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Posted at: 3:06 pm By now, those of you who have read the blog below, and voted in the poll, are probably anxious to know what actually happened on that night not too long ago… To be fair, I encourage those of you who have not read the blog below to do so before going-on in this one. It’s just no fun if you get the rest of the story first…I believe Paul Harvey would agree. So there we were on that fateful night. Candidate ready, Lodge filling with brothers waiting to witness the greatest spectacle in Freemasonry…the Third Degree. But two members were not there. They play very important roles in the drama that is our ritual. Their absence could have been overcome, and the majority of you would have had your wish. But I decided against that. In my Lodge…so long as I am the Master…nobody gets a sub-standard degree. So I opened on the First Degree, giving a couple of the newer members the opportunity to see an opening and a closing. I gave a few words on what I believe Masonry ought to be, what it means to me, and what I think it ought to mean to my brothers. Then I opened the floor for discussion. No minutes, no correspondence, no bills. Just conversaiton in a tiled Lodge. And what a conversation it became! Brothers from old Past Masters to some of our most recently created Master Masons stood and shared their thoughts. They spoke, unscripted, from the heart about our Craft. They listened respectfully to each other, and got to know each other better - as Masons - in the perfect place for that to happen, in Lodge. Now, I know that many of you would have just gone along and done the degree anyway. In fact, by an overwhelming two-thirds of the poll respondents (as of this writing), you would have given that candidate a degree. Each of us makes choices, and each of us must live with those choices. I chose to suspend the conferring of the degree until I decided that the Lodge was ready to give it. My Lodge, my choice. And the candidate stood-up in that room and thanked me for not allowing him to have a sub-standard degree. THAT’s when I knew I had made the right decision. We are still in a rut my brothers. We still focus on numbers and ‘getting them through’ the degrees. This is not Masonry, this is a factory mentality that betrays the traditions of our Craft. I do not agree with the majority who responded to the poll, as it is my right (and not to mention, my blog). But I do not blame or belittle any of you for making the choice you made. It is, after all, your choice. What I am doing, however, is challenging each one of you to be introspective and learn from this little excercise. Why do it if you are not doing it exactly as you know you should? Who among us is in such a rush to confer degrees…and why the rush anyway? Who cares if the candidate is ready - or thinks he’s ready - to receive the degree…it’s not his choice!! In 1916, a man named, Frank C. Higgins wrote the following as a part of the intro to one of his books: “…American Masonry has been, little by little, so divested of all connection with the pursuit of the deeper Masonic significances, as to have become, on the side of progressive speculation, a pale shadow of the Old World Craft.” That quote embodies the spirit of what happened at our Lodge the other night. We recognized that we have to get back to doing it right, or not doing it at all. We are men, obligated by our word, committed to the practice of our Craft. When we surrender ourselves to today - doing things more easily or more quickly - we betray the trust that we took upon ourselves. I don’t regret for one second the decision I made to postpone the degree. I also don’t pretend that all my decisions are or will be the right ones. |
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December 14, 2007
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WBro. Aedifico, Your Lodge, your choice. Your original posting led me, and I’m sure others, to believe that there were sufficiently proficient Brothers present to perform the degree, ergo no reason to cancel. Maybe that I’m am just fortunate to belong to a Lodge where the roles are covered two, three, four times. Saying that, I quite agree with you decision based on the circumstances.
Comment by Mr. Ed — December 14, 2007 @ 8:29 pm
I voted give the degree. In our lodge, and district, we always have a pretty full house for degrees and visitors from surrounding lodges. We currently dont have assigned roles for specific degrees and most of our active MMs can do several of the parts, and there is always people like me that are fairly new that have learned a few of the ’smaller parts’. We are fortunate in this regard and its not uncommon for brothers from one lodge to help other lodges out with a few hours notice.
I think I would love to be involved in a tiled meeting like you had! The true exchange of information and thoughts would be very enjoyable!
