We Are One

It all started on Saturday, usually a busy day anyway doing all of the things you cant do during the week, but this one was extra busy with errands and the shuttling duties that accompany a medium sized family. I received a voice mail from the daughter of a Lodge Brother stating that he had passed away and the family were wondering if it were possible if we, his lodge,  could perform a Masonic funeral service.....on Sunday.
Now, I received this message at around 11:00AM and knew I could not return the call for a couple of hours so I started to think about how I could perform this last duty and possibly wrangle up a few Brothers to help in a 24 hour period. It takes a couple of weeks to put together a decent Entered Apprentice degree so I worried about how this very important service would come together.
Even before I got the chance to act I received a call from my Secretary checking to see if I got the message. I told him I had and was just about to try to put something together and asked all of the questions a young Worshipful Master asks of his wise old Secretary. I had attended every memorial service that I could since I joined the lodge, so I knew how they went, but this would be my first one as WM.
The Masonic Funeral or Memorial service is probably the most important public event that we as Masons do because not only is it our last tribute to our fallen Brother, it is one of the most moving pieces of ritual we do in front of non-Masons. It is a chance to show the family of the deceased why it is their man was a Mason and what it means to be one and it is a chance for his friends and family to have a glimpse into our fraternity. I can not stress enough of its importance for I have seen amazing ones, as in my Chance Inspiration (probably my best post ever) and bad ones as in my How Do You Tell a Past Master He Is Wrong so I felt the pressure to deliver something good for an over Fifty year member of the lodge.
I started making the calls to my officers and received an overwhelmingly positive response. I then sent out a general email to the Brethren and received a few more affirmatives. I went to the Lodge building and grabbed the accoutrement needed and brought it home for cleaning and polishing. The next day I received some regrets but also some unexpected responses for help and went about preparing for the service. I had the Brothers come to my house an hour before hand to practice and my street filled with cars with Masonic emblems. When the time came we all loaded up into cars and headed for the graveyard.
As a man who was raised Catholic, has Buddhist tendencies and now goes to an Episcopal church I had experienced many types of burials but this was my first Jewish one. My fallen Brother was a Navy vet also, so there were a couple of sailors there who performed their service first with the ever moving Taps and folding of the American Flag then it was our turn. After we were finished I stayed with a Past Master of my lodge and watched the burial service of our Brothers faith and was quite moved.
Freemasonry is perhaps the only vehicle where men of all faiths can sit together and profess faith without infringing on another's and come away better. We all believe in something better and can actually experience, if we truly live up to our credo, each others faith and cement faith itself. As different as the words and ritual of my Brothers religion were, they were familiar to me because at a time of loss it is faith that keeps us moving forward with love.
We are all one.

The Lost Temples

Whenever my little family needs a short vacation we often drive up the coast of Connecticut to the historic village of Mystic, made famous by the movie about a pizza shop but better known for its historic seaport. We love the quaint New England sea town feel and the fresh salt air and whenever we can't do a long vacation we often just head up there for a few nights away from our house. A few years back when still new to Freemasonry and without an I-phone, while looking for parking down a side street that followed the Mystic river, I came across this building which at the time still had Masonic emblems on it. It was quite impressive and had a direct view of the river and harbor within. Later that day, while waiting for some pizza, I tried looking up the lodge on my incredibly early version of a smart phone by attempting to view the list of Connecticut lodges on our Grand Lodge website (that took forever) and I could not find any listing for a lodge in Mystic. Our vacation went on as normal and I forgot about the search until my most recent trip while strolling along the river I saw the building again but this time it had a for sale sign in front of it. 

As quickly as I could type "Masonic temple Mystic CT" into my handy dandy, much better enabled phone, I was directed to a story about how the over 100 year old temple had been sold when the lodge merged with another in a neighboring town and had been turned into a couple of million dollar condos and like whenever I read about a temple lost, my heart broke a little more.

It has been happening more and more often as dying lodges grasping at straws to survive simply cease to exist or regionally merge with another lodge and yet another magnificent piece of architecture and  real estate is gone from our once much stronger fraternity. I have often written about it in the past and the realists say that those buildings were only able to be maintained by huge post WWII member numbers and that the reality of our dwindling order is that we should shed these money pits and consolidate and merge in smaller more affordable buildings. The problem I have with this theory is that  most of these exoteric representations of our craft's grandeur were built by lodges in the late 19th and early 20th centuries whose numbers were not incredibly huge and by Brothers who had much less means than we have now. They built or bought these structures because they felt the important work that was being done inside the lodge room should be reflected on the outside as well and they raised a lot of money to do so.

