A Good Story

I saw this on one of the message boards and thought Id share for the folks that dont surf...
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A salesman breaks down in a remote country lane, a farmer in the adjacent field comes over and they discover that they are "Brothers"

The salesman is concerned as he has an important appointment in the local town, "don't worry says the farmer you can use my car, I will call a friend and get the car repaired whilst you go to the appointment"

Off goes the salesman and a couple of hours later he returns but unfortunately the car is awaiting a part which won't arrive until the next morning.

"It's not a problem," says the Farmer, "use my telephone and reschedule your first appointment tomorrow, stay with us tonight and we will see that the car is done first thing!"

The farmers' wife prepares a wonderful meal and they share a glass of fine single malt during an excellent evening, the salesman sleeps soundly and when he awakes there is his car, repaired and ready to go. After a full breakfast the salesman thanks them both for the hospitality.

As he and the farmer walk to his car he turns and asks "my brother, thank you so much but I have to ask, did you help me because I am a Mason?"

"No, My Brother" was the reply, "I helped you because I am."
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The lessons come from the journey... So Mote It Be!

It's Done!

On Friday last (16 Mar 2007) I had my Entered Apprentice Degree conferred! I must say, it was a very proud moment! Last month Brother Corey Sigler sent an email to the folks that subscribe to The Working Tools about the April edition of The Working Tools was going to focus on the EA degree and was asking for stories. After exchanging a few emails I wrote up a little thing and sent to him so I wont cover a lot of that here.

I will say that my lodge did a wonderful job on the degrees! Yes there were two done Friday and two more done Saturday morning! I was lucky and went first so I got to see my brother be initiated. Of course Saturday I saw both. I’ve been to another lodge and watched them confer an EA degree since then also. My mentor has told me the more I see the faster Ill pick up the details for my EA proficiency and I can for sure see that truth in that!

This brings me to what I really want to vent about. Brother Tom Accuosti asked in his blog today if its true as the PMs say that the ritual is for the candidate. As someone that just went through it and have seen a few in the days since, I’ve noticed some things. While I was the candidate I was listening to every sound and every word. A certain gavel at a certain time scared the crap out of me! The ritual seemed wonderful to me without any mistakes. Then again, HOW WOULD I KNOW IF IT WASN’T? The only way would be if some well meaning person on the sideline was doing corrections! This didn’t happen at mine by the way!!!

Im sure everyone has seen this happen and it seems to me that it just throws the people doing the ritual off and interrupts the flow. It also would confuse the new brother I would think.

To answer Brother Tom’s question though, I think the real reason a ritual needs to be good is for the newly entered, newly passed, newly raised Mason that is trying to learn it for his proficiency!

I have to admit when Im wrong. I’d made some assumptions that I now know were wrong! There is a reason rituals should be done correctly. Brothers need to learn their proficiency work. One day classes, one weekend classes are NOT the answer to falling membership. Maybe I am going to end up being one of those Born Again Fundamentalist Masons, but I’m seeing the importance of learning the history and the meaning not just a mock attempt and learning to pay lip service to it.

To be honest Im beginning to wonder why there is such a rush to get through the degrees. Is it so the new Mason can wear the ring? Put the S&C on their truck? Join the Shrine? York Rite? Scottish Rite? Something to ponder on while I get back to learning my EA work…

The lessons come from the journey... So Mote It Be!

Today's The Day

Less than 12 hours to go until my Initiation begins! Its hard to describe the mixed emotions I'm having today: excited, anxious, nervous, euphoric? All of the above? I cant wait to become a member of the oldest fraternity in the world and humbled by the fact that Ive been accepted. I found a poem online today surfing around Id like to share:

They All Came Just For Me

By: Bro. Richard L. Jenkins
For the brothers of Cass Lodge 412, Griswold Iowa.

Something big is going on here.
Or so I thought that night,
As the Masons came to gather round
the Great and lesser lights.

One from here and one from there
From places far and wide,
They came to do, I knew not what,
As they gathered there inside.

But from each man I was greeted
With a smile and voice of cheer.
One said, "so you're the candidate.
The reason that we're here."

I scarcely knew just what he meant,
For this was my "first degree."
There must be much for them to do
Before they got to me.

Surely these guys would not travel
for the sake of just one man.
Yes, there must be much for them to do,
Before my part began.

The "Brother Tiler" was my company
As I waited at the door
To step into this brand new realm
I had not known before.

They shared with me the three Great Lights
and some tools of the trade,
That I might learn a thing or two
of how a man be better made.

When at last I had been seated
In this brotherhood of men
The Master then began to bring
The meeting to an end.

And with all things then completed,
They stayed a little more,
To eat and drink and share a laugh
Before heading toward the door.

But as we left I understood
And then began to see.
That they all came for one reason.
They all came just for me.

Dear brothers I pray every lodge
Will make new ones like me,
Feel as welcome as these brothers did,
When they held my First Degree.

Thank you, Brothers!

Entered Apprentice, July 19, 2000
Cass Lodge #412 - Griswold, Iowa

(found @ http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/)

The lessons come from the journey... So Mote It Be!

The Journey Begins

American novelist Don Williams, Jr. once said "Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination." So it is with Freemasonary. Our path isnt to reach the top of the staircase, to get that 33º, it is to become the best person we can, to make good men better. All of us have our own reasons for joining, for seeking more light. I went into mine somewhat in my first blog entry.