Comment by Seeker of Light — December 14, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
The following was forwarded to me this evening:
How to Hold a Lodge of Discussion
By W. Bro. Robert W. Gray, Waverley Lodge No.361, Guelph
Getting The Ball Rolling
Holding a Lodge of Discussion requires only three things:
· One moderator
· Two or three willing participants (plants or starters)
· An idea
If a Worshipful Master is willing to try out a Lodge of Discussion, the rest of the items will fall quite easily into place. The concept is not a complicated one, nor is the execution.
Once the Worshipful Master has agreed to host a LOD (Lodge of Discussion) then the moderator need only find a couple more people to attend and assist him in getting things started. Some discussion on the topics prior to the meeting would be of great benefit as the plants can also serve to keep the conversation going should it start to lag.
The last item on the list is an idea, and here, the sky’s the limit. Topics for discussion are most effective if they run a little closer to the edge. Care should, of course, be taken not to offend any brother, nor cause disharmony in the lodge, but topics that are somewhat controversial in nature tend to generate more lively discussion than those based on the merits of, say, Saltine crackers over Ritz. The following is a list of suggested topics for discussion, though the brethren are free to choose anything they may feel is relevant to their lodge depending on interest levels, demographics and location:
Why not discuss religion in Freemasonry?
Why not discuss politics in Freemasonry?
Why are women not admitted to Freemasonry?
How is Masonry a part of your everyday life?
Why not eliminate the investigating committee and the ballot?
“All The Way In One Day” — Yes or no?
Is Freemasonry part of the occult?
What are the true origins of Freemasonry?
Why not extend time between degrees?
What are our lodge traditions?
Should Masonry change with the times?
Why Masonry?
Are we failing our newly made Masons?
What is the role of Masonry in today’s society?
Is our dues structure too low?
Do we have to believe in the Hiram Legend?
The Big Night – Implementation In Lodge
There are a few things to keep in mind when holding a lodge of discussion. These are guidelines rather than rules, but they have been developed over the course of a year of trial runs within lodges and come from what has worked best in that time.
1. The Moderator has the most important job of the night. It is his job to introduce the concept, to engage the brethren with the topic and to not only keep the conversation lively and active, but to diffuse any tensions that may arise from differences of opinion. It is absolutely vital that the discussions are conducted in peace and harmony.
2. The topic can make or break the evening and it is a delicate balance between a topic that can be summed up in a few motherhood statements (hockey and apple pie) and one that will divide the brethren.
3. There is no time limit. The Moderator is at liberty to use his judgment based on the agenda for the evening. If the LOD is the only item after General Business, then an hour is not unreasonable. That being said, 10 minutes while the candidate resumes his personal comforts on a degree night may also be sufficient to get the brethren thinking and talking in the banquet room after the meeting.
4. Keep the atmosphere relaxed. The Worshipful Master may grant permission to suspend the use of signs and titles for the duration of the discussion, if he sees fit. Likewise, gentle humour is also a great means of making people comfortable with one another and lessens the distance across the lodge room.
5. Be flexible. Stay on topic as much as possible, but if the general consensus seems to lead down other avenues, don’t be afraid to follow where it leads. It’s a great way to find the pulse of the lodge and that information can be used to structure future discussions.
6. Have fun! Be creative and make the evening one the brethren will tell their friends about.
Keeping The Ball Rolling – Feedback and Follow-Ups
It is a suggested that the Moderator provide feedback forms or questionnaires to the brethren in the anteroom after the meeting. This is an excellent means of gauging the success of the meeting and for plotting the future of LOD’s. Submission of these forms to your District Education Chair (or even a simple email detailing what you have done and how it went) will also assist in better ascertaining what works and what doesn’t.
In A Nutshell…
So there it is in a few simple words. For all of the guidelines above, the greatest is this. Keep it simple! Be conscious of those things which need to be done to make the evening a success, but don’t over-complicate things. It is, after all, simply a conversation amongst the brethren.
So get out there, have fun, get them thinking, and “Let’s Talk Masonry!”
Running a Lodge of Discussion
(in 50 words or less)
By R. W. Bro. David J. Cameron
- Select a topic.
- In advance, ask two men to think about the topic, so they can be “plants” and when the conversation flags, say something outrageous.
- Have one moderator who presents the topic, gives members permission to talk without formalities (signs, W. Sir,) and keeps order.
