The #IAmN Pin

I was on Reddit, as I am often, and read a very interesting post. The Southeastern Battalion (kind of like a district in the Masonic context) under the Grand Commandery of Michigan created the nun pin, incorporating the Arabic character ن (pronounced nun). The proceeds were raised for the Knights Templar Ecumenical Relief Fund, with proceeds to be distributed between the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization, and The Knights of Columbus Christian Refuge Relief.

For many who don't know, there is a hashtag campaign called, #IAmN (or some times #WeAreN) that is used to bring notoriety to the plight of Christians being displaced by terrorists like ISIL. Some background: the extremists, when entering a town with Christian residents, will spray paint, ن, on the houses of Christians, essentially telling them to flee, convert, or die. ن is the first letter of the Arabic word for Christians, . This letter, ن, is now being taken back in defiance of those that seek to persecute.

You can read the whole post here.

When you read this campaign, you can't help but be sympathetic. It also raises the question on what we, as Commanderies and Sir Knights, can do for our fellow Christians. Currently, the charities available are send a minister to the Holy Land or donate money to the Eye Foundation. This pin campaign is something new and interesting. Sadly, it was also a little to hot for a number of high ranking Sir Knights.

So I guess the question is, should we be involved in ecumenical relief? I think it's a conversation we should be having if nothing else than to decide what Masonic Templarism represents in the new era. We shouldn't be restricted to the past, to the Eye Foundation, to the Holy Land Pilgrimage, we should decide new areas of charitable giving and work. We need to sit down and discuss that.

What do you think? Leave a comment below. And if you want a pin, go to nunpin.org where you can find the purchase page.

Update

I have put my money where my mouth is and have purchased a pin. Also, just for pronunciation's sake, the nun is pronounced noon.

MN York Rite Retreat 2015

I just received a note from a good friend of mine, Russ, about this year's York Rite Retreat.

Details below:

I hope to make it out this retreat.

General Grands and the KT mag December 2014

As I have in the past, I have taken to task certain thoughts expressed in the Knight Templar Magazine. The Knight Templar Magazine is the official monthly publication for the Grand Encampment of the United States of America, the national body for the Masonic Knight Templars in the US. Sadly, so many opinions expressed in the magazine are beyond the pale.

I received the December 2014 issue in the mail and was rather interested to read it. The articles on Christmas are always fun and interesting so I was looking forward to this issue. Then I arrived at John Palmer’s piece, A Chat With the Managing Editor, and was stunned, to tell the truth. The tl;dr of the letter was that we, local York Rite Masons, need to stop questioning the purpose of the national bodies. As you can imagine, I believe that's an absolutely incorrect opinion. I’m going to dig a little deeper into each of his point because I was that bothered.

The reason I mention this (the Triennial) is that the delegates to the General Grand Chapter session exhibited admirable courage and leadership by setting their dues to an amount that will sustain the organization adequately in accomplishing its mission. They are to be congratulated and hopefully emulated. I suspect that some Grand Chapters will withdraw their membership because of this action. If so, that’s sad.

As you may or may not have known, the General Grand Chapter and General Grand Council raised the per capita. The per capita has been raised by a paltry sum, but a sum nonetheless. Whether Grand Chapters and Grand Councils leave over a per capita increase is something that I can’t weigh in because those are local decisions. But the fact that there could be those that leave should give us pause and ask the question why?

I have heard the question posed more than once, “What do they do for us?” That is a nonsensical question to me and exhibits the ignorance of the questioner. 

At this point, I couldn't help but say, what?! Of course the proper question is “what do they do for us?” Every dollar that a local or state body sends to a national organization is a dollar not spent locally. That’s simple economics. So, with the lack of spending that dollar, there has to be a benefit that at least equals that dollar. So to say there is ignorance is to show ignorance. You have to provide a service to justify the per capita.

There are two things wrong with that question. First, “they” are us. The General Grand Chapter is a voluntary association of Chapter Masons who pool their resources through their Grand Chapters for the promotion of Royal Arch Masonry and its purposes. 

Let’s just call this what it is, ducking the question. There has to be a justification of existence. Just because Grand Chapters and Grand Councils voluntarily associate and pool resources doesn't mean they should if they are not gaining anything of value. If the stated purpose is to promote Royal Arch Masonry and its purposes, why can’t that be done differently than how we are doing it for the same cost? I’m quite serious on this. I see a lot of aprons and bling but is that the only way to advertise Royal Arch Masonry? Give me something I can use. Not some multistate convention, not more awards, not charity speeches. Give me something to grow my Chapter, my Council, and my Commandery.

