cross keys october 2011

Cross Keys Oct.. 2011

The Cross Keys The Monthly Newsletter of Lodge Houstoun St. Johnstone

Walking the Road / Seeking the Light

October 2011 Number 151

In this issue:

Obligations

RMS Titanic

Lodge 1557 Crest

Masonic Exhibition

Reply about Advertising

Do you know your ritual?

Ad Astra Lodge

GL & the Vails

The Rectified Rite

1906 Earthquake


An Informed Mason is an Involved Mason

Are our obligations too much?

Grand Lodge No.1 MS (c1600s)

"These charges that we have now rehearsed unto yu all and all others that belong to Masons,

ye shall keepe, so healpe you God, and your hallydome, and by this booke in yor hande unto

yr power. Amen, so be it."

Dumfries MS No.3 (Late 17th Century)

These Charges which we now rehearse to you & all others ye secrets & mysteries belonging to

free masons you shall faithfully & truly keep, together with ye Counsel of ye Assembly or

lodge, or any other lodge, or brother, or fellow.

You shall not for any gift, or bribe, or reward, favour, or affection, directly or indirectly, for

any Cause whatsoever, Divulge ye same to father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter,

wife, kindred, or relation, or any other person whatsoever, so help me God, ye holy lord, & the

sentence of this book.

Compare to any obligation today. The population is less religious and yet the obligations are

longer and secrets are more available—perhaps lodges should be reviewing their obligations

in terms of relevance for their candidates.

Further thoughts: (from an article by Bro. Rev. John Clarke MBE)

Obligations are also a source of concern and criticism despite the changes which have been

made in the rituals. It is perhaps unfortunate that the change in the obligation still retains the

phrase ‘In former times’ with the implication that the physical penalty was inflicted at one time.

One of the additional degrees uses the words, ‘This was of course, a symbolic penalty which never,

nor indeed could, have been inflicted. However, the sign which is also the salute, alludes to the second

part of that penalty.’ That makes it clearer but could still be improved.

While on the subject of oaths and obligations it is worth mentioning that there is also concern

that the obligations are taken on the ‘Volume of the Sacred Law’. In Western Lodges we use the

Bible which gives a strong feeling that everything is regular and acceptable. In other lodges the

Volume of the Sacred Law could be the Old Testament or the Koran etc.

There is a need for a further examination of the question of obligations. Perhaps a further sim-

plification might help to clear any ambiguity or misunderstanding and yet still retain the qual-

ity and intention of the obligations.


RMS Titanic

The ceiling of the Grand Lodge of NY’s main hall was so amazing that John Jacob Astor,

who at the time was working on building the Titanic, was so impressed that he asked de-

signers to copy the Grand Lodge’s ceiling for the fated vessel’s grand ballroom. So now,

there are two identical ceilings. One in Manhattan, and one at the bottom of the Atlan-

tic… Bro. John Jacob Astor was a Member of Holland Lodge No.8 in The New York Juris-

diction.

As the Titanic sank into the Atlantic on April 15, 1912, one of four postal clerks attempt-

ing to save the ship’s mail was Brother Oscar Scott Woody,(INSET) a member of Acacia

Lodge No. 16, located in Virginia. Brother Woody was raised in that Lodge in 1903, and

was age 44 when he perished with 1,513 other victims of the world’s most famous ship-

wreck. The May 27, 1912, minutes of Acacia Lodge indicate a resolution on his death was

drafted to be presented to his widow and published in the Fairfax Herald. The Lodge

purchased a wreath of flowers with Masonic emblems for Brother Woody’s subsequent

burial at sea. Next month will have an article about the famous Astor family.

http://oscarscottwoody.com/


Crests of the Province

The crest is composed of the following:

1. The Chequered Square and All Seeing Eye

2. The Blue and White, and Red and White Squares

Refers to the original seven Founder Members. (Murray Area

Blue, Calderwood Area Red). Their purpose of meeting is

defined by the Square and Compasses.

3. The Columns

The Terrestrial and the Celestial did the Great Architect Design.

