Our Lodge has a great line going. A newer but excited Mason sitting as Junior Deacon, a bit more experienced Mason sitting as Senior Deacon, a Junior Warden who knows his stuff, a Senior Warden who is ready to lead the Lodge. All of these men eager to move up, and a Lodge looking forward to having them do so.
Then it happens. A Warden moves. Or something else happens that pulls him away from the Lodge.
All of the sudden, and without much warning, our carefully crafted officer line has a hole in it.
When we find our Lodge in that situation, what is our best course of action, and why?
Do we jump a chair, even though the junior officers might not be ready for that jump?
Or do we convince an older, experienced member to slide into the line?
I’ve actually been in both of these positions in my time as a Mason, and I’m not sure what is the best way to go about it. That’s why I’m hopeful that we can discuss it today.
The first Lodge I was ever in had a progressive line that started with the Junior Steward. So, I was JS one year, and Senior Steward the next. Then I moved. My new Lodge, after I spent some time on the sidelines, made me the Senior Deacon, the starting point for the line in that Lodge. But then the next year we had a hole develop in the line, so I jumped from SD to Senior Warden. Then immediately following my Installation as SW, the Worshipful Master suffered a personal tragedy in his life, so I spent much of my SW year in the East.
Now this year, the Lodge I just joined a few months ago encountered an unexpected hole in its line, so I’ve jumped in as Senior Warden.
Which is better?
I have no idea. I’ve done them both now, and I’ve seen both methods employed plenty of times.
But it is a common problem that Lodges face, so I’m hopeful that we can chat about it, and perhaps discover how it can best be handled. Let’s talk about it…
Well that is something I know about since I have seen members who expect or want to move up even though they haven't mastered the JD after many years.
And I am a member at 2 Lodges in my District so I have seen members who have everything memorized and some move all the way up who never did.
This new year I will be moving up to the SW and I am the type that will not except myself not memorizing every word (I just started my 19th year at CERN so that is part of the reason)
Funny thing is I did that with the JW part and worked on getting every word right and days later......I move up to SW and now am doing the same thing right now and at the same time thinking about what this means.......to me anyway and what the future will mean and how many members expect to quickly move from the start to all the way to the East and how some would rather not ever do that and rather just be a Brother.
We go through the years watching other members do this but until you get there you don't find out until that day comes and that year happens and how you think about what YOU would do when that day arrives.
And just doing this part either makes you determined to make it all happen properly and not just be another Stated meeting or try to hurry and get it over with so you can go home until the next month.
I've like the idea of preparation, so once you've been invested to an office it's your responsibility to learn the office on immediately ahead of you, by attending Lodge of Instruction, or visiting other lodges.
A good way of doing this is silently speak it out, so you can record the ritual to memory.
I strongly believe that the WM should hold a promotions night so everyone steps up, and under the instruction of the WM and other Senior Officers, get to know firsthand what is required of you the following year..
Reward merit, if a brother attends rehearsal and meetings on a regular basis, and generally shows interest, if not, skip that brother and promote to a more deserving brother.
Are you saying that as installed SW in the chair of King S? That would not happen in any constitution in the UK. The IPM would take the chair or a past master
Each office should have a backup. Rather than progressive line. A primary officer and his successor. Chosen not for their progression but for their suitability for that office. Each office requires certain skills and talents to be done well. It isn't just about knowing the ritual, but performing the extracurricular duties. JW must supervise the refreshments. Ie, arrange the festive boards, schedule bonding events. Masters must provide guidance and leadership and be firm with follow-ups. Senior deacons must provide coaching and recruitment to new initiates. Not all men are suited to all tasks, and placing a man in a position for which he is unsuited just because the position for which he is suited is considered "higher" is a disservice to both the man, and the lodge.
