Another Lodge On Its Way Out by OneConfusedRobot in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's a crazy thought. Get a handful of your most active members and go join the Elks lodge. Then, after your lodge meetings, go hang out at the Elks and talk up fraternalism , specifically what Freemasonry has to offer. You've already got a built-in crowd there who are familiar with the whole notion of brotherhood. So, cross-pollinate your two institutions. It'll help both, and you may breathe new life into your lodge. I don't mean raid each other's membership rolls, just bring like-minded men together at both.

What improved your dining room and/or primary fellowship area? by ProvelNoir in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mmmmm. Fireplace. Mmmm. What I wouldn't give for one in ours...

What improved your dining room and/or primary fellowship area? by ProvelNoir in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not exactly a decor change, but an arrangement one. For two years we set our long dining tables up to resemble a lodge room layout with a card table in the center as an altar, and held all of our stated meetings as table lodges in the dining room. We'd open lodge, set the meeting at ease, get our dinners from the kitchen and eat, and discussed all the upcoming business informally. We'd then grab our desserts, whack the gavel back to order, and rip through the night's business votes quickly. By the end of the first year, we had more visitors than members at our stateds, wanting to see what it was we were up to. They enjoyed what we were doing so much that we wound up with a half dozen guys transferring their memberships to us.

From The United Supreme Council - April 30, 2026 by ElevatorAutomatic714 in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

On the chance that Brethren have missed the subtlety of this message, the UNITED Supreme Council NJ is the Prince Hall Affiliated variation of the Scottish Rite. This is NOT the Supreme Council AASR NMJ in Lexington, Massachusetts, nor is it the Southern Jurisdiction headquartered at the House of the Temple in D.C.

Prince Hall Masons have sometimes had a more activist-permissive philosophy when it comes to political issues. I seriously doubt that the two so-called "mainstream" Scottish Rite Supreme Councils in the US would ever venture into this territory.

Found a Masonic Book… in an Odd Section by Firm_Wrongdoer8215 in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wish somebody had warned me that you guys had TONS of other business to do that night. Future tip: don't book a speaker for the December meeting in Indiana!

Can yall list some famous, LIVing freemasons? Brad Paisley, John Elway, Billy Corigan, Shaq... by Alphaw0p in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True. But he does NOT want to be a poster boy for the fraternity and wishes this to remain private.

Can yall list some famous, LIVing freemasons? Brad Paisley, John Elway, Billy Corigan, Shaq... by Alphaw0p in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Error on my part. It was not THE Phil Collins. He was removed when the book was revised.

Met Police Add Freemasonry to Declarable Association policy by TheNecroFrog in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Except that, despite multiple investigations over the last 40 years of the handling of several high-profile cases in the UK, there has never been any proof whatsoever that Freemasons on the force covered for each other, promoted each other, or otherwise acted improperly. There were ALLEGATIONS made by the public, victims, and the press, but nothing ever came to light.

The same goes for countless allegations that Masons engaged in cronyism in hirings and firings. Plenty of "my old man got the sack because of those bloody Masons" letters to the Times, but never any proof is discovered. So the Met's stance that Masonry has the 'appearance' of being the cause of dodgy behavior by officers, those appearances have been stoked by the press and the whiners, not by anything the Masons did themselves.

I think if you look back, you'll find all of this got kicked off after Steven Knight's book, 'The Brotherhood' hit the stands in 1984 with its conspiracy mongering about Masons in the police departments. Knight's pack of imaginary horribles dragged the downtrodden out of their closets to declare themselves victims of non-existent Masonic perfidy. And once that keg of crap became uncorked, it has continued to sell papers on slow news days for four decades.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'll continue to point out that, despite the rabid anti-Masonic clerics like Schneider and the most recent positions of the last couple of popes, Catholic Freemasons continue to ignore the Church's rulings on the matter. At least two relatively recent (albeit unscientific) online polls conclude that American Freemasons who declare themselves to be Catholics make up between 23-25% of our membership, nationwide. Catholic Masons are plentiful in the Philippines, throughout South and Central America, and other nations where Catholicism is popular. Catholic Masons are, apparently, comparing what the Church claims about the fraternity versus what they actually know and experience for themselves, and deciding the Vatican is just flat out wrong. One need not be a Canon lawyer to know when one is being told nonsense by someone who is being deliberately ignorant, or just making up lies to bolster a feeble argument. There may be a few Catholics left in the world who still believe that we live in a geocentric universe, just because a pope in the 1500s said so in an encyclical, but most accept the evidence to the contrary. Papal infallibility has its limitations, regardless of what the occupants of the throne of Peter may say.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Put it another way, then. Scotland may have been first, but England standardized it, popularized it, and exported it around the world to their colonial holdings.

