It's Yours My Brother

With the overwhelming influence of social media in today's culture, one can join a group concerning almost any subject. The same is true with Freemasonry. I belong to a couple of these groups one being the "Winding Stairs".

 This group seems to be a lot of younger Masons and they are very inquisitive about topics from which way to wear ones ring to the wearing of the lambskin.

The discussion about the lambskin proved to be very interesting. The question was whether it was permissible for a brother to wear his lambskin to lodge.

Usually the responses to the questions posed are much more entertaining to read and think about than the point in question. In reading the responses I'm reminded that there are as many opinions as there are Masons.

Among the responses were things like; no definitely not to be worn but to be put aside until death, death is the only time this apron should be worn.....should be taken care of and worn only on special occasions....worn only during installations, etc.

If I remember correctly we are instructed as follows; it is yours my brother yours to wear through an honorable life and at your death for we are all born to die it may be placed upon the casket that encloses your lifeless remains and with them lowered beneath the silent clods of the valley.

One of the senior Past Masters of Fellowship Lodge, WB John Gilmore wore his on a regular basis, and his PM's apron only on special occasions. WB John's lambskin showed the work of a craftsman. He said, They gave it to me to wear and at my death I want it to show the labor I've done for the craft."

The reason I raise this topic is to illustrate that Masonic Education must be ongoing. With the way brothers are indoctrinated in today's lodge, Masonic Education can't go too far. Some of the young men coming in will seek out knowledge others will accept only what is given to them, in other words they are not going to go out of their way to learn.

We old timers take too much for granted. We tend to think that if a new brother wants to know they will search it out like we did. Today's generation have two factions, seekers and receivers. There is still curiosity and yearning for the seekers but many will take the knowledge when presented but figure if they want me to know they will tell me.

With Masonic Education perhaps we can convert some of the receivers into seekers. Sometimes a little knowledge is enough of a spark to ignite a fire of seeking and yearning for knowledge.

Again, there is something to be said for the old way of  doing ones proficiency. We lost a big element of teaching, explaining, and most importantly learning. Today we are supposed to mentor the young Masons coming into lodge, regrettably I think that falls by the wayside way too easily.

We need to foster these brothers coming into lodge and build friendships and brotherly love with these young Masons regardless of their age. We saw this illustrated at Eureka Lodge when we visited their Prince Hall Lodge. They still require the old style proficiency and there seems to be a bond there.

Regardless of all the social media and knowledge that can be learned from various avenues on the internet, the age old method of socializing and teaching face to face seems to still be one of the most effective and accurate ways of communicating our rituals, history, and traditions. When was the last time someone explained "So Mote it Be" to a new brother???????  That's just the tip of the iceberg as they say.

How Easily We Forget

As we move forward with the Fraternity of Free & Accepted Masons, it seems that we are now at a point to focus on quality rather than quantity.

There seems to be more instances of...."I gotcha moments" than ever before. Perhaps it's just a sign of the times and societal behaviors leaking into the fraternity.

In years gone by it was a rare instance that a brother was brought up on "charges"....now it seems that the first conclusion is to bring charges against a brother. Admittedly there are times when that is the only course of action to rectify certain situations. For the most part it's an over-reaction to a brother's conduct....believe me, nothing good happens when charges are brought, it can tear a lodge apart and cause separation among the brethren that may never heal.

While attending a Master Mason Degree this week, I was reminded of one of the most powerful things we are taught......to whisper good counsel in the ear of a brother.

It seems that rather than whisper good counsel to a brother about his actions or lack of actions he is allowed to continue on until there is no return. There is a total breakdown in communicating what is expected or perceived to be acceptable. I've experienced this myself on more than one occasion during my Masonic journey. It can be very hurtful and a huge blow to endure, and make one question one's position in the fraternity.

On a much smaller scale I'm reminded of WB Bennie King and the way he would correct a brother's use of a wrong word or phrase during a degree. During a break or after the degree WB Bennie would take the brother aside away from everyone else and correct the brother. The only people who knew of the corrective counseling was the brother and WB Bennie, he fully understood the concept of whispering good counsel. So many are so quick to correct and interrupt the degree in the process, why?

We are taught to "ever" whisper good counsel....ever means at ALL times; always; continuously; at any time; in any possible case; by any chance. I think the word ever pretty well sums up when we are supposed to whisper that good counsel. Too often we forget this basic lesson we are taught in the Master Mason degree.

