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July 31, 2020

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country."

 — Brother Benjamin Franklin

A Letter from the Grand Master to the Brethren
 
Dear Brethern, 

As the Corona Virus continues to ravage Louisiana, I thought it wise to update you on our efforts to ensure the safety of Masons across our state. 

First, I have been encouraged by the response of Lodges and brothers throughout our Grand Lodge. Numerous Lodges have decided it is in their best interest if they not open. Some Lodges have decided not to confer degrees for the foreseeable future. Both of those courses of action are acceptable and admirable. I am proud that our Lodges are putting the safety of their members first. 

I am also encouraged that Lodges have been following the directives I released regarding the safe operation of those Lodges which do choose to operate. As I directed, Masons are wearing appropriate face coverings to and from Lodge, and only taking those coverings off when in the Lodge room AND at least 6 feet away from any other Mason. Lodges are foregoing public events and are using the utmost caution, as laid out in my directive, to ensure food service is clean and healthy. 

Remember, though, that the directive only lists the bare minimum that our Lodges must do. Lodges are highly encouraged to take other protective measures, such as taking the temperature of attendees before allowing them to enter the building. 
This virus is serious. COVID-19 has impacted our Grand Lodge family and several Grand Lodge officers have been diagnosed with it. We must take all measures we can to ensure the safety of our brothers. Remember, our great aim is to relieve distress and restore peace to the troubled bosom. In my view, helping our brothers stay safe and healthy during this troubled time is a measure of charity that we must embrace.

Again, thank you for what you are doing to ensure the health of Masons across Louisiana.

 
James E. Steen
Grand Maste
r
Read Grand Master's Directive Regarding the Mask Mandate

Sentiments of the American Civil War: Part 2

by W∴B∴ Chad Koelling, Contributing Writer
 
In this multipart series, I would like to examine the sentiments of then Grand Master M∴W∴B∴ John Quincy Adams Fellows, who was duly elected to serve as Grand Master in February 1860.  Like so many before him and so many after him, I am confident he was both excited and apprehensive about what may lie ahead.  M∴W∴ B∴ Fellows indeed could not have predicted what was to follow.

M∴W∴B∴ John Quincy Adams Fellows, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, 1860-1865

Most Worshipful Brother Fellows served his first year to serve as Grand Master of the State of Louisiana in 1860; it would not be his last.  He was also a prominent attorney, schoolmaster, and something of a politician.  His life did not stop when he was elected, nor do the lives of any other of our Grand Masters. Catchphrases such as abolition, secession, and the Confederacy were the hot topics of the times. However, the Civil War had not yet begun, and Louisiana was still a state in the United States of America.  The tensions were high, though. Governor Thomas Overton Moore called a special assembly of the legislature concerning the lack of representation in the United States presidential election, where Lincoln and Hamiln were reportedly voteless (Lacrouts, Nero, & Wasner, 2018).  The six Louisiana electoral votes went to John Breckenridge (1860 United States Presidential Election in Louisiana, 2020).  F. A. Lumsden was also considered as a candidate. However, he died that year with M∴W∴B∴ Fellows present at the funeral along with many other prominent figures in Louisiana history.

Many Southern states at the time dealt with similar issues, so imagine for a second being the leader of an organization built on the principles of peace, harmony, charity, and brotherly love.  It must have been a very trying time for M∴W∴B∴ Fellows, especially considering that our teachings speak against discountenance and rebellion.  What was he to do?  Certainly, some Masons sided with both North and South. If the numbers hold historically, as compared to recent trends, about 35% of the State would have been against the Grand Lodge’s decision. Although a thing might be in the fraternity’s best interests, not stopping to consider that much time and effort, usually of a volunteer variety, goes into its management.  I am certain that Masons were driven by petty personal preference instead of what truly would be good for the Order as a whole, as some are now, but that did not sway M∴W∴B∴ Fellows in his duty to the fraternity. Grand Masters, after him, must likewise push on in the face of uncertainty.  This sentiment was affirmed by M∴W∴B∴ Fellows when he said that he “never faltered in the firm conviction…that you [Masons] would believe me sincere in every thought and deed…yet none of us can pretend to perfection.” 

Even with COVID-19, we face many uncertainties, but the fraternity must thrive in this uncertainty as it did in years past.  M∴W∴B∴ Fellows said in his address in 1861, having served a year as Grand Master, “Our lodges have generally maintained their previous well-earned reputation for their ability and will to do good, in spreading the blessings imparted by the knowledge of our institution, in the practice of Charity and Brotherly Love, and the cultivation of every moral and social virtue.”  By his own account in the 1861 proceedings, M∴W∴B∴ Fellows had a quiet year Masonically speaking.  Representatives from the Grand Lodges of Connecticut, Kansas, Maryland, Ireland, Illinois, and Iowa attended the Grand Lodge session in 1861.  R∴W∴B∴ C. M. Emerson speaking for the Grand Representatives touched on the strife that was facing the nation when he said, “We...deplore the fact, that political considerations have caused the dismemberment of this once great and prosperous country – but there is left to us, as Masons, this consolation; that we are still brothers.  Amid the changes which society has undergone and is undergoing…which political rancor and lust for power…have entailed upon mankind, it is our pride and boast, that our own noble Order stands erect.”  

