Monthly Archives: February 2011

How much Masonic Charity is enough?

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This story comes from the Concord Monitor story – Make Masons prove they shouldn’t pay from February 10th.

New Hampshire Freemasonry wants some relief, tax relief, under the umbrella of being being a charitable organization. The question from the state – how much charity is enough to BE a charity?

The push comes from five state representatives including Concord Democrat Stephen Shurtleff, all Freemasons, want to exempt Masonic temples from property taxes. The Bill is sponsored by Rep Alfred Baldasaro, Rep Stephen Shurtleff, Rep Shawn Jasper, Rep Sherman Packard and Rep Kenneth Weyler.

The test comes from a state Supreme Court ruling on a similar request from the Home Care Association of New Hampshire which sought an exemption from Concord property taxes too. In the ruling Associate Justice Gary Hicks wrote:

“charitable mission must be its dominant or primary purpose; if the dominant or primary purpose of its work is to its members or a limited class of persons, the organization will not meet this requirement, even if the public will derive an incidental benefit from such work.”

The language of the New Hampshire House Bill 396 would add the same exemption to Grange Halls too and reads:

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven

AN ACT exempting the land and buildings of Masonic temples or building associations from property taxation.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Property Tax Exemption; Annual List. Amend RSA 72:23-c, I to read as follows:

I. Every religious, educational, and charitable organization, Grange, Masonic temple or building association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the American National Red Cross, and any other national veterans association shall annually, on or before April 15, file a list of all real estate and personal property owned by them on which exemption from taxation is claimed, upon a form prescribed and provided by the board of tax and land appeals, with the selectmen or assessors of the place where such real estate and personal property are taxable. If any such organization or corporation shall willfully neglect or refuse to file such list upon request therefor, the selectmen may deny the exemption. If any organization, otherwise qualified to receive an exemption, shall satisfy the selectmen or assessors that they were prevented by accident, mistake, or misfortune from filing an application on or before April 15, the officials may receive the application at a later date and grant an exemption thereunder for that year; but no such application shall be received or exemption granted after the local tax rate has been approved for that year.

2 Granges; Masonic Temples or Building Associations Added. Amend RSA 72:23-h to read as follows:

72:23-h Granges and Masonic Temples or Building Associations. The real estate and personal property owned by Granges or by Masonic temples or building associations which are incorporated in this state shall be exempt from property taxes. If such property is rented for business purposes, the real estate shall not be exempt.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect April 1, 2011.

The Bill is presently in the New Hampshire House Municipal and County Government Committee.

On the surface, the change puts Masonic Lodges in good company with the VFW, American Legion, and the Red Cross but as the Concord Monitor reports, unlike these similar organizations New Hampshire Masonry does not implicitly include charity as its reason for being rather it is a by product of its teachings – Not a charity but an organization that teaches Charitable ideas.  If memory serves, the Grange is a similar institution, a meeting hall social development organization for the farming community, but non religious, and not entirely charitable conscious.

When queried in an earlier article on the subject, Masons seek tax-exempt status, the Bill Sponsors said of seeking the tax exemption status:

“We represent what is hopefully the best of mankind,…We’re trying to teach how to better men. We refer to God, but we speak of God as the supreme being.”

“The Masons do a lot for charity,” said Shurtleff, a member of the Penacook chapter and a Freemason for more than 25 years. “I can see if a lodge rented out to another agency and generated money from it, it should be taxable. But if money comes only from membership and it works as a charitable entity, I don’t see why it’s not tax-exempt like other organizations.”

The savings in property tax, for one lodge at least would be close to $8,411.

Inherently, I think its a great idea to proclaim lodges and Temple associations as a charity, but with the mandate that there be some proscribed measure of charitable activity like the Red Cross or the VFW or some other activity that benefits society more so than just making charitably conscious members.  Occasional donations and scholarships are a stretch to being an institutional charity – but their a good start.  Like the Red Cross or the VFW create mission of Relief, one of the three principal tenets of Masonry.  And, in the end, that may be what the Bill sponsors are intending to do.