Second, the General Grand Chapter is not supposed to do anything for us. We are supposed to work together through the General Grand Chapter to promote York Rite Masonry.

The General Grand bodies are receiving moneys to promote York Rite Masonry so that is their job. It’s really that simple. It’s not an us. Chapters, Councils, and Commanderies and their respective grand bodies are paying money to General Grand to promote York Rite Masonry on a national scale. To say that it’s an “us” operation is to mischaracterize the relationship.

The last two or three generations of members of the Masonic fraternity, including mine, I call the “moocher” generations. They inherited marvelous stately buildings and a considerable amount of cash from their predecessors and were expected to maintain the facilities, invest the assets to promote the order, to accomplish the great mission of promoting harmony and morality within our society, and to pass the assets on to today’s generation with interest. Instead, we spent the money on ourselves, let the marvelous buildings decay, bankrupted the fraternity, and left virtually no resources for subsequent generations of Freemasons.

Let’s call a spade a spade. We haven’t raised dues at the local level for a long time while also having overbuilt our infrastructure during the silver age of Freemasonry. We haven’t raised them to appease a small, now-dying, percentage of our brothers. We've created a stultified 50’s and 60’s style of Masonry that was going to be unsustainable. We overbuilt after we received a rather large glut of Masons. We've made Masonry relevant to an ever-shrinking pool of brothers and bemoan the lack of interest. We halted dues to a 50’s and 60’s era level and wonder why our money is shrinking. I mean, seriously, moochers. Come on.

Moochers is an offensive term. Masonry wasn't relevant for the Boomers when they were in their 20s. It wasn't relevant for Gen Xers in their 20s and sadly, I see us going down that same failed path again with guys my age. We talk a big game and don't deliver. We'd prefer our stale coffee, lack of education, and playing soldier.

Of course, the other more humorous point is that a letter defending General Grand Bodies, without actually providing one concrete service that any of them provide, labels those that don't think they are necessary or question a per capita increase "moochers." Hunh?

To tie this back in, every dollar sent away nationally is a dollar that won’t be spent locally. And with Masonic bodies holding down the rate of dues charged, that dollar grows ever larger so yeah, “what have you done for me lately?” I don’t fault the General Grand for raising the per capita except if there is no purpose other than to maintain status quo. If a National body can show some tangible benefit commiserate with that lost opportunity cost as well as something only it can do, it is a moocher, to use Sir Knight Palmer’s word.

Masonry is, at its core, a local concern. We should focus on those local problems first and think smaller. Masonry is evolving into something different than in past generations. It is going to be small, lightweight, and able to change as quickly as technology. The largeness of the past will give way to the smallness of the future. This will go for all Masonic bodies. Does this mean I want to abandon national Masonic bodies? Absolutely not. But I do want justification. Visiting a Grand Session isn't going to cut it. Acting as overlord of all things uniform is not going to cut it. If we are going to survive and thrive, the national bodies need to listen to the concerns of the local bodies. They need to be responsive. If they are not, then they have no purpose or value. And being dismissive of wanting justification while castigating us for not being thankful for their very existence is tone deaf.

In sum, the national Masonic bodies work for us. So justify that dollar. Spend it wisely. Prove to me and everyone at the local level that yes, the General Grand _________ really helped out in this or that. If you can’t do that, then I’d like my dollar back.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.

KT mag Limits Letters to the Editor

The Seal of the Templars

I just received my newest issue of the Knight Templar magazine. I do enjoy a number of topics that the magazine touches upon and I'm quite happy when I see it arrive in my mailbox.

I begin reading through the magazine and came upon this statement from the managing editor:

I am informed that the content of the letters to the editors is beginning to reflect badly upon our institution and have been prevailed upon to limit these letters accordingly. Therefore, I am changing the editorial policy for letters to the editor as follows: Beginning with this issue, I will only publish letters to the editor which I am absolutely certain will not offend anyone.

For a long while, I would skip through the letters, skimming as quickly as possible because of a few very uncomfortable letters. Some of the opinions expressed I would consider not in keeping with the Masonic ideals and teachings all of us receive. But I'm also a little sad as I think there was some meaningful dialogue.

