Valley of Portland

You’ve heard their names all your life: George Washington … Benjamin Franklin … Samuel Adams … Ethan Allen … Paul Revere. You knew these astonishingly brave and gifted men were some of America’s great Founding Fathers. But did you know they also were Masons?

As it turns out, Freemasonry had a crucial role to play in shaping the character and actions of many Founding Fathers. In fact, nine of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Masons—including John Hancock—and at least seven other signers are believed by historians either to have been Masons or people who had ties to the brotherhood.

But things didn’t stop there. The profound influence of Founding Fathers who were Masons continued well beyond 1776. As we fought against the British in the Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783), 33 of the 74 generals of the Colonial Army were Masons. And when America created its Constitution—a beacon of hope to all who cherish freedom—13 of the 39 signers of the great document were Masons.

A Foundation of Character That Helped Create a Great Nation

While they had a critical role in helping to launch America, the Founding Fathers who were Masons—particularly the most famous ones, such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin—rarely, if ever, talked openly about the connection between their political views and their masonic association. Nonetheless, historians almost universally assert that it was Masons—famous Founding Fathers plus more obscure brothers—who were the ones pushing their American homeland to break free from Great Britain and become its own constitutional republic. As historian James Brown wrote about Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries: “What influence Freemasonry may have had on the life and character of Benjamin Franklin can only be conjecture, but that it did influence him and his contemporaries in the great struggle for American independence seems beyond doubt.”

Ideas and Values That Were Ahead of Their Time

What is also beyond doubt is that the Founding Fathers who were Masons were men ahead of their time, deeply committed to living and sharing values and ideas that would become cornerstones of democracies around the world. One succinct way to describe what Freemasonry is all about is: “Creating better men and a better world.” America’s great Founding Fathers who were Masons did this by fighting for separation from Great Britain, which they saw—correctly—as the one vital way to create religious freedom and other liberties throughout America.

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available on our about page.  New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

If you’re like most Masons, you feel you are on an earthly and spiritual journey to become everything you can be as a man, a friend, a family member, and a member of your community. How can you deepen and enrich your understanding of that journey—and your place within it? One of the most appealing and valuable ways is to listen to freemasonry podcasts and read Masonic blogs. Here are some of the best!

 

PODCASTS

Masonic Central Podcast

Billed as “the podcast about Freemasonry by Freemasons,” Masonic Central Podcast features illuminating, character-building conversations with some of Freemasonry’s most engaging thinkers, writers, leaders, entertainers, and other newsmakers. Featuring both one-on-one interviews and round-table discussions, the podcast helps the listener delve into many of Freemasonry’s most engaging and interesting intellectual and spiritual aspects, including its meaning, works, and ideas.

The Freemasons Podcast

Begun in 2019, this podcast features members of various lodges in Connecticut offering sometimes-edgy, often-playful discussions of a wide variety of topics of interest to Freemasons. Most of the guests are younger brothers who specialize in needling themselves as well as some of the other Masons who appear on the program. This Freemasonry podcast is hosted by Right Worshipful Brother George Mudry. To watch the podcast and its memorable guests—rather than simply listening to it—you can visit its YouTube channel here.

 

BLOGS

Freemasons for Dummies

This highly enriching “read” is the official blog of author Christopher Hodapp, author of the popular book Freemasons for Dummies. Since first arriving on the scene in 2005, Freemasons for Dummies has been the top-selling introductory guide to the Masonic fraternity and its many related organizations. Among other topics, Mr. Hodapp’s blog features some of the material featured in the revised 3rd Edition of his best-seller, including updated information, statistics, websites, and more.

The Midnight Freemasons

This blog features a group of Master Masons illuminating key topics of Masonic interest—each from his own unique perspective. Among the many interesting and eye-opening topics you’ll find discussed in the blog are history, trivia, travel, book reviews, and great quotes. More often than not, things are spiced up with a bit of humor!

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

There’s no doubt about it: From George Washington to Mark Twain to Louis Armstrong to Cy Young, Masons have contributed mightily to American culture. But the most lasting contribution of these Masons—and countless others—is the Masonic values that helped govern their lives, and which, in turn, helped shape the great nation whose story they are such a part of. Let’s take a moment to explore just how Masonic values have impacted our beloved country.

Foundation Values for the American Colonies

Though national bestsellers such as Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol have spun fanciful versions of Masons’ contribution to American history, the actual impact has been much richer. As a values movement that emerged from the Reformation, Freemasonry was the first highly influential organization to espouse religious toleration and liberty—core Masonic values that Masons helped spread throughout the American colonies.

“Yearning to Be Free”

Even prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Masonic values were fully taking flight—in ways that often were impressively ahead of the times. To cite just one example: Freemasons in Boston in 1775 were part of a British garrison that granted local Black freemen the right to affiliate as Masons under the banner of African Lodge No. 1. Its leader, a freed slave named Prince Hall, later signed some of the nation’s earliest anti-slavery petitions. In this way, African Lodge No. 1 represented the first black-led abolitionist movement in American history. Nearly two centuries later, Masonic values and membership were embraced by both the father and grandfather of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as the quest for civil rights in America deepened.

Masonic Values of the Founding Fathers

It is no coincidence that some of America’s greatest Founding Fathers—including not only Washington but also Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and seven other signers of the Declaration of Independence—were Freemasons. All these heroes rejected the European notion that one overarching authority should dominate the exchange of ideas.

