The Millennial Freemason

The Minnesota Miracle - Three Links Odd Cast Appearance

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 14:22:00 +0000

I am absolutely excited to announce that Noble Grand Gary, PGM Ace, Sister Sunny, and I were on the latest episode of the Three Links Odd Cast. The title of that episode is the Minnesota Miracle. We got to discuss what we are doing in Northfield to spread Odd Fellowship back into the community. It also discusses our origin story and the "Ace Masonic Bus Tour." Thank you Toby, Ainslie, and Mike for having us on and we can't wait to continue to share our story of hope, growth, and revitalization.

I was also glad to make the case for why Freemasonry and Odd Fellowship are complementary and why I have found my time in the Odd Fellows to be so rewarding and fun. And I even mentioned my petition addiction (and the hosts didn't disappoint in getting me to want to sign even more petitions). All in all, it was a great experience.

If you aren't listening to the Three Links Odd Cast, you absolutely should. You can find the link here.

And just have to say it: "I AM AN ODDFELLOW and PROUD of it!!!!"

The New Registrar/Treasurer of Good Samaritan Tabernacle № XXXVI - Heaven Help Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 02:53:00 +0000

Please address your prayers to succor whatever troubles I will experience. Oh, I forgot to tell anyone; I'm the new Registrar/Treasurer of Good Samaritan Tabernacle № XXXVI. Now, for the great news, I'm following in the footsteps of KC Dave who did a masterful job as our previous Registrar.

What I have in mind for the job is to improve our paraphernalia and to get things that no longer fit our Tabernacle out. I'm actually excited. The HRAKTP has become my new passion project. I love what it represents, how beautiful the degree work is, and the change in every Past Commander as he goes through the Order. It's a life altering experience.

I want to thank the Knights Priest for their support and I will endeavor to do the best job I can do.

To Improve Your Ritual...

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 02:39:00 +0000

Since I jumped in with both feet into yet another fraternal organization, I am again having to build up my memorization mind muscle. And since I have really been thinking of ways to memorize my new Odd Fellows work, I wanted to give a tip to all those brothers and sisters who are learning ritual.

I start by using a method of listen and repeat; here's how it works. I begin this process by recording a very short part of the line. Then I go further in a very special way, I add a space between those short portions of the same length as the proceeding one. I continue through this process until I have completed the portion that I am attempting to memorize. If the lines are a part of a dialogue, I repeat the other portion in full and then leave a space for when I am to come in. It can be tedious to set this up but once it has, the real process begins.

I start the process from the very beginning. I then add a portion, bit by bit, until I am able to repeat that portion without the tape. I continue to do this until I have the entirety of the dialogue completed. It's the idea of chunking, building in those cues into the mind until they become second nature. And that's where the magic occurs. Once you have lines down, you can add the most important thing that most ritual I've seen is missing in just about every fraternal ritual I've seen, drama. We have such beautiful drama but without the actual drama, it's hollow.

I know this seems silly and I'm sure my readers with acting experience are probably already aware but for so many brothers and sisters, we are not trained dramatists. I truly want us to do whatever we can do to make our Art an art form!

The Support Structure of Odd Fellowship and Why It Works

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 01:10:00 +0000

Some of you probably already know but I'm a sucker for signing petitions. You put one in front of me and I... just... can't... stop my hand from signing it. All of a sudden, I'm Dr. Strangelove, gnawing on my palm to stop from getting another dues card. This petition addiction finally led me to the Odd Fellows. The tale of how I joined can be found here (and yes, I did gain a nickname already, Two Chainz). I'm very proud of my IOOF Lodge, Friendship Lodge No. 50 in Northfield Minnesota.

As I continue my journey through Odd Fellowship, I am always struck by how well designed the system really is. Unlike so many other fraternal orders, Odd Fellowship has a clear mission statement, our Order’s valedictation and Order’s motto, a clear leadership structure, and an incredibly solid lodge officer strategy.

Odd Fellowship’s leadership structure is designed with individual support and mutual aid. In the Masonic world, of which I have spent most of my fraternal time, the officers line is a straight progression, where you are brought through a conveyor belt and once completed, you are proverbially dumped into a box labeled “Past tense”; a fact you are reminded of constantly. Unless a lodge is recycling past masters, which is rarely a welcome sight, there is no desire to keep past officers in the body except to be a warm body. This is not the case in Odd Fellowship.

And just a note, this “past tensing” of previous Masonic leaders is not prevalent everywhere. Lodges under the UGLE Constitution and most lodges of that progeny, have an officer, the Immediate Past Master, that is still a must have officer.

In Odd Fellowship, the past presiding officer, the past grand is expected to remain active as a supporter, literally sitting on the left or right of each principal officer. These supporters are hand selected by the Noble Grand and Vice Grand, each principal officer getting to select her or his own brain trust. All I can say is what an incredibly insightful idea that Odd Fellowship has! Mutual aid is in the framework of the officers themselves.

This supporter model, that of servant leader, is very unique. In a functioning Odd Fellows lodge, a Noble or Vice Grand can expect to have good counsel whispered to her or him by other knowledgeable Odd Fellows. No one is ever left alone to struggle in the shifting sands of leadership. Servant leadership is the name of the game with the power of the lodge shared amongst the sisters and brothers and the Noble Grand really there to serve his lodge in mutual aid.

Certainly there can be some drawbacks to having past grands serving so close to current leadership. There may be decisions made or not made because “we’ve always done it that way” but having served as a principal officer in more than a dozen fraternal organizations, I really appreciated those times I had a past officer there to offer advice or support.

I keep finding myself impressed by the novel approach to Fraternalism that Odd Fellowship offers. Having such an effective leadership structure, where you can find support from past principal officers, on your left and right sides, is a shining jewel. Mutual aid and support is our ultimate goal and is so deeply embedded in our love for each other and love of Odd Fellowship. Makes me proud to proclaim: I AM AN ODD FELLOW.

UCCofE - the thing I never knew I needed... till now

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 03:08:00 +0000

Masonry is a funny thing. We tell the new Master Mason that this is the highest degree and then, it's like that scene in Airplane! when Robert Stack is walking through the airport.

Thing is that while Masons pretend that the blue lodge is the end all, be all, we all know that this is never going to satisfy the brethren. We are seekers of further light. And since light diffuses so widely, it shouldn't surprise anyone that there are so many Masonic adjacent bodies. Case in point, the Universal Craftsman Council of Engineers, a body I am now proud to call myself a member.

My day started like any other, it was a beautiful autumn day in Minnesota. Not to hot, not too cold. I was heading out to the meeting of my very first invitational body, Minnesota Council No. 34, Knight Masons. It was at this particular meeting that I was also elected as its presiding officer, Excellent Chief. It was just so exciting. We are back in person, the brothers excitedly meeting and seeing each other to confer the degrees. I am so thankful to them to entrust me with this position for the year.

Because I attended the meeting with one of my really good friends, MW Bro. Joe G., who was kind enough to drive down with, I got to have great conversation and great fellowship. But since he was the driver, I stayed longer than I would have otherwise. We ate and Joe remembered he was a member of a group.

"No problem, Joe, you go to your meeting. I can just hang out."

Little did I know that I was going to be a candidate.

"Hey, Nick! Go over to the prep room!"

I had never heard of the Universal Craftsman Council of Engineers, which is usually abbreviated UCCofE. I was really happy that I was able to join this body.

To explain, UCCofE is a Masonic body founded in 1902 in the state of Ohio by Bros. Pomeroy and Dettleback, who were engineers in factories in the rust belt. This organization was founded to bring together other engineers who were also Master Masons. Because we, as Masons, love meeting together, this body grew and grew and became so popular that even non-engineer Master Masons who also were craftsmen (what we would think of as blue collar today) wanted to join. At first, the UCCofE encouraged those MMs to start their own councils aimed at their own crafts, e.g., electricians, but as is always the case, the first mover has the advantage and UCCofE ultimately started allowing non-craftsmen and laborers to join.

The ritual was fascinating because it is so different from what I recognize yet so similar. It was really fun to experience the role of candidate and to hear something different but familiar. The main reason I recognized the ritual is because it was similar to so many rituals used by unions throughout history.

I am not a blue collar worker but I come from a long line of railroad workers and heavy machinery guys (my brother is the next in that long, long line of railroadcers). I've never been a factory worker, laborer, blue collar worker nor really had a job that would be considered that. However, I have spent many years researching the many rituals that unions used in their meetings because of the number of union members in my family. Union fraternal rituals are a subject that needs far more scholastic research than it currently does and I hope that whatever contributions I can make will be helpful.

Thank you to everyone in Minnesota Council No. 79, UCCofE for admitting me as a member of this august and fascinating body. I really look forward to all the many years of research and participation I hope to dedicate to the Council.

If you are interested in joining, click the link.

Guest Article: Tempus Fugit by W.Bro. Gary Thomas, Jr.

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 15:29:00 +0000

In this time of Advent, waiting, and family traditions, I am proud to share this article by one ary Thomas, Jr. He is a past Grand Officer, having served as a District Representative and Grand Sword Bearer. He has served in the East in two lodges., Star of the East Lodge No. 33 of Owatonna and Red Wing Lodge No. 8, where he again serves as Worshipful Master. He's also one of my closest friends (and someone I can talking about wrestling and comics with for hours).

Thank you, Gary.

The Christmas tree had always been a pain to put together. It seemed that every year, the pre-lit tree that my mother had purchased 15 years earlier had been a thorn in my side. The very first time trying to put it together seemed to take forever. The metal trunk did not fit quite as well as it should in its base and trying to line up the network of plugs and wires to get all 3 sections of it to light up properly was a headache. As I would lay there on the floor by myself, and in later years joined by my son, Bennett, I would mutter and curse under my breath as the branches scratched my forearms and hands to pieces as I tried to line up the screw in the stand to the hole in the trunk that wasn’t drilled all the way through properly. By the second year I had to re-drill the hole and put a bolt in it. I honestly thought the tree had it out for me. Every…single…year.

