Welcome to Northern Star Lodge
Stated Meetings are on the 1st Fridays of the month at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, located at 500 South Harwood St. Dallas, TX 75201
NOTE: There will be no stated meeting in December of 2011.
Posted by the Lodge Secretary | Date More, Events
Northern Star Lodge No. 377, A.F. & A.M. is pleased to launch this website, which it is hoped may serve both as a tool for keeping its membership informed of the programs and activities of the Lodge, and a means by which those with an interest in Freemasonry may find useful, and accurate, information.
Our goal is two-fold: to share the Nature, Principles and Purposes of Freemasonry, and to provide a brief glimpse into the history of our Lodge, the Grand Lodge of Texas, and Freemasonry in general. We hope you find this web site both enjoyable and informative.
We gratefully acknowledge the many sources of information from which this website has been constructed – various Masonic Grand Lodges and their constituent Lodge websites, as well as Masonic leaders, past and present. We always attempt to properly credit the authors whenever possible. At times we have edited some of the material to more accurately reflect the nature and purposes of Northern Star Lodge No. 377, and the Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F.& A.M.
What is Freemasonry?
The word “Freemasonry” means different things to different people. This is true for the person who is not a Mason, as well as for Masons themselves. It has been written that Freemasonry is honesty in business; fairness in work; courtesy in society; compassion for the sick and unfortunate; forgiveness for the penitent; love for our fellowman and reverence for GOD.
Freemasonry came to America about the third decade of the Eighteenth Century when Lodges were established in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia. American Freemasons can take pride in the part which the members of this Fraternity played in the history of our country.
Many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Masons and the same statement is true of those who signed the Constitution of the United States. Famous men such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, the Marquis de Lafayette, James Monroe and many others whose names awaken memories of the founding of our country. Since our country's beginning thirteen of its President's have been Masons.
Masons have also won laurels in other fields of endeavor, and we find them prominent in government, in science, in sports, in entertainment, and finally in man's newest field, that of space exploration, with John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, Virgil Grissom and the second man to set foot on the moon -- "Buzz" Aldrin, all bound by the mystic tie of Freemasonry.
Freemasonry Is A Fraternity
Freemasonry is the oldest, and by far, the largest fraternal order in the world. Its Lodges stretch around the globe and, like the British Empire, it might well be said that the sun never sets upon the Masonic Lodge. Fraternity means an association of brothers, and that is exactly what Freemasonry is -- a society of friends and brothers. It is not a benefit society in the sense that one becomes a member because of the insurance benefits which he may receive or which may inure to his family at his death. It is not an institution founded to collect and disburse charity, or founded on the giving of alms.
It is not a secret society, in that its Temples are openly marked, and almost everyone in the community knows where they are located. The Grand Lodge publishes a list of the members of every Lodge in Texas. Many of the Lodges have individual bulletins which carry the names of the officers and also of members. Thus it is, in the strictest sense of the word, a society with secrets; and these limited to its vows and obligations, its modes of recognition, such as pass-words and handshakes, and certain parts of its ritual.
Is Freemasonry a Religion?
It is religious in character, but it is not a religion. It is founded upon the basic principle of the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God, and everyone who comes into its Lodges must express a belief in God. No one is asked to express a particular belief about God, for this is the privilege of each individual and is not infringed by our Fraternity.
No one is excluded because of his membership in a particular church. There are, however, a few denominations which do not allow their members to become Masons. In some instances there is a mistaken impression that Freemasonry refuses admission to those who are members of certain denominations. This is inaccurate - it is the church, rather than Freemasonry, that denies them membership.
Masonic Philosophy & Teachings
"Because of the fact that when GOD breathed into man's nostrils the Breath of Life, he became a "living soul" as well as a living body, and that the Biblical emphasis is upon the "living soul" which is to be the dwelling place for the Almighty, the account of the building of King Solomon's Temple, which was also to be GOD's dwelling place, has been taken by Masonry as a fitting symbol of the spiritual temple man is to erect in his own soul.
For this reason, in our modern Masonic Ritual, frequent mention is made of certain events which are said to have happened at the building of King Solomon's Temple... There has always been in man's mind a connection between material and spiritual building.... It is this symbolic relationship which Freemasonry emphasizes in its mysteries and it is this emphasis which distinguishes it from other societies which teach good morals, the Fatherhood of GOD and the Brotherhood of Man... This fact must be borne in mind if we would understand Masonic symbolism.
When the Great Light of Masonry speaks of Man as having been made in the image of GOD it does not refer to his material body, but to the spiritual nature of his soul."
~ Charles C. Hunt, Masonic Symbolism, 1928