The tragic events of yesterday morning in Vancouver B.C. in which three Masonic Temples were intentionally lit on fire, bring up an important discussion that I think we as Freemasons need to have.
What provisions for the security of our buildings, and the people in them, do we need to be making as hate, discontent, and violence grow in our society?
Well, certainly not disarming the brothers while in lodge would be a good start. I can't believe that this was even a topic of conversation a few years ago.
We had a homeless woman living in our building for a few days once. She had snuck in while we were upstairs in lodge, no one was downstairs, and the doors were unlocked. She had gone into the basement area and hid until we all left. After that, we started locking all of the exterior doors while in our meeting, and even installed a door bell for the front door so that they tyler can admit late arriving brothers. One of the bikes for books we had purchased was stolen but luckily nothing else really of value. Lesson learned.
We've also spend some money replacing all of the exterior doors with newer ones. But not having much of value to steal is a bonus. The building is concrete, not much to burn unless they did get inside. The only thing of value would be all of the paper records, everything else can be replaced.
Will be interesting to hear the story about why this man held a grudge against the fraternity.
I agree, trying to disarm a Lodge would be unsound. Not that it could be done anyway. Properly done, no one need know who is carrying. I do remember the discussion you mention happening, I guess it must have just petered out under its own weight because I haven't heard anything like it for a long time.
I remember two incidents at Centralia Lodge where we had what I assume were drug addled people wander in and crash our events. A dinner and a party, not stated meetings. We got one to leave by fixing up a to go plate. The other was more belligerent and had to be intimidated out.
I think that in this day and age, Lodges must put at least some thought into security. The potential cost of not doing so is just too high.
Freemasons have long been targeted by zealots and tyrants. Meetings were held in secret and an armed guard was stationed to protect the brethren engaged in work. A sword was sufficient in the days of flintlock muskets but as technology has increased, so should the arms of our Tyler. Literally. If you think the purges of Nazi Germany, Stalins Russia, or Saddams Iraq can't happen here, you have failed in the history part of your masonic education.
I would have no problem at all with a properly armed Tyler. More to the point, I'd feel good knowing he was there.
That said, given Washington's widespread culture of gun ownership, use, and carrying, I imagine that a great many of our Tyler's are properly armed. If we know it or not is another question.
Freemasonry, as an organization that focuses on individual paths and growth, is certainly at odds with the group-think that seems to be pushed by so many influencers today. When looking at cultural trends pessimistically, I can see a time when we could be required to slip back underground.
I don't think that we will reach that point, because I think rational thought will win out in the end, but it is certainly possible.
Agreed. I too have been trying to keep up on the news out of curiosity about his precise motive. I presume that it will be muddled thinking on one conspiracy theory or another, but I am curious as to which.
Having watched the video of the last fire he set, it was quite clear that he was taking zero effort to hide what he was doing. Just calmly walking up to the building with a can of gasoline, lighting the place on fire, then calmly loading the rest of the gas back into his mini van. I think that is clearly a sign that he truly believes that what he was doing was right, or God's work, or whatever.
Our building in Centralia is open during business hours, since there’s a business on the 2nd floor. As such, the public can actually walk the Interesting takes here.
Our building in Centralia is open during business hours, since there’s a business on the 2nd floor. As such, the public can actually walk the hallways of all three floors, and at times, we get some interesting people in those hallways. There was one time where a homeless person set up their blanket and belongings at the entrance to our Banquet hall on the second floor. Best thing to do in those cases is not be combative, and usually the problem solves itself. Fortunately we haven’t had to resort to the police so far.
The idea of locking the doors while the meeting’s in progress is something that we do in Tenino Lodge, since the distance between the Tyler’s door and the front door is out of earshot. There have been times where a Brother had shown up late, but all he had to do is call one of our officers, and the Tyler came down and let him in. Worked pretty well.
Having the Tyler armed with a more modern weapon is not a bad idea, as noted in both of the previous comments. As Jack indicated, there is a reason why it’s in our ritual.
