Racial Controversy Pits Masons against Masons

The Atlanta-Journal Constitutuion on Monday June 29th, 2009 has reported that the Grand Lodge of Georgia Free and Accepted Masons has been named in a Civil Lawsuit filed by one of its subordinate lodges Gate City #2 of Atlanta. The suit states that the Grand Lodge is trying to disband the local lodge because it accepted a Black man as a member.(Brother)

The 31 page lawsuit filed in Dekalb County Superior Court states that: The Worshipful Master Michael J Bjelajac and the members of Gate City Lodge #2 accepted a 26 year old male Victor Marshal into their membership during the fall of 2008.
Since that time letters have been sent from Douglas Hubert Ethridge and Starling A. "Sonny"Hicks to the Masonic Trial Commission. There statement claim that allowing a non-white man into the group violated the associations Moral and Masonic laws.
The letters are calling for the Worshipful Master Michael Bjelajac to be expelled and the Gate City lodge to be dissolved. Gate City lodge has 190 members including the late Atlanta Mayor
William B Hartsfield.

Gate City lodge is seeking a tempory restraining order to prevent the Trial Commission from convening, and is seeking reembursement for legal charges.

It should be espically noted that the Grand Master J.Edward Jennings wrote a letter in February of this year declaring that Victor Marshals membership is legitimate and that he should be received as a full Mason.

Victor Marshal stated that he does not regret his decision to join and has received e mails supporting him.and he doesnt believe that most Gerogia Masons share the same views as though who brought the Masonic Charges forward.

No one named in the case can comment at this time.

TOLERENCE is a Masonic teaching to be learned and acted upon. Otherwise your just whistling DIXIE.......think about it

MASONRY IS A WAY OF LIFE

The Associated Press just released another storey on this controversy here is the linkhttp://http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ilWrebJ9BjRXOSpR4AD6X6ulU8mwD9956IC80

Tolerance is the answer not Hate

On Wednesday June 11th in Washington D.C. Security Guard Stephen Tyrone Johns opened the door to the Holocaust Museum for another elderly visitor who needed assistance to get inside.
Mr. James Von Brunn stepped into the lobby, raised his rifle and shot Officer Johns at close range. Johns was shot in the chest and died of his wounds a few hours later in a local hospital.
Two armed security guards returned fire and wounded Von Brunn in the face. The lobby was filled with tourists and groups of school children, who dropped to the floor or ran for cover.
Suspect James Von Brunn has a long history of using the web to post his hate-filled views on Neo Nazis and White Supremacy web sites. He is also the author of a 200 page book denying that the Holocaust occurred and praising Adolph Hitler, and that the FreeMasons control the government. The book is called “Kill the Best Gentiles.
He was reported to also be a Conspiracy theorist who waged a personal war upon the U.S. Government.
Von Brunn was convicted in 1983 on criminal charges of attempting to kidnap the members of the Federal Reserve Board. He was armed with a .38 handgun, sawed off shotgun, and a hunting knife. He was convicted and he served six years in a Federal Prison.
As I was sitting with my father having a cup of coffee watching the news report, I thought that James Von Brunn was a man filled with hate and anger towards Blacks and Jews, and that he was committed to this final act of hate. To fulfill his lifelong dream of killing an innocent Black Man in a place that teaches people about the dangers of unchecked hatred and promotes human dignity.
It appears to me that in recent weeks hate crimes have been on the increase. I think that this is a good time for us Masons to review our Masonic teaching of Tolerance.
Here are some of the thoughts that I plan on sharing on whatever the occasion may arise:-Tolerance is vital to Freemasonry’s existence.- Acceptance of another’s spiritual feelings and traditions without being required to share them is a cornerstone of the fraternity.- We are taught in Freemasonry that each Brother is different but equal.
The Freemasons embrace tolerance firmly and practice it.
Who embraces intolerance? To name a few: Hitler, Stalin, Ku Klux Clan, Nazis, and radical Islamic Militants.
A few years ago Past Grand Master of Minnesota Neil Neddermeyer ( a great Mason and a man I admire) passed out little pins of the For-Get-Me-Not flower. He told us that in 1934 when Adolph Hitler first came into power, one of the first things that he did was to consolidate his power. He then detained and killed many prominent Freemasons.
The For-Get-Me-Not flower became an outward method for one Mason to recognize another. The simple flower was worn by brave Masons who refused to let the Masonic light be extinguished, even as the Nazis confiscated lodges and sent Masons to concentration camps.
“For us the forget-me-not is not only a symbol of remembrance. It is also to remind us of the danger of allowing intolerance into our lives and society, as well as the need to incorporate tolerance into our hearts and minds.
We, as Freemasons, should then share our views with the world.
I have provided this link http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/herron2.html to an excellent paper on the importance of practicing tolerance. It is written by W.B. Clive Herron of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. I found it to be very thought provoking. I encourage you to read it and share its message.
Security Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns died heroically in the line of duty protecting the visitors and employees of the Holocaust Museum. Our thought and prayers go out to his family with this message.
We mourn his death but we celebrate his life………………..
In Valor there is hope.

