112 On The Level
Masonic Magazine for St. John Fisherrow No.112 Issue No.15
May 2021
From the Editor
Hello Brethren, and welcome to another edition of “On the Level”. We hope you will find this issue No.15 “On the Level” both inspiring as well as educational? Brethren, any brother who cannot view the magazines on our website and would like to recieve a printed copy please contact Brother Derek Mather JD, who will drop off a copy or back issues of the magazine to you.
Got something you want to say about your Lodge, or just Freemasonry in general ~ Why not submit an article to “On The Level”and see it printed here? (The Editor reserves the right to refuse to publish any article deemed by himself to be offensive).
In The Dark
There is no authorised interpretation of Freemasonry. The newly initiated brother does not find waiting for him a ready-made Masonic creed, or a ready-made explanation of the ritual—he must think Masonry out for himself. But to think Masonry out for one's self is no easy task. It requires that one can see it in its own large perspectives; that one knows the main outlines of its history; that one knows it as it actually is, and what it is doing; and that one knows it as it has been understood by its own authentic interpreters and prophets. It is not easy to do this without guidance and help, and it is to give this guidance and help that such a book as this is written.
JOKE OF THE DAY A man and a woman were travelling on a train.
Woman: Every time you smile, I feel like inviting you back to my place. Man: Awwww! Are you single? Woman: No, I am a Dentist......
CHALK, CHARCOAL, AND CLAY
By these three substances are beautifully symbolized the three qualifications for the servitude of an Entered Apprentice---freedom, fervency, and zeal. Chalk is the freest of all substances, because the slightest touch leaves a trace behind. Charcoal, the most fervent, because to it, when ignited, the most obdurate metals yield; and Clay, the most zealous, because it is constantly employed in man's service, and is as constantly reminding us that from it we all came, and to it we must all return. In the earlier lectures of the eighteenth century, the symbols, with the same interpretation, were given as Chalk, Charcoal, and Earthen Pan.
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The Right Worshipful Master LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL:
Hello Brethren, well here we are arriving at the beginning of our summer recess without any advancement of the lodge returning to meetings. Normally at this time of year we are all looking forward to holidays with our families, a round of golf.
By now, I can only hope that most of the brethren and their families should have received their first or second vaccination, or about to receive it in our fight against the virus
As we await announcement from Grand Lodge on the return of any Lodge Meetings in mid-June at the earliest, we can only hope that we can return after the summer recess. However, it is of course extremely important that we do our best to support our NHS and all the Key Workers who have been battling to keep us all safe so that we can all look forward with some measure of hope. We will beat this virus, we will return to something close to normal life, and we will get back to our regular meetings. We will get through this, and we will slowly start to turn things around. At this moment, we don’t know exactly when, but it will be sooner rather than later.
Whilst many of us have indeed missed our regular Lodge meetings, we perhaps have slipped into a partial acceptance of the circumstances, and adapted to the great changes in our lives, especially masonically. This is not the case with Douglas and Andrew, who have continued to work tirelessly, unseen, and in the background, on behalf of all of us. We all owe our most heartfelt gratitude to our Lodge Secretary – Bro Andrew Raeburn PM, and our Treasurer – Bro Douglas Hoy PM for all their continuing efforts on behalf of the Lodge.
Brethren, Until We Meet Again, please stay safe and well and I look forward to seeing you all meeting again in the not so distant future. Bro. Brian Ritchie RWM
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~ Our Lodge Our History ~
Bro. Billy King PM
Bro. Ian Ferguson & Joe Salkeld PM
225th Anniversary 1993
Bro.s Jimmy Johnstone, Peter Hill, Jimmy McFetters, Jackie Little
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HRH The Prince, Philip Duke of Edinburgh
Brethren, following the death of HRH on Friday 9th April, we as Freemasons have been mourning and celebrating his life as a brother of 68 years in our Craft. Prince Philip was born in Greece into the Greek and Danish royal families. His family were exiled from the country when he was an infant. After being educated in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18. From July 1939, he began corresponding with the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth, whom he had first met in 1934. During the Second World War he served with distinction in the Mediterranean and Pacific Fleets. After the war, Philip was granted permission by George VI to marry Elizabeth.
