Masonry and the Pursuit of Happiness

One of my favorite sayings is "The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."

I feel that much the same thing can be said for Masonry - once a candidate is raised to the sublime degree if they make an effort to get involved with their lodge, if they make time to attend meetings and special events, if they make it their business to learn the ritual - they will be rewarded for their efforts.

Will the reward be financial...no it will not. Will the reward be public recognition...probably not. So what am I referring to when I say that you will be rewarded?

You will be rewarded through the personal satisfaction of becoming an integral part of something much bigger than yourself, our lodge or possibly even your Grand Lodge.

You will truly become an member of The Craft when the benefit of the fraternity is of higher importance than that of measuring one's own accomplishments.

I neglected to mention to whom this saying can be attributed - none other than Benjamin Franklin, Past Grand Master of Pennsylvania and a Master Mason of much distinction that contributed much to The Craft as an anonymous contributor to many Masonic writings of the 1700's.

Do we need to change our ways ?

Masonry lost much of Generation X due to the strong belief that new members could not be invited to join the fraternity and that everything that happened in lodge was secret. Fathers would not talk with sons, and sons would have no reason to ask to join the fraternity since they knew little or nothing of the fraternity that their fathers belonged.

Yes our fraternity has secrets that should only be known to members, however we need to acknowledge that most of our "secrets" are now available on the internet and/or shown on the History Channel.

To keep up with the times and hopefuly attract Generation Y we need to change our ways of attracting new members. We need to ask ourselves how can we get the public into the lodge?

Hold frequent public events like Open Houses - if your Grand Lodge does not coordinate a statewide open house recommend that they consider starting a statewide program.

Blood Drives are great ways to involve the public and to help the community all at the same time.

Many Grand Lodges sponsor "Chips" or child ID programs this can be another great way to support the community and get the public to visit the lodge. I personally recommend combining that with a local law enforcement authorities many of whom have officers trained to inspect child safety seats to assure they are properly installed in a vehicle.

If your building is located on a main street consider investing is a Message Board Sign, these can be used to promote one of the programs above or to deliver a message to the community - possibly just to say "God Bless our Military" on Vetrans Day. In the absence of a sign, never be afraid to send a press release to your local paper about upcoming lodge events.

Everybody loves a good Charity Fund Raiser - the pancake breakfasts and spaghetti dinners can bring in funds as well as bring the community in to see the lodge.

Whenever the public is present in the building always make sure to make promotional materials available about your lodge as well as the fraternity.

If your lodge doesn't have a Web Site you should think of starting one, but it needs to be maintained and kept current.

We pride ourselves on our charitable pursuits, and for good reason, but to enhance membership a better tact may be to allow people to see the good we do and make them want to get involved with and become part of our various Masonic charities.

No Dumb Questions ??

As we work together to help each other to create their own perfect ashlars of Masonic knowledge I always stress to new brothers that there are no dumb questions, and the more I study to learn the degrees, as I proceed to the East, the more this is re-enforced.

If you have read the book "The Last Lecture" by Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch he refers to the "head fake".  What this means is that while something may appear to mean one thing it can actually have two or more different meanings as well.

I propose that much of what Masonry puts forth can be considered a "head fake" - such as the point within a circle, while there is one popular meaning for this symbol within our ritual I have heard of two or three other meanings for this popular ancient symbol.

So my "head fake" in this message is that even though you know something to be a certain way within your lodge don't close your mind that it can not have a different meaning to another brother.  If a new brother asks for the meaning of something there is nothing wrong with giving the traditional answer but always encourage a brother to seek further masonic knowledge and leave room for multiple meanings for many of the symbols within our lodges.

Author's Note: I encourage anyone who has not read the book "Last Lecture" or seen the YouTube video of Dr Randy Pauch (click here) to do so.

Move Over and Make Room

It becomes the duty of every new Mason to find their place within the lodge.  If a new member likes to cook they can offer to help the kitchen crew, if they like to work with their hands they can help with maintaining the building or if they like to plan events they can help with Blood Drive or Child ID programs.

It also becomes the duty of every lodge officer, past master and member to help every new Mason find their place within the lodge.  Invite the new brother to help with the upkeep of the building, or to help plan the next lodge event - give him an oppoprtunity to learn what activities within the lodge he enjoys the most.

Why is this so important ?  If the past teaches us anything about our future, a newly made Mason who does not find his place within the lodge will be lost - they may come to an occasional meeting and they may remain on the lodge rolls as a member or they may join another local lodge that does make they feel welcome.  

There has been too many members lost to demit and nonpayment of dues because they never found their place within the lodge.  Lodge's today need to actively reach out and embrace new members - that will help us to grow and become a stronger part of our respective communities.

N.J. Grand Lodge 2009

As a voting member of my lodge, this week I attended the 222nd annual communication of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey.

There was an awful lot going on in the short two days we were there - first the fellowship shared with friends and Masons from around the jurisdiction is always something to enjoy.   The opening of Grand Lodge began with the Knights Templar presenting the colors, and the introductions of all the representives of all the visiting masonic grand jurisdictions - attendees included representatives from most local states as well as Florida and Wisconsin.

Then the required business that needs to be attended to during the meeting, including reading the names in nomination for office.  Shortly after that the polls were opened for voting and the meeting adjourned for the day.  Then the activities included a blood drive as well as visiting the vendors that were on hand selling their wares and offering information.  

There were hospitality suites a plenty and a lot of fellowship was shared into the evening.

The second day began with the Masonic Kilties presenting the colors and then more important business, which included a report on how it hoped we will save our home from it's current financial crisis, as well as voting on legistlation and awards.  I was honored to be a recipient of one of those awards being the blood drive coordinator for my lodge - we were honored for collecting the most pints of blood on any lodge in New Jersey.

