The Shape of a Lodge

We are taught in the Entered Apprentice Degree that the shape of a lodge is oblong and comprised of three movable and three immovable jewels.

But what truly comprises a lodge is a sufficient number of Masons, meeting at an agreed to location for the purpose of conducting Masonic business.

Therefore a lodge's ashlar is as imperfect as the ashlars of the Masons that comprise the lodge, and it is the duty of every Mason regardless of rank within the lodge to help shape the lodge into the organization it should be to represent the community from which it is derived.

It is very difficult to hew off the superfluous bits of stone in a lodge, especially when it sometimes feels like a phalanx of old-timers bars the way. However here in Madison we have all heard the Canadian Charge at the end of the Master Mason Degree - so please remember that “on yonder book that oath YOU took, and will you break it? NEVER!” Your lodge needs you. Freemasonry needs you!

The Masonic Influence

While most members of the craft already embrace the concept of religious tolerance, it's implications are frequently taken for granted. When men can respect one another's religious faith and recognize that everyone is entitled to their their respective beliefs the cause of many past wars is averted.

Dan Brown recently wrote in a letter of apology for not being able to speak before the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite that whenever he is asked why he chose the Freemasons to the the central figure in his latest book "In a world where men do battle over whose definition of God is most accurate, I cannot adequately express the deep respect and admiration I feel toward an organization in which men of differing faiths are able to break bread together in a bond of brotherhood, friendship and camaraderie."

Masonic Lodges are temples of peace, places where men of strong belief and opinion are taught to leave any "agenda" at the door and to simply enjoy the company of their brother Masons ... think how wonderful a place the world would be if all men could live by this simple tenant.

As the screen play for the book is written and a sure hit movie to be released, if Dan Brown continues to repeat his reasons for choosing Freemasonry as the basis for his book the impact on our fraternity could be far reaching.

The Secrets of a Brother Master Mason

Remember that we are to respect the secrets of any brother Master Mason, please remember this story next time you are tempted to speak out of turn about a brother Master Mason:

One day in ancient Greece an acquaintance met the great philosopher Socrates and said,

"Socrates, do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple Filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

Who am I ??

I was born in antiquity, in the ancient days when men first dreamed of God. I have been tried through the ages, and found true. The crossroads of the world bear the imprint of my feet, and the cathedrals of all nations mark the skill of my hands. I strive for beauty and for symmetry. In my heart is wisdom and strength and courage for those who ask. Upon my altars is the Book of Holy Writ, and my prayers are to the One Omnipotent God, my sons work and pray together, without rank or discord, in the public mart and in the inner chamber. By signs and symbols I teach the lessons of life and of death and the relationship of man with God and of man with man. My arms are widespread to receive those of lawful age and good report who seek me of their own free will. I accept them and teach them to use my tools in the building of men, and thereafter, find direction in their own quest for perfection so much desired and so difficult to attain. I lift up the fallen and shelter the sick. I hark to the orphans' cry, the widows tears, the pain of the old and destitute. I am not church, nor party, nor school, yet my sons bear a full share of responsibility to God, to country, to neighbor and themselves. They are freemen, tenacious of their liberties and alert to lurking danger. At the end I commit them as each one undertakes the journey beyond the vale into the glory of everlasting life. I ponder the sands within the glass and think how small is a single life in the eternal universe. Always have I taught immortality, and even as I raise men from darkness into light, I am a way of life.

I am Freemasonry.

(Author: Ray Vaughan Denslow )

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.