I've suffered one year under a WM who sequentially went through the chairs, seemingly knew the ritual, and then got a year-long case of stage fright when sitting in the east. To make matters worse his frustration about his situation played out with pettiness, anger, and resentment to members of the Lodge. Clearly, his previous demonstrations of ritual competency had nothing to do with his suitability for the east. It's also on the members for not spotting this deficiency over the years. I've also served under WMs who learned on the job. Their ritual wasn't perfect but we had good years with them.
My conclusion is that mastery of the ritual is only one success criteria. Leadership aptitude trumps ritual proficiency. So how do we figure out who's likely to be an effective leader?
I am of the opinion, right man for the right job. Lines lead to hard times. If you look in the history of my own lodge, dating back to 1866 it was well evident that there were no "lines of progression" The lodge was mastered by the same man, officers were truly elected and appointed. People volunteered for the sake of the order.
This is the biggest pitfall of a progressive line. Situations change and people change. It's what I call having a grenade go off in the middle of the line.
As MW stated, it can be handled two different ways. Either someone jumps up one or more chairs, or a PM comes in and patches the hole. The latter is preferred, but oh so hard to do, especially with smaller lodges. If a PM comes into the line, they have to commit to advancing, otherwise, it's just delaying the problem a year. I have seen it that no one is willing to go back into the line, which makes the first option the only one.
I was blessed with the opportunity to advance from SS chair by chair all the way to the east. There were several times where chairs became vacant ahead of me, but I was advised to not jump ahead, and I am glad I heeded that advice. It made the journey that much better, as I was able to fully prepare for each succeeding chair. I got the chance to confer all three degrees multiple times. I passed my PILM as a SD because I had the luxury of learning the ritual at a steady pace. I've seen new Master Masons dumped into the SD chair without any prior experience, and there was no way they were able to do a good job. The SD in my lodge(s) are supposed to not only know the SD parts during a degree, but also confer the 1st. That includes learning how to open and close lodge. That is why it is vitally important to have the JD spend his year learning all of the circumambulations and opening closing and conferring. It reduces the amount of memorization work needing to be done once you move up.
The SD chair is the make or break chair for the lodge. No one should advance further unless they have mastered it.
As for the progressive line itself, it's become a crutch because declining memberships have reduced available candidates for elections to basically unopposed selections. New MMs are tossed into the line because lodges are desperate for officers. PMs are reluctant to enter the line again because once they go in, they are committed to stay.
I agree that good ritualist doesn't necessarily mean a good leader. On the flip side, the first indication of a dying lodge is poor ritual work. A lodge that prides itself on performing good ritual also is a strong lodge because it has the right leadership to expect it.
I have been the person in this situation. There were just over 12 months from my last day as Senior Steward to my first day as Senior Warden. It’s a lot to ask of a person.
So, what do I think is best? First, I am opposed to the idea that once a person is in line, that they will be promoted. Each election should be real and based on performance and ability. No one should assume they will be promoted, and a Lodge should always be evaluating its leadership. That said, as Masonry is a progressive art, its important to not skip steps. I think a retired Lodge officer should be considered as a replacement. Someone who has proven themselves as a leader, with wisdom, skill and civility. The loss of a line officer will be a shock to the line and an experienced Mason will need skill to calm the shock.
Finally, I think it’s important to remember it’s a leadership position, and just learning the ritual is not enough. The roles of our Lodge officers, and the experience that those roles provide is part of how we make a good man better. There are no short cuts.
Mirroring your own experience: to date, I’ve never sat in the position I was actually installed in. My first officer position was to pro tem as the chaplain (I wasn’t a proficient MM by the time instillations happened). From there, I started the line from the JD position. That year the installed SD couldn’t come. So I sat in his chair all year. The next year I was installed as SD, but then the JW moved, so I had to sit in for him all year. Then I moved. At my new lodge, my first installed positions was SW, but the Master has been absent the entire year. So I’ve been sitting in the East. Well, at least this coming year I’ll probably be the Master so there’s no one above me to have to replace!