In Strength and Beauty did the Lodge grow. The Church and

State did the Douglas's defend.

4. The Shield of the Douglas with three Mullets- the Three Stars

The three Stars represent the three Brethren who form a Lodge.

The Douglas's are represented with the Three Mullets (Stars)

from the lineage of 'Moray' in that of William, Le Hardi, father and his two sons William and

James.

5. The Heart

Represents one of the Sacred Dictates of a Freemason - 'A Faithful Heart'. The 'Douglas' relevancy

- The Heart of King Robert, the Bruce - 'Faithful unto Death'.

6. The Bible superimposed on the Heart

This is dedicated to Lodge St. John, Busby No.458, our Sponsor Lodge.

7. The 'Saltire' superimposed on the Shield

This is dedicated to our other Sponsor Lodge St.Andrew E.K. No.524 and is also the Emblem of

the Scottish People.

8. Lodge 'Douglas Motto', Avant (Forward)

The Motto of the New Town of East Kilbride is 'Forward'. Forward was our Aim and Advance-

ment of the New Town and the Craft. The Motto of the 'Douglas's', - ' j'ai arriere (Never Behind)'.

9. Parchment Scrolls

Represents our Petition and Charter, granted 7th.May,1959. Seven Months in Erection of the

Lodge by 52 Founder Members representing 46 lodges.

10. Lodge Number on the Roll of The Grand Lodge of Scotland

No.1557 coincidental with a famous date in Scottish History: 'The First signing of the Scottish

Covenant'.

11. The Crown

The Good Sir James Douglas was Knighted on the field of Bannockburn 23rd.June 1314, and from

that date the Douglas family bore the Crown within their Coat of Arms.

12. The All Seeing Eye

My thanks to Bro. David Reid PGM


Lodge Scoon & Perth No.3 dates from before 1658

and is worth a visit to the lodge room in Atholl

Crescent, Perth. The apron at the top is new while

the one below is unknown.

‚Let the apron ever be to you as a symbol of a

pure heart and the power to rule your life and

your conduct through the blessings and guidance

of the Divine Truth safely deposited in the hidden

vault of your consciousness. As you wear this

apron within the confines of this sacred retreat so

may you take its symbolism home with you, and

ever wear it in your heart and your every day liv-

ing so that when you take your life’s work, that

rough ashlar which you have polished into that

perfect ashlar, and present it to God, he will re-

ward true and square work as is wanted for the

temple of humanity.‛

Aprons with a Difference

Prince Hall Certificate

More and more regular Grand Lodges are

extending recognition to Prince Hall Grand

Lodges in the US whose brethren are gener-

ally coloured or of African origin. This

recognition is not surprising since these

brethren follow the same rituals, wear the

same regalia, have a number of charitable

events and as can be seen have similar

certificates.


Many television programmes and movies

have frequently made fun at fraternal

groups by having characters belong to made

-up organizations with strange names, wild

hats and costumes. Members and non-

members alike have often perceived Ma-

sonic costume as funny or outlandish.

Indeed, Masonic regalia seems to have a

flair for the unusual. But today, we may

think the same of the clothing we see in his-

toric prints, paintings and photographs from

the 1700s and 1800s. So when we start to look more closely — to compare the Masonic

costumes and photographs with garments and images from the same time periods — we

can see that perhaps they were not as outlandish as they may now seem to us. Often, re-

galia manufacturers took their cues from contemporary fashion houses.

By the late 1800s, menswear had become extremely standardized, offering little room for

fancy and display. Regardless of their profession or geographical location, men became

somewhat indistinguishable from one another. Similarly, as many Freemasons sought to

impose national standards on the fraternity’s rituals, Masonic regalia also began to stan-

dardize. Large regalia houses began offering mechanically manufactured aprons and

sashes. Still, fanciful Masonic costume provided men with a way to dress expressively,

particularly during degree rituals and public processions. The manufacturers to a certain

extent have dictated what regalia should be worn and many jewels that never existed be-

fore are readily available. Perhaps we should limit the number of jewels that can be worn

and reducing some of the regalia that needs to be bought. This last point does put some

brethren off joining or returning when they realise the expense of regalia.

