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MASONIC EDUCATION

The Master's Path program is designed specifically for Lodge Officers on their path towards becoming Master, from Deacons up through Master-elect, but any Lodge Officer or member may attend. Every Mason installed as Master of a Massachusetts Lodge, after 1 January 2005, must have participated in the Master's Path program during the 30 months prior to the date of his installation. Reservations are required two weeks prior to each date and can be made by contacting the Secretary. Dates and locations are as follows:

To be listed

11th Lodge of Instruction

Mission Statement

The Lodge of Instruction has been established to reinforce and encourage the practice of our tenets. It accomplishes this by providing education for prospective candidates and information for Lodge Officers, members, families and guests in a friendly and social atmosphere.

Vision Statement

The vision statement for our Fraternity in Massachusetts contains several core principles, Freemasonry will:

Promote and provide opportunities for the education of its members and community as a mean of encouraging freedom, tolerance and understanding.

Provide opportunities for family enrichment through programs of fellowship, discovery, learning, involvement and entertainment.

Contribute to the community and the lives of its citizens by active involvement of its Lodges and members.

Strive to be viewed by the community as an outstanding Organization.

This year's 11th Lodge of Instruction Program strives to support these principles by presenting an array of programs that should interest Masons, their families and friends, as well as our communities.

The Program advances the tenets and teachings of the Craft, the importance of being of character, of practicing one's spiritual and religious beliefs, and that it is the internal, not the external qualities that are important.

We hear of how Masons try to help and support by helping to guard the safety of our children and by providing high quality health care services. We learn of our historic past and join together in fellowship and entertainment.

The lodge of Instruction Officers hope you enjoy the Programs, but more that that, we hope you will attend our meetings, or our efforts will be for naught.

Regular meetings 4th Wednesday of the month, except as noted below individually:

Candidate Education: 6:30 P.M.

Forum Opens Promptly: 7:30 P.M.

Forum Closes: 9:00 P.M.

The German Masonic Museum in Bayreuth

(Deutsches Freimaurer Museum)

The Masonic Blue Slipper

By: Clyde H. Magee, 32°

Are you familiar with the Masonic blue slipper? It is a small lapel pin in the shape of a blue slipper. Over the years it has been my habit to ask my wife and my daughters to wear one of these slippers on a coat or dress when traveling alone away from home. What is the meaning of this blue slipper and why should female relatives of Masons wear one?

Some 50 or 60 years ago, while I was still living at home, a widowed lady who was a cousin of my Dad's came to visit our home. She vacationed with us for several weeks every summer. She always wore this type of pin-The Blue Slipper. Her doctor husband was a Mason. The pin that she wore made a lasting impression on me. Through my curiosity and questioning, she told me it was a Masonic pin and served to identify her as a Masonic widow. She declared that Masonic men gave her extra attention while traveling, especially on the railroad (conductors, etc.).

To find out the meaning of this pin, let us go back in history to Boaz' time-the Book of Ruth. It will be remembered that Elimelech, his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilon, fled to the land of Moab to escape the famine in their homeland of Bethlehem-judah. Things went well for a while. Then life fell apart for them. Elimelech died. The two sons married Moabite girls-Orpha and Ruth. Again tragedy struck. Mahlon and Chilon died. This left Naomi a widow in a foreign land with two widowed daughters-in-law from the land of Moab.

In time of trouble, people think of home and more importantly of God. Naomi found out that the famine back home had subsided, and there was grain and food again. So she confided with Orpha and Ruth that she would journey back home and be among her kinsmen.

Certain laws, rules, or customs governed her thinking at this time. Of first consideration was the fact that Naomi was too old to bear a son for her daughters-in-law to marry. Even if she could, the daughters-in-law would not wait for the son to grow up. So the girls should remain among their own people. The girls resisted and started to go with Naomi. Orpha was finally convinced she should stay in Moab. But Ruth remained steadfast and went with Naomi to her homeland.

Naomi and Ruth arrived back in Bethlehem-judah at harvest time. The Scripture passage on which this is based is well-known. "And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." This passage of Scripture is unsurpassed as a declaration of love and devotion of one person for another. It has been said that it would made a good marriage vow. But, to me it is a different type of devotion.