These lodge buildings were usually right in the center of the town or city and could easily be confused with the local town hall where government resided. It must have been truly thrilling for someone back then to knock on the doors of those imposing buildings and finally catch a glimpse of the inside and inquire about what goes on beyond the doors and inquire about how to become a part of such an amazing society that could sustain such an edifice. 

Now most Grand Lodges including my own are having local lodges do an "open house " and basically begging the public to come in and see what we do. Not only have we lost many of these incredible buildings, we now are close to pleading people to join. Are these "open houses" akin to the one day classes where a man was promised three degrees in a few hours so they could be handed a dues card as quickly as possible to superficially boost our numbers with more dues paying masons? 

The government as an entity locally and nationally has invested a lot of money in preserving and maintaining important structures that represent the greatness of our country because you just wouldn't feel the same way about paying your property taxes or going to court if it were held in some conference room in the back of a Ho-Jo's. I think it is much the same with our fraternity, it is just a little off putting hearing ancient conducted in a conference room or in some cinder block building. Most young men knocking on the West Gate are expecting much more than a six foot wedge and some soda in a hall that has seen way better days. If we are to live up to our vaunted past its time we restore the foundations and return to the earlier days of feasts and pomp and circumstance. Where a lodge wants to be in the most conspicuous impressive structure that garners curious questions without wide open doors.

It is a shame that Grand Lodges do not put away some of the funds that they take from their constituent lodges and set up preservation funds to hang on to some of these buildings for a brighter future or at least out of deference to our fore bearers who struggled to have them erected. because unfortunately once they are lost the order looses a little of its luster and mystery.

Horrible Funk

I hate to write a post like this but I have to write something or I feel as though I will never come out of this funk. In November, like many other Americans, I was laid off from work and it stunk! I was finally doing a job I was proud and eager to share with others and doing it well. I was challenged mentally, physically, and creatively and in one short year had grown so much that I look back now and wonder how I was, how I was before my last job and then the lay-off, which was only to be a short time and has now become ridiculously long. I have never in my life since age 13 spent more time not having a job. The problem is that where before I could just do anything to bring home some money, just some money is not enough to justify my being employed and paying for childcare so I need a certain amount and that certain amount seems like an impossible dream right now. It seems that the middle manager type guy, that I was, has become extinct and now companies have made it up by making lower paid guys and gals take on more responsibility without pay and making higher paid people do more lower work more often.
When the eminent return to work seemed less eminent, I started to apply to jobs that never responded or when they did asked for more than they would return. It seems that todays employment requires 150% and pays 65% with no benefits. I happen to be blessed with being married to a woman who has always carried more of the burden from her hard work and higher education and for our burgeoning family (we were just blessed with our fourth child and a fine strapping lad he is!) her salary, along with my government pittance has kept us above water so far but I am not sure how much longer we can stay afloat.
As for my year in the East, what started out as an incredible success with increased education, incredible camaraderie and lodge growth came to a sputtering stall as we went into our summer break of dimness. I assembled an officer line that I thought would drive us into the next two an a half centuries sidelining some very good friends and brothers who I had though had underperformed during my junior officer roles and promoting a group of my hand picked guys and it mostly back-fired. The guys I sidelined became stellar brothers and a few of my hand picked have stuttered at best.
I tried to lead my old lodge to a new beginning with a carefully thought out plan of buying a new building to call home that mostly fractured all of the fellowship I had worked so hard to flourish. Don't get me wrong, we are much better than we have been but now there are camps of passionate differing opinions vying against each other and mostly me. Some of my most trusted brothers left me in the lurch carrying a torch that I thought I shared with everyone.
So for a while I had a hard time believing in anything, and really still do.
I question my dedication to a quixotic cause of a once powerful lodge, I question my ability as a man to contribute to my family and I question mostly myself.
I have not been able to write because even with the amazing birth of my son I have not felt happy in a long time.
I have just existed.
Existence is not what I was put here to do.
Sorry for the bummer of a post.
I need the sun to rise in the East again.

Betrayal

You know that scene in Braveheart when the big battle is lost and he charges after the helmeted knight and is knocked off his horse and plays dead to entice his enemy off his horse then springs up on him pulling off his helmet ready to slice his throat only to find his "friend" Robert the Bruce behind the mask. I thought Mel Gibson's interpretation of betrayal was so powerful and true. Bewildered, sad, confused, defeated he stumbles back trying to make sense of his world gone upside down and lays down in surrender. The Bruce then finds his moral compass and helps him escape but it is too late for the cause.

 Trust is a mighty thing. It is something you give selflessly. When broken it can often never be returned.

