A Mason's Mason

 From time to time I've wrote about extrodinary Masons in our area. Too often it has been after they answer the summons of the Grand Warden of Heaven. So I think it's just as appropriate to recoginize these great brothers while they are still serving the craft.

WB Lloyd James Williams, known to all as Jimmy Williams. WB Jimmy was intiated, passed, and raised in Genesee Lodge #174,  in the year of 1963. This was in the days of the full catachism, he joined in September of that year and was raised in October of the same year. Apparently the ritual work came easy for this young Mason.

WB Jim has served the craft in a variety of capacities over the years. He served as Worshipful Master of Genesee Lodge #174 in 83, he went on to be DDI for District 15, and was made Chaplain Emeritus in 2017 for Genesee Lodge after serving 10 or more years in that office.

WB Jimmy has always been a regular traveling Mason especially in Genesee County. He is just a tremendous asset in lecturing in all of the degrees and has performed many outstanding installations with his rich almost baritone voice. One of his special talents is pulling together a great degree team for the King Solomon's club Outdoor Master Mason degree.

Last evening I had the privilege of attending Genesee Lodge #174 in Flushing to witness the conferral of the Master Mason degree on three brothers, one from Holly Lodge, one from Welfare Lodge, and one from Genesee Lodge.

They opened lodge at 5pm and when I arrived shortly after 6pm the parking lot was quite full, more full than I have seen it in many years. When they went from labor to refreshment, I knew why the parking lot was so full.....brothers from all around the county and a variety of lodges came pouring out of the blue room.

The degree was performed very well with WB Jimmy Williams directing the trhrong of brothers required for a Master Mason degree. Throughout the evening I learned that Jimmy had been on the phone for several days arranging who was going to do what, just as he has for many years for the outdoor degree.

Traveling with WB Jim Williams last night was WB James O. ....heavy on the O. Allen, these two characters roamed the roads and lodges of Genesee County for many years. They were really a great team on memorials....WB Jim Allen had a soft, soothing voice that I'm sure was a great comfort to many grieving Masonic families at countless Masonic memorials.

Both of the Jims logged countless miles, hours, and degrees over the years. The late WB Joe Florida said back in the 90's that we had more Masons in the State of Michigan who were 90 and above than we did Masons 50 and below....so if you want to live to be 90 join a Michigan Masonic lodge. It was really neat to see WB Jimmy and Jerry Graham a 70+ year member working together on the Master Mason degree last night.

So if you bump into WB Jimmy Williams or WB Jim Allen, or Jerry Graham....be sure to tell them how much you appreciate what they've done for Masonry over the years. Let them know how much we appreciate them now, right now for what they've done for our craft. 

 A very sad conclusion has come to the search for the missing Grand Master Hiram Abif. King Solomon along with the King of Tyre and an entourage of 12 Fellowcrafts have made their way to a hill west of Mount Moriah.

At this location a fresh grave was discovered while the same Fellowcrafts were in search of Abif. According to sources close to the investigation a lone sprig of accacia suspicously marked the grave. The Fellowcrafts did discover the jewel of Hiram Abif's office on or about the body.

King Solomon himself examined the jewel and determined, that it in fact did belong to Grand Master Hiram Abif and was the jewel of his office.

King Solomon along with the assistance of the King of Tyre did manage to raise the body of Abif. The body was transported by the 12 Fellowcrafts and accompanied by both Kings. The body will eventually come to rest in the sanctum santorim of the Temple where it will receive a proper burial.

A tragic ending to a life cut short because of greed, impatience, and unsubdued passions on the part of three men from Tyre whose murderous designs took over their logical thinking. It seems that these type of situations always end with an extremely sad outcome. May we all learn from this tragedy for generations to come.

Where Have They Gone?

 As I sat in lodge last night witnessing the first section of a Fellowcraft degree, I remarked to WB Dale, "How many of these have you seen?" His reply was hundreds. I suppose after 50+ years in the fraternity he has seen it hundreds of times. I can relate with my short 39 years that I'm probably edging close to a hundred myself.

Sitting there gave me an opportunity to reflect on few things. I've seen hundreds knock at the door of Masonry and sadly to say only a few remain. Admittedly some have passed, some have moved, but the largest percentage have faded away. The question is why?

I think if we are honest we know why. Lack of leadership followed by not including the new brothers like they should be included. They should be included in everything from working in the degrees, traveling, lodge projects, and working around the lodge.

