Welcome My Brothers,

My name is R:.W:. Mark A. Hood and I am the Grand Master's Grand Lodge Staff Officer for the Suffolk Masonic District. As such, my responsibility is education for both individual Masons and their Lodges.

My goal is to ensure that Masonic Education thrives here in Suffolk with the assistance of our knowledgeable instructors. I am confident that we will meet this goal with the aid of your District Team and our Masters of Lodges.

Our Craft has grown with the addition of a number of new Masons over the last couple of years. These men joined the Craft for various reasons but a constant is their curiosity about the meanings and history of Freemasonry. The Masonic Education Courses have been developed to address these needs and inform and invigorate Masons both newly raised and long time side-liners.

We will be offering the Road to the East and Masonic Development Courses as we have in the past. For more information, please contact the Master of your Lodge or contact me directly.

Fraternally,

R:.W:. Mark A. Hood
Grand Sword Bearer
Grand Lodge of the
State of New York

MASONRY IS USEFULL TO ALL MEN
Paraphrasing from Bro. Albert Pike's "Morals & Dogma"

Why do Freemasons wear Masonic gloves?
The investiture with the gloves is very closely connected with the investiture with the apron, and the consideration of the symbolism of the one naturally follows the consideration of the symbolism of the other.

The Masonic Hat
Masonic hats worn by the Master of the Lodge signify his authority of his rank and status...the origins of which go back over many centuries.

The Wages of a Master Mason
Fellowcraft and Entered Apprentice wages were less than the Master, but they were kept in "mete and drynk"

A WORKING TOOL FOR MEMBERSHIP RETENTION
I’ve come to the meetings but hardly anyone pays attention to me. I’ve tried to be part of the group, but everyone seems to talk to and sit with their own buddies.

Masonic Words, A to Z
Masonic words in Everyday Language: Like most words in the English language, many of the Masonic words

Masonic retention
It may surprise you to know that Masonic retention was on the mind of Albert Mackey, Freemason Researcher and Historian, when he wrote Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry over 130 years ago.

9 Points of Masonic Protocol & Etiquette
One of the peculiarities of the Masonic Fraternity is that a man attends a Lodge meeting or a Masonic gathering not as a private individual, but as a Master Mason.