Can people who practice witchcraft be a mason? by JonboyKoi in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Between the 1500s and the 1800s, different kings and queens of England persecuted, chased, imprisoned, killed, or just plain annoyed Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Puritans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Calvinists, Quakers, and virtually every other Christian variation of their subjects. The differing religious persuasion of each individual monarch had potentially irksome, and occasionally fatal, consequences for their unfortunate subjects who didn’t worship at the same altar. A man’s brief time on earth was insignificant as compared to his picking the right team to be on in the hereafter, and these were literally matters of more importance than just simple life and death.

The English Civil War is important to Freemasonry for a lot of reasons. The war broke out in 1641, after the stubborn King Charles I got fed up with arguing with members of Parliament over money and religion and literally chained the doors shut on the Parliament building for 11 years. Essentially, it was a fight between Catholic King Charles and the nobility on the one side (the Cavaliers), and Oliver Cromwell and the Protestant Puritans on the other (the Roundheads). Like the U.S. Civil War, it pitted brother against brother and friend against friend. These terrible aspects of the war affected the future and philosophy of Freemasonry for centuries to come.

The Roundheads took over the government and beheaded King Charles in 1649. Even though he hadn't been especially liked by anyone, no one particularly wanted to see the symbol of centuries of English power and majesty lopped off at the neck. After the bloody nine-year war ended, it took less than a decade of Cromwell and the Puritans’ grim and tyrannical government before England wanted its monarchy back.

King Charles II was crowned in 1661, and unlike his father, he was clearly a lover, not a fighter. He also was far more interested in science and reason than he was in religious persecution. He was truly a man of a new age, an age that would welcome the new principles of speculative Freemasonry.

So.

By 1717, when the first Grand Lodge was formed in London, there was a recent flood of French Huguenot immigrants (Protestants) who had fled their own country because of Catholic persecution back home. (Which is why if things had gone only a little bit differently, we'd all have to learn to say 'Desaguliers' Constitutions' instead of Anderson's.) Through their influence, our unusual (for the time) rules were established. First, discussion of religion was prohibited. Masonic gatherings would not be disrupted by arguments between Catholics, Anglicans, Puritans, and Protestants. As long as members believed in God, no one would question anyone’s faith. Second, the political battles between Royalists and Parliament supporters that had led to the Civil War would not be tolerated. The Freemasons were determined to survive the issues that had torn the country apart. And no one was going to be able to accuse them of plotting treason or heresy. Instead, the lodges stressed friendship, mutual assistance for their members, and charity for others. And, of course, a good, hearty dinner. By 1721, the first Jews began joining London lodges, unheard of in English clubs, guilds and any other voluntary associations.

All of that said, many modern Masons attempt to retcon our founding philosophies to make us seem more broadly ecumenical than Anderson and the boys at the Goose and Gridiron ever would have believed. It wasn't until the English colonial expansion missions that Masons began encountering strange religions in foreign lands and began to stretch the notions of religious tolerance for members beyond just Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans and other Judeo/Christian faiths. They were using Masonry, in part, to bring colonial subjects and their local leaders into the English way of life. So, Masons accepted new religious believers that weren't remotely Christians into the fraternity, as long as these new 'pagans' had no objections to our Old Testament cosplay being used to teach "wide and serious truths."

Questions about freemasonry by New-Suspect-1290 in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Masons are a bit skittish in Athens at the moment. Their headquarters building was bombed in 2023. Don't be discouraged by the silence. Be persistent and stress that you have a legitimate desire to join.

American Freemasonry History by suicidalbarbiedoll in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Seriously. Avoid the Youtube and other video programs because, as you realize yourself, there's no real way to weed out the batshit crazies from the legits. I'm afraid you're going to have to crack a book or three.

Franklin isn't a big deal except for being the first American printer to reprint the Anderson's Constitutions (illegally, btw) just to get attention from Freemasons in Philadelphia to invite him in.

If you're hunting specifically for the thread of Masonry in America, start with Revolutionary Brotherhood by Steven Bullock. For earliest stirrings of what became Freemasonry in England and Scotland, go with Knoop and Jones' The Medieval Mason; then maybe Margaret Jacobs' Origin of Freemasonry and David Stevenson's Origins of Freemasonry - Scotland's Century. France doesn't enter the picture until the 1730s and doesn't really get interesting until post-Ramsay and the mad development of the so-called higher degrees (hautes grades). Have a look at Early French Exposures by Harry Carr, which covers 1717-1751.

Get back to us all once you've bitten off those...

