It has been my highest honor and privilege to serve you as Grand Master. While I have so many memories and experiences from this year, it will be the relationships that I have had the opportunity to develop with so many Outstanding Masons throughout the State which I will reflect upon for the rest of my life. Each of you have made… Read more
The attached file lists the 2020 proposed changes to the Masonic Code.
Edit: Committee Chairmen May attend as well. Chairmen are asked to have their reports to the Grand Secretary by (preferably before) 15 Oct 2020.
To the Brethren of Alabama,
As we continue to live in the COVID-19 world, your Grand Lodge officers are constantly monitoring the national, state, and local events to ensure we are conforming to the guidelines established by President Trump, Governor Ivey and our local community leadership here in Alabama. There have been many questions concerning our Annual Communication in November and because we have cancelled and/or rescheduled so many Masonic events already this year, I feel that it is important for our Fraternity to have a Grand Lodge Session. However, I also feel very strongly that we cannot just engage in “business as usual” and maintain all of the necessary precautions to ensure the safety and well-being of our Brethren. As such, the general attendance at Grand Lodge this year will be restricted to one member per lodge. This will reduce the expected attendance by several hundred Brethren. Each of the attendees can proxy all four votes for your respective lodges so every lodge will have fair and equal representation at the Session and we will be in full compliance with the Constitution, Resolutions and Edicts of the Grand Lodge. Also, the schedule will be abbreviated to ensure we conduct the required business of our Fraternity and minimize the risk to all. We will not have the Committee on Work Workshop and Divine Service on Sunday afternoon. We will not have the Exemplification of the Work by the Committee on Work and District Lecturers on Monday. We will not have the traditional Hospitality Suite for the attendees. Registration with the Credentials Committee will be from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Monday and 7:00 am to 12:00 noon on Tuesday. The first event will be the Grand Master’s Banquet on Monday evening. The 2020 Grand Lodge Session will begin at 0900 on Tuesday morning. We will be focused on ensuring we make the most productive use of our time together. At this time, we do not plan to have any activities on Wednesday morning. Our intent is to complete all of the business on Tuesday, conduct the elections of the Grand Lodge officers, and have the installation Tuesday evening. The ballroom is large enough to spread everyone out and by limiting the Session to one full day, this will provide the minimum amount of exposure possible.
This will be the 200th Grand Lodge Session of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Alabama. Brethren, this is most definitely not how I wanted this Annual Communication to occur. We had planned to make this a “Session to Remember” and although it will bear no resemblance to events we had originally prepared, I am confident that none of us will ever forget the 2020 Annual Communication. If you have any questions and/or concerns, please contact me at any time and we will work together to make the best decisions for Masonry in Alabama.
Jon Michael Taylor
Grand Master
Brethren,
It has been a long, strange, trip during the last three months. The world we live in today is very different from where we began in March 2020. We have spent an unusual amount of time secluded in our homes and the constant use of facemasks and hand sanitizer have become an important part of our daily routines. Although the COVID-19 situation has not been completely resolved, we have begun to return to some sense of normalcy. Since June 1st, I have attended several degrees and conferences; as well as presenting eight 50 Year pins. During each of these events, all appearances indicate that at least in the Lodge, we are very close to where we started. Our Ritual remains unchanged and it appears that wherever I travel, the Brethren are truly enjoying the sincere Fellowship and Brotherly Love that our Fraternity facilitates. And I have partaken in some of the best meals that I have had during my Masonic journey during the past month.
I cannot Thank each of you enough for the patience, understanding, and encouragement that has been extended to myself and all of your Grand Lodge Officers as we have striven to make the best decisions for the health and wellness of all our Brethren and their families, and to do everything we can to continue to resource and support our Lodges. We have been unified in purpose and effort; and your support has been essential to our endurance during this period of uncertainty and unpredictability.
As we are beginning a new Masonic year with new leadership teams in place throughout the state, we are in a great position to revitalize our efforts in diffusing light and imparting Masonic knowledge. Our internet Committee has done an Outstanding job providing constant communication to all of the Brethren in Alabama through our website and the E-Mason e-mail system. I simply cannot Thank them enough for what they do every day for our Fraternity. I strongly encourage you to visit our Events Page on the Grand Lodge website. The committee updates this page daily and there are many events being posted. If you have the opportunity, attend a degree at a nearby Lodge or attend a Masonic Conference. Your presence supporting these important events will help us tremendously as we continue to Open Alabama Freemasonry back up.
As we continue to move forward, we will closely monitor the situation in Alabama and follow the guidance and direction of Governor Ivey and her medical advisors. However, as I have stated before, the situation is not consistent throughout the State. What may be the best course of action for a Lodge in Tarrant may not be the most prudent course of action for the lodges in Mobile. As such, it is imperative that the Worshipful Masters of the respective lodges in Alabama rule and govern to the best of their ability with the primary goals of health and safety in mind. As we move forward as a State-wide Fraternity, each Lodge will be faced with significant decisions. If you have any questions and/or concerns, please contact me at any time and we will work together to make the best decision for Masonry. As long as we have the best interest of our Brethren and our Lodges in mind, the Worshipful Masters in Alabama will always have my full and unwavering support.
