Brotherhood With Alms Bashed By Brothers With Psalms

Bedfordshire Freemason's publicly embarrassed by Exodus and the bible

7th March 2000

It is difficult to believe the Freemasons of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire would have the audacity to try and place their logo on land leased to the Exodus Collective of Luton.

After all there has been long and eventful history of animosity between Exodus and local Masons, amply recorded in the pages of SQUALL. But in late November Bedfordshire Freemasons attempted to erect a sign on land leased by Exodus, boasting of donations they'd given to a local children's hospice situated next door to Exodus's housing project, HAZ Manor.

Exodus have always maintained a good neighbourly relationship with the Pasque Children's Hospice in Streatley on the outskirts of Luton. The large Pasque Hospice sign on the A6 is constructed on land leased to the Collective.

However, Exodus have never made any secret of the fact that they consider Freemasons to be a clandestine and malevolent force in local politics. Luton Borough Council's Labour leader, Roy Davis was forced out of office after Exodus publicly exposed his continuing membership of a masonic lodge despite previous denials. Members of the Collective appeared at a full council meeting in 1998 with their trouser legs rolled up in mockery at masonic initiation ceremonies and dropped leaflets from the gallery providing evidence of Davis' masonic membership.

Also in 1998, Lord Justice Maurice Drake became the first High Court judge in British legal history to stand down over potential conflicts of interest concerned with his masonic membership. The court case involved an Exodus member, and the Collective successfully argued that Drake's membership of the elite Royal Arch masonic lodge was liable to prejudice him in the case. Another judge was appointed instead.

However, despite this history, the Freemasons of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire insisted their logo should be put on the Pasque Hospice sign in return for a donation, and so they duly turned up one cold night dressed in their regalia to inaugurate the newly logoed sign.

Added in big writing below the Pasque Hospice lettering were the words "supported by the Freemasons of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire" alongside a prominently placed Mason's logo depicting a large set square and dividers. However the plots and plans of Beds hapless Freemasons went awry once again when, from out of the bushes, several Exodus Collective members emerged just as the local paper was taking photographs.

Below the new sign with the Mason's logo on it, Collective members hung a large notice containing a quote from the Sermon on the Mount in St Matthew's Gospel. It said "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them. Otherwise ye have no reward of your father which is in heaven."

Spokesperson for the Collective, Glenn Jenkins, told SQUALL: "I've never seen anything like it. They took one look at the quote, packed up and scuttled off rapid."

For more information on the history of the Exodus Collective and local Freemasons check out Lodging Complaints on the SQUALL features page.