Since 2001, the Masonic Restoration Foundation (MRF) has been examining the issues facing North American Freemasonry, identifying successful both current and historical practices, and offering realistic solutions aimed at improving the experience of Masonic labor. The annual MRF Symposium is a meeting place for Masons who are seeking the highest form of Masonic experience they can attain within their lodges, while strictly conforming to the laws, resolutions, and edicts of their respective grand lodges. It is a gathering for those who pursue quality in the Craft to share ideas and discuss their work.
This year's Symposium will kick off with a Festive Board in the Temple Dining Hall on Friday night, conducted by Sophia Lodge No. 767, North Carolina's first observant lodge, located in Salisbury, NC. The evening will feature Keynote Speaker, Robert L. D. Cooper, Curator of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Robert is a Past Master of Lodge Edinburgh Castle No. 1764, and a Past Master of England's Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076. He is a renowned Masonic historian, and author of Cracking the Freemason's Code and The Rosslyn Hoax. He is a principal organizer of the International Conference on the History of Freemasonry [ICHF], and he has written a number of articles on how Freemasonry is practiced in Scotland. Dress code for the evening will be tuxedo (preferred), or dark suit.
Speakers presenting on Saturday will include: Don Barrier, John Bizzack, John Burchfield, Douglas Caudle, Robert L.D. Cooper, Patrick Craddock, Shawn Eyer, Milton B. Fitch , Andrew Hammer, Joseph Kindoll, Christopher Murphy, Chad Simpson, Ben Wallace, and MW Bryant Webster, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to see a Master Mason degree conferred by the two N.C. observant lodges, Veritas Lodge No. 769 (from Asheville), and Sophia Lodge No. 767.
Registration for the complete Symposium is $125.00, and $75.00 for Saturday's session only.
For a complete program of this event, presenter bios, registration info, and lodging suggestions, visit the Symposium website HERE.
