It has been pointed out to me that after a 20, 50, or even in some cases 70 year Masonic Career it can be very easy to forget some side degrees, memberships, invitational Orders, activities, or awards one may have received.
Heck, the way my mind works it can be hard to remember things a day or two after they happen!
Do you keep one to remember where you have been Masonically, and what you have seen?
Other than as a supplement to memory, are there other benefits to keeping one?
Let’s chat about it…
“The biggest mistake we can make as we emerge from the pandemic is to go back to the old normal.”
-Heather Humphries, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Republic of Ireland
While her quote may well hold true for the country of Ireland, it certainly holds true for Freemasonry. Emerging from the pandemic gives us the best opportunity in many decades to put Masonry back on its proper course. We can not squander it.
I used to keep a running list of "firsts" on FB, but it seems FB has decided to remove the section where I kept it. I had when I was entered, passed, raised and proficient. I had every chair I've filled the first time. My PILM date. When I received my Hiram Award. I listed the dates when I conferred my first EA, FC and MM degrees. Of course, Grandview has most of it (except for that last bits) now.
Why keep it? Vanity I suppose? I am proud of what I've accomplished in a relatively short period of time, but to quote Linkin Park, in the end it doesn't really matter. What does matter is "did I positively impact someone's life in my journey?" Hopefully the positives outweigh the negatives.
This is something I’ve never really thought of doing. I’ve been honored to be selected to go through the chairs and finding myself in the East. I was doubly honored to have been presented with the Hiram Award but at the end of the day, if I’m unable to help my Brothers or the fraternity through the Masonic teachings I’ve learned and been taught, then none of the honors mean anything and die with me.
No. I'm proud of my Masonic achievements, but I more proud of what they did to me, the ways they changed me. I want to be judged for who I am, rather than the group I am a member of. If my plan was to run for elected office outside of my Lodge, then I would have a Masonic CV to share with those who needed to evaluate my credentials to lead, or if I chose to be a Masonic speaker I would have one so people could evaluate my qualifications to speak on a subject. Since none of these things are on my horizon, no I don't keep a Masonic CV. If I need one in the future the high points of my career are captured on Grandview and with the AASR database.
I too have not kept a Masonic resume, but now that I know they are a thing, I imagine that I'll likely start doing so. Especially for interesting side degrees and the like, so that when I'm an old fellow I can look back, see the reference, and spark good memories.
Things like the Proficiency in Lodge Management certificates and the like are stored in my copy of the Standard Work. I always figured I should hold on to things like that, in case I ever need to show that I actually did it.
More personal things, such as who Installed me as WM of my Lodge, I've written all of them down in one of my copies of Morals and Dogma. I see those notes from time to time, and it helps me to remember Brothers who are no longer with us, or who I see much less often now. With the passing of time, those notes have become quite valuable to me.
I regret to say that I haven't kept a Masonic résumé. I didn't think I'd ever require one, so I never kept one. I know the dates of my EA, FC, and MM only because they are written on the flap of my Apron. Like Glenn Geiss said, I'm proud of what I have accomplished, but I have a tendency not to rest on my laurels. At my age, I'm too old to consider making myself available for the Grand Line, mainly because it wouldn't be fair to the Brethren to have "an old man in his dotage" as Grand Master, if I ever got that far.
Yes, I have conferred all three Degrees, served in several positions as an officer of the Lodge, served on committees, and have been Master of my Home Lodge. I even served a term as Deputy of the Grand Master, much to my surprise and honor!
What matters most to me is helping others on their journey--pointing out interesting things to discover, helping study for return of proficiency, and being able to answer questions about our beloved Craft.
Thank you brothers for discussing this. I my self have found it necessary as you travel, or are being considered for side degrees, I'm always asked when i served this and that. Those who have joined English appendant bodies, etc will find they are asked when they Received HRA. We had a brother die here a few years ago and I got a copy of his masonic resume and was astonished at the places he had been, done and saw. As a historian researching J ray Shute II I found his masonic bible was full of dates and offices. With out those my research would have been harder. So with that I say its not vanity to keep record of your travel. Its utilitarian for your self and some guy trying to piece together a history of the lodge 50 to 100 years from now.
>>"Its utilitarian for your self and some guy trying to piece together a history of the lodge 50 to >>100 years from now."
