Treat them seriously. I’ve been to degrees where the people on the sidelines congratulated the person delivering the first degree lecture for doing it in record time. Like the lecture was something to endure. Laughing, joking, especially during the 3rd degree completely removes the solemnity of the experience. Know your ritual work. Install a chamber of reflection and know how to use it. I’ve found that the COR instills the proper frame of mind to the candidate, and that frame of mind should be reflected in the actual ritual itself. Finally, make sure the candidate at a minimum learns the posting lecture. This builds the foundation for their masonic career, especially if they decide to take a chair in the line.
For me personally the inculcation of ritual until it transcends a mere intellectual recitation of information, to the point of becoming visceral and empowering the ritualist to emote while visualizing the symbols related to the words and actions involved, utilizes certain non-verbal forms of communication which enhances the candidates experience of what is being imparted.
With the COR and why lodges don’t use them anymore, I have a few ideas.
When I was pushing to get a COR in our lodge, I got a lot of push back from many directions, mainly due to ignorance of the symbology within it. For some people, as soon as they see a skull, they automatically think devil worship, evil, and non masonic. Apparently they slept through the degrees. I even had to install a lock on the door, because the concordant bodies freaked out.
I also think that the masons themselves have lost in translation a lot of what masonry is about. There was an old star trek episode where the enterprise came across a primitive culture that were quoting fragments of something as their guiding text, but had no clue what the text meant. If I remember correctly, kirk finally figured out it was the constitution. I think we as a fraternity are in the same situation. Not using the COR is part of that.
Two hundred years ago we were not a charity. We didn’t file taxes or declare ourselves non profits. We didn’t do fund raisers. We didn’t spend our business meetings arguing about what kind of pancakes we served at our monthly breakfasts. The COR encapsulates what we are supposed to be, yet people don’t bother to learn what it is about. Here in the states, death used to be treated as part of life. At some point, it became a dirty subject. We leave it to the funeral home to sanitize and dispose of our loved ones. Its a subject we don’t like to talk about, but it is part of the human condition. I guess some people don’t like to be reminded of that.
We hear all the time that we need good lectures, but the reality is that very few brothers can provide that lecture and it is fewer every year. Some of us, myself included, need to learn those lectures. It takes work, and we have to be willing to put in the work.
I agree with Brother Glenn that the two things we can do is to make sure everyone knows their ritual and the degrees are presented with the solemnity the candidates deserve. We are also putting together a Chamber of Reflection in our Lodge. I will be honest and say I don’t know a lot about the COR but several newer brothers brought it up and we’re moving forward with the project.
There are several things I would like to mention that haven't been touched on here yet.
First, Music to accompany the ritual makes a huge difference in any Degree. While some Lodges don't have anyone capable of providing appropriate music or and instrument to play it on, technology again comes to the rescue.
I have a huge collection of music downloaded from Spotify which consists in large part of piano instrumentals on my smart phone. Bluetooth can transfer this music to a speaker.
Second would be Lodge lighting. We did one Degree in Lodge with just the altar light on with the SD having having an electric light to his rod. It was well received. I would also recommend every Brother to attend at least one Torchlight Degree at night under the actual starry decked heavens at Granite Falls.
Making an effort to commit the Lectures to memory makes it so that every time one is given it is like listening to one's favorite music. Make no mistake, the candidate will notice if the Brothers seem to regard the Lecture as IMPORTANT and they will thereby regard the Lecture as important to themselves.
I don't want to repeat the words already voiced in these responses. I agree with all of them. One of the things I struggle with is having more than one candidate during a degree.
I know that when more than one candidate is ready to receive a degree they are lumped together out of necessity or to minimize the effort required to organize and put on the degree. Its difficult enough to find enough Brethren who are capable or willing to perform all the parts let alone organizing the date with the candidates, all the players and the Lodge Temple itself.
However in my experience and prior to joining Freemasonry I was looking for the initatory rites and the moment itself to impact me, to speak to me, to change me in that moment toward something new and to change my life.