Over the course of the fraternity’s existence, Freemasons developed and retained their

regalia to suit both the organization’s needs and prevailing fashion styles. The traditional

garments became part of their identity, reflecting the organisation’s values and ideals, as

well as a man’s membership in a centuries-old,

well-respected group.

Photos show a master, a KT and a Royal Arch de-

gree team.

The exhibition in the National Heritage Mu-

seum is on until March 2012.

Massachusetts Masonic Exhibition


I saw your Editorial in CK September 2011, and thought I’d add a transatlantic

view.

North Americans do indeed put up prominent signs in front of their premises, and

they freely wear Masonic apparel, including pins/badges, neckties, baseball caps,

Tshirts and windbreakers – but we do have more of a tradition here of gaudy im-

printed clothing (you might have noticed!) that might not be as acceptable in the

UK. There’s also a long tradition of getting Masonic coverage in the newspapers,

although nowadays it can be an uphill battle because our proceedings and charita-

ble doings are not as newsworthy as car crashes, or a cat up a tree.

In the USA, Massachusetts has led the charge in Masonic publicity, and now has

strong, vibrant Grand Committees on Education and on Membership Development.

A decade ago a Grand Master deemed that there was actually no written rule speci-

fying that a prospect must ask in order to join. This landmark acceptance had dis-

tinct consequences. Grand Lodge set a budget for publicity and created a flight of

well-crafted radio and TV commercials featuring RW Bro Benjamin Franklin. (Ben

Franklin was born and raised in Boston). Grand Lodge urged its lodges to hold

Open Houses on a specified day, and publicized the event.

So what does the populace think of Freemasonry? Well, when it comes to loony

fringe, I daresay our loonies are loonier than yours – so there is opposition from

conspiracy theorists and Elvis-sighters. When it comes to religious objections, we

probably have more religious groups opposed to us than you do. We do not,

though, have a groundswell of opinion that Masons are the ‚toffs‛ who run the

town council and all other important bodies. Masonry in the US is perceived of as

being more egalitarian than it may be in the UK – and with good reason, for many

of those who established the philosophical basis of this country were influenced by

free-thinking Masonic thought.

The crux of the problem though is that most Americans think nothing of the Craft,

because they are blithely unaware of it. Whereas the baby-boomers may have lived

their whole life in one town, that is decidedly not true for our Gen-Xers, and Ma-

sonry is just ‘not on their radar’… or on their touchpads. They are no longer gradu-

ally inculcated into the ethos of Freemasonry by exposure to leading men of the

town. Worse still, some US national figures (think banking and the stockmarket) are

paragons of greed.

Continued over

Reply from the US about Advertising


So our task is making youngsters aware of the Craft, which is not difficult to do – it

just takes money and effort. Convincing them that they would benefit from being

immersed in an ancient traditional body with the squirmy goal of ‘brotherly love’ is

harder to do. Alone among the US Grand Lodges, GL Massachusetts has been suc-

cessful in reporting substantial annual net gains in membership. Nor is this solely a

‘top down’ campaign, for a majority of the membership supports the advertising,

and works towards the goals.

Masons in the UK need to give serious thought to the issue of publicity, before the

net losses in membership trend to extinction. And for your brothers in North Amer-

ica, extinction in the UK would be a sad occasion indeed.

Right Worshipful Brother Graeme Marsden

Boston, Massachusetts

Editor of Rural Lodge Newsletter

http://www.rurallodge.com/2NEWS/newsletter.htm

Reply from the US about Advertising (ctd)

From the Columns

Don’t forget—test fees are now due

On 8th September, 2011 Steven Graham Paton was initiated into the

mysteries of the Craft by Lodge prince of Wales No. 426 Renfrew. This

is the first visit by POW for many many years and the degree was en-

joyed by all brethren.