Before the official announcement of their engagement in July 1947, he abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles and became a naturalised British subject, adopting the surname Mountbatten from his maternal grandparents. He married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947. Just before the wedding, he was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich. Philip left active military service when Elizabeth became queen in 1952, having reached the rank of Commander, and was formally made a British prince in 1957.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Through a British Order in Council issued in 1960, descendants of the couple not bearing royal styles and titles can use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, which has also been used by some members of the royal family who do hold titles, such as Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward. A keen sports enthusiast, Philip helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He was a patron, president or member of over 780 organisations and served as chairman of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award for people aged 14 to 24. He was the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch and the oldest ever male member of the British royal family. He retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017, at the age of 96, having completed 22,219 solo engagements since 1952.
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Prince Philip was proposed into Freemasonry by Instructor Rear Admiral Sir Arthur Hall, KBE, CB, PGD, a previous Worshipful Deputy Master of Navy Lodge and Honorary member of United Service Lodge. His seconder was Admiral of the Fleet, Baron Fraser of North Cape. He was Initiated into Navy Lodge on 5th December 1952 at an Emergency Meeting held in Freemasons’ Hall, when no private guests were allowed. There were 52 Lodge members present and just 12 official guests, including the MW Grand Master, The Earl of Scarborough. Prince Philip was Passed on 6th March and Raised on 4th May 1953 with the MW Grand Master (again) and MW Grand Master of Scotland in attendance. On this occasion 21 officers of Navy Lodge were joined by 69 members, 42 official guests and 85 other guests. Though he had not played an active role in the Lodge, he remained a member and was recognised in 2002 as a 50 year Mason. Many thanks to Bro. David Swain of the Masonic Philatelic Club for the kind permission to use this information and images of the Royal stamps.
Above: Lodge summons of the Royal Navy Lodge No: 2612.
Prince Philip passed to the Grand Lodge above on 9th April 2021 Rest in Peace Sir from all members of The Lodge, St. John Fisherrow No. 112 “Fair winds and following seas”
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The Order of the Golden Fleece: An order of chivalry.
we know, operative masons. Even if the Regius poem is a fictitious account of events that were happening around 900 A.D. in the court of Athelstan, based on the content of the Regius Poem, Freemasonry was more than likely already around in 1390. Making the white leather apron older than the Order of the Golden Fleece.
In masonic ritual we speak of the Golden Fleece. It gets compared to the badge of a mason, our white leather aprons and we are told that our aprons are more ancient than the Golden Fleece. This can cause confusion since there is more than one Golden Fleece.
Regardless of which Golden Fleece we are talking about the idea of our ritual is to remind ourselves and teach our new brothers the importance of the item that has been placed in their care. It should remind us every time we enter a lodge to ask ourselves have we treated, by our actions, that ancient emblem with the respect and care it deserves.
The first Golden Fleece we will discuss comes to us from Greek Mythology. In the story of Jason and the Argonauts, the crew of the Argos, travel to find the Golden Fleece to help put Jason on the throne. Some historians date this story to the time of Homer around the eight century B.C. The idea that this is the Golden Fleece actually tracks historically since Solomon's Temple is believed by some estimates to have been created in the 10th century B.C. Making the white leather apron, assuming that our ancient brothers were wearing white leather aprons, older by potentially a few hindered years.
Sourced from Today In Masonry
The other Golden Fleece is the Order of the Golden Fleece and is more likely the Golden Fleece spoken of in our ritual. The Order of the Golden Fleece was created in 1430 by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, who is also known as Philip the Good. The order is a Roman Catholic order of chivalry. The order still exists today, although it's history compared to Masonic history is what we are concerned with.
