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Challenges on the street

mrpierce17

KOP Council director / Lodge instructor
Premium Member
A brother whom I'd never met recently asked me about a little dog with a collar around his neck. It almost went over my head...
Did it make you feel as if he was trying to challenge your Masonic affiliation or just a friendly brother trying to see if you where on your toes always willing to be t____ ???? ( The little dog that's old school)
 

Sammcd

Premium Member
I was passing through Denver last year and stopped for a Burger. I was challenged by a man who ask me if I Was a traveling man. I responded that I was indeed, traveling from the west to east. He ask how old my dog was. I told him my dog's age had nothing to do with wether or not I was Mason and ask him what lodge he was from and if he had a current dues card. He then said that he should remove my ring. I responded that this was not going happen. My Order arrived and I left. I Felt bad about this encounter during the rest of the trip.
 

AndreAshlar

Registered User
I was passing through Denver last year and stopped for a Burger. I was challenged by a man who ask me if I Was a traveling man. I responded that I was indeed, traveling from the west to east. He ask how old my dog was. I told him my dog's age had nothing to do with wether or not I was Mason and ask him what lodge he was from and if he had a current dues card. He then said that he should remove my ring. I responded that this was not going happen. My Order arrived and I left. I Felt bad about this encounter during the rest of the trip.
You handled it perfectly
 

Dontrell Stroman

Premium Member
I was passing through Denver last year and stopped for a Burger. I was challenged by a man who ask me if I Was a traveling man. I responded that I was indeed, traveling from the west to east. He ask how old my dog was. I told him my dog's age had nothing to do with wether or not I was Mason and ask him what lodge he was from and if he had a current dues card. He then said that he should remove my ring. I responded that this was not going happen. My Order arrived and I left. I Felt bad about this encounter during the rest of the trip.
Again, what is all the talk about taking a brothers ring, emblems, lapel pins etc ? Is this custom practiced throughout all Prince Hall jurisdictions ?
 

Dontrell Stroman

Premium Member
What is the challenge for ? It's almost as if brothers are in competition to see who is more knowledgeable in Freemasonry. I often wonder if some of the division within both GL are due to customs that one refuses to adopt. Being a military man myself, I've been able to meet quite a few brothers. I have have seen members from both GL ask each other's questions from the degrees; just as a way of starting a conversation, but I can say, from all the GL brothers I have spoke with(Not PH), most of them have never heard of a challenge nor taking another brothers property. I think it's a custom only within PH masonry
 
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AndreAshlar

Registered User
I've never witnessed a "challenge" being anything more than playful and witty masonic intellectualism. As long as it's relegated to that, I have no issue with it. I enjoy them...
 
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mrpierce17

KOP Council director / Lodge instructor
Premium Member
What is the challenge for ? It's almost as if brothers are in competition to see who is more knowledgeable in Freemasonry. I often wonder if some of the division within both GL are due to customs that one refuses to adopt. Being a military man myself, I've been able to met quite a bit of brothers. I have have seen members from both GL ask each other's questions from the degrees just as a way of starting a conversation, but I can say, from all the GL brothers I have spoke with, most of them have never heard of a challenge nor taking another brothers property. I think it's a custom only within PH masonry
I think it's customary in clandestine masonry more so with older clandestine made masons who where possibly hazed when they went through, I wear a S&C on my hat , ring , or necklace almost all the time and my job requires me to visit from home to home sometimes my customers are Mason's those who are usually will say are you a mason or ask a question only a mason could answer the conversations always go pleasantly , only had one older gentleman who once he found out I was a Prince Hall mason tell me " the problem with PH Mason's is that they don't have a legitimate charter " I laughed and cut the conversation short at that point and advised him to visit The phylaxis society.org if he wanted to research the legitimacy or origin of Prince Hall masonry
 

Dontrell Stroman

Premium Member
I think it's customary in clandestine masonry more so with older clandestine made masons who where possibly hazed when they went through, I wear a S&C on my hat , ring , or necklace almost all the time and my job requires me to visit from home to home sometimes my customers are Mason's those who are usually will say are you a mason or ask a question only a mason could answer the conversations always go pleasantly , only had one older gentleman who once he found out I was a Prince Hall mason tell me " the problem with PH Mason's is that they don't have a legitimate charter " I laughed and cut the conversation short at that point and advised him to visit The phylaxis society.org if he wanted to research the legitimacy or origin of Prince Hall masonry
I would agree with you, but I have spoke with Grand Officers in PH and they stated that if you were an emblem you must protect your "Light". I enjoy simple phases also, but I dont get going into all three degrees outside of a lodge in public.
 

Dontrell Stroman

Premium Member
Truthfully I believe this "street knowledge masonry" came when brothers didn't know how to read as good, so they took phrases out of all three degrees and made a unofficial street test.
 

mrpierce17

KOP Council director / Lodge instructor
Premium Member
I would agree with you, but I have spoke with Grand Officers in PH and they stated that if you were an emblem you must protect your "Light". I enjoy simple phases also, but I dont get going into all three degrees outside of a lodge in public.
I have only "heard" stories of this as a sort of game between brothers who knew each other to be such having a battle of wits on the subject of masonry usually during hours or refreshments when one could not answer the next brothers question he would surrender a pice of Masonic property that property would be given to the owners WM and returned by the owners WM with a brief explanation/lesson on the areas of Masonic discussion in question.... That being said it is no longer practiced in these day in time at least in Florida jurisdiction where it is considered a form of hazing and such actions can lead up to Masonic charges/suspension or possibly expulsion of ones membership
 

AndreAshlar

Registered User
I have only "heard" stories of this as a sort of game between brothers who knew each other to be such having a battle of wits on the subject of masonry usually during hours or refreshments when one could not answer the next brothers question he would surrender a pice of Masonic property that property would be given to the owners WM and returned by the owners WM with a brief explanation/lesson on the areas of Masonic discussion in question.... That being said it is no longer practiced in these day in time at least in Florida jurisdiction where it is considered a form of hazing and such actions can lead up to Masonic charges/suspension or possibly expulsion of ones membership
I've never heard of this occurring in a tiled lodge
 
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