On 22nd September, 2011 Bro. Steven Graham Paton was passed to the

FCD by the office bearers. The degree was slightly different in that it

was the ‘step-up’ degree and all OBs moved up one office. It was a well

run degree and all OBs are to be congratulated.

http://www.rurallodge.com/2NEWS/newsletter.htm


More from the 200th Anniversary


More from the 200th Anniversary

Office Bearers with

Grand Lodge Office

Bearers and the Past

Masters


Scottish Masonic Tour

Plaques behind the George Washington

statue in the Washington National Cathedral.

The plaque on the left represents Washing-

ton's initiation as an entered apprentice in

Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge, and on the

right, his installation as master of Alexandria

Lodge No. 22.

Masonic Plaques

General Court Lodge

Question & Answer

Q: Why did the Grand Lodge of Scotland

adopted the term 'accepted' which is Eng-

lish?

A: When the Grand Lodge was founded a

very large number of Lodges then in exis-

tence in Scotland were made up of working

stonemasons rather than ‘speculative’ Free-

masons (and therein lies another tale!). Ini-

tially Grand Lodge had a problem in trying

to encompass all the Lodges in Scotland

(stonemason and non-stonemasons). Many

Lodges could not understand why a non-

operative body wanted to claim jurisdiction

over an operative trade body. When it was

explained that GLoS want to exercise juris-

diction over the Degrees (which were es-

sentially the same for stonemasons and non

-stonemasons) it was decided to use a title

that made it clear that GLoS was not a

trade body. It could hardly do anything

other than adopt the same terminology as

already in use by the Grand Lodge of Eng-

land.

My thanks to Bro. Bob Cooper, Curator at GL for

this information.

General Court Lodge is a special lodge under

the jurisdiction of the Most Worshipful

Grand Lodge of New Hampshire of Free &

Accepted Masons, chartered in 2006 as a

lodge where Master Masons serving or work-

ing for the New Hampshire House of Repre-

sentatives or State Senate may meet during

the legislative session, from January to June.

For a fuller description go to the lodge web-

site:

h t t p : / / w w w . g e n e r a l c o u r t l o d g e . o r g /

index.html

Brother William Leight has organized a "Traveling

Man's Masonic Tour of Scotland" for July 10-18, 2012.

It is being arranged through Perillo Tours. The tour

will travel to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aber-

deen, Inverness, and more. Sites include Rosslyn

Chapel, Stirling Castle, Kilwinning Abby, Blair Castle,

Balmoral and a cruise of Loch Ness.

http://www.generalcourtlodge.org/index.html

http://www.generalcourtlodge.org/index.html

http://www.perillotours.com/masonicgroup/

http://www.perillotours.com/masonicgroup/


As we know ritual varies considerably from lodge to lodge and from order to order. In

some orders, the ritual is expected to be read and this indeed enhances the whole pro-

ceedings. However, it is only lodges that will be considered. Few lodges will have any

ritual read although in some areas such as Sweden this is the norm for parts to be read

by an appointed officer such as the Orator/ Grand Lecturer. In Scotland, one of the

strengths is that lodges are in control of their ritual—how it is presented and to a large

extent what it actually contains. Permission does not need to be sought if a lodge feels

the need to alter any part of its ritual. This means quite simply that it is rare to see ex-

actly the same degree twice in Scotland.

Lodges have ritual printed, written and on CD although most will have relevant por-

tions hidden. This varies from grand Lodge to Grand Lodge. For example, in English

lodges the Emulation ritual is popular although many other exist. In the US, some have

their ritual in timed vaults! More are now having them printed with strict rules:

This manual may not be used in an open meeting of the lodge.

This manual may not be used for prompting during a degree.

This manual may not be used to read from during any degree.

The material in this manual may not be copied or photocopied in any way.

No brother shall knowingly permit a non-Mason to look through this manual.

The Depute will audit the rituals during his visit to assure they are properly

cared for.

Penalties include the removal of a charter. Perhaps to Scots, this is a bit extreme, but is

does emphasise the importance of the delivery. Unfortunately, there appears to be a re-

luctance amongst many yound brethren to learn ritual. This is completely understandable

bearing in mind that they have been mollycoddled through school by having dictionaries

in exams, formula sheets, etc and the lack of memory work is staggering. Memory is part

of learning and lodges can fill the void left by Scottish education.