It's hard for a number of us. There are as many Christian denominations as there are zip codes. And most of the time, we can be very provincial in our way of thinking, especially when we forget that each denomination, and each Christian, believes in a different way the Law and Gospel and how they apply to us.

Masonic Templary bridges the gap not because of its sectarianism but its lack of sectarianism. There's no talk of justification, no encouragement to ask for intercession, no prohibitions against it. It is just a place to avoid that sectarianism.

I'm saddened that the letters will be fluff, devoid of all controversy. But, let's face, far too many fraters were just not getting it into their heads that Christendom is not united in all believes. Yet, there are things that can unite us. Perhaps this is just a cooling off period. If that's the case, I hope all Sir Knights can begin looking outside their province and reach their hand of friendship across the sectarian fence for just a moment. Let us remember the seal of the Templars, riding together on the back of one horse.

Ascension Day Success

Jesus' Ascension into Heaven by John Singleton Copley
Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Jesus_ascending_to_heaven.jpg

As many of you know, I've, for better or worse, become heavily involved in the York Rite. I love it. The Chapter holds a lot of wonderfully symbolic and historical elements for my understanding of the preceding degrees and really adds to my lodge experience while the Council explores my spiritual side, in particular, the Royal Master degree. Further still, Commandery has rekindled my exploration of Christianity.

To be honest, I never really got much from attending church services when I was growing up. Rock bands are nice, modern hymns have as much meaning as the older ones, and I could feel that there was a desire to worship God but I just didn't get much out of it. As I stated in another blog post, I really find my place within the Christian community at "high church" style services. I feel like they call to my soul, the ritualistic aspects especially.

Commandery provides yet another framework to understand Christ. It is not a replacement for Christianity, just a helpful place for further study. Obviously, Sir Knights come from many different sects within the Templary community so the symbols mean something different to each Sir Knight. Understanding them takes time and knowledge of one's faith tradition.

Within Commandery, we honor the various important events within Christ's life on Earth, his birth, his ministry, his betrayal and death, his resurrection, and his ultimate ascension into Heaven. Many Commanderies will host a Christmas observance, an Easter observance, and even attend Good Friday services together but it is a rare thing indeed to host an ascension day event. A pity really but completely understandable as not every Christian Church recognizes that date as significant. In fact, most Christian Churches that do venerate the Feast of Ascension do nothing on that day. It's seemingly being lost to time.

With all that being said, my Commandery decided to try an Ascension Day feast and it went extremely well. For those who are unfamiliar, the Feast of the Ascension occurs 40 days after Easter, and always on Thursday. It is said that after Christ was resurrected, he returned to Earth to further explain and clarify his ministry. Remember that the resurrection was an extremely important but also completely disorienting experience for the apostles. Jesus returned and, depending on which denomination you are, he spent sometime with the apostles, working with them to understand what they need to do to spread the good news or gospel. After this period was over, Christ then ascended into Heaven to be on the right hand of God, the father.

(Alright, Bible lesson is over, you still here?)

My Commandery is just coming back from a lull that nearly killed it, less Odinsleep and more life-threatening coma. With that in mind, and as Generalissimo, the Commander and I thought it would be cool to try an Ascension Day feast. Through two months of long and somewhat laborious research and work to make it a workable program, we got something that looked and felt very cool. Since it was our first time out, we really had no expectations, not high, not low, just none. We followed a liturgical program from an old Templar monitor and went to work. Our Prelate did a masterful job leading the whole program. He did a great job. We had Jobies in attendance to form the cross and our headlining speaker was the Very Eminent Deputy Grand Commander, who gave us his thoughts on what he would like to see from his year as Grand Commander, should he be elected into that esteemed station. We sang hymns, we had delicious food, and we honored, in our way, God.

Ascension Day, unlike almost any of the other feasts, is joyous. Christmas is a time of giving and sharing but the message is that the Savior has arrived. Good Friday is a day of great tragedy, and Easter is a message of rebirth as the bonds of death are broken. Only Ascension Day contains both the message and ministry of Jesus as well as the joyfulness and promise of Heaven in the same feast. It's about the time to come and the message here on Earth.

I hope more Commanderies attempt Ascension Day events in the future. It is a time of great hope and joy and it's wonderful that that time can be shared with fellow Sir Knights and their families.

Non nobis, non nobis, Domine

Sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

What do you think? Does your Commandery host an Ascension Day? Leave a comment below.