Connecticut's most infamous son could have been one of its greatest heroes. Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich Connecticut to a long line of Benedict Arnold's including a former Governor of Rhode Island. His father B.A. after some unfortunate business dealings sought the solace of the local tavern, so young Benny was sent off at an early age to apprentice at his cousins large and successful apothecary. His early life was adventurous and successful and eventually he ended up in New Haven Connecticut with his own apothecary and became a merchant trader in Canada and the West Indies where it is believed he became a Freemason. He soon affiliated with Hiram Lodge No. 1 in New Haven, Connecticut's oldest lodge. When he heard of the Battle's of Lexington and Concord Arnold marched off to battle. His heroics and exploits are many and as the Revolutionary War progressed he quickly rose up the ranks of the Continental Army. If his story ended here he would be spoken amongst the founding fathers with reverence due but alas, greed or vanity and or a combination of insults drove him to his path of infamy and his betrayal of his country he fought and was wounded for.

What causes a man to betray a trust given to him? It is said that his fellow Freemason Brother George Washington, who had given Benedict the post at West Point where he was to be caught trying to sell its secrets to the Redcoats, was calm upon learning of the betrayal of his friend and Brother, I wonder what his face looked like. 

Washington did perform a thorough investigation into his betrayal and tried to make a trade with the British in order to bring him to justice and even tried to have him kidnapped but Benedict escaped and eventually fought as gallantly for the Red Coats as he did the Patriots, but died virtually unknown in London where he is buried due to clerical errors in an unmarked mass grave.

It is kind of sad when someone you have put faith and trust in betrays you because you know that person well and you almost want to figure out how to justify their action in order to save that was lost but it will never be the same. 

Subterfuge regardless of the reason is subterfuge.

 

The Lodge Night I Dreamed Of

There we were, four Traveling Men on a train bound for the greatest city in the world dressed in dark suits. We had no idea what to expect and were excited like school kids on their first field trip. We spoke of our lodge and how it was now and what we dreamed of it becoming. In hushed tones I helped my Brothers polish their secrets to make sure they shined if tried. They were ready, we were ready. I had already explained to them that the lodge we were visiting was special and did things very different form how we did things but even I did not know what was to come. It seemed the stations passed by in a blink because we arrived in Grand Central in a very short time.

The bustle of the city allowed us the anonymity to hone our art further. After a packed subway ride we strode down the street toward our destination on a drizzly overcast evening but we must have shone like diamonds as many a person took the time from their hustle to say "looking sharp gentleman" or "nice suits". Our secret conversation was so engaging that we almost missed our destination and surprisingly it could be missed if you weren't looking for it. 

The polished modern entrance was like any corporate headquarters with the revolving glass door and an attentive security guard behind surveillance monitor but just past the doorman was a beautiful stone floor with an inlaid brass square and compasses encircled with the motto "Let There Be Light". We were ushered to an elevator in the rear entrance lined with beautiful glass cases filled with Masonic memorabilia and murals. Our excitement mounted as we rode the elevator to our destination where we were greeted by the Tyler who asked us to sign the guest book and wrote down our names and titles for the Masters benefit. We grabbed our aprons and walked inside the one of the most amazing lodge rooms I had ever entered.

The Ionic room was like a Greek temple as its name implied. Thirty foot marble columns surrounded us with ornaments painted in all sorts of colors as those temples were decorated in their heyday. There were already many many Brothers anxiously waiting for the night to begin and I greeted my fellow Worshipful Master and we made our way to the North Eastern side of the room of course to take our seats. While we waited for the night to begin we were greeted by a very gracious Brother who gave us a little insight to the lodge we were visiting he turned out to be Mark Koltko-Rivera author and fellow blogger. He had long ago helped me with a memory technique after one of my posts so it was nice to meet him in person.

A bell rang and the night began.

This lodge was a Traditional Observance Lodge. I have long been an admirer of the TO concept but never had the opportunity to see one in action.... let me just say it was worth the wait.

First they turned off the lights. Then there was music. Brother Mozart helped us from beyond, to shed the day and excitement and focus our thoughts for lodge. Then the lodge was opened. It was not really that much different from how we do it, except the little differences between jurisdictions, there were even some requisite line fumbles as we all do, but the contemplative time before the start made it all the much more meaningful. After the opening all of the visitors were welcomed and the night began. Business as usual but then the guest lecturer was brought in and we were enlightened by a thoroughly engaging discussion on "Symbolic Interaction-ism". It was delivered by an amazing Mason and Man who I have long admired and we all really enjoyed it. The night was running late so they closed the lodge and ended in a chain of union,(see TO lodge above) which is quite a fulfilling way to end such a great meeitng. 

We then retired to Coalition (dinner) which was held in a private room in the basement of a nearby restaurant where we shared excellent food and wine and company. The level of conversation was at a height of profound intellectualism and Brotherly Love and friendship that I had never reached before but had always dreamed of. This was a lodge night like I had envisioned it to be before I approached the West Gate, men from every station and level of life meeting on the square and sincerely trying to make themselves and each other better. Deep conversation and thinking deserving of the profound nature of our ritual and fellowship and camaraderie over amazing food and drink.

