Building bridges in North Carolina

Br. Chris Hodapp posted this story up today, which is a great one to see in the press.

Take the time to watch the video from the News Carolina 14 broadcast (coming out of [tags]Charlotte, North Carolina[/tags]), to see first hand the example of fraternal brotherhood between the Grand Lodge of North Carolina A.F.& A.M. and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand of North Carolina who met together under official recognition.

As said by Worshipful Brother James Elliot in the video, it truly is “breaking down the color barriers and cultural barriers as Masonry is for the universality of all men”.

Well done brothers.

Secret Societies in the Social Media Age

The Secret Society, the Original Social Network.
The Secret Society, the Original Social Network.

If you’ve spent any time with a nose in the news, you know that the phenomenon of Social Media has become a staple of our way of life.  Just the fact that your reading this blog, means that you spend some time on the web delving into the edges of web 2.0 and the tip of the social media iceberg. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, and host of other blogs, e-groups, and outlets.  But as the social net grows, where does the aspect of a “secret society” stand when enveloped in so much transparency?

In its broader sense, social media is the loose assortment of websites, blogs, and forum that the reader can post, contribute, follow, and send to friends, in essence, taking a role in the development of the life of the content being generated. In sharing it, the participant is now involved in shaping its meaning by contributing their own thoughts to the discussion.

This is different from the past where web pages were static and filled with one dimensional information.  Now any reader can become a vibrant participant in a community of readers contributing their own input to the message.  It becomes empowering to be able to share in the dialog of something you feel passionate about.

Many will say that social media was/is a passing trend in internet usage, but very quickly it is becoming a mainstay of our daily existence.  To site a few examples, local news broadcasters have their own Twitter accounts, many agencies (governmental or non governmental) post updates and announcements on Twitter before they send press releases to the media, and businesses frequently utilize marketing guru’s to add and aggregate their content to their lists of thousands of followers.  In many ways, it is taking a leading role in marketing an idea before it falls into past traditional marketing processes.

Seeing this seems to set it counter current to the idea of the fraternal secret societies that have evolved their particular brand of “not a secret society, but a society with secrets” practice. Really, you could say that the fraternity concept is a model of pre-digital social networking bringing in individuals to meet, mingle and grow their base of friends and associates.  Just as in the contemporary social media set up, news is often shared and parsed for new ideas to grow and take shape.

This is exactly the practice takes place in the lodge rooms and social halls of Freemasonry.

How do we blend the physical and the digital?  How does the society that defines its teachings as secret awaken to find itself in the modern age of digital correspondence, international friends groups and interested participants?  And this only addresses those in the know, what about those outside the circle of knowledge about the fraternity, what about engaging those beyond the fold to raise awareness that the organization exists?

Social media will not be a silver bullet of marketing, but instead will be another tool in in the arsenal of ideas and mediums to communicate with.  Doubtful will the secrets of generations be communicated or passed online rather than in person, but this boom of Gen Y culture will absolutely dictate how the Secret Society makes itself accessible.  Maybe evening some respects cause it to stop and reflect on what exactly the secrets are and what they mean in an age when secrecy as such is little regarded.

Somewhere in the digital either is a happy medium of the knowledge that was once communicated mouth to ear but now very accessible to even the youngest of neophytes.  Besides the scheduling of events and posts of meeting goings on is the next step in educating those of interest to know more.  And it is in that space, between secret society and social media, that the real transformation of Masonic light will shine forth.

In the mean time, what do you think about the intersection of social media and secret societies?  Where do they cross?

Ol’ Leroy McKrank and the Council of the Knights of the Royal Arch

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yorkA couple of decades back, Ol’ Leroy McKrank decided to join the York Rite. Now this was the only other body of Masonry that Ol’ Leroy had ever joined, mainly because he refused to fork over the cash required to join any additional bodies. But at the time, each York Rite body’s dues were only five bucks a piece, so Ol’ Leroy thought it was a pretty good deal. Fifteen smackers for three organizations? Who could pass that up?

Leroy sat through all nine degrees, held over the course of a few months, with an expression of awe on his face. The Brethren of the York Rite took his expression to mean that he was thoroughly impressed with the degrees. However, Ol’ Leroy was actually in a state of shock. Everywhere he looked he saw extravagant sets for the degrees, various aprons with different designs upon them, and the most dumbfounding thing that Leroy noticed was the impressive uniforms of the Knights Templar. Shiny swords? Custom made chapeaus? This was surely the most wasteful display that he had ever seen in Freemasonry. Besides, Ol’ Leroy figured that you didn’t need three bodies to tell the whole story of the York Rite.

