Brotherhood,service, and thelight of Prince Hall.
For more than a hundred and thirty years, Central Lodge No. 10 has gathered Brothers on Bessie Street in the service of our neighbors, our families, and the cause of upright men.
A Prince Hall Lodge on Bessie Street.
Central Lodge No. 10 was chartered in 1893 under the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Michigan, Free & Accepted Masons. For more than a hundred and thirty years, our Brothers have labored in Kalamazoo in the same cause our forefathers took up when the Craft was first brought to this country by Brother Prince Hall — the making of good men better and the lifting of our community.
We gather on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month at our Lodge home at 415 Bessie Street. Between our stated meetings, the work continues in the neighborhood: food distributions, scholarships for graduating seniors, mentorship of young men, and quiet attention to elders who have given so much to this community.
“The Masonic fraternity was attractive to free Black men such as Prince Hall because Freemasonry was founded upon ideals of liberty, equality, and peace.”
From the history of the Craft
Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.
Brotherly Love
We regard the whole human species as one family; the high and low, the rich and poor, created by one Almighty Being and sent into the world for the aid, support, and protection of each other.
Relief
To relieve the distressed is a duty incumbent on all men, particularly Masons, who are linked together by an indissoluble chain of sincere affection.
Truth
Truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue. To be good men and true is the first lesson taught in Masonry.
Labor in the quarries of our neighborhood.
The work of a Mason does not end when the Lodge closes. Each month, Central No. 10 gathers to feed the hungry, mentor young people, and support elders in our neighborhood. Our labors are quiet and steady — the weight of small faithful acts, sustained across a century and a third.
- Monthly food distribution on Bessie Street
- Scholarship program for Kalamazoo high-school seniors
- After-school mentorship with local schools
- Elder-care visits and holiday baskets
2B1ASK1 — To Be One, Ask One.
Masonry does not recruit. A man must come of his own free will and accord, and ask.
For three centuries the Craft has preserved a simple truth: the worthy work of the Lodge begins only when a man, moved by his own conscience, approaches a Brother and asks to be one. If you are a man of good character seeking the Light, we invite you to begin that conversation with us.
- A man of at least twenty-one years of age
- Of good moral character and sound reputation
- Belief in a Supreme Being
- Coming of your own free will and accord
A formal petition process will be available here in a future update.
415 Bessie Street, Kalamazoo.
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007
7:30 p.m.
Open events are welcome to visitors and the community. Tiled meetings are reserved for Brothers of the Craft.
Get directionsWrite to the Lodge.
Inquiries from neighbors, community partners, members of the press, and men interested in the Craft are all welcome here. A Brother will respond as soon as he is able.