetts the birthplace of the American Revolution. It was this Lexington for whom the USS Lexington was named. It was here on April 19, 1775 that Paul Revere rode into Lexington with other riders and proclaimed, “The British are coming, the British are coming.” I went to church 100 feet from the Lexington Green where the first battle of the American Revolution was fought on that day. My mother was secretary of the church. She also worked weekends at the Buckman Tavern beside the Green as a historical story teller to visitors. The Buckman Tavern is where The Lexington Minute Men gathered on that early morning of April 19, 1775. I would become Master Councilor of Battle Green DeMoaly also just off the Green. Much later I would return to Lexington’s Simon Robinson Lodge as Master of Paul Revere Lodge with the Paul Revere Colonial Degree Team to exemplify the Third Degree and participate in a Tri Table Lodge.

This night I would witness the Third Degree by a team of Masons from the Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM drawn from all over Southeastern Texas who were Grand Lodge award winning Ritualists.The host Lodge was Oso Naval Lodge No 1282. Grand Master, MW Wendell P. Miller was in the East for the Second Section of the Degree. District Instructor PM Mike King was the producer of the degree and sat in the West for the Second Section.

For the reenactment of the Legend of Hiram Abiff, the players were all dressed in ancient costumes. Upon the giant wall behind the South was a huge video screen which the Grand Lodge used in conjunction with the Lecture and the Charge. In addition to these two, there was also an Apron and a Bible presentation.

The degree was flawless and very well done. Long pieces of ritual were recited from memory without mistakes and with great flourish. At its conclusion, the Grand Master was presented with a few gifts as mementos of the occasion among which was a very decorative flag.

After the Degree, we gathered to greet new friends and touch base with old ones. Most of the Brothers present were not familiar to me which gave me a good opportunity to make new friends. Many pictures were taken including me with the Grand Master.

MW Wendell P. Miller & PM Frederic L. Milliken

What was most impressive to me was the fact that you don’t often see a Grand Master performing degrees at the local level. Grand Masters are too involved with Administration and Ceremonial functions to actually do ritual in a Degree. And few remember their ritual from long ago. Not this one, MW Wendell P. Miller did not miss a word of a lengthy ritual part.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye. Hugs all around and back out into the night and onto the deck of the Blue Ghost we went. From that vantage, there was a beautiful view of Corpus Christi all lit up in the night. We took the same cart back down the ramp and dispersed.

As I left the Blue Ghost late at night, I turned back and snapped a couple of pictures that really gave meaning to the Lexington’s nickname. Once again, I had celebrated Freemasonry in fine style!

The Passing Of Brother John “Corky” Wheeler Daut

July 16, 2016 by Fred Milliken

Brother John “Corky” Wheeler Daut passed away July 11, 2016 at the age of 88. In his earlier years he was Superintendent of the Department of Solid Waste for Houston, Texas. Later he was to open his own business, Daut’s Repair Service, repairing small engines and sharpening saws. Towards the end of his life he operated Pine Island Pen Works specializing in the manufacture and sale of wooden writing pens.

But he is best known for “The Small Town Texas Masons E-Magazine” that he published every month. It was a prodigious undertaking that included Masonic articles from all over the world. From Masonic News to esoteric studies to writings from the Old Masters and everything in between, the magazine covered the thought and the going-ons of Freemasonry. He wrote the last edition just weeks before his death. He also published a newsletter-magazine for his own Lodge, Waller Lodge of Pine Island Texas where he touted, “We Are The Largest, ‘Small Town Texas Lodge’ Web Site, On The Internet, Over 100 Pages of Masonic Information and Education.”

He was raised to a Master Mason in the Cedar Bayou Lodge #321 at the age of 64. Later he joined Humble Lodge #79 but demitted from both when he moved to Pine Island Texas. There he joined Waller Lodge #808 and became its Master in 2005. Along the way he affiliated with Hempsted Lodge #749 and became its Secretary.

