Of Rules and Regulations

It’s funny how the people who are the least read and informed about rules and regulations are usually the ones who trumpet supposed breaches of the law.
Freemasonry is a very old organization with many rules that trace back to days gone by. One of the reasons the first grand lodge was formed back in 1717 was to try and organize and regularize the very local and different lodges of Freemasons. Freemasonry’s actual origins might never be known but we do know that groups of operative masons would group themselves into a lodge or guild to protect their art and be able to travel around and recognize each other as masons. These proto-lodges had ceremonies and rules that varied from town to town and country to country. The signs, grips and words that were used to identify yourself as a mason varied in many ways and even today they vary slightly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Even more varied are the rules that Freemasonry uses to govern itself.
When the premier Grand Lodge of England published its General Regulations in 1723 it stated "Every Annual Grand Lodge has an inherent power and Authority to make new Regulations or to alter these, for the real benefits of this Ancient Fraternity; provided always that the old Land-Marks be carefully preserved." Ah-ha you may think, at least there are indisputable landmarks on which all regulations derive, but if you are of that opinion you would be wrong. Even when the first regulations were published the landmarks were never enumerated or defined in any manner which left quite a considerable leeway in how to govern a body of Freemasons.
The first time the “ancient and unchangeable” landmarks of Freemasonry were actually published, in the Jurisprudence of Freemasonry 1856 by Dr.Albert Mackey, he laid down three requisite characteristics:
1.   notional immemorial antiquity
2.   universality
3.   absolute "irrevocability"
He claimed there were 25 in all, and they could not be changed. Over the years in all of the different jurisdictions this number varied and the landmarks themselves were different. In the United States of America where there were many independent Grand Lodges between the ‘Regular’ and Prince Hall Freemasons, the number of landmarks goes from 3 to 54. So if all of our rules and regulations are derived from the “unchangeable” landmarks and the rules and regulations can be altered and changed by each subsequent meeting of a Grand Lodge one can easily see how rules and laws of the fraternity can become jumbled for a less learned Brother Mason.
In the 1950’s the Conference of Grand Masters of North America decided upon three universal landmarks.
1.   Monotheism — An unalterable and continuing belief in God.
2.   The Volume of The Sacred Law — an essential part of the furniture of the Lodge.
3.   Prohibition of the discussion of Religion and Politics.
Of the three above landmarks the last one is the most confusing to some. In fact that landmark does not even exist in the ones that are accepted in my own jurisdiction of Connecticut but it is still regarded as an important rule in Freemasonry. This landmark is involved in one of the most important things to control the harmony of a lodge. By removing the topic of Religion or Politics from the arsenal of rhetoric a Brother may employ at a meeting you take away the two things that can easily divide the most loving of Brothers. As we are a simple brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God we can welcome men of all religions and beliefs into the lodge room to do the work of Freemasonry. The not understood part of this and all rules of Freemasonry is that it only applies to Freemasons when in lodge assembled. Freemasonry never asks a brother to give up his deeply held beliefs but it does ask that they be left at the door when the labor of Freemasonry commences.
This prohibition of the talk of Religion or Politics has been expanded and contracted in different jurisdictions to regulate all sorts of behavior of Masons in and outside of lodge and in some places come to prohibit Freemasons from politicking for office in a lodge. In my own jurisdiction this does not apply. While it is strictly prohibited that a brother be nominated for a position while in lodge there are certain times that necessitates a Brother Mason announce his availability for office when the progressive line is absent or dissolved. This should not occur while in lodge assembled but when the annual election of officers for a lodge is about to convene it is perfectly acceptable for a Brother to say he is willing to serve his lodge if they so elect him or how else would the craft know of their options.
Recently, after being approached by some of the Brothers of my lodge asking that I return to the east, I wrote a letter to all of the Brothers of my lodge addressing the state of our progressive line and informing them of my availability and willingness to serve the lodge if they so desired. Never once in the letter did I ask to be Master. Never once did I try to convince anyone of making a decision in one way or another. I just notified the Brothers of my availability and willingness and republished the messages from the east from my term in office for the newer brothers in the lodge to get an understanding of my vision for the fraternity and my lodge in general.
Almost immediately an undercurrent of backhanded and secret communications occured between certain members of the craft in my lodge leveling accusations of unmasonic behavior and breaking of the rules of our Grand Lodge. Not one of these "Brothers" whispered good counsel in my ear, not one of these communications were ever sent my way or out to the entire craft as I had done and I was very hurt by the way some of the men who have smiled and called me Brother to my face were so easily led to conduct unbecoming of a Brother. This level of back door politicking is what has chased many men away from leading or serving the craft and nearly chased me away but I know I am in the right and cannot allow the misguided intentions of a few to spoil the work of many. The good thing to come from this entire ordeal is that I quickly found out who really is my brother and who only parrots the words of Masonic ritual and is not even my friend.
This year’s annual meeting at my lodge might be a very interesting one to say the least.
What do you think?
What is your Grand Lodges policy of campaigning for an office in lodge?