Naomi also had to take into consideration another law. When Elimelech died, his next of kin

was duty bound to redeem his possessions and take care of his widow and her family. Since Naomi was getting old, Ruth tried to earn a livelihood. While gleaning in the fields, she was seen by Boaz. And when he found out about her (that she was Naomi's daughter-in-law, etc.), he arranged special treatment for her. She could work with his girls in the field, and the young men were warned not to bother her. Since Boaz was not married and was kin to Naomi, Naomi decided that she should somehow make Boaz understand his duty to Elimelech's family. So Naomi advised Ruth to bathe and anoint herself and go to the threshing floor after dark and lay at the feet of Boaz. Boaz awoke at midnight and discovered her there. So as not to create a scandal, he gave her some barley and asked her to leave before dawn so that watching eyes would not recognize her.

Business among the tribe of Bethlehem-judah took place at the gate of the city. So Boaz sat down at the gate the next day because he knew there was a kinsman more closely related to Elimelech than he. So when the kinsman came by, Boaz called him aside and asked 10 men of the elders of the city to sit with them. Boaz bargained with his kinsman. The kinsman said he would redeem Elimelech's property. But, when he found out that he would have to take care of Naomi and Ruth, he reneged and told Boaz he would not redeem or protect Elimelech's interest. He would leave it to Boaz. The passage from Scripture for these events is the following: "And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it., Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor: and this was a testimony in Israel."

So the kinsman drew off his shoe and gave it to Boaz. Boaz held it up for all in the gate to see. He asked them to be witnesses that he became Naomi's protector, Ruth's husband, and a redeemer of Elimelech's property. Thus, today we have the little blue slipper as an emblem of the protective influence of Masons for their wives, widows, and daughters.

(This article first appeared in the July 1986 issue of the New Age Journal, now called the Scottish Rite Journal.)

Who is Prince Hall?

Prince Hall is recognized as the Father of Black Masonry in the United States. Historically, he made it possible for Negroes to be recognized and enjoy all privileges of free and accepted masonry.

Many rumors of the birth of Prince Hall have arisen. A few records and papers have been found of him in Barbados where it was rumored that he was born in 1748, but no record of birth by church or by state, has been found there, and none in Boston. All 11 countries were searched and churches with baptismal records were examined without finding the name of Prince Hall.

One widely circulated rumor states that "Prince Hall was free born in British West Indies. His father, Thomas Prince Hall, was an Englishman and his mother a free colored woman of French extraction. In 1765 he worked his passage on a ship to Boston, where he worked as a leather worker, a trade learned from his father. During this time he married Sarah Ritchery. Shortly after their marriage, she died at the age of 24. Eight years later he had acquired real estate and was qualified to vote. Prince Hall also pressed John Hancock to be allowed to join the Continental Army and was one of a few blacks who fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. Religiously inclined, he later became a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church with a charge in Cambridge and fought for the abolition of slavery." Some accounts are paraphrased from the generally discredited Grimshaw book of 1903.

Free Masonry among Black men began during the War of Independence, when Prince Hall and fourteen other free black men were initiated into Lodge # 441, Irish Constitution, attached to the 38th Regiment of Foot, British Army Garrisoned at Castle Williams (now Fort Independence) Boston Harbor on March 6, 1775. The Master of the Lodge was Sergeant John Batt. Along with Prince Hall, the other newly made masons were Cyrus Johnson, Bueston Slinger, Prince Rees, John Canton, Peter Freeman, Benjamin Tiler, Duff Ruform, Thomas Santerson, Prince Rayden, Cato Spain, Boston Smith, Peter Best, Forten Howard and Richard Titley.

When the British Army left Boston, this Lodge, # 441, granted Prince Hall and his brethren authority to meet as a lodge, to go in procession on Saints John Day, and as a Lodge to bury their dead; but they could not confer degrees nor perform any other Masonic "work". For nine years these brethren, together with others who had received their degrees elsewhere, assembled and enjoyed their limited privileges as Masons. Finally in March 2, 1784, Prince Hall petitioned the Grand Lodge of England, through a Worshipful Master of a subordinate Lodge in London (William Moody of Brotherly Love Lodge # 55) for a warrant or charter.

