Which Way Do We Want It ?

One of the great philosophical questions of the ages....is the glass half-empty or half-full?

My last post was on January 22, a Tuesday. The following Saturday January 26, King Solomon's Club of Ancient District 20 held their annual election/installation of officers. Attendance was a little light this year because of scheduling conflicts, but still a good showing.

Toward the end of the evening the President of the club opened up the floor for announcements. Of course we had the breakfast, supper, and fund raising events announced. Following the knife and fork announcements came the degree announcements. This went on for several minutes, everything from Entered Apprentice degrees to Fellowcraft degrees and Master Mason degrees were announced. These were not restricted to one particular area of the county, they came from east, west, north, and south, and went on for quite a long time.

When things seemed to be completed, I arose and brought greetings from the Grand Lodge of Michigan and spoke to the recent good news that for the first time since 1959 the Masonic fraternity in Michigan experienced positive growth in membership numbers. I thought I was going to have the last word and we could end on some exciting positive news.........not.

True to our profession of yesteryear a seasoned Past Master stood up and said, speaking of the decline of the fraternity.....paraphrasing some but not much......speaking of the decline of the fraternity....hmmmmm

So....is the glass nearly half empty or well over half full ??????

We have to overcome this defeatist attitude.

A large portion of our growth is coming via the internet. Many of the young men joining the fraternity are grandsons of Masons. Our fraternity actually skipped well over a generation of young men who wanted nothing to do with what their fathers were doing. Now their sons are intrigued by the Masonic fraternity and in many cases their grandfathers were Masons but did not talk about it, although very proud, they didn't discuss it.

That guarded secrecy of the fraternity did two things. First, it helped deter a whole generation from seeking membership. In the late sixties and through the seventies the age of open minds, free flowing information, and sharing all things....the young men of the time did not "dig" being kept in the dark and excluded from the secrecy going on in those lodges. Second, now we fast forward to present day and the young men today are intrigued by the fraternity because their grandfathers were very proud members and when they ask their fathers what the fraternity is the dads can't answer...because they don't know.

I can picture the conversation going something like this.....hey dad, gramps was a Mason and very proud right....yeah he really enjoyed his lodge....dad, what is a Mason and what do they do......well, I can't answer that because I don't know, gramps never really talked about what went on there, when I asked he told me I would have to join to find out, but he never asked me to join, I never understood that......wow, sounds kind of secretive, I wonder what he did and I wonder what they still do.....well son maybe you should google it and see what you can find out....thanks dad.

So are going to moan and complain about the decline......or..........be excited by our first positive growth in over 50+ years.

If we are not positive and ready to meet the needs of these new young brothers....then the glass will empty out quickly my brothers. We have been hoping, praying, and working toward this goal....now we have reached this goal.....what do we do to respond????

By keeping the same mind-set the glass will quickly empty.......by embracing the changes and rejoice in one each others prosperity we can continue to grow this great fraternity which is bigger and stronger than any of us individually.

Crossroads

Brothers my hope and prayer is that everyone survived the holiday season and are enjoying another new year. The weather is brutal cold this morning which seems to go along with the Flint Shrine Circus.

The Grand Lodge of Michigan was extremely pleased to announce that for the first time since 1959 there was positive growth in the membership numbers for the year 2012. What that breaks down to is that we took in more members than we lost through death, transfers, demits, expulsions, and suspensions due to non payment of dues.

Along with growth comes growing pains from inside and outside the fraternity. We are faced with the challenge of meeting and exceeding the expectations of our new members. The lodges that are really growing and making things happen are heavily involved in the community and also have numerous events for the members of their lodges, family, and friends.

Another growing pain is to ensure that the officers of the lodge are friendly, profecient in their work, and are encouraging to the new members without pushing them into things too quickly.

These are just a few of the growing pains from within. Unfortunately growth is also influenced and affected by outside forces.

For many years now, well over 100 years in fact, the fraternity of Freemasonry has had appendant bodies. In fact in the real early years of the the 1800's the Royal Arch had a tremendous amount of members. Of course the Royal Arch is the first step of the York Rite. Through the 1800's into the first half of the 1900's York Rite Masonry was a natural progression for those Masons seeking further light in Masonry. Also during that time the Scottish Rite also enjoyed tremendous success to serve those who sought further light but in a different setting and type of allegory than the York Rite. Both bodies had the same goal but went about it in different ways. The common denominator was Masonic affiliation.

