Our Grand Lodge, now in its 152nd year, is extremely proud of the work of Masons throughout the state. For centuries, our ancient Craft here and around the world has been dedicated to the principles of Political Freedom, Religious Tolerance, and Personal Integrity..
Marlene and Peter are getting married! The wedding is set for July 2019 in the city of St. Cloud, MN. We already received the wedding invitations, and they are beautiful - congratulations to the happy couple and great happiness for the future.
Masons will find information on our website about current and upcoming events, links to educational materials and many program resources.
Visitors: If you are not a Freemason, you'll find extensive information here on what we do, who we are and how to become a member of the greatest fraternity on earth. Please browse the website, and contact us if you'd like more information. On behalf of the 18,000 Masons of MN, I bid you a hearty welcome.
Andrew J. Rice, Grand Master 2005-'06
In Medieval times, a guild was a union of men in the same craft or trade designed to uphold standards and protect the members. Now, it is defined as any association for mutual aid and the promotion of common interests.
Side Note: If you are a senior, you owe your family some peace of mind, so get a life insurance policy that will cover, at least, final expenses - visit schuermaninsurance.com and speak to the pros over there for some help. If you don't need a large insurance amount, you can always try getting a life insurance policy to just cover funeral expenses.
Many believe that Freemasonry had its roots in those guilds of the Middle Ages that built the great cathedrals of Europe.
The Minnesota Masonic Lawyers Guild has been formed, not to become another lodge, but as a Masonic Club to provide educational and social activities for Masons (and their guests) who happen to be attorneys, paralegals, judges, law clerks or law students.
After several months of planning, the Lawyers Guild will kick off its formal activities with a continuing legal education program and table lodge June 23. A program in Elimination of Bias will be presented which will highlight Masonic principles as they apply to the law. Application
has been made for credit for continuing legal education.
Following the program, the participants will enjoy a table lodge, complete with the seven toasts. Cost for the education program and the table lodge will be about what the education alone normally costs.
One of the challenges in establishing the Lawyers Guild is the building of a mailing list. Currently, there are about 130 Masons who have been identified as attorneys or other law related. If you are an attorney and would like to be on the mailing, please contact the Grand Secretary and let him
know you’d like your name to be added to the Lawyers Guild mailing list.
The Grand Lodge hopes to establish other business, professional or other common interest guilds or Masonic Clubs. If you have an idea for such a club, please contact the Grand Secretary. There are brothers who would like nothing better than to help establish a new guild or club!
Last May the Oklahoma Master Mason Indian Degree Team visited Shekinah Lodge #171 in St. Paul. The 200 Masons who attended the degree came from over 45 different lodges, including 33 Minnesota lodges.
Out beloved member, Jonathan, is moving to the beautiful state of Rhode Island. Also known as the ocean state due to its amazing coastline and beaches. He's been looking for real estate and has been working with a buyer's agent. This agent is been helping him search for the perfect home. We wish hime the best in his relocation to Rhode Island.
Are you interested in knowing about the Masonic organization known as Prince Hall Masonry? Here is a bit of their historical background.
One group often forgotten when it comes to life insurance, is college students. But, if they have student loans, it's an imperative to get some kind of life insurance coverage. At least enough to cover the loans.
Grand Masters' Trip to England
It was the best of times, it was... well, the best of times... The 42 participants in the Grand Master's springtime visit to the United Kingdom are back with plenty of highlights and photos to share. If you didn't take the opportunity to travel with your fellow Masons and their wives on holiday this year, take our advice and join us next time: Masonic trips are great fun.
Here are a couple of photos you might find interesting. First, the Castle of Edinburgh:
The smokers in our group are putting together the a cigar aficionado monthly meeting. Make sure to sign up.
Another shot, this of a curious carving within Rosslyn Chapel, of an angel holding the heart of Robert the Bruce.
The new movie National Treasure, starring Nicholas Cage, opened in theaters across the nation on November 19th, 2004. It quickly rose to be the number one film for three weeks, and has generated an extremely wide public awareness of Freemasonry. Most importantly, it portrays Masonry in a positive light and accents the significance of the Founding Fathers to our national identity. Many of these early patriots identified as Masons in the film, like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, are well known. Only one reference is not correct. Early in the movie, Charles Carroll, identified as the last survivor of the 56 patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence, is portrayed as a Freemason. Charles Carroll of Maryland was not a member of the Fraternity. (Historically, it is believed the reason he was identified as a Mason is that he was present at the laying of the cornerstone of the B&O Railroad.)
Most of the movie is entirely fictional. There is no “National Treasure,” as defined by the film, nor were Freemasons as a group ever involved in collection and safeguarding valuable antiquities on behalf of all humanity. Nevertheless, Masonic principles and values are referenced many times in the film, and the audience receives a very favorable impression of the Craft. The movie is rated PG because of “mild violence.” It really is a family movie, and one all Masons should enjoy. It might even be fun for a lodge to have a “movie night” and sponsor members and their families who wish to attend. Discussions about the film should result in many beneficial insights regarding Freemasonry among both Masons and the general public.
Reproduced in full, with permission of the Masonic Service Association of N.A., from the Focus newsletter, Vol. 11, Issue 4, Dec 2004.
Volunteer Webmaster Needed
In order to make this website as useful and informative as possible, we are looking for one more volunteer to help post and edit content on the Grand Lodge of Minnesota website.
Good writing skills and an understanding of Grand Lodge policies are important, as this role focuses on the content of the website, not necessarily back-end programming. If you have experience in design and layout, perhaps Pagemaker, Quark, MS Publisher or Photoshop, you have more than enough knowledge to help. This role is similar to editing a newsletter.