To this day, this revolutionary new outlook is found in one of the greatest symbols associated with Freemasonry: the eye-and-pyramid of the Great Seal of the United States, as seen on the back of the one-dollar bill. Begun on July 4, 1776, The Great Seal’s design commenced as an order from the Continental Congress. Its Latin maxim—Annuit Coeptis Novus Ordo Seclorum—is commonly translated as “God Smiles on Our New Order of the Ages.”

An Enduring Legacy and Impact

The Masonic values that served as such a profound influence on our Founding Fathers and our early republic have endured and been strengthened by later Masons–who became everything from Presidents of the United States to musical giants to great athletes to great writers and thinkers. Just as they all owed a debt to the Masonic values that helped shape their lives, we now owe a great debt to them for the ways in which their values helped forge and shape America.

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

Here at the Valley of Portland, we join our masonic brothers around the world in being serious-minded about becoming our best selves and in offering caring, devoted service to others. As we discussed in our recent blog “What is Masculinity? A Valley of Portland Response,” we emphatically believe the world needs more men of honor—more men whose lives are grounded on unwavering values and principles. For Freemasons, there are 3 Great Principles of Freemasonry that are absolutely crucial to a man becoming all he can be: Brotherly Love, Relief (Charity), and Truth. Let’s take a few minutes to look more closely at each of these 3 Great Principles, and at how membership in the Valley of Portland helps you uphold them.

Brotherly Love

Every true Freemason will show tolerance and respect for the opinions of others, and behave with kindness and understanding to his fellow creatures.

Relief (Charity)

Freemasons are taught to practice charity and to care not only for their own, but also for their community as a whole, both by charitable giving and by voluntary efforts as individuals.

Truth

Freemasons strive for truth, requiring high moral standards and aiming to achieve them in their own lives.

When you join and become fully involved with the Valley of Portland, you’ll see every day how these 3 Great Principles of Freemasonry “combine forces” to empower you and make you all you can be—to yourself, your family, your community, and to God. You’ll see that—by living these 3 Great Principles—you can work to bring about loving kindness in the home, honesty in business, courtesy and civility in society, fairness in work, pity and concern for those less fortunate, resistance of evil, help for the weak, forgiveness for the penitent, love for one another, and—above all—reverence and love for God.

A Special Word about Relief (Charity)

As you go deeper into your Freemasonry journey, you’ll be struck—time and again—by how much the 3 Great Principles of Freemasonry complement and empower each other. Without a true embrace of Brotherly Love and a courageous embrace of Truth, your efforts at Relief (Charity) might lack the passion and effectiveness they otherwise would have. But when you DO embrace all 3 Great Principles, you’ll see how life-changing your works of kindness and charity for others can be.      

You’ll also see specific ways we here at the Valley of Portland “walk the talk” to lovingly help those in need. As we discussed in our recent blogs “Valley of Portland Urges Support of the Blue Envelope Appeal” and “Valley of Portland Partners with Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation,” we remain actively focused, year-round, on how we can better serve our local communities and our neighbors living in them. It all comes down to building your life on a firm foundation of principles and values. That’s the Freemason way.

 

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

 

The debate has raged since the 1960s, if not before: What is masculinity? What should a man do and be? What is a “real man” versus a man who embodies “toxic masculinity?” One look at national bestseller lists reveals that, if anything, interest in the topic is growing stronger by the day. Titles that tackle the subject include The Masculinity Manifesto, The Mask of Masculinity, Reinventing Masculinity … it goes on and on. So here at the Valley of Portland, we wanted to take a few minutes to look at this deeply important topic and share our perspective on it.

A Foundation of Values

Abraham Lincoln famously said: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” But is also cannot stand if it lacks a strong foundation. Here at the Valley of Portland and among our Masonic brothers worldwide, we believe that foundation is comprised of the enduring values we’ve cherished and upheld for centuries—as they apply to today’s men and today’s world. Think about it: We are living—sadly—in a world where lying … bullying … cheating … demonstrating a lack of respect for women and/or for people from other cultures, and more … are too often met with male silence or with outright male affirmation. One critical way to battle this tide is by men stepping up and rejecting it. And we believe one clear pathway for doing that is by actively embracing the Masonic values we lay out in our Mission Statement, which reads:

It is the mission of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, to improve its members and enhance the communities in which they live by teaching and emulating the principles of Brotherly Love, Tolerance, Charity, and Truth, while actively embracing high social, moral, and spiritual values, including fellowship, compassion, and dedication to God, family, and country.           

“The World Needs Men of Honor”

As discussed in the video “Not Just a Man. A Mason,” we Masons have, for 300 years, helped men become the best version of themselves. We don’t do that by giving them a gym pass or changing their diet, or helping them navigate the business world. We do that through our fraternity and by inviting each man to take an oath of Service, Integrity, and Brotherly Love—placing THOSE values at the center of what they embrace as true masculinity.

A Final Word

In his book Understanding Manhood in America: Freemasonry’s Enduring Path to the Mature Masculine, Robert G. Davis asserts that the road to the “mature masculine” is not an easy road; it involves work, perseverance, and a commitment to personal responsibility. Stated another way, it involves a deep commitment to living a values-centered life. Here at the Valley of Portland and throughout the Masonic world, that is exactly the kind of masculinity we strive to manifest each and every day of the year.

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.