Posted: 10/29/2020 1:24:30 PM EDT
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One of our Past Grand Masters is trying to get another Past Grand Master expelled. Nothing special there, but the past Grand Master that is subject to expulsion is Mike Smith, 33rd, Lt Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite and SGIG of SC. The reason is that Mike Smith allegedly had a zoom call with the local SR bodies to see how everyone is doing. He stated that these were not meetings, and he informed the current Grand Master before he did so. He was acting in good faith from the Grand Master. The Grand Lodge has threatened to expel everyone on the calls, which is over 120 Masons. In our jurisdiction charges must be brought by the Junior Grand Warden, not by a random Past Grand Master. Rumor is that the Past Grand Master that is starting this, Jay Pearson, is trying to get Smith out so he has no opposition to run for Grand Secretary. Peace and Harmony? Never heard of her. |
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Quoted: The reason is that Mike Smith allegedly had a zoom call with the local SR bodies to see how everyone is doing. He stated that these were not meetings, and he informed the current Grand Master before he did so. He was acting in good faith from the Grand Master. The Grand Lodge has threatened to expel everyone on the calls, which is over 120 Masons. Why would they care.... A: Not meetings. B: Zoom calls so not violating any social distancing or whatever.... like, seriously who would care? |
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Quoted: Why would they care.... A: Not meetings. B: Zoom calls so not violating any social distancing or whatever.... like, seriously who would care? The GL is afraid of technology. We are not allowed to use zoom for any purpose at all. The rules we are under around any tech are oppressive. No Lodge can have any social media account whatsoever. Our websites have to be approved ON PAPER. Any digital interaction is prohibited. |
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Quoted: The GL is afraid of technology. We are not allowed to use zoom for any purpose at all. The rules we are under around any tech are oppressive. No Lodge can have any social media account whatsoever. Our websites have to be approved ON PAPER. Any digital interaction is prohibited. WOW... that is ridiculous. I mean, Freemasonry in general isn't that tech savvy but in the last 20 years they've come a LONG way. I'd love to see more and I'm lucky that MO is not terrible in that department... but paper? Wow. |
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Quoted: The GL is afraid of technology. We are not allowed to use zoom for any purpose at all. The rules we are under around any tech are oppressive. No Lodge can have any social media account whatsoever. Our websites have to be approved ON PAPER. Any digital interaction is prohibited. So Masons are Menonites now? |
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The trial keeps getting pushed back. The core of the whole thing is a personal vendetta by a Past Grand Master, Jay Pearson, against another Past Grand Master, Mike Smith. Pearson is widely regarded as an arrogant ass and Smith is widely loved and respected by the craft. Pearson has no active role in GL, but has assumed jurisdiction instead of the Grand Junior Warden over the trial and has personally hand selected the jury of his brown nosers and family members. Which means it's a show trial. Rumor is that the man running for Grand Master this year is on board with the whole thing and there is a movement to run someone against him for Grand Master. |
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Quoted: wtf? how is a group of mason getting together on a zoom call OUTSIDE of lodge any business of the grandlodge in the first place. it's not a meetting or really even a masonic function anymore than inviting them to dinner would be. Little Man with a grudge is in play here. |
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Outsider here. Since this is a public forum where people like me can post, I'll say some things. I was very seriously considering petitioning the lodge in my area for admittance. Then I came here and also checked out Reddit. The result was that there is no shortage of dirty laundry on display and it's easy to find. I didn't even try. I just wanted to view Freemason communities and see how you all conduct yourselves. And while the more common members are indeed civil, the upper leadership for many Grand Lodges seems to be filled with... Politics I have never seen an institution so rife with politics and backstabbing as this one. I think there's a case to be made that if a Democrat politician spent twenty minutes looking at Freemason communities online, they'd be impressed. Or maybe on the other hand, they simply handle their issues more discretely. For an organization centered around secrecy, being able to read about all of this on an open forum is confounding. Technology Fear of technology is never the answer. Actually, fear of anything other than God is never the answer, and even that should be a different sort of fear. Any given piece of technology to have a pronouncement made on it should first be understood and evaluated. I would be highly surprised if no aspect of Freemasonry could be aided through the use of some incarnation of technology. |
