Grand Orient Express
Despite my taking a bit of a summer vacation, I did want to comment on some of the happenings in Freemasonry that I've seen or read about over the last few months.
First of all, I want to extend my very best wishes to the brothers of the new Grand Orient of the United States of America. On June 27, the GO-USA received a patent from the Grand Orient of France, a document which grants them amity with certain other GO bodies, allowing them to visit Masonically and to work certain rites. The GO-USA will work closely with Le Droit Humain affiliates, the George Washington Union, and the Women's Grand Lodge of Belgium (all of which having their own affiliates in the US). I know that a lot of hard work and organization went into this, and I congratulate Bro. John Slifko, the new Grand Master of the new Grand Orient of the USA. Likewise, my best wishes to Bro. Brandt Smith, their new Grand Secretary, and to Bro. Jeff Peace, the new Grand Secretary of External Affairs. While the GOdF and LDH is not in amity with UGLE Grand Lodges, they and other GOs have worked in parallel toward Masonic ideals. It is my sincere hope that this new venture comes to every success for all of you.
Secondly, anyone reading this blog is probably aware that there have been skirmishes between certain Mainstream Freemasons and those who, for various reasons (justified or not), have taken issue with Mainstream lodges. The untimely death of Br. Theron Dunn precipitated a truce of sorts, and for several months the bickering stopped. Unfortunately, the creation of the GO-USA seems to have renewed the arguing, for reasons which I am unable to fathom. The sniping that was taking place in blogs and message boards is on the upswing, and I'm not just disappointed with the tone of the posts that I've been reading; I'm actually disheartened because with the creation of the GO, I believe that there are fewer reasons for such attacks than before.
(Read the rest of this on The Tao of Masonry)