A Lodge's Purpose

Does our Lodge lack a mission?

Our Lodge can host educational topics. It can be home to philosophical discussions. It can provide great meals and social time. It’s ritual work can be flawless. It can even run efficient meetings.

But nothing will fire up a Lodge like having a meaningful purpose.

Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash

To protect everyone’s privacy, I’m going to write this little story in generalities, but it’s a true story, and it took place in my Lodge last night.

Our Lodge came face to face with the passing of a Mason. A young Mason. A young father.

He wasn’t a member of our Lodge, no one in my Lodge had actually met this Mason. He was a Mason from elsewhere who had recently moved into our area.

We were contacted by his Lodge, with a message that we had a young, utterly destitute widow, with quite young orphans, just down the road.

I waited until all of our normal Lodge business was done, then I brought up the message our Lodge had received. I explained the plight of the widow and orphans as best I could with the limited information that I had.

It didn’t take but a moment of me explaining.

Our Lodge’s most senior member jumped in with a plea for a small committee of men to be formed to go be with that widow to lend what support we can, not next month or next week, but the very next day. The Lodge quickly voted to make it so, our senior member found himself in charge and was rapidly joined by four eager volunteers each with unique skills and knowledge to offer.

A second motion followed the first, to provide a very substantial donation towards the family’s basic needs. The largest donation of the sort I’ve ever seen our little Lodge provide. That was followed-up by one of our newer members volunteering to hit his employer up for a donation as well. (He explained that the company he works for does such things.)

In five minutes we were able to provide for this family’s basic needs for a short time, perhaps longer if we are successful in rounding up some outside resources as well. We were also able to identify a small group of men, with really on point skills and knowledge that will be able to give advice and assistance that if accepted will help this family get back on their feet.

That was Freemasonry at its very best.

And I think that every man who was at that meeting last night should be damn proud to be a Mason.

But it goes beyond that.

Because, for a time at least, it gives our Lodge a real, solid, meaningful purpose. A mission to do good in the world, in keeping with Masonic ideals, that we can and will accomplish.

And a purpose, an important purpose that everyone can believe in brings excitement and meaning to a Lodge. It cements Brotherhood. It makes men want to return again and again.

Half of an hour prior to that discussion, during the ritualistic opening on the Master Mason Degree, our Senior Warden explained that he became a Master Mason so that he would be better enabled to contribute to the relief of distressed, worthy Master Masons, and their widows and orphans.

Last night, that was indeed our purpose.

It makes me wonder, how can we bring purpose to our Lodge, not for a night, or a month, but for years? What can our Lodge do that we can truly be excited about and proud of? How can we help ourselves, by helping the world around us?

If we find that purpose, we will thrive.