As for the topic of Brothers “packing” in the Lodge room, there are those who cite sections of the ritual, especially one section towards the beginning of the First Degree “Master’s Lecture,” concerning “offensive or defensive.” Some say that statement only applies to EA’s, and others say it’s symbolic. Some believe only the Tyler should be armed, others say those in the Lodge need to be armed to and from the Lodge as well. Still others note a few inappropriate actions made in Lodge meetings concerning handguns that prompted the Grand Master’s attention at that time, which could very well have brought the topic to light. It’s a controversial topic, and one that likely will never be entirely resolved.
And finally, a great way to curb the tendency of someone to vandalize our buildings is to get involved in the community. Let them know you’re still there and not defunct. If you maintain a positive presence in your community, it’s less likely someone will vandalize your building. hallways of all three floors, and at times, we get some interesting people in those hallways. There was one time where a homeless person set up their blanket and belongings at the entrance to our Banquet hall on the second floor. Best thing to do in those cases is not be combative, and usually the problem solves itself. Fortunately we haven’t had to resort to the police so far.
The idea of locking the doors while the meeting’s in progress is something that we do in Tenino Lodge, since the distance between the Tyler’s door and the front door is out of earshot. There have been times where a Brother had shown up late, but all he had to do is call one of our officers, and the Tyler came down and let him in. Worked pretty well.
Having the Tyler armed with a more modern weapon is not a bad idea, as noted in both of the previous comments. As Jack indicated, there is a reason why it’s in our ritual.
As for the topic of Brothers “packing” in the Lodge room, there are those who cite sections of the ritual, especially one section towards the beginning of the First Degree “Master’s Lecture,” concerning “offensive or defensive.” Some say that statement only applies to EA’s, and others say it’s symbolic. Some believe only the Tyler should be armed, others say those in the Lodge need to be armed to and from the Lodge as well. Still others note a few inappropriate actions made in Lodge meetings concerning handguns that prompted the Grand Master’s attention at that time, which could very well have brought the topic to light. It’s a controversial topic, and one that likely will never be entirely resolved.
And finally, a great way to curb the tendency of someone to vandalize our buildings is to get involved in the community. Let them know you’re still there and not defunct. If you maintain a positive presence in your community, it’s less likely someone will vandalize your building.
The only issue I have with locking the exterior doors is that it is locking out visitors who might be late. As you say, they could text an Officer or something, but only if they have that contact information.
Imagine, just for sake of argument: The GM decides to visit Pike Lodge #444 after he gets off work. By the time he makes the drive though, the meeting is already in process. It is certainly OK that he is late, we even have a ritual for this. But the exterior door is locked, and he is not able to reach anyone inside by banging on it. He is unable to visit the Lodge. His drive was wasted.
In the above example, I use the GM, but it could certainly apply to any visitor.
I think locked exterior is fine, but if a Lodge is going to do that, I think that there needs to be provision for those who arrive late. As Glenn mentioned, a doorbell, or as you mentioned a monitored cell phone in the Lodge room, but in that case I think the cell phone number needs to be posted on the door.
If we are to believe old images depicting Brothers in Lodge, then swords certainly were not unheard of. And of course at meetings of our own Grand Lodge, the Grand Sword Bearer has his sword in open Lodge. Based on those two things, I think it is clear that the part of our ritual that speaks of 'offensive or defensive' does not apply to the Masons themselves. I think it applies only to the non Mason in the room, in that specific case, the Candidate, who is not yet a Mason when that section applies. That's my take on it anyway.
Now that you mention it, I do remember that this discussion was started in the past because a Brother(s) did something moronic with a firearm in a Lodge. Certainly all gun owners have an absolute responsibility to be responsible gun owners.
I think though that the appropriate response in such a situation is to discipline the Brother as appropriate for his offense. Not to re-write the laws of the craft in order to somehow try to prevent something like it to happen again. I think that is a problem in Masonry. Some Mason does something he shouldn't and then some Grand Master thinks he needs to make the Masonic Code bigger so that other Masons know not to do that. That is how we end up with a code that is overly complex, and overly restrictive for the needs of our Fraternity. But I'm getting way far afield here.