Finally Brethren, be of one mind, live in peace. Let nothing disturb that pure warm, and holy love which our ritual enjoins. I am very Proud to be an Alabama Mason and I am extremely Proud to serve each of you as we strive together to persevere through these unprecedented times.
Mike Taylor
Grand Master
Brethren,
In order to conform to Governor Ivey’s amended Safer At Home guidance and recommendations concerning social distancing and non-work related gatherings and the Alabama State Public Health Officer’s order concerning public gatherings,
I am directing all Masonic lodges in Alabama to refrain from conducting any Masonic Degree work for the remainder of the month of May.
Effective 1 June 2020, we will resume conducting all three Masonic Degrees in full conformity with the Alabama Masonic Degree work as exemplified on the Grand Lodge floor by the Committee on Work and the District Lecturers in November 2019. During the remainder of May, Lodges may receive lessons from Candidates, ballot on Candidates, and conduct the regular business of the Lodge as necessary.
As always, this decision is made with the safety and welfare of all of our Brethren as the Primary concern. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact me at any time at 205-276-5348. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we strive together to adapt to the constantly changing conditions caused by COVID-19.
Mike Taylor
Grand Master
To The Brethren of Alabama,
Governor Ivey has amended her “Safer-At-Home” order and has authorized non-work gatherings of 10 or more people and also allowed Houses of Worship to re-open effective May 11, 2020, As a result of this, I have decided to allow the current suspension of Masonic Activities in Alabama to expire on May 15th, 2020.
Effective May 16th, 2020, I am authorizing all Masonic Lodges to resume normal operations if the Worshipful Master decides this is in the best interest of his Brethren.
The current COVID-19 situation is not universal throughout the State and while some counties are experiencing minor effects from the virus, other counties are enduring more significant impacts from it. As such, if a Worshipful Master decides that it is in the best interest of the safety of his lodge membership to take a more conservative approach to re-opening his lodge during the month of May, he will have my full support. Brethren, we are experiencing events that have never happened in this country before and this requires us to respond in the most prudent manner possible to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of all our Masonic Family.
Effective June 1st, 2020, all Masonic Lodges in the State of Alabama will resume normally scheduled meeting times and strictly adhere to the Constitution, Resolutions, and Edicts of the Grand Lodge just as we did prior to the COVID-19 disruption in March 2020.
Brethren, this has been one of the most impactful events in the 200 year history of our Grand Lodge. Never before has the entire Fraternity been shuttered for two months. I want to sincerely Thank each of you for your understanding, patience, support, and encouragement during this unprecedented event in our Nation, our State, and our Brotherhood. But as we return to our respective Lodges and Appendant Bodies, we now have the opportunity to resume our Fraternal duties and responsibilities with a renewed fervor and zeal. Now is the time for us to come together as Brothers and ensure the Masonic Fraternity in Alabama continues to be united and strong. Let us all strive together to make the remainder of 2020 a Great Year in Alabama Masonry. We cannot change what has happened during the past two months, but we can most definitely affect the future in a positive manner by our individual and collective attitudes and actions. May they always be displayed in such a way to bring honor to your Grand Lodge, your subordinate Lodge, and all of the Craft wheresoever dispersed.
I look forward with Great Anticipation to the next opportunity for us to dwell together in unity.
Mike Taylor
Grand Master
Brethren,
I hope you are all doing well during these times. Your Internet Committee has taken this time to focus on some of the many things we have planned for our website. This communication is being made in an attempt to keep everyone updated on some of the items we have being working to make better.
As many of you well know, this website started back in the days when the internet was a safer place, without the effects of modern day malicious entities. Back before spam or malware or ransomware was a concern.
At some point during this site’s lifespan, it was decided to create an online electronic directory for members to be able to provide a point of contact so that others might be able to reach out to them. This gave birth to what became known in Alabama as the “e-M@sons” section of our webpage. This was originally created as a single webpage with the provided (and verified) information being hand coded into a static HTML webpage. As technology advanced and more volunteers came on-board with the Internet Committee, this process became database driven, and eventually became an automated process where brethren could submit their information (or change requests) and the Internet Committee could then review the entries and submit the changes with the click of an approve button. But as time went on, we as a committee began discussing the serious concerns of publicly posting what is now considered Personally Identifiable Information.
With the recent advancements and feature releases that have been provided by the team at GrandView Systems, we now have a seamless way to migrate this entire function cohesively into our “Grand Lodge Database” that is used by our Grand Secretary and our member Secretaries.
The GrandView database now offers the ability for a member of our Grand Jurisdiction to log into GrandView and search for basic member information (Name, Lodge Affiliation, Phone, Email). There is also a feature to allow a Brother to opt-out of allowing anyone from being able to search against his personal information. But as a reminder, this is ONLY available to authorized users in GrandView (i.e. Masons within Alabama and the Office Staff of the Grand Secretary)
Keeping with this same process of removing Personally Identifiable Information where we can, we have updated our Officers Page and our Committees Pages so they no longer list more than a person’s Name and Lodge Affiliation. If we have an email address on file for them, then there is now a link provided that will let you submit a form which in turn emails that intended contact for you. This eliminates us providing a personal email address while still allowing you the ability to reach those important contacts when you might now know the right person or might not have their email address.