My mother had me help her pick the tree out at our local Target store in 2004. My parents had to move back to Minnesota after a scant two years of living in Florida. I received a call from my father in September of that year that his bladder cancer had returned after almost 7 years and it was now in his lumbar area of his spine. My father told me that he needed my wife, Coleen, and I to find them a house in the town we were living in . We looked at a dozen or so houses and finally found one that was one level so it was easy for my father to move around in. He was now using a walker and his mobility was decreasing daily it seemed. Also, my older handicapped brother, Dean, who my parents had cared for since being injured in a car accident in 1986 needed a house that did not have a lot of steps. We were finally able to find them a house and worked as middle-men to help facilitate the sale. A few short weeks later, Thanksgiving weekend, they were back in Minnesota with help from two of my older brothers who helped to move and drive them back.

That Christmas, which would end up being the last one that we would celebrate with my father, my mother wanted a new tree, a pre-lit one that she would not have to string lights on. We took a ride to Target and after helping her pick one out she purchased it and I loaded it into her car and brought it to their home to set it up. I then made the trip to the basement to grab the multiple tubs of Christmas decorations. After hanging up the ornaments, some that had been in our family for years, we strung the new garland that she had bought around the tree. The last thing to add was the angel topper that my younger brother, Darren, and I had bought for her when we were kids at the Hallmark store in Owatonna, Minnesota, where we grew up. After plugging the tree in we stepped back to admire the neat LED lights and I put the tree skirt around the bottom of it. In my inner Linus Van Pelt voice, I decided it wasn’t such a bad tree after all! My father agreed, as well!

The following August. my father lost his 9 year battle with his bladder cancer. It was the hardest thing I had ever been through. Seeing a man who was so strong and so skilled be defeated by such a horrible disease was almost too much to bear. I held his hand as he drew his last breath and bid goodbye to this world and the pain he had been living with for years.

My oldest brother, Steven, had a plastic Fischer Price grandfather clock that he had received as a present from our mother’s parents when he was a toddler. On the face of the clock were the words, Tempus Fugit. The phrase comes from a line from the poet Virgil’s epic agricultural poem, Georgics. Translated it means, “It escapes, irretrievable time.”

Tempus Fugit. Time Flies. It was a team that my mother and I would utter to each other all the time. Whenever another year would pass and we would think about the highs and the lows or the ones we had lost it never seemed to fail that one of us would utter the phrase. Tempus Fugit.

That year I set the tree up again, having to drill the aforementioned hole in the trunk for a bolt to be inserted in it to stabilize it from swaying too bad. It was tough doing it without my father there. The holidays would never quite be the same again. He really was just a big kid at heart. His family did not have a lot growing up and he always did his best to make the season bright for everyone.

My mother never enjoyed the holidays as much as she did before my father’s passing. She had a lot on her plate taking care of my father and older brother. My brother should have been placed in a group home facility years ago to give him a chance to have a life of his own. It also would have given my parents a chance to have a life of their own, as well. But, being cut from old New England cloth, family took care of family. While I loved and admired their determination, this hindered them all in a lot of ways.

Being the only local child in the area ,my mother leaned heavily on me for all kinds of things from shopping, filling her car up with gas to taking her or my brother to doctor appointments. This also included frustrating things like when either her or my brother would hit the wrong button on the television controller at 9 o’clock on a Sunday night and they would call me and I would have to run over to their house to reprogram it, or in most cases, show them the wrong button they had pressed.

While this was frustrating, it even became more frustrating when my wife and I had children. I began to feel like I was being pulled away all the time from my fatherly and husbandry duties to help my mother and brother. I was torn, at times, as I struggled with establishing boundaries between my mother and my family at home. I wanted to honor my mother and brother but I found it increasingly hard to do it with such a young family. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to make people laugh and smile. Humor has always been my defense mechanism when I get nervous and I do my best to avoid conflict when I should be tackling it head on.

My mother would never ask me to put her and my brother before my family but as she got older, I saw her losing her independence more and more by having me do little things for her. Even running to the store for a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk was just one more thing that she did not have to do for herself. A few years ago she fell at home, one of several that she had, and fractured vertebrae in her back. Her osteoporosis did not help matters and she developed a hunch in her back and one arm was becoming hard to use as she had injured that as well in another fall.

Almost every year I would set the tree up and take it down. There were only a couple years I didn’t as one of my other brothers had volunteered to do it. The more and more I did it, the more and more patience I would lose. While I liked to help her set the tree up, I found the act of getting the tree up in a timely fashion to be annoying. Every year it seemed to get a little more difficult. Inside I was struggling more and more with being the only local family member my mother had to help her. To be fair, besides my brother Dean, I have three other siblings in the state. They would help as much as they could but a lot of it fell on my shoulders as I was the only one in town. It was not all bad, of course. My children got to know their grandmother and their uncle. Mom was always quick to give my children a dollar or two to buy something at the store or would offer me gas money for running errands for her. Even if I refused, I always lost the argument.

Like the annual frustrating tree ceremony, I found myself struggling to witness my mother’s health decline at a pretty rapid pace. The last few years the change had really seemed to have sped up. My siblings and I did our best to tell my mother that she really needed to get Dean placed in a group home facility and that she should get an apartment as she could not take care of the house anymore. But her and my brother were so financially and emotionally attached to one another that it was almost impossible to separate them after all those years. Plus, even though my mom knew she could not take care of the home, the sense of pride of knowing it was her house was something she took seriously. No one was going to tell her she had to leave. She would make that decision herself at the time she saw fit and it would be on her terms. To have these conversations, we must also confront our own mortality. No one likes to think of these things but they are inevitable. There is no way to escape it but it does not mean it is not a struggle to swallow our pride and to face it.

The night before James Hellwig passed away he gave his final in-ring speech and he touched on coming to grips with our own mortality. He really nailed it on the head when he said to all of his fans,

Every man's heart one day beats its final beat, his lungs breathe their final breath. And if what that man did in his life makes the blood pulse through the body of others, and makes them bleed deeper, than something larger than life, then his essence, his spirit, will be immortalized by the storytellers, by the loyalty, by the memory of those who honor him and make the running the man did live forever.

My brother Nathan and I finally had one last conversation with her in August of 2019. We tried to get her to talk about things, explaining to her in one last ditch effort how her not wanting to talk about what needed to be done would just end in a tragedy. We told her as my brother’s conservator for so many years she had done an amazing job and if something were to happen wouldn’t she like to have some say as to the type of facility that my brother would be placed in. She saw our points, acknowledged them, but was not sure. She was scared. Scared to live on her own, to have to more than likely live ina senior building or nursing home. We understood her fears and did our best to gently persuade her to think things over. Finally, Nathan was blunt with her and explained what would happen to both her and Dean if something happened to her. He said they would both end up in facilities and their choices would be limited as neither of her children could take either of them into our homes. We would be stuck with the task of having to decide for them. I could tell that she did not like us saying this to her but she realized that we were right.

Last Christmas I was late getting the tree up. She had called me a few times to set it up for her and I finally found a time to do it for her. One more time I got it into the wobbly tree stand, secured to bolt and decorated the whole tree by myself. I had grabbed the multiple boxes, bins, and totes of her Christmas decorations and lugged them up from her basement and set them up. She was not able to help much as it was getting harder for her to do many things. She told me to not worry about setting too many decorations up as she wanted to do some herself at a later time.

Last Christmas was a busy one but we found a chance to get together and exchange gifts. She did not want to come over to our house for dinner as her back was bothering her even more but we all found a time for us to get together at her house to celebrate with her and my brother. It was around this time that talk of a new coronavirus from China was beginning to spread and that it was expected to reach other countries as it spread globally.

My mother was also experiencing some vision problems and scheduled a surgery date in February to have cataracts removed from one eye and a stent put in her eye to relieve the pressure of her glaucoma. When that eye was healed they would do the other one a few weeks later. She was having a very hard time keeping the dates straight. It seemed that as of late her memory was not as sharp as it normally was. She would repeat things, tell the same stories, etc. We were not too concerned and just thought it was the boredom of being housebound and the stress of just thinking about the surgery.

I was not able to get the tree down right away after Christmas and it did not bother my mother much since I was late getting it up; point in fact, it just gave her and my brother more time to enjoy it. I kept telling her that I would get it down when I could. I was dreading it, to be honest. I kept telling myself that it would be a whole afternoon spent wrapping each individual ornament and packing everything up before unplugging all the cords of the tree, taking it apart and trying to stuff it into the storage bag. My mother just said to take it down when I could.

The date came for my mother’s surgery. My sister, Jill, came to stay with her and my brother for a week and to help them out after my mother’s surgery. My mother was unsteady enough as it was so her having to have anesthesia, and her vision being affected, was not a good combination. My mother was glad that Jill could help out. Jill called me later that afternoon to let me know that our mother was a little groggy and but that her surgery went well. She was going to make them all dinner and they would settle down for the night.

Later that evening, our mother fell.

Jill called me to let me know that she had been out of the room for less than a couple minutes and she heard a loud crash. She went into the living room to find my mom on the floor. Against the orders of my sister to stay put, my mother had gotten up to make herself a cup of tea and had reached for something, lost balance and toppled over with her walker, her head just missing the stone hearth in the room. She was rushed by ambulance to the local hospital and we received bad news. Her hip was shattered.

A couple days later. my mother received a hip replacement and was sent to a nursing home to rehab. My brother Dean ended up going to a local facility that specializes in traumatic brain injuries. It was determined that my mother was a fall risk and would not be able to return to her home. To make matters worse, my mother was now displaying very obvious signs of early dementia. Reluctantly, she accepted the fact that she could not go home and stayed at the facility she was rehabbing at, going into the long-term care program.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic exploded and my brother and her were restricted at their facilities. Not only was that stressful, but since my mother and brother could not return home, we now had to make the tough decision to clean out their house with very little input from them and to get it listed on the real estate market . It would be hard because they could not be there to help and to really have a say about what to do with all of their belongings. Plus, being my mother’s power of attorney, I was beginning to crack under the pressure. I was not sleeping well at night and often woke up, unable to sleep as I lay there thinking about everything. I could not turn my brain off at all.

As we finalized the plans of when all of my siblings could gather at our mother’s house, it was suddenly April. There was one thing I had to do. It wouldn’t be easy but there was no avoiding it. This time I was dreading it more than any other time.