So after Ol’ Leroy McKrank had received the Order of the Temple, he went home and started to do some thinking. He was determined to create a less wasteful order for those that were interested in the York Rite, but he would also need a chance to implement it. He got the chance when the York Rite came to the Blue Lodge a few years later in dire straights. They needed help with the rent and Ol’ Leroy jumped at the opportunity.

“Well I’ll tell ya what your problem is,” Leroy told the High Priest of the Royal Arch Chapter, “too much gol’ dang waste! I got a plan that will save you all kinds of money and you won’t have to ask the lodge for nothin’!”

That is when Ol’ Leroy told them about the Council of the Knights of the Royal Arch. It was a single degree that enveloped all the teachings of the York Rite. It was like a book made into a movie. Sure, you get the general story line, but where is the content? Ol’ Leroy McKrank explained the degree in detail to the members.

“You see, you get your candidate to start off over here and then he goes and gets his work inspected and then can’t get paid, so he talks to the boss man and gets paid and to apologize for his not gettin’ paid the boss man makes him the Master of the Lodge. Then its time to dedicate the temple and then we tear it down and throw the candidate into the rubble to find some stuff and he does find some purdy important things.” Leroy proceeded to fly around the lodge room, giving a demonstration of the floor work for the degree. It looked as though he was running sprints from the west to the east and back to the west again. “Then we remind him of his last conversation with good ol’ Hiram who shows him where he’ll leave some important tools and when he goes to find what Hiram was tellin’ him about…well…the guards stop him and just about put him to death. But luckily, some other fella’ was nappin’ on the job so we’ll kill him instead and take it easy on the candidate this time.” Leroy cackled about his little joke before continuing. “So then he has to go to Persia and talk to that fella’ Darius and ask to build the temple. He gets into an argument about whether a beer, a purdy lady, or some ol’ duffer is more powerful and says that truth is better than all of them. Then he goes to Malta for some reason to become a Knight and then he winds up here and we read him the book of Matthew and take a few shots. You don’t need no swords or nothin’, just a couple of aprons and a couple of guys that can tell a story.”

Ol’ Leroy had a smile of pure satisfaction with his creation on his face. The members of the York Rite stood with their mouths open in disbelief. It is unknown whether they were so confused and awestruck by what they had heard or whether they were in such a destitute situation that they had no other options, but they accepted Ol’ Leroy’s proposal.

Leroy slapped his knee and cackled, “Now this is a Masonic degree!”

To this day, Ol’ Leroy McKrank’s York Rite body operates the only Council of the Knights of the Royal Arch.

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eye, god, all-seeing, triangle eye, money eye

A question on the secrets of Freemasonry

I had this question posed to me today in an email from a brother on Facebook.

As freemasons, we are under oath and obligation to keep the secrets of masonry. Based on your understanding what are the secrets with so much material out on our craft?

My thoughts on formulating an answer are below.  I’m sure its not the only answer, but one that seemed fitting in answering the question.  I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the matter too.

Secret  is a relative term.  Is it the signs, tokens, words, or ideas and philosophy.

With so much published today, by the fraternity itself over the years, it makes me wonder what the craft itself holds as secret.

If anything, the secrets it possesses are those that even few masons truly comprehend, the state and nature of the divine, our connection to it, and how we communicate it.

Our best tool in keeping the secrets has been to not teach the meaning of masonry to its fullest potential, and its in that quest that we discover what the secret meaning is.

Ben Franklin is purported to of said that “the only secret of Freemasonry is that there is no secret” and maybe that is truer than what many realize.  But as much weight that the society places on secrecy still begs the question of what its secrets might be.

Is it fraternalism?  Is it some hermetic wisdom?  Is it merely a collection of tokens or words?

UCLA and the California Grand Lodge to bring Freemasonry into academia.

Postdoctoral Fellowship. The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Masonic Grand Lodge of California are pleased to announce a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA from September 15, 2010 through June 15, 2011. The position is open to a recent Ph.D. with a strong interest in the history of civil society, fraternalism and Freemasonry.

This second postdoctoral fellow will teach one course in either American (North or South) or European history with emphasis on Freemasonry, designed in consultation with Prof. Margaret C. Jacob, Distinguished Professor of History, and work with a graduate student research assistant with an interest in any aspect of the field. A $50,000 stipend, office space for the nine-month period, and a modest relocation fee will be provided. The postdoctoral fellow must remain in residence while classes are in session.