York Rite Sovereign College

I am proud to say that I am now a member of Minnesota College No. 39, under the jurisdiction of York Rite Sovereign College of North America. It's a high honor but even even more so, it's a high responsibility.

The York Rite Sovereign College "exists primarily to be of service to the York Rite of Freemasonry." Its membership consists of the most active and most dedicated of York Rite Masons. 

When I was reading about the College, I started to see a parallel with that and Order of the Arrow. The Order of the Arrow is a brotherhood within the Boy Scouts of America. It recognizes those dedicated Scouts and Scoutmasters that have given much to Scouting and their troops. When you become a OA member, you pledge that you will continue to serve Scouting. It's both an honor and a responsibility. 

I am excited to be a member of this body and I can't wait to stay involved.

Hip-Hip-Hooray!

My wonderful readers,

I am happy as a clam, as proud as punch, laughing like a hyena, yeah, I think that's it. Anyway, tonight is the big night for Corinthian Chapter No. 33. We will be conferring the big degree, the most sublime degree of the Royal Arch, on 10 worthy brothers. It has been a long road but we are almost there.

I am so proud of all the hard work my Chapter has done. All ten will then be greeted into our Cryptic Council on the 16th of February. And perhaps, a Commandery is also in their futures as it is mine.

This is also my last night as High Priest, after a two year stint. When I started, our membership was at 32. Today, we'll have more than 50 companions. All the congrats go to my team of officers and companions who have jumped in and really done a lot to make our Chapter emerge from the doldrums of slumber.

I have most of my parts ready and hopefully, we can all make this a memorable degree. The Royal Arch is my second favorite degree after the Entered Apprentice degree. The lessons and information one gets from this degree will stick with the candidate for as long as he is a Mason. The American Royal Arch degree is chock full of themes that tie together everything that Masonry means and what it stands for.

I am just so proud and I can't wait to see what the future holds for our Chapter. In the words of Stan Lee, "Excelsior!"

One of the Best Masonic Weeks... Ever

It's been awhile since I posted last. I have been extremely busy with my family, my Lodges, my Chapter, and my Council. However, all that work and good cheer has culminated in one of the greatest weeks I have had since I first petitioned my lodge. Where to start? I guess from the beginning.

On Saturday June 23rd, the Grand Chapter met for its Annual Convocation. This year was the 150th Annual Convocation. Our Grand Chapter had some business that it hadn’t had in more than sixty years. Our Grand Chapter chartered not one but two new Chapters, Overseers Chapter No. 103 and Anoka-Shekinah Chapter No. 104. I have now seen two lodges and two chapters receive charters in the state of Minnesota. This should end all the doubtful talk out there that Masonry is dead. There is fervency and zeal in Minnesota Masonry. What a proud day.

Companions of Anoka-Shekinah Chapter No. 103

Companions of Oveseers Chapter No. 103

Oh, oh, oh, and there was that little thing about Corinthian Chapter No. 33, the Chapter that I happen to be the High Priest of, was just award the membership award for last year for the highest net increase in membership. Hughie and I were completely without words... for about a minute. It’s because of the dedication of the companions in Corinthian Chapter and many great friends of the Chapter (James, thank you) that we are thriving. I know we will continue to serve as a beacon for Capitular Masonry with many petitions signed and petitioners ready and willing to jump into this major undertaking.

Okay, now that I’m done talking about Chapter, let me talk about my Saint John the Baptist’s Day. My wife and I woke up and got ready early on Sunday. Our son woke up just a little later. We were getting ready to go to church. But this wasn’t just a normal Sunday, this was June 24th, the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist, one of two patron saints of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. We hopped into the car and drove to Faribault.

I entered the Faribault Masonic Temple not really knowing what to expect. I’m a member of two lodges and Faribault No. 9 happens to be one of them. We had been throwing out an idea of reviving an old tradition of Masonry. There is documented evidence that Masons would, on the Feast Day of Saint John, process to a house of worship. We finally felt that we should and could do something like this. We received special dispensation to open our lodge, call to refreshment and process to Our Merciful Savior Episcopal Cathedral.