I have found through my own as well as other's degrees that having more than one candidate lessens that unique and deeply personal moment. Obligating together, circumambulations together, etc. When the SD takes the candidate by the arm and conducts him while communicating the ritual the others follow with a silent assistant SD. There isn't the same mystic connection between them.
When a man stands alone he feels the moment, is in the moment, is unsure, nervous and maybe even a little scared. This is when he is most vulnerable. This is when the ritual speaks to his soul. This is when we, through our ritual performed well and with sincerety, show him he is safe. That this moment is about him and his journey on the path to light through self improvement and how we are there to support and assist him on that path.
Yes to all the previous comments. These and the deeply personal uniqueness of the moment can make a lifelong lasting impression that a man may take outside the walls of the Lodge and start to change the world around him.
I've been honored to plan the last few 1st degree's we've held. Since we do not have a lodge building, the location where we hold our degrees is as flexible and as interesting as our imagination. For the 1st degree, we found a location in our area that allows us to provide a truly impactful and substantial experience to the candidate. We deliver the candidate to the location where they experience a COR prior to getting down to business. We’re constantly looking to refine the experience, keeping the candidate at the center of our discussions.
Interestingly, this December I was initiated into another, much older order that was created a long time ago, far far away where I was dubbed a knight and given a weapon to use how I see fit. While in Disney World I went through their lightsaber building experience. After I paid my fee 😉 I was brought by characters into a secret vault where the experience began. I instantly began taking mental notes. It wasn’t just about the end result. Rather, each of the senses were considered and indulged. Visually, stunning. Sounds, intellectual and engaging. The experience has increased my interest in examining every facet of the candidate experience.
Make degrees a personal experience for the candidate. COR's, ask the necessary questions at the beginning of the conferral, not before lodge. When they go to each station, the officers need to place their hand on the candidates shoulder etc... Don't take short cuts.....degrees should not be given as a convenience to the brethren....that takes away from the candidate. Make the degree special....such as the Torchlight FC degree at the Masonic Family Park or the Open Air MM degree.
Treat them seriously. I’ve been to degrees where the people on the sidelines congratulated the person delivering the first degree lecture for doing it in record time. Like the lecture was something to endure. Laughing, joking, especially during the 3rd degree completely removes the solemnity of the experience. Know your ritual work. Install a chamber of reflection and know how to use it. I’ve found that the COR instills the proper frame of mind to the candidate, and that frame of mind should be reflected in the actual ritual itself. Finally, make sure the candidate at a minimum learns the posting lecture. This builds the foundation for their masonic career, especially if they decide to take a chair in the line.
For me personally the inculcation of ritual until it transcends a mere intellectual recitation of information, to the point of becoming visceral and empowering the ritualist to emote while visualizing the symbols related to the words and actions involved, utilizes certain non-verbal forms of communication which enhances the candidates experience of what is being imparted.
With the COR and why lodges don’t use them anymore, I have a few ideas.
When I was pushing to get a COR in our lodge, I got a lot of push back from many directions, mainly due to ignorance of the symbology within it. For some people, as soon as they see a skull, they automatically think devil worship, evil, and non masonic. Apparently they slept through the degrees. I even had to install a lock on the door, because the concordant bodies freaked out.
I also think that the masons themselves have lost in translation a lot of what masonry is about. There was an old star trek episode where the enterprise came across a primitive culture that were quoting fragments of something as their guiding text, but had no clue what the text meant. If I remember correctly, kirk finally figured out it was the constitution. I think we as a fraternity are in the same situation. Not using the COR is part of that.
Two hundred years ago we were not a charity. We didn’t file taxes or declare ourselves non profits. We didn’t do fund raisers. We didn’t spend our business meetings arguing about what kind of pancakes we served at our monthly breakfasts. The COR encapsulates what we are supposed to be, yet people don’t bother to learn what it is about. Here in the states, death used to be treated as part of life. At some point, it became a dirty subject. We leave it to the funeral home to sanitize and dispose of our loved ones. Its a subject we don’t like to talk about, but it is part of the human condition. I guess some people don’t like to be reminded of that.