Shrine making Tough Decisions.

The United Press International has given a concise report on the pending fate of the Shrine hospitals.

The upcoming decision will take place at the Imperial Session in San Antonio Texas July 5-9th.

For a longer story see my article back in April.

For those of us who are new to blogs the colored words are the link to those articles. Just click it.

Grand Lodge of Ohio Supports Special Olympics

Man pedals across OhioBy BOB COUPLAND Tribune Chronicle
POSTED: June 5, 2009

James ''Spudd'' Sasak, 53, of Grand River, pedaled through Trumbull and Mahoning counties this week as part of the 1,250-mile, 26-day trip. He is the bicycle ambassador for the Grand Lodge of the Freemasons for Special Olympics Ohio and is taking part in the Masonry in Motion bicycle tour.
''This is for a great cause. There has always been a tight tie between the Freemasons and Special Olympics,'' he said. Masons raise money to help send children to the Special Olympics, he said.
For the trip, he loaded his Cannondale T700 bicycle named ''PigBike'' with 90 pounds of clothes, rain gear and a computer. His riding wear included a bright yellowish-green shirt imprinted with the words ''Going the Distance Ohio Special Olympics.''
The trek will take him around Ohio's border counties, from the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland on Monday, around the state until he's in Lorain at nearly the starting point, and then south to get to the Special Olympics on June 26 at Jesse Owens Stadium at The Ohio State Campus in Columbus.
He traveled along the Greenway Trail to Trumbull County, which had him traveling past where his grandparents' farm once stood in Ashtabula County.
Sasak decided to mark the tour with a stop at each county courthouse. He tries to arrive at each courthouse by either noon or 6 p.m. each day.
''The courthouses are some of the most spectacular sites in each county,'' Sasak said.
Local Masons are helping to provide lodgings. Business sponsors, donations and T-shirt sales help pay for the trip.
By the time this trip is over, Sasak said he will have pedaled 30,000 miles in his lifetime.
''Distance bicycling has been one of my great passions for almost 30 years,'' he said.
He did adventure cycling in the 1990s, but this trip is the first time he has challenged himself to keep a schedule on a bike riding. His first bicycle tour was in 1980 from Cleveland to Boston.
''Bicycling is the most amazing way to see the country,'' Sasak said.
Sasak said he went to the Special Olympics for the first time last year.
''It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. They play the sport for the pure joy of playing the sport. When you are with the Special Olympic kids, you know you are in a special place filled with love,'' Sasak said.
Ron Gordon, one of the local Masons in Trumbull County who hosted Sasak, said statewide, the Masons gave $200,000 last year to sponsor Special Olympics.
bcoupland@tribtoday.com

I was at the Grand Lodge of Ohio last fall and met several members of the Special Olympics Bike Team. I was very impressed. The Grand Lodge of Ohio is very dedicated to supporting the Special Olympics, as I am.

I'm thinking that this winter some Minnesota Masons should go jump in a frozen lake to support Special Olympics. Then next June some Minnesota Masons should do the MS 150 and ride a bicycle from Duluth to Minneapolis..............Are you interested in joining me?