Christopher L. Hodapp's Blog, page 49
March 16, 2020
"Masonry Never Stops"
COVID closures are coming in thick and fast now across the U.S., and the latest recommendation from the CDC about cancelling large gatherings for eight weeks will only make things more immediate now. Many states are now requiring restaurants to close down, as well.
The Grand Lodge of Washington D.C. sent out their message on Monday shutting down all Masonic activity in that jurisdiction, and it's similar wording other GLs have issued. But what is notable about their message from their...
March 15, 2020
Traveling Without Moving: Masonic Improvement During the COVID Panic
The almost overnight shuttering of nearly all Masonic activity across the U.S. and around the world in response to the COVID 19 virus panic will immediately turn a vast number of Masons into Third-Stage Guild Navigators now. We're now stuck with cruising the Internet or something else for at least the next six weeks as this plays out, because we sure as hell aren't going to clean out the garage in March.
In the science fiction universe created by Frank Herbert for his Dune...
March 14, 2020
Rising Farmer Suicides: Are These Your Brethren?
Are you a member of a rural American Masonic lodge? A recent in-depth USA TODAY report has highlighted an alarming topic that may unexpectedly touch some us directly in our lodges, even if you're not aware of it.
Nationally, suicide rates among men are already higher than they've been in thirty years, especially among the middle class. But the farmer suicide rate is even higher. Between 2014 and 2018, more than 450 farmers killed themselves across nine Midwestern states alone,...
UPDATE: Kansas Downsizes and Moves Annual Meeting
UPDATE: AS OF FRIDAY MARCH 20TH, 2020, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED ENTIRELY.
The Grand Lodge of Kansas is supposed to hold its annual communication next weekend, which comes at this historically awkward moment in time. Like Masonic meetings of all kinds everywhere, they are running smack dab into the Wuhan Coronavirus Panic of 2020 (which feels like the Burning Hair Festival more and more as each day passes). Every day, state governors, health officials, federal agencies and local...
The Grand Lodge of Kansas is supposed to hold its annual communication next weekend, which comes at this historically awkward moment in time. Like Masonic meetings of all kinds everywhere, they are running smack dab into the Wuhan Coronavirus Panic of 2020 (which feels like the Burning Hair Festival more and more as each day passes). Every day, state governors, health officials, federal agencies and local...
When COVID and Masons Collide: Kansas Downsizes and Moves Annual Meeting
The Grand Lodge of Kansas is supposed to hold its annual communication next weekend, which comes at this historically awkward moment in time. Like Masonic meetings of all kinds everywhere, they are running smack dab into the Wuhan Coronavirus Panic of 2020 (which feels like the Burning Hair Festival more and more as each day passes). Every day, state governors, health officials, federal agencies and local bureaucrats are announcing their latest reaction, overreaction, and exploding head...
Interview: 'Meet, Act and Part' with Roger S. VanGorden
My friend, Brother, and longtime Masonic mentor, Roger S. VanGorden, was interviewed last week by Bill Hosler, Darin Lahners, and Greg Knott on the Meet, Act and Part podcast about the Masonic Renewal Committee and the Be A Freemason public awareness campaign.
If you aren't familiar with Roger, you really should be. He's a Past Grand Master of Indiana, the founding President of the Masonic Society, and he's been a tireless champion for the fraternity for over four decades now. His...
March 13, 2020
Coronavirus Warnings and Cancellations Shutting Down Masonic Meetings Around the World
As you sit trembling in your bunker while awaiting the black market price of toilet paper to go sky high so you can cash in on those pallets of Charmin you snagged from Sam's Club, you might want to know what various grand lodges have decided to do for the next few weeks about Coronavirus warnings.
Every state in the U.S. is being affected as governors and various state health agencies issue their own recommendations or bans on large meetings, so obviously those, in turn, influence what...
March 9, 2020
Masonic Temple Plagued By Bogus Used Clothing Donation Bins
David Traves, president of the Etobicoke Masonic Temple(Photo by Mike Smee/CBC)Here's a scam you don't encounter every day. According to a story today from the Canadian Broadcasting Company website, the city of Etobicoke in Toronto, Canada is being plagued by, of all things, phony used clothing donation boxes. Over the last year and a half, the Etobicoke Masonic Temple has removed a half-dozen of these illegal donation bins. But more than once, another one reappears the very same...
March 7, 2020
Interview: One Man Can Change Freemasonry
A year ago, I sat down with Brother Juan Sepulveda of the Winding Stairs podcast during Masonic Con 2019 in Attleboro, Massachusetts to discuss current social forces affecting Freemasonry, and how just one Mason can make a huge difference in his lodge, the fraternity, and the world beyond it.
The interview will eventually be part of a new Masonic Documentary, "Roadmap to Freemasonry".
Forgive the audio. It says something about how popular and packed MasonicCon was that the quietest space we...
Masonic Sightseeing in Los Angeles
On Thursday, the KCET website (Los Angeles' PBS affiliate) put together an article for seeking out some of the major Masonic landmarks in that sprawling city.
From Where to Explore L.A.’s Masonic Past (Without Joining the Fraternal Order) by Sandi Hemmerlein:
It’s the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world, yet most of us who aren’t a part of it are still mystified by its symbols, rituals and clandestine operations.
Freemasonry may seem like an Old World tradition...