Faith, Hope, and Charity

Masons seek tax-exempt status

square and compass, freemasonry, S&C, freemason information

The Masonic Bible

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Two interesting “non-Masonic” takes on the Masonic bible.

I have to admit its amusing to me the degree that these are extolled as “satanic” or “evil” which I suppose just goes to show how little is known or understood about the fraternity today from these obviously very old Bibles.

Enjoy

I really like the 2nd video’s bible, lots of images to go along with the content.

If you don’t already have one of your own, you can still pick up a Master Mason Edition Bible on Amazon.

Beyond Belief from Fox News

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I stumbled across this and thought it an amusing look back at the decade that was.  This goes back a ways to 2008, Beyond Belief on Fox News’ Hanity’s America about “The Freemasonry…”

I apologize in advance for the quality, it looks like someone ripped it right off from the television screen.

Definitely interesting mix use of art and Meltzer giving his 2 cents. Pentagrams, owls, and squares and compasses….oh my – barely enough show to hold all the conspiracy theories.  Its definitely Beyond Belief!

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The diminshment of religious liberty.

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An interesting piece in Religion dispatches titled “The Quietly Crumbling Wall of Separation.“

The article makes an interesting case for the diminished protection over the free exercise of religion steaming from the 1990 Justice Scalia decision of Emplotment Division v. Smith – an interesting case in which the Court determined that the state could deny unemployment benefits to a person fired for violating a state prohibition on the use of peyote, even though the use of the drug was part of a religious ritual. It said that states have the power to accommodate otherwise illegal acts done in pursuit of religious beliefs, they are not required to do so.

The Religious Dispatches piece says:

“…there are two clauses that protect religious liberty in the First Amendment: the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause. During the same period in which the courts have lowered the bar for protecting the free-exercise principle, they’ve also cut back significantly on protections for the flipside of the coin, the anti-establishment principle.

The combined trends, say many advocates, endanger the lofty constitutional pedestal on which religious liberty has rested. And, if they go unchecked, Americans may one day be forced to re-learn the difficult lessons from centuries of European history that inspired the nation’s founders to protect the “First Freedom” (literally, the first 16 words of the First Amendment) by creating a clear—and unique, at that time, in the annals of human history—institutional separation between religion and the state.”

The challenge with the change said Brent Walker, Executive Director Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, is that “Unfortunately, the clauses have been watered down to suggest religion needs only to be treated the same as other interests,” saying further…

“In fact, often religion should be treated differently—to ensure free exercise by lifting governmentally imposed burdens and prevent establishments by prohibiting government sponsorship of religion. Religion is special and is treated specially by the First Amendment. We must recognize its uniqueness if religious liberty in this country is to be vital over the next decade.”

With agreement from the ACLU to the Southern Baptist Convention dating back to the original Smith decision.

What role do you think region should have when considered by government?  Should it be held as something unique, or as one of many exercises of free speech?

Read more on the issue on Religion Dispatches.

Fred Milliken,Freemason Information,The Beehive

The Masonic Funeral Service Done Well

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Question, what is the most important function of a Masonic Lodge?  Is it initiating new members, taking care of widows and orphans, community charity, providing scholarships, marching in parades, esoteric study, brotherly bonding?

The answer is none of the above.  The most important function of a Masonic Lodge is to bury its dead. The Masonic funeral service is the most important act of compassion and service that a Masonic Lodge can perform for a Freemason and his family.

Yet too often not enough preparation, practice and elocution go into its performance. It’s often just one more chore, one more duty in the awesome responsibilities of a Worshipful Master.

Obtaining permission to ceremoniously bury members of the Black community in the 1770’s was a major concern of Prince Hall and prompted him to seek out Freemasonry to help him accomplish this end. It has been said by many scholars that way back in the operation of early English and Scottish Lodges, before the formation of the Grand Lodge of England, a funeral ceremony was part of their modus operandi.