Applicants should submit a CV and three letters of recommendation to Prof. Margaret C. Jacob by December 15, 2009. UCLA is an AA/EOE. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Freemasonry is the world’s first and largest fraternal organization. The Masons of California have supported public education since 1850 and are proud to advance academic research and study in the field of Freemasonry and fraternalism.

 

Enough is to much in the Virginia Shrine…

This story slipped under the radar.  The burning taper posted on it, but sadly, someone found it distasteful and gave it a thumbs down on King Solomon’s agrigator.

But really, this raises SO many red flags and questions that it is really impossible to ignore.  My questions is how, at his first arrest was he allowed to remain on the roles, and second, how is it he is still on them today?

What does this story make you question?

The story (now in archive): Former leader of Hampton Roads Shriners arrested on child porn charges

The tag:  A Shriner – known for his charitable work with children – is now accused of having a thousand graphic images and video of child porn.

Seriously, is this Freemasonry???

This came to me on Facebook, that I thought important to add…

“I did not catch the word “conviction”. I think they said the investigation started in 2007 but it sounds like it has not been to trial. I think he was probably arrested, bonded but not convicted (yet).

He violated the terms of his bond so was was arrested again (the arrest would probably have been for violation of the conditions of bond) for a bond violation.

I am sure they (the GL of Va) are waiting on a conviction for the child porn. Knowing the GM like I do he will be gone as sure as old faithful will blow again as soon as the conviction is handed down & GL gets a certified copy of the conviction in hand.”

emblem of industry

The Knight At Ease

Steve McKim is a Master of Masonic art and he designs many good presentations. One of his latest works is called Masonic Dreams.  And from that collection here is characterization of a good friend.

You can see much of the rest of McKim’s artwork

Stop and browse awhile.  If you ever do a Masonic presentation or write a book consider Steve McKim or Greg Stewart to do the artwork for you.

Episcopalians Challenge the Inerrancy of the Bible

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Disclaimer: this article is intended to provide information and perspective on a current event. This article is not meant to be a persuasive piece supporting any particular position, it is only meant to stimulate the contemplation of the subject discussed within.

episcopal churchLast week, the Episcopal Church in the United States decided to give its bishops the freedom to bless (and now perform) same-sex marriages. This decision will likely cause further deterioration of the relationship between the Episcopalian Church and the world-wide Anglican communion. However, it is the effect that this event may have on traditional Christian beliefs that makes it interesting.

It has long been the belief of many Christian denominations that the Bible is the infallible word of God. This belief exists in spite of the fact that the books which compose the Bible were decided upon centuries after Christ walked the earth. As more Christian denominations were founded and more supplemental writings were developed to teach the members of each denomination how to interpret the perfect word of God, more and greater disparities developed between Christian denominations.

Many beliefs have developed among modern Christians that can seem questionable when compared with the teachings found in scripture. Some ministers have taught that the ten commandments are no longer applicable because Jesus gave a new law to love one another when Jesus himself said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17) Some churches have given a specific date for the second coming when Jesus said “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36) But no decision by the church has ever been so clearly in conflict with the Christian scriptures as the decision to allow same-sex marriages to be blessed by the church.

You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.
Leviticus 18:22

Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Of course, the ultimate Biblical passage that teaches its followers that homosexuality is a terrible sin is the graphic story of those infamous cities Sodom and Gomorrha.

The question here is, “If churches bless same-sex marriage, shouldn’t they just erase these verses from the Bible?” After all, to teach the inerrant nature of the Bible to your members and then turn around and bless an action clearly forbidden by that same divine publication seems to be a bit hypocritical.

The truth of the matter is that it doesn’t matter what the church’s stance is on the issue of gay marriage as long as its teachings are consistent. As society becomes more accepting of homosexuality and church’s strive to attract younger members in order to fill their diminishing ranks, it is inevitable that homosexuals will find a more comfortable pew in which they can sit. But if the church is going to contradict the scriptures that it calls holy, it should at least teach its members that the scriptures aren’t quite perfect.

It should be interesting to see how the actions of the Episcopal Church affect the Christian church as a whole. Will other denominations cling to their traditional beliefs and the perfection of the Bible as their members leave to find more progressive religious movements? Or will they forsake their current perspective of the Bible in favor of giving their members the freedom to read, interpret, and follow the holy scriptures as they please?