I stood staring at the tree for a long time, not wanting to touch it. I understood what I had to do. I was about to take down my mother’s tree for the final time. As much as it frustrated me at times, there was no mistaking what I was going to have to do, alone. I was the one that helped my mother pick out the tree, the first one to set it up, and I would be the last one to ever take it down. As the weight of the responsibility hit me, as I was taking down the ornaments that had always been on our tree growing up, I broke into tears. I cried like a child. Why had I complained so much about setting the tree up in the past? Why was I not more patient? Where had my patience gone? The uncertainty of the future of my mother and brother, the weight of responsibility that I could not run away from, the stress of the global pandemic, everything just hit me at once. I never felt so alone as I did that day.

After the tree was down, stuffed in its bag, the ornaments all wrapped, and everything stored again in my mother’s basement, I picked up rest of the Christmas decorations and carried them back down to the basement. After locking up the house I cried all the way home

A couple months passed and my siblings were finally able to help clean out my mother’s house so we could get it listed on the market. A large dumpster was ordered and we began filling it with all of the things that we did not want or could not donate. It was sad to see so many things get hurled into the dumpster but the reality is most of it meant nothing to us. We were able to divide up the heirloom objects. The stuff bound for the dumpster was more than I thought.

I stood in front of the dumpster with the Christmas tree bag I had just hauled up from the basement. I was hesitating a bit to throw it away. This tree meant a lot to my mother and brother. Paranoid that I may have forgotten an ornament on it I unzipped the bag and looked everything over. After I was satisfied that I had not missed any ornaments, I could not stall any longer. I threw the tree away.

A couple months later after the house was entirely cleaned it was listed on the market. My mother’s dementia, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, made it hard for her to sign papers so as her power of attorney I signed the closing papers for her. I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. It was an odd moment as I thought about being one of the people who found the house for my parents, I was now the one who was selling it for my mom. Very similar to the situation with her tree.

My family decided to purchase an artificial tree this year. My wife and I made sure it did not have a plug system like my mother’s tree had. This one went together like a breeze. When I told my mother that we had bought an artificial tree this year she asked me what had happened to her tree. I paused a moment before telling her that I threw it away. She got quiet and I told her that it was starting to shed, which it was, and that it had seen it’s better days. She understood but I could tell that she was disappointed.

Today my mother and brother are still in their prospective facilities, unable to currently have visitors due to COVID-19 cases in their facilities. While I am glad that they are safe, the isolation from family is affecting them greatly. My mother’s dementia comes and goes. Some days she is great and others she is struggling. My brother is keeping a positive outlook but he has always been an optimist.

My children and I were able to visit with my mother today at her facility. We sat outside her window and chatted with her on the phone. We had given her a bag of gifts that her nurse had set on a table in her room. Bennett asked her if she could open them while we were there but she was not able to get up and get the bag as her legs were bothering her. Bennett understood and asked her to let us know how much she likes them after she opens them on Christmas. It was so hard to see that, my mother, one so strong and proud, now frail and unable to stand. I wished I could have been in there to help her but I could not. I felt not unlike the ghost that Jacob Marley showed Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. The distraught ghost who saw the poor mother holding her infant close to her as she huddled on a cold doorstep, and was unable to intervene on her behalf. I worry that I may never again be able to just give my mother a hug, to comfort her. She was always there for her children when we needed her and she needs us now more than ever.

I have often heard it said that next to losing a child the hardest thing in life is seeing our parents age. While I have never lost a child and cannot imagine the pain one goes through with that, watching my mother grow old had been devastating.

A renowned chef that I worked for years ago once told me after a very stressful night of cooking, the first really busy dinner service I had ever been involved with, that time has no conscience. He pointed at the clock on the wall and said that it would eat you alive if you did not respect it. The older I have gotten I realize that truer words were never spoken.

Tempus Fugit, My Brothers.

Time Flies.

Guest Article: "The Problem with Banning Politics and Religion" by WBro. Robert H. Johnson

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 00:38:00 +0000

I am honored to be publishing a really intriguing article touching one of the third rails of Masonry by a friend of mine, WBro. Robert H. Johnson, podcaster and wonderful all-around brother. Enjoy!

It’s one of the first things we’re told regarding the fraternity, whether due to the instruction of a new member or explaining some basics to the profane (uninitiated). “We don’t discuss politics or religion in lodge. It’s divisive.” We may also hear something along the lines of, “No two topics divide men like politics and religion.” The hope is by adhering to these “rules” a more unified organization emerges. We as members of this fraternity are intended to be brothers, not in title alone, but in the fullest import of the term. We are to cry with our brothers, rejoice with our brothers, to be intimately connected with them—to have Storge. Storge is the Grecian term for a familial love. C.S. Lewis considered it, “... responsible for 9/10ths of all solid and lasting human happiness.”

This love is of the utmost importance. It provides a basis for our relationships and gently guides us in our actions when interacting with our members. Unity is the goal. We cannot have men angry with each other and also be unified, not in the way we want. We want to promote a unified vision of making good men better, of uplifting the human condition and the conscious mind. Above all, we treat our members as family. We are a diverse collection of people, who all have different backgrounds, customs and beliefs. Just like in the profane world where we have biological families with beliefs different from our own.

In our various interactions with family, do we stray from the discussion of politics and religion? In recent times, that answer is “Yes.” According to a 2018 CBS poll the majority of Americans don’t talk politics at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Currently political opinions are more than divisive, they are accusatory, they are defining, they are misunderstood. Absolutely polarizing and disruptive. This is a trend that has reached fever pitch in 2019.

The apprehension, fear and trepidation we have as a society in terms of the discussion of our ideologies and other beliefs stems from some simplistic shortcomings.

When discussions of any type are taking place there is an inability of the average person to listen, think, and ask refining questions as to the ideas being proposed. We hear a few trigger words and our attention is immediately drawn to our own minds, instantly retorting, and taking a series of mental tangents. We’ve lost the ability to ask and listen, and repeat.

Once we’ve heard the position, we can then ask the person, “Can you tell me if I understand you correctly?” Wrap up the position as you understand it and get that persons approval--”Is this what you mean?”. Then, if you disagree, present your position. This is proper, polite and allows us to grow through the mutual expression of ideas.

Secondly, we have a problem with cognitive dissonance. This is the emotional aversion to learning something which may not support or which may be in complete contrast to an idea we’ve spent years believing in.

A man goes to prison for a murder ten years ago. Eyewitness testimony along with top investigative work was used in the man’s conviction. The idea that this man was guilty was something believed by the prosecution. His conviction was proof of his absolute guilt. Years later there is an appeal. DNA evidence is available and for the first time, our convicted man has a chance to prove his innocence. The case is reopened, the DNA is tested and his innocence is proven. The man is still convicted in the minds of the people who put him in prison. This is an example of cognitive dissonance. When we fail to acknowledge new information regardless of what it means for us, we fail to progress mentally and emotionally.

If we may learn to address these things as a society, then perhaps there is a chance at growth and effective compromise. This however, is only a start.

Addressing Our Vulnerabilities

We have an inability to admit vulnerability to our peers. Specifically, we won't admit when we don’t understand something. There is no shame in admitting that we don’t understand a political or religious concept to our peers.

We all have apprehension in this, because by admitting we don’t understand something, we’re egregiously labeled as something, whether that's a “bleeding heart liberal” or a “bible thumping conservative”, choose your own insult here. Instead of assisting someone to understand, we label them ignorant and a part of the problem. This is wrong.

Strengthening the Mind

We have a general illiteracy of mind which is only further weakened by an inability or a willful ignorance to try and understand better. This “try” is an action--an exercise which without its use atrophies our minds and the consequence is a blank slate by which politically charged media may imprint their own version of events.

Succinctly, this is an eisegetical subjective message which is presented on a network, whether conservative or liberal. It will promote a way of thinking or narrative which is designed to either win over a simple mind or solidify the existing belief of the observer. The only way to combat this is to practice your own critical thinking skills. It’s hard. We all know the dangers of sharing articles on social media without reading them, basing our share on a great headline. This is relevant because this is an example of not critically thinking, not reading, not absorbing the actual information for yourself.

Consuming Ideas

It was not always this way. There was a time before social media, before headlines were underscored with the number of minutes it will take to read. e.g. “3 minute read.” appearing under an article posted to Facebook. In the past we would need to get the paper or book, open it and read it. Digest it, talk to our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers in order to work the information over in our minds. To swish around the wine if you will. If we travel farther back in time, you could note that the title of books came at the end of the text. e.g. At the end of gospels, it might say something like, “This is the gospel according to John.” In this way, you would read the book, and then get a title. Today, we have a title and if not enticed by it, we pass it up.

In the days of yore, pre-internet, pre twenty-four-hour news coverage, I presume, evidence lacking, that we may have been better at discussion and critical thinking. Likely, because we had to be. Now we’re too busy to do our own research, to busy to form our own opinions and rely on what we trust to be accurate and objective news and information. Like Bing Crosby said in “White Christmas”, "everyone’s got an angle." You know who doesn’t though? You. Us. The only angle we might have is that of trying to understand and by our understanding, improve the outlooks and current conditions humanity is existing within.

What this does to the Fraternity

So why have we banned the topics of religion and politics within the lodge? They are divisive, yes, but only when we decide not to practice those first three pieces of the liberal arts and sciences. Those three arts whose foundation is predicated on faith in intent, hope in understanding and love of our Brother. The trivium-- Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic, which are glossed over in lodges and emphasis is almost entirely given to the quadrivium.. But let’s be honest, how many truly study these when we’ve been told to? What I outlined above are just a few techniques on how we can begin to utilize the trivium in order to understand and hold polite discourse with an objective of finding common ground and solve our issues.

Freemasonry is said to be a Progressive Moral Science. So much of what we speak about within the craft is of a language unknown. While we maintain that we understand the words and meaning, the reality is that we do not. We infrequently look at the meaning of the words within the time the words were written. Words change over time and so do their meanings. WB Scott Dueball is well known in my home jurisdiction of Illinois of explaining this to our constituency. A wonderful example is the word “Condescension.” In current use it is something negative. When the word was written however, it meant something wholly different. It meant to meet on the level.