In the late 1800's the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine was created by Dr.Walter Fleming and William Lawrence a prominent actor at the time. It was created to be the Mason's playground for several reasons. First and foremost to promote a lighthearted venue for socializing and fellowship. It was thought that the Masons of the day having gone through the "three degrees" and then completed either the York Rite or Scottish Rite needed to a place to unwind and have fun with their brothers.

Masonic membership has always been a prerequisite for any of the appendant bodies and it was only recently that membership in either the York or Scottish Rite was no longer required to be a Shriner; Masonic membership is the only required prerequisite to gain membership in the Shrine.

A favorite blog of mine is Freemasons for Dummies by Christopher Hodapp. Hodapp does a tremendous job of reporting on Masonic events worldwide. Currently their is posted a letter from the Grand Master of South Carolina to the Imperial Potentate of Shriners International. The letter is requesting that all expelled South Carolina Masons be dropped from the roles of membership in Shriners International. Add to this the friction between the Grand Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas which involves the question of expelled Masons remaining on the Shrine membership roles and our recent breakdown in fraternal relations between the Grand Lodge of Michigan and Shriners International ( which thank God has been restored ) and other debates between Grand Lodges and Shriners International and you have a recipe for seperation.

In other words....it appears that through numerous breakdowns of mutual respect and recognition, Shriners International is poised for severing of relations between the two fraternities. If such a separation were to occur, Masonic membership would no longer be required to be a Shriner. I must stress that views expressed on this blog are strictly my opinion based on observations made by me.

If such a separation were to occur what would be the effect on both fraternities? It's hard to guess what the numbers would be after the initial rumblings such an event would create. My thought is that there would be large numbers of defectors from both organizations. There are many Masons who feel very strongly that the Shrine needs to be tied to the fraternity of Freemasonry to remain grounded.....those brothers would probably forgo their Shrine membership. On the flip side there are a fair number of Shriners who for whatever reason have never appreciated the benefits of the Masonic fraternity, in some cases it's just not their "thing", those Shriners would probably not hesitate to relieve themselves of Masonic membership.

I think that the end result would be very negative for both organizations. It would be a tough decision for me to make. I have had a tremendous amount of fun in both sides....actually three sides if you include the Scottish Rite. My roots are in the Blue Lodge, over the years I have grown to love the fraternity...but it made a tremendous impact on me from the start....maybe I had a jump start in DeMolay. The Shrine is a terrific source of fun...of course having been in the clown unit for a number of years probably helped. The work that is done in the hospitals takes one's breath away. The Scottish Rite while ritualistic in nature is a great time, it allows for fellowship with fellow Masons from the local region as does the Shrine.

My hope is that Masonic membership remains a prerequisite for Shrine membership. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and that all involved will remember the tenants of our profession. Through mutual cooperation and respect all will prosper......that's my opinion, which along with $2 will get you a good cup of coffee !!

Grave ????

A special thank you goes out to WB Dale Kuehn, Regional Grand Lecturer for 2A....a former Ancient District 20 brother I might add for the following contribution.

Grave?

     During the Fellowcraft degree Lecture we refer to music as one of the sciences.  In this portion of the lecture we refer to acute, grave and mixed sounds?

    Wow a grave sound? 

 

    I always thought that the grave was west of Mt. Moriah? I was corrected by a very knowledgeable DDI who had himself been corrected by a retired Professor of Music.  This retired Professor taught at one of our States finer Universities.  He clearly understood the proper use of the word Grave.  I myself included have been pronouncing this word wrong all along (shame on me). 

 

Grave

Definition: Adjective; slowly; with solemnity
Proper pronunciation: gra veh
Also Known As: Music that sounds serious and is played slowly.
Italian for "slow and serious"

Not: grāv which is a Noun; a place of burial for a dead body, typically a hole dug in the ground and marked by a stone or mound!)

    Our ancient brothers who set up our ritual clearly understood the words and their meanings. It always amazes me at what words they chose and understood.  If we would just dig a little deeper into some of the lectures and their meanings we would understand a lot more and continue on teaching new brothers about the history of our ritual.

    So how will you pronounce the word grave in a future lecture?  I know how I will!

Dale Kuehn, RGL2A

Reflections of a Year Gone By

Well, it's official I'm a three-time has been, that's right I was able to survive my third go-round as Worshipful Master. Please keep in mind that I say this with tongue firmly implanted in cheek.

