I’m aware that many Grand Jurisdictions don’t have a Closing Charge as a part of their ritual, but here in Washington we do, and that Charge makes it quite clear that our Tiled Lodge meetings are a “Sacred retreat of friendship and virtue…”
I think that is quite interesting to ponder.
What makes our Tiled recesses sacred? What can we do as participants in our Lodge to ensure that they remain sacred? Are there steps we can take, things we can do, to enhance the feeling of sacredness?
A Sacred Retreat is a notable event. It should be a place no outside influence should interact with it. Whether spiritual or fraternal, it should be a safe space, as the younger folks like to say, a place where where you are safe to either meditate, some with their eyes shut, others can have their hearts and souls renewed. So when you depart this sanctuary, you should feel refreshed and invigorated to travel out into the world outside.
Very well said Brother! I think that if we can send all of our Masons home feeling refreshed and invigorated, we are certainly fulfilling the promise of Freemasonry.
What makes a space sacred? Either something that has happened there, or what currently happens there. Our fraternal fathers designed our Lodges and Rituals as a 'container' of the sacred, BUT it is up to us to fill that container. If all we do is business, then we don't need a Tyler to keep guard. If we, each of us, bring the divine within us into the Lodge, to manifest the sacred through our actions and thoughts, then the Tyler protects that space from the invansion of the mundane, and our Lodges become a liminal space, a sacred retreat from the mundane world.
I really like your point about the Tyler, and the need (or not) for the position. If you don't mind, I might have to steal that for a talk in my own Lodge.
Like so many things in our lives that are taken for granted the lodge as a sacred retreat has lost it's meaning and importance. In my jurisdiction we have a benediction in our closing along with a voluntary charge very close, if not the same as you have in Washington. In traveling around my state I think about one out of twenty do both. My home lodge is one that does both.
The question we all have to ask of ourselves as Masons should be. Are the duties frequently and forcibly recommended in our lodge?
In a regular and well governed lodge it is possible to have a civil discussion with different opinions and leave as friends and Brothers. In todays world that is a very rare gift!
>>>In a regular and well governed lodge it is possible to have a civil discussion with different >>>opinions and leave as friends and Brothers. In todays world that is a very rare gift!
I think that if we could teach the outer world this fundamental skill we would indeed qualify as high priests of democracy, for surely no free society can survive for long if civil discourse does not exist.
This is an interesting point to ponder. I've heard in many a lodge training session, that the Master should keep meetings to a minimum as far as time goes (essentially knock out the business and close lodge) and leave plenty of time for fellowship and refreshment afterwards. I agree that without Masonic education or even discussions on things in lodge, that other than introductions, floor work and paying bills, not much else is accomplished. It more or less gets to a point where one could, more or less, "phone it in" via a Zoom meeting. I recall as a young Mason, asking the question, "Is this (paying bills and business stuff) all that we do in lodge?" followed by, "What am I getting out of this?" from the standpoint of sitting on the sidelines and listening to a handful of folks speak.
To me, the sacred parts of attending Lodge is when we do degree work, receive the training/Masonic education, along with traveling to other lodges and welcoming visitors into ours.
I agree with the idea of keeping meetings crisp and short, with plenty of refreshment and fellowship before and after. But I don't think that precludes good quality Masonic education. Surely none of the business needs of any Lodge could truly require more than about fifteen minutes a month to bang out. Assuming an hour long meeting, that allows a huge amount of time for education.
Your point is very well taken that if all that a Lodge is doing is business, then surely zoom is perfectly sufficient for that need, and sacredness never even enters the equation.
Ultimately though, I think what is most important is that we give our Masons a compelling reason to attend Lodge. That is much more important than the length of the meeting. If men give us their time, we need to give them some good red meat to chew on in exchange for it.
I think that most "business" can be addressed in the lodge officer's meeting and then the "business" is more of a formality of reading the bills and, if budgetary in nature, rap the gavel and order that bills be paid. Another way to help expedite the business portion of the meetings is getting buy-in from the brethren insofar as to utilizing parts of the meeting to discuss ideas for events/fundraisers and allocate time to planning instead of arbitrarily appointing a committee who ends up saying, "I don't have my notes in front of me..." or "We haven't had a chance to address that yet." at subsequent meetings. Things like that kill the momentum which ultimately leads to the craft feeling unfulfilled.
