MasonicMinute.com
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Posted at: 6:05 pm I recently heard the tale of a Lodge Master who had a choice to make. It seemed that he had a Fellowcraft at his Lodge, on a night set-up for his raising to the Third Degree. Many brothers had arrived to participate, but two important members of the degree team were not able to be there. What did the Master do? On the one hand, he could have cancelled the degree. This would have resulted in doing something else with all those men who arrived dressed for the evening from other Lodges. And on the other hand, he could have given the candidate his degree, but substituted-in key players in the drama, resulting in an accomplished goal and one more Master Mason. So what did he do? Did he allow the degree or not? The answer, my brothers, is as individual as all the Worshipful Masters in all of the Lodges in all the World. The better question to ask is this…what would YOU have done? Would you have punted? Would you have given that man the degree that he and the other guests in the Lodge were expecting? What would you do? The answer that you give to this question reveals much about the Craft, but much more about YOU. So I am including a poll at the end of this blog, and I am looking for commentary. But please remember, if you were there on Tuesday night, when that Master had to make the decision, don’t tell what happened till others have had a chance to comment…we don’t want to spoil the surprise… (I’ll give the rest of the story in a later blog). n
Do YOU, the Master, put on the degree?
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December 13, 2007
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If said key players would have resulted in a sub-par degree then it would be prudent to reschedule or find some other activity. Our candidates deserve the best degree they can get and if they aren’t going to get one, then it is not worth flubbing through one just so he can be made a Master Mason. If the lodge is not ready then so be it. Furthermore, the situation does present a fine opportunity to wax the old poetic with the brethren that were able to make it to ensure the night wasn’t just a waste of time.
Comment by emeraldi42 — December 13, 2007 @ 8:12 pm
I’d say that the candidate should have been tested in open lodge and then have the degree work re-scheduled. That way, he could accomplish the stressful part and still look forward to his degree work at a later time. People need to adapt to the situations into which they are put, but those situations can often be steered to promote good and integrity instead of compromising things for sake of convenience.
Comment by Raised — December 13, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
Comment by Idetrorce — December 15, 2007 @ 9:40 pm
Certainly your choice not to agree, but it is clear by the author’s follow-up story that giving the degree in a sub-par manner was definitely not to happen, so in the end, an uncomfortable situation was reworked into one that was interesting and useful.
Comment by Raised — December 16, 2007 @ 10:50 pm