2025 College of Freemasonry
Sponsored by: Scottish Rite Valley of Rochester
Featured Topic: Freemasonry, What’s the Beef?
WHERE: Damascus Shrine Center
979 Bay Road Webster NY 14580
DRESS: Business Casual
WHO: This event is open to those interested in learning more about Freemasonry non-Masons must be accompanied by a Mason
Join us on March 22, 2025, for a special event examining the history of anti-Masonry and the reasons behind the controversies surrounding our fraternity, as we mark the 200th anniversary of the William Morgan Affair. The abduction of William Morgan occurred in 1826 in Western, NY and led to the anti-Masonic movement. We are planning special presentations around the Morgan Affair including a rarely seen video. The Thomas W. Jackson Award Excellence in Masonic Education Award will also be presented at the College of Freemasonry this year.
This year’s speakers include:
Christopher Hodapp, author of various Masonic books including Freemasons for Dummies. Ill. Brother Hodapp 33°, is a member of the Valley of Indianapolis and has published several additional publications including Solomon’s Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C. and Deciphering The Lost Symbol: Freemasons, Myths and the Mysteries of Washington, D.C. Christopher and his wife Alice Von Kannon co-published several additional books including The Templar Code For Dummies, a guide to the medieval Knights Templar, and Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies For Dummies. Hodapp and his wife have developed episodes for the History Channel and have contributed to many Masonic focused periodicals.
Shawn Eyer, author, editor of the Philalethes Magazine, and Managing Director of Communications and Education at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. The Philalethes Society produces this scholarly, independent journal of Masonic studies devoted to exploring the history, ritual, art, symbolism, and enduring practice and application of Freemasonry. Publications include topics such as Numberless Worlds, Infinite Beings which explore the “numberless worlds” around us. But few realize that, for a brief period, a few Masonic lectures claimed that life existed on these scattered worlds, all to the glory of the Great Architect of the Universe—a surprisingly common scientific belief of the eighteenth century.
John Bizzack, author of various Masonic books including The Age of Unreason: Dissecting the Infamy of the Morgan Affair and Its Aftermath. The book reappraises the hasty actions, injudicious reactions, politics, deceit, incautious behavior, loss of trust and reputation, and the lasting effects of the Morgan Affair on American Freemasonry. In Batavia, New York, the few people who knew for sure where William Morgan was on the morning of September 12, 1826 were all Freemasons. Come and hear this fresh perspective on the event that put Masonry in a new light.
REGISTRATION: $10 Per Person – Includes Light breakfast and lunch
Please return the registration information below and check made out to the Valley of Rochester.
*** Paid Registrations are due by Friday, March 14th, 2025***
Name: _____________________________________ Phone: ___________________________
Email: _____________________________________ City: ___________________________
Name: _____________________________________ Phone: ____________________________
Email: _____________________________________ City: ___________________________
Mail to: Valley of Rochester, 811 Ayrault Road, Suite 3, Fairport, NY 14450.
Contact the Valley Office with any questions: (585) 425-0033.