Last night I, along with 6 others, received the Mark Master Mason Degree from Lansdale Chapter no. 301. We were all very impressed with the Degree Ritual and it does give one a lot to think about. I was impressed that essentially all of the Brothers from my Blue Lodge that I look up to and hold in high esteem were there and taking part in the degree conferral. The biggest thing that blew me away was that among the 6 other brothers receiving the Degree was the DDGM from our Masonic District. Apparently he never felt he had the time to take part in York Rite but was moved to join at this time. Very much looking forward to the rest of the Holy Royal Arch Chapter Degrees. Especially the Royal Arch Mason Degree which my Chapter will be conferring in September at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, VA. They have set up a bus trip to tour the Memorial, confer the degree there, then have lunch and do some sightseeing in Washington, DC.
Congratulations Companion! If you enjoy the York Rite half as much as I do you will have a great time!
Thinking I might want to go Red house one day after I exit the East Sent from my iPhone using My Freemasonry mobile app
Awesome ! So in PA - MMM and HRA work within the same system.. hmmm... of course they would. Things are different here - we don't really think about "York Rite". We have a peak body of MMMs and we have another peak body for HRA with the MMM being considered an extension of the 2nd degree and HRA either an extension of the 3rd, but often described as its completion. Here, it is said (and written) Freemasonry consists of 5 Degrees being EA, FC, MM, MMM and the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch. After 15 years as a Freemason, PM x 3, (and sec for one lodge and Director of Ceremonies in another ) I've finally decided to join Chapter. It is done in two parts here, the advancement and the exultation. Meeting every two months and with an installation later in the year, I will become a Companion in Dec - if they vote me in
Congratulations. Mark Master is my favorite degree in all of Masonry because of the lessons it teaches. Don't take credit for something you didn't do. Don't agree to something and then complain about it. Don't be jealous of what someone else has.
An update to my York Rite journey. Last night we received the Most Excellent Master Mason Degree. It was quite a moving experience! You will, no doubt, be interested to know that there is NO "Virtual Past Master Degree" in PA. So we went from the 4th Degree in Freemasonry directly to the 6th Degree in Freemasonry. You can once again be shocked that PA Freemasonry is different than anywhere else. In PA the York Rite bodies are under direct control of the Grand Lodge, and the Past Master Degree can only be conferred in the Blue Lodge. Therefore it is skipped in PA Chapter. An interesting note, since the York Rite Bodies are under direct control of the Grand Lodge, the Grand Master of PA can sit in the Lodge of all 3 bodies, even if he has never taken the degrees thereof.
The ability of the GM to enter a Chapter even though he does not have the degree is so interesting - what's the history of that ? And congrats on your ME, I will do my advancement in Aug and and Exultation in Dec- I'm looking forward to them (yes, it is a long way off, but a great friend will be in the chair - he's installed in Oct )
I am away for the Holiday weekend here in the US. When I get home I will look up the notes I have. While we were waiting for the Chapter business meeting to end before our degree, we were hanging out chatting and our DDGM explained it to us. And just for the record, the point is moot, as we have not had a GM who has not received the York Rite Degrees since the turn of the 19th century!