We hear all the time that we need good lectures, but the reality is that very few brothers can provide that lecture and it is fewer every year. Some of us, myself included, need to learn those lectures. It takes work, and we have to be willing to put in the work.
I agree with Brother Glenn that the two things we can do is to make sure everyone knows their ritual and the degrees are presented with the solemnity the candidates deserve. We are also putting together a Chamber of Reflection in our Lodge. I will be honest and say I don’t know a lot about the COR but several newer brothers brought it up and we’re moving forward with the project.
There are several things I would like to mention that haven't been touched on here yet.
First, Music to accompany the ritual makes a huge difference in any Degree. While some Lodges don't have anyone capable of providing appropriate music or and instrument to play it on, technology again comes to the rescue.
I have a huge collection of music downloaded from Spotify which consists in large part of piano instrumentals on my smart phone. Bluetooth can transfer this music to a speaker.
Second would be Lodge lighting. We did one Degree in Lodge with just the altar light on with the SD having having an electric light to his rod. It was well received. I would also recommend every Brother to attend at least one Torchlight Degree at night under the actual starry decked heavens at Granite Falls.
Making an effort to commit the Lectures to memory makes it so that every time one is given it is like listening to one's favorite music. Make no mistake, the candidate will notice if the Brothers seem to regard the Lecture as IMPORTANT and they will thereby regard the Lecture as important to themselves.
I don't want to repeat the words already voiced in these responses. I agree with all of them. One of the things I struggle with is having more than one candidate during a degree.
I know that when more than one candidate is ready to receive a degree they are lumped together out of necessity or to minimize the effort required to organize and put on the degree. Its difficult enough to find enough Brethren who are capable or willing to perform all the parts let alone organizing the date with the candidates, all the players and the Lodge Temple itself.
However in my experience and prior to joining Freemasonry I was looking for the initatory rites and the moment itself to impact me, to speak to me, to change me in that moment toward something new and to change my life.
I have found through my own as well as other's degrees that having more than one candidate lessens that unique and deeply personal moment. Obligating together, circumambulations together, etc. When the SD takes the candidate by the arm and conducts him while communicating the ritual the others follow with a silent assistant SD. There isn't the same mystic connection between them.
When a man stands alone he feels the moment, is in the moment, is unsure, nervous and maybe even a little scared. This is when he is most vulnerable. This is when the ritual speaks to his soul. This is when we, through our ritual performed well and with sincerety, show him he is safe. That this moment is about him and his journey on the path to light through self improvement and how we are there to support and assist him on that path.
Yes to all the previous comments. These and the deeply personal uniqueness of the moment can make a lifelong lasting impression that a man may take outside the walls of the Lodge and start to change the world around him.
I've been honored to plan the last few 1st degree's we've held. Since we do not have a lodge building, the location where we hold our degrees is as flexible and as interesting as our imagination. For the 1st degree, we found a location in our area that allows us to provide a truly impactful and substantial experience to the candidate. We deliver the candidate to the location where they experience a COR prior to getting down to business. We’re constantly looking to refine the experience, keeping the candidate at the center of our discussions.
Interestingly, this December I was initiated into another, much older order that was created a long time ago, far far away where I was dubbed a knight and given a weapon to use how I see fit. While in Disney World I went through their lightsaber building experience. After I paid my fee 😉 I was brought by characters into a secret vault where the experience began. I instantly began taking mental notes. It wasn’t just about the end result. Rather, each of the senses were considered and indulged. Visually, stunning. Sounds, intellectual and engaging. The experience has increased my interest in examining every facet of the candidate experience.
Make degrees a personal experience for the candidate. COR's, ask the necessary questions at the beginning of the conferral, not before lodge. When they go to each station, the officers need to place their hand on the candidates shoulder etc... Don't take short cuts.....degrees should not be given as a convenience to the brethren....that takes away from the candidate. Make the degree special....such as the Torchlight FC degree at the Masonic Family Park or the Open Air MM degree.