I’m not an Episcopalian. However, I do know about Our Merciful Savior because of its connection to a very prominent Minnesotan. Our Merciful Savior served as the cathedral for Bishop Henry Whipple. Bishop Whipple is best known for pleas of clemency to President Lincoln for 303 Eastern Dakota men who had been put on trial and sentenced to die as a result of the Dakota Wars that raged through the state of Minnesota. President Lincoln commuted 264 sentences but allowed 38  prisoners to be hung in the largest mass executions in American history. The memory of that sad day remains in Minnesota even now. Here is a copy of his letter to President Lincoln. This was a man holding to his principles against the hostile winds of Manifest Destiny.

Here's a video about Bishop Whipple and the Cathedral:



Going back to the Procession, I found it amazing that a mere twelve brothers could do something as historic as this. With our piper at the head of the line, our Master next to the Chaplain holding the Holy Bible, we began marching down the street. The walk was beautiful and the downtown quite empty. As we crossed Central and saw the Cathedral’s bell tower in view, I finally felt the historic nature of this event.

We entered the Church to the sounds of of a bagpipe echoing off the vaulted ceiling. Again, I had never seen an Episcopalian service before so it was a very new and richly rewarding experience to see how others worship G-d. The Worshipful Master was introduced and invited to give a few words. Worshipful Master Jimmy gave a short and respectful address explaining who we were and why we were there.

After the Church service ended, we assembled and processed back to the Masonic Temple. Of course, now the sleepy town had awoken and it was fun to see the confused faces as we walked back to the door. We closed the lodge, changed cloths, and had a picnic at the park across the street from the church.

Assembling Outside of the Church Before Processing in

Sorry for the, “and this one time at band camp” feel of this post. Right now, all I can think of is what we have done not what it means yet. I’m still wrapping my head around this. Everything we did was positive and it’s hard for me to get fully grasp right now.

We are starting to plan our next year’s Saint John’s Day procession. My hope is that we make this an annual event. Thanks to Our Merciful Savior Cathedral for allowing us to join you, thanks to all the brothers who attended and as always, a special thanks to the families that came, especially my wife, the love of my life.

Which Rite is Right… for me?

I’ve been very busy with Masonry and family lately. Being a new father and a Mason is not easy, but I make it work the best I can. About two years ago, I joined my local Royal Arch Chapter. I was the first new candidate in about three years. In keeping with Masonic tradition, I was given a position in leadership, the High Priest. So I jumped a few chairs (as in all of them) but I’ve been kept out of trouble for a while at least. I also joined the local Cryptic Council because they met in the same building.

I’ve had fun serving Corinthian Lodge as LEO and Corinthian Chapter as High Priest. For the upcoming year, I’ll again serve as High Priest in addition to serving as Marshal for Corinthian Lodge. I have high hopes for the Royal Arch and the Cryptic Council in Farmington. I’ve even publically struggled over whether to join Commandery.

One other development in my life is the encouragement of the brothers to give Scottish Rite a try. I have so many irons in the fire that I sometimes feel I’ll get burned out. I love Masonry and I love being active in all aspects of the Craft. So I’ve been led to a quandary, which rite is for me?

I love the Royal Arch degree. I think it is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced. I think that there is a reason that the Antients believed in it so highly and why the UGLE Constitution still proclaims it, rightly or wrongly, to be a part of Ancient Craft Masonry. Of course, brothers disagree with this assertion with strong evidence of their own.

I like the York Rite from what I’ve already experienced. I like the York Rite because there is no pressure to join everything. If you just want to see the Royal Arch and the Mark Master, join Royal Arch Chapter. If you want to see the Council degrees, you have to be a RAM. If you want to be knighted, join the Chapter and the Council. The first two bodies are non-sectarian and in my opinion, at the very least, all Masons should join a Royal Arch Chapter.

I’ve posted at least two posts concerning the push by some brothers to make the York Rite one comprehensive system which would make it Christian only. I would disagree with any assertion that one must be a Christian to join a Chapter or Council. The Royal Arch is a completion in the Antients’ system of Ancient Craft Masonry. Restricting that to only Christians is patently wrong. Chapter holds a powerful and important set of degrees that is open to all Masons and should be advertised and celebrated as such.

With all that being said, I’m still very interested in the Scottish Rite. The Scottish Rite in Minnesota is very special. We have one of the few Valleys in the world, the Minneapolis Valley, that presents all 29 degrees in full form and Minneapolis Valley performs them twice a year. The other three Scottish Rite Valleys in Minnesota perform a majority of the Scottish Rite degrees, which again, is very uncommon.

