Last time on The Life Masonic you heard from two creators, Pete and Kevin and how they had the crazy idea to start a new Scottish Rite Valley in Maryland.  This time, we hear another perspective of that same story.  This time from the SGIG of Maryland, who runs the Scottish Rite in that state, and the Director of Membership Services for headquarters of the Supreme Council in Washington, DC.  They talk about a bigger picture, and how they help local members help Masons from across the country with their efforts.

This month on The Life Masonic, we explore the creation of a new Scottish Rite Valley from two perspectives: one from the young men that made it happen and one from the established leaders who supported and nurtured it.  We hear firsthand how a random idea blossomed into a full-blown Valley in about a year, and how they overcame challenges along the way.  It’s a great story of initiative, work-ethic, and effective leadership.  And because it’s a big topic, we’ll give it two shows.

The are only a few true "rock stars" in Freemasonry.  Chris Hodapp is one of them.  He runs the wildly successful blog, Freemasonsfordummies, and is a founding member of The Masonic Society.  Chris joins us to talk about his blog, his creative drive, and living in a motorhome. 

If you look closely, you'll see there's a little extra in the radio tank for this month - almost a full hour, in fact.  That's because our guest this month is Scott Gillis.  He's just a guy.  He's like any other guy you'll meet in your Lodge, or your church, or your pub.  But Scott has a way of telling a story.  And the story is of his life so far.  He never seems to find the easy way, but he's turned out pretty well.  He has always found a way to triumph over the adversity in his life.  And that story, to me, has a kind of casual inspiration.  It's not super hero stuff, but its stuff I know I could learn from and do better with in my own life.  I hope you think so too. 

We’ve talked about technology and Freemasonry before.  This month, we get a little specific.  We are talking about social media and the Scottish Rite - more to the point, Facebook.  For my generation (gen x) and the generation after (gen Y), Facebook is as much a ubiquitous part of our lives as brushing our teeth or watching TV.  For older generations, though, Facebook and other social media can seem like an intimidating complexity only rivaled by the internet itself, with new and confusing jargon that seems to change and evolve as often as Liz Taylor’s husbands.  But the truth is, Facebook became the second most popular site on the internet behind Google because it is almost as easy to use.

This month we’ll talk by phone to the Ill. James Cole, SGIG in Virginia and Past Grand master of that state about how he started using Facebook and what he thinks of it now.  Ill. Cole will be joined here in the studio by Morgan Corr, the manager of Social Media for the Supreme Council.  Morgan will illuminate us on the Supreme Council’s position on all this, and where the future lies for it.  So strap in as we go profile first, this is another episode of The Life Masonic…

“There is a profound irony to the relationship between Freemasonry and the Middle East. No world organization owes more to the region in the way of its motifs, its symbols, and its rituals. But no organization in the course of its presence in the Middle East has encountered more criticism, more disapproval, and more outright government persecution.”  Dr. Paul Rich, Stanford University 

So, is it dangerous to be a Freemason in the Middle East?  And why?  As we learn from this month’s guest, it turns out, there might not be a simple answer to that question in a region that freely mixes its history with politics and religion in a sometimes volitile stew.  His name is Michael Buchard.  He is a former Naval Officer and resident of several foreign countries as consultant and student.  He talks to us about his experiences and his research into Freemasonry's sorted history in the Middle East on this month's The Life Masonic...

The Scottish Rite’s answer to the "hall of fame" is the Grand Cross Court of Honor.  It is the highest honor that the Supreme Council can bestow on a member, and it is reserved for those who have performed exceptional, extraordinary and prolonged services to the Fraternity and or humanity. To put a finer point on it, in terms of numbers, there are currently only 81 men in the world who hold this honor, which is often called the greatest honor in Freemasonry.

This month’s guest, Arturo de Hoyos, 33^rd Degree, is also a Grand Cross.  He is also currently the Grand Archivist and Grand Historian of the Scottish Rite...

The Master Craftsman Program is a pen and paper, old school by-mail correspondence course that walks its participants through the Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide – a huge tome compiled and annotated by Arturo de Hoyos – the Grand Archivist and Grand Historian of the Supreme Council.  It is one of the only official masonic education courses in the world, and it is open to anyone willing to take the time to complete it.  Yep, even women and non-masons.

While no secret handshakes or passwords are reviled in the two courses that make up the program – the much larger secret of Freemasonry is.  That secret is this: when the lessons of the degrees are recognized, then applied to one’s life, a more virtuous and honorable person emerges, and their feeling of a personal connection to God has increased manifold.

This hardly sounds like a secret, but it is.  It’s hard to accomplish.  Try it, once.

And that’s exactly what people taking Master Craftsman course are doing right now.  They are trying to apply the lessons of the 29 Scottish Rite Degrees directly to their lives, first through reading and reflection – then by action. 

On this month’s show, we take a peek at some of this work from around the country.  All of the essays you will hear came from the same exam – specifically Quiz 3 from Master Craftsman 2.  They are stories of great mortal peril leading to personal revelation, unswerving looks at solving the problems of contemporary society and a carefully reconsidered look at the definition of a virtue we thought we could agree on.  There may be views expressed that don’t necessarily comport with your own, because these stories are all very personal to those telling them.   But, as you will soon see, because of the universality of the subject matter, you almost can’t help but to feel their experiences as your own. 

We start with Eric Simms in Texas and his thoughts on heroism…

This is The Life Masonic, I’m your host, Jason Van Dyke.

As I was preparing the show for this month, I got an interesting piece of feedback from a listener.  He suggested that we include a piece about the upcoming web event being hosted by the Supreme Council.  (If you have no idea what I’m talking about - never fear, details are coming)

Well, it was a really good idea.  One I am ashamed to admit I hadn’t thought of.  And the more that I thought about it, the more I wanted to do a whole show around it.

The entire staff here at the Supreme Council is in some way involved with this project, and has been for about 3 or 4 months already.  So, I thought I’d take a microphone around the building and talk to people about what the event will be, their involvement with the event, and what preparations they have already made.

Image:© Maxwell MacKenzie, Washington, D.C.

On this month’s show we continue a conversation started last month with Eric Diamond in Chicago about technology and Freemasonry.  This time, we move across the country and visit with our old friend John Liley, the past Grand Master of Utah.  We also hear some feedback gathered from the web about one Mason's experience using tech in his Lodge.  Overall, another jam-packed episode.  So enough with the reading, and start with the listening.  This is The Life Masonic.