Today I am proud to feature a Guest Post here on Emeth, from one of our most active Rummer & Grapes participants, Right Worshipful Brother Robert Mercer of Maine. I hope that you enjoy reading his perspective as much as I did.
Is Masonry Shooting Itself in the Foot?
By R.W. Bob Mercer
This short article was inspired by the reading of two books written by Dwight L Smith Past Grand Master and Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Indiana entitled “Wither Are We Traveling” and “Why This Confusion in the Temple” published by The Masonic Service Association. The first printings were in 1962 and 1964, 52 and 50 years ago but are still true today in my humble opinion.
We all became Masons of our own “freewill and accord” but that doesn’t exempt us from being productive members. With membership we have an obligation to make ourselves into better men and in doing so keep the Craft a sound Intuition.
At the risk of being labeled a heretic I would like to give you something to think about.
From the time I was made a Brother I have tried to read as much as I can about the Craft. Do I know everything about Masonry? Not by a long shot. But I have some thoughts on how we as Masons have weakened the Craft.
Why do we have 50+ year Brothers that are still active? The first thing I get from all I have talked with is they were schooled on the cipher, were told in no uncertain terms what was expected of them and it was a privilege to be a Mason, not a right. What has changed?
We have become soft on new members for fear of losing them.
It is my opinion that if we want an active Brother we have to demand more of him from the start. If the new Master Mason leaves because of that. What have we lost? Maybe just another Brother that never comes to a meeting and after a time is out for NPD (non-payment of dues).
When we look at many in the present generation what do we see? Everything is given to them and they don’t have a sense of earning something for themselves. If you don’t agree, that is fine. Just think about it.
So what is your new idea you may ask?
My idea is older than I am.
“We earned it”
Is he duly and truly prepared? From what I see, of too many, the answer is no. Just little things like not being able to give the signs of the degree is the first clue. The haste to raise a new Brother, has led to letting him slide because the degree night is here and we don’t want to go home without working the degree. That is a disservice to the Brother and the Craft! Would it not be better to have him to “earn” his next degree?
In my opinion yes.
It may take a bit of work to get the candidate to give his lesson in open Lodge, but the reward for the candidate and the Craft is well worth it. The Mentoring program is a good start if the time and effort is put into it. Maybe he will say he can’t speak in public but if he is worked with others in the days before the degree night he should know his lesson. If not put off the degree for another month. He will have “Earned it”, and be better off for it.
The sense of accomplishment will give him the courage and pride to take an active role in the Lodge later on. Things in life that are worth anything are not for the most part free. You have to work for them: i.e., a good marriage, job, children, etc. Freemasonry is no exception.
Would it be better if the appendant bodies waited 2 or 3 years before asking a Brother to join? I believe so. They are dependent on Master Masons and if the Lodge is suffering where will they be later on? They have their place in Masonry and do good work for the community but so should a Blue Lodge. That is another matter in itself!
We have schools of instruction for the three degrees. Why not for the three principal officers? Anyone who has sat in the East can remember the first few meetings he presided over and think back on things he would have done differently. A Lodge is a dictatorship and not a democracy, the Master has complete control. That is an awesome reasonability and the new Master should be duly and truly prepared when he takes his seat in the East.
Is he? What training did he get as a Junior or Senior Warden? He may have been lucky enough to do an E.A. or F.C. degree. Was he able run a Lodge with proper instruction? In most cases I would say no.
Past Masters may not want to tell a new Master how to run the Lodge for fear of being seen as wanting to run things from the sidelines. That is fine, but the new Master should be properly prepared before he takes the East. You may say this is the way it has always been for years and years. That may be true, but good leadership is needed in all Lodges.
Responsibility for serving as Master is not just doing the work for degrees but the running of a well governed Lodge and he cannot do it without proper instruction. Is he knowledgeable about the finances of the Lodge, and all the other things that are all new to him? In most cases it is on the job training. Has he ever read the Grand Lodge of Maine Constitution and By-Laws or been involved with making a decisions that will impact the Lodge or a Brother? In all too many cases the answer is no.
Again I go back to the fact that we don’t demand enough.
Past Masters that come once every year or never come back after leaving the East are letting their Lodge down.
Again we don’t demand enough!
I would commend any Lodge that has Brothers waiting in line to advance, if they have a system in place to let him know what is expected of him. Do you?
Leadership is the key to any organization that wants to be successful year after year. I am not throwing stones at anyone but I think we all could do better, myself included.
If we are honest with ourselves, there are things we would change for the betterment of our Lodge. Like doing more for the community, a worthy Brother or his widow, to name a few. What about just a dinner without a meeting just for Fellowship with one another? ‘He lives in a dream world’ you may say. Maybe I do. But wouldn’t that be something to try once or twice a year?
We are privileged to be Masons, rejoice in the company of fellow Brothers as often as you can.
One of the things that I don’t understand when I go to meetings is how quickly Brothers want it to be over. DER’s or your education officer could put on a short program of Masonic interest if asked.
Brotherly love and friendship are hallmarks of the Craft. Am I the only one that enjoys the company of all my Brothers? I know we are all busy with our lives and think we don’t have time to smell the roses, but how quickly the sand falls in the hour glass until there is no more.
If you are a parent I am sure there was a time your son or daughter asked you to do something and you didn’t have the time. Can you remember the hurt in their eyes when you never got around to doing it? I hope you will think of some or all of this and do something to improve and keep our Fraternity going forward for another thousand years and more.
If I have offended some of you, all I can say is, sorry. That was not my intent. I just think that maybe things that worked for hundreds of years may still be what the Craft needs today. So mote it be.
-RW Bob Mercer
The two articles by MW Dwight Smith mentioned above can be found at the links below. I’ve read each of them multiple times through the years, and are proud to commend them to you.
A great read, and it's timely and on point.thanks for posting
There was a great article from J Ray Shute IIs book either "Twilight in the temple." or "soft tolls the bell" Where he warns of the coming collapse of the "club" style of masonry and makes the statement that If freemasonry does not re-find its original purpose and expand its influence on civil society that its growth will cease and ultimately collapse. I'll see if I can't dig it up. If RW bob or MW Bailey will provide me their email addresses ill scan and send it to them.