- Watch the miracle.
Learning by Participation
From The Curriculum Group of The Committee on Masonic Education
No pleasure, no learning.
No learning, no pleasure.
Wang Ken, Chinese philosopher
The scene is familiar. We have all been there. The business of the lodge has been completed, minutes read and approved, accounts passed, reports heard, a ballot taken, when the Worshipful Master, trying his best to sound enthusiastic, announces, “Brethren, this evening R.W. Bro. Good Chump (…it is always a senior Past Master or Past Grand Lodge Officer…) will give us some Masonic Education.” The groans from the side benches are scarcely disguised as audible sighs, postures slump, arms are folded, and legs are crossed as the members prepare to endure another lengthy discourse. Heads begin to nod as the well-intentioned Brother reads his carefully prepared script with the same animated verve as the minutes of the last meeting. Little wonder that the traditional approach to “Masonic Education” gets a bad name in the Lodge.
Yet, Grand Masters tell us that “Masonry and Education are synonymous terms” and Grand Lodge Committees on Masonic Education continue to emphasize the crucial role that learning plays in the life of the lodge, the mentoring of candidates, and the retention of active members.
Bergen Evans once defined a College professor as “one who talks in other people’s sleep.” There is a better way. It is suggested in an old Chinese proverb:
What I hear, I forget.
What I see, I remember.
What I do, I know.
Learning is a participation sport. Real understanding requires participation on the part of the learner. We only truly know something when we have applied it, manipulated it, or added to it. Surely there is a lesson to be learned from operative masonry – the rough ashlar requires “hands on” work to polish and perfect it.
Do we not tell every Fellow Craft that he is privileged to express his ‘sentiments and opinions on such subjects as are regularly introduced in the lecture, under the superintendence of an experienced Master … that he may improve his intellectual powers’? That injunction implies that opportunities will be afforded to ask questions and enter into free and open discussion of the meaning of the symbols and allegories embodied in the Rites and Ceremonies we perform, to explore the philosophy of Masonry.
Nothing focuses our attention quicker and clarifies thought better than a pointed question. Socrates, the Athenian philosopher (469-399 BCE), used this method of teaching to question his students The Socratic method or dialectic question and answer remains a most useful pedagogical tool.
Examine the old rituals. They were cast in the form of questions and answers, remnants of which are found in the Openings and Closing of the three Degrees. Over time, these catechisms evolved into the lecture forms used today – the Junior Warden’s Lecture in the First Degree and the Senior Warden’s Lecture in the Second Degree.
The basic concept embodied in Let’s Talk Masonry in Masonic Nights at the Round Table is learning through participation. At a Round Table all places are equal, and all are equidistant from the centre, where Truth may be found. There are no inappropriate questions, and there is no one right answer. All opinions are valid, and there is always more than one interpretation to be considered. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Is there risk in inviting questions? Of course, one must be confident in one’s ability to admit that one may not have the answer. That, however, is the essence and value of putting these questions on the floor, and sharing the benefit of the collective knowledge of all participants. Remember, risk and reward travel side by side. Avoid one and the other will also pass you by. There is truth in the questions posed by Frank Skully: “Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is?” What are we afraid of?
What we discover for ourselves through conversation and discussion, reading and research is always more significant and permanent. To debate the validity of ideas expressed, to test the truthfulness of what we read, to make up one’s own mind what is true – these are the most effective means of enlightening the mind. “To repeat what others have said, requires education; to challenge it, requires brains.” – Mary Pettibone Poole, A Glass Eye in a Keyhole (1938)
Of course it’s easier to stand up and read a paper that has been prepared. There is no question that there is a place for lectures, addresses and papers. Much can be learned from eloquent scholars and skilled orators. We do not all learn in the same way. Astute and capable Worshipful Masters will employ a variety of means to instruct their Brethren in Masonry. A well-conducted Lodge of Discussion when pertinent questions are posed and considered will never be a boring night at Lodge.
Adapted from The Newsletter, Vol. 20 No. 4
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Comment by Mr. Ed — December 15, 2007 @ 1:35 am