One of our Worshipful Masters signed on to our Rummer & Grapes meeting the other night, to show us, live, a truly beautiful Masonic Temple in South Dakota, and a short time later, Mount Rushmore.
He is on a truly epic road trip, visiting Masons and Lodges, one after the other, as he works his way across the country.
As part of his informal presentation to us he said something that has stuck with me. I’m paraphrasing him, but I think I have it pretty close:
“A Mason who does not travel is like being a AAA member but not owning a car.”
I think that there is a great deal of truth to what he said, and have truly loved my Masonic travels around my Jurisdiction and across the continent.
What do you think? Are you able to travel? How important is Masonic travel to you?
definitely positive. The fraternity being bigger than a single town is one of the reasons why I joined so I've gotten out there and traveled as much as I could.
Seems to me there's levels to this game though.
Level 1: see a new lodge, observe how their ritual is a little different than yours
Level 2: bring a gift, share something about your lodge with wherever you're going
Level 3: do whatever you can do build a new relationship between those you're visiting and wherever you're coming from.
The individual mason is better for level 1 - but the entire fraternity is better for level 3, if you can manage it.
Traveling for me has been of the greatest joys of our fraternity. I ironically I've done very little in the US, very little outside of my District for that matter, probably because my professional routine limits the opportunity for domestic travel (yet another reason why I really need to retire). Internationally I'm three for three. I visited a Lodge in London a few years ago that happened to be the Lodge of choice for the Beefeaters. I was greeted as "a Brother from one of our lost colonies", seated with two very senior past masters who gave me a hilarious play-by-play for an EA degree being conferred that night, and then treated to a genuine English table lodge at the Freemasons Arms pub just a block from the UGLE building. I have an open invitation to call WB Simon so he can welcome me to the Beefeaters Bar at the Tower of London the next time I'm in town. That same year I attended the summer cookout of Tokyo Lodge #2 where I was greeted like an old friend and a few years later attended their stated communication where asked me to be the inspector of elections since I was presumably unbiased as to the outcome. The startling thing about that meeting is that it was on December 7, a date which I will remember for a different reason from now on. Last and not least, I visited a Lodge on Vancouver Island and observed a somewhat different but beautifully performed ritual and was treated to a very rich history lesson about the Lodge. At dinner I'm proud to say that I did a better job of singing Oh Canada than our BC brothers did of singing the Star Spangled Banner. Now that we can cross the border again I'll be back. And when I wrap up a few remaining projects I will retire, this time for real, and plan a few Masonic road trips.
As my years pile up and my body grinds down, I find I am less able to do the travelling I wish to do. I find that night driving bothers me quite a lot, and my stamina is waning rapidly. I greatly enjoy getting out to other lodges within driving distance, seeing Brethren I know, meeting new Brethren, and enjoying their companionship. I would dearly love to be able to travel to Europe and see as many lodges as possible in the years I have left, but I don't think that will happen. Oh, well... Just my random thoughts...
Traveling is always a wonderful experience, even within the jurisdiction. Especially outside of the district, as the lodges within the district all seem to do basically the same meeting styles. It's always interesting to see how other lodges interpret the same code, as each lodge has their own customs and landmarks on how they do things, especially in the floorwork.
While on a business trip to San Francisco I was walking after dinner and walked right past the Grand Lodge of California. Wish I would have planned a visit in advance. Looking forward to see how I can combine my travels with local Lodge visits
More shared experiences are very supportive of our brotherhood and its support mission.
Was he in Rapid City, SD? That lodge building is very beautiful.
definitely positive. The fraternity being bigger than a single town is one of the reasons why I joined so I've gotten out there and traveled as much as I could.
Seems to me there's levels to this game though.
Level 1: see a new lodge, observe how their ritual is a little different than yours
Level 2: bring a gift, share something about your lodge with wherever you're going
Level 3: do whatever you can do build a new relationship between those you're visiting and wherever you're coming from.
The individual mason is better for level 1 - but the entire fraternity is better for level 3, if you can manage it.
Traveling for me has been of the greatest joys of our fraternity. I ironically I've done very little in the US, very little outside of my District for that matter, probably because my professional routine limits the opportunity for domestic travel (yet another reason why I really need to retire). Internationally I'm three for three. I visited a Lodge in London a few years ago that happened to be the Lodge of choice for the Beefeaters. I was greeted as "a Brother from one of our lost colonies", seated with two very senior past masters who gave me a hilarious play-by-play for an EA degree being conferred that night, and then treated to a genuine English table lodge at the Freemasons Arms pub just a block from the UGLE building. I have an open invitation to call WB Simon so he can welcome me to the Beefeaters Bar at the Tower of London the next time I'm in town. That same year I attended the summer cookout of Tokyo Lodge #2 where I was greeted like an old friend and a few years later attended their stated communication where asked me to be the inspector of elections since I was presumably unbiased as to the outcome. The startling thing about that meeting is that it was on December 7, a date which I will remember for a different reason from now on. Last and not least, I visited a Lodge on Vancouver Island and observed a somewhat different but beautifully performed ritual and was treated to a very rich history lesson about the Lodge. At dinner I'm proud to say that I did a better job of singing Oh Canada than our BC brothers did of singing the Star Spangled Banner. Now that we can cross the border again I'll be back. And when I wrap up a few remaining projects I will retire, this time for real, and plan a few Masonic road trips.
As my years pile up and my body grinds down, I find I am less able to do the travelling I wish to do. I find that night driving bothers me quite a lot, and my stamina is waning rapidly. I greatly enjoy getting out to other lodges within driving distance, seeing Brethren I know, meeting new Brethren, and enjoying their companionship. I would dearly love to be able to travel to Europe and see as many lodges as possible in the years I have left, but I don't think that will happen. Oh, well... Just my random thoughts...
Traveling is always a wonderful experience, even within the jurisdiction. Especially outside of the district, as the lodges within the district all seem to do basically the same meeting styles. It's always interesting to see how other lodges interpret the same code, as each lodge has their own customs and landmarks on how they do things, especially in the floorwork.
While on a business trip to San Francisco I was walking after dinner and walked right past the Grand Lodge of California. Wish I would have planned a visit in advance. Looking forward to see how I can combine my travels with local Lodge visits