A Message from Grand Master McCarthy

Grand Lodge of Minnesota Featured at the GWMM

The Grand Lodge of Minnesota, A.F. & A.M. is the featured Grand Lodge for the month of July at the George Washington Masonic Memorial. The website gives a great description and short history of my proud Grand Lodge. If you are in the D.C. area, please visit the special display. Also, if you are there, send me some photos, I would love to see what the display looks like. (And yes, I'm slightly jealous if you get to see the display and I'm also filled with pride for my state.)

Great Minnesota Bloggers

I am not the only blogger from the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, AF&AM. In fact, we have three other brothers that participate in Masonry on Internet. These brothers have many different qualities and offer many great insights into the world of Masonry.

It may be unfair to call this first brother's website a blog as he has published it as a monthly email newsletter since '99 but I think it is always important to point out the work that is done on one of my favorite sites, Cinosam especially when discussing Minnesota Masonry online. The first brother is a past Grand Master of Minnesota and the current Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of North Dakota, Most Worshipful Brother Neil Neddermeyer. I have discussed Cinosam previously but I still think that it is worth noting how great the resources that an interested brother can find are. MW Bro. Neddermeyer has written much on the subject of Masonic revival and in fact, is the Chairman of the Masonic Renewal Committee for the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America. He is a brilliant philosopher of the Craft and has contributed much to my Masonic education. I suggest if you are a Masonic officer or have been nominated to be an officer, get prepared now with the resources on his site.

The second brother is the Southeast Area Deputy of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, Worshipful Brother James McNeely. W Bro. James writes the SE Area Travels blog and has proven to be the best Area Deputy we in the Southeast could have hoped for. His blog presents a day in the life of a very active Brother dedicated to helping the Lodges of the Southeast succeed, from the small town Lodges to the large Lodges of the Rural centers. W Bro. James is also the Junior Warden of Educational Lodge #1002 which has been incredibly active in the study of Masonry. I find W Bro. James has been very encouraging for my Lodge and I as we began our renewal as a strong successful Lodge. In fact, W Bro. James has encouraged me to begin my journey to become a certified lecturer. I really believe that with leaders like W Bro James, Masonry has all the tools they need to survive and thrive.

The third brother that I would like to feature is relatively new to the Masonic blog scene. Worshipful Brother Olaf Kuhlke is a Geography Professor who has written a very insightful book (which I have written about before) and has presented many of his theories of the Craft to Lodges throughout the State. I was fortunate to have seen W. Bro. Kuhlke's presentation on the connection of Freemasonry and one's inner self and it was, in a word, insightful. Now, he has decided to present his ideas through a blog entitled Dr. K's Masonic Blog. I really want to thank W. Bro. Olaf for having brought his ideas to the Internet and I hope you will find his blog as insightful as I do. If you are looking for erudite discussions on Freemasonry, look no further than Dr. K's Masonic Blog.

All three of these brothers have dedicated their lives to Freemasonry and I salute all of them for their efforts. When I look at the great intelligence displayed by these brothers, I began to remember how young and new to the Craft I really am. I know that I have much to learn from each of them in the study of Freemasonry and would like to thank all of them for their dedication to the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, AF & AM. I hope to spotlight more brothers in this State who have taken it upon themselves to help Freemasonry grow in numbers or through wisdom.

Welcome to Minnesota

I assume that everyone is aware of the Republican National Convention is being held at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN.


To all those that are coming to Saint Paul, whether you are a delegate, protester, reporter or just a curious person, welcome to my beautiful state. While most of the coverage is on Hurricane Gustav, the Convention will still go on in some fashion. In this highly charged politically time, when the blood boils over perceived differences, I would like to call everyone's attention to Minnesota's other great attractions, including our Masonic treasures.

Are you a Mason? While most of the Lodges are "dark" during the summer, a few Lodges continue to meet during the summer. To find a complete list of Lodges in Minnesota, including if they are open and contact information, visit the Grand Lodge of Minnesota's website or the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Minnesota's website. Also, we have one of the few Scottish Rite Valleys that perform all 29 degrees, the Minneapolis Valley. To find out more about the history of this building downtown, here is a link to Heritage Preservation page on the City of Minneapolis' site.



Also, near the Pioneer building is the Hennepin Center for the Arts.

In all, Minnesota Freemasonry is extremely robust and exciting.

Do you like really large gatherings of people eating crazy fried food on a stick? The Minnesota State Fair is just right for you. The last day is today, Labor Day, so if you need to get your Pronto Pup, Cheese Curd, Sweet Potato Fries fix, you gotta do it today.

Do you like the arts? In Minnesota, we have a lot of great venues for you to enjoy. For the performing arts, we have the world famous Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis (in a beautiful, new building facing the Mississippi River),

the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Saint Paul,

and the Hennepin Avenue Theatre District. Also, Garrison Keillor's MPR staple, "A Prairie Home Campanion" continues to be recorded at the Fitzgerald Theater (named after famous author and Minnesotan, F. Scott Fitzgerald) in downtown Saint Paul. Maybe you would rather see an Orchestra or Opera performance. We have them here as well. If fine art is more your cup of tea, we have the Minneapolis Institute of Arts which has some wonderful pieces, from beautiful Asian art (don't miss Jade Mountain Illustrating the Gathering of Poets at the Lan T'ing Pavilion, it is an amazing piece) to Impressionism and much more. Here is one of the many videos that the MIA has posted on Youtube.




Do you like to fish? With 11,842 lakes of 10 acres or larger, you've come to the right place. To find a good resource for knowing the rules, regulations and much more, visit the Minnesota DNR's website.

Do you like sports? We have professional sports teams in the four major leagues. The Minnesota Twins are remaining hungry in the AL Central Pennent race, just behind the ChiSox. The next home games will be on Friday. Sadly, my favorite baseball team, the St. Paul Saints, is done for the season. The Saints are owned by Mike Veeck, son of famous owner Bill Veeck, who runs the team with the same crazy and goofy stunts that highlighted his tenure as Major League owner. The Minnesota Vikings, with Adrian "All-Day" Peterson tearing up the turf, are playing Green Bay on Monday. Both the Twins and the Vikings play at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. (Pictured Below)

Sadly, I cannot mention everything in the state but my advice is if you are in the state, even if it does not involve the convention, go and explore. Minnesota has so much to offer and you will never be bored. Wow, I guess I should apply with the Minnesota Tourism Department.

Congratulations on 150 years

In Albert Lea, MN, Western Star Lodge #26 is celebrating its 150th anniversary. This is truly astonishing as the state of Minnesota is 150 years old. (Minnesota and Western Star were founded in 1858) Our Grand Master of Minnesota had some wonderful words to say concerning my brothers in Albert Lea. Congratulations brothers on a job well done and here is to many more years of this great Lodge.