I'd not thought about the fellow who comes after us.
My Lodge has a lot of office and storage space, and as the old saying goes, stuff expands till it fills the available space. The Lodge has saved mountains of paperwork. Not just the Masonic records of the members and the minutes of meetings, but loads of stuff.
As a guy who really enjoys digging through old stuff, I've spent quite a few happy hours going through a lot of it. Most interesting to me were documents from early in WWII. It seemed that my Lodge was concerned about the war coming to the Pacific Northwest, and they made provision in case the building was destroyed in a potential conflict here.
I admit to kinda disliking the idea of a Masonic resume. In some ways it seems to compromise the principle of the level for starters, and it evokes the idea of a "Masonic Career". Were it possible to show the ways we've improved ourselves or advanced the causes of the institutions, this would be worthy. But title accumulation is an anti-goal, yet a goal the resume seems to drive nonetheless.
In an institution which seeks to pride itself on personal relationships, the "resume" seems particularly awkward. Resumes are for when you're trying to get a job, and when people *don't* know your background. Working ourselves into Masonic jobs might not be the optimal goal orientation, and if we cultivate personal relationships, then they do know us and don't need a resume for the purpose.
This is not to say that Masonry doesn't need administrators. It very much does. My point is simply that institutions tend to get what they inculcate and incentivize; and I'd hope for an institution which places more focus on personal improvement & meaningful local lodge experiences than a translated notion of careerism.
You bring up a good and interesting point that I hadn't considered.
I really dislike the business side of Masonry. I recognize that we must do it if we are to exist, like it or not, bills keep coming. So, I have always tried to do my part when it comes to making sure that the business gets done, and gets done as well as can be, but I dislike it.
I've also watched the business side of a Lodge end up destroying a Lodge. Most often this happens I think when a Lodge owns more Real Estate than it can afford, leading to a fixation on the bills.
If I do end up starting to maintain a Masonic Resume, I wouldn't want myself to start looking at it like a business document. More like the notes I put in the front and end pages of my book now.
RE: "the business side of a lodge destroying the lodge". This is tightly related to the demographic problems we're having right now. Suppose that it takes (just for the sake of argument) 2 full-time people worth of work to do all the business of the lodge. Committee meetings, bills, grounds maintenance, whatever. The amount doesn't matter.
Now suppose the lodge has 100 *active* members. You can see that the work burden is tiny (2%) and easily shared.
Fast forward to 2021. The work hasn't shrunk, but the active membership roster has. Now you have say, 12 reliably attending brothers with say 5 who really put their back into it. The work burden now, is clearly both necessary & crushing.
Here's a crazy and hopefully not too heretical idea. "Big Masonry" of the 1950s had these huge rolls, and in that context, buildings, charitable giving, and programs a plenty were entirely appropriate. Many actual lodges I witness today are a hard core of guys you can count on 2 hands. (They may have 80 dues paying members but I hope you understand what I'm saying here).
Buildings, charitable giving, and programs are *not* appropriate for a small circle of friends. The work must fit within the bounds available (24-inch gauge).
This is going to be a painful transition for the craft that's coming up. Our views about what a lodge must do & must maintain need to change, to remain realistic in view of what lodges actually are.
This idea of "too much work for too few people" may tend to make me even a bit more bitter about the idea of management & masonic resumes. Yes yes yes it's definitely necessary.
But if the management overhead crowds out what we're supposed to be doing as Masons....like....what are we in this for again?
The huge membership numbers following the World Wars was an aberration. Historically, Freemasonry had been much smaller, and of course it is much smaller again today.
But when we were smaller, we did not own buildings. Now we are both small, and we own lots and lots of buildings.
When concerns with these buildings are allowed to overwhelm the active members of the Lodge, then the Lodge suffers. If it continues too long, then the Lodge easily dies.
We met, for hundreds of years in the back rooms of taverns, restaurants, above stores, all kinds of places that we did not own. Lodges that are struggling should consider doing just that once again. Get the burden of Real Estate ownership off of their back.
Or...
Bring in some professional help, and turn the building, when it is not being used Masonically, into an event center/wedding venue. We have Lodges doing just that in my Jurisdiction, and making rather shocking amounts of money at it. Professional help ensures that it is not an overwhelming burden on the members of the Lodge, and that help can be paid for through the new revenue that is generated.