Where It Comes From

Let us look at the words, Progressive Moral Science in their contextual use--that is, how those words were meant when they were written. This exercise will enable us to comprehend whether or not we are truly acting according to the dictates of Freemasonry, something we often are
concerned with, in other words protecting the vision as laid out by the sacrosanct documents; The Ancient Charges and the Landmarks.

The word “Progressive” has since the 1600s, been used in the majority of the time to describe idealizm and moving it forward. While this may not be news to you, it will be news to those who say the word “Progressive” is only meant to convey that we “Progress” from degree to degree. Because it’s more likely the former, when we say a “Progressive” moral science, we are setting the tone for a purpose. That purpose is to enact a system by which we may influence an idealizm that promotes acceptance and, social reforms. This point is further supported when we look at the next word, “Moral.”

The word “Moral” can be traced to the 1400s and its use there is one depicting the ideal of character and the ideas one displays in his day to day life. His behaviors are defined as his morality. As we progress in time, likely to about the period the language was used within our fraternity, the word changes very little. It’s now taken on not only the behaviors, but also the concept of customs. Finally in 1752 we see the use in order to describe one's principles, good conduct and confidence. Interestingly it maintains the idea of customs as well, which is very relevant when we consider that there are various customs the world over. Further, that each of these customs is of a subjective nature in the country from which they were born. E.g. Does one use the left hand for a greeting? And if so, is that “Moral” in the region in which the greeting was given?

This information supports the idea that the word “Progressive” means or is tied to “Social Reforms.”

Next we must look at the word “Science”. From the mid 1300s, we see it used to describe knowledge, the application of knowledge and learning. This has remained the case to this day.

By this exploration, one must necessarily ask ourselves how we would practice this Royal Art? Obviously we are going to run into a conundrum. Don’t see it yet? Let us continue.

The Conundrum Explained

There is a point where our governments have provided us leaders through the process of democratic means. These leaders are titans built on idealizm and funded by donations from constituents, lobbyists and by companies. These leaders give us the laws by which we are to live and yet, where do they get these laws from? Our laws stem from, in most cases, our philosophical take on life-- the majority of this is given to us through our various faiths, and at other times, it is derived from simply reflecting on the human condition.

Our political system as it exists has taken on idealizm given by our religious texts.To make matters more complicated, it’s largely based on the issue of interpretations of those texts. This is human nature, to make sense of things and to want to govern and rule with a set of ideas which one believes in, to impart the best way of living, to promote the aforementioned idea of unity.

By nature, a government is to address the issues of the people. Our United States constitution gives us the right to “[...] life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” A sentiment similar in nature comes from Thomas Paine, in his book, The Rights of Man, in which he lists the role of government. In his case the British monarchy and parliament. “Government's sole purpose is safeguarding the individual and his/her inherent, inalienable rights; each societal institution that does not benefit the nation is illegitimate—especially monarchy and aristocracy.”

In order to assist the nation, a government takes it upon itself to address it’s social reforms, the “Progressive moral science.” Not surprising considering the Masonic connection to our country’s founding philosophy.

The Rub

So then, the eventual outcome is that religion has infiltrated the politics and has made the two inseparable. In addition the political system has taken on what the Masonic fraternity is charged to do. And, because these are now inseparable, we many not discuss the “Progressive Moral Science” in its proper context without violating our stand against the discussion of politics or religion in our lodges.

Today, if you tell me something you believe in, I can drop you into a bucket which would be labeled a broad definition of a political camp. Republican, Democrat but more likely, Liberal or Conservative, due to the extremism in America at the present. Alternatively, you could tell me which political party to which you are a member and I will guess your Religious alignment.

The Pew Research Center published a poll which gives us the data on this topic. Party affiliation has almost become the new religion due to the moral values which have been absorbed into the institution. A simple idea like assisting those less fortunate through a tax is Democratic and to support the those same people via voluntary donation is seen as Republican. The outcome is similar but the way we get there is different. The contention that exists is largely driven by the understanding of human rights as it pertains to our own property and its ability to be taxed or not, and a slew of other various philosophical minutia.

Returning to the beginning of this paper, I outlined a set of practices in which people could begin to hold social discourse and to work to understand each other. If we did this, could we then begin to talk about issues affecting society and raise more awareness than our tempers? I wonder if it’s okay to discuss in a tiled lodge, the safety of a group of local workers constructing a building? Could I do this in such a way, and organize a social program or even introduce a bill into local government to assist these workers? Could you use the Masonic lodge to speak to our benevolent minded brothers regarding a social injustice that’s happened in the community?

The answer is a resounding, “No.” There is a great confounding of politics and moral values. How do I know this? Because I have seen it shot down in lodge. Because I have seen men brought up on Masonic charges for attempting to practice the “Progressive Moral Science.” A simple idea to assist and organize something for the community, due to the local governments intellectual jurisdiction over all things relating to the welfare of her constituents is by nature political and as such, is banned from the local lodge. We’re left to donating money to benign causes. Donating money to organizations that do the work for us, and who likely contribute to the very politicians who promise to help. Have we abandoned Freemasonry’s original intent? Have we negated it completely? Or perhaps, is what we’ve been doing simply the best we can do since we’ve bound ourselves up?

A Charge

It’s my contention to assert a very real revelation. Directly, that by the exercise of removing our right to discuss politics or religion within a lodge, we have effectively neutered our ability to practice the Royal Art within the context of our original stated purpose. Abandoning our tradition, without ever even realizing it. On one hand we vehemently oppose changes to anything, on the other, we stand ignorant of what’s changed already and accepting of the limitations we put on ourselves.

If we are to take control and practice Freemasonry, then we ought to learn how to effectively communicate, listen, digest, ask further questions, listen again and comprehend. By this action, we may be able to have these discussions within a lodge and hence affect our local communities, truly working for the betterment of the human condition. Maybe even leaving the world a better version of what it was before we came into it. Perhaps instead of banning talk of a religious or political nature, we should instead train how to hold proper discourse?

Undoubtedly there is no recourse in separating political ideology from religious ideology. The bond is indissoluble. Perhaps rightly so. There are throughout the ages, philosophical discussions about whether humanity can have a set of morals without having a codified religious dogma from which it would be bourn. Again, two sides, who ardently disagree over the revelation of human rights, and morality.

In closing out this dialogue I wish to leave you all with an ask, and that is to be mindful. To listen before formulating a response and to attempt, however uncomfortable it may be, to see things from your fellow’s point of view. Walk a mile in their shoes, truly. Only through attempting this exercise in perception can we see the foundation of an idea all the same foreign to us, and from there, where we can align our values and endeavor to embody Unity. Then, we can practice Freemasonry’s Royal Art, the Progressive Moral Science.

Guest Post: WBro. Jimmy Harris - Football, Flags, and Protest

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 19:57:00 +0000

WBro. Jimmy Harris, Past Master of Faribault Lodge No. 9

I was born an addict. My mother and father both used drugs and suffered all the consequences associated with that. My father left when I was five and went on to become a very low bottom drunk/addict. He was a hobo and worked as a carnie with several amusement companies before his addictions finally made him unsuitable for even that. Although he did eventually gain ten years of sobriety, he threw that away and died a drunk at the age of fifty-two. My mother, sometime after my father left us, turned to prostitution to support her heroin habit. After several moves, we found ourselves in Homestead, Florida. My two brothers and I (all under 8 years of age) were left alone for long periods of time to fend for ourselves. One day a neighbor noticed some bruises on my youngest brother’s back and legs left on all of us from my mother’s Marine Corps lover/supplier. That night we were removed from my mother’s care and spent the next two years in various foster homes in Dade County. (This was more than a decade before the name change to Miami-Dade in 1997.) Following much effort on the part of my maternal grandparents, we were adopted by them in August of 1984. We moved to a very small farming community called Beaumont, Kansas where I had a troubled youth and young adulthood. I found myself making many mistakes and having to come to terms with my own addictions. I completed my last in-patient treatment on December 13, 2004 and was raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason that night in Star of the East Lodge #33 Owatonna, Minnesota.

I give this very brief history to say this: I have found help in my struggles throughout my life. Although I have not had it easy, I have had it easier than many. In Masonry especially I have found many friends as well as Brothers; the closest of which is Worshipful Brother Nick Johnson. He originally invited me to write about another completely unrelated topic, but I found I could not focus on that with the matters of free speech, respect for country, and protest consuming so much of our collective attention.

Today, as I sit in my suite on Waikiki Beach and enjoy the wonders our Great Architect has wrought in this paradise, I recognize I sit here largely as a function of my birth. Although I was not given much, I was afforded many advantages men born into different circumstances do not enjoy. The first of which is the fact that I am an American. I have never had to seek refuge from a warlord or been afraid to speak my mind. But even in America that is also a function of the color of my skin. I remember vividly standing alongside the family during their interview on CNN regarding Philando Castile who was gunned down in Minneapolis. I have never had to fear a uniformed police officer or had to ask why I was stopped. Other advantage I had due largely to my skin color includes a good education. With that education, I completed an apprenticeship and became a Journeyman Lineman. I enjoy the benefits of being in the top 5% of income earners with very little encumbrance upon my advancement. During my career, I have worked in many distressed areas throughout this country. I have befriended people in the Southside of Chicago, Kansas City Kansas, South Central LA, Detroit, North Minneapolis, and many other cities. I have seen firsthand there is no such thing today as liberty and justice for all.

Receiving most of my education in a small 3A school in rural Kansas, I was able to participate in several sports. Taking a knee was never a sign of disrespect. It was quite the opposite. We took a knee to get instruction from our coaches. We also took a knee to give solemn respect to any injured player, friend or adversary.

I say all of that to say this: as men and Masons we owe it to our nation to be honest and forthright in our deliberations. Let us not confuse the separate issues of protest with patriotism. Let us not forget why these men kneel in respect. Let us always be mindful of that time we ourselves stood blind and penniless at the Altar of Masonry.

I was moved by seeing the players, coaches, and owners standing together in a chain of unity. Would that Masons also stood united in support of every American regardless of their circumstance remembering we regard the inward characteristics that elevate us! Let us stand together, even with those who kneel to do it.

