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Letters to the Editor
Sir, I feel I must take John Churches to task for his reply (Summer issue) to Andrew Hicks’ article. He says: “I fail to understand why a Freemason should find it a problem in wearing a white shirt and dark suit to work.” It will, I am sure, not come as a surprise to many that not all masons work in an office. An analysis of my own lodge of 26 members shows that six work in an office, two were aircraft engine fitters, one is a lab technician in a school, one was a marine engineer, three install machinery, two are builders and decorators, one was a quantity surveyor with an office on a building site, three wear uniforms as postman, fireman and station foreman on the Underground respectively; one is a printer, one an electrician, one a ceiling erector, one a roof tiler, one a wall and floor tiler, one an organist, and one a plumbing and heating engineer. Less than 25% work in an environment where it is possible to wear a white shirt and dark suit. I would suggest he asks his Provincial Secretary for a breakdown of the occupations of the members of his Province. He may be in for a shock, unless of course they only accept white collar workers in the Province of Gloucestershire. Should that be so, then surely that is what Andrew Hicks’ article was all about, namely, that Freemasonry is staid and fusty. Ron Cooch, Pinner, Middlesex. Sir, I have read Andrew Hicks’ article with great interest, but unfortunately can only see negative points, and I am sure it would have done us more good if Bro Hicks, at the young age of 34, had given us at least one or two positive points. I appreciate new young candidates are not coming forward in large numbers, but the majority of lodges are still holding their own. I did not appreciate that the Craft had to be fashionable or that it was unfashionable. However, I am now 81 years of age and have now been in Freemasonry for nearly 40 years, but as a Lewis I had Masonry with my mother’s milk! I assume from Mr Hicks’ third paragraph that he would like us to dress in sandals, open-neck shirt and meet at a time convenient to him, which is probably after the BBC news! I cannot see Freemasonry in Staffordshire or Warwickshire crumbling around us, and if one feels like saluting somebody out of respect, then again I feel that this is nothing to do with an ‘old boys’ club’. I am pleased to read that Bro Hicks has no intention of changing the ritual. If he had given some thought to the origin of Freemasonry and to the turbulence of two world wars in one century and the persecution of people for either their religion or their nationality, he would not have to talk about the ‘zeitgeist’ of the last 50 years. The above are all my personal points of view and nobody else’s. I cannot see that we have to do something like the Labour Party, or for that matter, the Conservative Party, as Freemasonry has nothing to do with politics, religion or nationality, and perhaps when Bro Hicks realises this, he might not ask for such a radical change. Leon Jessel, MBE, JP, Walsall, West Midlands. Sir, I read Andrew Hicks’ letter with interest. I was a Freemason, having recently resigned as Secretary of a lodge. The Master has also resigned. While we resigned for reasons to do with our lodge, there were a number of factors concerned with the Craft in general. I have to agree that the Order has to change if it wishes to attract and keep members. The younger members are not prepared to put up with just attending meetings time and time again and listening to more of the same. While many members (usually older) are willing to discuss opening up the Order, they are not willing to do anything to further it; in fact, will object at almost every opportunity when change is proposed. I miss Freemasonry and would dearly liked to have continued. However, the majority of senior officers are generally older men, who, apart from the odd tweak here or there, are happy to carry on with things as they are. The problem is not increasing membership, but keeping members. Wake up gentlemen! This is the new millennium! Gerard Byrne, Wicklow, Ireland. Sir, I have just read Bro Hicks’ article on the image problem Freemasonry faces. I am a member of Horn Lake Lodge No 617, Horn Lake, Mississippi, USA. As a Master Mason, I too worry about ensuring the future of our great organisation. I can only assume Bro Hicks’ assertions are true, and therefore I would agree with most of his opinions. We do not have anywhere near as restrictive rules and procedures as he indicates that you folks have, and I guess there are many, many more that for obvious reasons he cannot discuss. I hope his opinions are considered useful to your powers-that-be, and some of his ideas given the consideration due them. We have not loosened our rules and procedures, nor have we modified them in any way, but then again, we aren’t as rigid (or so it appears in the article) as your lodges must be in England. I would love to see your rituals, but just as much, I would love for some of your members to see ours. If any of your lodge brothers