Bad Leadership

Leadership is powerful. The power of a leader derives from the people who give up control of one aspect or another of the group and themselves to one. This dominion is given because it is very hard to administrate a large group of individuals en masse so we elect someone to LEAD.
A good leader can inspire individual people to do things that they have never done before.
A good leader can elevate the group of people to something they could never have achieved by themselves.
A good leader can amalgamate a diverse group into one.
A good leader knows his people.
A good leader listens carefully.
A good leader is driven towards a goal.
A good leader builds upon past success.
A good leader makes decisions for the group because that is his job.
A good leader knows what information to address to the group and what should be left to private.

A bad leader does not challenge people but relies on a few.
A bad leader brings the group down.
A bad leader divides the group and derides some.
A bad leader does not know everyone.
A bad leader disregards flippantly.
A bad leader flutters aimlessly.
A bad leader ignores and destroys what was good.
A bad leader constantly asks the group what should be done.
A bad leader bores the group with trivial matters that do not need to be shared.

When a group is lead by someone who knows how to lead, success and happiness follow seemingly effortlessly because the leader does the work he was elected to do behind the scenes for the benefit of the group, this allows the group to concentrate its collective efforts on bigger and better things. When a group is steered in a definite direction they can imagine what it will be like to reach that goal and keep that thought as an inspiration to keep them going when the labor becomes hard and it takes hard labor to build something beautiful.
Bad leadership is not always done on purpose, but often comes from the attitude that the office of leadership in and of itself is all that it takes to lead.
A good leader builds.
A bad leader erodes.

Policing Ourselves

(Saddle up, I'm getting on a high horse!)

As a self professed history nerd I can openly admit to reading old minute books from my lodge and with a lodge nearly 250 years old there are a lot of these. I have generally stuck to reading the ones from poignant moments in history both of my lodge and of my country but I always end up reading and skimming through them all just to satisfy my curiosity. These humongous leather bound tomes are themselves works of art as it seems everything from our earlier age was done with much more attention to detail. The handwriting is exquisite, the paper heavy and of high quality, and the binding for something as trivial as a lodge minute book had the quality of an heirloom bible. I have spent many hours with plastic gloves leafing through meeting after meeting in days gone by and there is one thing that happened quite often in those times that never occurs now. This missing piece of everyday Freemasonry in the past calls into question how we now run the order now and how seriously we take the vows we make to each other.


In between degrees, funerals and processions there were many times that brothers were brought up on charges of un-Masonic conduct. The minutes themselves are very discrete about the nature of these offences but their occurrences were often and penalties swift. It seems to me that Freemasons in the earlier generation of the craft were more serious about maintaining the code of conduct that we as Freemasons all swear to live by. They were willing to police themselves in order to maintain the reputation of the fraternity. It seems like a lifetime ago but I touched upon this subject in a post titled “A Desire For Knowledge” in 2008 and even though it was a very brief part of the thought I was trying to convey, I was hammered on the thought by a couple of friends from the Blogosphere who thought I was being too romantic with the past. I in turn was very cranky (I was just a baby blogger back then) and became very defensive about my thought process and never really argued the point I was making that I can now, as a wise and thoughtful Past Master, better expand upon.