Since the order had its beginnings in 1430, it means that it was created some 40 years after the Regius Poem, also known as the Haswell Manuscript. In the poem, which is believed to have been written by monk in 1390, it details the events in the court of Athelstan the first King of England. In the poem the rules and regulations are laid out for the behaviour a mason and the manner in which a master should run his lodge and his job site. Remember at that time Freemasons were all, as far as
Once A Mason
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There is an old saying: "Once a Mason, always a Mason." That means that when anyone has received an initiation in the Masonic order, and by virtue of that becomes a Mason, he cannot resign, for he cannot give up that knowledge and the secrets which he has learned any more than a person who goes to college can give back his learning received at that institution. Therefore, "once a Mason always a Mason," and likewise once a pupil, a lay brother, of a mystery school, always a pupil and a lay brother of that same mystery school. But though that holds good and life after life we come back connected with the same order that we have been affiliated with in previous lives, we may in anyone life so conduct ourselves that it is impossible for us to realize this in our physical brains.
The Five Points of Fellowship As every Master Masons knows, contain the essence of the doctrine of brotherhood. But many a new brother asks, pertinently, “why are they called "Points?" In the Old Constitutions, as explained in the Hallowell or Regius manuscript, are fifteen regulations, called "points." The old verse runs: "Fifteen artyculus there they soughton And fifteen poyntys there they wrogton." Translated into easy English, this reads: "Fifteen articles there they sought And fifteen points there they wrought." Phillips "New World of Words," published in 1706, defines "point" as "a head, or chief matter." Moreover, an operative Masons "points" the seams of as wall by filling in the chinks left in laying bricks or stone, thus completing the structure.
In older days of the Speculative Art there were "twelve original points" as we learn from the old English lectures, done away with by the United Grand Lodge of England at the time of the reconciliation of 1813. They were introduced by the following passage: "There are in Freemasonry twelve original points, which form the basis of the system and comprehend the whole ceremony of initiation. Without the existence of these points, no man ever was, or can be, legally and essentially received into the Order. Every person who is made a Mason must go through these twelve forms and ceremonies, not only in the first degree, but in every subsequent one." The twelve points were: Opening, Preparation, Report, Entrance, Prayer, Circumambulation, Advancing. Obligation, Investiture, Northeast Corner and Closing; and each was symbolized by one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel for ingenious reasons not necessary to set forth here.
The twelve original points were never introduced into the United States, and are now no longer used in England, although the ceremonies which they typify, of course, are integral parts of all Masonic rituals.
Our Five Points of Fellowship are not allied to these, except as they are reflected in the word "points." We also find this relationship in the Perfect Points of our Entrance, once called Principal Points. Dr. Oliver, famous, learned and not always accurate Masonic student and writer (17821867) sums up the Five Points in his "Landmarks," as follows: "Assisting a brother in his distress, supporting him in his virtuous undertakings, praying for his welfare, keeping inviolate his secrets and vindicating his reputation as well in his absence as in his presence." By which it will be seen that in Oliver’s day the Five Points were not exactly as they are with us now.
Strange though it seems, a change was made in the symbolism of the Five Points as recently as 1842, at the Baltimore Masonic Convention. Prior to that time, according to Cole, the Five Points were symbolized by hand, foot, knee, breast and back. After 1842, the hand was omitted, and the mouth and ear tacked on as the fifth.
Dr. Mackey (Freemason, Researcher and Author) believed that: "The omission of the first and the insertion of the last are innovations and the enumeration given by Cole is the old and genuine one which was originally taught in England by Preston and in his country by Webb."
Some curiosities of ritual changes, though interesting, are more for the antiquarian than the average lodge member. Most of us are more concerned with a practical explanation of the Five Points as they have been taught for nearly a hundred years. For they have a practical explanation, which goes much more deeply into fraternal and brotherly relations than the ritual indicates.
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A man goes on foot a short distance by preference; for a longer journey he boards a street car, rides an automobile, engages passage on a railroad or courses through the air in a plane. Service to our brethren on foot does not imply any special virtue in that means of transportation. The word expresses the willingness of him who would serve our own pleasure and refuse to travel merely because the means is not to our liking would hardly be Masonic.