ever travel to Memphis, Tennessee, have them e mail me at hboonsr@aol.com and I will be glad to take them to our lodge to see our ritual work. Long live Masonry!!! Hank Boonstra, USA. Sir, Re Bro Hicks’ article. Soon after reading his comments, I came across a quotation from The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. It seemed to put into few words a view which I commend to Bro Hicks: “No one, however brilliant or well-informed, can come to such fullness of understanding as safely to judge and dismiss the customs or institutions of his society, for these are the wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory of history. The sanity of a group lies in the continuity of its traditions. To break sharply with the past is to court the madness that may follow the shock of sudden blows or mutilations.” DM Congdon, Past Provincial Grand Superintendent of Works, Sway, Hampshire. Reserve Lodges Sir, A piece in issue 7’s Newsbites asked if Reserve Forces Lodge No 2666, Northumbria was unique. Certainly there may be elements that do not apply elsewhere but readers may wish to know that there are at least two other lodges formed by members of the Reserve Forces. Gastvrijheid Lodge No 113 (Netherlands Constitution) was founded by Freemasons serving in the 1st Royal Naval Brigade of the Royal Naval Division, many members of which were reservists interned in Holland during WWI. The lodge was transferred to the English Constitution by special charter on 7 April 1919. It retained its name, which in English means ‘Hospitality’, and given the number 3970 on the register of the United Grand Lodge. Exactly a month earlier, on 7 March 1919, my own lodge, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Lodge No 3923, was consecrated at the Holborn Restaurant in London. Sadly this no longer exists. As an aside, the eight course dinner which followed, including wine, liqueurs, cigars and musical entertainment, cost the princely sum of 25/- (£1.25). RNVR Lodge was formed by officers of both the RNVR and the Admiralty, as it was then known. The majority of our brethren are serving or retired Naval Reservists but we are proud to include members from the Territorial Army; the Sea Cadet and Combined Cadet Corps; and a captain of the US Naval Reserve. Although we do not follow strict service mess procedures, the best features are retained, including a Trafalgar/RND Remembrance open dinner and the passing of port and snuff. We would warmly welcome any mason with an interest in the sea or the Naval Reserve/Service at any of our meetings. W Bro Cdr. Mike Porter OBE, Shoeburyness, Southend on Sea, Essex. So Mote it Be Sir, Issue 9 contained an advert and a letter about my and W Bro Marvell’s marching song, So Mote it Be. The publisher has moved. Requests for the music and tape should be sent to: Mitre Publishing, 16a Mollivers Lane, Bromham-Bedford, MK43 8JT. E mail muserv@globalnet.co.uk Harry F Baxter, Burpham-Guildford, Surrey. Hele unconcealed Sir, After talking to several brethren recently, I realised that, although we regularly use the word hele in our ceremonies, very few could give a definition to that word. Hele (which is now an obsolete word) is a variation of the word ‘heal’. It is chiefly an English dialect word with its primary meaning being to cover (as seeds) with earth. However, it can also mean to cover with slates or tiles, for instance, ‘a leaky-roofed, tile-healed cottage’. Combining the two it can also mean to cover with earth-tiles. Its origin is from the Middle English word ‘helen’ which means to hide, conceal or cover, which in turn comes from the 13th century Old English word ‘helan’, ‘hellan’ or ‘helian’ meaning to hide or keep secret. This in turn came from the Old Saxon word ‘hellian’ and the Old High German suffix of ‘hellen’, which came about as a development of the West Germanic ‘haljan’ which perhaps was formed on ‘xel’, ‘xal’ or ‘xul’ (where the ‘x’ is as the ‘ch’ in the Scottish form of ‘loch’). Similarly, this developed from the Indo-European ‘kel’, which is represented in Latin by ‘celare’, or the Greek ‘kalyptein’, meaning to hide. Mark Gannaway, Lymington, Hampshire. Hiram Abif(f) Sir, Your article on Hiram Abiff (Summer issue) interested me greatly, especially because I have just corrected the proof of a similar article for a new book of masonic talks entitled From the Canon’s Mouth, (published September 1999 by QCCC). I am surprised that in your article you only go back as far as the Breeches Bible of 1607. I would refer you (in my talk) to Luther and Coverdale. In Coverdale’s translation (published 1535-7) of II Chronicles 2.13, we find the name Hiram Abi, and in II Chronicles 4.16, Hiram Abif. Not ‘Huram’ but Hiram, Hiram Abif in two distinct words, with a capital H and a capital A. This is the one and only place in the whole of English literature outside masonic ritual that I have been able to find the full name printed in this particular manner. In 1537, the Matthews Bible which drew upon Tyndale and Coverdale prints ‘Abi’ in both places, but by 1539 the Great Bible had arrived with ‘my father’ and ‘his father’, and