I think your closing advice is superb. Make our buildings reflect life and vitality, and they will not appear to be abandoned! Make our Lodges known in the community for good works, and people will be much less likely to believe insane conspiracy theories about us!
I’m a huge advocate of security whether it’s home security or security at a masonic lodge. At home I have a “Ring” doorbell camera that hook up to the peephole of my front door and notifies my phone/mobile device via picture and video notification to let me know who is at my front door. It is always on; it has motion sensors and I just charge the battery once a month. For home security I have “Nest” cameras inside my apartment unit which turns on when I am away and hook up to any DC outlet. The mobile app has a “Home” and “away” feature to turn on or off the device when I am home or not. It can also turn on via GPS mobile device. It will record the footage to a cloud base hard drive, and all hook up to my Wi-Fi network.
I was thinking maybe it would be beneficial to use these modern technologies and apply it to a masonic lodge. Have the Ring doorbell camera hooked up to the front door of the masonic lodge, and during a meeting when the lodge is in session the Tyler, SD, and WM will be notified via silent alarm to their mobile device app. The Tyler can go and admit the late/visiting brother. While simultaneously the SD and WM already knows who is in his lodge. As far as Nest cameras go inside the lodge while vacant it can detect motion and also night vision if incase any unexpected visitors decide to overstay their welcome in the lodge. It can notify and send pictures/videos to the Tyler, SD, and WM via their mobile devices.
I do not object to the Tyler carrying a more “modern” arm along with his sword if the lodge agrees. I think it is beneficial to the lodge if everyone feel safe during a lodge meeting.
The "Ring" doorbell on the Lodge's exterior door so that it can be locked while the meeting is taking places seems like an extremely good idea to me. That would allow for security, while also ensuring that late arriving visitors could be admitted.
It would also work very well for those Lodges that have to rely upon 'casper' working as Tyler.
Well, certainly not disarming the brothers while in lodge would be a good start. I can't believe that this was even a topic of conversation a few years ago.
We had a homeless woman living in our building for a few days once. She had snuck in while we were upstairs in lodge, no one was downstairs, and the doors were unlocked. She had gone into the basement area and hid until we all left. After that, we started locking all of the exterior doors while in our meeting, and even installed a door bell for the front door so that they tyler can admit late arriving brothers. One of the bikes for books we had purchased was stolen but luckily nothing else really of value. Lesson learned.
We've also spend some money replacing all of the exterior doors with newer ones. But not having much of value to steal is a bonus. The building is concrete, not much to burn unless they did get inside. The only thing of value would be all of the paper records, everything else can be replaced.
Will be interesting to hear the story about why this man held a grudge against the fraternity.
I agree, trying to disarm a Lodge would be unsound. Not that it could be done anyway. Properly done, no one need know who is carrying. I do remember the discussion you mention happening, I guess it must have just petered out under its own weight because I haven't heard anything like it for a long time.
I remember two incidents at Centralia Lodge where we had what I assume were drug addled people wander in and crash our events. A dinner and a party, not stated meetings. We got one to leave by fixing up a to go plate. The other was more belligerent and had to be intimidated out.
I think that in this day and age, Lodges must put at least some thought into security. The potential cost of not doing so is just too high.
Freemasons have long been targeted by zealots and tyrants. Meetings were held in secret and an armed guard was stationed to protect the brethren engaged in work. A sword was sufficient in the days of flintlock muskets but as technology has increased, so should the arms of our Tyler. Literally. If you think the purges of Nazi Germany, Stalins Russia, or Saddams Iraq can't happen here, you have failed in the history part of your masonic education.
I would have no problem at all with a properly armed Tyler. More to the point, I'd feel good knowing he was there.
That said, given Washington's widespread culture of gun ownership, use, and carrying, I imagine that a great many of our Tyler's are properly armed. If we know it or not is another question.
