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"Healing Over"

PHA TRAVELER

Registered User
Good evening to all my Prince Hall brothers,i am new to the forum and a newly healed Prince hall brother! I would like to get some feed back on how many brothers on here that have left AF&AM and got Healed over to PHA and what was your experince dealing with AF&AM grandlodge/lodges!
 

Bro_Vick

Moderator
Premium Member
There are Prince Hall in name only Grand Lodges that use AF&AM which are considered Clandestine by PHA. Kosei posted a great presentation on this subject which further explains the difference in Prince Hall and the F&AM and AF&AM.

S&F,
-Bro Vick
 

masada1978

Registered User
Well my experience was fun and great I was just healed from international mason here in fl..But the love & light my brother have shown and given me is unbelievable PHA is the way to go
 

bupton52

Moderator
Premium Member
sorry Bryan,i was referring to the African American AF&AM grandlodges

What might be more accurate is actually just referring to them as spurious or clandestine GLs. Masonry isn't black and white, so African American AF&AM GLs isn't an accurate description. I too am a recently healed PHA brother from a local GL in the Houston area. In my experience, their stance was based on the fact that they believe that masonry was stolen from them by the white man, masonry was started in Egypt, who says that the UGLE started masonry, and that black people (PHA) are the only ones fighting about this, we should all be brothers. It's just ridiculous.
 

BryanMaloney

Premium Member
From what I have been able to gather, all regular Masonry traces its ancestry to the two Grand Lodges that became UGLE, regardless of what came before them.
 

bupton52

Moderator
Premium Member
From what I have been able to gather, all regular Masonry traces its ancestry to the two Grand Lodges that became UGLE, regardless of what came before them.

Indeed, but you would be surprised at what these guys are teaching men. Its really sad.
 

towerbuilder7

Moderator
Premium Member
I am a PROUD MEMBER of a PHA Lodge (Bayou City #228, PHA, F &AM, District 15-A, Houston, Texas), and I went thru the healing process in August 2010. I was initiated, passed, and raised in what is known as a "4 Letter Grand Lodge" in the Black Community here in Houston. Sadly, Brother Upton is correct when he mentions what is being taught or NOT BEING TAUGHT in some of these clandestine AF & AM Lodges. I was fortunate enough to come from a Symbolic Lodge environment where they at least stressed proficiency in the 3 Degrees, in the text from which we read. (Lester's Look To The East) Once I was healed into A PHA Lodge, my transition wasn't as difficult as some other Brothers I've met, who weren't taught much of anything, and some were even hazed after paying large sums of money. I was able to come right in and assimilate with my new Brothers, as I became proficient in the Free and Accepted Masonic Ritual used by PHA Lodges here in Texas. The LIGHT submitted by Brother Kosei on his thread makes it plain for the reader to understand how and why Black AF & AM Lodges were formed in the late 19th century, and how they are viewed by PHA Brothers to this day. Most of the Men I have come in contact with who have endured similar situations as mine simply wanted to become Masons, and usually went to a friend, co-worker, or acquaintance who they knew. I knew NOTHING about the differences between Regular and Irregular Lodges when I began, as it pertains to the AF & AM Lodges who CLAIM to be legitimate, but are found to have NO LINEAGE or connection to the UGLE. These Lodges are not recognized by either the respective Prince Hall GL or Mainstream GL of the State they are in, and I found this out THE HARD WAY. I had co workers who refused to talk about Masonry with me, and some even stopped speaking to me altogether. I trusted the Men who were all friends of mine, and they are all GOOD MEN, who are Christian, Family Oriented brothers. As I did my own research, it didn't take long for me to discover that the road on which I had traveled had a Dead End. The Brothers really believed that what they were a part of was Regular, but could never produce a Lineage to me which showed ties to the UGLE. This caused a restlessness within me, and I no longer felt as if I were a REAL Mason. I felt that a change needed to be made. I really hated to leave these Brothers, because bonds had been forged, and it was a very difficult decision for me. But, I have two Sons, and I KNEW that one day I would love to see them receive the LIGHT in a Regular Lodge with the proper Lineage. I contacted a friend of mine who had been a member of a PHA Lodge for quite some time, and asked him for further LIGHT, so I could make an informed decision. I have YET to regret my decision of joining a Prince Hall Affiliated Lodge. I consider myself a student of this "progressive science", and to me, Freemasonry is more than just a Brotherhood; it is a WAY OF LIFE, whereby a Man who is in line with his beliefs in GOD and the Holy Bible, as well the principles and tenets of our "time honored institution" , brings himself to an entirely different plane in nature, where he learns to keep his SPIRIT in control of MATTER, and his Higher Nature dominant over his Lower Nature. He appreciates and cherishes his faith, family, and friends. A FreeMason who adopts his studies as a PURSUIT OF TRUTH and SEEKS KNOWLEDGE OF HIMSELF automatically beings himself closer to GOD each day. As you study Masonic History and Philosophy, you begin to really see the beauty and depth of this Fraternal Order. Freemasonry helped me to become even stronger in my faith in GOD, as I would see constant references to GOD and Scripture throughout my material as I studied. Congratulations, PHA TRAVELER, on your decision to join the PHAmily..........Fraternally, Bro. Vincent C. Jones, Sr., Bayou City Lodge #228, PHA, F & AM, Houston, Texas...................
 