To answer your question though, I’m often the voice of pessimism in my mother lodge (I’m still active with them) about expectation vs reality. Neither of my lodges really have the strength in numbers to really make solid plans on officer lines. We sure seem to think we have the luxury of choice, but honestly we’ll be lucky if we can have people installed even in name only.
I think this is part of a larger conversation about what a “modern man’s” lifestyle is, and how Masonry (even as much as just being an officer) equates to more than just “8 inches” of a certain symbolic working tool. At least compared to Masonry at its pinnacle in America, which is where I imagine many of our customs and expectations stem from.
The question is a luxury of lodges that have lots of guys willing and able to serve as officers. I suppose ultimately the answer is "it depends" on the constellation of guys.
The question is in some ways a luxury problem because most lodges I know, yes they get into this situation and when it happens they have usually only one or two real practical options at most. Sometimes they have zero options and it goes to a past master. What would be ideal is less frequently an issue than what can we make work
Well that is something I know about since I have seen members who expect or want to move up even though they haven't mastered the JD after many years.
And I am a member at 2 Lodges in my District so I have seen members who have everything memorized and some move all the way up who never did.
This new year I will be moving up to the SW and I am the type that will not except myself not memorizing every word (I just started my 19th year at CERN so that is part of the reason)
Funny thing is I did that with the JW part and worked on getting every word right and days later......I move up to SW and now am doing the same thing right now and at the same time thinking about what this means.......to me anyway and what the future will mean and how many members expect to quickly move from the start to all the way to the East and how some would rather not ever do that and rather just be a Brother.
We go through the years watching other members do this but until you get there you don't find out until that day comes and that year happens and how you think about what YOU would do when that day arrives.
And just doing this part either makes you determined to make it all happen properly and not just be another Stated meeting or try to hurry and get it over with so you can go home until the next month.
Goodnight MW
I've like the idea of preparation, so once you've been invested to an office it's your responsibility to learn the office on immediately ahead of you, by attending Lodge of Instruction, or visiting other lodges.
A good way of doing this is silently speak it out, so you can record the ritual to memory.
I strongly believe that the WM should hold a promotions night so everyone steps up, and under the instruction of the WM and other Senior Officers, get to know firsthand what is required of you the following year..
Reward merit, if a brother attends rehearsal and meetings on a regular basis, and generally shows interest, if not, skip that brother and promote to a more deserving brother.
Are you saying that as installed SW in the chair of King S? That would not happen in any constitution in the UK. The IPM would take the chair or a past master
Each office should have a backup. Rather than progressive line. A primary officer and his successor. Chosen not for their progression but for their suitability for that office. Each office requires certain skills and talents to be done well. It isn't just about knowing the ritual, but performing the extracurricular duties. JW must supervise the refreshments. Ie, arrange the festive boards, schedule bonding events. Masters must provide guidance and leadership and be firm with follow-ups. Senior deacons must provide coaching and recruitment to new initiates. Not all men are suited to all tasks, and placing a man in a position for which he is unsuited just because the position for which he is suited is considered "higher" is a disservice to both the man, and the lodge.
I've suffered one year under a WM who sequentially went through the chairs, seemingly knew the ritual, and then got a year-long case of stage fright when sitting in the east. To make matters worse his frustration about his situation played out with pettiness, anger, and resentment to members of the Lodge. Clearly, his previous demonstrations of ritual competency had nothing to do with his suitability for the east. It's also on the members for not spotting this deficiency over the years. I've also served under WMs who learned on the job. Their ritual wasn't perfect but we had good years with them.
My conclusion is that mastery of the ritual is only one success criteria. Leadership aptitude trumps ritual proficiency. So how do we figure out who's likely to be an effective leader?
I am of the opinion, right man for the right job. Lines lead to hard times. If you look in the history of my own lodge, dating back to 1866 it was well evident that there were no "lines of progression" The lodge was mastered by the same man, officers were truly elected and appointed. People volunteered for the sake of the order.
This is the biggest pitfall of a progressive line. Situations change and people change. It's what I call having a grenade go off in the middle of the line.