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Realizing The Opportunity

Gate City Lodge 2

A printed media distributed over a wide area of Georgia called The Sunday Paper has published a long story on the Gate City Lodge 2 situation titled, “Letting In A Black Man, Atlanta Freemason Lodge Fights For Equality.” The paper tells the story of Victor Marshall the soft spoken Black Army Reservist raised by Gate City 2 who has become the center of a controversy being reported across the nation and to the world.

As we all know now the charges have been dropped but Attorney Brother David Llywellen explains the continuance of the Lodge’s counter suit.

“The apparent lack of foundation for the charges filed against Gate City, as well as a fear of losing their charter, led Bjelajac and Gate City to file a lawsuit in DeKalb County to stop the Grand Lodge of Georgia from taking internal action against the lodge and its leader. Llywellen contends that the Grand Lodge had an obligation to dismiss the charges leveled by Hicks and Etheridge as soon as they were filed. Instead, says Llywellen, the Grand Lodge, including a South Georgia attorney named Franklin Aspinwall, who was to chair the Masonic charges and is named in the suit, violated their contractual obligation to Gate City members by putting their charter in jeopardy based on “spurious” charges. Although the internal charges made by Hicks and Etheridge have been withdrawn, the Gate City Masons want some assurance they will not be subject to similar charges in the future before they withdraw their suit.”

And as The Sunday Paper reports there was also some high level Georgia Masonic support for Gate City 2.

“ The controversy surrounding Gate City Lodge has resulted in two resignations at the state level. David Herman, a member of Gate City Lodge, resigned from his post as district deputy to the Grand Master. ‘As a District Deputy, I must be the Grand Master’s representative; nothing more and nothing less. Yet, as a Freemason, I could not sit on the sideline and be a passive witness to these events. I resigned so that I might stand with my [Gate City] Brethren.’ Gate City fell under the jurisdiction of District Deputy John Holt, an 82-year-old retired machinist and salesman, when Victor Marshall became a Master Mason. Grand Master James Jennings asked Holt to tender his resignation after the controversy broke.”

So far this is a rehash of what most of us know.  But this writer would like to contend that it is the heroic efforts of many Masons across North America in putting pressure on the Grand Lodge of Georgia that has been influential in returning a positive outcome to a divisive and despicable action foretelling enormous consequences.

From Greg Stewart’s breaking fully documented story, My Brother’s Keeper. Open Racism in Georgia Freemasonry,” to my own efforts and articles, to the articles and intercessions of Terence Satchell, we at Freemason Information have been a leader in bringing to you the reader the story in all its components and aspects and to adding our voices  working for an amicable solution based on brotherly love and the virtues of Freemasonry.

“As the drama between Gate City and the Grand Lodge plays out, it is likely to have effects beyond a shake-up of Georgia’s Masonic officers. South Dakota’s Mt. Rushmore Lodge No. 220 has petitioned the Grand Lodge of South Dakota to ‘issue a formal, public statement that it will not accept racial or religious intolerance, prejudice, or bigotry in any of its subordinate lodges.’”

Added to this effort of Brother Satchell has been the efforts of Chris Hodapp as reported by The Sunday Paper.

“’It’s humiliating for the rest of the world of Freemasonry,’ he says. ‘I contacted my Grand Master and said, ‘If it turns out that these charges go through and if something happens to Gate City Lodge or its members because of it, I would strongly recommend considering withdrawing recognition of Georgia.’”

“Despite the stickiness of the situation, Hodapp feels there are things the Grand Master could do to resolve deeper problems surrounding the Gate City situation. A statement denouncing racism in Georgia Freemasonry would help erase any confusion over the role of race in Georgia Masonry, says Hodapp. The Grand Lodge, he says, could also move to recognize Georgia’s Prince Hall Freemasons. The predominantly African-American group sprang up as a response to the segregation inherent to nearly all social groups in the United States before the mid-20th century, and is recognized by most Grand Lodges in the U.S. Recognition of Prince Hall Masons by Georgia’s Grand Lodge would make Prince Hall Masons welcome at meetings of Masonic Lodges across Georgia and blur the implied color line that comes from having two separate grand lodges in the state.”

There is an opportunity here that already has been seen by some.  That is a chance to move into high gear the breakup of the KKK influence in Southern Freemasonry and the adoption of racial mixing with the recognition of Prince Hall Masonry throughout the region.  If the Mainstream Grand Lodge of Georgia were to issue a proclamation of racial harmony as a policy of the Grand Lodge and if they were to accompany that with Prince Hall recognition they would break the back of racism in Southern Freemasonry and blow wide open the continued discrimination of Blacks and the non recognition of Prince Hall.

