UGLA
In reference to a post on The Burning Taper, Post a response:
On Three Pillars, Jeff Peace (Antonius 99), who is not a member of the UGLA, but is on the sublime council of the RRCG and who was answering questions about UGLA on the site, stated:
I see that #3 is going the way of the dodo.
On Three Pillars, Jeff Peace (Antonius 99), who is not a member of the UGLA, but is on the sublime council of the RRCG and who was answering questions about UGLA on the site, stated:
link
In a nutshell here is what the UGLA is all about.
1. The brotherhood of man under the All-Seeing Eye of Deity.
(Every organization should be able to clearly state its mission.)
2. Give the Lodges the power to make the changes they need to at the local level to meet the needs of their members.
3. Get out of the silly recognition business and try to unite American Free-Masons in a way where they can work together productively in an enviorment free from fear.
(If the Masons fear retribution from the Grand Lodge then they will not feel empowered to act responsibly and fix problems at the local level.)
4. Keep the money at the lodge level and don't hoard it at the Grand Lodge level. The lodges need remodeling and upkeep. Modern Masonry can't afford a top heavy organization.
I see that #3 is going the way of the dodo.
Comments
When I first read the article about "amity" I had the exact same reaction that you did. I thought to myself, now that sounds just like the "recognition game," and I thought the UGLA was beyond that.
Then I read it again (and again), and thought about it for a while.
The first paragraph still says that it is up to individual lodges to determine whether a visitor is a Mason or not, using whatever methods that the lodge chooses to use. So far, so good....
The enumerated list, I think, is not about recognition. Instead, it seems to be a declaration, of sorts, that a Grand Lodge should live up to the standards enumerated, and that if they don't, then relations between them and the UGLA might be strained.
Would you agree that the standards listed should be ones that any Grand Lodge should adhere to? The list seems to be a reaction to the stories the UGLA has been hearing from brothers around the country who feel they have been mistreated by their Grand or Blue Lodges. Perhaps the UGLA committee has written the amity article is response to what they've heard from these brothers. See this link about Masonic corruption.
Again, I agree with you that it does sound somewhat like a "recognition" process, but I don't think it really is. And even if it is — at least they're giving guidelines on how to be "recognized," something that many states' Grand Lodges haven't made very clear.
Thanks for your comment!
— Widow's Son