I tend to agree, the Craft Lodge should be the priority. But, sometimes I think other things must take precedence. For example, this past weekend was the Installation of Officers for one of my Lodges, but in direct conflict with that was a meeting of the directors of our Scottish Rite Scholarship Foundation. In that instance, I felt that the Foundation had to take priority because the decisions made by the small group of directors impact something quite large.
But, these decisions are never easy for me to make, as I never want to miss a function at my Lodge.
At a Masonic leadership conference I was conducting, a brother posed the same question and said he was getting frustrated trying to sastify all his Masonic obligations. I told him the resolution of the situation was to set some priorities and boundaries on his participation. I later wrote this article that summarizes a thought process to help a brother to say no. https://masonsleadbetter.com/how-to-serve-and-not-suffer-by-saying-no/
We all took an oath west of the altar. This was the very first thing we did on our Path as Freemasons. This has always been a 'no brainer' for me. I am a Shriner and Scottish Rite Freemason and my Blue Lodge always comes first. My 2c.
Some folks belong to a dozen different organizations and manage to fulfill their commitments just fine. I can’t really say much, I only belong to 4 different organizations, two Masonic, but I will always put my blue lodge first above everything else.
It is, certainly possible to turn Freemasonry into one's primary vocation. A Brother and I were discussing just that the other day. And, I think that's a good thing, particularly for retired folks who want something fulfilling and impactful to do.
I look at my schedule and see what event was scheduled first. If I have a meeting for the Scottish rite scholarship foundation and my blue lodge comes up and schedules something a couple of weeks later then the foundation meeting was on the schedule first.
This is the way I work my schedule. What was on the schedule first. The next “screen” is whether or not I have an officer role. Then I look at “how many annual meetings are there?”
A few examples:
I’m Director of Work for SRICF and we only have 4 meeting a year. So it gets priority over a degree scheduled at a lodge where I am not a member.
I’m Venerable Master for my Valley and we have the only temple in the state, additionally the Grand Lodge resides in our temple and gets the financial advantages of additional staff and facilities without cost. So Scottish Rite is higher on my priority list than anything other than my personal lodge because it is a crucial support for the blue lodges of Arkansas.
I am sorry, but I am unsure what you mean by ‘approved my application.’
One ‘Petitions’ to become a Mason at the Lodge local to his home. This Petition is only given to a potential candidate after he gets to know some or all of the members of that local Lodge. It is then signed by some number of members of that Lodge that know him. (In my Jurisdiction, that number is three.)
Once the Petition is accepted by the Lodge, the Lodge will appoint a Committee to meet with the potential candidate, answer his questions, and get to know him better. The Committee then recommends that the Lodge either vote to accept or reject the potential candidate.
The final step is that the Lodge votes. The ballot must be overwhelmingly in favor if the potential candidate is going to be accepted. (In my Jurisdiction that vote to accept a candidate must be unanimous, a single no vote results in rejection of the Petition.)
That is how it works in broad strokes, everywhere in the world.
It is impossible to be Made a Mason online, anywhere in the world. It is impossible to Petition a Lodge before one knows, in real life, a Mason, anywhere in the world.
I am aware that there are scams, across Social Media, purporting to Make people Masons online. All such things are scams, all over the world. While Freemasons certainly gather online, at its heart, Freemasonry is an in-person institution.
If you are in England, you would contact a Lodge of the UGLE where you live, get to know some of the guys there, and then petition:
I will (nearly, I can never say never...) always choose Craft Lodge over anything else BUT I think there's room for maneuvering if, say, things at the Craft Lodge are well-handled, you're not in an officer's chair, and it isn't a frequent occurrence. My mother lodge meets 5 times a year and I've been an officer for several years, I won't miss those meetings unless I have an AWFULLY good reason (illness, family emergencies, etc.). Now, if I was in a lodge that meets monthly or more frequently and I didn't have any extra responsibilities to the Lodge and it was one meeting out of the many in several years, I might be OK with it.
I think that I'm similar. The Craft Lodge holds my loyalty more than anything else. I do, now, have two Craft Lodges in a bit of a scheduling conflict, but I'm just a sideliner in both, and I think I've worked out a good plan.
SRICF is also becoming an important priority for me. I'm finding it quite valuable to my own development.
Thats easy, the Craft Lodge is the priority.
The 24" ruler not only teaches us to use our time wisely but also to set priorities.
What are those priorities?
1. God
2. Family
3. Everything else
Every decision we make has to be based on that ruler.
There is a saying in Puerto Rico that goes like this:
"Tuck yourself up as far as the sheet reaches".
We need to learn to set limitations.
