Halcyon's boxing ring site of 2008 Cleveland Golden Glove preliminary rounds

Our brothers at Halcyon Lodge in Cleveland, Ohio have done a great job restoring the Halcyon Masonic Temple. Included in their remodeling is a center devoted to the sport of boxing.

Through Halcyon Charities the boxing gym is used by neighborhood kids as well as Golden Glove contenders. The facility is state of the art.

In association with Cleveland Amateur Golden Gloves, Inc., the West Side Temple at 2831 Franklin Blvd. in Ohio City will become the new host of the preliminary rounds of the Golden Gloves Amateur Tournament, with the first three rounds being held there April 5, 12, and 19 at 6 p.m.

Cleveland has in recent years become known as where Olympic-worthy young boxers get their start. In 2007 three Cleveland-area Golden Gloves Champions went on to qualify for the Olympic Trials. Two became Olympic alternates and one, Raynell Williams, is now the U.S.A. 125-lb. representative for the 2008 Olympics in China.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 3, 2008:

The finals, which drew a turn-away crowd of nearly 1,300 last year, will again be in the North Hall at Cleveland Browns Stadium on April 26, also at 6 p.m.

All first-time boxers, up to age 34, will compete in the sub-novice division. Before that rule was implemented a year ago, many first-timers were forced to box in the open division for experienced fighters.

The tournament also is restricting entries for those with experience in Tough Man and mixed martial arts competition. Depending on MMA experience, competitors will have to enter either the novice or open divisions.

Tickets will cost $15 and $25 for adults, with 12-and-under tickets at $8 and $13. Table seating and sponsorships are available. For entry and ticket information, contact the GG office at 216-662-7445.

Halcyon Charities is an Ohio non-profit corporation and 501(c)(3) public charity started in December 2006. Run entirely by volunteers, its goal is to make the Halcyon Masonic Temple facility the cornerstone of a multi-faceted charitable enterprise focused on youth development. They are dedicated to making Ohio City a better and more vibrant place.

The site currently houses youth athletic programs. Future plans include initiating other youth-oriented cultural programs, including theater, art, and music education.

From the Halycon Charities website:

We have come a long way towards returning the magnificent Halcyon Masonic Temple to productive use, but we still have along way to go. As we continue renovating and remodeling the building for the 21st century we need the help of everyone interested in the future of Ohio City and its historic neighborhoods. Please consider helping with a tax deductible donation to Halcyon Charities.

Halcyon Charities' address is on their website, as is a PayPal donation button.

Image: Inside Halcyon's boxing gym

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Halcyon Lodge as a model for the future

Halcyon Lodge as a Model for the Future by Bro. Jeff Peace

Back in 1999 I was dreaming about what the lodge of the future looked like. After seven years of listening to the younger brothers desires I had a pretty good idea of what was needed and as a member of the Scottish Rite membership committee presented my ideas in writing. Needless to say I was laughed out of the room.

“Who cares about education?”

“We’re not concerned with quality; we need quantity.”

“Why would young men want a gym?”

“The lodge as a social center? Are you nuts?”

The brothers at Halcyon Lodge 498 in Cleveland, Ohio didn’t laugh or call me crazy. They actually implemented those “crazy” ideas, and today they have the model of what I honestly believe the future of Freemasonry will look like.

They have a “traditional observance” lodge (although not affiliated with the Masonic Restoration Foundation) complete with a Chamber of Reflection. A billiards room decorated in the Victorian period to reflect the age of their lodge and building. A club house room with a big screen TV, satellite dish and wireless Internet for the brothers to meet after work and relax, and for Super Bowl parties and other fraternal activities. They are installing a modern theater sound system in their lodge room to aid in making the rituals more powerful. They have digital projectors and laptops for the third section lectures in the degrees as well as educational presentations.

Presently, they are installing a gym and work-out room which will also support their charity, an inner city boxing league for underprivileged kids. Most importantly, they had the commitment and spirit of brotherhood to accomplish all of this on their own.

In a word — Amazing!

Masonic education and personal enlightenment through the teachings of Freemasonry is high on their agenda. My talk in April was just the beginning of a series of talks on Freemasonry that will be taking place over the next two years by my self and other Masonic speakers.

These brothers started with a beautiful but deteriorating old lodge building in desperate need of renovations and repair. Working together they repaired the walls, electrical and plumbing systems. The floors are being re-carpeted and tiled and the antique furniture repaired and restored. In the end they will have the lodge that so many young Masons have dreamed about for so many years.

This should stand as an example of what is possible when Freemasonry works like it was intended and brotherly love prevails. As one great brotherhood Freemasons can accomplish anything they set their sights on.

Good work, Halcyon 498 brothers!

— Bro. Jeff Peace

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Bro. Jeff Peace's Masonic talk in Cleveland a success

I'm hearing that great things happened over the weekend in Cleveland, Ohio.

Bro. Jeff Peace spoke to an enthusiastic crowd at West Side Masonic Temple on the history of speculative Freemasonry.