Whisper is used intentionally in this lesson to demonstrate that the counsel should be between only the two brothers and not for everyone to hear. To whisper is to utter in soft, hushed sounds. In other words a private low key conversation between two brothers.

The whispered words or counsel consists of advice, instruction, or opinion.These words are delivered in a friendly manner. Friendly is defined as helpful or supportive, and manner is the way of doing things. This is done to remind the brother of his errors.....as the writers of the ritual knew and we also know if we are honest with ourselves, most of the time we know of our errors and sometimes need to be reminded of them.

We are to "aid his reformation".....in other words help the brother to improve what is wrong, to abandon the wrong way of conduct. All while giving him "due", or what is owed to him....and "timely notice", an opportune or well timed communication. That he may "ward" off; protect, guard, avert, repel, or turn aside...approaching "danger"; a liability, harm, risk, peril, or bad situation.

This is a very special time in Masonry....our numbers have shrank but the fraternity is greater than any of us and has a unique way of surviving. The fraternity of Free & Accepted Masons has survived through the ages and has been challenged in many different ways. We are now in the information age and the men that are joining seem to want to learn the true meaning of Freemasonry. The meaning is right there for all of us to enjoy and learn from.

Too often the basic lessons taught are the ones most easily forgotten. We need to take brothers aside and in the most friendly manner remind them of their errors and aid their reformation. We also need to be man and brother enough to receive counsel from another brother....to listen to his whispered counsel and accept his friendly manner of correcting our errors. Sometimes it's better to receive than to give.

We need to step away from the Ah, I gotcha moments.....and remember Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth......if we get back to the basics and truly practice brotherly love we will surely grow personally and the numbers will come as a result.

Thoughts from A Country Mouse Attorney

The following article was written by our current Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master of Masons in Michigan, WB Mark Manning.

To use his often used phrase, WB Mark is a simple country mouse attorney. In addition to being a fine attorney he will soon be our Grand Master of Masons in Michigan.

In his brief article which was posted on social media, he delves into the cyclical nature of fraternities and societies as a whole.

It is indeed refreshing to see retrospection and a vision of where we need to go and how to get there as a fraternity.

Well said WB Mark.

Freemasonry my Brother, arose out of of the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the Industrial Age. In each epoch of history Freemasonry has led and we have had an impact. It is the oldest Fraternal Organization.

We are now, my Brothers in the Information Age. That began in the late 1950’s and Freemasonry has struggled in this age, as have all traditional fraternal, church and social organizations with declining membership and participation.

Contrary to popular conceptions that the Information age would “bring us together” , we have become more polarized, more tribal, less apt to join, less accepting, less civil, more divided by race, creed and economics, less respecting of differences of opinion, more isolated.. Civility and good character have fallen victim. Materialism reigns. According to public polling and surveys common respect for institutions of law, government and business have fallen. i submit this is in direct correlation to the decline of participation in our Fraternal organizations and community character.

The time to change this is now. Restoring the Fraternal character of America is imperative. We have a mission to rise to. Obviously, no one is perfect, but striving to be better as a human being and doing the right thing is paramount.

Freemasonry since its inception in 1717 or before strives to bring good men of every race, color, creed, economic and social position together on the level of equality, under a fatherhood of God, for at least a short period of time, to set aside their temporal differences, to act as Brothers, to seek a more humane, loving and charitable existence for ourselves, our homes, families, workplaces and communities. We seek to improve our character, to be better sons, fathers, husbands, co-workers, and citizens. To strive to make the world we live in a better place to be. We can disagree, yet not be disagreeable.

Regardless of fraternal affiliation, Knight of Columbus, Freemasonry, Elks, VFW, Moose, FOP, Eagles, don't we all seek to make our members better and to seek a newer and better world? We need to promote better men, husbands, fathers and leaders.

Reflecting

Reflecting upon our recent visit with our good brothers of Eureka Lodge #16 PHA, several things can be learned from their traditions and ways of conducting themselves and their business. I am hesitant to write this, but surely our brothers and leaders have mad similar observations which are outlined below.

The first and most prominent thing that stands out to me is their manner of dress. Black suit, white shirt, black tie, and white gloves. This was true when Eureka visited Fellowship as well as on our visit to Eureka. I remember when I visited the other Prince Hall Lodge, John W. Stevenson the brothers there were also in black suit, etc.