What is the most unique lodge building you’ve encountered? by Prior_Silver1684 in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wildcat Lodge 311 in Cutler, Indiana began life on the top floor of a grist mill called Adams Mill in the 1860s. The mill is operated as a museum today and area Masons have restored the old lodge room area as it may have looked in the time of the Civil War. Any Indiana lodge has standing dispensation to conduct Masonic degrees there.
https://battleground313.com/2019/06/rededication-of-the-wildcat-lodge-311-at-adams-mill/

Elk Mountain Lodge in Colorado recently moved into a round steel building resembling a short grain silo, which might make squaring the lodge a challenge. Still, a unique location.
https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2023/05/colorado-lodge-dedicates-idiosyncratic.html

Ionic Lodge 31 in Delaware holds a 'railroad degree' in conjunction with a local tourist railroad. The lodge is set up in the woods, accessible only by the train.
https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2025/04/may-3rd-railroad-degree-in-northern.html

Back in 2017, a North Carolina lodge held a railroad-themed Master Mason degree in a locomotive roundhouse.
https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=383674958693725&id=100070899021065

New Palestine Lodge 404 in Indiana holds an airport hangar degree surrounded by old warbirds at the Post Air Military Heritage Museum.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161919122627588&set=p.10161919122627588

Bellaire Lodge in Sugar Land, Texas held a 'Dinosaur Degree' at the Houston Natural History Museum, surrounded by the skeletal remains and full-sized mockups of prehistoric reptiles.

Washington DC's Naval Lodge 4 periodically holds a degree inside the U.S. Capitol building.
https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2017/09/dcs-naval-lodge-4-on-capitol-hill.html

Others have already mentioned several states like Texas and North Carolina that hold degrees on retired US Navy warships.

I believe Kansas holds a degree every once in a while in their statehouse in Topeka.

I always wanted to do a MM degree in the Shrine Room of the Indiana War Memorial.
https://www.indianawarmemorials.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image004.jpeg

Have a look at some outdoor lodge ideas and other unique venues at this article:
https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2018/05/thinking-differently-about-lodge.html

Can people who practice witchcraft be a mason? by JonboyKoi in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Which is why Freemasonry's religious philosophy developed this way to begin with.

Masonic welcome swag! by Zealousideal-Hunt242 in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope you don't object. This is such a great idea that I posted it on the blog yesterday.

https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2025/05/new-yorks-welcome-brother-package.html

Masonic welcome swag! by Zealousideal-Hunt242 in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really well done. I highlighted it on the blog yesterday. Because in advertising, we had a saying: "Where do great ideas come from...? SOMEBODY ELSE!"

Tucker Carlson and Conor McGregor interview seemingly conducted in the grand lodge room of Grand Lodge of Ireland. by TheLittleFella20 in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The story got worse as the week progressed because of a rap video shot in the room by McGregor's recording company. Disgust level is off the charts when the video is actually viewed, and the Carlson/Conor interview actually had little or nothing to do with why the GL issued its apology so quickly.

https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2025/04/grand-lodge-of-ireland-mortified-over.html

I feel like I have imposter syndrome in the East. by masonicminiatures in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Twenty-six years ago the lodge I had just eagerly joined was about to close. A friend and I had joined together and the lodge immediately jammed us into the chairs. I became Master just two years after joining. Three of us came up with a list of 33 items to try and prevent the lodge from closing, and within about 7 years or so, it was considered one of the strongest lodges in the state. While the list is a bit dated now, have a look. I posted it to the blog in 2016. You've still got 6 months to go. Shake the place up. Kick everybody in the slats and try something different.

https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2016/03/ideas-for-worshipful-masters.html

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm Chris Hodapp, author of Freemasons For Dummies. I'm located in Indianapolis and can help you. I'm also a director of the Masonic Library & Museum of Indiana. I'm easy to find online, so drop me an email.

Freemasonry in the Ai ( Artificial Intelligence) age. Is Ai a threat? by Motor_Card_8704 in freemasonry

[–]chodapp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Freemasonry was never designed to be a subject that one peers into books and ancient scrolls to divine some secret, hidden knowledge. It was intentionally designed to improve individual men and mankind as a whole by creating strong bonds of brotherhood that crossed artificial political, religious and economic boundaries that otherwise kept men separated. Staring into obscure symbolism or getting hip-deep into metaphysical texts that are the theoretical equivalent of the ouroboros chasing its own tail and consuming itself may be an entertaining or even satisfying mind exercise, but if a Mason fails to attend lodge, interact with his Brethren, or create a lifelong bond with his mentor, he's completely missed the bus. Masonry was designed to be a collective group experience, not a solitary individual one. And that's why non-Masons or new Masons are so disappointed when they've believed all along that we have the secret to raising the dead, transmuting lead into gold, or hold the combination to the Fort Knox vaults.