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Quoted: Outsider here. Since this is a public forum where people like me can post, I'll say some things. I was very seriously considering petitioning the lodge in my area for admittance. Then I came here and also checked out Reddit. The result was that there is no shortage of dirty laundry on display and it's easy to find. I didn't even try. I just wanted to view Freemason communities and see how you all conduct yourselves. And while the more common members are indeed civil, the upper leadership for many Grand Lodges seems to be filled with... Politics I have never seen an institution so rife with politics and backstabbing as this one. I think there's a case to be made that if a Democrat politician spent twenty minutes looking at Freemason communities online, they'd be impressed. Or maybe on the other hand, they simply handle their issues more discretely. For an organization centered around secrecy, being able to read about all of this on an open forum is confounding. Technology Fear of technology is never the answer. Actually, fear of anything other than God is never the answer, and even that should be a different sort of fear. Any given piece of technology to have a pronouncement made on it should first be understood and evaluated. I would be highly surprised if no aspect of Freemasonry could be aided through the use of some incarnation of technology. Keep in mind that the only account of these events is coming from Hodapp's blog. He likes to sensationalize things to drive people to his blog. Neither the SC GM or PGM have publicly stated anything (and it would be inappropriate to do so). Hodapp's account may be entirely accurate but the best we say at the moment is it is hearsay. @wswartzendruber I would encourage you to reach out to a local lodge before you commit to a hard "no". If you need assistance I am good friends with the current GM of ID and a couple PGMs. Reddit is not reflective of Masonry as a whole. Our secrets revolve around obligations. Nothing else is secret. |
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Quoted: Keep in mind that the only account of these events is coming from Hodapp's blog. He likes to sensationalize things to drive people to his blog. Neither the SC GM or PGM have publicly stated anything (and it would be inappropriate to do so). Hodapp's account may be entirely accurate but the best we say at the moment is it is hearsay. Sorry, but the source of the information is not just Hodapp. I'm living through this, and I posted about it here long before Hodapp posted about it. I also know that Hodapp had several inside sources besides just me, uh, besides some random guy in SC.  As far as this being hearsay, it is not. This is happening and the descriptions on Hodapp's blog have been accurate. There are many people in my Lodge and in my area that were directly involved in this atrocity and can verify that Hodapp's article is correct. |
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Why? Why does the laundry need to be publicly displayed? Here we have a man that had ben considering Masonry, but because of a few isolated instances of disharmony, he now feels the Craft isn't for him. Something, something, something...Whisper good counsel. Something, something, something...Harmony Something, something, something...Strength Something, something, something...Support. Something, something, something...Governing yourself. Something, something, something... |
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Quoted: Why? Why does the laundry need to be publicly displayed? Here we have a man that had ben considering Masonry, but because of a few isolated instances of disharmony, he now feels the Craft isn't for him. Something, something, something...Whisper good counsel. Something, something, something...Harmony Something, something, something...Strength Something, something, something...Support. Something, something, something...Governing yourself. Something, something, something... It's not the Craft I question. |
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Quoted: Why? Why does the laundry need to be publicly displayed? Here we have a man that had ben considering Masonry, but because of a few isolated instances of disharmony, he now feels the Craft isn't for him. Something, something, something...Whisper good counsel. Something, something, something...Harmony Something, something, something...Strength Something, something, something...Support. Something, something, something...Governing yourself. Something, something, something... this x1000 as for our interested member. masonry is different between states and in many cases between lodges. All lodges in the US report to the state grand lodge who set the "rules" for the organization. The heart of masonry is it's philosophy and learning to make yourself a better person by studying what it teaches. As with any organization MEN are the flaw. Men that should not have been admitted, men who believe this is a charity or social club, men who join believing they will get important contacts etc. these men in my experience are the minority but they can be a loud minority that cause dissent in the lodges. Don't let them drive you away, recognize them for what they are and ignore them. some of the best men i have ever met and associated with were men that believed in masonry and did their best to live by it. i have not been to lodge in several year but i maintain my life membership. I stopped going due to idiots over running lodges i had joined. Buddies or relatives of people that were brought in under the good ole boy method vs a proper vetting. it happens here just like any other organization. there is an old saying that is very true. You get out of freemasonry what you put into it. If you are here for the right reasons there is a world of opportunity and learning ahead of you. If you are here to gain influence or social standing you will be very disappointed. Focus