In this episode of Masonic Central, we are joined by Paul Bessel and Jerry Samet who are both prominent Masons in their own right, with Br. Paul having served in 7 Grand lodge offices under the Grand Lodge of Washington DC and Br. Jerry as the Past Grand Master of Washington DC. If those titles were not emphasis enough, Br. Paul is a prolific author and collector of Masonic information, which he publishes on his Masonic website www.bessel.org as well as in print in his 2005 book Masonic Questions and Answers.
Together we talk about some of the deepest topics of Masonry today, including past and present segregation that exists in Freemasonry and their work to better integrate the fraternity and broaden its recognition of Prince Hall Masonry. In the discussion we discover both their successes and failures of the of the concept of modern Grand Master Classes , also known as “One Day Classes”, and we explore some ideas on how to make Masonry interesting and more enjoyable for its members.
In the conversation we delve more deeply into some hot issues of the day including:
- Racism and Freemasonry
- The future of the fraternity, and how it will survive.
- The values and need for the one day class.
- The role of the web and Freemasonry to broaden and spread Masonic knowledge.
- And the ever contentious doctrine of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction.
- And the asking of men to become members.
Without a doubt this conversation will open your eyes and raise some eyebrows on the subject matter we covered, no matter what side of the fence you reside. At their heart, these are some very key issues that the fraternity has started to face, but will with increasing frequency, more in years to come.
The original program was recorded August 31, 2008 at 6 PM PST on the Masonic Central podcast.
Jerry Samet passed away in December, 2020.
