Nay, ‘tis not nuptials, but some really interesting books about Freemasonry. We have a great lineup in this column.
It’s About Time! Moving Masonry into the 21st Century, Masonic Information Center, 2006, paperbound, 17 pages, Free for nuthin’! Go to the Masonic Information Center website, www.msana.com, click on the publications tab, then on new publications, and then on the icon of the book. You can read it on line or download it.
Let’s start with the “blue.” People are already calling it the “blue book.” It was prepared by a task force of the MIC Steering Committee, in response to a request from the Conference of Grand Masters of North America that the MIC develop a program of public Masonic awareness. The report has been very well received and is already being distributed by some Grand Lodges.
The Task Force realized that past attempts at public awareness and promotional campaigns had produced disappointing results. If past campaigns with supporting budgets did little to solve the problem, how would our approach be different? Our group resisted the temptation of jumping into the “fun” of a creative project, brainstorming activities, and designing catchy slogans. We accepted the fact that a traditional PR campaign works only if you know what you want to communicate. The task for our group was to tackle the question of Masonic public identity.
The book identifies two major problems: we have lost a sense of Masonic identity, and we have a lack of energy. The book also identifies reality and talks about our response to it. It’s very good. Also, while you are at the MSA web site, check out the information on the Mark Twain Masonic Awareness Award. Lodges all over North America can participate in an exciting program to help create more awareness of Masonry, both inside and outside the Lodge. It’s important.
Josh Heller & Gerald Reilly, The Temple That Never Sleeps: Freemasonry and E-Masonry—Toward a New Paradigm, Charlottesville, Va.: Cornerstone Book Publishing, 2006, paperbound, 142 pages, ISBN 1-887560-68-8, $16.95 + S/H. Order from www.lostword.com/cstone.html or www.templeneversleeps.com/
Now, Brethren, for the “new”: Brothers Heller and Reilly have been involved from the beginning with www.masoniclight.org, one of the oldest and largest Masonic chat groups around. This book is the result of a survey conducted among participants in the site about the relationship of E-Masonry and Masonic lodges. It is an important book to read.
It is also, in some ways, maddening. Few things move me to cries of “Heresy!” (I’m called a heretic too often myself to enjoy painting with that particular brush.) But there are parts of the book which make me want to bring out the torches and pitchforks. That’s probably why it is important to read it. A large part of me is afraid that, while it may be heresy, it may also be truth. Certainly it is true that electronic Masonry and chat groups challenge many of the traditions. Such things as recognition, regularity, and clandestine status simply don’t enter into the picture as limitations on conversation. I also know, from talking to young Masons, that many of them regard such concerns, especially regularity and recognition, as simply silly.
There is no question that instant communication and the World Wide Web are changing the world rapidly and in unpredictable ways. It is also true that Lodges and Grand Lodges which do not make effective use of those tools are going to be left hopelessly behind. There is much good information in this book. It is worth reading. Whether it is a blueprint for the future, or a copy of the enemy’s battle plans, each will have to decide for himself.
Paul M. Bessel, 33°, Masonic Questions & Answers, Charlottesville, Va.: Cornerstone Book Publishing, 2005, paperbound, 125 pages, ISBN 1-887560-69-9 $16.95 +S/H. Order from www.cornerstonepublishers.com.
Ill. Brother Bessel has one of the most impressive Masonic résumés around. He has created a vast and very useful website (www.bessel.org). I went to it when I wanted to know how many Grand Jurisdictions had printed monitors, for example, and when I wanted to know the position of each state on dual and plural memberships. It is a great resource. Now he has written a book which is a good start for Masons and non-Masons alike. The book takes you through the three Degrees in a question and answer format. It is very helpful, especially for new Masons, and I have added it to my personal list of books to recommend to those beginning their Masonic journey. By the way, the book has an excellent section on Masonic resources on the Internet. It’s worth the purchase price of the book just for that.
Michael R. Poll, 32°, ed., foreword by S. Brent Morris, Ph.D., 33°, Grand Cross, Knights & Freemasons: The Birth of Modern Freemasonry: Albert Mackey and Albert Pike, Charlottesville, Va.: Cornerstone Book Publishing, 2005, paperbound, 155 pages, ISBN 1-887560-66-1, $16.95 + S/H. Order from www.cornerstonepublishers.com.
Brother Poll is well known in scholarly Masonic circles as a writer, editor, and publisher. Dr. Morris is, of course, the editor of the Journal and of Heredom, the transactions of the Scottish Rite Research Society. His foreword is excellent, a clear capsulation of the historic and traditional approaches to Freemasonry and how great men change their opinions as their knowledge and understanding change. And the concept of the book is brilliant (wish I had thought of it): bring two of the greatest thinkers and students Masonry has ever produced into the same room (so to speak) and let them slug it out by seeing what each had to say on the topic.
In this case, the topic is the Knights Templar and the origins of Masonry. We put this under the “something old” heading, because neither the question nor the opinions of Pike and Mackey are new. But the approach is, and I find new insights just in the juxtaposition. This is a good and comfortable book, crafted in an age when men knew words should glow like jewels in their settings—and both Pike and Mackey were master jewelers.
Michael R. Poll, 32°, Masonic Words and Phrases, Charlottesville, Va.: Cornerstone Book Publishing, 2005, paperbound, 103 pages, line drawing illustrations ISBN 1-887560-11-4, $16.95 + S/H. Order from www.cornerstonepublishers.com.
Here is something “borrowed.” Many of the words and phrases used in Masonry were borrowed from the craft guilds, from other languages, or from the philosophical vocabularies of the day. This book (which makes a fine companion book to Masonic Questions and Answers, shown above, provides brief but clear explanations of many of the terms used in Masonic tradition and ritual. Often, Brother Poll goes beyond a surface meaning to show the history of the word, which makes it a richer experience. For an example, consider the entry for Token.
This is from the Greek deigma, meaning example or proof—the origin of the word teach, and in its original sense had much the same meaning as sign or symbol, for it was an object used as a sign of something else. It is generally used, however, in the sense of a pledge or of an object which proves something. In our usage, a token is something that exhibits, or shows, or proves that we are Masons—the grip of recognition, for example.
This is one of those basic books that belongs in every Lodge library.
Rev. Jan L. Beaderstadt, 32°, KYGCH, Past Grand Prelate of Michigan, The Old Past Master’s Masonic Almanac A.L. 6006 Turner, MI: Coffee Time Press, 2005, paperbound, 178 pages, illustrations, miscellanea, order the 2007 edition from Coffee Time Press, P.O. Box 1, Turner, MI 48765. Send check payable to Coffee Time Press for $5.95 + $1.60 S&H.
This almanac is fun. What’s more, it has new material, old material, and reprinted (borrowed) material—all in a blue cover. It’s very much like The Old Farmer’s Almanac. There are ads from companies offering Masonic services and supplies, notices from various organizations, and some really interesting articles. The 2006 edition has articles about the Da Vinci Code, Masonic Leadership, the Library and Museum of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, Benjamin Franklin, and the Adoptive Rites. All this along with ideas, food, and fun. It’s work picking up a copy.