I am fortunate to have many close friends in Masonry, very especially, my good friend WBro. Jimmy Harris. He has been gracious in writing this paper on things that have weighed on his mind, just as they have on the mind of many. Thank you, brother. You're a gift in my life.

Have an opinion? Leave a comment below.

Commentary: Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 (with some Job)

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 14:41:00 +0000

In my final commentary concerning the scriptural reference found in our degrees, I have seen a change. I've changed after rereading this closing poem to Ecclesiastes. Because I think context is key, I have posted the full poem while highlighting what we recognize.

Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8

Truly the light is sweet,

and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:

But if a man live many years,

and rejoice in them all;

yet let him remember the days of darkness;

for they shall be many.

All that cometh is vanity.

Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth;

and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth,

and walk in the ways of thine heart,

and in the sight of thine eyes:

but know thou, that for all these things

God will bring thee into judgment.

Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart,

and put away evil from thy flesh:

for childhood and youth are vanity.

Remember now thy Creator

in the days of thy youth,

while the evil days come not,

nor the years draw nigh,

when thou shalt say,

I have no pleasure in them;

While the sun, or the light,

or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened,

nor the clouds return after the rain:

In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,

and the strong men shall bow themselves,

and the grinders cease because they are few,

and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

And the doors shall be shut in the streets,

when the sound of the grinding is low,

and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird,

and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high,

and fears shall be in the way,

and the almond tree shall flourish,

and the grasshopper shall be a burden,

and desire shall fail:

because man goeth to his long home,

and the mourners go about the streets:

Or ever the silver cord be loosed,

or the golden bowl be broken,

or the pitcher be broken at the fountain,

or the wheel broken at the cistern.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:

and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher;

all is vanity.

I find our use of this particular passage fascinating. We discuss in our lectures the subject of death and mortality. In fact, of all the subjects in all the degrees, mortality seems to get the most ink. It's a focus of the Royal Master, Select Master, Order of the Temple. The symbols of death, the coffin, the shovel, and the grave are highlighted. But, have we thought of the square?

As I mentioned in the previous two entries to this series, I think that matching the movable jewel to the Biblical passage is a good exercise for us. In this degree, we see the joining of the two previous tools, the plumb and the level. Through the working of time (the level) and the rectitude of our character (the plumb), we square ourselves for the day when the silver cord is loosed, when the golden bowl be broken. This is the final measurement.

All these things we do, these things we concern ourselves with, are vanity of vanities, in the words of the preacher. They are vain attempts at perpetuity. Then the physical self returns to the earth and the soul departs to Heaven. These words are not intended to be hopeful, this is a lamentation after all. It's the judgement of the Grand Master of Heaven and Earth, wearing the symbol of life, the square, that determines what's next. And that's the rub. We don't have a single passage to work through. We lament but then we find hope.

At Masonic funerals, the words found in Job 14 are spoken (with additions from the Latin Vulgate of collection of Psalm verses). Job is a beautiful and difficult book. It lyrically laments on the absolute power contained within God and the minuscule contribution a single man will have, no matter how successful. The specific words we use are meant to give us some sense of completion, that what we work for and strive for has purpose. And it is explained thusly:

“Mortals, born of woman,

are of few days and full of trouble.

They spring up like flowers and wither away;

like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.

Do you fix your eye on them?

Will you bring them before you for judgment?

Who can bring what is pure from the impure?

No one!

A person’s days are determined;

you have decreed the number of his months

and have set limits he cannot exceed.

So look away from him and let him alone,

till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.

“At least there is hope for a tree:

If it is cut down, it will sprout again,

and its new shoots will not fail.

Its roots may grow old in the ground

and its stump die in the soil,

yet at the scent of water it will bud

and put forth shoots like a plant.

But a man dies and is laid low;

he breathes his last and is no more.

As the water of a lake dries up

or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,

so he lies down and does not rise;

till the heavens are no more, people will not awake

or be roused from their sleep.

“If only you would hide me in the grave

and conceal me till your anger has passed!

If only you would set me a time

and then remember me!

If someone dies, will they live again?

All the days of my hard service

I will wait for my renewal to come.

You will call and I will answer you;

you will long for the creature your hands have made.

Surely then you will count my steps

but not keep track of my sin.

My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;

you will cover over my sin.

“But as a mountain erodes and crumbles

and as a rock is moved from its place,

as water wears away stones

and torrents wash away the soil,

so you destroy a person’s hope.

You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;

you change their countenance and send them away.

If their children are honored, they do not know it;

if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.

They feel but the pain of their own bodies

and mourn only for themselves.”

Boy, that's depressing. So, what do we do? How do we take this set of verses and apply them to the hopeful nature of Freemasonry?

For me, reading through this, with the idea of vale of tears clearly in mind, I think it's the author's way of telling us to stop worrying about death and instead to focus on life. We will experience death, we will leave sad and despondent people behind just as some before us have left us behind. Our work may be forgotten but ultimately, the Great Artificer is design plans upon some celestial work.

We are living stones but just one. Nothing more, nothing less. All things are vanity, meaningless, when we reside on the quarry floor. We can't see what might be constructed from our efforts so we exert because it is good.

The final commentary by God to Job has always been distressing to me but also heartening. Boiled down, God is chastising Job for thinking he can know the great multitudes present in creation. Job has tested God into explaining what everything means. And God rebukes him.

“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?" (Job 38:2)

And then, God uses building metaphors to describe the creation of the universe:

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7)

Again, a request for trust, for faith. That sometimes, when we think that we are not receiving the fairest possible shake from God, perhaps it's only that at our ground level view, that we don't actually see where we fit, how we fit. And that is absolutely frustrating.

My take away is that sometimes, in our darkest fears, that death will cut short our contributions, that life is too short, that everything is meaningless, that our lack of contributions are just us lacking perspective. We just need to keep shaping our living stone, keep working, and know that God will ultimately fit us once we cross the vale of tears. Meaningless might be what we think we do but meaningless is not what we are. That's what sayeth this preacher.

Thoughts? Leave your comments below.

Guest Post: "If Your Lodge Were to Close Tomorrow[...]" by Keith Martinson

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Thu, 31 Aug 2017 11:30:00 +0000

If your lodge were to close tomorrow, would your community notice?

This question was asked on a social media site, and the answers might, or might not surprise you.

The overwhelming majority of respondents said that no, their lodge would not be missed in the community at all. The question then becomes, why? Why would a lodge that has been there, in some cases for over a century, suddenly not be missed? There are a myriad of answers, the lodge isn’t involved in the community, there aren’t enough active members to put on community events, there are barely enough members to hold stated meetings, and the list goes on. We now have a good idea of why, but before I get into the possible solutions to this problem, I’d like to delve deeper into the underlying reasons that there are fewer members at lodge.

I will begin by saying that Masonry is not a charity, nor is it a service organization, it never has been, let that sink in for a minute. The purpose of masonry is to make its members better than they were, not to act as a charity or as a community service organization. In fact, our rituals are pretty specific in what we as masons are obligated to do. Help, aid and assist poor distressed worthy brothers, their widows and orphans, treat others as you would want to be treated, etc.... But wait, what about that faith hope and charity thing? If you go back to the origins of the word charity, you will find that is is derived from a Latin word meaning generous love. So, masonic charity is to promote love, to all mankind, but more especially a brother mason. Charitable giving, is important, and we as masons should give as much as we are able, but, and this is important, charity is not the purpose of masonry, charity is the result of masonry. The teachings of masonry and the type of men it attracts, make charitable giving a natural extension of our fraternity.

To keep attracting the type of men that have a predisposition to giving, we as existing members, and officers must make the lodge a place where people want to go. If we can’t take care of ourselves, we certainly can’t take care of our communities. I believe this is where masonry seems to get it backwards, we must look to our brethren first, because that is our job, the welfare and care of our existing members. If we solve that issue, the others will fall into place without much effort.

So how do we make the lodge a place where our members want to go? Honestly, I believe the answer is, ANYTHING! Do something that entices the members to show up. Hold a lodge BBQ during the warmer months, have a movie night, or hold card tournaments. If your lodge doesn't have a building, plan a golf outing, go to a local park and have a BBQ with brothers and their families. Obviously there are as many ideas out there as there are masons. The point is, do something, do it now, and do it often. Change begins with you, and once it starts, it can't be stopped. The brothers are our most important resource, we must treat it with care.

Thanks to my friend, Bro. Keith, for providing a great piece. He is the sitting Senior Warden of Tusler-Summit Lodge No. 263 of Roseville MN.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.

Market Based Freemasonry and the Propagation of Lodges: Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 14:49:00 +0000

"Freemasonry is dying."

-That brother you chat with after lodge

How often do you hear that phrase? If you've been in Freemasonry for even a short time, I guarantee you've heard this. For whatever reason, a society built on traditions always seems to obsess with traditions, to the detriment of all other things. Freemasonry is no different.

I've been thinking about the various Masonic projects I've worked on, all those things that have increased or decreased my satisfaction in the Craft, and the one thing I always come back to is the thrill of the try. I love planning these things. I love seeing them happen, even when they don't work. And this brought me to something even more general, what I like most is making a market of ideas and events to bolster our underlying mission, to bring good men together of divergent backgrounds into a chain of union. We are, at our best, market based.

A friend and brother have been looking at ways of bringing market based solutions to improve Freemasonry. Here is our list.

1) Allow lodges to die quickly and easily.

This is the hardest principle for our older members to accept. It makes sense, in a way. When you exert years of energy into a project, the mere thought that it could be discarded is a almost distasteful. But that's the problem.

We have all been to a zombie lodge. Oftentimes, they continue to run into a wall. When new energy shows up, they gobble it up and that new brain goes away, either by leaving, or worse, becoming a part of it. A lodge like this should die. This lodge drags down Masonry by lessening the experience. And it's not just localized. Masonry, being a node based interconnected system, depends on the other nodes to pass information. If one node becomes slow, or weaker, more energy is applied with far worse results.

2) Allow lodges to be born easily, with few restrictions.

