Working On My Masonic Calendar

It is that time of year when the calendar seems to scream at me begging for mercy as I strap its legs to a wooden block. It is a process that repeats every fall as we emerge from the ease of summer. And while there are already enough events, projects, and other commitments on my personal and work calendars, it is the lodge calendar that seems to put things over the edge every year. This year has proven to be a particularly difficult one to balance.

Even something as basic as the stated meeting schedule is already met with at least one conflict in December. That was discovered even before I took a closer look at some of other blocks on the calendar. At this point, and this is by no means the end of events coming to the fore, there are certainly going to be some difficult decisions that have to be made moving forward.

Extra meetings shouldn’t be an issue as the schedule someone worked out preventing too many commitments from stacking up in a single week. However, the weekly fellowship will continue to take a hit as I need to limit the nights that I am out of the house while also juggling other events on the calendar… usually I don’t like to be out twice in one week more than once a month (if I can help it). But there are some other events to which I will bring my family such as Autumn Day, the Open House (if it comes together), and the Blood Drive (although there is a conflict that day in December as well).

While I would like to attend meetings at other lodges, be present for appendant body gatherings, and enjoy the fellowship at other communications, it doesn’t seem like that is going to be a possibility this year. I can’t remember a time when my calendar was so overloaded and I am hoping that proves to be an outlier rather than the new normal. Hopefully, the schedule next year will be a little lighter or, at the very least, I am better prepared for the onslaught of commitments.

For now, with so many other obligations I am also having to scale back on my time at the lodge even further this fall as I need to spend time with my family. In the end, family is what has and always will take precedence. Everything else is secondary. And this is something that every brother understands and all of them have supported me in making this decision. After all, our fraternity should make our family stronger.

Light Night And Heavy Emails

It was quite clear last night that we are indeed in the darkness of the sweltering summer months as there were only two of us who made it out to the lodge for fellowship. Given the travel that I have been hearing about from various brothers, it was not a complete surprise. Also, and I take responsibility for this one, there isn’t much in the way of communication during this season which leads some to simply forget. In reality, it was nice to have a relaxing evening to catch up with one of my brothers, reflect on our recent efforts, and look forward to the coming months of meetings, events, projects, and objectives.

There are a number of us who remain active throughout the year only taking breaks here and there. Lodge is something that we enjoy and that we want to see thrive during our lives in the lodge so we put forth the effort and do what we can, not just to make good men better but to make good lodges better. However, in my position, I have seen multiple instances (through email, social media, casual conversation, etc.) where brothers think that they are doing what is best for the fraternity but, in fact, they are doing everything to undermine freemasonry in general and our Grand Lodge in particular.

I am not one to name names in this instance, and I am not privy to those names in other instances, so let us simply say that there are many brothers out there that are not holding themselves to the same high moral standards of a mason that they should. They speak about brothers behind their backs and they hide behind fake names and Facebook pages that are, to put it nicely, and despicable disgrace. They seem to forget the traditions, rituals, rules, and standards by which we should hold ourselves and others in this fraternity.

While what is being said bothers me a great deal, it is the fact that they do not stand by their own words by attaching their name to their statements. This is hugely important to me as I hold myself to that basic standard when posting these blogs. If I can’t put my name to it, I don’t write it. Although I haven’t really had anything fall into the latter category. There is a time and place for everything and we all certainly have the right to our own opinion but we should also stand strong in our convictions and opinions. We must also remember the rules by which we live our lives and the moral standards by which we hold ourselves and others. We are here to make good men better, our lodge better, and the fraternity better. It is impossible to do so if we undermine all three as some brothers have chosen to do.

Final Month Of Preparations

It is always surprising how quickly the summer goes by and how short the respite is from many of the lodge duties that occupy the rest of the year. With less than a month to go before resuming our meetings, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done so that we can have a strong finish to the year. That being said, while the summer is usually a time for me to take a step back and relax for a few moments, I haven’t had the time to do so which makes this final month all that much more difficult.

This is the reality of the balance that we all must strive to achieve between our work, personal, and fraternal lives. While there is one part of me that wants to try and avoid some of the lodge duties for now while I try to catch up on personal and work matters, there is also a side of me that is looking forward to each and every activity, request, and email as they, for some odd reason, tend to balance out the chaos in other areas of life.