It's not just the officers, it's every brother in attendance is in a black suit. Too often when attending lodge I don't see suits or even sport-coats, I see casual wear. I sat by the Marshal of Eureka Lodge and his job is to ensure the proper dress of all the brothers, right down to pointing out if a brothers apron is out of adjustment or the flap is turned up.

The next thing I found intriguing is the respect of the officers toward their Past Masters. The Past Master with the earliest term of service is referred to as the "Senior Past Master", a way to honor that Past Master and his dedication to the lodge. He is the last of the Past Masters to speak, again a way of honoring his wisdom.

Now the biggie......full form proficiency. We witnessed an excellent examination of their candidate, the young man did an absolute fantastic job. Later in the evening he thanked his teacher for all of his help in learning the lesson. We stopped the full form proficiency probably close to 30 years ago. This provided an opportunity for men to become brothers without the difficulty of the lesson. But our candidates have lost that relationship with the teacher and actually learning about the fraternity and it's teachings.

Another lesson to be learned is that these brothers truly are brothers, they actually know and support one another, not just by name and lodge, they truly know about each other and each other's lives. It really shows through as they interact with one another.....something we need to be much better at.

In certain ways I think we've become too relaxed in our traditions, our dress, and in our respect of the leaders who have gone before us. Then the matter of the proficiency, we will never see our Grand Lodge going back to the "old way" of proficiency I'm afraid, but there is definitely something to be said for the experience, I think the new brother has a much better knowledge of the craft. To me the whole evening was like going back in time to an era that was much more formal and respectful of the fraternity and it's meaning to the lives of it's members. So mote it be.

Brotherly Love

Last night completed the first of many visits between Fellowhip Lodge F&AM and Eureka Lodge PHA. Both of these lodges are in the city of Flint and have functioned independently of one another for many years.

A few weeks ago I visited Fellowship Lodge for a Master Mason degree, upon arriving I realized that our brothers from Eureka Lodge were visiting to witness the degree. If memory serves there were 11 brothers from Eureka Lodge visiting that evening, including the Worshipful Master and most of his line officers. It was a joyous evening and a great night in Masonry. It provided the opportunity for the brothers from Eureka to visit the Flint Masonic Temple and witness the degree how we portray it.

Last evening we had the opportunity to return the visit by attending a Master Mason Degree put on by Eureka Lodge. The degree was well attended by Prince Hall brothers and many brothers from Fellowship Lodge and other lodges throughout the county.

One thing that particularly caught my attention when Eureka visited Fellowship and during our visit to Eureka was the manner of dress by the Prince Hall brothers. They all wore black suits with white shirts and black ties, and every brother wore white gloves. One of the brothers did not have on a tie and apologized for not having on a tie because of recent carotid artery surgery. I'm afraid that we have become very lax about our dress standards for our meetings.

After getting their lodge opened on the Fellowcraft Degree, the candidate stood his proficiency in that degree.....in long form as we used to do. up until the mid to late eighties. The young brother did an outstanding job on delivering his proficiency. This certainly touched the hearts of many of our older brothers who remember the good old days.

Eureka then changed degrees and voted on the young brother's proficiency and proceeded on with the Master Mason degree in fine form. The obligation was given by a Past Master of Eureka Lodge and was perhaps the finest I've ever heard. The emotion and feeling portrayed by this Past Master added to the meaning of the obligation not only for the candidate but for every brother in attendance.

Obviously the rest of the degree was equally well performed. A variety of Past Masters delivered the lectures and were introduced before delivering their portion of the lectures. Everything went extremely smooth and the knowledge displayed was fantastic.

The secretary of Eureka Lodge and I worked together back in the mid 80's through the early 90's. His dad was a Past Master of Eureka Lodge, so it was only natural that Greg join the same lodge. He was so excited when he joined, and we worked on his lessons on the down-low at work. This was at a time when the Grand Lodge of Michigan F&AM and the PHA Grand Lodge of Michigan did not recognize each other. However, Greg and I acknowledged that we were brothers even if our Grand Lodges did not acknowledge it.

Thankfully a number of years ago the two Grand Lodges agreed to recognize one another, unfortunately it's taken a while to get to this stage of our relationship....but we are now there. For these two lodges to coexist in the same city for so many years and only now are coming together is a shame, because of the number of years that have elapsed. But the future is bright and I am sure that our relationship will only improve and strengthen in the future.

