Barstow, CA Lodge #682

225 South Ave "J" Barstow, CA 92312-0755 (760) 256-9371
E-Mail: lodge682@earthlink.net

Correspondence

Brethren: This reprint is an article written by Robert Martin, PM sponsor of the grand lodge proposal concerning the wearing by religious Jews of a yarmulke in lodge. It clarifies, once and for all, the "intent" of the proposal, in a more eloquent manner than I could! (for information on why Jews wear a yarmulke, click here)

You will be reading a lot about the Grand Lodge Annual Communication in this Trestleboard. I was lucky enough this year to be able to attend all the sessions, and also to attend the Saturday Secretaries' workshop. It was a wonderful experience to get together with so many friends and brothers from all over California, and many other states and countries.

As most of you know, I was a sponsor of a resolution (No. 29) which would have prevented any law, rule, or regulation which could have prevented a brother from wearing a yarmulke in lodge.

This was a wonderful experience, and although the resolution did not pass, I am very satisfied with the outcome because it was made very clear that the Masons of California do not want ANY laws, rules or regulations restricting ANY kind of religious apparel, and furthermore, we really do not want to talk about it either. It is a long tradition in Freemasonry NOT to discuss religious matters.

As many of you may not know, I was prohibited from writing about this resolution prior to the vote, because anything in writing would be considered "politicking" which is prohibited by CMC . Now that the voting is over (and it is NOT a carry-over to next year) I am finally free to write about this.

I am very proud of our fraternity, and I am very pleased that we decided at our Annual Communication where, by a definitive vote, we voted to continue our 149-year tradition which we have had in California: To respect brethren from every country, sect and opinion. This is one of the fundamental teachings and practices of Freemasonry.

Over 240 brethren from over 80 lodges requested to co-sponsor my resolution, which I was glad to share with so many brethren. It demonstrated to everybody that all across our State, from East to West and North to South, the brethren wanted to make a clear statement to ourselves and to the world where we stand on freedom of religion, freedom of expression, harmony, and brotherly love. All of which may sound confusing to some, for after all, wasn't my resolution DEFEATED ???

Yes, my resolution lost, but its passage became unnecessary, as was made clear at the voting, once the earlier resolution was defeated, the one which would have prohibited wearing a yarmulke (or any other religious headwear) in lodge. The powerful Policy and General Purposes Committee gave a lengthy report, strongly recommending defeat of that resolution.

Once it lost, the need for any resolution such as mine became less important. One criticism I heard often during the year was that my resolution did not go FAR enough. That criticism was echoed also by the Policy Committee. (I happen to agree with that criticism. I intentionally limited my resolution. It simply stated that there would be no restriction on the wearing of yarmulkes, and it was silent regarding any other religious headwear.) The reason I was so specific was that an event occurred in the previous year which upset me as a Mason, as it did many others. A Jewish brother was told he could not wear his yarmulke in lodge. He appealed it to the Inspector, to the Assistant Grand Lecturer, and the Grand Lecturer, but lost. In his final appeal to the Grand Master, he was told he could wear his yarmulke. (That was a persistent brother !)

It appeared to me last November that this appeal might have to be repeated every year, with every new successive Grand Master. I felt that it needed to be clearly stated how we Freemasons truly feel regarding a brother's desire to show respect to God by wearing the yarmulke, a tradition which the Jewish faith has observed "from time immemorial" (as far as I know.) That was the motivation behind the resolution.

To all those brethren who signed their names to this resolution, and to those of you who voted for the resolution, you should all be very proud of yourselves.

There are few times in a person's life when he gets the chance to take a stand on such an important principle. I am proud of each of you, and I am very pleased with the serious discussions which came out of our resolution. And in the final outcome, we can all be very proud of our fraternity!