If so then the best way for us to honor our grieving Brother’s family and the best way to honor our commitment to God and the best way to follow through with who we really are is to do justice to the ceremony of honoring and saying goodbye to a Brother who has been called to the Celestial Lodge above.

As you watch this video, see in it the fulfillment of that Masonic obligation well done.  And think about in your own Lodge of perhaps forming a Masonic Funeral Team who will memorize the service and deliver it with the feeling and the sincerity that befits a Mason and that will do justice to the departing Brother and to God who sits and reins in the heavenly Grand East forever and forever.

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The Habitation of The Grand Architect

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a poem by Bro. Rev. J. Gierlow
From The Masonic Mirror,
October, 1872

God dwells in light!
Before the ocean of unmeasured space
Was islanded with stars serenely bright­
Reflecting back the radiance of His face,‑­
He dwelt above, in Heaven’s immortal bliss,
Thinking into existence that which is.

God dwells in light!
Before He laid the world’s foundation‑ stone
High on the nothing of primeval night,
And in Heaven’s center throned th’ eternal
He dwelt above, beyond the far‑off sky,
With Angels born of His Eternity.

God dwells in light!
And holds within the hollow of His hand
The universe of worlds which gem the night,
Which, through Heaven’s sea, at His divine command.
Freighted with His own smiles now sail at even,
Fearless of storms, around the sun in Heaven.

God dwells in light!
And where He dwells, there spirits also dwell,
Who drink fresh glory from His face so bright,
As stars drink from the sun’s deep golden well
Exhaustless beams, so that they never die,
And thereby show His immortality.

10,000 French defection a hoax?

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It would seem so.

The article in El Confidencial was refuted in a posting by the Grand Master Ortega of the SL España who denies the story (Thanks to Chirs Hodapp for the comment and link to the blog Worshipful Lodge No. 33 Añaza published today).

In relation to information published in the secular press of Spanish, I say:

Completely untrue that 10,000 French Brothers want to join the Grand Lodge of Spain. As of today, January 31, 2011, the number of French brothers who have applied for membership of the Grand Lodge of Spain that I have the honor to lead is … zero. Again, zero. Indeed, there has been no request to that effect, contrary to what transpired in the secular press. The contents of the article in a digital media does not correspond to reality and can only be understood as a sort of trial balloon launched by someone, I fear that a Mason in lower case, which is still far from certain polish stone to heat up the atmosphere and create an environment conducive to that possibility. But the reality is stubborn and, as I said, there has been no movement of French Brothers to join the Grand Lodge of Spain. In this regard I must reiterate that, in my opinion, every Big East is sovereign and independent, so that should be resolved internally the events that occur within it, and no other Grand Lodge should interfere or meddle in matters that concern them.

The original story reported:

“Sources of the Grand Lodge of Spain consulted by El Confidencial suggest that “what has been, so far, are some contacts of the brothers of France to see if the GLE would open its doors, as the organization in that country has suffered hit hard by the actions of its Grand Master. ”

These sources emphasize that “the crisis in the GLNF is very strong and many members have sent us their intention not to be affiliated with the organization since they are very disappointed by the political manipulation that has been made of the institution. These sources Emphasize That “the crisis in the GLNF is very strong and Many members sat us Have Their intention Not to be Affiliated with the organization Since They Are very disappointed by the Political manipulation That has-been made of the institution. One thing is that you can Masons have in politics is quite another to such an institution serving some interests, which is prohibited. One thing Masons That May Have Another in policy and remove to put Such an institution serving Some Interests, Which is prohibited. Stifani Freemasonry has betrayed. “Stifani Freemasonry has betrayed.”

The betrayal was cited as a letter Stifani sent to French President Nicolas Sarkozy in January, 2009 wrote a letter in which he expressed his (Masonic) support to him and several cabinet members.  The letter has since forced François Stifani’s resignation as the organizations President, but not its Grand Master, and the appointment of Monique Legrand, judicial administrator, as the ad hoc administrator of the French National Grand Lodge (GLNF).

Was it merely a testing of the waters? Seems not to be the case.