Also, over time and based on the requests of the Brethren, we began sending out nightly automate emails to our registered e-M@sons. This feature is now a separately powered process, and there is a form embedded directly beneath our events calendar that allows users to subscribe to our various automated emails. If a user that is already registered for automated emails submits this form, it will tell them the email address is already registered and will send them a direct email with a link to edit their subscription options. However, if a user is already registered, then every automated email they receive includes a link at the bottom that will let them edit their settings.
For iPhone users, we have published a method to allow you to subscribe to a shared calendar. This allows you to select various subscription options (like a Masonic Group, Masonic District, or Appendant Body) and it will add a calendar directly to your device that gets automatically updated with new event data.
We also built a secure online store for our Lodge Secretaries. This is only available to Lodge Secretaries, and it simply provides an electronic means for them to order items for your Lodge. If a Lodge Secretary has any issues with this section, please feel free to contact the Internet Committee directly and we would be MORE than happy to assist you.
When we updated the website to its current platform, we added several Blogs. For example, many of you have seen the various COVID-19 related announcements from our Grand Master Mike Taylor. These are channeled through the Grand Master’s Blog. All our website posts and blog entries are automatically posted to our Grand Lodge Facebook Page and Grand Lodge Twitter Accounts.
We have also been contacted by a Brother who is interested in providing various Masonic related quizzes that will be tailored for our Jurisdiction. We plan to begin working with him soon to test the possibility of adding a section to our website for this purpose.
In closing, I hope this message will assist you with learning about some of the many features our website has for each of you.
Joel Bryant
Chairman/Webmaster
Committee on Internet and Information Systems
Grand Lodge F & A M of Alabama
In conformity with her directive and with the safety and well-being of all of the Brethren in mind, I have decided to… Read more
Brethren, The Grand Secretary has asked that we pass this on. Someone has been emailing certain users posing to be the Grand Master, soliciting donations of gift cards.
This is a phishing attempt and should be treated as you would any other junk mail you might receive.
The particular email in question listed its contact name as Mike Taylor but was actually from “presidensy@zosancon.com”
As with most things in our digital age, please be cautious in opening email form unknown senders or clicking links that might seem suspicious.
For more information or tips on how to stay safe online, view the FBI’s website for best practices:
Brethren,
We are at the half-way point of the state-wide stay-at-home order from Governor Ivey. I sincerely hope each of you remain unaffected by this virus which has drastically changed our daily lives. As we are now in the fifth week of COVID-19, I truly miss attending Lodge and being with my Brothers. Like so many things in life, it is very easy to take the Lodge for granted. I have been attending my lodge each Monday night for thirty years. I have also been visiting many different lodges on other nights and most Saturdays for many years. Now that there are no regularly scheduled lodge meetings during the COVID-19 event, it seems almost surreal. In March, we were attending multiple degrees each week and visiting other Grand Jurisdictions and then suddenly, everything halted. There is definitely a void in my life now. Not just attending the meetings and conferring degrees (which I enjoy very much), but the most important part is spending time with men to whom I have become so very close and truly enjoy their company. Also, the many opportunities we have to sit down together and break the bread of fellowship as we confer, with great proficiency, the Masonic Knife and Fork Degree. I look forward with great anticipation to being able to visit with my Brethren in the near future and renewing our dedication to our Great Fraternity.
I would also encourage each of us to take care of one another during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am sure there are some Brethren among us who may need some relief during this time and we should give as liberally as we can without injury to ourselves. I would like to give a personal example of a Brother taking care of a Brother. Completely separate from the COVID-19 crisis, the severe storms and tornados that hit Alabama on Easter Sunday impacted many of our Brothers and my home in Blount County was in the path of the damage. As many of you know, my Dad and I live next door to each other in beautiful downtown Remlap, Alabama. While our houses did not suffer any damage and all of us were unharmed, we did lose power from Sunday until Tuesday evening. I am working in Montgomery in support of the COVID-19 response and my family as well as my parents remained in Remlap. My wife, Aletha, posted her status on Facebook and completely unsolicited, our Right Worshipful Grand Historian, Brother Steve Rusk, drove from Mount Olive to Remlap and brought a generator to power our freezer to prevent any loss of food. I cannot express how much I appreciate RW Brother Steve doing this for us. However, his unselfish actions are indicative of what so many of you do each day. You Live Masonry. Freemasonry is so many things to so many people, but one of the basic tenets of our Brotherhood is taking care of each other in a time of need. Always remember, as Entered Apprentices, we are taught that the Tenets of our Order are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. Let these Principles be the focus of all our efforts during the remainder of April. I pray you and your family remain safe and healthy until we are able to meet again.
Mike Taylor
Grand Master