We assist our brethren when we can; also we serve them. The two terms are not interchangeable; we can not assist a brother with out serving, but we may serve him without assisting him. For a wholly negative action may be a service; suppose we have a just claim against him and, because of our Fraternal relations, we postpone pressing it. That is true service, but not active assistance, such as we might give if we gave or loaned him money to satisfy some other’s claim.
How far should we go "on foot" to render service? Nothing is said in the ritual, but the cabletow is otherwise used as a measure of length. That same Baltimore Masonic Convention defined a cabletow’s length as "the scope of a brothers reasonable ability." Across town may be too far for one, and across a continent not too far for another. In better words, our own conception of brotherhood must say how far we travel to help our brother.
Mackey expressed thus: "Indolence should not cause our footsteps to halt, or wrath to turn them aside; but with eager alacrity and swiftness of foot, we should press forward in the exercise of charity and kindness to a distressed fellow creature."
The petition at the Altar of the Great Architect of the Universe before engaging in any great and important undertaking is sound Masonic doctrine. To name the welfare of our brother in our petitions is good - but not for the reasons which the good Dr. Mackey set forth; the great Masonic student’s pen slipped here, even as Jove has been known to nod! He Said:
"In our devotions to almighty God we should remember a brother’s welfare as our own, for the prayers of a fervent and sincere heart will find no less favour in the sight of heaven because the petition for self intermingles with aspirations of benevolence for a friend." Apparently we should pray for our friends because God will look with favour on an unselfish action on our part - which is un Masonic and selfish! Cole, writing years before Mackey (1817) said of his Third, our Second Point:
"When I offer myself to Almighty God, a brother’s welfare I will remember as my own, for as the voices of babes and sucklings ascend to the Throne of Grace, so most assuredly will the breathings of a fervent heart arise to the mansions of bliss, as out prayers are certainly required of each other."
This seems to be interpretable as meaning that we should pray for our brethren because we love them, and because, knowing our own need of their prayers, we realize their need of ours. Anciently, it was written "Laborare est orare," - to labor is to pray. If indeed prayer is labor, then to pray for our brethren we may labor for our brethren, which at once clarifies the Second Point and makes it a practical, everyday, do-it-now admonition. To work for our brother’s welfare is in the most brotherly manner to petition the Most High for him.
We often associate with the idea of a "secret" something less than proper; "He has a secret in his life," "He is secretive." "He says one thing but in his secret heart he thinks another" are all expressions which seem to connote some degree of guilt with what is secret. We keep our brother’s secrets, guilty or innocent, but let us not assume that every secret is of a guilty variety
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He may have a secret ambition, a secret joy, a secret hope - if he confides these to us, is our teaching merely to refuse to tell them, or to keep them in the fine old sense of that word - to hold, to guard, to preserve. The Keeper of the Door stands watch and ward, not to keep it from others, but to see that none use it improperly. Thus we are to keep the secret joys and ambitions of our brethren, close in our hearts, until he wants them known, but also by sympathy and understanding, helping him to maintain them. Even without this broad interpretation, the keeping of a brother’s confidence has more to it than mere silence. If he confides to us a guilty secret, since to betray him may not only make known that which he wishes hidden, but places him in danger. To betray a trust is never the act of a brother. In ordinary life an unsought trust does not carry with it responsibility to preserve it; in Freemasonry it does! No matter how we wish we did not share the secret, if it has been given us by a brother, we can not suffer our tongues to betray him, no matter what it costs us to remain silent, unless we forget alike our obligation and the Third Point.
"Do you stumble and fall, my brother? My hand is stretched out to prevent it. Do you need aid? My hand is yours - use it. It is your hand, for the time being. My strength is united to yours. You are not alone in your struggle - I stand with you on the Fourth of the Five Points, and as your need may be, so "Deo volente," will be my strength for you."
So must we speak when the need comes. It makes no difference in what way our brother stumbles; it may be mentally; it may be spiritually; it may be materially; it may be morally. No exceptions are noted in our teachings. We are not told to stretch forth the hand in aid "If," and "perhaps," and "but!" Not for us to judge, to condemn, to admonish . . . for us only to put forth our strength unto our falling brother at his need, without question and without stint. For such is the Kingdom of Brotherhood.