I tend to agree, the Craft Lodge should be the priority. But, sometimes I think other things must take precedence. For example, this past weekend was the Installation of Officers for one of my Lodges, but in direct conflict with that was a meeting of the directors of our Scottish Rite Scholarship Foundation. In that instance, I felt that the Foundation had to take priority because the decisions made by the small group of directors impact something quite large.
But, these decisions are never easy for me to make, as I never want to miss a function at my Lodge.
At a Masonic leadership conference I was conducting, a brother posed the same question and said he was getting frustrated trying to sastify all his Masonic obligations. I told him the resolution of the situation was to set some priorities and boundaries on his participation. I later wrote this article that summarizes a thought process to help a brother to say no. https://masonsleadbetter.com/how-to-serve-and-not-suffer-by-saying-no/
Thank you Brother! I linked into your article in the Chat section too, I think that many will find it helpful!
I feel this. Fortunately, other Masons seem to get it and are very forgiving even when they miss you.
This is true. Excellent point. Thank you!
We all took an oath west of the altar. This was the very first thing we did on our Path as Freemasons. This has always been a 'no brainer' for me. I am a Shriner and Scottish Rite Freemason and my Blue Lodge always comes first. My 2c.
Thanks for this perspective Brother, I appreciate it, and generally agree with it.
Some folks belong to a dozen different organizations and manage to fulfill their commitments just fine. I can’t really say much, I only belong to 4 different organizations, two Masonic, but I will always put my blue lodge first above everything else.
It is, certainly possible to turn Freemasonry into one's primary vocation. A Brother and I were discussing just that the other day. And, I think that's a good thing, particularly for retired folks who want something fulfilling and impactful to do.
I look at my schedule and see what event was scheduled first. If I have a meeting for the Scottish rite scholarship foundation and my blue lodge comes up and schedules something a couple of weeks later then the foundation meeting was on the schedule first.
This is the way I work my schedule. What was on the schedule first. The next “screen” is whether or not I have an officer role. Then I look at “how many annual meetings are there?”
A few examples:
I’m Director of Work for SRICF and we only have 4 meeting a year. So it gets priority over a degree scheduled at a lodge where I am not a member.
I’m Venerable Master for my Valley and we have the only temple in the state, additionally the Grand Lodge resides in our temple and gets the financial advantages of additional staff and facilities without cost. So Scottish Rite is higher on my priority list than anything other than my personal lodge because it is a crucial support for the blue lodges of Arkansas.
This makes a lot of sense. Thank you!
It was great seeing you this weekend!
Sorry to bother you, but Have you approved my application David Taylor ,crewe, England?
I am sorry, but I am unsure what you mean by ‘approved my application.’
One ‘Petitions’ to become a Mason at the Lodge local to his home. This Petition is only given to a potential candidate after he gets to know some or all of the members of that local Lodge. It is then signed by some number of members of that Lodge that know him. (In my Jurisdiction, that number is three.)
Once the Petition is accepted by the Lodge, the Lodge will appoint a Committee to meet with the potential candidate, answer his questions, and get to know him better. The Committee then recommends that the Lodge either vote to accept or reject the potential candidate.
The final step is that the Lodge votes. The ballot must be overwhelmingly in favor if the potential candidate is going to be accepted. (In my Jurisdiction that vote to accept a candidate must be unanimous, a single no vote results in rejection of the Petition.)
That is how it works in broad strokes, everywhere in the world.
It is impossible to be Made a Mason online, anywhere in the world. It is impossible to Petition a Lodge before one knows, in real life, a Mason, anywhere in the world.
I am aware that there are scams, across Social Media, purporting to Make people Masons online. All such things are scams, all over the world. While Freemasons certainly gather online, at its heart, Freemasonry is an in-person institution.
If you are in England, you would contact a Lodge of the UGLE where you live, get to know some of the guys there, and then petition:
https://www.ugle.org.uk/become-freemason/join-freemasonry/register-your-interest
I will (nearly, I can never say never...) always choose Craft Lodge over anything else BUT I think there's room for maneuvering if, say, things at the Craft Lodge are well-handled, you're not in an officer's chair, and it isn't a frequent occurrence. My mother lodge meets 5 times a year and I've been an officer for several years, I won't miss those meetings unless I have an AWFULLY good reason (illness, family emergencies, etc.). Now, if I was in a lodge that meets monthly or more frequently and I didn't have any extra responsibilities to the Lodge and it was one meeting out of the many in several years, I might be OK with it.
I think that I'm similar. The Craft Lodge holds my loyalty more than anything else. I do, now, have two Craft Lodges in a bit of a scheduling conflict, but I'm just a sideliner in both, and I think I've worked out a good plan.
SRICF is also becoming an important priority for me. I'm finding it quite valuable to my own development.