During the three part initiation process we swear upon a volume of sacred law that we will live by ever expanding obligations to ourselves and the Fraternity. Most of the things we swear upon are keeping the modes of recognition secret, but within the ceremonies and later in the obligations we have more and more specific codes of conduct asked of us to live by. All of these obligations are taken with the penalty for infraction of these obligations fully explained and then we are reminded of the figurativeness of the original penalties and that the only real penalties are reprimand, suspension, and expulsion. These therefore are the only tools that Freemasonry uses to weed out men that can and will reflect badly upon the craft as a whole. At the same time, we are also told to use whispered council in the ear of a Brother before any of these paths are to be taken and this is the course of action that is the most widely used now, if any at all.

More often, and I am the first to admit to this glaring fault, it is much easier to turn a blind eye to un-Masonic conduct and wish for something better. This non confrontational approach is easier on all parties because you are not put in the position of accusing a Brother that could damage a relationship and no one is put on the spot to defend themselves. This symptom is an indicator of a modern societal sickness. In an age where competition and excellence are frowned upon in order to protect the feelings of those who loose and all types of behavior are condoned and explained away regardless of their depravity, what can we expect? It is the absence of accepted excellence that has forced everyone to lower their standards and seek out the tiniest faults in a persons history or demeanor in order to destroy what ever personal temple of merit and virtue they have constructed, in the name of leveling the playing field. No one is allowed to be better than anyone else and the ones who seem to be better HAVE to have something bad locked away in the closet waiting to be unveiled. Nobody is safe. Even icons of earlier ages continually face the onslaught of personal degradation by historians seeking dirt on anyone who was thought to be excellent. We are not allowed to have heros anymore, or more like we are made to believe even the best of us is in no way better than the lowest of us, they just do things a little differently.

We need heros. They do exist.

The much maligned founding fathers of the United States, as a whole, were amazing men in all ways despite the "bad" behavior they are accused of today. Read their words. They continually struggled to improve themselves and the world they lived in and tried to lay a foundation of a system that would eventually overcome the societal norms that they knew were contrary to the principles they espoused. It took a long time but the changes for the better did come because of the system they came up with. Countless other icons of human achievement had, in the long run, a much better tally card of good and great than that of bad or worse and we need to emulate them and improve upon their example.

We enter the covenant of society to lay out a structure that all can follow in order to benefit each other for the good. Laws are made to spell out exactly how society needs to follow agreed upon rules. Penalties are made because some will break the rules regardless of their merit or necessity and they must be punished by the society for their transgression, to both enforce the rules and exemplify the societies collective will to live by them. When we look the other way when rules are broken, we break the pact we have made with each other and tarnish the reputation of our society. Little infractions by themselves do not destroy the foundation of good laid out by all, but collectively grow to fracture and eventually destroy what has been built.

I am in no way perfect but I am continually trying to make myself better. It is a conscious decision I have made to live up to the high standards that I wish to extol and it is a never ending effort. When I wear a ring of a Freemason I become a walking billboard of the fraternity to those who know what the symbol on my finger represents and also to those who have no idea what it means I want them to associate that symbol with an upstanding man of integrity and moral virtue. Perhaps that is why some don't wear a ring? Maybe its like the adulterous husband who removes his wedding band when cheating, as if removing the symbol of your covenant you swore to relieves you of that pact. Even when I am driving my car that has the symbol on it, when I come close to doing something that would reflect badly upon my order, I think of how someone may have that symbol burned into their consciousness as the *#$hole that cut them off and drive a little nicer. But I do cut people off sometimes and I still do stupid things sometimes when wearing a Square and Compasses, but I try not to and when I do, I am the worst reprimander when it comes to me.
 
But what of those who do not have that self control or don't even want to try to attain it? It is then that we as a fraternity must step in and try to quietly whisper good counsel and if that fails take the next step and invoke the penalties explained to us after every obligation. If we don't do it, no one will and men like the monster in Norway will remain in good standing with the order until they do something atrocious and force the fraternity to Expel a Brother after the fact, which does more harm than simple enforcement of rules and standards everyday by every Brother.

The Doldrums

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,
‘Twas sad as sad could be ;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea !


All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.


Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion ;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.


Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Rime of the Ancient Mariner

I once read an allegory about coals and fire that went something like; when a coal is separated from the fire it starts to cool and loose its heat but all you need to do is return it to the fire and it blazes back to life.

