Masonic lodge meetings and questionable activities

Originally posted by butcherguy

Wow. Never heard of that.
But I don't get around much.

All English (UGLE) constitutions do it this way.

I just found it rather shocking, I have no idea what goes on at a lodge meeting, but the fact that the eye of providence is staring out in the centre, three men are elevated (which implies some kind of hierarchy), I thought it might be a standard lodge night?

I can tell from the video it was taken at the U.G.L.E (if you go through the front door, take the stairs on the left, up two flights, through the doors in front of you, take the door on the right).

So you guys are saying the guy in the centre could be billy bo bob who just rented the hall for the night?

Is it customary to leave your regalia in place at these kinds of events?

Originally posted by butcherguy
A lodge must be opened.
To open a lodge, all present must be a Master Mason. Women can not be Masons.

Not so. This seems to be an F&AM practise. AF&AM open sequentially

Originally posted by butcherguy
If you notice, none of the 'Masons' shown are wearing an apron, either.

This video is at least a couple of years old and this is not the first appearance of it here. It really would be nice if people would do their homework rather than reposting the same junk again and again and again.

Fitz

Originally posted by butcherguy
reply to post by Saurus

 

The brotherhood is dying and there are fewer men being made masons today.

Depends where you are, I guess. We've only done 27 degrees since January. Guess our lodges is "dying"

Fitz

Originally posted by oxford

I can tell from the video it was taken at the U.G.L.E (if you go through the front door, take the stairs on the left, up two flights, through the doors in front of you, take the door on the right).

That isn't correct - UGLE affiliated Lodges don't have a G in the middle if the Square and Compasses.

Originally posted by Fitzgibbon

Originally posted by butcherguy
reply to post by Saurus

 

The brotherhood is dying and there are fewer men being made masons today.

Depends where you are, I guess. We've only done 27 degrees since January. Guess our lodges is "dying"

Fitz

That is a lot, IMO.
Judging by my area in Eastern PA.

reply to post by oxford

I just found it rather shocking, I have no idea what goes on at a lodge meeting

I can say that it isn't what was on the video that goes on at a lodge meeting.

I remember being told before consistory that joining the Shriners was the 'fun' part of the Masonic brotherhood. Have yet to see strippers. Wild as it got was drinking beer at a picnic.

Originally posted by butcherguy

Originally posted by Fitzgibbon

Originally posted by butcherguy
reply to post by Saurus

 

The brotherhood is dying and there are fewer men being made masons today.

Depends where you are, I guess. We've only done 27 degrees since January. Guess our lodges is "dying"

Fitz

That is a lot, IMO.
Judging by my area in Eastern PA.

That is a lot. Full stop. While I'm pleased that the brethren of my lodge have the depth of ritual knowledge to carry it off, it's one of those things in retrospect I wouldn't wish upon any lodge. While we've been able to maintain the importance of a new members' I., it does have the potential to make the experience less of an important moment than it might otherwise be. More than any other degree, the I. belongs to the (?).

Fitz

Originally posted by oxford
So you guys are saying the guy in the centre could be billy bo bob who just rented the hall for the night?

Is it customary to leave your regalia in place at these kinds of events?

We constantly rent our lodge out (4-5 times a week) and considering most of the adornments are fastened to the walls it would be difficult to remove them each time.

Originally posted by Fitzgibbon

Originally posted by butcherguy
A lodge must be opened.
To open a lodge, all present must be a Master Mason. Women can not be Masons.

Not so. This seems to be an F&AM practise. AF&AM open sequentially

Originally posted by butcherguy
If you notice, none of the 'Masons' shown are wearing an apron, either.

This video is at least a couple of years old and this is not the first appearance of it here. It really would be nice if people would do their homework rather than reposting the same junk again and again and again.

Fitz

What is an F&AM practise?

Apologies I have not seen this here before, could you please provide a link to the thread, rather than trouble you all here going through the same discussion? I've been reading on the secret society forum for a couple of years it might have been before I arrived.

I know a few Masons personally which I'm rather fond of (and many here have helped me on my own personal journey), so I don't mean to offend anyone here, its more the shock because I thought it was more of an esoteric organisation and the fact that was all going on with the regalia still in the room. When I was younger I spent alot of time in Mason halls as they are used by some spiritualist churches and I've never seen any regalia left about before.