The first step on my Journey was finding a lodge and getting a petition. After almost 3 months my ballot was completed Tuesday night 6 Mar and I was accepted. I have my EA degree on 16 Mar. I dont think I have the words to describe how excited I am! I got chocked up when I got the news that I was accepted.

My poor loving wife has been hearing Bro. Frank Williams singing "Brother Mason" over and over now since Wed and I think its starting to get on her nerves lol.

The lessons come from the journey... So Mote It Be!

The GOOD, The BAD and the UGLY!

The GOOD: My research of Freemasonry took me in many directions: the library, friends and co-workers and the Internet. The good news is there is a lot of information available if you are a Seeker of Light! Some Blue Lodges have VERY nice sites. There are some Grand Lodges that provide a lot of wonderful information.

My personal favorite web sites were the lodges that that put their newsletter available for PDF download. Had recent pictures online. Posted the menu for the months meetings. Told me what they were doing in the community and in the lodge! They showed they were proud of their history and wanted everyone to know it!

The BAD: One thing I noticed real fast, and I’m sure others have noticed it also, is that the Anti’s sites always rank higher in the search engines! I don’t think there are actually more of them; I just think they have figured out how to play Search Engine Bingo better than the brothers have!

Like more of the whack jobs on the net the Anti’s take a little bit of reality, mix it with a equal portions of paranoia, conspiracy, Christian fundamentalism-run-amuck and a heavy dose of outright BS! The sad part is, there are very few sites that go after the Anti’s and call them on their lies and half-truths. I’m sure they have run off more than a few people!

One of my biggest concerns was the claims of Satanic worship, blasphemous practices and well you know the drill. What I was reading didn’t align with what Id heard about Masons, much less with what I knew of the few Masons I’ve known. So I dug deeper. I asked people I respected what they thought and if they knew any Masons. I’m sure its no surprise to the folks that have been involved for a long time that I heard a lot of “well I’m not a Mason, but my Dad was”… That’s a story for another blog on another day however.

There are also a lot of GL and Blue Lodge sites that have very little information. I know I’m not the only one that wants to know what to expect, what goes on at meetings, what is expected of me and on and on. Most sites only have a bare minimum of information such as where they are, when they meet and maybe a few pictures from a 2003 fish fry. This is the 2007! People use the Net to find you! Put your best foot forward! Just as you want your lodge to look nice for visitors, your web site is what people at when they look for a lodge to call home!

The UGLY: As bad as the BAD things were, the sites I found the most disturbing were sites run my Masons that were bad mouthing other Masons!!! There are plenty of blogs who’s only job in life is apparently to trash the Shriners, the Scottish Rite their GL and of course what seems to be the most popular right now Southern Masons.

One of the things I mentioned yesterday was that I was looking for camaraderie as Im sure others are also. I was under the impression that Masons did not bash other Masons either behind their backs or in public. Every group has issues and differences. I know that! How those differences are handled tells a lot about not only the people but of the group in general. My Dad always says that anyone can bitch and moan, but to be a real leader you need to bring solutions to the table along with the issues. Another one of his sayings I’ve heard more than a few dozen times: praise in public, scold in private. Now I grant that I’m new to the Craft. For all I know many of these issues have been addressed in private and in other appropriate ways. Seeing anonymous bloggers making, what appears to be childish shots at other groups though is not the right way to address issues.

That about wraps it up for today. I don’t want to be like the ones I was just talking about and not bring any ideas, so tomorrow Ill have a few suggestions… On second thought, I may skip tomorrow, my petition is being voted on tomorrow and I’m more than just a little nervous and may stay at the lodge after dinner to hear the results (if they let me that is).

There Has To Be Something More

For many years I’ve felt there has to be something more. “This” cant be all there is to it. I’ve always had a sense that something was missing, that I needed more. During my 21 years in the U.S. Air Force I always had a sense of belonging, camaraderie, friendship, and maybe most important of all – a feeling of accomplishment only known by those that know what they do matters! Since I retired there has just been an emptiness that’s hard to explain or understand.

I’ve known many military retirees that have had issues coping with ‘being on the outside’. I’ve seen and heard of a lot of marriages failing and even a few people that just went into a deep depression and took their own life. Including my best friend. While working on another project I was researching markings on tombstones trying to catalog all the different symbols you commonly find. One item I found a lot was the Square and Compass and other Masonic symbols. The more I researched the more I got interested in Freemasonry.

As far as I know, there haven’t been any Freemasons in my family. During my lifetime, I’ve only known a few Masons. So I’m a Masonic Virgin, I didn’t have a base of reference or for that matter even a working knowledge of the Craft. The more I read the more I wanted to know. The more I got to know the more I wondered if Freemasonry was right for me.

I have to admit I had some concerns. Id heard the anti-Masonic propaganda about taking over the world, satanic worship and all the other junk on the web. I had to research to reconcile what I thought and what I was hearing about the Fraternity before I committed.

Through one of my hobbies I started asking around if anyone was a Mason, or if they knew any Masons. Someone I’d chatted with on the Internet in mail lists and newsgroups sent me a private message and told me that yes he was a Mason. Over the next few months I’ve asked him a lot of questions, spent a lot of time online looking for answers and in the public library. It was time to actually start looking for some lodges in my area!