As MW stated, it can be handled two different ways. Either someone jumps up one or more chairs, or a PM comes in and patches the hole. The latter is preferred, but oh so hard to do, especially with smaller lodges. If a PM comes into the line, they have to commit to advancing, otherwise, it's just delaying the problem a year. I have seen it that no one is willing to go back into the line, which makes the first option the only one.
I was blessed with the opportunity to advance from SS chair by chair all the way to the east. There were several times where chairs became vacant ahead of me, but I was advised to not jump ahead, and I am glad I heeded that advice. It made the journey that much better, as I was able to fully prepare for each succeeding chair. I got the chance to confer all three degrees multiple times. I passed my PILM as a SD because I had the luxury of learning the ritual at a steady pace. I've seen new Master Masons dumped into the SD chair without any prior experience, and there was no way they were able to do a good job. The SD in my lodge(s) are supposed to not only know the SD parts during a degree, but also confer the 1st. That includes learning how to open and close lodge. That is why it is vitally important to have the JD spend his year learning all of the circumambulations and opening closing and conferring. It reduces the amount of memorization work needing to be done once you move up.
The SD chair is the make or break chair for the lodge. No one should advance further unless they have mastered it.
As for the progressive line itself, it's become a crutch because declining memberships have reduced available candidates for elections to basically unopposed selections. New MMs are tossed into the line because lodges are desperate for officers. PMs are reluctant to enter the line again because once they go in, they are committed to stay.
I agree that good ritualist doesn't necessarily mean a good leader. On the flip side, the first indication of a dying lodge is poor ritual work. A lodge that prides itself on performing good ritual also is a strong lodge because it has the right leadership to expect it.
I have been the person in this situation. There were just over 12 months from my last day as Senior Steward to my first day as Senior Warden. It’s a lot to ask of a person.
So, what do I think is best? First, I am opposed to the idea that once a person is in line, that they will be promoted. Each election should be real and based on performance and ability. No one should assume they will be promoted, and a Lodge should always be evaluating its leadership. That said, as Masonry is a progressive art, its important to not skip steps. I think a retired Lodge officer should be considered as a replacement. Someone who has proven themselves as a leader, with wisdom, skill and civility. The loss of a line officer will be a shock to the line and an experienced Mason will need skill to calm the shock.
Finally, I think it’s important to remember it’s a leadership position, and just learning the ritual is not enough. The roles of our Lodge officers, and the experience that those roles provide is part of how we make a good man better. There are no short cuts.
Mirroring your own experience: to date, I’ve never sat in the position I was actually installed in. My first officer position was to pro tem as the chaplain (I wasn’t a proficient MM by the time instillations happened). From there, I started the line from the JD position. That year the installed SD couldn’t come. So I sat in his chair all year. The next year I was installed as SD, but then the JW moved, so I had to sit in for him all year. Then I moved. At my new lodge, my first installed positions was SW, but the Master has been absent the entire year. So I’ve been sitting in the East. Well, at least this coming year I’ll probably be the Master so there’s no one above me to have to replace!
To answer your question though, I’m often the voice of pessimism in my mother lodge (I’m still active with them) about expectation vs reality. Neither of my lodges really have the strength in numbers to really make solid plans on officer lines. We sure seem to think we have the luxury of choice, but honestly we’ll be lucky if we can have people installed even in name only.
I think this is part of a larger conversation about what a “modern man’s” lifestyle is, and how Masonry (even as much as just being an officer) equates to more than just “8 inches” of a certain symbolic working tool. At least compared to Masonry at its pinnacle in America, which is where I imagine many of our customs and expectations stem from.
The question is a luxury of lodges that have lots of guys willing and able to serve as officers. I suppose ultimately the answer is "it depends" on the constellation of guys.
The question is in some ways a luxury problem because most lodges I know, yes they get into this situation and when it happens they have usually only one or two real practical options at most. Sometimes they have zero options and it goes to a past master. What would be ideal is less frequently an issue than what can we make work