More sins are committed in the name of the Fifth of the Five Points than in the name of liberty! Too often we offer counsel when it is not advice but help that is needed. Too often we admonish of motes within our brother’s eye when our own vision is blinded by beams. What said the Lord? (Amos VII, in the Fellowcraft’s Degree.) "Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more." "In the midst of my people Israel" - not in the far away land; not across the river; not up on the mountain top, but in the midst of them, an intimate personal individual plumb line! So are we to judge our brethren; not by the plumb, the square or the level that we are each taught to carry in our hearts, but by his plumb, his square, his level.
If he build true by his own tools, we have no right to judge him by ours. The friendly reminders we must whisper to him are of incorrect building by his own plumb line. He may differ from us in opinion; he may be Republican where we are Democrat, Methodist where we are Baptist; Wet where we are Dry; Protectionist where we are Free trade; League of Nations proponent where we are "biter enders" - we must not judge him by the plumb line of our own beliefs.
Only when we see him building untrue to his own tools have we the right to remind him of his faults. When we see a brave man shrinking, a virtuous man abandoning himself to vice, a good man acting as a criminal - then is his building faulty judged by his own plumb line and we may heed the Fifth of the Five Points and counsel and advise him to swing back, true to his own working tools.
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And finally, we do well to remember Mackey’s interpretation of the Fifth Point: ". . . we should never revile a brother’s character behind his back but rather, when attacked by others, support and defend it." "Speak no ill of the dead, since they can not defend themselves" might well have been written of the absent. In the Masonic sense no brother is absent if his brother is present, since then he has always a champion and defender, standing upon the Fifth Point as upon a rock.
So considered - and this little paper is but a slender outline of how much and how far the Five Points extend - these teachings of Masonry, concerned wholly with the relations of brother to brother, become a broad and beautiful band of blue - the blue of the Blue Lodge - the True Blue of Brotherhood.
Did Yi Ken........ From Whither Are You Travelling
Masonic Decorum
By etiquette Freemasons acknowledge and express their respect for the Craft. It makes pleasant their contacts with their fellows, smoothes the path of duty, establishes an equality of treatment for all brethren, protects the good name of the Craft and greatly assists in establishing that harmony and unity which should exist between all Freemasons.
A masonic space flight crewed by Brothers Walter M Schirra of Canaveral Lodge No. 339 and Thomas P Stafford of Western Star Lodge No.138, with the back up Command Pilot Virgil Grissom of Mitchell Lodge No 228 took off from Cape Kennedy in 1965. Gemini 6A (officially Gemini VI-A) was a 1965 crewed United States spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program.
When Masons act as a unit, as in a Lodge meeting, or at a Regular Communication of Grand Lodge or Provincial Grand Lodge, etiquette takes the form of proper decorum. That means that all present act in a manner appropriate to the occasion. Loud talk, restless moving about, coughing, laughter and private conversations during ceremonial work, giving no attention to the work in hand - no Brother need consult a book on etiquette to discover that such behaviour is unseemly and irreverent.
The mission achieved the first crewed rendezvoused with another spacecraft, its sister Gemini 7.
Although the Soviet Union had twice previously launched simultaneous pairs of Vostok spacecraft, these established radio contact with each other, but they had no ability to adjust their orbits in order to rendezvous and came no closer than several kilometres of each other, while the Gemini 6 and 7 spacecraft came as close as one foot (30 cm) and could have docked had they been so equipped. Gemini 6A was the fifth crewed Gemini flight, the 13th crewed American flight, and the 21st crewed spaceflight of all time.
It disturbs the harmony of the Lodge, and it is such an atmosphere that hard feelings, not to mention the more serious menace of schism and feud, are most likely to take root. It is not too much to say that the Master of a Lodge who permits such things is unwise, and not as faithful as he should be in discharging the duties of his office.
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At the beginning of things, before Grand Lodges were in existence, Freemasons discovered the necessity of decorum.
