[General
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05 September, 2009 15:42
This week saw two happenings in the Masonic world that bears notice.
1. The MW Grand Lodge of WV and MW Brother Frank J. Haas's attorneys met in mediation and failed to meet any agreement. The Judge has set a trial date of November 2, 2009.
2. The MW Grand lodge of Virginia apparently lost a 5 year old lawsuit requiring them to reinstate an expelled mason without a vote for fear of prejudice.We do not know all the details but it is clear that the courts are willing to make decisions regarding private organizations when they fail to follow their own rules.
Oh and yes we are still watching and being hopeful that Masonry is brought back into the light in West Virginia......
A Mason
06/09/2009, 06:08
The timing for this trial can not be better, IMHO, as so many jurisdictions do not meet quarterly but have annual communications that meet instead in the fall. Ours, in Illinois, will meet October 9th & 10th. As there are so many watchful and interested Brothers who look to this website to keep abreast of these developments, West Virginia having chosen the most painful way to greet the twenty-first century, I would hope that any comments from foreign correspondence committees, consensus opinions of Grand Line Officers, Grand Master’s Reports etc. will continue to be posted verbatim. Individual Brothers seem fairly well adept at expressing themselves through posts here with precision, clarity and brevity.
Of course, West Virginia can not expect the rest of the world with whom they share fraternal communication to accept how these few recent, transient, Grand Lodge Officers have tarnished the image of FreeMasonry without complaint. Twenty-first Century Grand Masters must keep to the Original Plan of FreeMasonry and recognize that they are creatures of their Constitutions, administrators who author nothing. Individual Masons must realize that they have no inherent rights or privileges within this club, any standing that they have is fully vested in their Local Lodge. The Local Lodge, therefore, for this century, must revitalize and assume their immemorial place as the proper Overseers for the Craft. Trouble is the natural result when the indolent pass off their responsibilities to distant authority. Further abuses can only be prevented by restoring this Original Plan for FreeMasonry. The condition does not demand to be obeyed unquestioned. It is really just common sense.
Fraternally and Best Wishes for Success,
Torence Evans Ake
Senior Deacon & Secretary Pro Tem – Auburn Park Lodge No. 789 – Crete, Illinois
PM – Arcadia Lodge No. 1138 – Lansing, Illinois
06/09/2009, 09:40
Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in. — Brother Andrew Jackson
07/09/2009, 13:22
The Virginia case is interesting. One of the main reasons for a mason to be expelled by trial is to eliminate these types of personal picks and quarrels in the craft and to allow brethren the right to be judged in their home lodge and not from afar.
I know those who started this whole expulsion party never want P.G.M. Haas to be a mason in WV again, but they are small minded and small in number.
I for one am glad to see this go to trial so the future generations in WV will know the aright. Both sides will be able to plead their case in front of a group who will see this without the prejudice and fear that we as masons inevitably have, whether we want to admit it or not, and decide this case once and for all.
There is a lot at stake here and it will set precedence for how we interpret our laws, and how we are able to keep our tax status (based on our ability to conform to the laws of our country) for years to come. I think several of our laws have been abused for a long time and their original intent lost over the years.
I hope the jurisprudence committee will be looked at closely and will cease to be the dysfunctional group they have become over the years. My thoughts and prayers go out to P.G.M. Haas as he and the brethren of WV have their day in court.
Remember Brothers Dick Bosley and Justin Blankenship as well.
I also have great hopes for Deputy Grandmaster Greg Riley and Senior Grand Warden Randy Martin, I know them to be just and upright men, and if they take the lessons taught in the all their degrees seriously, they can get the brethren of West Virginia united again. I pray they will not hide from this and say, “It didn’t happen during my year” and they find the strength to pull WV out of the Masonic gutter and place Freemasonry in the state of West Virginia above this kind of behavior where it rightly belongs. There are plenty of brethren waiting in the wings to aid them; all they need to do is ask.
That type of leadership my brethren, and not private detectives and letters with secret codes, will cause this website to become obsolete and unnecessary. I could be wrong, but it has been several years since The Grandmaster in WV has announced any visitations or functions statewide other than to lay a cornerstone. I can remember when it was a big deal for the GM to visit our lodge; we would have a great dinner and usually offer a gift of some sort. It was a reason and time to celebrate, a time for the Grandmaster to meet and greet his craft, not a time to shakedown lodges and get information out of people….
See you in Charleston,
Only time will tell brethren……
07/09/2009, 13:30
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE SOMEONE FIX THE GRAND LODGE WEB SITE OR TURN IT OFF.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, DO WE HAVE TO LOOK LIKE IDIOTS ON OUR OWN WEB SITE?
08/09/2009, 15:54
I went to the Grand Lodge website today after hearing about the news of the passing of Brown. I wanted to see if there was some kind of story on there. It is a joke. It looks like a 12 year old made the site for a school project, and stopped keeping it updated.
08/09/2009, 20:28
I personally like the calendar... stuck in december 2007. Oddly ironic.
A Mason
23/09/2009, 20:07
Dear A Mason
As the days go by and our annual communication close is there any thought to the fact that enough time has passed to try to heal this situation in WV? It is my understanding the Grand Lodge has spent close to $300,000.00 to keep from ever calling Frank Brother again. When can we all say we need to sit down in a room and work this out? Enough is enough. I know that participation on a state wide level is hurting. Masons are avoiding meetings because they don’t want to choose a side. They come to lodge to get away from all that stuff. They just want Frank, Dick, and Jason to be re-instated so we can sit with them on the level once again. Like brothers should be. Is that too much to ask? I guess we will see in Charleston. I beg all of you who go to Grand Lodge to subdue your passions, act upon the square, and heal the craft. The lawyers can work out the details later if they have too. Chuck, Charlie and Frank need to agree to disagree and get back to masonry. Maybe we can revisit Franks agenda again since the craft obviously wanted these items to be dealt with…… It would be a positive thing I believe…..
03/11/2009, 07:50
I see no comments about expenditures was really discussed.
I bring up the same question to Ohio masons who still belong to the system.
"Who authorized this expenditure?"
The Grand Lodge of Ohio has spent well over $200,000 on Baker Hostetler and got nowhere, fired them and now have a mason handling it for cheap. Alot of Masonic money was thrown to a large Law firm with no results. Why no mason is not calling out there leaders as to the waste of money, not for profit money, is being spent on an offensive law suit?
I know this money was not budgeted for.
could not some worthy distressed masons benefited from this money, instead of law firms?
Why is the Craft so silence in the face of gross abuse of priveledges and money?
So silent ....
what happened to making strong leaders who stand up to Tyranny?
Wasteful use of money not budgeted for or voted upon.
Ohio and West Virginia must have so much money in these bad times to just waste in the court systems.......
Which degree taught this behavior?
An ohio mason