The voting results were that R. W. Glenn Trautman was elected Junior Grand Warden - he is from my district so it will be an interesting time as he progresses through the Grand Lodge Offices on his way to being Grand Master, at the same time as I am progressing through the officer's line of my lodge.

Our new Grand Master is M.W. Bill Berman, while I really do not know him well I trust that he will lead our craft with wisdom this coming year.

Our outgoing Grand Master John M. Colligas was a great leader and seems to have been the right man at the right time to deal with the difficulties that presented themselves with our country's current recession, causing a funding crisis for our masonic home.  I have had a few dealings with M.W. Colligas and I found him at all times to be a gentleman, and I thank him for his leadership this past year.

Should the "G" stand for Google?

If you do a search on Google for the word "Freemason" it offers 1.44 million possible results!

Is this a good thing for our craft?  I think the answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no.  I speak for most Freemasons I know when I say that I wish our "secrets" were not available in so public a forum, and that those with an anti-masonic agenda often can promote their unsubstantiated information to an unknowing public without censure.

That said the availability of masonic information to the Freemason wanting to learn more about the craft is unprecedented.  Should you want to find Masonic clipart or simply look up information on the history of square and compass - the internet world can bring the information right into your living room.

The discussions groups open up a new world of sharing of thoughts and ideas from one state to another, and from one country to another.  If you want to know if there is a lodge in Zurich that meets in May, it can be a simple matter to inquire on one of these discussion groups to locate a local Freemason that knows the answer to your questions.  While I am a member of a number of masonic discussion groups the one I find that covers all area of masonry is the Masonic Light grooup on Yahoo Groups.

Podcasts allow for us to share short essays about the craft that can be uploaded and then listened to at a later time.  While many lodges have ventured into this forum - Bro. Scott Blaskin of King George Lodge in Calgary Alberta Canada has offered the most successful podcast I know of and it is called the Digital Freemason.

The more recent popularity of Facebook and other social networking sites offers a new dimension in getting to know fellow masons via the internet, typically you get top see a picture and and see a brief biography.

Will we someday be able to "virtually" attend lodge?  I sure hope not, but there seems to be no limits to the ways people can interact via the internet.

M.W. Carl Claudy a Masonic Author of Distiction

Carl H. Claudy (1879 - 1957) is probably one of the best know masonic authors, he is probably is best known for his series on the three degrees of freemasonry and his book "Old Tiler Talks".  His simple style of writing makes his stories as important today as when they were written.

An author of 32 books and a galaxy of essays and short stories numbering more than 1,600.  His formal education concluded after only a year of high school whereupon he found himself in the hardscrabble workaday world of the late 19th century.

At age 19 he headed to the Alaskan gold fields. Finding no gold after six months, he returned to the States and took up employment with an emery wheel manufacturer. After several years he left that job to move back to Washington, DC, where he became the editor of a popular science paper. This was his springboard.

Despite the lack of a formal education Claudy began to read and to write. In fact, the first story he ever wrote appeared in The Washington Post. He freelanced for The New York Herald, eventually joining its staff in 1908 with a special assignment covering the then infant aeronautical industry.

During this time he wrote a number of articles on the subject and published a book titled, Beginners Book of Model Airplanes. But he was also a photographer. His photos of early flights were given to Alexander Graham Bell who placed in the Smithsonian where they remain today. At the end of World War I, Claudy went overseas as a correspondent for Scientific American.

An avid athlete and outdoors man, his hobbies included camping, mountaineering, boxing, rowing crew, tennis, and football. His love of the outdoors brought him frequently to Montana and inspired many short stories written for various Boy Scout publications.

Claudy's association with Freemasonry began in 1908, when, at the age of 29, he was raised a Master Mason in Harmony 17 in Washington, DC. He served as its master and eventually served as Grand Master of Masons in the District of Columbia in 1943.

His Masonic writing career began in earnest when he became associated with the Masonic Service Association in 1923, serving as associate editor of its magazine, The Master Mason until 1931. He became executive secretary of the Masonic Service Association in 1929 — a position held until his death in 1957. Under his single handed leadership the Masonic Service Association was brought to a place of preeminence through his authorship and distribution of the "Short Talk Bulletin" which made his name familiar to virtually every lodge in the country.

Claudy can personally lay claim to authorship of approximately 350 Short Talk Bulletins. In addition to the bulletins themselves he wrote and distributed innumerable digests, special bulletins, and portfolios of historical and factual nature   all designed to promote the Craft. One of his finest works of this nature is the "Little Masonic Library," a collection of 20 pocket size volumes by noted authors. In 1930 he published serially in The Master Mason his delightful novel, The Lion's Paw, shortly followed by several others, including the timeless Master's Book, in which are set out the principles and practices of a successful lodge master. Another classic written during this time, his primer for new Masons entitled Introduction to Freemasonry, enjoyed international popularity. In 1934 he penned the first of his series of 12 Masonic plays while in his Washington office. The succeeding plays were all drafted on the road, so to speak. Nine of them were written in a log cabin in Montana in the sight of Emigrant Peak — a blue lodge in the Gallatins as Claudy called it. The plays have, in the past, had a powerful 

impact on the fraternity and formerly were performed countless times in nearly every grand lodge jurisdiction.

In consequence of his long service, Masonic recognition was mighty. He was a 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason, recipient of the Henry Price medal and honorary member of many Grand Lodges and lodges.

(Note: Information for this posting was taken from a story on Carl Claudy by the Masonic Service Association.)