Do you know your ritual?

Congratulations

To Bro. George Dickson PM, HGA, HPGSec, HDM on

reaching 90 years old last month, despite serving for

33 years as Secretary.


1989

The master of 1989, Bro. Graham Brydson (who looks like

a scouser!) accompanied by Bros. Henry Leslie IPM and

John Flanagan SM—the one on the right with hair! How

things change in the Craft!!!

To the Stars

The Ad Astra Lodge, No. 3808 was formed from the Air Inspection Directorate in 1917

and still meets today in Freemasons’ Hall in

London. The work of the latter was com-

memorated in the lodge by the collecting

box, made from the central section of a

laminated wood propeller. Little was

thought about this ar- tefact until recently,

when an examination of the serial marks on

the wood allowed the identification of the

plane as a SE2B, an experimental design

with a rear-mounted propeller. This plane

saw much service in the First World War.

Masonic App?

Apps for iphones or androids are now common place. How about a Masonic lodge app?

As already shown in a previous CK, the GL of California has one for their online newslet-

ter. Perhaps, the GLoS and UGLE could join forces to produce an app to find a lodge in

any part of the country using sat nav technology. If supermarkets, service stations, etc

can be found appear why not a lodge? Charging lodges or masonic centres £5 should

produce enough revenue to employ a company to produce such an app.


Grand Lodge & the Vails

In 1760, the issue of the vails, or giving drink-money to servants was a current issue in all

parts of the country. This seemingly insignificant issue of social reform sparked a debate

that pitted master and servant against one another, and divided the country along class

and cultural lines. Many societies were against this act including the Company of Hunt-

ers, Clerks to the Signet, Heritors of Mid-Lothian, The Select Society, The Society of

Advocates, AND the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Grand Lodge recorded on 4 February

1760 that

It having been thereafter Represented to the Grand Lodge That as an

Honourable Body of Gentlemen in this Country had Entered into a

determined Resolution against Giving Vails to Servants which being a

pernicious practice and Detrimental to Society the Grand Lodge would

Consider of the Same Whereupon the Grand Master and Grand Lodge

Recommended to the Committee to make up a Scroll of a Resolution

against this Practice and Report the same to the Grand Master.

The following was then prepared to be sent to all Edinburgh newspapers by the Grand

Secretary:

A Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Scotland,

lately held in Mary’s Chapel, having taken into their considera-

tion, the prevailing practice of giving vails, or drink money to ser-

vants, did unanimously resolve, to do everything in their power to

remove the same.

The zeal of Free masons for the welfare of the publick, and their readi-

ness to promote every laudable purpose, will easily prevail on them to

endeavour to discourage this practice, as by it the virtues of many ser-

vants have been destroyed and . . . Grand Lodge, reckon themselves

obliged to declare to all under their jurisdiction, their dislike of any

custom prejudicial to the principles of Masons . . .”

This resolution was forwarded to all Scottish lodges and two years later the practice of

distributing vails was abolished.

Did the Scottish Craft influence the outcome? Maybe, but the important point here is that

Grand Lodge felt strongly enough to get involved in a current issue—not a political or

religious one, but one that was important to public interest and against Masonic princi-

ples. Is this an area where Grand Lodge(s) could become involved and demonstrate

more relevance to the general public? For example, green issues, climate issues, etc. If

you have thoughts in this area, let me know (email on last page).


Monday 3rd October, 2011—New Members’ Seminar in Barrhead

Masonic Hall at 7.30pm. Any brother who has joined the Craft in the last year is

invited to come along to learn a bit more about Freemasonry in Scotland and the

province.

Monday 10th October, 2011—Provincial Grand Committee in Lodge Union and

Crown No.307

Friday 28th October, 2011—Provincial Grand Lodge Communication will be held in

Lodge Eaglesham No.1265

PGL News

GL News

The history of the lodge is still available for sale priced

£20. Due to its weight, it can only be collected from

the lodge—see Bro. Allan Stobo PM.