On the flip side, we need to encourage new lodges. Lots of them. A market based system based on protectionism just increases inefficiency. Inefficiency is not a good thing. Progress is slowed. Innovation (the good kind) is stunted. We lose eager brothers behind red tape.

Here are some examples I've seen in various Codes. Don't worry, I'll unpackage all of these.

a) New lodge must get permission from existing lodges.

b) New lodges cannot be within a set distance of another lodge.

c) Number of Master Masons signing exceeds, and in some cases, far exceeds the quorum requirements of existing lodges.

d) Restrictions on who can be the signer if the petition for dispensation, i.e. no elected officer in another lodge.

e) Subjective ritual standards that require near perfection of work by lodges UD inconsistent with existing chartered lodges.

f) Required to work in only Masonic buildings and with all paraphernalia at dispensation.

Before I get started, the funny thing is oftentimes, the fee itself to petition for a dispensation to form a lodge is almost a pittance, indicating to me that this economic protectionism in American Freemasonry was never originally intended.

a) New lodge must get permission from existing lodges and b) new lodges cannot be within a set distance of another lodge.

This boggles my mind. Why on earth would you give the organization most in need of competition rights over their competitor? If there is a subset of brothers so set on starting a lodge in the vicinity of another lodge, the likelihood is that there is either a) plenty of room for the both of them or b) a defect in the existing lodge.

I get that. In how we are designed organizationally, we are a franchisee/franchisor arrangement. Restricting where a lodge can form creates huge sections of area that become unserviced by a Masonic lodge. That's economically wasteful. If a market exists and there is interest, we should be there. Instead, we'll have brothers driving 30 minutes, 40 minutes, only to sit bored. Time is value and lack of availability will immediately butt into that.

c) Number of Master Masons signing exceeds, and in some cases, far exceeds the quorum requirements of existing lodges and d) restrictions on who can be the signer if the petition for dispensation, i.e. no elected officer in another lodge.

These restrictions are often aimed at who can sign the petition for dispensation. And as you can see, these can get ridiculous fairly quickly. We already have a ritualistic/legal/traditional number of Master Masons necessary to form a lodge. It's seven. Seven. So, when you see 12.... 15.... 25!, even 50!, ask yourself, why?

The only reason I can think of is that, just like most protectionist laws, it starts with good intentions. Maybe the Grand Lodge brothers were worried about quality or sustainability. But now, these two become something far worse. Try starting a lodge that needs 25 Master Masons who are not elected officers. As someone who did, it's near impossible. If you can find one active Mason, he will, more likely than not, be one of those five things.

Even worse is that you also try to grab brothers who are MINOs, Members in Name Only. Getting across the finish line requires just getting names on a sheet of paper. That's no way to build excitement while the lodge project is under dispensation. And worse, it's a fiction as well as to encourage potential bad faith attempts to start a lodge.

e) Subjective ritual standards that require near perfection of work by lodges UD inconsistent with existing chartered lodges.

I am a ritualist and I absolutely believe we should demand high quality work. But, since this is a franchise relationship, the base standards should be the same across all locations. Basing the base performance of a new lodge at the desired standard while allowing other lodges to essentially skate is patently unfair and a barrier to growth.

To fix this, the standards should be clearly defined. It should be an objective standard or at least one reduced to the ability to open and close the lodge.

f) Required to be in Lodge buildings with paraphernalia

Hold on while I hold my head.

"Hi, I'm a new lodge. I have a building agreement in place with a Masonic building with all the paraphernalia in place."

Really? We have hundreds of buildings that can be rented so why do we need to be trapped in a Masonic™ building? Private rooms should suffice. More protectionism to prevent flexibility.

We can do better in that regard. We can make lodges vibrant by accepting the market.

Stay tuned for part 2 where I lay out the ideal market based lodge creation which I call the Flexible Lodge

Comments? Leave a comment below.

Don't Be a Sucker

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 13:02:00 +0000

This video, being shared all over social media in response to the white supremacist march in Charlottesville, VA, is an essential view for all of us who call ourselves Freemason.

1947 anti-fascist video made by US military to teach citizens how to avoid falling for people like Trump is relevant again. pic.twitter.com/vkTDD1Tplh
— Michael (@OmanReagan) August 13, 2017

Comments? Leave them below.

Guest Article: "Dues and Don’ts: Putting the Cart Before the Horse" by Bro. Josh B.

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 11:00:00 +0000

“We know the tail must wag the dog, for the horse is drawn by the cart;
But the Devil whoops, as he whooped of old: “It’s clever, but is it Art?”
From the Conundrum of the Workshops by Bro. Rudyard Kipling

Greetings Brethren. I am Bro. Josh B., and this is my first time contributing to The Millennial Freemason. Before I get into my purpose here, allow me to introduce myself. I am a 36 year old husband and father of two. I am an attorney in Columbus Ohio, and I currently serve as Worshipful Master of my local lodge. If you frequent the /r/freemasonry Reddit board, then you know me better as “poor_yoricks_skull”. I am honored to have been invited to blog today by Bro. Nick, who asked me to post a rebuttal to his recent blog post “The Elitist Inside,” and I thank him for the opportunity.

Let me begin by saying that I am thankful for all that Nick does on this blog, and all that he does for Freemasonry. I appreciate that he is asking hard questions about what the younger generation wants out of the fraternity, and what we can do to guide our fraternity to a successful and vibrant future.

If you remember the previous post (or if you just skip down to read it now) you will remember that Nick had advocated for some changes in the dues structure of a lodge, which he proposes as a way of controlling the quality of our membership. The specific proposal was to create a dues structure based on an individual brothers income, using a formula based on the “Income Based Repayment” option for student loan borrowers.

He also proposed some changes to the membership requirements, such as raising the age at which a man can first petition, and having an investigation committee make sure that a petitioner is “stable” and not “just starting out.”

While I respect the place Nick is coming from, I disagree with his approach in this instance. In my original /r/Freemasonry criticism I accused this idea of being the tail which wagged the dog. Asking “what should our dues be to make our lodge better?” is premature. Instead, we should be asking “how much does the lodge need?” It is approaching the issue form the wrong end to set a price before you have budgeted your costs.

The lodge is a business, in that it offers a value to people, and expects payment in return for that value. It is not, however, a for-profit business. Every lodge has expenses, and they need funds to cover those expenses, thus the need to charge membership fees. Beyond this, some lodges hold fund-raisers to cover necessary expenses. This shows their dues are too low. The membership dues should be enough to cover the yearly expenses. If there is extra, that is great, but creating extra “profit” should never be the goal of a lodge. If a lodge is operating a large surplus, then those dues are too high. They are unnecessary for that lodge. The answer to “what should the dues be?” is always “how much does the lodge need?”

My lodge is fortunate in that we own our building, our building has commercial space in it, and we have luckily kept tenants in those spaces regularly for over 30 years. This allows the lodge to keep our general overhead low, which allows us to have low dues. I think this is a good thing for our lodge, as it creates a diverse membership base, who are free to focus on actual Freemasonry, and not burden each meeting with financial struggles. By not wasting our energy on fundraisers for basic lodge functions, we are free to labor for the good of others. We use our modest surplus to create a rainy-day fund, and to supplement our charitable giving when our fundraisers do not meet expectations. We hold two charitable fundraisers a year, spring and fall, from which we take care of our community giving campaigns. By most measures, we do all this with membership dues which are far under the norm, and certainly below the amounts commonly discussed as the “worth” of Freemasonry.

There is another local lodge which help illustrate my point as well. This is a much younger (newer) lodge. They meet in a more established lodge building, paying a rent to that landlord lodge. This keeps their costs fixed. This lodge has decided that their dues will cover their rent expenses, but nothing more, as they need nothing more. At first, the dues were high, as membership was small, so the individual burden was higher. As more men joined, their individual dues were slowly lowered, spreading the costs over more people. The more successful this lodge became, the lower it cost to be a member. This lodge is now considered a model of a quality lodge experience in Ohio, and other lodges are moving to emulate them.

Now, I have not added charity work (the donation of monetary funds to people or organizations in need) to the costs of a lodge. I think it is appropriate for a lodge to hold fundraisers to benefit their charitable work, because those fundraisers create an opportunity for a number of things. It creates the opportunity for the men of the lodge to work together toward a common cause, thus strengthening their bonds among themselves. It creates the opportunity for the lodge to increase their visibility and profile in the community, thus tying the lodge closer to the community in the minds of others, and making the lodge a valuable community member. And, it creates the opportunity for the lodge to have a recruitment event, showing their community value to men who might not have known what we do, and how to join. These non-altruistic benefits of fundraising are invaluable to a lodge, and thus not all the lodge’s charity needs to come from a dues surplus.

There are challenges facing our fraternity now, and in the future. Unfortunately, there are no one-size-fits-all, magic bullet solutions to overcome those challenges. Each lodge is a unique entity, and not every lodge faces the same troubles, or is in need of the same solutions. It is natural to want to increase the quality of the product we are offering men, and I applaud those efforts, but we will not increase product quality by increasing what we charge for the product. We increase the quality of our lodges by offering a quality product, regardless of price. That product must add value to the lives of the men who join: the value of fraternal bonding, community works, and exploration of the mystic truths contained in our various lessons and rituals.

I will end with one of my favorite anecdotes of Freemasonry, taken from Bro. Christopher Hodapp’s book “Freemasons for Dummies:”

“While he was President, Teddy Roosevelt visited his home lodge, Matinecock #806 in New York, in September 1908. Afterward, he spoke of the experience of seeing his own gardener serving as Master of the Lodge that evening while he sat on the sidelines. ‘Clearly I could not cal upon him when I came home. It would have embarrassed him. Neither could he, without embarrassment, call on me. In the lodge it was different. He was over me, though I was president, and it was good for him, and good for me.”

Brother Roosevelt recognized the fraternal benefit of men of different stations and classes casting off those monetary distinctions to mix together, and I think we would be better doing the same.

I would like to thank Bro. Josh for writing this very thoughtful article.

What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment below.

The Elitist Inside

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 16:00:00 +0000

What's wrong with being elitist if you are trying to encourage people to join the elite rather than being exclusive?