To prepare myself for taking the Scottish Rite degrees, I’ve started to look at copies of the Scottish Rite Craft degrees, in particular, Albert Pike’s Porch and the Middle Chamber. Pike stated that to really prepare to take the Scottish Rite degrees, the enlightened Masonic student should have some familiarity with the Scottish Rite Craft degrees. (From Porch and the Middle Chamber, “[t]his Ritual is intended for instruction only, in the States of the Southern jurisdiction, where there are not Lodges working in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; to be studied and understood before investiture with the fourth degree. For, without it, the system of that Rite is incomplete, and even like a fabric without foundation.” (Pike, 1872))

That’s where I’m at. I’ve decided to really dig into the Scottish Rite Craft degrees. I want to learn the alchemical meaning behind the degrees; I want to study the mystic art that seems to permeate through them. I’ve been told that this is not really necessary and that I should just enjoy the degrees. However, I really feel like I should immerse myself before I take on the extra learning of the “University of Freemasonry.” If this process takes me years, then so be it. I took me 5 years to join the Royal Arch and I really feel like, even with the close relationship between lodge and chapter, I still haven’t skimmed the surface of everything I need to understand to be confident in my knowledge of the capitular degrees.

The lodge remains the center of learning. All great things happen within a lodge. However, the Rites provide that extra basis required to be a well-rounded Masonic student. I think a Mason can remain in Lodge and never have to see them and still be happy and complete. It’s the refining qualities that the rites provide that make them both attractive and useful.

Which Rite is right? I think the answer is pretty obvious. The right Rite is the one that feels right to you. (Sorry, I'm used to the standard law school answer of "it depends.")

To which Rite do you belong? If you don’t belong to a Rite, why not? Leave a comment.

Knights Templar: Questions and Concerns Before I Join

I will likely be petitioning a commandery near me. Before doing this, however, I’ve been asking around and researching Masonic Templarism. I’ve found some strange points that I need clarifying. In fact, from what I hear from some other Sir Knights, I’ve been made a little more reticent to join than during my initial inkling to petition.

I've decided to present my wants and don’t wants in a list.

Wants:

• To learn about chivalry.
• To practice chivalry.
• To feel close to my paternal grandfather who was a Sir Knight.
• To be an honorable man and true to his word through the lessons of knighthood.
• To carry a sword because, well, it’s freakin’ cool to carry a sword.
• To learn about the history of early knighthood, and what it meant to be an historical knight.
• To present papers on topics of Chivalry.

Don’t Want:

• To do an excessive amount of drill.
• To join an evangelical Christian organization. 
• To be a Civil War Re-enactor.
• To join a Masonic body that believes all Masons should be Christian.  
• To swear an oath to harm others of a different religion.

For me, I chose to go through the York Rite first. My paternal grandfather was in the York Rite while my maternal grandfather was in the Scottish Rite. I really had no idea which was better and Chapter and Council had moved to Farmington so it was an easy choice, at least for convenience sake. I have really enjoyed my time in Chapter and Council and love the challenge of making the Farmington York Rite viable. In my opinion, all Master Masons should go through the Capitular degrees, at a minimum, because I really do believe that the Royal Arch has something to say to them. Some days, I wash we lived in the English system of conferring only the Holy Royal Arch (as they call it) degree without the Mark, Past, or Most Excellent Master degrees being conferred previously because it would make that degree even more essential to the understanding of Masonry and would ease the pressure on Chapters in general. I finally have the time to “complete” the York Rite which is why of come to this series of questions and concerns.. (I’ve spoken with many companions who remind me that the three bodies are separate, so it’s not a completion of a Rite at all.)

I’m concerned that should I join the Knights, I will be joining an organization that I will demit from immediately. I was really struck by something that Worshipful Brother Ray Hayward wrote in his monthly message for Minnesota. He said that, “[s]peculative Knights Templar are those people who take the moral and spiritual aspect of the historical Templars and apply them to lead a fuller, more meaningful life.” I really hope that this will be my experience. I want to hold my sword before Circe, as Odysseus was instructed to by Hermes, using the lessons of speculative knighthood to be more assertive within my life.

In fact, I have used quite a bit of Worshipful Brother Ray’s writings to justify, for the most part, my decision to join a commandery. You can find his papers here. Worshipful Brother Ray is a very wise man and a brilliant teacher of those lessons we find within the York Rite.

So that’s where I stand right now. If you can help me out with my quandary, that would be great. Please leave a comment below or send me an email.