The exuberance
of early Masons can hardly be exaggerated.
Following the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717, an
explosion of new degrees took place. By the middle of the 16th Century
there were more than a thousand; most of them of dubious character. Out
of the chaos came the Lodge of Perfection; French in origin, not
Scottish. It was an amorphous collection of 25 degrees including the
first three degrees of the Symbolic Lodge. The Fourth, or
"Scottish" Degree may have given its name to the Rite. (1)
Scottish Rite Masonry came to
the United States by way of the West Indies. Etienne Morin, a French
Merchant brought the Rite to Kingston, Jamaica in 1763. Eventually it
arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, where it took root. The Lodge of
Perfection had remained a rather parochial low profile Charleston
activity for more than 50 years when Albert Pike joined the Rite in
1853. Soon after he Joined he was encouraged by his Masonic friend,
Albert Mackey, to rewrite the ritual, which Pike had declared
"...for the most part a lot of worthless trash." (2)
His tremendous work, Morals and Dogma, has since become the
"bible" of Scottish Rite Masonry. He became the Grand
Commander on January 1, 1859 and under his strong and energetic
guidance, Scottish Rite Masonry spread throughout the world with the
Mother Supreme Council of the World located in Charleston.
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The
Masonic Charity and Education Gene
The
early operative lodges were schools that taught not only the mason's
trade, but also taught moral and ethical behavior. Even before
1717 great emphasis was placed on the importance of benevolence within
the Lodge. With the formation of the Grand Lodge of England each member
who attended lodge paid his dues into the "box" to guarantee
assistance to each other. There was no welfare state nor insurance;
members were expected to help brothers and their families in need.
The "Ancients" in
1798 and the premier Grand Lodge in 1808 had each established charitable
funds and after the union of the two, in 1823, a centralized Charity
Fund was formed. Soon four major charities were formed in England. The
Royal Masonic Institute for Girls was instituted In 1778 and the Royal
Masonic Institute for Boys opened in 1865. The Royal Masonic Benevolent
Institute for Aged and Decayed Freemasons and their Widows was
established in 1850 (the word "Decayed" has since been dropped
from the title). The Royal Masonic Hospital appeared in 1932. All four
rely totally on the generosity of individual brothers for financial
stability. (3)
This rich background in
Masonic philanthropy is evident today in the most benevolent fraternity
on earth. Every concordant and affiliated body including our youth
groups place great importance on charitable programs. The majority of
these programs are aimed at assisting children. The recipients of more
than 60 per cent of Masonic benevolence are not affiliated in any way
with Masonry. In most cases assistance to children is given without cost
to families. This is true of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Childhood
Language Disorders Clinics, Centers, and programs and the Shrine
Hospitals for Children. They are said to be the only hospitals
"without a cash register." (4)
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Scottish
Rite Charities and Civic Activities
Every
Valley in California contributes not only to the Scottish Rite Memorial
Fund, but also to maintaining their local charitable and educational
funding programs. California Scottish Rite Masons support a wide range
of charitable and civic activities. At every well-ordered meeting or
degree the "box of fraternal assistance" is still passed to
fund the Almoner's charge to assist the needy, much as our ancient
brethren did. The Bodies are a patriotic group who support our
Constitution with an annual observance. Many support or sponsor Flag Day
on or near June 14 each year. Many Valleys have programs to recognize
area law enforcement officers, teachers and students, sometimes with
monetary awards. They support the Blue Lodges and encourage closer bonds
with the York Rite and Shrine. In recent years there has been renewed
effort to include families and non-Masonic friends in special events.
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Education
The
Supreme Council issued a strong statement to "support
free and compulsory education with Instruction in the English language
only, financed by public taxation". (5) This
pledge, made in 1920, still guides the Scottish Rite today. In 1927 the
Supreme Council established a $1 million endowment enabling George
Washington University to assist graduate level students who major in
fields leading to government service or education professions.
Except for a brief
interruption, grants are still awarded from an enlarged endowment.
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Childhood
Language Disorders Programs
The
early endeavors of the Denver, Colorado Scottish Rite Foundation,
founded in 1953, has become the jewel of Scottish Rite philanthropy.
They first recognized the need to help children who suffer from a severe
language handicap generally known as "aphasia." Aphasia is the
inability of children to form words and sentences to make
themselves understood. They are often doomed to a lifetime of
withdrawal, unable to communicate with family and schoolmates. They are
frequently labeled as retarded, contrary and asocial. On the contrary
they are often of above average intelligence. The affliction is not
unlike that suffered by adult stroke victims. It can be greatly
alleviated or cured with prompt and proper treatment by professional
speech therapists.
The idea of helping this
neglected group of children was picked up by the Orient of California.
In 1972 arrangements were 2 California with funding assured by the Rite.
Because of a falling out between the Rite and the University it was
decided best to use local fund raising and implement regional centers.
As a result, many of the 18 California Valleys now have on-site Scottish
Rite of Freemasonry Clinics, Centers and Programs for Childhood Language
Disorders or they contribute to schools or hospitals to support
clinics indirectly.
Clinics have since been
formed throughout most of the Orients of the Southern Jurisdiction. In
recent years several centers have opened in the Northern Jurisdiction
independent of the Southern Jurisdiction. In 1955 there were 112 centers
and by 1997 there were 150 centers in the combined Jurisdictions
treating about 10,000 children a year. (6)
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An
Ancient Fraternity In an Infant State
In
1850, a year before California became a state, the population was only a
bit more than 92,000. In those early years there were many Masons from
the East who were interested in getting the Fraternity under way.
California Freemasonry got started after fifteen Grand Lodges had issued
charters and dispensations for the formation of Blue Lodges.
Representatives from five of those jurisdictions assembled in Sacramento
to officially form the Grand Lodge of California which began at once to
grant Charters to the Craft Lodges. Just a decade later there were 130
Blue Lodges with a membership of 5,055.
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The
Rite Comes to California
The
Scottish Rite spread throughout the eastern and southern states during
the first half of the 19th century. Sovereign Grand Commander Albert
Pike, 33º,
was determined to introduce the Rite to the West Coast. In the spring of
1861, the Supreme Council established a Grand Consistory in California.
Shortly thereafter Civil War delayed the activities of the new Grand
Consistory until 1866. In the ensuing four years there were constituted
nine Lodges of Perfection, four Councils of the Princes of Jerusalem,
four Chapters of Rose Croix and two Councils of Kadosh. Yerba Buena
Lodge of Perfection No 6 was organized July 8, 1868. In 1870 the Supreme
Council chartered the Grand Consistory of California in San Francisco.
At that time Commander Pike stated, "....we have nowhere a body of
Masons more intelligent and socially respectable than in the Great
Empire State of California."
Be that as it may, during the
next few years most of the California bodies were declared inactive and
surrendered their charters or had them revoked. (7)
By
the turn of the Century San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and Pasadena
each had an active Consistory, Council, Chapter and Lodge of Perfection.
In addition there were Lodges of Perfection in Sacramento, Marysville,
Visalia, Redlands and San Diego. Scottish Rite Masonry was well
established and rapidly growing. In 1950 there were 15 Scottish Rite
Bodies with a combined membership well above 50,000.
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