—Richard Dawkins

Show me an elitist, and I'll show you a loser.
—Tom Clancy

I was on the /r/AfterLodge subreddit the other day as I like to interact with the hosts of that show. (If you aren't listening to it, do so. It's great.) One thread focused on the theme of cost as many Masonic discussion forums do. Masons and Money is a perennial topic but thinking about what was being said, I started to think, maybe it's not the cost that matters. Maybe cost is a reflective quality of whom we have in the Fraternity.

At the outset of speculative Craft in England, brothers joined for its networking potential. Looking at the names of past grand masters in both English Grand Lodges, you can see that the men were either in the mercantile class (new money) or in the aristocratic class (old money). Both of these classes found a very advantageous symbiotic relationship. The aristocrats, with money tied to land and title, had to make connections with new capital. The merchants, with all this new found wealth, wanted societal status. The networking potentials were boundless.

I will posit something that may not be true but it feels true. If you look at the buildings, the costuming, the beautiful medals and jewels, it is obvious that the membership drew from a wealthier strata. We had access to capital then that we don't have access to now. I think it's directly tied to who is now joining. Perhaps the breakdown in our membership numbers and our chasing positive lodge growth is just as the cliche says, it is the quality and not the quantity. But I would go further, it's not just the quality, it's that our lodges currently lack the quality of elitism.

I didn't join Masonry to be an elitist. My grandfather was a Mason (in fact, both of them were) and after I discovered he was, I wanted to be one too. As I've aged into this thing that has used up more than a decade of my life, I sometimes wonder if what I get out of it isn't what I'm putting into it. Sometimes I wonder if I am at the top of the pyramid and it's giving without receiving anything. It's not a level playing field as it was when the old money and new money needed each other.

Now, it is a constant tug of war to keep dues low, to defer maintenance, and to value "labor" over money by hosting pancake breakfasts to pay for our own fraternal activities. Yet, we are still shocked by the surprise of our candidates that the "initiation fee is so much lower than I expected" or that men pick up and walk away within a few years of joining. In a phrase, Freemasonry is a pedestrian affair.

Freemasonry is devalued so the common man can take a part and this is to our detriment. We don't have doctors, lawyers, and businessmen joining. And because they are not joining today, we have to pull out old lists of dead brothers of quality to appease our sense of greatness. If we want to rub shoulders with the elite, we must be elite. We cannot be pedestrian. We cannot be common. We cannot keep dues and expectations so low so as to not scare away the curious passerby.

Jason Mitchell of the Ars Latomorum blog has an interesting theory on this. To paraphrase, Freemasonry doesn't want or need you until you have established yourself in your career and in your family. To put another way, we want the living stone to be cut from the quarry first before we work on it. So often, the powers-that-be want to capture brothers young when they are most vulnerable to the distractions of life. The young members usually have little money and little time to dedicate. And those that do dedicate themselves to Freemasonry miss out on opportunities they could have pursued to make themselves better in life/career/family.

"But, but mercenary motives!!!"

I guarantee that a fair share of the readers of this article have been saying this. Mercenary motives is like internal not external, a cliche we can throw at celebrating the culture of banausic work of the common man. That culture which abhors networking as mercenary and yet, is more than happy to watch pin cushions collect title after meaningless title. Why? Why have we done this to ourselves?

And no, I don't want blue collar workers booted or barred from Freemasonry. But if you are too busy thinking about paying bills, or raising small children, or looking to be promoted, then any time outside of those life goals will allow you, future Freemason, to falter and those goals will go unmet. Again, we don't want you until you are ready.

Now that my rant is over, here's my list of solutions:

Increase the minimum age to petition.
Increase dues to a percentage related to "disposable income." ~~15% of 1.5 times the poverty line is a good start~~. Correction: 15% of (Adjusted Gross Income minus 1.5 times the poverty line.) Ultimately, you will want dues to price out all but those who have their acts together.
Examine a petitioner for fitness by asking him where he is in life. If he is just starting out, he is not ready. We are the shapers of stone, not the miners.
Expect more from our members. Each person should be "buddied" with another and both should ask how the other brother is doing financially or occupationally.
Don't call networking a mercenary motive. Masonry is the OG social network.
Encourage Masons to think of leaving a legacy to the lodge. Freemasonry is a family. But even more so, it requires the brothers to think of their future. You can't leave a legacy if you don't have one.

This is just a small list of changes. What we need to consider is that just as men expect, before they join, a great organization, we as an organization must expect greatness from our future members. We are frustrating the purpose of Freemasonry when we race to the bottom, grabbing men who aren't ready just for the accountant friendly "number of Masons raised for year xxxx." We do a disservice to Freemasonry but we also do a disservice to these men. We throw them into a situation they are not ready to handle and wringing our hands when they leave. Break the cycle.

Stop being cheap. Let me repeat, STOP being cheap. Stop rushing guys to join. Stop devaluing the Fraternity and frustrating the networking advantages which come with Fraternal bonding. This is a privilege bought and paid for by men of quality, old money and new money coming together. We need to look up and build higher than them, not look down and moan about the crumbling footings that we have allowed to crumble under the weight of mediocrity. Make them proud and add your name to the list of famous Freemasons instead of sharing it.

What do you think? Leave your comment below.

CORRECTION: A very smart redditor pointed out my crazy math formula. I was attempting to use the formula for student loans payments for a Income Based Repayment plan, which is what is seen above. And yes, this would be a sliding scale which is currently disallowed in a number of jurisdictions.

Minnesota Masonic Unity Dinner - June 10th 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Fri, 26 May 2017 16:44:00 +0000

Minnesota will be hosting a very special event that unites the hearts of both regular grand lodges of Minnesota. Both Grand Masters will be present to give their remarks at the beautiful new Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.

You can find the details below:

The Eventbrite link is here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/masonic-unity-festive-board-tickets-32996698012

Please join us for this incredible event.

Flat Earth and Freemason... Thanks JP

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 00:43:00 +0000

I have really enjoyed Ultra Spiritual with JP Sears for awhile and when this video was sent to me, I just had to share.

I am now a member of the Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 21:06:00 +0000

I have spent a lot of time dealing with a bout of pneumonia. Thankfully, I had a shining spot in what has been a bleak couple of weeks. I was initiated into Good Samaritan Tabernacle XXXVI, Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests, at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.

The Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests in the United States is open by invitation to past commanders only. The degree set was first mentioned in the United States in 1829 in the state of Rhode Island. The modern degree, like so many degree sets, was fully formed by J. Ray Shute, II, a brother all AMD Companions will know. Membership in each tabernacle is restricted to 33 members.

I want to thank Sir Knight Bruce and Sir Knight Ray for really presenting a great degree. The degree was extremely powerful and I really cannot wait to dive deeper into the symbolism. If you are ever given a chance to join this order, you must do it. I absolutely loved it.

To learn more, click here.

Leave a comment below.

The Millennial Freemason Revisits After Lodge Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 14:36:00 +0000

I was recently invited as a guest on the After Lodge podcast. If you haven't listened, it's an excellent show. They've reformatted and I really like where the show is going. If you want to listen to the episode I was on, click here.

Is This Thing Still On?

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 00:37:00 +0000

Cryogenics sequence finalized. Subject reacting normally. Coming out of hypersleep in 3... 2... 1...

Whoa? Where am I? How did I get here? Is it 2016? 2016?

:opens newspaper:

Donald Trump is a presidential nominee? The Celebrity Apprentice guy? Really?!

Minnesota Freemasons open a new Heritage Center and Museum?

:shakes off slimy goo from hyperbolic chamber:

Looks like I have a lot of work to do. Masonry is changing and I gotta get back into this. See you soon.

Jon Oliver on YouTube Conspiracy Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 13:54:00 +0000

This is pretty hilarious. Any of you know what Sheeple thinks? We should ask him.

Freemasonry Is Behind the Scottish Premiership?!

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 17:56:00 +0000

Anyone but Celtic 1.0 from Love Street 86 Productions on Vimeo.

This video is a conspiracy video that attempts to prove that we, the Freemasons, are behind any year that Celtic FC fails to win the Premiership.

Enjoy!

Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center Website Now Online

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 21:19:00 +0000

Something exciting is being erected on the campus of the Masonic Home in Bloomington. Soon, the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center will be opened, shining light on the great history of our Fraternity. I was lucky to be one of the Grand Council Officers present at the cornerstone laying last year and have been excitedly watching it go up.

Now, Minnesota Masonic Charities has a new website and a new video to see the progress. Be sure to visit the website and watch the video. Exciting!

Guest Article: "Freemasonry in the 21st Century and Beyond" by Bro. Jared Chapman

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 15:00:00 +0000

Bro. Jared and His Awesome Fam

As machines replace humans more and more in an effort to create more efficiency and profits for shareholders, humankind must adapt. We must evolve. The world is not so round anymore. We cannot sit idly by, homogenizing ourselves into tribes of single-minded thought. Technology has made for us a global community, where with our differences and diversity could cause strife, but should not. We should embrace these differences as oddities, peculiarities, and idiosyncrasies, as we recognize and focus more on our similarities, finding harmony among humanity. Our survival depends on our ability to spread love, truth, and charity from one end of the world to the next.

Freemasons are at the forefront of such an endeavor. We are the messengers and practitioners of peace and liberty. Our teachings provide for us the necessary tools to lead others toward a brighter tomorrow, not in the world beyond, but in the here and now. As we do good works in the here and now, helping humanity survive and leaving the world a better place than we found it, we will find a brighter tomorrow in both this world and the next. We must embody the principles we are taught and inculcate those to all of humanity, as they will see by our example the good work we do.

The greatest of these works are charity and relief, but within that we find tolerance and understanding. It is incumbent upon us to spread charitable relief, and we can do so only by accepting those who differ in belief, thought, and appearance from ourselves. We must treat them with respect and all the humanity that we expect to receive in return, but we must never expect that it shall be returned; and if it is not, we should never do anything to retaliate for any offense we may feel. We must recognize that we are taught those principles to make us better than we were and acknowledge that not everyone has been taught as such.