Recently I've noticed something that seems to be a common thread among some of the new brothers. The ones that seem like they are really going to stick, all have something in common. They were involved with brothers of the lodge and were around the lodge for a while before they were actually members.

Again, the Six-Steps to initiation as promoted by the Grand Lodge of Michigan plays a huge role. I've seen this play out at Millington lodge with a father and son duo, at Otisville lodge by a very enthusiatic new member who had to wait several months to meet the domiciling provision, and now at Mt.Morris lodge a young man who is very attentive and eager to learn and get more involved. In all of these cases these men were around the lodge frequently, they weren't able to attend official meetings but they got to know the members of the lodge and the members of the lodge got to know them.

The next step is to engage them, to make them a part of the team. Encourage them to travel, challenge them to learn a small part of the ritual, ensure that they are at least offered to participate. All brothers are different, everyone is not a ritualist, but everyone has something they are good at it. As a lodge, we need to uncover that talent and put it to use, we would all be surprised if we really worked at this.

Reflecting back over the years I can't help but think about some of the legends in Genesee County Masonry that have passed on to the celestial lodge above. At the same time it's refreshing to see some of the soon to be legends quietly stepping in to fill the shoes of those who have already gone home.

There are some real good Masons that are stepping up and working on filling some of those holes left by those worthy brothers who have laid down the working tools of life. It's fascinating that in most cases these brothers realize and know in their heart that it's time to step up and attempt to take the place of those who used to do the lions share of the "work" of the craft.

So, we have these brothers stepping in with lecturning and so forth, but they've been around for a while, they've been through the chairs, they've served as Worshipful Master, and they want to contribute to the work of the craft to ensure the new brothers receive the quality degree that they did in the past.

Through the yearsall of the men I've witnessed become Master Masons....where have they gone? Perhaps the greatest challenge facing Masonry, and it has been the challenge for many years now, the greatest challenge is retention and involvement in the craft. Just think if these brothers become engaged then NPD is no longer an issue, finances would become easeier, the big question....who is going to go through the line....all of these challenges would be solved.

 New developments concerning the whereabouts of Hiram Abif are currently unfolding. Sources close to the King said that a sizeable delegation of workmen appearing to be Fellowcrafts were granted an audience with King Solomon earlier today.

Apparently three men were seen to be bound and were under heavy escort of at least twelve Fellowcrafts. A spokesman for King Solomon gave a brief statement following this meeting with the King. The three men who were bound and taken before King Solomon admitted their guilt in the murderous plot and have been duly executed according to their imprecations before several witness. Justice in this part of the world moves very swiftly.

One last piece remains.....where is the body of Grand Master Abif?

This just in from the Port of Joppa, some members of the search party from King Solomon's Temple have discovered some interesting clues concerning the disappearance of Hiram Abif.

Members of the party encountered a seafaring man. The man stated that he had a chance encounter with three strangers. From their attire they appeared to be workmen from the temple.

They were seeking a passage to Ethiopia, the very place the seafaring man was bound for. After a brief discussion it was determined that they were not in posession of King Solomon's pass, upon which they were denied passage.

When asked further about the three, the seafaring man said that the three seemed suspicous to him, and they flead into the countryside after being denied a passage with him.

 

 Twelve Fellowcrafts clothed in white gloves and aprons were seen entering King Solomon's court. Apparently they outlined a conspiracy of 15 Fellowcrafts who had plans to extort from Hiram Abif the secrets of a Master Mason.

The twelve stated that they had recanted from the original plans and humbly implored the King's pardon. King Solomon then instucted the twelve to go in seaarch of Grand Master Hiram Abif. We will continue to follow this story very closely. It is hoped that Abif will be found with a positive outcome.

Still no sign of Grand Master Hiram Abif. King Solomon ordered that a strict search be made in and around the yet completed Temple. According to labor sources there appears to have been some sort of rebellion among the workmen regarding the pace at which they were being advanced. 

Also it should be noted that attendance reports of the workman has been completed with some notable absences. According to our sources a delegation of some of the Fellowcrafts are scheduled to meet with King Solomon sometime this afternoon.

Special Report

 

Reports keep pouring in from Jerusalem's Mount Moriah concerning the work stoppage at King Solomon's Temple.

Sources close to the king are saying tht Grand Master Hiram Abif has not been seen since high noon yesterday. The sources who remain unnamed also say that King Solomon and the King of Tyre have entered into private discussions.