Freemasonry, as an organization that focuses on individual paths and growth, is certainly at odds with the group-think that seems to be pushed by so many influencers today. When looking at cultural trends pessimistically, I can see a time when we could be required to slip back underground.
I don't think that we will reach that point, because I think rational thought will win out in the end, but it is certainly possible.
We've been locking all external doors for a while before we start. But we have had a homeless man found in the building one time.
We had a young man sleeping on the front steps one night during Rainbows. But we rarely use that entrance.
With many others, I want to know why that man burnt those Lodges.
Agreed. I too have been trying to keep up on the news out of curiosity about his precise motive. I presume that it will be muddled thinking on one conspiracy theory or another, but I am curious as to which.
Having watched the video of the last fire he set, it was quite clear that he was taking zero effort to hide what he was doing. Just calmly walking up to the building with a can of gasoline, lighting the place on fire, then calmly loading the rest of the gas back into his mini van. I think that is clearly a sign that he truly believes that what he was doing was right, or God's work, or whatever.
Interesting takes here.
Our building in Centralia is open during business hours, since there’s a business on the 2nd floor. As such, the public can actually walk the Interesting takes here.
Our building in Centralia is open during business hours, since there’s a business on the 2nd floor. As such, the public can actually walk the hallways of all three floors, and at times, we get some interesting people in those hallways. There was one time where a homeless person set up their blanket and belongings at the entrance to our Banquet hall on the second floor. Best thing to do in those cases is not be combative, and usually the problem solves itself. Fortunately we haven’t had to resort to the police so far.
The idea of locking the doors while the meeting’s in progress is something that we do in Tenino Lodge, since the distance between the Tyler’s door and the front door is out of earshot. There have been times where a Brother had shown up late, but all he had to do is call one of our officers, and the Tyler came down and let him in. Worked pretty well.
Having the Tyler armed with a more modern weapon is not a bad idea, as noted in both of the previous comments. As Jack indicated, there is a reason why it’s in our ritual.
As for the topic of Brothers “packing” in the Lodge room, there are those who cite sections of the ritual, especially one section towards the beginning of the First Degree “Master’s Lecture,” concerning “offensive or defensive.” Some say that statement only applies to EA’s, and others say it’s symbolic. Some believe only the Tyler should be armed, others say those in the Lodge need to be armed to and from the Lodge as well. Still others note a few inappropriate actions made in Lodge meetings concerning handguns that prompted the Grand Master’s attention at that time, which could very well have brought the topic to light. It’s a controversial topic, and one that likely will never be entirely resolved.
And finally, a great way to curb the tendency of someone to vandalize our buildings is to get involved in the community. Let them know you’re still there and not defunct. If you maintain a positive presence in your community, it’s less likely someone will vandalize your building. hallways of all three floors, and at times, we get some interesting people in those hallways. There was one time where a homeless person set up their blanket and belongings at the entrance to our Banquet hall on the second floor. Best thing to do in those cases is not be combative, and usually the problem solves itself. Fortunately we haven’t had to resort to the police so far.
The idea of locking the doors while the meeting’s in progress is something that we do in Tenino Lodge, since the distance between the Tyler’s door and the front door is out of earshot. There have been times where a Brother had shown up late, but all he had to do is call one of our officers, and the Tyler came down and let him in. Worked pretty well.
Having the Tyler armed with a more modern weapon is not a bad idea, as noted in both of the previous comments. As Jack indicated, there is a reason why it’s in our ritual.
As for the topic of Brothers “packing” in the Lodge room, there are those who cite sections of the ritual, especially one section towards the beginning of the First Degree “Master’s Lecture,” concerning “offensive or defensive.” Some say that statement only applies to EA’s, and others say it’s symbolic. Some believe only the Tyler should be armed, others say those in the Lodge need to be armed to and from the Lodge as well. Still others note a few inappropriate actions made in Lodge meetings concerning handguns that prompted the Grand Master’s attention at that time, which could very well have brought the topic to light. It’s a controversial topic, and one that likely will never be entirely resolved.