As for our large, institutional scale charities, I think that we must ensure that they can survive and thrive, without the ongoing and active physical involvement of individual Lodges. As you rightly point out, too many Lodges no longer have the manpower needed to perform this function.
I used to keep a running list of "firsts" on FB, but it seems FB has decided to remove the section where I kept it. I had when I was entered, passed, raised and proficient. I had every chair I've filled the first time. My PILM date. When I received my Hiram Award. I listed the dates when I conferred my first EA, FC and MM degrees. Of course, Grandview has most of it (except for that last bits) now.
Why keep it? Vanity I suppose? I am proud of what I've accomplished in a relatively short period of time, but to quote Linkin Park, in the end it doesn't really matter. What does matter is "did I positively impact someone's life in my journey?" Hopefully the positives outweigh the negatives.
This is something I’ve never really thought of doing. I’ve been honored to be selected to go through the chairs and finding myself in the East. I was doubly honored to have been presented with the Hiram Award but at the end of the day, if I’m unable to help my Brothers or the fraternity through the Masonic teachings I’ve learned and been taught, then none of the honors mean anything and die with me.
No. I'm proud of my Masonic achievements, but I more proud of what they did to me, the ways they changed me. I want to be judged for who I am, rather than the group I am a member of. If my plan was to run for elected office outside of my Lodge, then I would have a Masonic CV to share with those who needed to evaluate my credentials to lead, or if I chose to be a Masonic speaker I would have one so people could evaluate my qualifications to speak on a subject. Since none of these things are on my horizon, no I don't keep a Masonic CV. If I need one in the future the high points of my career are captured on Grandview and with the AASR database.
I too have not kept a Masonic resume, but now that I know they are a thing, I imagine that I'll likely start doing so. Especially for interesting side degrees and the like, so that when I'm an old fellow I can look back, see the reference, and spark good memories.
Things like the Proficiency in Lodge Management certificates and the like are stored in my copy of the Standard Work. I always figured I should hold on to things like that, in case I ever need to show that I actually did it.
More personal things, such as who Installed me as WM of my Lodge, I've written all of them down in one of my copies of Morals and Dogma. I see those notes from time to time, and it helps me to remember Brothers who are no longer with us, or who I see much less often now. With the passing of time, those notes have become quite valuable to me.
I regret to say that I haven't kept a Masonic résumé. I didn't think I'd ever require one, so I never kept one. I know the dates of my EA, FC, and MM only because they are written on the flap of my Apron. Like Glenn Geiss said, I'm proud of what I have accomplished, but I have a tendency not to rest on my laurels. At my age, I'm too old to consider making myself available for the Grand Line, mainly because it wouldn't be fair to the Brethren to have "an old man in his dotage" as Grand Master, if I ever got that far.
Yes, I have conferred all three Degrees, served in several positions as an officer of the Lodge, served on committees, and have been Master of my Home Lodge. I even served a term as Deputy of the Grand Master, much to my surprise and honor!
What matters most to me is helping others on their journey--pointing out interesting things to discover, helping study for return of proficiency, and being able to answer questions about our beloved Craft.
Thank you brothers for discussing this. I my self have found it necessary as you travel, or are being considered for side degrees, I'm always asked when i served this and that. Those who have joined English appendant bodies, etc will find they are asked when they Received HRA. We had a brother die here a few years ago and I got a copy of his masonic resume and was astonished at the places he had been, done and saw. As a historian researching J ray Shute II I found his masonic bible was full of dates and offices. With out those my research would have been harder. So with that I say its not vanity to keep record of your travel. Its utilitarian for your self and some guy trying to piece together a history of the lodge 50 to 100 years from now.
>>"Its utilitarian for your self and some guy trying to piece together a history of the lodge 50 to >>100 years from now."
I'd not thought about the fellow who comes after us.
My Lodge has a lot of office and storage space, and as the old saying goes, stuff expands till it fills the available space. The Lodge has saved mountains of paperwork. Not just the Masonic records of the members and the minutes of meetings, but loads of stuff.