Daut penned an extensive history of the Pine Island, Texas Community which can be read here – http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/pineisland/pisland.htm

A touching letter to his father titled “Dear Dad, A Letter To the Celestial Lodge” long after his father had passed can be read here – http://www.mastermason.com/hempstead749/deardad.htm

Brother Daut’s enthusiasm for the Craft and his outreach to Masons all over the world from a small Texas community makes his accomplishments all the more laudable. He showed the world what can be done when your heart is in the right place and you possess and display the peace and harmony that Masonry teaches you.

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!”

Prince Hall And Mainstream Masonic Rapprochement And The Expression Of Brotherly Love

May 23, 2016 by Fred Milliken

It isn’t easy for old dogs to learn new tricks, for new ways to be adopted by our elders, for CHANGE to be easily accepted.

As it is so in civil society so is it so in Freemasonry. Ask any Past Master. He will tell you that, “We always did it that way.”

So why should it be any different for Masonic Recognition? It took until 1989 for the first permanent Recognition of Prince Hall Freemasonry by the state of Connecticut. Many others followed yet some waited until after the turn of the century. Today, in 2016, there are still 9 states who refuse to recognize Prince Hall Freemasonry.

In Civil Society Integration and Civil Rights were a battle. Martin Luther King is proof of that. Civilly the war has been won, although there are still some skirmishes. Masonically many battles have been won, but the war has not yet been declared victorious. In civil society we have a Federal Government. In American Freemasonry we do not have a National Grand Lodge. The United States federal government was able to mandate integration by law backed by Federal troops. We cannot do that in Freemasonry.

No amount of force can change the hearts of men. And whether civilly or Masonically, we must admit that there are men (and women) who still do not want to change.

Read: Prince Hall And Mainstream Masonic Rapprochement And The Expression Of Brotherly Love.

So those of us who really and truly believe that “All men are created equal… That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” and that “it is the internal not the external qualifications which recommend a man to be made a Mason,” and that all Masons meet on the level, will need to become a light to the rest of the world.

We will need to let that light shine blazingly bright by our thoughts, words and actions.

And I am here to report on some bright light and to show how Brotherhood can really work.

Recognition has come hard for the state of Texas. The two Texas Grand Lodges signed a compact of mutual recognition on April 23, 2007 but without cross visitation. Inter-visitation was not approved until November and December of 2014. Even then it took time to fully implement.

In October of 2015 my Lodge, Pride of Mt. Pisgah No.135, Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas F & AM received Jewel P. Lightfoot No. 1283, Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM for a visitation.

Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283 visits Pride of Mt. Pisgah No 135

In December of 2015 Jewel P. Lightfoot received Pride of Mt. Pisgah for a third degree, the raising of an African-American Mason.

Pride of Mt. Pisgah No 135 visits Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283

Bro. Chris Thompson, Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283

The two Lodges have developed a sincere affection for each other. Brothers from Jewel P. Lightfoot even attended a Grand Raising at the Grand Session of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge.

PM Michael Huskisson 1283, GM Wilbert M. Curtis, Eric Brewer 1283, David Villegas 1283, David Bindel 1283, Rick Parker 1218

But that’s not the end of the story.

In April of 2016 I visited Fort Worth Lodge No 148, Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM. My friend and Brother Hando Nahkur and I had longed to sit in Lodge together for years and finally it came to pass.

Fort Worth Lodge No 148 was very receptive to my visit and rolled out the red carpet. The Lodge served an excellent home cooked meal. Afterward, in Lodge, I presented a lecture on the history and traditions of Prince Hall Freemasonry. Near the end of the meeting Hando Nahkur rose and moved that the Lodge give me a fraternal donation. This from a Lodge and Brothers I had just met for the first time. Not only was I not a member of their Lodge and a complete stranger until then, but I didn’t even belong to their Grand Lodge.

Now that’s how you bury the hatchet and build bridges.

I returned to Fort Worth Lodge No 148 the following month and presented them with a gift, a 3^rd Degree statue. You see, one act of Brotherly Love and Affection deserves another act of Brotherly Love and Affection.

Both Prince Hall and Mainstream Freemasons need to travel and seek out opportunities to build bridges and to spread the cement of Brotherly Love and Affection – that cement which unites us into one sacred band, or society of Friends and Brothers among whom no contention should ever exist…

We cannot change the world with a snap of our fingers. But what we can do is one Brother at a time, one Lodge at a time, build understanding and mutual admiration. By breaking bread together and participating in Lodge together we can remove the suspicions, the doubts and fears and demonstrate that we are ALL ONE.

