by The Midnight Freemason

Todd E. Creason, 33°

I’ve never seen it this bad in
my lifetime.  And I can almost hear
people reading this assigning blame to one person or another, or this political
party or the other, or this news media source or another.  And that’s the problem.  And unfortunately, the world has seeped into some
of our Lodges creating debate and dissention amongst the Brethren—in fact it’s
a big part of the reason I took a step back for a few years. 

I’m sure it’s not the same
everywhere, but in general, I think a step back is what the Fraternity itself needs.  There’s a reason we’ve been around as long as
we have.  We have a vital mission.

Freemasonry, and I’m talking
traditional Freemasonry, could actually do a great deal of good in promoting
the ideas of civility in the world.  Our
history and our traditions would certainly show that civility has been important
to us going back centuries.  That’s
because our primary goal, our main purpose, has been character
development.  To encourage and build men
of strong character, principles and values.

But we seem to have shifted our
focus.  If we want to continue being
relevant, we have to get back to building men of good character.  We spend so much time being a charity these
days we’ve drift away from our primary purpose, which is being an institution
of learning.  In the beginning the charitable
side of Freemasonry was the natural result from building men of character.  Now it’s all fund-raising and very little
enlightenment or personal development. 

The world has plenty of
charities.  What the world lacks is
morality, decency, virtue, and character—which would include civility.  What the world needs is what we used to focus
on a lot more.

Let’s get back to building.

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog and is a regular contributor. He is the award-winning author of the Famous American Freemasons series.  He is a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL) and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He is also a member of St. Joseph-Ogden Lodge No. 970 (IL).  He is a Past Sovereign Master of the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research. (FMLR). He is a charter member of Admiration Chapter No. 282 and a Past EHP.  You can contact him at [email protected]

Brethren, we assemble tonight not in sorrow, but in reverence.

For one hundred and forty-nine years, the light of Masonry has

burned in this place through the labors of the Brethren of Ogden

Lodge No. 754.

Generations of good men have entered these doors seeking light.

Here they met upon the level, worked upon the square, and

parted upon the plumb.

Within these walls friendships were formed, lessons were learned,

and the timeless principles of Masonry were passed from one

generation to the next.

Tonight, we honor the legacy of this lodge, and we celebrate the

continuation of its spirit as our brethren join with St. Joseph Lodge

No. 970 to make the new St. Joseph – Ogden Lodge.

Brethren of Ogden Lodge No. 754,

Tonight, we stand at a moment that few lodges ever reach.

For one hundred and forty-nine years, the doors of this lodge

have opened to men seeking light. Within these walls, good men

knelt at the altar and took solemn obligations. Here friendships

were forged that lasted lifetimes. Here we mourned our departed

brothers and welcomed new ones into the fraternity.

Think of the men who sat in these very seats before us.

Farmers… soldiers… teachers… fathers… grandfathers.

Men who came here after long days of work, not for glory or

recognition, but because they believed in something greater than

themselves — Brotherhood, Charity, and Truth.

They lit the lights of this lodge long before any of us were born.

And tonight, we are the stewards of that light.

A lodge is more than a building.

It is more than a charter on the wall.

It is the spirit of the men who gathered here.

That spirit cannot be closed…

and it cannot be extinguished.

The work of Ogden Lodge does not end tonight.

Instead, it continues as our brethren join with the brothers of St.

Joseph Lodge.

The light that has burned in Ogden for nearly a century and a half

will not go dark.

It will simply shine in a new place.

And someday, years from now, when future Masons meet in St.

Joseph – Ogden Lodge… they may not know all our names.

But they will still be working by the same principles.

They will still stand upon the same foundation.

And part of that foundation will always be Ogden Lodge.

by Midnight Freemasons Founder

Todd E. Creason 33°

We all knock on the door for a different reason.  We’re all looking for something–that’s what brings us to the door of the lodge to begin with.  Some of us find ourselves there because it’s a family tradition.  Our fathers, and uncles, and grandfathers were all Masons.  There’s a lot of different reasons.  We’re looking for a connection in the community.  We’re looking for new friends.  We’re looking for opportunities to serve our community and we know the Masons play a big role in that.  

