A brief remark by Bro. Charles Martin yesterday prompts me to throw out a question and hope some of you may be able to contribute information.

By coincidence I was reading yesterday the website of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland (a very good and interesting website) and found that they have warranted a number of overseas lodges which are obviously intended as lodges for U.S. servicemen stationed overseas. They have lodges in England, Germany, Italy and—get ready for this—three lodges in Baghdad. From the addresses given, they meet on military bases.

I have heard for a good many years of military lodges, nearly always meeting on military bases, warranted by various U.S. grand lodges. Some years ago, a Grand Master of MD travelled to a navy base in Italy to raise his son in a lodge warranted by the GL of NY.

I have been looking around various GL websites, but the PH GL of MD is the only one I have seen which mentions overseas/military lodges. I think this is really a great thing, and there should be lots of lodges for American servicemen overseas. Do any of you know anything of this? Bro. Charles, I’m sure you do; maybe others do as well.

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has chartered Caribbean Naval Lodge on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They are still an active lodge.

There is both good news, and bad news about Masonry in Iraq and Afghanistan. (I have been working in South-west Asia for six years, see my blog). The bad news, is that after all these years, there is not one working F&AM; lodge, chartered by any mainstream Grand Lodge, anywhere in South-West Asia. Not one.

There are a number of working Prince Hall lodges, operating on the various military bases in Iraq/Afghanistan. Most of these are chartered by MW Prince Hall Grand Lodges of Oklahoma and Texas. Victory Base Complex (Baghdad), has four working lodges, and two Eastern Star chapters, all Prince Hall affiliated.

The Grand Lodge of New York F&AM;, holds the charter for Land, Sea, and Air Lodge #1 (UD). This lodge was first chartered in 1917 (World War I). The lodge was de-activated, and then brought back for WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and its most recent activation was Sep-Oct-Nov 2005. (Send me a PM, and I will send you the link). I volunteered to assist in the administration and activation of LSA#1, in November 2005. I had the traveling charter with me, at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. In December 2005, the Grand Lodge of New York, directed me to return the charter to New York, so that it could be displayed in a museum in New York City. I was promised, that a new traveling charter would be issued, next year (2006). I never received a new charter.

If a military or civilian Mason, serving in this part of the world, wishes to participate in Freemasonry, the only route is through Prince Hall Masonry. If a man holds membership in a Grand Lodge, which does not recognize Prince Hall Masonry, he risks suspension or expulsion. If a man holds membership in more than one Grand Lodge, and all of his memberships are not in communication with Prince Hall Masonry, he risks suspension or expulsion.

There are a number of informal Masonic assemblies here in SWA. I started a “Masonic Square and Compasses Club”, at Al Asad. It was not a working lodge, just a bi-weekly meeting, where we would drink a soda, and fellowship.

The Grand Lodge of Nebraska F&AM;, developed a program, to enable Masonry to be practiced in Iraq/Afghanistan. They produced a “Lodge in a box”, which included all of the working tools necessary for Craft Masonry, including a charter. They called these portable lodges “Swisher Kits”, named after the first Nebraska Freemason to be killed in Iraq. The program never got off the ground, because several Grand Lodges made it known, that they would not accept degree work, from any of these temporary lodges.

It has been a real disappointment to me, that I have been working in Iraq/Afghanistan since 2004, and I have never been able to attend a lodge meeting. I am also disappointed, that not one Grand Lodge in the USA, has shown any initiative to issue a traveling charter, for a military lodge in this part of the world.

“The opposite of love, is not hate. The opposite of love, is indifference”- Elie Wiesel. Nobel Prize winner, and holocaust survivor.

Bro. Charles, this is truly disappointing news. There is such a rich history of travelling and military lodges, going back to the days of Colonial America. Indeed, it is unlikely that Freemasonry would have taken root and developed in America without the efforts of those early pioneers, who had to overcome the difficulties of travel, and the primitive and unsettled conditions of that time and place. Today we have the means to travel in a day or two what would have required months 250 years ago, and we have efficient and nearly instantaneous communication capabilities. Yet there seems to be no interest on the part of the mainstream Grand Lodges in warranting military or temporary lodges which could serve U.S. servicemen and/or civilians stationed abroad and which might, eventually, lead to the establishment of permanent lodges for the citizens of those countries where organized Masonry does not exist. If the Prince Hall Grand Lodges can erect and support military lodges, why can’t the mainstream GLs do the same?

This appears to be a time when many, if not most, mainstream Grand Lodges in the U.S. are re-examining their policies and procedures in order to halt, and hopefully reverse, the decline that has been decimating our Fraternity for over 40 years. They need to take a look at what was done by the Grand Lodges of England and Ireland in places like Boston, Philadelphia and New York in the mid-18th century. It sounds paradoxical, but building up Freemasonry in foreign parts where Americans are located could provide a real stimulus for Masonry here at home. If only some Grand Lodges and/or Grand Masters would make an effort.