It was indeed an honor to serve as Worshipful Master of Mt.Morris Lodge #535. This was my third time to serve in this capacity. My first term was at the ripe old age of 29 in Fellowship Lodge #490 back in 1990. After about a nine year hiatus I finally returned to lodge and went through the chairs, again, and served as Worshipful for Fellowship Lodge #490 in 2005.

Back to this year. The night I was installed my youngest son was supposed to present me with a gavel, but because of his then newly discovered illness he was unable to attend and I was not able to enjoy my installation to the fullest. It was a great installation, in my opinion and tempered the remainder of my term as Worshipful Master of Mt.Morris Lodge.

Our lodge had many successes to be proud of. We started the year off by having a few "poker-nights" which are fund raising events. What a great time at those events, great fellowship and camaraderie, and even some studying and quizzing of the ritual. There were some key players in these events with a host of casual helpers to make the whole thing a success.

We continued on with our monthly Country Breakfast fund raiser with a few charity breakfasts thrown in for good measure. Also, when the chips were down and many of the regular workers were absent because of Grand Lodge, one of the charities we help (through hosting a breakfast fund-raiser for them) came to our rescue and provided some workers to fill those vacancies. What a great display of good old-fashioned human kindness.

During the year we were able to raise 7 brothers to the sublime degree of a Master Mason. Along the way we took one candidate to Bay City for Joppa's Annual Fellowcraft Boat Degree, the boat was packed and it was hot! A great time was had by all.

We also did an unprecedented Master Mason degree on a Saturday following one of our Country Breakfasts. So, if the brothers wanted they could come and enjoy breakfast, a Master Mason degree and a fine tube-steak lunch afterwards.

Obviously we had a variety of degrees throughout the year. One of our last candidates of the year happened to be the son of WB Loren Bearup who took the east on all three degrees, which didn't hurt my feelings at all. What a tremendous thing to witness, a father bringing his son into the fraternity.

One of my favorite achievements this year was to rekindle an interest in Masonry for a brother who I was the top-line signer for some 25 years ago; while at a fish dinner in Grand Blanc I saw this brother and merely suggested that since I was in the east again, he should come out and have some laughs. Well, he did come out and since that time has done quite a bit of traveling and also took an office in his own lodge. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to say, hey why don't you come back to lodge....everyone would love to see you.

I wish it was always that easy. I've made many phone calls throughout the year and have encouraged, invited, and nearly begged brothers to come out, unfortunately without much success. We do have one brother who came back from a several year hiatus and is thoroughly enjoying his Masonic journey.....enjoying it so much that he resumed his place in line and was installed as Senior Warden. It's a great pleasure to have Billy T back in the swing of things with such enthusiasm.

Sometimes it's the small victories that mean the most. The ones which too often we take for granted. The small victories often pay really big dividends. We did have one major victory....a new metal roof. The JW remarked that at least fifty years from now the brothers of Mt.Morris lodge won't be cussing us out for taking the cheap way out on the roof. This project was a collective effort over a few years time and some great leadership from the Temple Board and it's leadership. Also, they installed storm windows over all of the windows of the lodge and had some old unruly shrubs removed and dirt hauled in to back fill and there are plans to landscape and beautify the front of the building.

It's been said too many times but communication can make or break the success of any lodge. We've learned first hand that when communications go wrong usually the activity or event goes wrong also. In reality it's amazing that the communication is as good as it is. With all the tools of modern technology it seems harder now to contact someone than ever before.

One evening our candidate was nearly late for his degree. When asked about it he said that he helps a friend who is partially disabled to clean an office building so she can earn extra money. He goes to do the heavy lifting for her which allows her to keep the job and the extra money she earns in the process. Little did we know that he was already practicing some of the tenets of our profession before taking his degrees.

Another event was an anniversary, past masters, awards night which included families and honorary members and their families. This was a great evening and a lot of good fellowship, something which I hope continues in the future.

To sum things up, my son is in a much better condition than a year ago. Our lodge facilities are in a much better condition than they were a year ago. Our lodge membership is in better condition than it was a year ago. Our fellowship, commitment, and camaraderie is in better condition than a year ago. What a great year in Masonry at Mt.Morris Lodge #535.

'Tis the Season for Installations

It most certainly is the season for the Installation of Officers throughout our great state of Michigan.