If you look historically at important changes in life, of new courses chartered in unfamiliar waters, in most cases you will not see them just sort of falling together of their own free will and accord but rather being driven by an outspoken leader or group who rallies public opinion to the extent of overwhelming all who disagree.

We have just such an opportunity today if many of us will just come out of our little insular Masonic shell and view the Craft in the U.S.A. as one fraternity not 50 different societies.  There is no reason that Freemasons from every region and every state cannot be united in seeking enforcement of certain basic principles of righteousness taking heed of the methods of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King to bring about change and acceptance of basic human and civil rights.  There is no reason today in the Information Age Society in which we live to be restricted from speaking out against human wrongs and working actively for human rights because you belong to another Masonic jurisdiction. Non Masons are going to look at and judge Freemasonry as a whole not selectively differentiating between what the Grand Lodges of Minnesota and Vermont do in contrast to how the Grand Lodges of Georgia and Louisiana operate.

There are other Brothers working in other jurisdictions to bring about peaceful reconciliation. They feed off and are inspired by our support.  If the Grand Lodge of Georgia were to close Gate City Lodge 2 and pull its charter then that would be a setback for development in other jurisdictions, for Grand Masters who seek to keep things as they were 100 years ago would be emboldened. It is the sharing of information and the encouragement we give that can motive those caught in a seemingly hopeless situation to nevertheless continue on. And it is important for all of us in the Fraternity to recognize that we are in the Information Age where ideas are exchanged, information published and discussion made available.  This is no longer your Grandfather’s Chevrolet.

Most important of all is the ability for us to recognize that we are all one.  Californian Masons and Kansas Masons and Michigan Masons and Maryland Masons and South Carolina Masons and Florida Masons and Kentucky Masons and Arkansas Masons and Colorado Masons and Alberta Masons and Ontario Masons and Nova Scotia Masons are all one, all Brothers of the same Three Degrees, all children of God working for the Brotherhood of man under the Fatherhood of God. We are all one.

The story in The Sunday Paper, Letting in a black man – Atlanta Freemason lodge fights for equality, has since been archived and the site disbanded.

The Grand Lodge of California

grand lodge of california

The Grand Lodge of Grand Lodge of California is the next stop on the tour of American Grand Lodges.

  • Grand Lodge of California Masonic membership:
  • 68,714  – 2006
  • 66,127  – 2007
  • gain/loss  –  -2,587
  • Data from MSANA

State population: 36,756,666 as of 2008 (estimated)

About the Grand Lodge
During the Gold Rush of 1849, thousands of settlers came to California in search of fortune. Those who were Masons brought their rich traditions with them, soon establishing some of California’s first Masonic lodges in the mining towns of the Gold Country. In 1850 — the same year that California became a state — the Grand Lodge of California was established in Sacramento.

The Grand Lodge of California does not have a listing on Wikipedia.

The site includes a brief history of Freemasonry’s origin there, and includes a fun interactive time line of Freemasonry in California.

Some of what I found on my excursion there:

The Grand Lodge of California website
The Grand Lodge of California website

The Grand Lodge site has a very strong URL (freemason.org) which gives it high presence in search engine placement for the term Freemason.  Upon a simple search of the term Freemason, the California Grand Lodge ranks as the #3 for that search term.

Visually, the site it very clean and crisp with an immediate appeals to the eye.  Both bright and interactive it has a strong professional presence.  At the first load of the page is an attention grabber flash image of George Washington laying a corner stone that makes a quick transition from black and white to color introducing a number of interactive boxes for the visitor to explore.  In those boxes are several of the elements that Freemasonry promotes including Tolerance, Personal Growth, Family, Philanthropy, Ethics, and Freedom.  Each of the images are click able to display an image and an aphorism to the virtue and a member that exemplifies it.

Overall the layout is straight forward and in the places where it needs to delve deep with pull down menus with links to additional pages.

Visually, the site does not link overtly to the state of California in that the graphics could easily be extended to any other state with a quick change of the name California.  Using the image of Washington in such a prominent position distracts from the prominence being on the state instead emphasizing a small part of Masonic history.

Prominent on the page at the top is a link to news and events which with a quick click hover over opens a list of items to select from (though disappointedly not events).  In the list are several choices of interest to many, including past issues of the California Freemason magazine, press information, and the Grand Masters itinerary.  What I did not find was a calendar of events, at least listed as such, as upcoming activities were listed under “news”.  In the news section I did find an article on the websites award of excellence for its design and content. (Congratulations!)