Every year our lodge goes “dim” for the summer (although sometimes called going dark, we use the term dim because the light of masonry never goes out completely). It is a two month break from the twice a month ritual of congregating with my brethren that in one aspect is a welcome break from the labor of Freemasonry but at the same time it does not take long for the break in routine to turn into outright laziness. There is no planning or practicing or communicating and although I still talk to several of my lodge brothers over the summer, unlike usual, the conversation almost never revolves around the craft.

It is amazing to me sometimes how quickly my “coal” gets cool when separated from the fire of lodge. The more I am away from lodge the less I think esoterically and the harder it becomes for me to think the deeper thoughts I wish to explore. Even daily Facebook updates from Phoenix Masonry or Albert Pike start to loose their allure the longer I am not doing the work of a Freemason.

It is at this tricky time that the question comes into my mind about the worth of my dedication to the fraternity. When separated from the constant labor of the craft with loads of time to spare and nary an email or call about lodge I wonder if I am better off for being a mason. This is a troubling aspect of the doldrums because it can raise doubt where normally it would not exist. Would my family be better off if I were not rushing off to lodge every two weeks? Am I cheating time away from my children when my thoughts are revolving around lodge and not them? Is my membership a thorn in the side of the relationship with my wife? Are there better things that I can do with my time than being a Freemason? These are all thoughts that start banging around in my head when the wind is taken out of the sails during the doldrums.

The key thing I am learning in life and in masonry is to not view these times as stagnation but as times of calm to reflect on my journey. When I was fully employed and working 50 plus hour weeks I saw my wife and children a lot less and although our bank account was better off then, it took the shock of a layoff to make us realize that it also cost more to sustain that lifestyle. Were we better off then or now with me spending more time with the kids and struggling to make ends meet? There is no good answer. My extended period of un/under-employment has taught me that no matter how smart or talented you are we are all subject to the shifting winds of government and economy and it is not personal.

So go also the doldrums of Freemasonry. Although I had loads of time before I was a Brother I certainly filled those times with other stuff and not all of them particularly productive or beneficial to my family. My dedication to the craft has brought me, at times, profound joy and many accomplishments that have made me a better man than had I not joined. The Brothers I have acquired along the way have become an extended family that I have relied on more than I care to admit and whose friendship I have come to cherish. The demands of the order have been much less than rewards I have reaped.

I need to use this time of calm to gather my strength and sharpen my wits for the time when the winds of lodge start blowing again. It is not the time to let bad thoughts enter my head or let doubt cast a cold shadow upon all that has been built. The doldrums will pass and the coals will be gathered together again to burn as hot and bright as ever. They always have.