But sometimes we miss the forest for the trees.  We miss the main purpose of the fraternity, which is to give us the guidance and instruction on how to become better men.  In fact, I’d say most members of our fraternity these days rarely explore and apply what masonry actually teaches us about character.  About finding our purpose. We don’t use those resources we have in the fraternity to truly explore those questions we all have about why we’re here, and what we are meant to do with these few years we have on this earth.  

I’d have to admit that’s why I joined twenty years ago.  I was looking for meaning in my life.  I was in my mid-thirties.  I had a good job, a wife that loved me, good friends, and a nice home.  But I wasn’t content.  I didn’t feel like I’d discovered what life was all about.  I hadn’t found that thing yet that tied it all together for me.  

So I knocked on the door.  And I wasn’t disappointed in what I discovered.  I found hundreds of years of wisdom in how to rebuild myself from the inside out.  And my life changed almost immediately.  I read a few hundred books, and wrote a few books.  I couldn’t guess how many articles I’ve written, and blog posts I’ve posted.  I’ve shared a lot of what I’ve discovered over the years right on here–The Midnight Freemasons.

But my journey didn’t stop there.  It lead me back to faith, and another transforming experience as God called me to a very different path in life than the one I’d been on.  Not everyone’s path will lead them to the pulpit, but mine certainly did, and that path began at the lodge door.  That’s when my course in life began to change.  

Masonry is about more than friendships, and service, and activities, and meetings.  It’s about growth.  And we recite those words, and hear those concepts in our meeting and degrees, but so few of us realize that’s what it’s all about.  It’s about building character.  It’s about finding our way of making this world a better place.  About figuring out what we were built to do, and to find ways to do it!  It’s about letting ourselves be remade into something the creator can use for His purpose.  

So my question for you is this.  Are you changed?  Are you a Mason that “gets it” and applies those principles we teach to your life, or are you pretty much the same now as you were when you joined.  I encourage you to dig deeper.  Apply those lessons and see what happens.  You were put here for a purpose.  Start working on that ashlar, and see where that path that started at the lodge door may lead you.

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is the award-winning author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series.  He is a Past Master Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL) where he currently serves as Secretary. He is a Past Sovereign Master of the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research. (FMLR). He is a charter member of Admiration Chapter No. 282 and a Past EHP.  

 by Senior Midnight Freemasons Contributor

Greg Knott, 33°

Col. Richard B. Bushing and Greg Knott

Since retirement, I have been pursuing a hobby and perhaps more in aviation photography.  I have attended numerous airshows, visited air museums, stopped in small towns looking at the military aircraft they have on display in front of the American Legion Post and more.

My travels have taken me across the US, including a recent trip to Arizona.   I made my way to Tucson and visited the Pima Air and Space Museum.  This museum is adjacent to Davis-Mothan AFB, home of the 309th Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG)B and the museum has been the recipient of many of the retired aircraft that come to their final home in aircraft boneyard at Davis-Mothan.   

The museum now has a collection of over 400 aircraft, with most of them in great condition.    These aircraft range from pre WWII aircraft to modern recently retired aircraft.   Most of the planes were flown to the museum for their final flight.  The Arizona desert is a great place to keep planes, when they are outside for display. 

On the grounds of Pima Air and Space is a smaller museum, the 390th Memorial Museum.   This museum pays tribute to the crews who flew in B-17 bombers during WW II.  A fully restored B-17 is prominently featured in the building and the exhibits tell the stories of those who flew aboard the B-17 and the ground crews who supported them.

The particular day I was visiting, the museum had an author, Col. Richard B. Bushing there to talk about his book “My Wars”.  Col. Bushing had a 32 career as an aviator in the United States Air Force, first serving as a B-17 pilot during WWII and finishing his career flying an F-4 in Vietnam.

Col. Bushing told the stories of the B-17 crews.  He recounted the heavy losses they sustained as they flew from bases in England, flying over the English Channel with missions in Germany and elsewhere, to bomb amongst other targets, factories that were vital to the German war efforts.    Most of the time, the B-17 did not have fighter escorts, as the escort planes did not have sufficient range to stay with the B-17.  This changed later in the war as the P-51 Mustang came into service and it had sufficient range to escort the B-17.   The famed Tuskegee Airmen were amongst the crews who flew the P-51 and served as escorts.