the old name was lost again. Yet Freemasons in 1723 were apparently familiar with the name and did not find it necessary to explain it in any way. Can we really suppose that Anderson and his brethren invented a legend, and took the trouble to dig out a name from a Bible of two centuries earlier to go with it? Is it not far more probable that the name Hiram Abif was in regular use among masons even before Luther (see my talk) and Coverdale came across it, and that it has been in continuous use among masons ever since? The story of Hiram Abif, then, cannot be proved as history, but neither can it be disproved. It is therefore aptly described in our ceremony as a ‘traditional history’, and as such it still can and still does teach Master Masons many great and useful lessons. One thing still puzzles me: how did Abif come to be spelt Abiff? In most rituals of course it is abbreviated to ‘H.A’. I know the Abiff Lodge in Suffolk spells it like that, but I have several books which disagree: one of them says “..Abif (or Abiff) or probably more correctly Abiv...” - and this certainly fits the Hebrew Aleph, Beth, Jod, Vau. Freemasonry Today continues to be both informative and provocative. So it should be. Carry on the good work! Canon Richard Tydeman, Felixstowe, Suffolk. Masonic Choirs Unite Sir, The representatives of the Durham Masonic Male Voice Choir, the Province of Northants and Hunts Masonic Male Voice Choir, the Sheffield and District Masonic Choir and the Staffordshire Masonic Choir, have got together to discuss establishing an association open to all masonic bodies having an interest in the great Liberal Art. The purpose is to bring together masons interested in music; assisting, through music, the furtherance of improved public perception of the Craft; raising money for masonic and non-masonic charity; researching masonic music, and organising collective musical events. A number of joint events, such as singing choral evensong at both Peterborough and Sheffield cathedrals, have already been accomplished with great success, and the respective Provincial Grand Masters are giving their full backing to the proposal. We would like to test the water before setting up administration to see how great the response is. Other masonic music organisations are invited to get in touch by phoning Bro Bill Young on 01733 566455 or by e mailing masonic.music@cyberware.co.uk When doing so, please give us name, address, phone, fax and e mail information; title and nature of organisation; your position or office in that organisation; the extent of your interest (willingness to travel and meet costs involved); whether you would like to be kept informed but still contribute to admin expenses; or merely to record interest with a view to future involvement. Replies should be received by mid-November to be available for discussion at a meeting on 4 December 1999. Bill Young, Past Provincial Junior Grand Warden, Vale of Nene No 7006, Peterborough. E mail http://www.cyberware.co.uk/~ddm221 Disclosure Sir, Once more I am aware of a Brother who has been forced to abandon Freemasonry through harassment and bullying by his employers. It is understandable that, to protect his future employment, pension rights and family, he has felt no alternative but to relinquish, until his retirement, all connection with the Craft. As a particularly active and respected mason, this is a tremendous, immediate loss to his lodge and to the Province as a whole. I feel particular ire as we all know that the worms that burrow into the brains of our detractors are all self-generated. Whilst I applaud the frankness with which aspects of Freemasonry are now discussed, I feel that we will continue ‘paying the Dane the Danegeld’ and there will be increasing pressures on us until and unless we start to fight back. Nothing will prevent bigoted employers from acting as above until we have a willing member who has suffered similar persecution but has seen his employment through to retirement and threats can no longer be applied. I would suggest that those who feel as passionately as I do consider contributing to a fighting fund to embark on a test case and take an employer through the courts. Once well publicised, costly defeat could halt them smartly in their tracks. Tony King, Wichamford, Evesham, Worcs. Sir, For some time now, Freemasons have felt they have been given a raw deal by the media. We have claimed that they ignore us, vilify us, treat us as figures of fun, or that they just don’t understand us. Undoubtedly, there is some basic prejudice and some political antagonism, but in the main, the critical attitude of the press stems purely from lack of knowledge, leading them to view the Craft as secretive and mysterious and, therefore, a ripe target for exposure. Open days, to which the press have been invited, have already shown that if we are honest with them, they will be fair to us. In East Lancashire, we feel we can go even further to try to gain their trust. We have produced a media factpack, The Journalist’s Guide to Freemasonry, and have sent it to the BBC, Granada TV and all newspapers