Highly placed members of the King's administration say that King Solomon has not ruled out assembling a large number of men to go in search of the Grand Master.

Breaking News

 

This just in from the Middle East, apparently work has stopped on the building of King Solomon's Temple. According to officials, when the workmen reported for work this morning there was no plans laid out on their trestleboard. Hiram Abif was not available for comment.

A Spin on Quantity vs. Quality

 Traditionally here in lower Michigan lodges tend to go "dark" during the summer months of July and August. Some lodges in northern Michigan go "dark" in the winter months of January and February. Just a little background which has little to do with my thoughts for this entry. As I often tell my girlfriend I am full of useless information.

So as the lodges are now wrapping up for the upcoming summer months, it's refreshing to see many of the lodges scurrying to tie up some of their loose ends concerning degree work. After a couple years of uncertainty and not being able to meet and conduct degrees, we are now somewhat back to normal with lots of "work" to do.

There is absolutely no doubt that the pandemic had a detrimental effect on the fraternity and it's current members. What is odd is that it seemed to have an almost opposite affect on the aspirant, not in all lodges but it seems to be the case in the majority of lodges.

By now I think everyone who reads this blog has a pretty good idea of my philosophy concerning quality vs. quantity when it comes to candidates for the fraternity. Now I feel the need to point out how degree work can become so enjoyable when the number of brothers seems to be a little light, stretched, and even could be referred to as a skelton crew.

The basis for these thoughts has evolved over a few visits to a couple of the smaller lodges in the area. One being Millington Lodge and the other Otisville Lodge. It seems that both of these lodges have existed and continued to work, but for what ever reason don't put a large number of candidates through.

Admittedly Millington is a little busier than Otisville but both are smalltown lodges with very loyal members and some of the Past Masters have a number of notches on their aprons for years in the East.

Back when the snow was blowing and temperatures were dropping, Millington made it known that they had a father and son duo who had petitioned the lodge and were being initiated in the Craft. I ventured out after work to find a warm meal, warm fellowship, and two eager candidates.

The EA degree was well attended in spite of the weather and was conferred in fine fashion as well as the Fellowcraft degree a few weeks later. Again the FC degree was nicely attended and conferred in fine fashion.

Now it's time for the father and son duo to undergo one of the most trying scenes that human nature has ever endured......that's right, it's time for the Master Mason degree. The weather was much nicer and warmer, the meal was great but the attendance was shall we say a little slim.

We ventured up to the blue room for the degree. I was even able to do second base for the second time in my short 39 years. Most of us doubled up on different parts and just a handful gave the lectures....the surprising thing was it was without a doubt one of the most enjoyable MM degrees I have ever been involved in or witnessed. It was just a great amount of fun and truly an enjoyable evening.

I'm not advocating that degree workers should be stretched so thin...but in the above case even with very few in attendance and all the multi-tasking, the brothers received a mighty fine Master Mason degree and those of us who were there got to take part in an almost magical degree.

My hat is off to WB Gary Watt and the leadership of Millington Lodge for really knowing these two brothers before they received any degree. In fact I learned that they had been working with the brothers at the lodge before, during, and after their degrees. The Grand Lodge of Michigan's six-step program in action.....brothers it pays huge dividends to the lodges that embrace it.

Another great night was last night at Otisville #401. Their candidate had been patiently waiting for at least 6 months if not longer to join, the hangup was his residence in the state, he finally got his 12 months in residing in the state of Michigan.

Again my hat is off to WB Joe Norton and WB Dale Thomas for keeping this young man interested while he put in his time to get to 12 months of residence. The young man was at their Installation of Officers and would come out and socialize with the brothers before they had their regular stated meetings.

The turnout was mighty slim for an Entered Apprentice degree, in fact we had a grand total of 8, including myself. As the night proceeded there was nuch doubling up and multi-tasking and again the brother received an awesome degree.

Too often we take for granted 30-40 brothers showing up for a degree. While that is great there is something different about an intimate setting , everyone is involved out of necessity and they tend to really step up to accomplish the degree.

Let me be perfectly clear, I am NOT advocating light attendance. To have the sidelines full, and a full compliment of officers is a clear demonstrable sign of honor and respect to the candidate and the fraternity as a whole.

Sometimes a more intimate setting can also be very powerful, whether it be a small number of committed brothers, or a Fellowcraft degree by candle-light, when the chips are down and the brothers are determined to get the degree accomplished despite the challenges, special things happen.

How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together as Masons.