The Tao of Masonry

From Idiots in New Haven

I wish I could say that I was happy to have met Dr. S. Brent Morris. Well, actually, I was happy to have met Bro. Brent; he’s a bright, engaging, and for all his accomplishments, a completely unassuming gentleman. And that’s the problem: the guy has a list of accomplishments that would fill a book – in addition to the number of books that he’s written or co-authored. I mean, after listening to his bio (which ran almost as long as the excellent paper that he presented), I began to feel insignificant, like a Masonic Zsa Zsa Gabor – merely known on the internet for being known on the internet. But within two minutes of shaking hands and introducing myself, all that was forgotten; he’s charming, as well as unassuming.

The guy is just so darn likable, is the point I’m trying to get across here.

Bro. Morris was in town (New Haven) to receive the James Royal Case Fellowship Award, presented at the Masonic Lodge of Research. The award is named for the noted Masonic historian from our state, and is given to Masons of noted accomplishment. Believe it or not, Bro. Morris had quite a few books and papers behind him before he became a famous Masonic Idiot.

There is a certain irony in that Bro. Brent presented a paper on the history of itinerant Masonic speakers of the 1700s and 1800s in the US; men who traveled from lodge to lodge, earning their living by reciting entire sections of degree work during a period when many of the higher degrees were not commonly conferred. It was an interesting bit of historical background that helps to round out our understanding of how the various appendant bodies became established.

There was some more book signing afterward, during which a number of us had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Morris about Masonic history, dealing with the Antis, and those crazy History Channel “exposes.” No word on if some of the younger bros managed to talk him into heading out clubbing later on.

One thing that I forgot to ask him, though. How does he wear his ring?

Bro. Brent, if you’re reading – thanks for making this a great night for Connecticut Masonry.

Pity Dr. S. Brent Morris.

A few years ago I walked into a meeting all excited. “I’ve been exchanging emails with Brent Morris all week! He reads some of my stuff, too!”

The reaction was a bit deflating. “Who?”

After I explained that he was a noted Masonic author, and editor of the SR Journal, the reaction was still less than I’d expected. “Oh, so he’s some Scottish Rite guy, then?”

Never mind.

At our Grand Lodge session in March, I met somebody who said, “Hey, I was in Washington D.C. a while ago and I ran into somebody who knows you. He said to say ‘Hi’.”

I was curious. “Who was that?”

The brother couldn’t remember. Some famous guy, or something like that, he thought.

I tossed out a few hints. Grand Lodge officer? Agent Scully? Author?

“Yeah, I think he’s an author.”

“Where were you in DC when you met him?”

“Oh, I was in the Scottish Rite building. It’s really nice.”

By now everyone around us was curious. “Wait, was it Brent Morris?” I asked.

“Yeah, Brian Morris, that’s him!”

The rest of the crowd looked blank.

“Come on, you know, Brent Morris.” I said. “Freemasonry in Context? Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry? The Scottish Rite Journal?”

Blank stares.

“A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry?”

One guy looked up. “Is he the guy who came to New Britain last year?”

:facepalm:

For those of you who do know who Bro. Morris is, or those of you who are curious and want to meet him in person so he can sign your big yellow orange book, he’s going to be visiting Connecticut at the end of the month. The Masonic Lodge of Research in New Haven will host Dr. Morris on Wednesday, May 27 at the Masonic Temple on 285 Whitney Ave.

A buffet dinner ($20 per person) will be at 6:15 pm, after which Bro. Morris will be delivering a research paper that will be suitable for non-Masons. I assume that this means it would be less dull than those papers which are suited for Masons-only, but the upshot is that you can bring a friend, or even your wife.

A handful of copies of Bro. Morris’ book A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry for Dummies will be available for sale. Anyone interested in should make reservations with RW Carl G. Ek by calling 203-469-0746 (leave a message) or by e-mail at ekscla-masons@sbcglobal.net.

From Blue Lodge Dummies

Guests at the 5th District Blue Lodge Council, held at Unity Lodge No. 148 in New Britain last night were treated to the spectacle of the Very Worshipful Charles and Tom squeeing like adolescent fangirls over the visit of fellow blogger Chris Hodapp. Bro. Chris has authored several books, which most readers of this blog should already know. He was kind enough to endure a half hour of book signing and dedication after a sumptuous repast, and then again after being forced to listen to a (mercifully short) BLC meeting (at which once again nobody remembered to introduce the District Lecturers – harumph harumph); at the end of which he displayed his stand-up routine gave a wonderfully motivational talk about the need for variety and diversity in lodge programs – and indeed, in lodges themselves. After being subjected to another fifteen minutes of questions, he was remanded to the foyer where he endured another half hour of book signing.