By the exercise of Brotherly Love we are taught to regard the whole human species as one family – the high and low, rich and poor; who, as created by one Almighty Parent and inhabitants of the same planet, are to aid, support, and protect each other. On this principle Masonry unites men of every country, sect, race, and opinion, and conciliates true friendship among those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.

A new era seems to have dawned on Freemasonry. The Gay Mason issue has caused some Grand Lodges to pull Recognition from others. The Grand Lodges that are practicing Freemasonry as it should be practiced are not letting those Grand Lodges get away with unMasonic conduct anymore…maybe. It’s just too bad that the those trying to do the right thing have not given equal weight to Black discrimination within Freemasonry. Again, we still have 9 Grand Lodges that do not Recognize Prince Hall.

Freemasonry is the one society or organization that can bring peace and harmony to a fractured, troubled world. It can do so by example and if its membership will truly practice the virtues of the Craft that has for centuries brought men together. Freemasonry, by nature, is not divisive as it brings together those with many differences into one Brotherhood of all men under the Fatherhood of God. It is not exclusive, but inclusive.

As Freemasons, we can, day by day, seek out others, reach out that hand and grasp the hand of a stranger, even a Brother that has not yet made our acquaintance or a Lodge that we have never been to. We cannot change the world, but we can one Brother at a time, one Lodge at a time make a better world.

What we can say here is that Texas Prince Hall Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis, Pride of Mt. Pisgah Lodge No 135, Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge No 1283 and Fort Worth Lodge No 148 deserve commendations for promoting peace and harmony and also bringing together those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.

History Made In Texas Freemasonry

November 14, 2015 by Fred Milliken

A Historical event in Texas Freemasonry took place on Friday, November 13, 2015. For the first time Brethren from Local Lodges of the Grand Lodge of Texas visited a Grand Session of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas.

Past Grand Master Jerry Martin of the Grand Lodge of Texas visited the Summer Grand Session of Prince Hall in June of 2015, but no local Brethren accompanied him.

Newly Raised Master Masons Prince Hall Texas

The occasion this past Friday was a Grand Raising of 52 Fellow Crafts under the leadership of Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis. Grand Master Curtis recognized the visiting Brethren from Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge No 1283 and Irving Lodge No 1218 before proceeding with the degree.

Both Texas Grand Lodges signed a mutual compact of recognition in April of 2007, but that agreement prohibited intervisitation. It was not until the first of this year, 2015, that the compact was modified to allow cross visitation.

Brethren from Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283 Grand Lodge of Texas just last month visited Pride of Mt. Pisgah No 135 Prince Hall Texas. In December Pride of Mt. Pisgah with Brethren from other Prince Hall Lodges will be visiting Jewel P. Lightfoot to observe their Third Degree.

Newly Raised Master Masons from Pride of Mt. Pisgah with Brothers from Mt. Pisgah and Grand Lodge of Texas Brethren

It seems that concerns that both Grand Lodges might have had over intervisitation were not anything to worry about. All visitations so far have been received with great joy and great fellowship. Welcome to the 21^st Century!

Mutual Intervisitation Between The Grand Lodge Of Texas And The Prince Hall Grand Lodge Of Texas Approved

December 6, 2014 by Fred Milliken

Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM Grand Session 2005

Intervisitation with The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas has just been approved by the Grand Lodge of Texas on Saturday December 6, 2014 at 12 Noon. The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas approved the same in its mid-winter Grand Session in November. The two Grand Lodges have been under mutual recognition without visitation for a number of years. Now that cross visitation has been approved by both parties it is a reality.

Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge Of Texas Grand Lodge Building

The two Texas Grand Lodges signed a compact of mutual recognition on April 23, 2007 but without cross visitation. So for the past seven years Freemasons from one Grand Lodge could not attend the Communications of the other Grand Lodge.

This is all water over the dam now. A new day has dawned and a new era of brotherly love and affection has begun.