2012 Annual Assembly & Feast

Join us this year in Atlanta on Friday, February 17, at the Sheraton Downtown Atlanta. Our meeting precedes the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America annual convention, to be held at the same site, February 19–21, 2012.

Business Meeting, 3 p.m.

See our page about activities for the Business Meeting for agenda details.

Annual Feast, 7 p.m.

Our presenter this year will be W∴Bro∴ Gary Leazer. His paper will address the arguments of a particular type of religious antimasonry:

Surviving the Storm: Freemasonry, the Southern Baptist Convention and the Bible

The first Southern Baptist Convention denominational attack on Freemasonry occurred in 1985 and continued for about a decade. The key to understanding this attack is a certain type of biblical interpretation used by the most fundamentalist of Southern Baptists. Most fundamentalists disagree with the interpretations used to criticize the fraternity. This particular biblical interpretation used biblical statements out of context, put biblical statements together that had no connection and generally twisted the biblical texts to prove their false arguments.

About Gary Leazer

An ordained Baptist minister, Gary Leazer (M.Div. & Ph.D., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) served almost fifteen years on the staff of the Interfaith Witness Department of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Home Mission Board, the last five years as director of the department. He conducted the investigation of Freemasonry for the Southern Baptist Convention in 1992–93. In 1993, he was forced to resign from the Home Mission Board because of his investigation. He is adjunct professor of religious studies at Mercer University and the McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia.

He was raised a Master Mason in Clarkston Lodge № 492 in 1997, and served as Worshipful Master of his lodge in 2003. He served as Worshipful Master of Gwinnett Daylight Lodge № 744 in 2008. He is also a member of Snellville Lodge № 99. He is a 32° kcch life member of the Valley of Augusta and Valley of Atlanta in the Orient of Georgia. He is Grand Prelate for the Grand Commandery of Georgia. He served as Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Georgia in 2005 and is presently First Grand Steward in the progressive line of the Grand Lodge of Georgia. He is editor of the Masonic Messenger, the official periodical of the Grand Lodge of Georgia.

Download a promotional flyer about this event.

Accomodations

Room reservations must be booked separately with the Sheraton Downtown Atlanta, 165 Courtland Street, Atlanta, Georgia. Call them at 404-659-6500.

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