My term of office has been one of change within our Fraternity. Government edicts had stopped most in-person Masonic activities within our Jurisdiction prior to my term. I was very lucky that we were able to fully reopen upon my Installation as Grand Master.
Freemasonry in Washington has been on a long, steady decline for many decades now. But I believe that we are turning a corner. More interested and excited young men are asking about Masonry now than at any other point in our collective memories. If we can grab hold of these men, and provide them with exceptional Masonic experiences, we will begin to reverse our membership declines. We are already seeing that in a couple of our Districts within this Jurisdiction.
In order to achieve the successful outcome now offered to us, we will have to change the way we do some things.
We must acknowledge that the young men of today communicate through text messages. When we receive inquiries, we can’t keep calling and emailing them, wondering why they don’t respond. We need to meet them where they are at, and in a very large percentage of cases, that is within a text message app.
We must acknowledge that a single unsuitable man in a Lodge will drive many good men away. So, we must do all that we can to properly guard our West Gate. We need to utilize the six-step process so that we truly know a man before we offer him a petition. We must set high standards for our investigation committees, and we cannot be afraid to use the black cube when necessary. It may seem counterintuitive, but by rejecting a man who might not be suitable, we will in time be growing our Lodge, because quality men are only attracted to fellowship with other quality men.
As leaders of our Lodges, we must provide our Masons with a compelling reason to attend Lodge. Lodge meetings need to have great fellowship, they need to be informative, and they must have meaning to the Brothers. If a man goes home from Lodge and can’t explain to himself why he attended, that man likely will not remain active for long. If, however, he goes home excited about Masonry, and having learned something worthwhile, he will return again and again. We must acknowledge the fact that if a Mason cannot ensure that he is capable of providing great meetings for his Lodge, then he is unsuitable for the East.
We must provide quality Masonic education at every stated meeting of every Lodge. Men joined Masonry to be Masons and to learn about Masonry. They did not join to pay the bills or debate what company to hire to put on a new roof. These things must happen if we are to survive, but they must be secondary to providing Masonry. Masonic education must be the focus, and the basis of every Lodge meeting, for if it is not, the Lodge will continue to struggle. This is the responsibility of every Mason. At the end of each meeting, the Master asks if anyone has anything to offer for the good of Masonry. If no educational topic has been offered up to that point, someone needs to stand up and offer his own program.
We must get out of the Lodge room in order to build the bonds of Brotherhood between men. True bonds cannot grow between Masons if they only ever see each other at Stated Meetings. We need to ensure that Masons have opportunities to work together on group projects. Play together at parties or barbeques. Travel together, camping, or to large Masonic events, or to just visit another Lodge across the Jurisdiction or beyond it. We build the bonds of Brotherhood within the Lodge, by getting out of the Lodge, and every Lodge leader should have a solid plan of consistently offered opportunities to do just that.
We must recognize that shared meals are an important part of Freemasonry, and always have been. If our Lodge doesn’t have a good cook, then we must look to catering our meals. Men can have a good night out at Lodge, if the food is good, and they will be willing to pay for just that. Poor food, with five-dollar dinner donations just won’t cut it if we hope to grow our Lodges.
We must look at our Masonic Temples with a critical eye. Does the condition of our Temple give our community the image of a bright and thriving Fraternity within, or does it give an image of decay and death? Our Temples must look good, they must have activity within, and they must be well maintained, assets to their communities rather than detriments. If we cannot afford to maintain a Temple, then we must consider selling it.
We must be welcoming to all, especially our newest members. We cannot allow ourselves to share meals broken up into little cliques so that the new guy or the visitor feels alone, unable to join in the fellowship. We must, each and every one of us, do our very best to extend the hand of friendship to everyone who comes through our doors.
We must require much of our candidates. By lowering our proficiency standards and just sliding a guy through, we are doing nothing to help him, or the Lodge. Men value only that which they must sacrifice to receive. By demanding high standards of our candidates, Lodges are forcing those candidates to work for the Degrees, and that in turn will ensure that our Masons highly value the Degrees they have received.
We must not be afraid of doing things differently from time to time. We do not always need to confer Degrees in our Lodge room. We should shake things up once in a while because by doing so we are not only giving our candidates a unique experience, but we are also reenergizing the men who are conferring the Degree. Degrees in wonderful outdoor settings, Degrees in historical structures, Degrees under torchlight. All these things are done by a handful of Lodges in our Jurisdiction, all our other Lodges should consider it as well.
We must recognize that as all Masons are unique, so all Lodges should be unique. Lodges should focus their efforts on those aspects of Masonry that are most interesting to their members, and they should let prospective candidates know where their focus is. As a part of this, we must all recognize that not every Lodge will appeal to each of us, and that is okay. We must realize that just because we do not personally enjoy something that another Lodge focuses on does not mean that the Lodge is somehow bad, or that the Masons who compose it are somehow bad. It just means that different Masons are into different aspects of Freemasonry, and because of that, differences will exist from Lodge to Lodge.
We must not be afraid to talk about the esoteric, spiritual, and philosophical aspects of our Ancient Craft. It is very clear that many of the young men knocking on our doors today are doing so precisely because of their interest in those parts of Masonry. We need to be able to direct them to a proper path, so that they might find the answers they seek.
Finally, we must stop worrying about losing members if we charge appropriate Lodge dues. Providing a high-quality Masonic experience costs money. We must set our dues at a level high enough to do just that. Lodge dues should be significantly higher than they are now, in every Lodge within this Jurisdiction. By keeping them artificially low we are starving our Lodges of the resources needed to provide quality, and we are discouraging new men from joining in our Labors, by showing them that we do not value our Craft.