The warrant was granted on September 29, 1784 under the name of African Lodge, # 459 on the register of the Grand Lodge of England by authority of then Grand Master, the Duke of Cumberland, delivered in Boston on April 29, 1787 by Captain James Scott, brother-in-law of John Hancock and Master of the Neptune. Prince Hall was the first Master of the lodge which was organized one week later, May 6, 1787.

The warrant to African Lodge # 459 of Boston is the most significant and highly prized document known to the Prince Hall Masonic Fraternity. Through it, Masonic legitimacy among free black men is traced, and on it more than any other factor, rests their case. That charter, which is authenticated and in safekeeping, is believed to be the only original charter issued from the Grand Lodge of England still in the possession of any Lodge in the United States. African Lodge allowed itself to slip into arrears in the late 1790's and was stricken from the rolls after the Union of 1813 although it had attempted correspondence in 1802 and 1806. In 1827, after further unreplied communication, it declared its independence and began to call itself African Grand Lodge # 1. It is interesting to note that when the Massachusetts lodges which were acting as a Provincial Grand Lodge also declared themselves an independent Grand Lodge, and even when the present Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was formed by the amalgamation of the two separate lodges, African Lodge was not invited to take part, even though it held a warrant every bit as valid as the others.

The question of extending Masonry arose when Absalom Jones of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania appeared in 1791 in Boston. He was an ordained Episcopal priest and a mason who was interested in establishing a Masonic lodge in Philadelphia. Delegations also traveled from Providence, Rhode Island and New York to establish the African Grand Lodge that year. Prince Hall was appointed Grand Master, serving in this capacity until his death in 1807.

Upon his death, Nero Prince became Grand Master. When Nero Prince sailed to Russia in 1808, George Middleton succeeded him. After Middleton, Petrert Lew, Samuel H. Moody and then, John T. Hilton became Grand Master. In 1827, it was Hilton who recommended a Declaration of Independence from the English Grand Lodge.

In 1869 a fire destroyed Massachusetts' Grand Lodge headquarters and a number of its priceless records. The charter in its metal tube was in the Grand Lodge chest. The tube saved the charter from the flames, but the intense heat charred the paper. It was at this time that Grand Master S.T. Kendall crawled into the burning building and in peril of his life, saved the charter from complete destruction. Thus a Grand Master's devotion and heroism further consecrated this parchment to Prince Hall Masons, and added a further detail to its already interesting history. The original Charter # 459 has long since been made secure between heavy plate glass and is kept in a fire-proof vault in a downtown Boston bank.

In 1946, the Grand Lodge of England again extended recognition to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge but withdrew it the same year. In 1994, the Grand Lodge of England finally accepted a petition for recognition by Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. "England cited several reasons recognition was withheld," Nicholas B. Locker, Grand Master of Prince Hall from 1992-1994, said in an interview in June 1996. "One was 'territorial boundaries,' because the Grand Lodge of England had already recognized the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, which shared the same jurisdiction with Prince Hall Grand Lodge. "Another factor was that Prince Hall owed back payment of dues to the Grand Lodge. Back 200 years ago, there were no checks, and often dues for England were put in the hands of sailing ship captains. It was several months before the ships arrived in England, and money was lost. So it wasn't possible to say for sure that Prince Hall paid all his dues."

The ties were arranged to be formalized in June 1996. In its 212 years, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge has spawned over 44 other Grand Lodges. The subordinate lodges receive recognition once their grand lodges are recognized.

Today, the Prince Hall fraternity has over 4,500 lodges worldwide, forming 44 independent jurisdictions with a membership of over 300,000 masons whereby any good hearted man who is worthy and well qualified, can seek more light in masonry.

Prince Hall is buried in a cemetery overlooking the Charlestown naval yard in Boston's north end. His grave is situated near a large tree, his wife's grave is directly behind his. The site is marked by a broken column; a monument erected 88 years after his death by Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of Massachusetts. Still today, believers in the Deity and travelers from all walks of life can be seen winding their way to that sacred spot to pay homage at the final resting place of the first Grand Master of the "colored" Grand Lodge of Masons. This great Mason, Statesman, and Soldier, having traveled to that undiscovered country from whose borne no traveler returns; remains as the pillar of wisdom, strength, and beauty among all masons today.