tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8329035634093729308.post2722425891524166946..comments2023-04-03T16:36:12.161-05:00Comments on The Examined Life: How Many Non-Joiners are in this Fraternity, Anyway?A.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12117678093305478443noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8329035634093729308.post-7764556900519504632009-12-13T15:51:43.686-05:002009-12-13T15:51:43.686-05:00Reading your blogs and the comments posted makes m...Reading your blogs and the comments posted makes me realise what a truly small world we live in. So many of the issues that seem to erk you are the same as those that wind me up. I have brethren in my lodge who pay their dues but never attend from one year to the next. Also brethren who seem to have lost the ability to pick up the phone in order to let me know that they will be absent, or refuse or are reluctant to join the Lodge of Instruction but continue to fumble and stumble over the same pieces of ceremony.<br />I have instigated what I call 'The Five Minute Lecture' in my LOI. Each brother has to prepare a five minute speech on some aspect of the ceremony being practiced. By this I mean that only one or two of the Brethren will give their talks at any one meeting. It gets each brother thinking about the ceremony and Freemasonry in general. So far this has been extremely well received. My ultimate aim is that should there ever be a lull in our regular lodge meetings, I will be able to call on any brother from the LOI to come forward with a prepared speech. This has proved to be a great help to brethren who have in the past struggled with public speaking. I doubt that there are any lodges worldwide blessed with true harmony and therefore the best advice that I could offer to you is strive for excellence in everything that you personally do and'Lead by example'.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08059678418797618393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8329035634093729308.post-49510628862880375092009-08-19T18:58:15.784-05:002009-08-19T18:58:15.784-05:00Brother HB,
Thanks so much for your thoughtful co...Brother HB,<br /><br />Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments! My perspective on Freemasonry is constantly shifting; I've read through far too much acrimony and seen what a static attitude towards Masonry can do to a lodge to pick a mindset and stay with it... especially if experience conflicts systemically with one previously held notion or another.<br /><br />I'm under no illusions about the fact that ego, politics, power and money often lead to disharmony in a lodge; I haven't been around my district all that long, but it's been long enough to have heard about plenty of intrigue (past and present). And read plenty of examples of it nationwide online before I ever knocked on the untyled door.<br /><br />I'm also aware, as I make my way towards the East, that the Master of a lodge often winds up at the middle of these things. My reasons for moving through the officer's line are not entirely altruistic; of course I want to help my lodge by devoting my time and energy to keeping it (and by extension, the Craft) going, but for me it's also most definitely a personal challenge I have set for myself. A lodge of Masons is a pretty small macrocosm of society, but it will still be a proud accomplishment if I can be an assertive (and hopefully mostly-respected) leader of it for a year, and hopefully restore a little bit interest in education & history. (I agree, it's about quality, not quantity.)<br /><br />So yes, I suspect that part of my continued enthusiasm stems from not having burned myself out yet. The cumulative time commitment of a Brother who goes through the chairs is substantial, and I'm sure that when I'm through I will relish the opportunity <i>not</i> to go to lodge/lodge of instruction/Grand Lodge quarterlies/official vists simply because I don't <i>have</i> to. And that's OK. My obsessions tend to be cyclical, and in another few years I may be on to something else for a while.<br /><br />With regards to my comment about the Elks, that was made only to characterize exactly the sort of arrogance you take exception to, and was never intended to reflect my <i>own</i> attitude towards the Elks or any other fraternal organization. I do apologize if I gave that impression!A.C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12117678093305478443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8329035634093729308.post-27287272091692197802009-08-17T08:12:47.642-05:002009-08-17T08:12:47.642-05:00I am a PM of a very large, better-than-average Lod...I am a PM of a very large, better-than-average Lodge. I say better than average because like it or not, some Lodges should cease to exist. I say this, having visited quite a few over the years. I would like to make some points about your post.<br /><br />You are still at the level where you see Freemasonry through rose colored glasses. Don't take this the wrong way - I hope you NEVER lose that idealistic view and continue to have good experiences.<br /><br />Conversely, I have seen a side of the Fraternity that has left me somewhat jaded. This is entirely due to the fact that I am a Past Master. The dichotomy of the WM's chair is Ritual and business. Business must be attended, yet can in some cases be the source of the greatest stress you may ever encounter.<br /><br />There have been many times I have wished I didn't know much of what I learned as WM. You gotta have the balls to be a real leader, which means considering the Lodge before the individual Brother. In every Lodge I've ever attended there is strife where harmony should exist, all due to the same things we encounter on the outside. Power and money.<br /><br />I gave my Lodge 7 years of my life, and to quote a Brother, "It was the most wonderful thing I would never do again." Now, even though that was a couple of years ago, I find myself more at a distance, and wanting only to attend a few meetings a year, nothing more, ever since becoming a Mason.<br /><br />A point on another subject:<br />We all have our pet peeves. One of mine is the arrogance some Brothers display when referring to other fraternities. I've seen Brothers at Grand Lodge stand and say if (insert complaint) doesn't change they may as well join the Moose, Elks, etc. What an pompous, puffed-up thing to say. I am a long time member of the Moose Lodge, and I take issue with that 'better than thou' attitude. <br /><br />Most of my Brothers are in fact 'good men' and use the tools of Freemasonry to become better men. I am not alone with my frustration in the Masonic Fraternity. Many of the good men are seeing more light, that is, becoming enlightened about the "hard to tolerate" side of the Brotherhood. Many of us want to change the ever increasing ease with which one can become a Mason, lack of real and useful education and emphasis on gaining members rather than retaining and aiding Brothers as we should.<br /><br />The best of luck on your journey through this Fraternity. I only suggest you keep an open mind, a critical thinking mind and work to make the organization better, not bigger.<br /><br />Fraternally,<br /><br />HBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com