The site itself is very flexible as it is a custom build with a great deal of development potential.  In many respects the site has been developed out to the extent that it needs to be, as it covers most of what the Grand Lodge needs to communicate including contact info of the Grand Lodge, its leadership, its charitable endeavors and scholarships, public events, and member information.

Informational Content:

The Ca GL site definitely gives you your times worth of material to look at.  What makes the content work is that the various sections are short and to the point for what they communicate.  In some instances, it leaves the reader wanting more (as in the history), but in most it gives just enough to encourage the reader to take the next step, such as the How to become a mason | information section.  It also transitions well from talking about California Masonry and how to become one to a link for “more info”, which takes you to a detailed and smart form for the user to fill in.  Interestingly, it does not put as the priority the request to become a member, rather weaving it into it in to the offering of choices making it less about the conversion and more an informed reader’s choice.

One feature that I do like is that each page carries the navigation to the other pages and makes ones visit there easy to get around.  This is a function of the sites navigation (both the top and the side) that one can jump from page to page as they explore the site.  It also uses the right side to feature ad blocks of relevant items for the visitor to click, such as the upcoming 150th Grand Lodge communication and opportunities to charitably give.  Again, this is a very smart way to entice the visitor (both mason and non) to explore and find out more information.

Something I did not find were a variety of external links to sites not immediately tied to the grand Lodge.  This is good in that it keeps the traffic on the site, but bad in that it does not illustrate partnerships or even California lodge sites.  My guess is that it functions to keep an unbiased position for one site or another and keeps the specter of bias away from any particular site.  This is good and bad in that it keeps bias out (good) but fails to illustrate the breadth of the fraternity in the state, country, or world.  Under the related organizations tab there is a list of many Appendant national bodies and links to their websites.

Generally, the informational content is very good, being both enticing and informative setting the tone that Freemasonry in California is a strong and vibrant institution with lot of history and goings on, always giving enough information to make the viewer want to find out more.

Look and Feel.
As I mentioned above, the site is very crisp and clean, with a smart and professional look, while not being overly conservative or “institutional”.  The use of warm colors (deep reds, warm grays, with spot photos) definitely makes the pages inviting to the eye.  Even the mix of serif and san serif fonts is effective at differentiating between the artistic branding and the content.  There is definitely some thought that has been put into the site, which is very evident in its details.

Overall:
From a first time visitor’s point of view, I think that the Grand Lodge site would be very well received and make a very valuable impression on them as to the organization.  It is clear, warm, and full of information.  It does not try to overtly convert the reader into becoming a member, but rather seems to take the viewer on a journey into the site and its wealth of information.  And, on every page is a constant link on how to join, which is a suitable conversion point amidst all of the sites content.

The flip side of that equation is the returning visitor or the member’s visit, which is just as meaningful and interesting.  Because there is a frequently updated news section, there is something to continue to come back to regularly and often so as to stay up-to-date on the goings on around the state.  With so much content going in, what seems to be missing is a way to subscribe to the news, which could be easily remedied with an RSS feed from it or a newsletter sign up form, which seems just a step away from connecting the site to its membership.  Because it necessitates the frequent return trip to pick up the news, it runs the risk of not reaching all the members who may come across the site because the updated news is buried three links in on the news & events section.  Moving the news (via a feed or site dynamics) to the front page would easily transform the site from a single destination to a frequent communicator to the membership AND public showcasing all of the activities that they can participate in.  Another alternative is a means to subscribe to the news that visitors can opt into.  Much like receiving a mailer at home, frequent updates would keep the GL in mind as news rolls out.

Overall I think the site handles its conversion well in that in the information it presents, it portrays the fraternity in a very positive, professional, and meaningful way.  It does have a bit of a disconnect from the state in that its use of art seems more a convention of east coast Masonry (Washington and the cornerstone) but once you dig into the site, it loops back in enough of the goings on to illustrate the membership of the state.

Bonus

The henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum
The henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum

A feather in the cap of the GL of CA is the Henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum which frequently hosts a selection of shows and material of great interest to masonry.  With out going into great detail on the collection they do have a fantastic new website that beautifully illustrates its collection and goings on, which presents it as a must see destination of San Francisco art and history collections.   You can see the Henry Wilson Coil Museum and Collection live atop Nob Hill in San Francisco.

Coming up next – The Grand Lodge of Colorado