Our Lodge ~ Our History ~ Part 5 Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 8th January 1890 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A circular letter from Bro. James Crichton acting Master of the Lodge of Mary Chapel No.1 suggesting that a Provincial Grand Lodge be formed for the Metropolitan District was read. The matter was left in the hands of the R.W. Master and Wardens to coperate with Bro. Crichton and others favourable to the scheme of forming a Provincial Grand Lodge.
Special Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 5th June 1891 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The meeting was called to present Bro. Meldrum, Treasurer with a gift on the occasion of his marriage. He was presented with a handsome Epergne.
Special Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 28th December 1891 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bro. John Little was installed as R.W.Master for the ensuing year.
Committee Meeting - Arms Hotel - 15th January 1892 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was agreed to recommend to the Lodge that entertainment be given to “Masons Bairns”. In the event of the Lodge agreeing, Bro. Macpherson offered to provide a Punch and Judy show, Bro. Smith a Magic Lantern, Bro. Hogg to provide buns and sweets, all free of charge.
Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall 20th January 1892 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Committee’s recommendation to entertain the “Masons Bairns” was agreed to and it was also agreed to make special levy on the members to defray expenses in connection therewith. Inserted in this minute is a tribute to the late Duke of Clarence, heir presumptive to the throne, whose sudden death was a great blow to the nation. In the Minute of 16th March 1892 the acknowledgement from Comptroller of the Household for letter of sympathy is recorded.
Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 27th April 1892 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brother Henderson announced results of labours of Committee appointed to carry out testimonial for I.P.M. Brother Robert W. Robertson. The Testimonial was in the form of a very handsome timepiece bearing the following inscription:
“Presented by the Brethren of Lodge St. John Fisherrow No.112 F. & A.M. to I.P.M. Robertson as a mark of their esteem and in appreciation of the ability displayed while filling the office of R.W.M. and the position of the Lodge attained during his regime - 27th April 1897.” Brother Robertson was unable to be present and a deputation was appointed to wait upon him at his house and to make the presentation.
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Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 28th September 1892 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The R.W. Master intimated that Bro. James Smart had very kindly handed over the Minute Book of this Lodge for years 1818 to 1849 and a few blank copies of the old diploma which the Lodge granted to Master Masons prior to the time that this right had been reserved to Grand Lodge also the copper plate from which said diplomas were printed.
Special Meeting - Arms Hotel - 28th December 1892 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bro. John Little was installed as R.W. Master for the ensuing year. An interesting item from the Cash Book - 27th December - Paid John Summers (Tyler) commission on test fees 4/-d.
Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 29th March 1893 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A communication was read from Grand Lodge inviting this Lodge to recommend a Brother for appointment to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Midlothian. It was suggested that the Lodge Committee into the matter and report at the next meeting.
Committee Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 4th April 1893 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The remit from the 1st meeting re recommending a Brother for appointment to Provincial Grand Lodge of Midlothian was considered and it was agreed to recommend to the Lodge for their approval the name of Bro. Sir Charles Dalrymple, Bart., of Newhailes. The recommendation was duly accepted by the Lodge and Bro. Sir Charles Dalrymple was recommended to Grand Lodge as Provincial Grand Master of Midlothian.
Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 28th May 1893 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following letter was read from Grand Secretary.
Mr P. Blair, Secretary 112, Freemasons Hall, Edinburgh 9th May 1893. Dear Sir and Brother, There being no Masonic Functions in connection with the Riding of the Marches, Freemasons as such cannot appear in the procession or take part in the ceremony. (signed) D. Murray Lyon Grand Secretary.
Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 27th September 1893 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The R.W. Master intimated that since the last we met another of the Brethren had been called to account - I mean Bro. Robert W. Robertson, I.P.M. He was the father figure of the Lodge as we know it. A most accomplished Mason, painstaking, preserving and patient with all and sundry who desired Masonic knowledge. To his exertions we are indebted as a Lodge for any credit that is due to us for good Masonic Work.
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Some of the younger brethren of the Lodge probably did not know Brother Robertson, but both they and older members remember him as he was in his strong and vigorous days and are under a great debt of gratitude to him the manner in which he exerted himself to make this Lodge a success and always did something for the good of Freemasonry. It would ill become us, at this our first meeting after his death, not to place on record our sense of loss this Lodge and the Craft generally have sustained by the death of Brother Robertson. It was agreed to send the deep sympathy of the Lodge to his widow and family.
