About Us
This charitable, educational and invitational institution seeks to recognize and honor those valuable and experienced Masonic Brethren who have attained the highly respected positions of Past Worshipful Master, Past Excellent High Priest, Past Illustrious Master, Past Eminent Commander, and have been inducted or have satisfied the requirements for being inducted into the Knights of the York Cross of Honour. Thus, membership is by invitation only. Its charitable intent fosters and encourages a measure of relief to the less fortunate. The principal recipient of charitable donations shall be Coyote Hill Christian Children's Home, PO Box 1, 9501 W. Coyote Hill Road, Harrisburg, MO 65256. Its educational purposes are to provide assistance to the Symbolic Lodge, Capitular Chapter, Cryptic Council, Templar Commandery of the York Rite of Freemasonry, and the Knights York Cross of Honour, to teach the lesser informed and uninformed about the tenets of Freemasonry and to encourage study among its own membership.
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WHAT IS FREEMASONRY YOU MIGHT ASK?
Probably one of the finest definitions ever devised for Freemasonry is: “It is a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols…” This system of morality, or ethics, is as old as civilization. One must penetrate the allegorical veils, with the aid of symbolical emblems, and practice the moral precepts which have been therein revealed to prepare ourselves, spiritually, “as living stones for that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Freemasonry is a “Way of Life.”
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Freemasonry is a progressive science. A Mason can only advance by taking every step. He must acquire and apply the knowledge available to him on each level and perfect his skills so that each stone designed for that Spiritual Building might be square, level, and plumb.
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Candidates for Freemasonry must come of their own free will. The applicant must have a sincere desire to unite with a fraternity dedicated to “Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.”
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Many centuries ago the craft so successfully protected its trade secrets, consisting primarily of architectural and geometrical lore, that it became known as a secret society. Centuries later, when the fraternity had developed strong attachments to the precepts of Truth, Justice, and Liberty, and the religious establishment instituted the “Inquisition”, the Freemasons became a secret society in fact. Today this description no longer applies. What Freemasonry teaches is written out for all to read. Masonic halls are listed in local telephone directories. The members wear emblems publicly. The only secrets of the craft today are the manner in which the degrees are conferred and the means of recognition among the members.
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Freemasonry is neither a religious nor a political organization. It has been called the “handmaiden of religion” as it encourages all members to be active in the church of their choice. No theological dogmas nor creeds exist in Masonic practice, other than a reverence for God and a spiritual concern for our fellow man. While the Masonic craft does not support political candidates nor issues, it inspires each member to fulfill his civic responsibility as an American citizen. The discussion of sectarian religion or partisan politics is prohibited in all branches of Freemasonry in the United States except the Christian Orders which are not denominational.