I have to thank Lion of Jordan who sent me a list of websites of military lodges chartered by the PH Grand Lodges of Washington and Oklahoma. Not only are the PH Grand Lodges doing an amazing job of keeping Masonry going for military men, but they have really good websites to boot. I’ve looked at all of these and some are really good and it seems they are doing great things.

Washington and Jurisdiction reigon 8 lodges : http://www.d9beehive.com/index777.html

babylon lodge :
http://www.babylonlodge.org/

land of shinar lodge :
http://www.landofshinar.org/

sons of light lodge 197 :
http://www.sonsoflight197.com/

qatar military lodge 210 :
http://www.qatarmilitarylodge.com/

matthias military lodge :
http://matthiasmilitarylodge.com/

jrj lodge 172 (bahrain):
http://www.jrj172.com/

I am a service member in the Army and have been overseas for almost the entire 8 years I have been in. I am interested in becoming a freemason and have had contact with my hometown lodge, but since I’m rarely home I cannot join due to the limited time. I’ve been looking for a lodge overseas with no luck. Is there a way for me to join while I serve abroad or am I stuck until I come back to the U.S.A. I know that I have the option of joining a Prince Hall lodge which are all over the place overseas, but I am interested in following the footsteps of my grandfather and joining a F&AM; lodge. Thanks for any help.

flguy5

Thank you very much for the inquiry. Goes without saying we need to know where you are now and if you will be stationed somewhere else in the near future. We’ll all research all possible sources and let you know. But, as you will have learned from previous posts, if you’re in Iraq or Afghanistan, it won’t be possible for the forseeable future. But if you’re somewhere where there are mainstream lodges, even if they’re English, we’ll try to find one. If you are lucky enough to find a lodge and join it, you can always affiliate with a lodge when you come home.

I’ll be going to Afghanistan for a year starting next month and will probably end up back in Germany for another two year tour after that.

Well, Brothers, Afghanistan is almost certainly hopeless, but what do we know of overseas/military lodges in Germany ?

Has anyone checked out the American Canadian Grand Lodge (ACGL) in Frankfurt, Germany?  I was raised by one of their constituent lodges; Mt. Moriah Two Bridges Nahe Lodge in Pirmasens, Germany almost 4 years ago.  Thay have numerous lodges throughout Germany; and list 4 lodges in SW Asia. The ACGL operates within the United Grand Lodges of Germany.

The Honorary Deputy Grand Master of the American Canadian Grand Lodge is a member of one of our lodges in Massachusetts. He was raised in Heidelberg Lodge No. 821. He could be a good resource for anyone that is interested in learning more. Send me a PM and I will connect you with him.
-Robert

Mike Martin - 25 May 2010 01:00 PM

I am very sad to report that of all the original Regimental/Travelling Warrants issued by the 3 British Grand Lodges (England, Ireland & Scotland) only the GL of Ireland still has any Lodges operating under these Warrants. They are:

St Patrick’s Lodge No. 295 at http://www.stpatricks295ic.co.uk/
Lodg Glittering Star No. 322 at http://www.glitteringstar.co.uk/

Mike

Hi Mike
Yes we are going from strengh to strengh
S&F
Andy Donnelly WM Glitteringstar
http://i51.tinypic.com/5yeq74.jpg

I am delighted to report that there is a working lodge, here at Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Ontario, (Canada). There are many Prince Hall affiliated lodges in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unhappily, there is no working lodge, anywhere in South-West Asia, other than Prince Hall and Canadian.

I would be thrilled if a USA Grand Lodge would charter a military traveling lodge here in SWA. (I am not a military person, just a contractor).

Military and Civilians here can participate only with the existing lodges. If your home lodge does not have fraternal relations with Prince Hall, you are in danger of masonic charges, and discipline (suspension or expulsion).

There are a number of informal masonic clubs and assemblies (Square and Compasses clubs, and cigar clubs), but these are not working lodges, and have no masonic labor or degree work.

Moderator Note:  Jake757, since we already have a thread discussion overseas military lodges, I’ve merged your post into this thread.

Dear sir,
I am currently deployed to Balad Iraq and have been wanting to become a Freemason for quite some time now.  I am DEEPLY committed and serious and am looking for ANY information on how I could go about this process.  I just arrived a couple of weeks ago and have been asking around and no one has seemed to have a solid answer for me.  I would be greatly appreciated if someone could PLEASE send me in the right direction.  Prince Hall or F&AM; are the ones I am most familiar with.  Thank you again and looking forward to the guidance.  my email address is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

SSgt. Andre Jacobs
RAID operator
332 ESFG/JDOC
Balad, Iraq

I will send to you a PM with info & contacts Regarding a PH Masonic lodge in Balad - Iraq.
LOJ

To Lion of Jordan,

Thank you so much for the informational websites you have given me.  Although I have one problem… I emailed every last address and even visited the home page of the Lodge who sponsers Balad and haven’t received a reply back.  Looking at the page it seems the last time it has been updated was back in early 2010.  If there is any more helpful info you may have for me I would be greatly appreciative in receiving it.  In the meantime I will continue to email the links you have given me already.  I just don’t want to be intrusive and an annoyance.  Thank you again Lion.

SSgt. Andre Jacobs