Tubalcain420 has written about it on his blog in an article called "A Great Masonic Weekend." In part, he writes:

The fellowship and brotherhood that was exemplified this weekend will have an eternal impact on many lives. The masonry/brotherhood we all experienced cannot be regulated; it cannot be chartered; it cannot be dispensated; And it cannot be forced. The love and tolerance that was exchanged between brothers (whether recognized or not), unconditionally is what masonry is supposed to be about. Men meeting on the level. There were no aprons brought out to potentially show some inequality in rank, there were no appendent bodies trying to get recognition. It was men only interested in the world of Blue Lodge Masonry. Where ALL men meet on the level.

The knowledge that Brother Peace has on Masonry, the zeal and passion for the fraternity is second to none. I am quite content in the side of the story I have on Brother Jeff Peace being expunged from the records of the GL of Ga without a Masonic trial (which I thought we were all afforded?). Once a Mason always a Mason. All I know is that any group of Masons would benefit from having Brother Peace around, teaching and enlightening the members. Whoever Brother Peace meets with at the present time must be blessed men to be privileged to be exposed to a man with this knowledge and love of the craft. Another humble servant of the craft. Brother Jeff Peace is a Mason through and through and no man has the authority to say otherwise.

— Tubalcain420

Bro. Jeff writes of his experience in Ohio:

On Saturday, April 21st, 2007, after 20 years of being a Freemason I discovered the secret treasure that every true Freemason seeks: a real Masonic lodge. Like many others after so many years of searching and hoping I had all but given up any hope of ever meeting on the Level with true brother Freemasons in a Masonic lodge dedicated to the very spirit of Freemasonry. I had become so accustomed to the long boring meetings of doing nothing more than meeting, eating and paying the bills that each visit to a Masonic lodge to give a lecture on history or symbolism represented something I dreaded, but felt obliged to do. Within minutes of meeting the brothers at Halcyon Lodge, No. 498, in Cleveland, Ohio, I knew that something was very different here. This was a thriving lodge of young Freemasons whose interests were wide and varied. There was total equality among them and nasty Masonic politics was nowhere to be seen — all met upon the same Level. As a brother who has been erased by the Grand Lodge of Georgia I had expected a rather cold reception, but instead discovered the warmth of friendship and brotherly love with each new face I came across. One brother came up and said, "Brother Peace, no Grand Lodge has the power or the authority to sever the mystic tie that binds us together as brothers. Once a Freemason — always a Freemason. Forget your past and live in the radiant Light of the present." It was at once humbling and wonderfully refreshing to be among this most excellent group of men, who were not only Freemasons, but true brothers.

The lodge building where Halcyon meets resembles the Greek Parthenon and is a magical edifice where the ghosts of brothers past freely roam the halls speaking out from their graves in testament to the brotherhood that still exists within the walls of this temple. For it is indeed a "temple" and not just a "lodge" — it is a Temple erected to the spirit of Freemasonry and the brotherhood of man. I couldn’t help but feel that some sacred force lived within the walls — ever watching over the brotherhood.

While I am not a member of Halcyon 498 I shall always know it to be my mother lodge because it was there that I first discovered Freemasonry.

— Bro. Jeff Peace

Image: Brothers from Georgia with Ohio brothers before Bro. Peace's lecture April 21, 2007. L-R back row: W. Bro. Chris Snow, Bro. Eric Chipps, Worshipful Master Mike Howard. L-R front row: Bro. Brian Roper (Ga.), Bro. Jeff Peace (Ga.), and Bro. Andrew Kavanaugh.

Masons | Masonic Education | Jeff Peace | Freemasonry | West Side Masonic Lodge | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

More on Bro. Jeff Peace's upcoming Masonic lecture in Cleveland, Ohio

I received this notice from Bro. Jeff Peace today, who asked that I post it on Burning Taper.

I’m really quite surprised by the number of emails I’ve received about my upcoming talk at Halcyon Lodge in Cleveland, Ohio. Some are curious about the subject matter of the talk while others are outright concerned. After reading through some of things being spread around the Internet regarding my talk, I thought a little clarification might be in order.

The talk is entitled “The Brotherhood of Man” and looks at the early development of speculative Freemasonry and how that the rediscovery of the basic principles of the Craft are its future. It is not a message of condemnation of the present ‘Antient’ state Grand Lodges, as many have speculated. These institutions of corporate Freemasonry became irrelevant to modern American society back in the 1960’s, and have no place in the future. The future of speculative Freemasonry lies in bringing all people together upon the same Level. Men and women do not join with us for initiation into a mere social club, but because they want to be a part of something greater than any individual, that points the way to a brighter future for us all.

Through this talk I hope to allow everyone a glimpse into the workings of the early lodges in hopes that they can begin to emulate their character and sense of brotherhood. I think we, as a fraternity, have lost sight of these fundamentals and replaced them with politics and justice. This is our greatest failure. Neither politics nor justice can replace the primordial nature of all human beings to long for the warmth and security of being associated with others. We are a social species that has always formed tribes, cities and states. For Freemasonry to be of value it must once again be able to forge the bonds of friendship between people who would otherwise have forever remained at a distance.

I believe this is possible, but only if we are willing to look within ourselves and our fraternity and make the changes that are necessary for brotherhood to prevail. These changes must start with us, if we and Freemasonry are to prevail.

— Jeff Peace

Note from Widow's Son: Some recent emails I have received indicate that some readers think I am Jeff Peace. I am not, nor am I a "mouthpiece" for him or for anyone or any group. If you have Masonic news or comments of interest you would like to see published here,
send it in.

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