If we will do the things outlined above, we will ensure that the Future of Freemasonry is just as vibrant and bright as its past. We will ensure that men come to us, seeking to become a part of our truly legendary Brotherhood. Together, we will Live The Legend.
Recommendations
I offer six recommendations for changes to the Washington Masonic Code:
Grand Master’s Recommendation No. 1, 2022-01
This is a simple cleanup of our Code. Washington Masonic Charities operates its own retirement plan for its employees, does not currently participate with the Grand Lodge of Washington’s plan, or have a need to do so. Passing this resolution will simply bring our Code in line with current long-standing practice.
Grand Master’s Recommendation No. 2, 2022-02
This resolution would require Lodges that own their buildings to provide a certificate of insurance, from the Temple Corporation, showing the Lodge listed as a loss payee and additional insured under the insurance policy, with the end of year report. This resolution will ensure that the Lodge is properly named in the policy, in the event of catastrophic loss.
Grand Master’s Recommendation No. 3, 2022-03
This resolution would remove the current exemption from dual members of Research Lodges from liability for Grand Lodge dues or assessments. Research Lodges have the same powers and duties of all other Lodges within the Jurisdiction, this ensures fairness for all by levying the same costs on all.
Grand Master’s Recommendation No. 4, 2022-04
This resolution would require that all candidates for the Degrees obtain a criminal background check. Over the past years we have been faced with far too many cases of unsuitable men being made into Masons. This would be a powerful tool in the hands of a Lodge to ensure that the man desiring admission into it was open and honest about his discussions with the Lodge about his personal background.
Grand Master’s Recommendation No. 5, 2022-05
This resolution simply brings our code in line with current practices.
Grand Master’s Recommendation No. 6, 2022-06
This resolution simply brings our code in line with current practices.
I appreciate your consideration of these recommendations.
Necrology
My year was saddened by the passing of three exceptional Freemasons:
On August 2, 2021, we lost M⸫W⸫ Warren ‘Bud’ Gilbert;
On October 8, 2021, we lost M⸫W⸫ Satoru Tashiro;
On February 13, 2022, we lost M⸫W⸫ Carl B. Smith.
Each of these men helped shape our Fraternity into what it is today and will be sorely missed. While we mourn their passing however, we must honor the fact that they achieved what we should all strive for, ‘to live respected, and die regretted.’
Chehalis Lodge
This year I temporarily suspended the Charter of Chehalis Lodge No. 28, while the Grand Lodge and two of its committees investigated the circumstances surrounding the sale of the Chehalis Masonic Temple.
This episode points out the importance of acting in a professional and businesslike manner when dealing with our Masonic assets.
The Lodge sold its building, for well under market value, to a buyer who financed the purchase on a very short-term note, and was in fact, the father of the realtor hired by the Lodge to affect a sale.
The buyer then turned around and almost immediately sold the building to Lewis County, for a great deal more money than what he had paid for it. The speed of the two sales, along with the differing sale prices was noticeable enough that it was covered by the local news media.
In the process, the Lodge lost its historic furnishings.
Our investigation revealed that the Temple Board had people making motions, seconding motions, and voting on motions who were not members of that Board. It also revealed that proper meeting minutes were not always kept, and that the identity of the buyers were kept secret from Board members and Lodge members. We also determined that important real estate sales documents were not retained by the Lodge or the Temple Board as part of their records.
Lodge and Temple Board members, when questioned, indicated that they did not know who the buyer was, his relationship to the Lodge’s real estate broker, or his short-term financing of the purchase. Yet all these things would have been learned if the Temple Board members had actually read the real estate documents prior to signing them. Likewise, the investigation would have not needed to drag on for so long had they kept copies of the documents they signed. Unfortunately, neither of these things happened.
I include this brief explanation of the events surrounding the Chehalis Masonic Temple sale as a warning to all of us of the bad outcomes that can result if we do not handle our Masonic business in a professional and businesslike manner.
Special Thanks
I would like to offer my sincere Thank You to every Mason in this great Jurisdiction. It has been my honor to serve, and your support has made it all possible.
I would like to say Thank You to the members of Sultan-Monroe and Centralia Lodges. Your very meaningful and tangible support made my year better. I am honored to be a member alongside of each of you.
I would like to give my profound Thanks to my line. Right Worshipful Steve and Jimmy, you were both with me all along the way, providing me your advice and supporting my decisions, Thank you.
Right Worshipful Clint, we worked together every single day of the year. I appreciate everything you did to make me successful, and I hope that I did not drive you to drink too terribly often. Very Worshipful Clayton, it is great seeing you in the office full time. You are a great friend, and a great Mason.
To Deputy Grand Master Ed. Thank You my Brother, for everything. You stood, strong as a rock, as my right hand. I appreciate you more than I can express, and very soon I will be honored to call you Grand Master.
Finally, to my wife Melinda, and daughters Amber, Bethany, and Chelsea. The four of you have supported me in my Masonic journey for many years now. From cooking dinners for Centralia Lodge, to planning events, to washing dishes. You were there long ago, and you are still there now, as evidenced by your recent laughter at my Roast. Thank you all. I am proud to be known as your husband and father.
Not sure how you get up so early MWGM but glad I got on here to read this before the long drive (actually ride) over to Wenatchee and this is usually when I go to sleep but I reset my human clock after 5 days so I will see you there. (thanks to my chauffeur MW Arnie) Thank You for your year as MWGM and every year before and after that.
Thank you for your service, your leadership, and your wise counsel MWGM.