The South Bend Scottish Rite Research Guild presents “Freemasonry in the Civil War” lectured by Bro. Michael Halleran, author of "The better Angels of our Nature". Meet and Greet begins at 10am (CST).



This event will be at Excelsior Lodge No. 41, 820 Jefferson Ave., La Porte, Indiana.



Lunch will be served following the lecture, followed by the exemplification of the AASR-NMJ 26th degree “The Prince of Mercy”. Cost: $10.00 per person. **Lecture and lunch are open to everyone, Degree can only be witnessed by current or petitioned Scottish Rite Masons.



Please RSVP to Tim Farster at tfarster@hotmail.com

The South Bend, Indiana Scottish Rite Research Guild has been arranging an outstanding lineup of Masonic lectures for its events over the last year.



WBro. Mark Tabbert will be speaking at the September 8th meeting at Griffith Lodge at 209 N. Broad St. , Griffith, Indiana. “Three Centuries of American Freemasonry: "Why did John, George, Paul, and Ben join the Craft?"



Fellowship begins at 6pm and the lecture will begin at 7pm., CENTRAL TIME (Note to the rest of Indiana on EST). Charge for the event will be $5.00 at the door. The event is open to non-Masons, and family can also attend.



Please RSVP to Tim Farster at tfarster@hotmail.com

Illus. Brother S. Brent Morris will be speaking at the South Bend (Indiana) Scottish Rite Research Guild on June 18th at the Scottish Rite Cathedral (Cathedral Room), 427 N. Main St., South Bend. His topic will be “Trends Affecting American Freemasonry." Meet and Greet begins at 12:30 pm (EST). Cost is $10.00 per person, and the event is open to all.

S. Brent Morris 33° is the managing editor of the Scottish Rite Journal of the Supreme Council, 33°, S.J. A former mathematician with the federal government (he holds a PhD in Mathematics from Duke University), he has lectured at over 100 universities, and has taught mathematics, computer science, and cryptanalysis at Duke University, Johns Hopkins Universities, and the National Cryptologic School. He is currently on the graduate faculty at George Washington University. He was the first American to be elected as the Worshipful Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge, the oldest Masonic Research Lodge in the world. Among his many books are The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry, A Radical in the East, and Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry? co-authored with Art de Hoyos.

W:.B:. Andrew Hammer, author of Observing The Craft, will be speaking this Saturday evening, June 11th, at Milan Lodge No. 323 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Feast of St. John the Baptist dinner will take place at Milan Lodge, 37 Tolan St. Milan, MI, with registration beginning at 6:00 PM, reception at 6:30, and dinner at 7. Cost is $75, and is limited to 72 attendees. Price includes a complimentary copy of “Observing the Craft”. Note: this is a location change from the Comfort Inn Chelsea noted on the lodge website.

For more information see the website, or contact contact Bro. Jake Foster at 734.770.2105 or fosterj323@gmail.com.

Andrew is a Past Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge #22 in Virginia, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Masonic Society.

The New Jersey Second Circle of the Masonic Society will host a Saint John's Day Feast on Friday, June 24 in North Brunswick, New Jersey.

The Masonic Society's St. John's Day Feast
Friday, June 24 at 7 p.m.
Sir John's Restaurant (230 Washington Pl., North Brunswick, NJ)

In honor of St. John's Day, the featured speaker will be Dr. Charles Haberl, the Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University. His topic will be the Mandaean faith, a tiny Abrahamic religion that upholds John the Baptist as its ultimate teacher. This religion exists in and around Iraq, but is almost on the verge of extinction. The plight they suffer today makes Dr. Haberl's presentation even more compelling, and what he has to say about the Baptist in particular should intrigue every Freemason.

Dr. Haberl also is an Assistant Professor at the Department of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures at Rutgers. He has served as an Undergraduate Fulbright Faculty Advisor and as a member of the Advisory Committee for Study Abroad Programs in the Middle East at Rutgers, as well as a juror and panelist for the United States Department of State's Critical Language Scholarships for Intensive Summer Institutes. With James McGrath of Butler University, he received an NEH grant to translate the Mandaean Book of John in 2010. We are very fortunate to have him.

Dinner plans:
Unlimited hot hors d'oeuvres (served butler style), choice of entree (Baked Stuffed Chicken or Roast Top Sirloin of Beef or Broiled Stuffed, Filet of Flounder). Plus side dishes, salad, desserts with coffee etc., and unlimited soft drinks. (Cash bar only.)

It is NOT necessary to be a member of The Masonic Society to attend this special event. ALL Masons, their ladies, and friends are welcome to this fraternal and spiritual celebration of one of the Patrons of the Craft. Remember it was on June 24, 1717 when the Grand Lodge of England was formed, ushering in the age of modern Freemasonry as we know it.

$50 per person. Seating is limited, so no walk-ins can be accommodated. Reservations are required and can be made ONLY by sending your payment, via PayPal. Transmit payment to masonicrsvp@gmail.com no later than June 16. Please include entrée choice as a message with your payment.

The Masonic Society, is an independent, non-profit educational organization serving Freemasonry, and the fastest growing Masonic research society in the world, with members in 17 countries.

H/T to Jay Hochberg

Pennsylvania Masons take note! Brother Michael Halleran, author of "The Better Nature of Our Angels: Freemasonry in the American Civil War," will be speaking at the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center on Saturday, May 21st, 2011. This public event begins at 2PM.

The Center is carrying Brother Halleran's book, and is one of the rare instances of a book about Freemasonry offered for sale by the National Parks Service.

Michael is the former editor of the Scottish Rite Research Society’s Plumbline. He is a freelance writer, a lecturer at Emporia State University, and a practicing attorney in the Flint Hills of East-Central Kansas. He is a member of both Emporia Lodge No. 12, AF&AM, and Mount Zion Lodge No. 266, AF&AM, Topeka, Kansas. Halleran received the Mackey Award for Excellence in Masonic Scholarship by the Scottish Rite Research Society for his article on Civil War Freemasonry in Heredom, vol. 14 (2006), and he was the author of the "Brother Brother" feature for The Scottish Rite Journal (now appearing in The Square Magazine). He is a member of the Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle, and the Scottish Rite Research Society, where he studies American military Masonry and the traditions of military lodges worldwide.

The Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center is located at 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, PA 17325. For more information, contact the center at (717) 334-2288.

Douglas Wood, Past Master of Virginia's Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, will be speaking at Enlightenment Lodge No. 198 in Colorado Springs, CO on March 19th.

WBro. Wood is the author of Into Masonic Light. His presentation will center on Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism and Masonic symbolism.

The presentation will be for Masons only, and lodge will open on the EA degree at 3PM. A formal dinner, discussion and book signing will follow.

Reservations are required. Contact Brother Scott Casey at scottcasey @ gmail.com no later than March 16th.

Enlightenment Lodge No. 198 meets at 1150 Panorama Drive, Colorado Springs.