Tomorrow night, down in my little corner of the Masonic world, we will be holding one of my favorite yearly Masonic events. The Past Master’s Degree.
Here, we are quite formal about it.
It is hosted by an organization, the Lewis County Past Master’s Association. We use a written ritual, put together by one of our Past Grand Masters. We have a really good dinner, elect officers for the upcoming year, and give a few dollars to one local charitable endeavor or another.
This year we will have three candidates, each of them from out of the area. We are down to two Lodges within Lewis County, and each are headed by someone who has served as Worshipful Master in the past, so don’t have anyone local who needs the Degree.
That’s OK though, the important thing isn’t that we confer the Degree on someone Local, the important thing for the Association is that we confer the Degree as we have done for so many years. And the other important thing, in my view, is that we do our part to ensure that as many Worshipful Masters as possible receive the Degree. I personally believe that what it teaches is of great importance.
The only odd thing about the Degree, as we confer it, is that different Brothers take varying views about how it is best conferred. Older, more seasoned Masons seem to take the view that it must be very staid, and that the ritual must be followed exactly. Younger Brothers seem to take the view that more variation is good, and that more lightheartedness should prevail. I count myself among the Masons who take the second view.
What I find most interesting though, is that the Degree is very inconsistent throughout my Jurisdiction.
We, and the County north of us have formal organizations that confer the Degree. But, I’m also a member of a large urban Lodge in Seattle, and as far as I can tell, in that area, it’s not a formalized thing at all. I’ve only ever been aware of two conferals of the Degree in that area, and both of those were done as a special event within the Craft Lodge itself.
The ritual also varies a great deal. While the Seattle Lodges that confer it do it similar to how we do it here in Lewis County, in other areas it tends to be quite free flowing, with little more than the barest of nods to any written ritual.
The County to the south of us doesn’t seem to confer the Degree at all. Hence two of our candidates are coming from there, and we’ve had candidates from that area in the past as well.
The last difference of note is the name. Here, we call it the Past Master’s Degree. In other places it is called the Secrets of the Chair.
All in all, in this Jurisdiction it is an intensely local thing. Different wherever one goes. I personally feel that we here in Lewis County do it best, thanks to the very small number of men who have dedicated themselves to doing it, and doing it well, over the course of decades.
But, of course, I’ve no doubt that others feel that their area does the best with it. That’s OK, pride and loyalty are important!
What I find sad though is all those places in my Jurisdiction that don’t have it.
I presume that decades ago, it was everywhere, and all new Worshipful Masters received it. That isn’t the case any longer. In fact, our third candidate tomorrow night will be driving a very long way to receive it, because while he has served in the East on three separate occasions, he never had an opportunity to receive it.
I don’t know why it has faded away in some areas, but I imagine that some of that is due to apathy, and that some of that is due to the York Rite having a version of it that is received as one moves through that Degree system.
But, whatever the cause is, I find it sad that it is not available throughout my Jurisdiction, because I truly believe that the lessons it imparts are of vital importance, and I think it is a wonderful opportunity for Past Master’s to get together and do something fun and meaningful. It’s another way of building the bonds of Brotherhood.
But, what I don’t know is if this Degree exists as it does here everywhere. If some Jurisdictions have it and others do not. I don’t know if it is a part of the Grand Lodges or if it is separate from Craft Masonry elsewhere as it is here. I don’t know what kind of value Brothers elsewhere find in it. Perhaps we can discuss it!
I received the degree in Wash8ngton from th we West Sound Lodge of Past Master. We have a combined association. The degree was important to me in the sense that it was acceptance from the past masters and it also let me meet many past masters who I might not have met otherwise. We also have the district 3 and 12 monthly breakfast where we get together for fellowship, discussion and education. As I now live in Tennessee I greatly miss both of these.
I’m looking forward to it!