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April Issue
Brother Duane E. Anderson, our 1st Vice President, has been called home by the G.A.O.T.U. There will be more written within these pages but we have lost a true Masonic leader and a great mind. I am grateful for the opportunity to have known Duane and will not forget what I learned from him. To Nancyelaine and his family, thank you for sharing Duane with us. You will be in our prayers.
The European witch hunt has spread to Finland. A proposed new law requires that new judges declare their affiliation with groups that might influence their judgement. Specifically, in the proposal, was mention of an accusal, by the press a few years ago, that Freemason judges favored their Masonic brethren. This item was reported by Stefan Kuni, MPS from Finland.
And News From Britain: Leaders of Britain’s ruling medical body will be questioned by MP’s concerning possible links between Freemasons in the medical profession and a series of medical scandals. - A group of police officers, in defiance of the Home Office, are forming a new Lodge. Membership is open to anyone who has taken the police constable’s oath. Reportedly, few if any intend to register their membership. - Feeling the heat from government attacks on Freemasonry the United Grand Lodge of England has elected to go with a Masonic Openness Campaign as a way to influence public opinion in favor of Masonry. This information was gathered from various British news reports.
In the April ‘99 issue of the Philalethes I reported the discovery of "The Post Boy Expose" of 1723. I noted that Brother S. Brent Morris, FPS had come across this important, one of a kind document, at a dealer’s shop. Brother Morris asked me to make note that the dealer was Brother Yasha Beresiner, MPS who actually found and recognized the document’s importance then notified him. A complete analysis of the document, written by Brother Morris, will appear in the soon to be published Volume 7 of "Heredom."
The Imperial Potentate of the Shrine of North America, Ralph W. Semb, addressed the Conference of Grand Masters on February 22nd. "....I remind you that I speak for all of the Shrine Imperial Divan." The gist of the address concerned the decline of Shrine membership and possible solutions to this problem. One of his concerns " . . . men wishing to become Shriners, but being blackballed at the Blue Lodge because when asked why they wanted to be a Mason, they may have replied, because I want to be a Shriner . . . everyone . . . would have benefitted because of dues income alone." He goes on to say " . . . One possible answer . . . Invite men to join the Shrine as a ‘Civic member’." (A non voting, non office holding, non Mason) He concludes with " . . . We hope that you, the leaders of these Grand Lodges in attendance will want us to continue to be part of the Masonic Family, and we would like to be, if we can afford to do so."
Brethren - We are beginning a program to assist our Chapters and to increase our membership. We will be supplying applications/flyers to anyone that requests them, as well as supplying an excellent Masonic Leadership manual to be presented to Lodges or education officers by our members and Chapters. Contact me if you would like to assist us in this effort.
Historic artifacts going to the dump. Recently I have heard several horror stories involving important and historically significant documents and artifacts ending up in trash bins. Please Brothers, if you need to clean your garage or attic, be careful. "One man’s trash is another man’s treasure." Make an effort to save items that may be of value Masonically or historically. Contact a Brother who is interested in history or collecting. He’ll be glad to give you a hand. Failing that, contact me and I will make an effort to find someone in your area to assist you. Let’s not trash our history.
Our President, Bro. Nelson King, FPS was presented with The Prince Hall, Civil Rights Activist Award at the Annual Phylaxis Meeting which was held in Kansas City. Bro. King and The Philalethes were also presented with The 27th Phylaxis Anniversary Award for Extraordinary Service to The Phylaxis Society. For information about joining The Phylaxis Society contact Bro. Joseph A. Walkes, FPS, P.O. Box 3151, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas 66207
"Keep on pluggin"
