Thursday, January 17, 2008

Installation Excitement


Barring an act of God or an attack of the killer zombies, tonight I will be installed as the Junior Warden of my lodge, and boy am I excited.
Last night I had one of my Brethren over for a fire pit-side chat over a beautiful single malt and my favorite cigar. I had invited him over to help him with his lines for Junior Deacon. We are expecting 30 or so visitors for the installation and I wanted to help my brother polish his ritual. What should have been a couple of hours of practicing turned into a brain storm over the future of Old St. John's. This bother of mine is a diamond in the ruff. He had been a part turning an other organization in my city into thriving club. He started our conversation with how we need to do more charitable acts to gain recognition in our city which I retorted with Freemasonry is not a charity. Which kicked our conversation into overdrive.
Let me shed a little more light on my Brother. He is the Junior Deacon of my lodge and has been a luke warm participant in most of our meetings since I have joined. He has been a Mason for over four years and has been kind of swinging in the breeze because he was never really taught what our fraternity was really about.
He is the result of a "One Day Mason" class.
He was thrown into the craft without the time to reflect on the degrees.
After I addressed what I dreamed our lodge of becoming and gave a brief synopsis of the history of our order, he told me that he regrets being raised in one day because he never had the one on one interaction between mentor and candidate that goes on in between degrees. It is in these meetings that allot of the craft's history and purpose is explained to the new brother. He missed that and needed a catch up lesson which I gladly gave.
Clearing up on the purpose of a Freemasons Lodge we went about discussing the project we need to share between our brethren, restoring our lodge to its former glory. For the first time in a long time my Brother became excited about lodge. We decided that if we could have more fire pit-side chats with more of the new generation brethren in our lodge we could accomplish anything we set ourselves out to do.
Our job is a big one.
But like Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect (1894-1912); Director of Works for the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893; architect of the Chicago Masonic Temple said:
“Make no little plans. They have no magic to
stir men’s blood and probably themselves will
not be realized. Make big plans, aim high in
hope and work, remembering that a noble,
logical diagram once recorded will never die,
but long after we are gone will be a living thing,
asserting itself with ever-growing insistency.
Remember that our sons and grandsons are
going to do things that would stagger us. Let
your watchword be order and your beacon
beauty. Think big.”

3 comments:

Tom Accuosti said...

I can't help you with the first one, but here's something just in case the second problem arises.

I was hoping to be there tonight, but family obligations came up this morning in the form of my niece preparing to have a baby.

In defense of your JD brother, it's my belief that it's less a matter of the One-Day, and more a matter of not enough time conversing with the more experienced and mature Masons. Too many members rush off after a meeting instead of hanging around and swapping war stories. They should be taking the time to coach or mentor him, especially if they're going to toss him into the chairs before the ink has dried on his dues card.

My opinion... but a damned good one.

M.M.M. from the North Eastern Corner said...

Tom,
It would have been a very pleasant suprise to have had you there tonight, thanks. I think I may have stirred up Gods wrath because they are now forcasting a winter storm, I hope we dont have to reschedule it again!
Its a little of column A, little of column B with my JD brother. There was some mentoring but his story is a little more complicated and has a 2 year hiatus in China where he had no masonic communication whatsoever.I am just happy to have him excited about the lodge!

Tom Accuosti said...

Feh! I should have come down there. Musta been fifty wimmin visiting, and just me, her husband, and his father representing the male population. My presence was only needed to bring coffee. And I was only allowed in for about 4 minutes. Can't get the baby all germy, you know.
::rolls eyes::

Like having twenty other women picking the kid up and passing him around is supposed to be restful for him?

*ahem*

Hopefully things went well for you. Best wishes for the rest of the year.