It covers 200 years from 2011 with appendices on the

Houstoun & MacDowal family, Provosts, WW! Roll of

Honour, Presentations, Lodge which have conferred

degrees in 242, Thistle Lodge in NY, Notable Achieve-

ments, Installing Masters, etc.

An enthralling read!

History of the Lodge

Thursday 27th October, 2011— Grand Lodge Communication in Edinburgh at 2pm

24th November—Installation (12 noon) and Festival of St. Andrew (3pm)


Since its launch by PGM Bro. David A. Reid in January the 2011 PGLRE Caring and Shar-

ing Fund has already reached £6000 through a range of activities by Lodges through the

Province.

When the final amount raised in the Province is announced next month it will be aug-

mented from the £275,000 fund made available by the Grand Lodge of Scotland as part of

the celebrations to mark the 275th Anniversary of its founding.

It has been decided that all six outside charities chosen by PGLRE will benefit equally

from the money raised. They are: Erskine Hospital, Combat Stress, Breast Cancer Care,

Alzheimer’s Society, Beatson Oncology and Yorkhill Childrens’ Foundation.

A large proportion of the money raised came from donations made by individual Lodges

during official visitations during February through to April when the RWM of each

Lodge was presented with a hand-crafted Charity Mallet and invited to sign a special

Charity Charter. Copies of the signed Charter were also sold to Lodges as souvenirs to

raise additional funds.

Caring & Sharing Fund Update

Bro. Hugh Gilmour RWM Garthland St. Winnoch No.205 signs the charter

Bros Iain McPhee, the PGM, tDonald MacReady RWM 1557 and Andrew Hosie


Caring & Sharing Fund Update (ctd)

Bro Alexander Balmer RWM St. Christopher No.1453

Bro. Ian Gunning PM RWM of St Conval No. 1359

Other activities included an evening of entertainment and dancing held at Lodge Moor-

park No.1263 in June and a sponsored walk headed by Mrs Dawn Oliff, Homes and

Charities Manager at Grand Lodge, accompanied by substitue PGM’s Iain McPhee, Neil

Fraser and Bill Fleming, PM. Mrs Oliff also took part in similar sponsored walks in Edin-

burgh and Aberdeen. On the Aberdeen walk she was joined by the GMM Bro. Charles

Iain R. Wolrige Gordon of Esselmont and the SPGM of PGLRE, Bro. Iain McPhee, who

had also taken part in the Paisley to Bridge of Weir sponsored walk.

PGM Bro. David A. Reid said: ‚We will know the final total by next month, but the

amount already raised is a great achievement made possible by the generosity of Lodge

members who gave both in terms of time and money to make this initiative such a suc-

cess. It has been a real opportunity to demonstrate our willingness to support outside

charities.‛

Ken Stein

PG Steward


October’s Events in 242

Sportsman Dinner on Friday 7th October—Jimmy Nichol & Claude Bols

Thursday 13th October—MMD by PMs at 7.30pm

Thursday 27th October— AGM at 7.30pm

Visit to St. Andrew, Annan on 4th November to confer MMD

Sir William Wallace RAC -

21st October—Installation at 7pm

The Scottish Burned Children's Club (SBCC) is an organisation that helps children, up to

the age of eighteen, who have sustained burn and

scald injuries. The main aims of the charity are two

fold, firstly to help in the rehabilitation process of

these children and to provide support to their fam-

ily. Secondly, it is the club’s aim to play a key role in

the reduction of such injuries by raising awareness

of the problem and promoting safe practice in rela-

tion to the dangers associated with burns and

scalds.

Bro. Mark Stevenson (pictured) who is a member of 242 is heavily involved with promot-

ing this charity and can be contacted at: [email protected].

This also the nominated charity for the Supreme Council for Scotland who will raise

awareness over the next two years and make a presentation during the summer of 2013.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.theburnsclub.org.uk/


A Grand Master Profile

On 25th January 2011, Most W:.B:. Nadim Mansour

was installed as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge

of Israel 2011-2013. He is a Greek Orthodox Pales-

tinian Arab, who was born in Haifa, and moved to

Acre at the age of 5. He was initiated as a Lewis in

1971 into Lodge Akko, a lodge of which his father

was a founding member. In 1980, he was elected

Master of his lodge. He is also a 33rd degree Mason

in the Ancient & Accepted Rite, where he is Grand

Orator of the Supreme Council, State of Israel.