Each time I attend an installation I am reminded of something from my DeMolay days. Long, long ago while in DeMolay one of our many duties was to pull chairs for the Masonic Installations. We are talking the winding down of the glory years in Masonry.

I joined DeMolay in 1974 and remember vividly working the installations. My chapter was in the Flint Masonic Temple where there were 5 Masonic Lodges, 3 OES chapters, 2 Jobs Bethels, DeMolay, York Rite including Chapter, Council, and an enormous Commadery and many other affiliated bodies.

It was December of 1976 and WB Howard Durbin was being installed as Worshipful Master of Fellowship #490 for the upcoming year of 1977. We were at our post ready to pull chairs out of the Blue Room after each officer was installed.

My DeMolay brother Rickey Malone motioned for me to come over where he was. He told me to go into the Blue room before the installation started and to look at all the people. He said, " When you get in there pretend you are looking for someone, so you can check out all the people." So, obligingly I did exactly that and came back out after a minute or so.

I asked Rickey why he had me do that. He responded, " I wanted you to take a look at all the people in there, over 400 in fact. You will never see that many people at another Masonic Installation. I don't care how many you go to over the years, you will never see that again."

That scene plays out in my mind every year as we enter into the installation season. Rickey was right, I've never seen that again. In fact sometimes there is more like 40 not 400. Now I will be the first to admit that WB Howard Durbin was a legend in his own time when it came to Masonry. He also had tons of non masonic friends which may have contributed to the huge turn out at his installation.

It was not uncommon in those days to have 200 show up for an installation. The officers being installed were most generally being installed in that office for the first time and their families were there. The installing officers usually had their wife or companion with them. It was a rare thing to hear " I'm traveling alone this evening." Now it is rare to hear someone introduce a wife or family member or friend whatever the case may be.

How is it that we have arrived at where we are today. Many things have changed in the last 40 years or as my mom says a lot of water has went under the bridge. One thing which has changed is the attitude toward our installation. Years ago it was a celebration, something to look forward to and to share a slice of Masonry with our relatives and friends. Now it has become more of a necessary task which needs to be performed.

Another thing is the closed installation. This was very rarely heard of or used back in the day because chances were that the Worshipful Master was being installed for the first time. I joined Masonry in 1983 and served as steward for 2 years then on through the chairs not skipping positions. When I finally did make it to the East it was a big deal not only for me but for my family because they were aware that it took 6 years to get there.

I understand that in the age of the recycled Master that an open installation is not necessary but there may be other officers who are being installed for the first time, and we miss out on a chance to "shine" in a situation that the public at large can witness.

A contributing factor to the relatively small attendance at installations these days is that as the population of the county has decreased severely so has the population of our Masonic Lodges in the county decreased. The attendance numbers are spread out among some 16 lodges in the county. On the same thought those lodges were in existence years ago and they had some very large turn outs as far as attendance goes......but there is no denying the fact that Genesee County's population has shrank considerably.

Taking that into account, then perhaps the 16 some lodges still being open and functioning says something positive about the situation, that they are still able to assemble a corps of officers.

When it comes to the attendance at the installations I suppose one thing that can be surmised is that the installation of officers is not that important to the officers and their families. Things which are important seem to always have time made for them. It's funny how society in general has changed over the years. Other events such as funeral home visitations brings into question the dress of those visiting. My mom's friend passed away and the attire of  her family was less than fitting for a funeral, in my mind it was very disrespectful to a wonderful woman. I think it is just a sign of how things have become less important to people over the years.

A brother who had been away from the craft for a number of years with a little encouragement has been attending some events lately. His comment was that he can't believe the dress of those attending lodge.
My response was that yes a lot of things had changed over the years and dress requirements was one of them.

Somehow we have to instill in our new members the importance of this Fraternity. That really is our job to sell them on the benefits to them socially and morally. In addition to that we have to have some activities beyond meetings and degree work. We need to be more socially active with each other. We learn in our lectures that man was created for the social and active life, the noblest part of the work of God.

Looking back on the glory days, the fraternity was a huge social outlet.....and it was important to the men who participated and by it being important to those men....their families recognized that it was important and supported them in their endeavors. We have to lead the way and encourage our new brothers to involve their family and friends in their Masonic journey......and along with that we need to get our families and friends more involved by demonstrating to them the importance of the Fraternity and ensuring that we solicit their support in our endeavors.