A Return To Freemasonry Lost

Acedemia, Esoterika, Virtruvian, Nine Muses, it sounds like an incantation  Harry Potter might use, but it is just part of a list of lodges that practice Traditional Observance or European Concept that I have fawned over for longer than I care to admit. They are spread across the country and all have long lines of men at their door awaiting membership. Unfortunately I had not been able to visit any except St. Johns Lodge no. 1 in New York, which had previously been the greatest Masonic experience in my journey to date and then came Quinta Essentia. For over 4 years I have dreamed about a new lodge, well not exactly new, but a lodge that was more of the kind of lodge that you see in the old paintings and pictures and read about in books. I envisioned a lodge where gentlemen of all ages and status levels congregated to dig deeper into what it is we do and try to do things better. I hungered for the lodge meeting where from the moment I arrived there was nothing but challenge and conversation that led me to something I had not thought of, or made a connection to before.
After meetings, no matter where I went in the Connecticut Masonic jurisdiction, I sought out like minded individuals in search of more light and somehow we always ended up commiserating together. Why was it that we all could not find the Freemasonry that we were promised? Why was it that tedious business meetings and parroted ritual were more common than meaningful gatherings of men striving for something more? Where were the lodges Mozart, Franklin, and Dermott gained inspiration from? The more I searched the more I found out that in American Freemasonry had become more akin to the American Legion than the Royal Society (and I mean no offence to that honorable institution dedicated to veterans and servicemen). Instead of a scrumptious meal with fine beverages and deep conversation, a cold cut sandwich and potato chips with a beer or soda were the victuals gathered around to hear dirty jokes or old stories, and you wonder why no one was joining or sticking around if they joined!
This enlightenment vacuum was the genesis of the modern Masonic restoration movement. It was led by Brothers who came and wondered what had become of the Order that they thought they were joining. Instead of high tailing it out of Freemasonry like so many before, these men have dedicated a lot of time, effort and dreams to bringing back Freemasonry in America. Laudable Pursuit is their declaration of independence and their goal is nothing shorter than a universal return of the golden age of Masonry. Brothers started to meet regularly and fully explore the imprecations and implementation of this goal. Quinta Essentia Lodge UD is the product of such a group of Masons in Connecticut.
I had the distinct pleasure of being present at the inaugural meeting of the Quinta Essentia last Saturday night and I can say with all due respect to existing lodges that it is a clear shot across the bow to all slumping, muddling and in my opinion “dimmed” lodges. It started with a very short meeting which was executed extraordinarily well considering the pomp and circumstance surrounding a new lodge at its first meeting attended by a lot of purple including the sitting Grand Master and his immediate predecessor. The meeting was followed by a flawlessly executed cocktail hour with numerous toasts used to raise the level of conversation between the assembled Brethren and then a fine dinner/ festive board where the topic of the evening was “Fiat lux” the meaning of Masonic Light. The key note speaker was Charles Tirrell my fellow Masonic Blogger from Masonic Renaissance and dedicated Freemason and I can say without reserve that he outstandingly started an unparalleled conversation about Masonic Light that began in physics and led to many destinations I had no forethought of reaching. The night truly raised the vibration of all who attended (I think), at the least  I certainly left thinking in ways that I had not when I made the drive up to New Haven.
The bad thing about the evening was that it is the exception to the rule in Freemasonry in Connecticut. There were many discussions around the room that night about how the evening’s proceedings were unobtainable in most “blue lodges” and that it was such a pleasure to be a part of this new undertaking and the “flavor” of Masonry it represented. There was a constant drumming of how not everyone in Freemasonry in CT was seeking this type of light and this was the cause célèbre for creating this new lodge. My argument is that if a Freemasons lodge meeting has no result of raising the level of the men who attend and simply runs through the motions of Freemasonry to get to the cold cuts and beer why do they meet? Does just saying that we make good men better as a mantra do just that, or is it a vapid hum with no resonance? If a lodge has to be formed to meet and act as Freemasons in the classical sense of the order, what do the other lodges meet as? These are things that the craft has been pondering since this type of lodge was created.
The thought I would like to leave for grand lodges and lodges that constantly get new men and loose them as quickly as they come is that these “traditional” lodges are extremely successful and are not experiencing the downturn and desolation that “mainstream” lodges suffer and are being formed all around the country. This is something that we all should take notice and govern ourselves accordingly.
Restore The Foundation!

I Brought My Kids To Lodge Last Night

My children are my world. Like the sun, when they rise my day begins and they bring warmth and light to my existence. They know their daddy and they know how much being a mason means to me. They know that a couple times a month I get dressed in a suit or a tuxedo and they always want to come to lodge with me. It’s funny how kids are, because they have now associated daddy getting dressed nicely with lodge. Even when I just put on a suit for an interview or a wedding my little three year old daughter has, since she could talk, always asked me “you go to lodge daddy”? The new building old St. Johns calls home is on a beautiful piece of property with a huge lawn and very family friendly, so for the last meeting before we went “dim” for the summer the WM decided to have a family cook out. When I announced the event to my family, my little three year old’s eyes lit up with delight and she couldn’t stop talking about how “we goin’ to lodge”. Even my seven year old was thrilled to spend an evening at the new lodge building with daddy. When I picked up the three year old from pre-school she got really angry with me because we had to run a few errands and not go straight to lodge, but eventually we got mommy, loaded up the mini van and headed to lodge together.