published in the Province. Sections include: The Early Days; Development of Freemasonry; Freemasonry world-wide; English Freemasonry; The Province; The Lodge and Lodge Meetings; Membership and the Principles of Freemasonry. It is doubtful whether we will ever convince the media that we have nothing to hide, but with this factpack, we hope to have at least made a start. Norman Pickles, Press and Public Relations Officer, Province of East Lancashire. Masonry and Religion Sir, Without a doubt, Grand Lodge’s publications, Freemasonry: An Approach to Life and Your Questions Answered are being well received and are proving most helpful. The view could be taken that the most complex area of masonic theory is its interface with religion, and in light of this it would be helpful perhaps to reconsider how this is handled in these recent publications. In Freemasonry, An Approach to Life, it is stated that Freemasonry is not a religion and does not teach any route to salvation. Yet the Third Degree Working Tools indicate ontology, epistemology and eschatology: surely the key components of revealed religion. In Your Questions Answered, it emphatically states that Freemasonry is not a rival to religion and that every candidate is exhorted to regard its holy book as the unerring standard of truth. But, if our ancient brethren were renaissance/enlightement persons, some would have had a natural religion or religiosity that was not based on a holy book, rather upon their experience of the natural world, (in which the Great Architect of the Universe resided), and on ‘holy’ books as disparate as those breathed by Robert Fludd in the early 17th century and Voltaire! At the interview of a potential candidate, would pantheism be accepted by the lodge committee as being a religion? I can understand why some churches do not like Freemasonry. In the prayer to the initiate, who comes to Masonry with his religion and his holy book, it is sought that, assisted by the secrets of our Masonic art, he may the better be enabled to unfold the beauties of true godliness. Surely, most churches would claim to be able to unfold the beauties of true godliness without the help of masonic arts. It is not easy to define religion. Would it be churlish of me to suggest that a religion could be understood as being a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and represented by symbols? The possibility has to be faced that perhaps revealed religion is exclusive whereas Freemasonry is inclusive, and therefore the two would appear to be incommensurable. Perhaps the UGLE’s two publications can be a starting point from which an even more helpful and harmonious understanding of the Craft and religion could be achieved. Gerald Reilly, St Osyth’s Priory Lodge No 2163. In the heart Sir, I read with interest the letter ‘Above us the waves’ by Bro Whitfield in issue 7 regarding obsequious deference to rank. Let me explain. I was initiated in 1963. After ten years I was chief Steward, seven years later: Tyler. In April 1980 I became Master. Despite being self-employed in a business which took me throughout Britain and the continent, I very rarely missed either a weekly class night or lodge meeting. Over 17 years, the ‘misses’ could be counted on one hand for both types of meeting. In 1985 my wife and I moved to Tenerife for health reasons. I have kept up with my subscriptions and was recently awarded honorary membership. During the years I have returned annually and been called on not only to work the second degree tracing board, but also to explain the five noble orders and the six days’ work as well. Yesterday I received a letter asking me to take the Chair as the Master would be away on business; the ceremony is to be a raising. Now, some years ago, my lodge pressed very hard with the Province to have me made a Past Provincial Officer, in view of my service to the lodge and the Craft. The reply was: “No, he is not a regular attender”, and that was that. My own attitude is that whatever the pros and cons I shall remain loyal to my lodge and the principles of Freemasonry but, like my Senior Warden (when I was Master), if a Provincial rank was offered, I would refuse it. Let me close by quoting King Henry V: Tis not the balm, the sceptre and the ball; the sword, The mace, the crown imperial, the inter-tissued robes Of gold and pearl, the throne he sits on nor the tide Of pomp that beats upon the high shores of this world. King Henry knew what did not make a man a king and in like manner: Tis not the square, the compasses, the rough and perfect ashlars, the mallet, the chisel: no, not even the infallible plumb rule can make a man a mason if his inclinations are against it. No, the true reality of Freemasonry lies in the heart of every man who has knelt in the east with his hand on the Volume of the Sacred Law and pledged loyalty to our Order, and faithfully carried out that pledge. It is that, and that alone, which makes a man a mason, and a mason a better man. Norman H Bolt, Constancy Lodge No 6359 (Huddersfield), Tenerife, Canary Islands.
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