Brothers, I've rambled on for long enough.....but take notice at the next installation you attend.....you may be surprised at where we are and find it hard to believe we were ever where we were only 40 years ago.

The Covering

In the Entered Apprentice degree we are taught that a Lodge has a covering...... the covering of a lodge is a clouded canopy or starry decked heaven.....okay.

Delving into some of the meanings of the above mentioned phrase we find some interesting definitions of those particular words.

A covering is defined as something laid over or surrounding a thing for protection. Clouded refers to covering or laying over something as with clouds. In searching further a canopy is defined as a roof-like covering, an ornamental awning over a person of importance in ceremonial occasions.

Starry refers to abounding with stars or brightly lit by the stars. Moving forward the innocent word decked, means something that is covered or put under one roof. Heaven has many definitions and many different uses, perhaps the most interesting and appropriate for our use......heaven was a term used in Elizabethan Theater in reference to a wooden roof or canopy over the outer stage of the theater.

Elizabethan Theater took place primarily in London from roughly from 1567-1642. Permanent theaters were built for the plays of Shakespeare and others. Pretty interesting stuff considering this predated our fraternity by by less than a 100 years....maybe?????

So the lodge is covered or protected by a clouded canopy or awning of clouds over our important ceremonial occasions....or..... a star lit roof or heaven, if you will.

My interpretation is that during the daylight hours the Lodge is covered by billowing puffy clouds protecting us from the outside world and at night a star lit roof or canopy. Remember clouds are only visible during the day and I remember as a kid that sometimes it felt like a dome over us......visions of a canopy of trees also comes to mind.......also at night when the stars are in full display it gives the feeling that a heavenly dome covers over the earth. Now days when one ventures out of the city into the country at night and away from the light pollution of the urban sprawl this effect seems almost surreal as we've grown accustomed to our city environments.




Another illustration I believe they were trying to make was that the lodge....really the fraternity was covered or protected by a symbolic dome created by the Grand Architect. If one looks outside regardless of the location, because of the curvature of the earth the sky has a dome-like appearance. As we look toward the horizon the dome appears to end.....but as we move toward the horizon it is never ending....thus wherever we are we are beneath the dome. Therefore wherever we are with the fraternity we are under that covering.

 Little did I know that when I started my search of this small passage that I would learn of the Elizabethan Theater and some of it's history. Obviously this influenced the writers of our ritual in trying to describe the heavenly star lit dome. They referred back to what they knew and were able to describe it. The word heaven has a very apparent dual meaning here.

Each time I engage in these brief studies I am simply astounded at what unfolds from so few words. It is quite apparent that the writers of our ritual had a very intricate understanding of words and how to use them, and to preserve their thoughts and illustrations for many years to come.

Where is the Pride ?

Something that has been bothering me is the lack of seriousness and pride displayed in our degree work. When a man is joining our great fraternity, one of the things which draws him to us is our rich heritage. Too many times we lack in promoting our heritage, traditions, and rituals to the candidate.

In my opinion this can be attributed to sloppy work, that is ritual work and sloppy floor work. When opening and closing our lodges the officers are often referred to by the wrong name, i.e. Brother Senior err....Junior Deacon err...Warden. It reminds me of when my kids were young and I would have to go thru all their names to arrive at the correct one....and at times exclaim, "whatever your name is come here."

It is very easy to mistakenly address an officer...but if we study and actually practice or rehearse this can be corrected. The same thing applies for the modes of recognition (tokens) and the signs. Think about this....put yourself in the place of the candidate....here he is joining the world's oldest and largest fraternity and the officers imparting the "knowledge" of the signs, tokens, and words can't properly demonstrate them and their meaning. The candidate begins to wonder if these are so important why are the officers confused and not sure of themselves.

Compare the scenario above to your chosen work, whether currently active or retired....if someone new came on the job site and you had to train the new person would you have the confidence and ability to clearly demonstrate to them how to do the job. My thinking is that you could clearly communicate to them and teach that new person how to do the job. This would be easily done because of repetition, dedication, and pride in your work....a chance to "show-off" a bit.

Where has the repetition, dedication, and pride in our Masonic work gone? The old saying is "that you only have one chance to make a good first impression." Admittedly we are all going to make mistakes, get confused and or nervous. However, at this stage of the "Masonic Year" the officers in place should have a good feel for their office and be able to "show-off" a bit and really impress these candidates.