We must step forward and take our place as the light-bearers we are, standing against injustice and tyranny. We must be the first to speak out against war as a means to exploit and retaliate, but recognize the necessity of fighting and battling for those who are suffering. Though we seek peace, it may come with a fight, and we must be ready. For humans are not so perfect beings that they are not corrupted by power and greed, we must be the exemplars that light that way. We, who seek equality, justice, liberty, fraternity, and peace.

Idealists in thought, heart, and work, we must evolve and adapt. We must move beyond our bygone traditions of yesteryear that make us look like the dilapidated rubble of an ancient wonder and be willing to accept the truth that Freemasonry is a progressive science. Not just progressive in the nature of the learning from the profane to the enriched, but from the constant forward momentum we use to propel us into a future where we are no seen as obsolete; a future where the moral principles inculcated in our teachings are seen as the constitution by which all humans should live by, whether or not they believe in a higher power.

Over the next century, we need to evolve in thought, heart, and work if we are to survive and lead the way. It is beholden to us to keep the great torches lit, the temples secured, and the masses cared for. How can we do this when we are not the global community we should be? As technology increasingly allows us to communicate with one another, traveling by means of waves and electricity, we must spread light beacons our message of love, truth, and charity across the world. Yet, many of us sit behind the anonymity of the computer screens, judging belittling, and derogating others for their differences in thought, belief, or appearance. For those brethren, sadly Freemasonry is not their primary worldview.

While Freemasonry should never be primary in one’s life above God, Family, Country, and Neighbors, the principles and tenets of Freemasonry are expected to provide focus to one’s worldview. They are the means to clarity in thought, heart, and work, as they push out the clouds of bigotry, selfish disinterest, and excessive ego. As such, Freemasonry should inform one’s worldview above and beyond all other teachings, for with such clarity, the truth becomes apparent. We are all the children of the Grand Architect of the Universe, and our divine parent who embodies all the divine principles of good, including love, truth, and relief, would never want to see suffering among those children or fighting among those siblings.

When we see our brethren willing to reject a potential brother based not on his moral character, but his difference in belief, thought, or appearance, we must stand up for such injustice. If we are to survive this next century, we must seek to liberate all humans and inculcate our teachings. To be sure, not everyone should be a Freemason, but we should not be so delimiting in our nature or keep our West Gate so secured that good becomes just as restricted as bad, because that which is deemed bad are superficial qualities, idiosyncrasies, and banalities some brother sees through his clouded view. We must guard the gate against those who would corrupt our ancient institution by means of bigotry, selfish disinterest, and excessive ego for they are true indicators of moral degradation.

As we evolve, internalizing our teachings, we should and will eventually realize, as many brothers now do, that the inclusive, universal nature of Freemasonry cannot be so, if we continue to allow inflexible distinctions to exist between practitioners of Masonic principles based on so-called traditions. Within the common fold, we must accept all those practicing Freemasonry in their Regularity. We must unite the Mainstream and Prince Hall variations within the United States, so a combined force can eliminate all irregular, spurious Masonic bodies. We must help those lost in the irregularity heal, if they can be healed and welcome them to the family.

We must acknowledge the existence and accept the work of Women Freemasons, recognizing them as Female-Craft Freemasonry and accepting our place as Male-Craft Freemasonry. Thus, these two groups would exist as separate entities, recognized by one another as Regular, but limited to out-of-lodge interactions alone, as Male-Craft Freemasonry should only raise Males and Female-Craft Freemasonry should only raise Females. In this global healing of Freemasonry, we must also acknowledge those belonging to Co-Masonry. We should allow them to become an appendant body of the Craft lodges, whereby they would not initiate, pass, or raise any members into their degrees, but accept Master Masons only, similarly to Scottish Rite, York Rite, and the Shrine. Co-Masonry would be haut-grade degrees only where Male-Craft and Female-Craft Master Masons would work together.

The continued healing of these groups would provide a broader family for the future of Freemasonry, one that truly espouses and exemplifies its principles and tenets. We truly would be builders and artificers, fashioning the future in the model that we have been shown. Although we will evolve to survive and this version of Freemasonry may be seen at odds with our traditional structure, it is only so, because the tradition is taken as literal and not subject to symbolic interpretation. When one elucidates symbolically the structure, we find the truth. Tradition clings to those elements like a fog, and we must illuminate them to get through it. It will take the next century to evolve into the structure Freemasonry needs to be, but we can do it. We are the light we seek; we just need to find it within us.

Bro. Jared Chapman writes on a number of topics on his blog, "Fresh From the Quarry." Definitely check his blog out!

The Masonic Roundtable Ep. 90: The Generation Gap

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 05:18:00 +0000

Well, considering that I am the Millennial Freemason (let's be honest, I'm just one of a growing segment of our Masonic population), I had an absolute blast chatting with Eric Diamond and the boys of TMR on our generations in lodge. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we had on it. Enjoy!

Project 353: Sharpening Our Knives

noreply@blogger.com (Millennial Freemason) — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 11:00:00 +0000

Bro. Matt has written our followup post answering questions and concerns some brothers have. Let's maintain a dialogue as we continue moving forward. You can also like our Agape Lodge Facebook page here.

Update

We've received a fantastic response to Agape Lodge from some very talented Minnesota Masons. We'll be announcing a planning meeting soon exclusively for those who have signed up, so if this is something you want to do, please fill out the survey HERE.

We've also received some confused, and even negative responses. This is okay. This is something new. Dare we say, this is even an *cue scary music* an innovation in Freemasonry!

New ideas get resistance. That's great. They should get resistance. You sharpen a knife against an
unyielding stone. I've written about this before on my own blog.

For those who are resistant to change, like our old pal, Brother George, we wanted to address some concerns that have come up.

Can a lodge move around? Don't they have to have a building?

Yes, a lodge can travel around. We have an extremely successful one in Minnesota already that operates in much the same way, Sir Winston Churchill Lodge. They mostly meet in brothers' homes.

Hmm...sounds clandy. Is it legit?

Good question. Let's ask one of its members.

...seems legit.

Okay, but can you meet in restaurants?

It's a hurdle, no doubt. There has always been resistance to meeting in public places, but we believe that a well-tyled lodge actually takes a little effort. If we can tyle a quarry, or a hotel ballroom each year, we can tyle a banquet room with one or two doors.

Will you be drinking during meetings?

We're not serving alcohol during meetings. We will adhere to all rules regarding alcohol set by the Minnesota Grand Lodge AF&AM.

So you don't think a building is important for Freemasons?

We don't think it's important for every Freemason, for sure. Both Nick and I love our temples, and having a hangout is important for masons, but what we're trying to do is normalize the option of having different types of lodges, because we don't believe in the one size fits all concept of freemasonry. We think that lodges could certainly meet downtown on people's lunch hours, in a meeting room. We think that lodges can meet in peoples' homes or bars.

My lodge needs dues from all two-hundred of our members to stay alive. How are you going to make it with just a few guys?

We think that lodges can exist that have purposely low membership. They can make easier, faster budget decisions, and essentially have the power and ability to be what the members want it to be, without having to worry about angering a hundred other brothers who don't show up, but whose dues you can't survive without.

I'm worried this lodge will fail and that will damage Minnesota Masonry.

We're in this for the long haul, but I can't hold your hand and promise that everything will last forever and ever. Lodges fail.

Right now, sadly, we have a situation in place where Masons feel shame for a lodge that shuts its doors, and that they have failed in some way. Brothers, a lodge only fails when its brothers fail to become better men, and that happens in some of the biggest, oldest lodges in the world. Why do we worry about this?

Our ancient brethren would travel to many places and receive a charter to organize for a specific purpose; for building a specific structure. When they were done, the charter was dissolved and they traveled to new lands, chartering new lodges. That's ok. That's actually how it's supposed to work.

We think lodges can be convened for specific, limited purposes. As long as they're doing the work of the craft, they're succeeding.

Will you meet in a different place every time, or will Agape meet in the same place or same places regularly?

Totally up in the air right now. This will necessarily be a group decision, which is why it's so important that you be part of the conversation.

Will you be initiating, passing, and raising new Masons?

It's definitely something we want to do. As we're going to mainly be an affiliate lodge, it's probably not going to come up a lot, though we may certainly be open to courtesy work for other lodges. Eventually, if successful, we may bring in new masons of our own who find this format appealing.

Can you do degree work at a dinner table.

Absolutely.

Hmmm...sounds clandy.

Then our Grand Lodge is clandestine, because they actually have a First Degree Table Lodge that your own lodge can perform any time it wants, and you can read all about it HERE.

This sounds elitist and stuffy. Is this going to look like something out of Downton Abbey?

You know, the state doesn't really have a dearth of scotch and cigar lodges. We're feasters. Some of that is going to include education on table manners, both modern and archaic, but it's probably mostly going to look like a good old family dinner or Thanksgiving. It should be pretty working class and on the level.

Ok, but if you're not like the other lodges, and don't have buildings to take care of, what could you possibly be doing in these meetings?

Like all lodges, of course we will have bills and general business. We'll just be discussing them over appetizers. But mainly, we educate! In our mother lodges both me and Nick are pretty proficient at leading group discussions, Socrates cafe style, about masonic issues. When we need a well-directed,
productive discussion about masonic symbolism, we'll be at work with the worshipful master leading the group. When we need a more vibrant back and forth, we'll be at refreshment where it's more of a free-for-all.

Why have a lodge at all then? Why not just have a supper club with a bunch of smart-talking masons?

We want to form a lodge for the same reason that our ancient brethren formed lodges. Benjamin Franklin could have stuck with his Leather Apron Club, discussing news, science, and philosophy over a pint at the local tavern, but he decided to become a mason, because ritual and structure is important. And that's the thing. There are a lot of rituals that we can inject into our lives that remind us to be mindful, and we're going to be exploring those, and the rest of freemasonry, around a dinner table.

Why start a new lodge? If you think meetings are dry, horrible affairs, why not fix your old lodges?

Let's be clear on this point. We find no flaws with our lodges (Braden Lodge and Corinthian Lodge). They are vibrant centers of ritual, education and fellowship. We have everything we need there. We want more of it. Sorry. I guess we're greedy. We want more great freemasonry.

Do you have other questions or concerns? Please ask them! Interested? Come and be a part of it.

Memento Mordere