Yes, of course I wanted my own book signed, too, especially the one about Conspiracies and Secret Societies. I always get a laugh over how wrong they get the part about our Zeta-Reticulan overlords protectors.

BTW, thanks go out to WB Harry Needham, WM of Unity, for being able to finagle Bro. Hodapp to come all the way out to the boondocks. Most Worshipful Robert Sticka managed to clear his calendar to attend, as did several other GL officers, some of whom had met Chris in the past. About 50 people showed up for the event.

One of the neat things about Masonry is that no matter how many accolades a brother might receive, at the end of the night, he’s still a brother – even if he is a dummy. Chris was gracious enough to hang around after most of the guests had left, chatting and gossiping as if he were a long-time member of one of the local lodges. I know that I appreciated the opportunity to meet him in person, and told him so. “You look younger in real life,” were, I think my first words.

Really, Bro. Chris – it’s the thought that counts.

Seriously, Bro. Hodapp is a knowledgeable and engaging speaker, and he does have a number of engagements lined up around the US. I encourage anybody to take advantage of the opportunity to see him if he comes by your area.

Connecticut is split up into 9 Masonic districts, and each district has periodic meetings, generally the last week of the month on 5 week months to avoid clashing with regular Stated Communications. It’s a time for the officers and other interested members to see what’s happening in other lodges, and to get to know their counterparts in other lodges. You never know when you’ll need help from a sister lodge; a few bodies to help round out an MM degree, perhaps that guy who does such a great job on a Charge, or maybe you need to bring a candidate up because he missed your scheduled degree night. These meetings, the Blue Lodge Councils, are the place to make that happen.

Some districts have progressive and forward-looking people who manage to plan and organize interesting programs, so as to attract more brothers, and give them something worth traveling for.

Unfortunately, that guy in the 5th district is on vacation. That’s why next month, the only interesting thing that’s going on is a visit from this particular dummy.

Yes, that’s right – On Thursday, September 25th, the 5th District Blue Lodge Council will be held at Unity Lodge No. 148 in New Britain, at which we will be treated to the comedy stylings have the noted author (and fellow blogger) Chris Hodapp.

Dinner will be served at 6:30 pm, and non-dummies who would like to watch the show attend need to contact Bro. Dave Stern to reserve a place. The gig meeting will start around 7:30 pm. We expect quite a few of the purple apron crowd, so plan to be there ahead of time to get a good seat.

Brother Hodapp is actually exceptionally well-read, and can always be counted on for good insights and great stories and observations. He will be promoting his books, among which are Freemasons for Dummies, Conspiracy Theories and Secret Societies for Dummies, The Templar Code for Dummies, and Solomon’s Builders.

I know that I’ll be there; I’m going to bring my big orange book and ask Bro. Hodapp to autograph it for me.

Tao of Masonry | Freemasonry | Masonry

I never got around to mentioning that back in January, I did a podcast with Cory Sigler of The Working Tools magazine and Masonic social networking site. It was one of those ideas that just sort of took root and spiraled out of control grew into something unforseen.

Cory had wondered if I would like to be a guest, and then we’d spend a half hour or so dishing discussing topics that were appearing on other blogs. As the agreed-upon date crept nearer, I was concerned that I hadn’t heard from him. After a series of calls and emails, it turned out that instead of discussing other blogs, that we were going to interview the guys that wrote “Morals and Dogma for the 21st Century,” a revised version of Albert Pike’s classic that had been written in more modern English in order to make it more accessible to newer Masons. In the end, we were joined by Chris Hodapp, which was a good thing because he was the only one of us who had actually *ahem* read that book. We had a 7-way conversation that lasted 90 minutes.

You can still listen to it online, or download the mp3 on the Talkshoe site:
http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/11669

For those of you who are gluttons for punishment, we have managed to put together yet another episode for your listening pleasure. This time we are going to be speaking with author Dr. Robert Lomas – yes, that Lomas, of the Hiram Key series, Uriel’s Machine, The Second Messiah, etc.

We will also be joined by Bro. Heath Armbruster, who is involved with an amazing study on the Kirkwall Scroll, one of the oldest known Masonic artifacts; it is a scroll which appears to have been made in the 1400′s and is possibly a tracing board for several degree ceremonies.

The Talkshoe format is similar to a live radio broadcast. Listeners can hear this in “real time” as we record. Additionally, you can also register (it’s free, natch) and log in to the recording area, where you can IM questions and comments for us, and if we’re in a tight spot, we will probably even respond to them. The show format even allows us to talk calls from listeners.

The date for this next podcast is Sunday, March 9th at 3:00 pm Eastern time. Hope to see you have you join us!

Tao of Masonry | Freemasonry | Masonry