International Masonic Order Delphi has new U.S. website

http://www.delphiorder.us/

I am happy to announce that the order I belong to, International Masonic Order Delphi, has a new website for our U.S. lodges: http://www.delphiorder.us/

New Work by Willy Gutman

I would like to announce that my dear friend Willy Gutman has authored a new book which will be available for worldwide release in September 2012. I am certain that Bro. Willy's new work will be as stimulating and enlightening as his previous works. An article regarding his book can be found here: http://www.ccbpublishing.com/9781927360965.html

Erato, the muse of lyric poetry

I know it has been quite awhile again since I last posted, January to be exact. I hope to be posting on a masonic topic in the next few weeks, and I appreciate the patience of my blog's followers. Having completed my M.A. in History and an M.A. in English, I am currently one-third of the way through a Master of Humanities program. School has kept me quite busy (especially my poetry class, since I have no experience with poetry), but I will have more postings coming very soon. Thank you.

Knowing the Acacia

It has been a long journey, but this past Saturday I was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in Salt Lake City. My Masonic path has taken many twists and turns, largely due to political factors involving the obediences I was affiliated with in the past, but I have grown and learned during that time.

I was initiated as an Entered Apprentice on September 30, 2008 in Lodge Intrepid of the GOUSA, then passed to the degree of Fellow Craft on July 19, 2010 in Worshipful Lodge New Isis of the George Washington Union. Now I can proudly say that I have been raised to the degree of Master Mason in Worshipful Lodge Athena of the International Masonic Order Delphi on the 14th of January 2012.

I would like to take this time to thank the wonderful Brothers and Sisters that assisted with my raising and also offer my congratulations to the two Brothers that were raised with me. What is worth having is worth working, and waiting for.

Earning the Title of Freemason

I was thinking today about the Sisters at Lodge Aletheia in Los Angeles, a lodge that I have had the pleasure of visiting more than once, and the dedication that they show to Freemasonry.

Lodge Aletheia belongs to the Women’s Grand Lodge of Belgium and has sister lodges in Washington D.C. and New York. The founders had to travel to Belgium to be initiated, passed, and raised, which in itself is an indicator of their dedication to bringing women’s Masonry to the United States.

The sisters are required to attend education meetings at 10 am, followed by a break for lunch, and the lodge opens at 2 pm and normally lasts until 5pm, followed by a common meal (in the European tradition this is known as an Agape).

How many of us would be willing to commit ourselves to what is essentially an entire Saturday for Masonic work, and this is every month?

As with those mainstream lodges that belong to the Masonic Restoration Foundation or that follow a European Lodge pattern, these are the lodges that are the future of Freemasonry in this country.

Those lodges that require commitment and hard work are the lodges that prosper and attract the highest quality candidates. Lodge Aletheia turns away more candidates than it accepts, as I can testify to personally. At one blindfold interview session I was witness to, only one of three women applying to the lodge was accepted for initiation.

If we don’t ask much of our members, we should not expect much. Being a Freemason is a privilege and an honor. It is not an entitlement. When the West Gate is opened to whoever knocks, there is no telling who we are letting in the door; Freemasonry must maintain high standards to be a beneficial and quality organization.

International Masonic Order Delphi

I know that it is quite awhile since I have posted here, the summer has been quite busy. I recently affiliated with the International Masonic Order Delphi.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know some wonderful brothers and sisters in the Delphi Order, which is headquartered in Greece, and is growing in the United States. Originally part of Le Droit Humain in Greece, the Order serves as an umbrella of sorts for the Mixed Grand Lodge of Greece, the Mixed Grand Lodge of Romania, and the Mixed Grand Lodge of Bulgaria. The lodges in the U.S. are under the Greek Grand Lodge. The Delphi Order is a member of Clipsas as well, as is the GWU, the Women's Grand Lodge of Belgium, and many other progressive Masonic Orders.

What was once just Lodge Athena in Salt Lake City has now grown to Prometheus Lodge in Phoenix, Helios Triangle in Las Vegas, and soon to be Apollo Triangle in Austin.

These are truly exciting times for co-masonry in the United States and I know that the Delphi Order will play an important role in liberal Freemasonry's future here.

More information of the International Masonic Order Delphi can be found here:
http://www.delphiorder.org/eng/index.htm

The Growth of Liberal Freemasonry

I am very pleased to observe the continued growth of Liberal, adogmatic Freemasonry in North America. While such Masonry is still quite small in comparison to the mainstream Anglo-American variety, the development of European style Masonry is cause for celebration.

In Phoenix, Arizona, Lodge Prometheus of the International Masonic Order Delphi, with headquarters in Athens, Greece, recently began offering Masonic Light in the Southwest.

Praxis Lodge, located in Boise, Idaho, formerly a lodge of the troubled GOUSA, has affiliated with the George Washington Union and recently initiated three Sisters.

And it was announced yesterday that the International Masonic Order Delphi has started a Triangle (Lodge in formation) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

These are wonderful developments, and offer an authentic Freemasonic option for people throughout the Western United States.

Congratulations to the Brothers and Sisters of Praxis Lodge, Prometheus Lodge, and Lodge Helios!