If we look to our early teachings in the very first degree, the Entered Apprentice degree, we learn that; by the exercise of brotherly love we are taught to regard the whole human species as one family, the high and low the rich and poor, who being created by one Almighty Parent and inhabiting the same planet are to aid, support and protect one another. On this principle Masonry unites men of every country, sect and opinion and conciliates true friendship among those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.

There are differences in how we portray the work but there are far more similarities. By these visitations we find that we are united in the same purposes, Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. We discover that we have similar values. similar visions, and similar goals. We both have a love of the fraternity and the active brothers realize that this fraternity is a life long endeavor.

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethern to dwell together in unity.

The Fruits of Thy Labors

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in Masonry.....ok, so I took a small little liberty and replaced unity with Masonry, but they seem quite interchangeable particularly after the evening we enjoyed last night at Lapeer Lodge #54.

It was the annual occurrence of the auspicious solemnity known as the installation of officers at the Lapeer Masonic Temple . WB Daniel Reese was installed before a nearly standing room only crowd.

When I arrived a little late for dinner I found myself parking in the back 40 and then I was triple parked. Upon approaching the doors of the temple I noticed the windows were fogged and there was a table right at the front door. This could only mean one thing....a packed house, and that was an understatement.

I had the honor of emceeing  and in my remarks I referenced WB Howard Durbin, by today's standards this was a Durbin turn out and very deserving for WB Dan, who has worked very hard over the last 6 years to arrive at this point in his Masonic journey.

Dan's journey illustrates that when a brother is allowed to progress in the manner designed, that of spending a year at each of the stations along the way to the East a brother has the opportunity to learn the ways of the craft and become prepared for the office Worshipful Master.

It seems that today that lodges are in a great big hurry to rush new members through the 3 degrees, then rush them through the line into the East....and when they arrive they don't fully understand why or how they got there. This can be traced back to the greatly reduced catechism of today and just an overall lack of commitment on the new brothers part and sadly of the lodge itself.

A very wise brother noted some years ago that travelling is one of the hidden gems of the fraternity of Free & Accepted Masons....truer words have never been spoken. This was proven by last evenings attendance at Lapeer's installation of officers.

WB Dan has worked tirelessly for the craft and traveled to many many lodges during his journey to the East. This was evidenced by the turn out to see him installed in this highly esteemed office. It was nearly standing room only.

Too often we hear brothers complaining that the fraternity is dying, they see the glass half empty and so on. Dan's installation proved that with hard work and giving to others that one will be able to reap one's harvest and gather the fruits of thy labor and fully demonstrate that the glass is half full or more.

By studying, learning, traveling, and giving it makes many of the lessons of Freemasonry come to life for all to see. If all of us brothers could be inspired and do a fraction of what Dan has accomplished the craft and the fraternity would do nothing but grow in strength and numbers.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there were two young couples in attendance last evening who were there to see what Freemasonry is all about. Two young men and their wives were witness to a terrific installation but also a tremendous display of brotherly love and affection.....they could not have attended a better installation for their first time.

Some very important lessons come shining through at events such as this....the strength, depth, perseverance, and sustainability of the fraternity is stronger and more vibrant than any of us....there truly is strength in numbers... and success breeds success and one can at some point truly harvest the fruits of thy labors.

And Now What

Brothers.....this is a very short if not the shortest post ever for me. Those that know me will scratch their head for it is out of character for me. So, here we go.

The Blue Lodge here in Michigan decided in order to gain more members the amount of memorization and studying on the part of the new brother would be greatly reduced....thus increasing membership.

The Shrine decided that in order to boost membership that the "Scottish Rite" or "York Rite" path to the Shrine whould be eliminated.....thus increasing membership.

The brothers coming into the Blue Lodge has a very hard time surpassing those laying down the working tools of life.

The Shrine has shrunk dramatically and new members can't surpass the black camel.

The Scottish Rite and York Rite have suffered enormously.....in my opinion because of the dropping of the membership requirement before becoming a Shriner.

It totally amazes me that the Scottish Rite, York Rite, and the Shrine all draw their members from the Blue Lodge.....one would think that the leaders of those organizations would be the biggest cheerleaders and workers in the Blue Lodge.....apparently that message has been lost.

Now new brothers coming in are begging for instruction and learning about the craft.....but since that is no longer required it get brushed aside too easily.

And now what??