Scottish Rite Master Craftsman Program
The Scottish Rite Master Craftsmen (SRMC) program is an exciting, by-mail correspondence course designed and administered by staff at the House of the Temple in Washington, DC, under the guidance and leadership of the Supreme Council, 33°, of the A&A Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, USA. It is intended to serve you in your search for Further Light, remembering always your sworn duty (27th degree, Knight of the Sun), that "Masonic labor is to learn and teach others."
The Davenport Valley has established a Study Group which meets weekly to assist members in completing these courses. A group setting is far and away the best way to learn and experience all that these programs have to offer. This is simply because Freemasonry is not a solitary pursuit, but rather a social experience—we gather in Lodges together for a reason! In fact, social engagement while finding further light in Masonry can be (and often is) more rewarding than simply answering some questions about a reading assignment. This is because you are learning not only about yourself through the ritual and its symbolism, but about others and their unique relationship to the deep philosophies and mysteries that are contained in the material, too. Please contact the Valley Secretary for more information or to join our next class.
- Program I:The Symbolic Lodge will familiarize students with aspects of the development of Blue Lodge Masonry and explore some of its developing symbolism. This will reveal that the "High Degrees" began to develop soon after formation of the Premier Grand Lodge (1717). Albert Pike's book, Esoterika: The Symbolism of the Blue Degrees of Freemasonry, along with Arturo de Hoyos's Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor & Guide (3d ed.) will be used to demonstrate a rational and philosophical interpretation for much of what is found in Craft Masonry.
- Program II:Scottish Rite History & Ritual consists of six lessons, utilizing the Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor & Guide by Arturo De Hoyos, 33°, Grand Cross, and A Bridge to Light (4th ed.) by Rex Hutchens, 33°, Grand Cross, as its textbooks. Each section is comprised of an "open book" test of about 20 questions and a short essay question. The objective of the course is to familiarize the student both with the history of the Scottish Rite and with a basic knowledge of the form and philosophy of the Rite as demonstrated in the degrees. At the end of this course, the student shoud have achieved four purposes:
- Gained a deeper and more thorough understanding of the Scottish Rite, its history and teachings
- Reviewed the form, symbols, and meaning of each degree and how degrees relate to one another in the emergent Masonic story