WHAT IS AN INTERNET FREEMASON???
This topic has drawn some criticism from a few members of the Board of General Purposes and I would like to present the following for members of our fraternity to review and digest.
I have researched my pile of Masonic papers and lo and behold what has come to light is a paper by Brother Jim Woodley of Fairview Lodge No 126 – Grand lodge of Nova Scotia and also of Temple Lodge No 665 Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario in Ottawa Canada from the CANMAS Network dated March 27 1998.
QUOTE:
WHAT IS AN INTERNET MASON?
He is a mason, who belongs to a national / International Lodge regardless of the Grand Lodge Jurisdiction, wishing to share masonic work (within certain restrictions) and ideas relating to the Craft. He enjoys a new form of fellowship with Brethren he has never known, or may never, meet face to face.
IS AN INTERNET MASON DIFFERENT IN ANY WAY???
Although a “Regular” EA, FC, or a new MM may be reluctant to approach a MW Bro. to discuss Freemasonry in person. The Internet may mull over a M.W.Bro’s posting and reply, question or discuss the written conversation. An Installed WM may read speeches or musings by MWBros, WMs or many PMs. sit back and digest them at his leisure and later, if a question should arise, contact the originator for clarification. Somewhat difficult in a normal setting The Internet is an excellent medium to gain Further Light.
WILL THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE??
Difficult to answer, let’s consider a scenario: England with the disclosure legislation and (if rumor is correct) changes to the “Work”. The Grand Lodge using the Internet Lodges could receive almost instant feedback from all Jurisdictions. Discussions could be held at all levels in a forum result in Grand Lodge having access to every opinion, the better to enable it to make wise decisions.
CAN THEY MAKE A CONTRIBUTION??
Most definitely. The Internet Lodge can be up and running in 24 hours in any emergency situation, where a normal Lodge would have to call an emergency meeting or wait until the next scheduled meeting, A good example, is the way Brother “Dick” James <[email protected]> from the CANMAS network set up an auction of items to offer assistance to the Grand Lodge of Manitoba during the 1997 Flood.. News Updates by the Freemasons of Ontario/ Quebec during the Ice Storm provided personal outflows rather than the “Newsworthy/Tragic’ items one heard on the TV and Radio broadcasts
WHAT HAVE WE GAINED FROM THE INTERNET???
One must respond in the positive. As CANMAS is the list that the writer had time to read and participate, he is sure other Brethren are in daily contact with other Freemasons worldwide. It is another form of visitation and fellowship, which are two of the important tenants of Freemasonry.
ENGLAND’s INTERNET LODGE No 9659
R.W.Bro. ALAN TIBBETTS of Granite Lodge NO 446 – Fort Francis Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario and a member of Castle Island Virtual Lodge No 190 Grand Lodge of Manitoba was one of the founding members and the only Canadian Past Master of the English Internet Lodge- March 19, 2010
“You can get more Freemasonry in a week than you can get from a traditional Lodge “WHAT HAVE WE DONE IN MANITOBA??”
As of May 24, 2012 a new Internet Virtual Lodge has been Consecrated and it is Castle Island Virtual Lodge No 190 and is awaiting ratification of their request for a Charter to be placed on the floor at the Grand Lodge Annual Communication on Friday June 1, 2012.
Castle Island Virtual Lodge No 190 has a membership of seventeen Charter members and meets on the fifth Wednesday of months that have five Wednesdays at 7:00pm Visitors are welcome and are requested to send their e-mail address to the Secretary <[email protected]>. The only requirement is a headset and microphone combination and must be a Freemason, proof of current membership and jurisdiction is required as well.
Ten things I like about Internet LodgeA personal view from the Lodge Historian R W Bro Alan Tibbetts, PDepDistGM (Ontario, GL Canada) |
- The manifesto system of selecting a Worshipful Master.
- Having two meetings per year outside Manchester to see other Halls and meet other Masons.
- International get-togethers including group visits to local Lodges.
- E-mail communication with members on a daily basis.
- The Community, with its variety of serious discussions, working groups and informal blogs.
- The ability to pay subscriptions and social event fees on-line.
- Worldwide membership providing contacts for personal Lodge visits or social visits.
- Worldwide membership exposing us to other workings, attitudes, experiences, procedures.
- Web site archive of photos, papers, minutes etc. to plot our progress.
- The wide range of experience, interests and skills of a diverse membership that can benefit Internet Lodge and its individual members.
I truly believe that Castle Island is at the cutting edge of Freemasonry.
Nick Johnson
8:08am May 31
GOOD MORNING R. W. BRO. JAKE:
And thank you for sending this and other information to me. I consider myself to be an old timer having come into the Craft in 1972 but, unlike many old-timers that you refer to, I am open minded and embrace change and new ideas. The article is "bang on" in my opinion and I have expressed my views which are well received in some quarters but totally unwelcome in others. There are those of us who continue to promote change and there are those because they're tire of hitting the brick wall are leaving and moving on which is a shame because we are losing a lot of potential.
Again, keep me in touch and keep me in the loop. We need to unite to educate.
Respectfully, Sincerely and Fraternally:
R. W. BRO. NORM LYONS – Worshipful Master
The Dormer – Mount Sinai Lodge No. 188
Life Member of The Board Of General Purposes
R. W. Brother Jake,
As a member of both Mystery Lodge # 174 and Burlington Lodge # 165 I believe that the concept of a Virtual Lodge is the next step within our Masonic evolution. Without open concepts, challenges and new avenues for communication our order's numbers will continue to decline.
I am happy to be a participant in CI Virtual Lodge # 190.
Happy to meet .. sorry to part.. happy to WebCam again…
Fraternally,
Bro. Nicholas Laine
Burlington Lodge – #165
Happy to meet .. sorry to part.. happy to "WebCam" again… I like it !!
Fraternal greetings from Br. Henning .lodge nr 510 Flammende Stjerne Denmark. Also member of
Mystery Lodge. and member D.D.F.O. Regulær Grand lodge of Denmark . degree IX (max is X )
Having been around on the internet with bit.listserv.freemasonry before a lot of the Masonic email and web groups started, and knowing Brother Dick James (mentioned in the article) quite well, I am sad to report that Brother James passed to the Grand Lodge above in December 2012. As well, some of the information (email addresses, etc) in the article are quite dated (masonic.org used to be a domain owned by me and was discontinued many years ago). The difficulty with any "Internet Lodge" is the concept of tyling the discussions. It is currently impossible to secure discussions from outside hacking. To be sure, we can do all the things to HELP protect what might be said in the group, but there is absolutely no way to assure that we have completely secured things as we could in a face-to-face lodge meeting. Others have suggested the used of an encrypted stream, but that becomes unwieldy and impractical as a means to maintain security (there are lots of issues associated with this).
Fraternal greetings from Br. Henning .lodge nr 510 Flammende Stjerne Denmark. Also member of
Lodge Den Flammende stjerne is nr. 810.- and not 510, i a error
It is the time for all good men to come to the aid of Freemasonry. .Get "Onboard" the newest lodge in the Grand Lodge of Manitoba – "Castle Island Virtual Lodge No 190 . send your e-mail address to our LEO Bro. Nicholas Laine at < [email protected] > along with a copy of current dues card and a short bio on yourself.
We meet the 5th Wednesday of months that have 5 Wednesdays "Happy to meet'" – C Rae Haldane-Wilsone Secretary < [email protected]>