on what masonry IS and ignore the BS around it. yes social contacts, charity and a host of other benefits "can" come through membership. but they are a result of associating with good men and the hard work of becoming a master mason. Not just by joining a lodge and memorizing some old words. in most areas becoming a MM is work. it involves commitment and time. it also helps weed out guys not here for the right reasons. while i am not active i fully believe the things i learned made me a better man, husband and member of the community. As for technology, freemasonry is built on centuries of tradition. Things evolve slowly when it comes to technology. To be honest technology really has very little place in freemasonry in general when it comes to routine lodge duties. Covid is likely going to change that but due to our traditions and obligations it has to be done properly and securely. that is currently a challenge even with the best of remote meeting platforms. |
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Quoted: Why? Why does the laundry need to be publicly displayed? Here we have a man that had ben considering Masonry, but because of a few isolated instances of disharmony, he now feels the Craft isn't for him. Something, something, something...Whisper good counsel. Something, something, something...Harmony Something, something, something...Strength Something, something, something...Support. Something, something, something...Governing yourself. Something, something, something... You are exactly right. My entire purpose is to drag this corruption into the light since it affects one of the few national level organizations in Freemasonry. And after over 20 years, I'm not sure it's for me either. |
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Quoted: Why? Why does the laundry need to be publicly displayed? Here we have a man that had ben considering Masonry, but because of a few isolated instances of disharmony, he now feels the Craft isn't for him. Something, something, something...Whisper good counsel. Something, something, something...Harmony Something, something, something...Strength Something, something, something...Support. Something, something, something...Governing yourself. Something, something, something... The first charge also speaks of the transactions of the Lodge. I feel this all could have and should have been handled within the ranks and discussed and hashed out at the Grand Lodge amongst the assemblage. To the poster interested in Masonry, for what it's worth, I've not seen on the local level. I've also not seen it in the state level either. I've only been a Master Mason for about a year but I had been hanging out for a year or so prior and also reading the same forums you had. Reddit is a bad example when it comes to controversial issues because the majority of posters there, Masons though they may be, tend to veer toward liberal tendencies and support those causes, etc. There's no getting around that there are definitely people who have joined in order to rise through the ranks for selfish reasons. It's a fact of life, but Masons who are truly walking the walk aren't going to be doing that, it's against just about every tenet we have. While it's not a Christian organization I feel many things direct us to Christian ideas; love and treat your neighbor as yourself, serve God, country, family, neighbor, in other words the upside down Kingdom, those in power should serve, not be served. My discussions with Brothers in and out of Lodge bear no resemblance to the discussions I've seen on Reddit and most controversial issues are avoided in the first place. YMMV of course. |
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Quoted: Keep in mind that the only account of these events is coming from Hodapp's blog. He likes to sensationalize things to drive people to his blog. Neither the SC GM or PGM have publicly stated anything (and it would be inappropriate to do so). Hodapp's account may be entirely accurate but the best we say at the moment is it is hearsay. @wswartzendruber I would encourage you to reach out to a local lodge before you commit to a hard "no". If you need assistance I am good friends with the current GM of ID and a couple PGMs. Reddit is not reflective of Masonry as a whole. Our secrets revolve around obligations. Nothing else is secret. @medicmandan: Despite my previous post, this is something I want to investigate further. I would like to meet with local Freemasons. How do I request this? |
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Quoted: @medicmandan: Despite my previous post, this is something I want to investigate further. I would like to meet with local Freemasons. How do I request this? Just find out when your local lodge has their meetings and show up about 30 minutes prior to that and talk to some of the members. Here is a link to find the lodge and times |
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It was a long but productive 2 days. There was a lot of shouting and anger, but overall, the proceedings went according to Robert's and Masonic rules. This is what I witnessed:
Yes, there was collateral damage, and a minority of members remain very unhappy with the actions taken, but the results are the results. I can only pray that we can all move forward to heal and strengthen our fraternity. Jim Barr, KYGCH |
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Quoted: That last bullet point is surprising if I'm recalling correctly how all of this played out. Smith seems like he's a better man than I am. I'd be hard-pressed to not carry one hell of a grudge after all of that. I've talked with a him a few times. He seems like a really good man. |