And finally, a great way to curb the tendency of someone to vandalize our buildings is to get involved in the community. Let them know you’re still there and not defunct. If you maintain a positive presence in your community, it’s less likely someone will vandalize your building.
The only issue I have with locking the exterior doors is that it is locking out visitors who might be late. As you say, they could text an Officer or something, but only if they have that contact information.
Imagine, just for sake of argument: The GM decides to visit Pike Lodge #444 after he gets off work. By the time he makes the drive though, the meeting is already in process. It is certainly OK that he is late, we even have a ritual for this. But the exterior door is locked, and he is not able to reach anyone inside by banging on it. He is unable to visit the Lodge. His drive was wasted.
In the above example, I use the GM, but it could certainly apply to any visitor.
I think locked exterior is fine, but if a Lodge is going to do that, I think that there needs to be provision for those who arrive late. As Glenn mentioned, a doorbell, or as you mentioned a monitored cell phone in the Lodge room, but in that case I think the cell phone number needs to be posted on the door.
If we are to believe old images depicting Brothers in Lodge, then swords certainly were not unheard of. And of course at meetings of our own Grand Lodge, the Grand Sword Bearer has his sword in open Lodge. Based on those two things, I think it is clear that the part of our ritual that speaks of 'offensive or defensive' does not apply to the Masons themselves. I think it applies only to the non Mason in the room, in that specific case, the Candidate, who is not yet a Mason when that section applies. That's my take on it anyway.
Now that you mention it, I do remember that this discussion was started in the past because a Brother(s) did something moronic with a firearm in a Lodge. Certainly all gun owners have an absolute responsibility to be responsible gun owners.
I think though that the appropriate response in such a situation is to discipline the Brother as appropriate for his offense. Not to re-write the laws of the craft in order to somehow try to prevent something like it to happen again. I think that is a problem in Masonry. Some Mason does something he shouldn't and then some Grand Master thinks he needs to make the Masonic Code bigger so that other Masons know not to do that. That is how we end up with a code that is overly complex, and overly restrictive for the needs of our Fraternity. But I'm getting way far afield here.
I think your closing advice is superb. Make our buildings reflect life and vitality, and they will not appear to be abandoned! Make our Lodges known in the community for good works, and people will be much less likely to believe insane conspiracy theories about us!
I’m a huge advocate of security whether it’s home security or security at a masonic lodge. At home I have a “Ring” doorbell camera that hook up to the peephole of my front door and notifies my phone/mobile device via picture and video notification to let me know who is at my front door. It is always on; it has motion sensors and I just charge the battery once a month. For home security I have “Nest” cameras inside my apartment unit which turns on when I am away and hook up to any DC outlet. The mobile app has a “Home” and “away” feature to turn on or off the device when I am home or not. It can also turn on via GPS mobile device. It will record the footage to a cloud base hard drive, and all hook up to my Wi-Fi network.
I was thinking maybe it would be beneficial to use these modern technologies and apply it to a masonic lodge. Have the Ring doorbell camera hooked up to the front door of the masonic lodge, and during a meeting when the lodge is in session the Tyler, SD, and WM will be notified via silent alarm to their mobile device app. The Tyler can go and admit the late/visiting brother. While simultaneously the SD and WM already knows who is in his lodge. As far as Nest cameras go inside the lodge while vacant it can detect motion and also night vision if incase any unexpected visitors decide to overstay their welcome in the lodge. It can notify and send pictures/videos to the Tyler, SD, and WM via their mobile devices.
I do not object to the Tyler carrying a more “modern” arm along with his sword if the lodge agrees. I think it is beneficial to the lodge if everyone feel safe during a lodge meeting.
The "Ring" doorbell on the Lodge's exterior door so that it can be locked while the meeting is taking places seems like an extremely good idea to me. That would allow for security, while also ensuring that late arriving visitors could be admitted.
It would also work very well for those Lodges that have to rely upon 'casper' working as Tyler.