The Germans knew the B-17s were on the way, as their radar could pick them up as they left England.  The Americans primarily bombed during the day, as US Army Air Force leadership thought that was the most effective method.   The crew flew at altitudes of up to 29,000 feet and faced heavy flak from the Germans below.   The B-17s had to fly in tight formations to help their rate of survival and to be most effective.  

B-17 losses were often heavy.  Each B-17 had a 10 man crew and when a plane was shot down, the crew’s only hope was to bail out of the plane and hope to evade capture by German forces on the ground.  

Crews were under extreme duress.  The B-17 is an unpressurized plane, which meant that above 10,000 feet, crews had to wear an oxygen mask.   This was in addition to heavy jackets and clothing to keep them from freezing to death.  The air temperature could drop to -50 degrees below zero.   All the while the plane had to be flown, the radio manned, the bomb site scoped in for accuracy, 50mm guns to be manned and reloaded. 

If a crew member was able to fly and complete 25 missions, they would have completed their service and rotated back home.  Crews only had a 25% chance of completing their 25th mission.  Hundreds of crew members were lost after being shot down and hundreds more were taken as prisoners of war after being captured by the Germans.

The bravery of these crews is easy to forget today, as we are now 80 years after the close of WWII.  Yet the events of the current day are still influenced by those brave service personnel from decades ago.   Col. Bushing at 102 years of age is one of the very last of the surviving B-17 crew members.   He has made it his life’s mission to tell the stories of these brave men, in hopes of keeping their story alive and help ensure the sacrifices they made are not forgotten.

I want to thank Col. Bushing for his service and all those who flew, manned and crewed the B-17s to help ensure our freedom.

~GJK

Greg Knott is the Senior Contributor to the Midnight Freemasons and a member of the craft since 2007.

When I petitioned York Rite years ago, I petitioned too early in my Masonic path. It wasn’t that I needed more time to learn my Blue Lodge lessons, it was that there existed too few learned companions that could teach the deep lessons. The same remains today, meaning in most cases I had to learn the lessons on my own and without any mentoring, just like in Blue Lodge. Fast forward to receiving my Orders in Knights Templar, and I was stunned at the words I heard, the amazing allegory, the beautiful charges to be a better man. And I held deep hope in my heart when I attended my first and second Commandry meetings which also turned out to be my last.

Why would they be my last? After all, I experienced sheer beauty and powerful imagery in receiving the orders. How can I make a case for Templarism if I myself became disillusioned over stale coffee and dragging business meetings? You know, the same stale coffee and dragging business meetings we endure in Blue Lodge? I experienced even worse in the Asylum. I listened to adult men argue over the placement of a ribbon or pants length on a uniform of no significance, argue over foot placement during extremely basic marching and maneuvering drills, and watched them wear funny hats in the name of a 150-ish-year-old tradition. A tradition supposedly connected to a centuries-old religious military order that quite possibly obtained and applied the spiritual teachings of the East.

Doesn’t sound like much reason yet, right? The meaning is lost on those focused on the outer trappings. That is partly my definition of outer trappings: physicality that inhibits passage into the inner workings of anything. Remember the lessons of the Entered Apprentice to not get caught up in the outside world, to subdue your passions so that you might shed the physical and thereby get on with the important stuff. Today’s Templars with a few exceptions lost their way, and we can bring life back into an organization with such beautiful lessons. We must be the ones who teach those lessons because those adept at teaching the lessons within the organization become scarce. There’s egotistical infighting at the leadership levels as recently exposed at the national level, there’s devolution into the unimportant worries of whether a uniform is worn correctly, or the hat has enough feathers, or the foot is lifted high enough while marching. It’s all allegory. It isn’t important except to those who never understood the allegory.

Knights Templar and Templarism is indeed worth saving, and we should make the effort. Templarism allegory demonstrates the 24-inch gauge by teaching us to work toward preparation and to balance our time. It teaches personal ritual by demonstrating preparing the uniform as an allegory of cleansing and preparing yourself to meditate or do inner work (see an excellent article or catch the YouTube reading of Personal Ritual by Brother Chuck Dunning). Templarism teaches the allegory of the righteous battle as a means toward working hard to find your higher self, and finally, Templarism parallels the journey toward enlightenment by the finding of the Lost Word. What? No lost word? Templarism calls it the Holy Grail.