Originally posted by Saurus

Originally posted by oxford

I can tell from the video it was taken at the U.G.L.E (if you go through the front door, take the stairs on the left, up two flights, through the doors in front of you, take the door on the right).

That isn't correct - UGLE affiliated Lodges don't have a G in the middle if the Square and Compasses.

Now I'm really confused, so your saying the UGLE isn't UGLE affilated?

English Freemasonry doesn't have a G in the Square and Compasses, so it isn't the Grand Lodge of England in the video.

Originally posted by oxford
What is an F&AM practise?

Free and Accepted Masons. Ritual varies slightly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and what we are explaining here is emblematic of that difference.

Originally posted by AugustusMasonicus

Originally posted by oxford
So you guys are saying the guy in the centre could be billy bo bob who just rented the hall for the night?

Is it customary to leave your regalia in place at these kinds of events?

We constantly rent our lodge out (4-5 times a week) and considering most of the adornments are fastened to the walls it would be difficult to remove them each time.

I thought the kinds of things you do were more like sacred rituals, do you not find these kind of activities offensive, like defiling a temple, mixing the sacred with the profane?

I can understand you renting to someone like the spiritualist churches etc but for stag nights with strippers, really is that normal everywhere? Do the eastern star hold hen parties with male strippers also?

Originally posted by Saurus
English Freemasonry doesn't have a G in the Square and Compasses, so it isn't the Grand Lodge of England in the video.

Well thats not what wiki says: In English speaking jurisdictions the Square and Compasses are often depicted with the letter "G" in the center.

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by oxford
I thought the kinds of things you do were more like sacred rituals, do you not find these kind of activities offensive, like defiling a temple, mixing the sacred with the profane?

The lodge is just a building. The 'Lodge' is the group of Masons who meet and is much more important.

I can understand you renting to someone like the spiritualist churches etc but for stag nights with strippers, really is that normal everywhere? Do the eastern star hold hen parties with male strippers also?

If someone pays to rent the building and wants to have entertainment that is their perrogative.

As far as the Eastern Star, I have no idea but since Masons can also be present for Eastern Star events I think it would be a bit uncomfortable for all in attendance if they did.

reply to post by oxford


Everything in Freemasonry is symbolical, so the building itself (and the Lodge room) isn't sacred.

There's a certain floor layout which we use in our rituals, but there is a lodge in a town close to mine that meets in a Scout hall and puts out a carpet, furniture, ornaments and jewels for each meeting.

The Lodge room is just a place to meet, but we obviously like it to be pretty and attractive, so where it is used regularly, we do like to make the room ornate and fancy, and make all the fixtures permanent..

Originally posted by oxford
Well thats not what wiki says: In English speaking jurisdictions the Square and Compasses are often depicted with the letter "G" in the center.

en.wikipedia.org...

Trust him. The 'G' in the Square and Compasses is mostly used in the United States.

Originally posted by Saurus
There's a certain floor layout which we use in our rituals, but there is a lodge in a town close to mine that meets in a Scout hall and puts out a carpet, furniture, ornaments and jewels for each meeting.

There is an outdoor lodge in New England that meets in the mountains once a year and hauls everything up there. Definitely should be on everyone's Masonic bucket list.

Originally posted by oxford
What is an F&AM practise?

Opening in the MM degree. AF&AM opens from the 1st up to whatever degree the work of the evening will take place in rather than from the top down. My understanding is that the F&AM approach is an outgrowth of the Morgan Affair (who was an EA IIRC)

Originally posted by oxfordits more the shock because I thought it was more of an esoteric organisation and the fact that was all going on with the regalia still in the room. When I was younger I spent alot of time in Mason halls as they are used by some spiritualist churches and I've never seen any regalia left about before.

Not wanting to bother looking at the video again, IIRC there isn't any regalia out in the video; just officers' chairs. However, that a dancer would be lithely bumping around a room that had those chairs in it says to the anti-Masons with a chip on their shoulders that this is representative of normal Masonic activity. It's one of those "A ha!" moments for those who can't be bothered searching for the most recent time said "A ha!" moment was cited.

Much ado about nothing

Fitz