more light #166
I Am Prince Hall's Freemason
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
The following essay comes from a Mason who is, sadly, unknown to me; I just
can’t remember who wrote it. I received it years ago, and have always liked it.
It is well done, and I think you will see the value in it too. Ed
I am Prince Hall’s Mason
by Brother Kevin
Gem
I am Prince
Hall's Mason, not a Prince Hall Mason. From this point forward in my life, I
will no longer claim to be a Prince Hall Mason but rather Prince Hall's Mason.
Regardless of what additional words come before or after the tolerance of
my jurisdiction I can only call myself by name, Prince Hall's Mason.
I will conduct myself as he did and I will practice my individual Masonry
the way he did. He has set a stellar example for me to model my Masonry after
and it is one I choose to follow
I will not allow
one particular religion to find its way into my Lodge room because I was handed
a set of constitutions that prevent me from doing that.
I will say my
prayers in the name of the Grand Architect of the Universe, that Supreme Being
that all men can agree on. My first members were from various religions and it
does Freemasonry no honor to not include them within my prayers. How can I
exclude those men who walked the trail to that Irish Constitution Lodge beside
him through a soon to be war-torn countryside? Their sons sit beside me in Lodge
today and it is imperative that I honor them. I am Prince Hall's Mason.
I cannot allow
you to creep your politics into my Lodge room. For the men who traveled that
night to change history forever were not walking to take up a political
position. They were walking to join a Fraternity. No "T" was etched in the
minutes of their meetings or a side chosen in the coming war solicited from them
to receive those degrees. Upon receiving their charter in 1787, no one asked
them to conduct acts of rebellion against their country or to espouse the cause
of a political party. How can I solicit for a particular party within my Lodge
or allow the repeating of State-Policy to be declared when he did not? I am
Prince Hall's Mason.
The ballot for
membership will be cast in fairness and based on the Morality of the man and not
his Nationality or his position in Society. Men of many races have knelt at the
altar from time immemorial and I have called each one Brother. It has long been
a forgotten piece of the Constitution and if it is your choosing to allow a man
to be excluded from entering the Holy of Holies based upon his race it is your
heart that is unclean. But should your heart be exposed and your clandestine act
announced, I shall remove it
from the doors of
my Lodge. When he received the charter there was no man that was excluded based
on race or nationality because he himself was once excluded. Was he not my
example? I am Prince Hall's Mason.
He himself was
not a "Prince Hall Mason," nor was he "Mainstream," "4 Letter, 3 Letter, or any
other titular association" attached as a suffix or a prefix to the title he most
revered. He was only a Freemason, and understood there was no higher
acknowledgment he could receive then to be called Brother. Why should I consider
myself better then he? I am Prince Hall's Mason.
He himself chose
the long path to legitimacy over the short walk to spuriousness. He was a
practitioner of Freemasonry by the rules established and followed them to the
letter. He never denied a knock at his door for visitation and welcomed all who
would consider themselves worthy to approach who could prove their selves to be
justly, perfectly, and regularly initiated into our order. Who am I to establish
a requirement above his? I am Prince Hall's Mason.
Yes Brother, from
this point on I am Prince Hall's Mason because I owe my existence to that man's
journey on that night. If I must travel, why should I stray from the path laid
down before me and pursue the easier course? He is my example and I will attempt
to be yours.
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