Nebraska's Return to Proficiency

There has been so much interest in the April issue of the Short Talk Bulletin, MSA wants to make it available for everyone, not just lodges and Grand Lodge officers. The pdf is available by clicking here.

Subscribe to the Short Talk Bulletin

An Annual Subscription to the monthly Short Talk Bulletin is only $12 for a year's worth of Masonic knowledge and education.

The Final Volume is Finally Here!

Volume VI of the Bound Edition of the Short Talk Bulletins has arrived in our Burtonsville, Maryland headquarters. They are available for immediate shipment. If you haven’t ordered yours yet, you should do so now.

Volumes II through VI are available in Master Mason or Grand Master format. Volume I had been sold-out but was reprinted in the Spring of 2018. It is only available in the Master Mason format.

Volume VI is the last volume of the series which covers 1923 – 2017. As he has done for the previous five volumes, renowned Masonic Scholar Brother S. Brent Morris has updated, corrected, and otherwise improved the bulletins. Volume VI also has an index covering all the volumes. This will be an indispensable addition for any researcher.

One Hundred and One Questions About Freemasonry

Patriot Pack Now Available

The “Patriot Pack,” an assemblage of well researched Masonic papers about the Founding Fathers of the United States and Freemasonry’s impact on the organization and principals on which the country was based is now available at our online store . These booklets are an important inspection of that premise.

These digests are a must read for any student of American history. Brothers Ronald E. Heaton, William Mosely Brown, and W. Eugene Rice have referenced original lodge records and research by noted Masonic historians including James Royal Case, Past Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of Connecticut.

The booklets "Masonic Membership of the General Officers of the Continental Army," Masonic Membership of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence," Masonic Membership of the Signers of the Constitution," and "Membership of the Founding Fathers" includes those who were Masons, those suspected to be Masons, and even those for whom there has been no record of ever having been a Mason.

"We The People… The Constitution and Freemasonry" suggests that the spirit of Freemasonry had much to do with this treasured document. A comparison of the principals found in the Constitution is discussed.

"Freemasonry and Democracy: Its Evolution in North America" explores the role that Freemasonry played in the development of democracy in the United States and Canada. The Forward, written by Richard E. Fletcher, Past Grand Master of Vermont and past Executive Secretary of MSA, says, “Allen E. Roberts and Wallace McLeod, two of Freemasonry’s most prolific and outstanding writers, have contributed their talents to tell this story.”

These six booklets are available for a limited time, and the time to get them is now. "Masonic Membership of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence" is out of print but has been restored from our archives. These booklets can create an interesting lodge discussion or be the basis for further research about Freemasonry’s influence on the beginnings of the United States of America.

Orders for the Reprint of Volume I of the Bound Edition of Short Talk Bulletins are Available Now!

A limited reprinting of Volume I of the Short Talk Bulletins Bound Edition, 1923-1937 can be ordered here . The reprinting is available in only the Master Mason edition.

This reprinting of Volume I has been re-edited by esteemed Masonic Scholar, Brother S. Brent Morris. and includes newly discovered information about the Masonic authors of the first decade of Short Talk Bulletins. The new reprinting also matches the same distinctive blue cover found on previous volumes.

The Short Talk Bulletin has been described as the “Widest Distributed Masonic Publication in the World.” The monthly Bulletin is mailed to every Masonic lodge and Grand Lodge officer in the United States and Canada whose Grand Lodge is a member of the Masonic Service Association of North America. MSA also mails the Bulletin to lodges of the United Grand Lodge of Germany and the York Grand Lodge of Mexico.

Each year since 2013, MSA has published a new volume, usually spanning fifteen years beginning with the initial Volume I. Volume V, released in 2017, covered 1983-2002. Sales of the republication of Volume I will be limited to those who have already ordered at least two prior volumes, or who place orders for two volumes or more in addition to Volume I. Pricing for Volume I is $75 plus $8 shipping and handling. The other volumes have been reduced to this price for a limited time.

Click here for the form. 

For those who don't want to order the Volume I Reprint of the Short Talk Bulletins online, an order form can be downloaded and printed out.

Masonic Service Association Partners with Amity

For many Masons, finding a lodge in another jurisdiction, either state, province, or country, has been a struggle. The Amity mobile app, by Copiri (amity.copiri.com), was created so any sojourning brother can register and find lodges throughout the world. While still in its infancy, the Amity mobile app is being recognized as a welcome companion to the “List of Lodges - Masonic” published by Pantograph Printing and Stationary Company of Bloomington, Illinois. The “List of Lodges - Masonic” is usually kept at every lodge secretary’s desk for use to validate the recognition dilema faced when a brother who cannot be vouched for attempts to visit a Masonic lodge.

The Amity mobile app is free to install from either the Apple Store for iPhone, or Google Play Store for the Android platform. It allows a search for lodges by city in nearly every country. Once the lodge is found, the user can check if the lodge has been registered with Amity, or the Master or secretary, and if notes have been entered about the lodge. As the developers say, their purpose is to help brothers connect with each other.

The hope is that brothers who want to travel and find lodges outside of their usual borders will download the mobile app. They would then be able to find a lodge, and be able to show their Grand Lodge is recognized by the Grand Lodge they visit. A guest would even be able to “sign in” to the secretary, much as they would with a guest book.

Over 33,000 Masonic lodges and over 250 Grand Lodges around the world are listed. Registered users are spread across 47 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and in 27 countries.

The Masonic Service Association’s Short Talk Bulletin will also have a presence on Amity’s mobile app. The MSA logo will lead to a location where a Short Talk Bulletin is displayed. A past Short Talk Bulletin will be available on every registered user’s phone to read, and the issue will rotate monthly, free of charge. A year’s subscription to the Short Talk Bulletin will be available for the mobile app. The subscription will also show the past twelve Short Talk Bulletins, again, rotating through the year.

MSA’s Short Talk Bulletin is recognized as the widest distributed Masonic publication in the world. It is printed and sent to member Grand Lodges and their lodges, as well as every Grand Lodge officer and Past Grand Master. The wide ranging topics are meant to be read at a lodge meeting for just a few minutes, thus, the “Short Talk.” Now, with the Amity mobile app, a Bulletin will be available at every meeting.

The goal of this partnership is to expand the reach of each organization through the use of the other’s existing processes. By implementing such a partnership carefully, both the MSA and Amity can impact global Freemasonry in a positive way.

Your Grand Lodge is always the final authority on questions of inter-jurisdictional recognition. When in doubt, consult your Grand Secretary for a final opinion.

And, as our friends at Amity say, "travel... safely."

MSA Publications Now at the Online Store

The contents of the MSA Publications Catalog are now online and ordering takes only a couple of steps. There is a minimum online order of $12, not including shipping.

MSA's Online Store may be used for ordering these items using a credit card.