bupton52

Moderator
Premium Member
"Healing Over"

The crazy thing is that even when you present them with the findings of your research and are able to show them exactly why they are clandestine, they will argue you down that it is YOU who are clandestine. SMH.
 

Bro_Vick

Moderator
Premium Member
... they believe that masonry was stolen from them by the white man, masonry was started in Egypt, who says that the UGLE started masonry, and that black people (PHA) are the only ones fighting about this, we should all be brothers. It's just ridiculous.

Great, so they stole a page from the Memphis Rite? Yeah, that screams regular and legally constituted lodge.:)

S&,
-Bro Vick
 

BryanMaloney

Premium Member
In reading up on the Memphis Rite, I came across references to "healing" Freemasons who had been under that Rite, but not in a PH context. This was over 100 years ago, so does that mean that healing was once done in "mainstream" lodges but no longer is?
 

Blake Bowden

Administrator
Staff Member
Great insight. This may be a great topic to keep out in the open to help those Brethren who have unknowingly joined a clandestine Masonic organization and what steps they need to take in order to become healed and regular.
 
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Bro Jaime Solis

Premium Member
I did in Jan 28 2012 before that I was with mount carmel grand lodge of Austin tx but all our lodge healed over to PHA after researching and finding the truth that this said Grand lodge could not be traced back to UGLE with that said I feel alot better sort of like a burden has been lifted and I can neath again
 

Bro_Vick

Moderator
Premium Member
So, what is the fate of men who join bogus lodges? Would GLoTx ban them to the end of eternity?

Depends, if they join a bogus lodge, then come to the GLoTX, they would have to renounce the bogus organization and re-complete the first three degrees and catechism, like Prince Hall. We have had military members who have done this due to joining a bogus lodge while overseas or joining Prince Hall, and wanting to "jump ship" (other's have done it vice versa as well).

If you are a Master Mason and you choose to affiliate with a bogus Masonic organization, that is a different story.

S&F,
-Bro Vick
 

BryanMaloney

Premium Member
Does GLoTx admit to the healing of an entire lodge at once? And I'm a bit sickened at the idea of a man having to "renounce" Prince Hall as if it were bogus in order to be acceptable to GLoTX. Surely that's just a holdover from the days of Jim Crow...
 

Bro_Vick

Moderator
Premium Member
Does GLoTx admit to the healing of an entire lodge at once? And I'm a bit sickened at the idea of a man having to "renounce" Prince Hall as if it were bogus in order to be acceptable to GLoTX. Surely that's just a holdover from the days of Jim Crow...

It's common and happens else where, the GLNF when it was still recognized by the UGLE men coming from America to join the GLNF would have to reaccomplish their first three degrees. Also our Scottish Rite isn't recognized at all, and men generally have to start that process, and men who get beyond the 18th degree are considered very accomplished.

I don't know since the jurisdiction treaty if the GLoTX requires a renouncement or not, but I would suspect that Prince Hall has the same requirement. So it's less of a Jim Crow, and more of a Masonic tradition when changing grand lodge affiliation.

S&F,
-Bro Vick
 

BryanMaloney

Premium Member
So it's less of a Jim Crow, and more of a Masonic tradition when changing grand lodge affiliation.

So, then, if a MM were to move to Indiana, for example, he would have to re-work all three degrees to be a MM under the Indiana Grand Lodge...
 
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