I feel that this needs to be seen by many of my Brothers even today, along with the Grand Master’s response, as I see strife on social media over such things as statues and face masks that are tearing us up over a mere difference of opinion.  Masonry teaches that we put those opinions aside for the good of humankind. M∴W∴B∴ Fellows in his response states as much, “As Masons, we all can meet here together upon the level of that equality which we teach belongs to us all.  Hence we meet without distinction of sect or party.  Brethren, this occasion is more than usually interesting, as it clearly indicates that whatever difference of opinion or action there may be in the world, there is in our own beloved Order that which binds the heart of brother to brother, and which will stay even the uplifted hand of an enemy in the hour of victory.  Our success and prosperity depend upon peace, while in the language of our ancient Charges, the institution has ever languished in time of war and civil controversies.  It is our duty to teach men…their rights and their duty to maintain them, but at the same time, remember that our enemy is yet our brother.” Is it any wonder then that M∴W∴B∴ Fellows was reelected in 1861 to serve a second year as Grand Master?  Any man that can put the love of the fraternity and duty to God, the betterment of the Order, and benevolence to his fellow man and brothers, before his own feelings or contentions of the civil controversies at hand, is certainly worthy of the highest office Freemasonry has to offer.  

References:
1860 United States Presidential Election in Louisiana. (2020, January 23). Retrieved July 28, 2020, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860_United_States_presidential_election_in_Louisiana

Lacrouts, M., Nero, E., & Wasner, J. (2018). Posson Jone. Retrieved July 28, 2020, from Louisiana Anthology: https://www2.latech.edu/~bmagee/louisiana_anthology/303_download/texts/01--dimitry--confederate_history_la/dimitry--confederate_la.html


All quotes are from the 1861 proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, which can be viewed at http://library.la-mason.com/PastProceedings/1860/1861.pdf.
 
To be continued...

Lodge Shout-Out:
Hugh Daspit No. 301 acknowledges dedicated brother

The Worshipful Master of Hugh Daspit No. 301, WB Mark Fournet, would like to acknowledge WB Jeffrey Foreman PM, who currently serves as Grand Master Expert of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana.

W
B Fournet says "Worshipful Brother Foreman is a dedicated and faithful member of Hugh Daspit No. 301. He is currently coaching a candidate, in addition to his longtime duties as Treasurer of this lodge.  He is an integral part of this lodge, and Masonry as a whole. WB Foreman’s comportment and attitude towards his fellow man are to what I aspire.  We at Hugh Daspit No. 301 are fortunate to have him in our fraternity."


W∴B∴ Jeffrey Foreman, P∴M∴, 
Grand Master Expert of the GL of LA
Treasurer of Hugh Daspit No. 301

If you are a sitting Master and would like to acknowledge a diligent brother,
please send a short write up and a photo to the Editor at gar@la-mason.com

Letters to the Editor

Write us a letter*. Tell us how you're doing as lodges begin to meet once again. Tell us what is is like to be meeting again. Send us a photo or two, or anything else you'd like to submit to The Louisiana Freemason!

Email gar@la-mason.com and "Send a letter to the Editor" just like the old days. Submissions will be considered for an issue of the Weekly eEdition so the brethren can see what you're up to. 


*The Editor reserves all rights to publish any letter sent to him.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS




The LouisianaFreemason is currently accepting submissions for the Summer 2020 Issue.
If you would like to submit something you have written for consideration, you may do so here.

Submissions must be in by August 14, 2020 to be considered for that issue. 


Submissions such as photos and lodge events may be submitted for the Weekly eEdition as well. 

 

Dr. Hans Schwartz: Freemasonry in Revolutionary New England
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 
• 7 p.m. (PDT)

The bonds of brotherhood were tested beyond measure during the American Revolutionary War. Learn the various interconnectivity and complexities that freemasonry played in late 18th-century New England, and more about some of those famous names that have become so associated with it.

Hans Schwartz was awarded his MA in history at Salem State University and his doctorate in Atlantic and Early American History at Clark University. His research focuses on freemasonry in trans-Atlantic networking in the Atlantic colonial period, and in political organizing in the American Revolutionary period. 

Hans has presented and published several papers on trans-Atlantic freemasonry as a cultural, political, and intellectual network, notably at the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, the German Historical Institute, and the QC Conference. His dissertation will be published next year.

Dr Schwartz has extensive teaching experience in the United States and Japan in history, science and English, and is presently a lecturer at Northeastern University. Masonically, he is a PM of Mount Carmel Lodge, Lynn, Massachusetts.

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