As a guy who really enjoys digging through old stuff, I've spent quite a few happy hours going through a lot of it. Most interesting to me were documents from early in WWII. It seemed that my Lodge was concerned about the war coming to the Pacific Northwest, and they made provision in case the building was destroyed in a potential conflict here.
How fascinating that was.
I admit to kinda disliking the idea of a Masonic resume. In some ways it seems to compromise the principle of the level for starters, and it evokes the idea of a "Masonic Career". Were it possible to show the ways we've improved ourselves or advanced the causes of the institutions, this would be worthy. But title accumulation is an anti-goal, yet a goal the resume seems to drive nonetheless.
In an institution which seeks to pride itself on personal relationships, the "resume" seems particularly awkward. Resumes are for when you're trying to get a job, and when people *don't* know your background. Working ourselves into Masonic jobs might not be the optimal goal orientation, and if we cultivate personal relationships, then they do know us and don't need a resume for the purpose.
This is not to say that Masonry doesn't need administrators. It very much does. My point is simply that institutions tend to get what they inculcate and incentivize; and I'd hope for an institution which places more focus on personal improvement & meaningful local lodge experiences than a translated notion of careerism.
I have a professional resume and that's enough.
You bring up a good and interesting point that I hadn't considered.
I really dislike the business side of Masonry. I recognize that we must do it if we are to exist, like it or not, bills keep coming. So, I have always tried to do my part when it comes to making sure that the business gets done, and gets done as well as can be, but I dislike it.
I've also watched the business side of a Lodge end up destroying a Lodge. Most often this happens I think when a Lodge owns more Real Estate than it can afford, leading to a fixation on the bills.
If I do end up starting to maintain a Masonic Resume, I wouldn't want myself to start looking at it like a business document. More like the notes I put in the front and end pages of my book now.
RE: "the business side of a lodge destroying the lodge". This is tightly related to the demographic problems we're having right now. Suppose that it takes (just for the sake of argument) 2 full-time people worth of work to do all the business of the lodge. Committee meetings, bills, grounds maintenance, whatever. The amount doesn't matter.
Now suppose the lodge has 100 *active* members. You can see that the work burden is tiny (2%) and easily shared.
Fast forward to 2021. The work hasn't shrunk, but the active membership roster has. Now you have say, 12 reliably attending brothers with say 5 who really put their back into it. The work burden now, is clearly both necessary & crushing.
Here's a crazy and hopefully not too heretical idea. "Big Masonry" of the 1950s had these huge rolls, and in that context, buildings, charitable giving, and programs a plenty were entirely appropriate. Many actual lodges I witness today are a hard core of guys you can count on 2 hands. (They may have 80 dues paying members but I hope you understand what I'm saying here).
Buildings, charitable giving, and programs are *not* appropriate for a small circle of friends. The work must fit within the bounds available (24-inch gauge).
This is going to be a painful transition for the craft that's coming up. Our views about what a lodge must do & must maintain need to change, to remain realistic in view of what lodges actually are.
This idea of "too much work for too few people" may tend to make me even a bit more bitter about the idea of management & masonic resumes. Yes yes yes it's definitely necessary.
But if the management overhead crowds out what we're supposed to be doing as Masons....like....what are we in this for again?
I think that you make great points here.
The huge membership numbers following the World Wars was an aberration. Historically, Freemasonry had been much smaller, and of course it is much smaller again today.
But when we were smaller, we did not own buildings. Now we are both small, and we own lots and lots of buildings.
When concerns with these buildings are allowed to overwhelm the active members of the Lodge, then the Lodge suffers. If it continues too long, then the Lodge easily dies.
We met, for hundreds of years in the back rooms of taverns, restaurants, above stores, all kinds of places that we did not own. Lodges that are struggling should consider doing just that once again. Get the burden of Real Estate ownership off of their back.
Or...
Bring in some professional help, and turn the building, when it is not being used Masonically, into an event center/wedding venue. We have Lodges doing just that in my Jurisdiction, and making rather shocking amounts of money at it. Professional help ensures that it is not an overwhelming burden on the members of the Lodge, and that help can be paid for through the new revenue that is generated.
As for our large, institutional scale charities, I think that we must ensure that they can survive and thrive, without the ongoing and active physical involvement of individual Lodges. As you rightly point out, too many Lodges no longer have the manpower needed to perform this function.