Note:- Bro. Robert W. Robertson was a visitor at this Lodge on 25th December 1871 - Lodge No. 490 Pyramid New York. He affiliated to this Lodge in 1872.
Bro. John Dobbie was installed as R.W. Master for the ensuing year.
Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall- 28th February 1894 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The R.W. Master presented to I.P.M. Bro. John Little a very handsome carved writing table with silver plate bearing the following inscription:“Presented to Brother John Little by the brethren of Lodge St. John Fisherrow No.112 of F. & A.M. as mark of their esteem, Musselburgh 28th February 1894.” The Masonic Arms and the Town’s Arms were also engraved on the silver plate. Brother Little was warmly thanked for his services to the Lodge. He suitably replied.
Special Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 27th December 1894 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brother John Dobbie was installed as R.W. Master for the ensuing year.
Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 13th March 1895 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ R.W. Master read a letter from Rev. James Sharp, Minister of Inveresk asking if the Lodge would attend the re-opening of the Parish Church on 30th instant. Permission having been given by Grand Lodge it was unanimously agreed to attend.
Committee Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 13th March 1895 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inventory of articles the property of St. John’s Lodge received from Brother Hugh Gray, late Treasurer on 12th July 1888 includes inter alia two Minute Books.
Special Meeting - Arms Hotel - 27th December 1895 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brother George Blair was installed as R.W. Master for the ensuing year.
Regular Meeting - St. John’s Hall - 29th January 1896 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Secretary read a circular from Grand Lodge intimating that Rule No.173 of the Constitution now reads:- “No candidate for initiation shall be advanced from the degree of Apprentice to that of a Fellow Craft or received from the degree of a Fellow Craft to that of Master Mason at a shorter interval than two weeks between each degree.”
The R. W. Master read a letter from Lodge Kirkwall No.38 appealing to sister Lodges for assistance towards the cost of erecting a Lodge there. It was also agreed to subscribe but to delay a little to give any brother who wished to do so a chance to subscribe.
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Kinds of Masons
wife;if he knows his ritual letter perfect, it 'was all a mistake!' The man who doesn't know his ritual letter perfect is not, in this man's eyes, a good Mason; not though he gives to charity with both hands and carry love for his fellowman in both head and heart.
(adapted from the Old Tyler Talks)
"I am almost through!" The New Brother displayed a sheaf of membership cards to the Past Master. "Soon I will have joined them all and become every kind of Mason there is." "What do you know about the kinds of Masons there are?" asked the Past Master, interested. "You have not been a Master Mason long enough to gain all that knowledge!"
"The practical Mason looks at life from a utilitarian standpoint. He prefers electricity to candles for Lesser Lights because they are simpler and prefers candles to electricity because they are cheaper. He thinks a choir impractical because it produces nothing permanent, and would rather spend the money for printed matter or a new carpet. He is at his best when raising money for a new temple and at his worst when asked to express himself upon the spirit of Masonry. His hand is in his pocket for charity, but never for entertainment. He is usually on the finance committee, and recommends a budget in which rent and heat and light are bigger than relief.
"That's not hard to gain, with all the brethren poking petitions at you. There are Chapter Masons and Templar Masons and Royal Ark Masons and Council Masons and Conclave and ..." "Whoa! Whoa!" the Past Master cries, "Sorry! I didn't quite understand. I thought so…. you obviously haven’t learned yet." "Learned what? Are there other kinds of Masons?" "Oh aye!” answered the Past Master. "A great many kinds! But some you haven't mentioned stand out more prominently than others." "Oh well, tell me then! I thought I had joined most of them..." "You don't join these. You become one, or are made one, or maybe even grow into one of them”.
"The heart Mason is the opposite. He is full of impractical schemes. He wants to start a new temple which will never be built. He talks much of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, but is absent when the hat is passed and the committee on funds needs a few workers to go out and gather in. The heart Mason is the lodge sob-sister; he usually seconds any motion to spend any amount of money for flowers or to send a brother away for his health, and always makes a little tearfilled speech about the fatherless loved ones, even if the dear departed died a bachelor.