Six years ago when I started this journey I was the closest thing to a child in the lodge building. The times when kids ran around the building had long since passed. The old guard’s kids had kids and even some of those had kids and none of them followed in the footsteps of their fathers so the temple had become a sanctuary for old men. My oldest daughter, when I brought her around, would light up the room like a star and the old guys always loved to see her tagging along with me. As my family grew and new guys came into the brotherhood all of a sudden there were masons in lodge with young families at home but we never had a place to congregate. This was one of the biggest reasons I had pushed so hard for the lodge to make a move in acquiring a building of our own or finding a suitable place to call home. I had grown up with my father in the Knights of Columbus and I fondly remember dinners and picnics and parties with all sorts of kids of all ages and I wanted the same for my kids. The last thing a lodge should be thought of is the place where daddy goes a few times a month and does mysterious things and sometimes smells like cigars afterward.

A lodge can be a hub of social activity, many lodges are. I have heard of lodges where the wives hang out downstairs while the men are meeting and having book clubs or just relaxing with a glass of wine and talking to each other. Movie nights, Easter egg hunts, Christmas parties are just some of the things that my old lodge had not done in years, even decades. As we approached the lodge building and saw the grills warming up and cars lined up in the parking lot and picnic chairs in a row my heart swelled with the thought of things to come in our new home. During the night the kids played in the lodge room and there is nothing sweeter in my mind than seeing a group of little ones, from two to seven, sitting in the oriental chair in the east and then racing across the room and fighting over who will sit in the west. When the sun set my kids had had a ball of a time, did not want to leave and they couldn’t wait for another night at lodge with daddy!

Indigestion!

To the tune of “The Cat Came Back” from the Muppet Show.

Annnnnd the minutes came back, they couldn’t stay away, they put all at the meeting, asleep the same way.

It was a hot night and I was in a tuxedo for a Fellowcraft degree. Traffic was horrible so the 5 minute ride to lodge turned into 30. In utter desperation I indulged in a pre lodge cigar in my truck while sitting on the connector not moving. I arrived at lodge to find the three entered apprentices feverishly trying to learn their proficiency before the degree with an old Past Master. Then I realized why they were feverish, it was HOT in the building! This was the norm at our old unconditioned building... but we had moved. Our new abode was fully equipped to keep the Brothers cool when needed, but what was going on? After a few conversations with those that were present at the time, I came to find out that the fancy touch screen thermostats that controlled the HVAC unit were locked out to all users and….ON HEAT MODE! There were calls in to the guys that ran the building and no matter how hard we all tried to touch multiple spots on the screen, take the batteries out, etc. we could not unlock the screen. As the Brethren began to show up one by one the desperation mounted. There were a few “I thought this was one of the reasons we moved here…heh heh” muttered, yet we trudged on regardless.

Finally one of the Brothers from the building corporation showed up, but he too could not unlock the darn control screen, so he called the HVAC company that took care of the system and they were on their way. We waited and waited and finally the WM made the call to go ahead and start the meeting as we had a long night ahead of us as the 2nd degree is one of the longest with the massive mother of all lectures smack dab in the middle of it, so some took off their jackets and we proceeded to open. Right at the point when the Junior Deacon proceeds to the preparation room to find the Brothers awaiting the degree he was met at the door of the lodge by the an HVAC technician ready to solve the heat problem. It was good timing too because our Tyler was tyling from within as is his custom and the HVAC tech was about to come in on his own! The lodge was put at ease and the guy hit a few buttons and the cold air was upon us at last. The degree was a little shaky but the Middle Chamber was again brilliantly and profoundly delivered by our young Junior Deacon who has been a shining light in the lodge.

It was very late when the degree finally ended and the WM proceeded to conduct the business of the lodge in a timely fashion. There was nothing in the West, nothing in the South, and a few things on the secretary’s desk to discuss which were hastily dealt with then the Secretary announced that he had the minutes from the last meeting and the WM asked that he read them! Oh No! Not again. Over two years ago in a previous administration the minutes were available for those interested but… on their own time and like that, nap time was removed from lodge and we lived happily ever after… well not ever. Like an old hot dog returning from today’s lunch, the minutes came back and you could see the tortured look on the faces of the newer Brethren, many of which had never had to endure the boredom and monotony of a droning minute reading before. It was like NyQuil, guaranteed to put you to sleep and to many it did. Like that pesky old cat on the Muppet Show; we had driven the minutes out of town and left them in the woods but…..

Everyone together!

Buuuuuuut, the minutes came back, they couldn’t stay away, they put all at the meeting, asleep the same way!