I can say with out a doubt I came home a different man than I left and I have seen what I wish my lodge to become. We are almost there. The bar is set high. It was the most profound Masonic night I had ever experienced and I thanked the Worshipful Master and guest lecturer profusely and had I asked their permission I would be doing it by name but alas I did not so I will not. It was the lodge night I always dreamed of.

Disappointment or Reality?

A while back I finished reading Master of the Mysteries: The Life of Manly Palmer Hall and like many things in my quest for esoteric knowledge the reality was not anything like the idealized vision I had built up in my head. Very early in my research into Freemasonry I became a big fan of Mr. Hall. I started out, like many searchers of hidden knowledge, with The Secret Teachings of all Ages. It was a revelation and although I have still not finished the entire book Manly's writings stirred something in me and spoke directly to me. Sometimes it seemed that he wrote in my thought pattern. It soon became an obsession of mine and the large stack of his books began to grow on my nightstand. Melchizedek and the Mystery of Fire (Adept Series),Words to the Wise: A Practical Guide to the Esoteric Sciences,The Secret Destiny of America,Twelve World Teachers: A Summary of Their Lives and Teachings,The Lost Keys of Freemasonry (Also Includes: Freemasonry of the Ancient Egyptians / Masonic Orders of Fraternity) books, pamphlets, websites, I devoured them all. I repeatedly went on to the Philosophic Research Society's website and even dreamed of entering it's degree program. My highlighter has only gotten more work when I was given a script for a play.

The knowledge of this man seemed unbelievable and still does. He traveled the world studying our search for more meaning and must have read more arcane and obscure books than anyone ever. His library at PRS is still nearly second to none. As I read more and more I had a picture of this amazing man (definitely helped by his mysterious head shots) like some kind of dalai lama-guru in California living the enlightened life of a chosen one. As only a chosen one can, he never was unhappy or sad, and with all of his secret knowledge he lived a life of bliss until he re-merged with the source of all being. Reality was reality.

I sort of wish I had never read his biography so that my image of him remained unspoiled but like all things idealized, expectations can be overreaching and romanticized. Nothing about his writings has changed for me, they still hit a chord in my soul, but I am very sad for what happened to him. He deserved better.

If You Build It...

So what comes first the lodge or the "lodge"? As most Masons know a lodge is a group of Freemasons, it is constituted (or licensed in layman's terms) by a Grand Lodge and given the power and authority to make Masons. As most non Masons and Masons wives know a "lodge" is the building that Freemasons go a couple of times a month to meet and do that "secret" stuff. In early times the lodge was formed without a "lodge". Freemasonry grew in pubs and coffee houses and any other place that could be Tyled or secured from non Masons in order to do the work of the order. As Freemasonry grew the "lodge" became a new reality, lodges swelling with members who wished to donate their time and money built edifices that reflected their love and devotion to their craft. Magnificent structures were constructed at a time when Brothers had a lot less means than todays masons, but built they were.

The building that caught my imagination and helped to draw me to the lodge of which I am Master today was sold, like many "lodges" were, because the big white elephant was too expensive for the dwindling brotherhood that met there. It is an amazing structure with stained glass Masonic windows, brass door hardware with square and compasses emblazoned on every handle, and a ceiling painted to match the canopy of heaven, but it is not ours. Yes we meet there but someone else owns the building and they are not going to give it up in the foreseeable future. We are uncomfortable tenants doing the labor of Freemasonry in a museum from the past. When we retire to the South for fellowship we must bring and remove any evidence of our existence and never feel comfortable in our camaraderie.

My dream for my lodge is to get us back into a "lodge". I want a place of our own. I want a place where if a couple of Brothers want to discuss things over a cigar and a dram of whiskey they can do so. I want a place where we can leave supplies to make the dinner we consume before a degree. I want to have a piece of property that the Brothers can be proud to bring a prospective candidate to. Is this wrong? Am I spinning my creative wheels on a thing that is more trouble than its worth?

I have found a building with a fraction of the grandeur of our old "lodge" but it still has the possibility of grandeur. This building is within the money we collected for the sale of our old building and then some. We should have enough money to purchase and renovate and put some money away to help us in the early years of ownership. But even with all of these qualities the older guys at the lodge are scared to own property again.

I think that a "lodge" would help my lodge in retention and growth because it would be a place we could all be proud owners of, but is this not the case? Does my idea of a "lodge" like the royal society, a clubhouse for the Brethren, not fit in with the reality of modern American Freemasonry? I see places like Halcyon Lodge and what they have done with their old building and think that if we had that we would be so much better off. Am I wrong?

What do you think?