GM Mansour is the third Palestinian Arab to serve

as Grand Master of Israel since the 1950s and was

presented with a 242 stamp sheet in January.

Just before Christmas an announcement was made on this website

announcing the reception of the rights to confer the degrees of the

Rectified Rite and form a Grand Priory to confer the Grades of the

Rectified Rite here in the United States. The formation of a Grand

Priory will be under the auspices of the Grand Encampment of

Knights Templar. The rights to confer 4° through 6° are the only de-

grees which we have been granted authority, and include Knight of

St. Andrew through to Chevalier Bienfaisant de Cite Saint (CBCS).

In most Rectified Rite organizations, the rights to confer the first three degrees of Freema-

sonry or the blue lodge degrees are controlled if not conferred by those Grand Priories.

The Grand Encampment has no such right, no would wish to do so.

The R.E.R. is a strictly Christian Order, and as such the requirements are to be a practic-

ing Christian. There are ritualistic requirements which cannot be assumed by non-

Christians. Further one needs to be a Knight Templar and a member of a Symbolic Lodge

in fraternal accord with a Grand Lodge recognized by most of the members of the Con-

ference of Grand Masters of North America. A $750 initiation fee will be required which

will cover the necessary paraphernalia and 2011 dues. Dues will be $100 per year. Only

time will tell how successful this rite will be.

The Reformed and Rectified Rite of US


Grand Lodge of California—1906 Earthquake

Most people are aware of the devastating earthquake of 1906 in California which led to the design of many

new buildings that would stand up to future earthquakes. However, few brethren would realise that the

Grand Lodge of California was affected. The master and wardens jewels were damaged and recovered

from the Grand Temple at Post and Montgomery following the earthquake and fire.

HMS Imperieuse

The photograph on the right is that of Bro. Coates dated 24/11/1893 and with a Hong

Kong photographers tradecard back. A naval uniform, badges just visible on arm and

with masonic dress of the HMS Imperieuse Masonic Lodge. It can only be assumed that

there was a RAC attached to the lodge which met on board as well. A number of photo-

graphs appeared of sailors on the ship in regalia.

This comes from an album closely associated with HMS Imperieuse that was on China

station at this time. The ship was an armoured cruiser launched in 1883. She was con-

verted into a depot ship in 1905 and renamed HMS Sapphire II. The name was reverted to

Imperieuse in 1909 and she was sold in 1913.


In Memoriam

It is with deep sadness and much regret that we have to inform you of a loss sustained to the

craft in Renfrewshire in the passing to the Grand Lodge above of the following Brother:

Bro. Ian Davidson

The dead are like the stars by day … withdrawn from mortal eye… yet not extinct that hold their way

In glory through the sky… .Spirits of bondage thus set free… .Vanish amidst immensity… While hu-

man thought… .Like human sight… .Fail to pursue…. Their trackless flight.

Quite an Advert!

Fancy joining 4 or 5 Orders in a day? Well how about this? Very different indeed.


The Cross Keys is Edited and Researched by

Brothers - Grant Macleod & Brian Kerr

Lodge Websites www.lodge242.co.uk

www.lodge242.bravehost.com

E-Mail: [email protected]

Thanks to Bro. Allan Stobo WJW for proof reading.

Don’t forget to support the Ashlar magazine—

Scotland’s only Masonic magazine., especially with

242 on the front

Just click on the magazine to find out more.

http://www.lodge242.co.uk/

http://www.lodge242.bravehost.com/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.circlepublications.com/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/171263879572502?ap=1

cross keys october 2011

Documents

obligations rms titanic

question of obligations

john clarke mbe obligations

ye counsel of ye assembly

member of holland lodge

grand lodges ceiling

grand lodge of nys main

ye secrets mysteries