“For instance, there is the King Solomon Mason. He thinks that everything that Solomon did as a Mason is right and everything he didn't do is wrong. To him Masonry was conceived, born and grew up in the shadow of King Solomon, and every word of the legend is literally true, much like the man who refuses to believe the earth is round, because a verse in the Bible refers to the 'four corners of the earth!' The King Solomon Mason lives his Masonry according to his light; perhaps it's not his fault it is so dim”.
"To the ritual Mason the importance of Masonry is the form of its words. A good Mason in his belief is one who can repeat a lecture from end to end without a slip. A man may do battle, murder, or cause sudden death, commit arson or run away with a neighbour’s
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“The business Mason belongs because he thinks it helps his job. He usually sits next to the solid business man in lodge and likes to tell people what he does. If he is a Past Master, he never comes to lodge on time, so that he can get a special welcome at the Altar. His favourite speech is about the man who tried to advertise his business in lodge and how evil this was; in the speech he always mentions his own business. He wears an extra large
OPERATIVE MASONRY
sized pin and prints squares and compasses on his letterheads.”
Two things follow unquestionably from these considerations, so far as they have proceeded. The interest in Operative Masonry and its records, though historically it is of course important, has proceeded from the beginning on a misconception as to the aims and symbolism of Speculative Masonry. It was and it remains natural, and it has not been without its results, but it is a confusion of the chief issues.
"Then there is the belly Mason. He is most faithful in attendance at lodges where there may be a feed. He will cheerfully spend the fifty pence bus fare and a long evening to get a pounds worth of sandwiches. If there is to be a sit-down meal he will sit up all night to be on time. If the affair is in another lodge and needs tickets he will take time off from his job to hunt a brother who has a ticket and doesn't want it. He’s the Mason that gets asked “Excuse me, can I get to the buffet!” as he is always blocking others’ path. And is always the first to fill a ‘doggie bag!’
It should be recognized henceforward that the sole connection between the two Arts and Crafts rests on the fact that the one has undertaken to uplift the other from the material plane to that of morals on the surface and of spirituality in the real intention. Many things led up thereto, and a few of them were at work unconsciously within the limits of Operative Masonry. At a period when there was a tendency to symbolize everything roughly, so that it might receive a tincture of religion- I speak of the Middle Ages- the duty of Apprentice to Master, and of Master to pupil, had analogies with relations subsisting between man and God, and they were not lost sight of in those old Operative documents.
"And then there is the regular Mason - the fellow who does his best with the time and brains he has. He is the great bulk of the fraternity. He pays the dues and fills the chairs and does the work. Sometimes he is a fine ritualist, but he is usually an earnest one. He is not very practical, and would spend more than we have if it wasn't that he is too sentimental to permit the charity fund to be robbed. He passes the pies or sandwiches, and if there is any left he gets his; but he doesn't care so long as the evening is a success. He isn't so much a student of the Craft, but something in the heart of Masonry has reached deep into his heart, and so he comes to his Lodge and does his best. He is not learned, but he is not stupid. He loves his Lodge, but not so much he cannot see her faults. He is most of us." "And what class of Mason am I?" asked the New Brother, uneasily looking at his sheaf of cards.
Here was a rudiment capable of indefinite extension. The placing of the Lodges and of the Craft at large under notable patronage, and the subsequent custom of admitting persons of influence, offered another and quite distinct opportunity. These facts notwithstanding, my position is that the traces of symbolism which may in a sense be inherent in Operative Masonry did not produce, by a natural development, the Speculative Art and Craft, though they helped undoubtedly to make a possible and partially prepared field for the great adventure and experiment.
"You have cards enough to be considered a Mason for almost any reason," answered the Past Master. "But OK, I'll take your word for it. What kind of Mason are you?" "I don't know for sure, but I know what kind I am never going to be!" answered the New Brother, putting his many membership cards away.
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NEXT ISSUE JULY 2021