For me, I like the feeling of winning and creating successful events which raise money for philanthropic ventures. Engaging with the community and seeing the fruits of your labors. When you build the craft and add value to others, that, in a way, makes the fraternal gatherings "sacred".
A Sacred Retreat is a notable event. It should be a place no outside influence should interact with it. Whether spiritual or fraternal, it should be a safe space, as the younger folks like to say, a place where where you are safe to either meditate, some with their eyes shut, others can have their hearts and souls renewed. So when you depart this sanctuary, you should feel refreshed and invigorated to travel out into the world outside.
Very well said Brother! I think that if we can send all of our Masons home feeling refreshed and invigorated, we are certainly fulfilling the promise of Freemasonry.
What makes a space sacred? Either something that has happened there, or what currently happens there. Our fraternal fathers designed our Lodges and Rituals as a 'container' of the sacred, BUT it is up to us to fill that container. If all we do is business, then we don't need a Tyler to keep guard. If we, each of us, bring the divine within us into the Lodge, to manifest the sacred through our actions and thoughts, then the Tyler protects that space from the invansion of the mundane, and our Lodges become a liminal space, a sacred retreat from the mundane world.
I really like your point about the Tyler, and the need (or not) for the position. If you don't mind, I might have to steal that for a talk in my own Lodge.
Of course, feel free.
Like so many things in our lives that are taken for granted the lodge as a sacred retreat has lost it's meaning and importance. In my jurisdiction we have a benediction in our closing along with a voluntary charge very close, if not the same as you have in Washington. In traveling around my state I think about one out of twenty do both. My home lodge is one that does both.
The question we all have to ask of ourselves as Masons should be. Are the duties frequently and forcibly recommended in our lodge?
In a regular and well governed lodge it is possible to have a civil discussion with different opinions and leave as friends and Brothers. In todays world that is a very rare gift!
>>>In a regular and well governed lodge it is possible to have a civil discussion with different >>>opinions and leave as friends and Brothers. In todays world that is a very rare gift!
I think that if we could teach the outer world this fundamental skill we would indeed qualify as high priests of democracy, for surely no free society can survive for long if civil discourse does not exist.
This is an interesting point to ponder. I've heard in many a lodge training session, that the Master should keep meetings to a minimum as far as time goes (essentially knock out the business and close lodge) and leave plenty of time for fellowship and refreshment afterwards. I agree that without Masonic education or even discussions on things in lodge, that other than introductions, floor work and paying bills, not much else is accomplished. It more or less gets to a point where one could, more or less, "phone it in" via a Zoom meeting. I recall as a young Mason, asking the question, "Is this (paying bills and business stuff) all that we do in lodge?" followed by, "What am I getting out of this?" from the standpoint of sitting on the sidelines and listening to a handful of folks speak.
To me, the sacred parts of attending Lodge is when we do degree work, receive the training/Masonic education, along with traveling to other lodges and welcoming visitors into ours.
I agree with the idea of keeping meetings crisp and short, with plenty of refreshment and fellowship before and after. But I don't think that precludes good quality Masonic education. Surely none of the business needs of any Lodge could truly require more than about fifteen minutes a month to bang out. Assuming an hour long meeting, that allows a huge amount of time for education.
Your point is very well taken that if all that a Lodge is doing is business, then surely zoom is perfectly sufficient for that need, and sacredness never even enters the equation.
Ultimately though, I think what is most important is that we give our Masons a compelling reason to attend Lodge. That is much more important than the length of the meeting. If men give us their time, we need to give them some good red meat to chew on in exchange for it.
I think that most "business" can be addressed in the lodge officer's meeting and then the "business" is more of a formality of reading the bills and, if budgetary in nature, rap the gavel and order that bills be paid. Another way to help expedite the business portion of the meetings is getting buy-in from the brethren insofar as to utilizing parts of the meeting to discuss ideas for events/fundraisers and allocate time to planning instead of arbitrarily appointing a committee who ends up saying, "I don't have my notes in front of me..." or "We haven't had a chance to address that yet." at subsequent meetings. Things like that kill the momentum which ultimately leads to the craft feeling unfulfilled.
For me, I like the feeling of winning and creating successful events which raise money for philanthropic ventures. Engaging with the community and seeing the fruits of your labors. When you build the craft and add value to others, that, in a way, makes the fraternal gatherings "sacred".