That is what we must remember and what many of us forget about the role that freemasonry plays in many of our lives. It is not just a means for fellowship and education, it is a way to bring structure, routine, and ritual to the hectic times in life. It is the regularity and measurements that it brings to our days that can sometimes be the most important role that our fraternity plays in our lives. And sometimes a part of that routine and regularity is the work that is required of officers.

With so much happening in my life right now there is an odd solace in the tasks that are asked of me as Secretary. I know what needs to be done and what projects, events, and meetings lie ahead. But I also know that there are going to be things that will come up now and again that I don’t expect. To believe otherwise would be a fallacy. I guess you could say that is what makes this routine unique and prevents monotony from setting in. So it is with this final month of the season that we prepare for the fall, enjoy the fellowship of our brothers, and return to the foundation of our work.

Short Break

Now that a multitude of projects have been wrapped up and most of our usual fellowship attendees spending the month in Paoli at District School, it is time for me to take a brief break and step back for a few days. While there are calls that need to be places, emails that still need to be answered, and bills that need to be paid (at least not for a while at this point) this is the time of year when I am afforded the opportunity for a summer respite from my duties. This is also a season when I am able to look back at what we have already accomplished and begin to look forward to all that is just peeking over the horizon. After all, it won’t be long before elections are held and a new Worshipful Master takes his station.

This is also the time when I am finally able to sit down at my desk and focus on constructing the list of things that need to be accomplished both before the next stated meeting in September as well as the projects and events that are planned toward the end of the year. And, of course, there is a particular need this year to simply take a deep breath and prepare myself for the plethora of plans and projects that will find their way onto my desk in the coming months. As is the nature of the job and the primary reason why you don’t hear about contested elections for this office.

At this point, the remainder of the year looks good. We have some candidates ready to receive degrees, some that still need to be interviewed, and one or two more that are just starting their journey and with whom I hope to soon meet. There are also a couple events that will undoubtedly sneak up on us including the Masonic Picnic in August, Veteran’s Night in November, and the Quarterly Communication in December. They seem like they are a long way off but they really aren’t.

There are also the seemingly never ending membership audit processes, data migration to and revision of the new online portal, and now the additional audit of the old database that needs to be completed. The latter of the three projects resulted from a rather disappointing conversation I had with the past Secretary a couple of weeks ago. However, there are also some great opportunities for the remainder of the year including assisting brethren with award submissions, continuing to develop leadership I the lodge, and seeing some of the planned improvements to the building taking shape. This, of course, is in addition to an excellent schedule of meetings and busy fellowship nights. And maybe some more horseshoes.

Quick Stop At The Lodge

Most of the brothers were at the district school last night so I knew that this was one of the few weeks when it was possible to have a very quick meeting at the lodge. So I reached out to the Treasurer a few days ago and coordinated a time to meet with him so that we could pay the bills and keep things running over the summer. Having both arrived in Ardmore at the same time we met up in the parking lot, walked through the front doors (after a quick stop at the mailbox of course), and sat at one of the tables in the back of the hall to get things done as efficiently as possible.

Since we usually aren’t able to talk much before or after meetings, it was nice to have a brief conversation, just the two of us, without any of the other brothers around and without any other commitments of my time. It was a conversation between brothers, between friends, as we sorted through the bills and signed the required checks (the third signature will come later). It is a great feeling having this time to connect and share the experience of the fraternity and of many common personal and family commonalities and coincidences.

Overall, it was a nice return to what I had become accustom to experiencing during my first year in office. Two seemingly opposite personalities, one gregarious and the other reserved, but by no means at the opposite ends of the spectrum. The difference is something that just seems to work as it has in the past but, more importantly, we are being ourselves and slowly building on the trust that we need to have with one another to be successful in our offices. And now with many of the obstacles behind us I hope that this partnership continues for many years to come… or at least until I step down in a few years. After all, I am in this for the long, six year haul, and I know that this Treasurer can succeed well beyond my limited years.

So, with the sun still bright above the horizon and no one else present, we turned off the lights, locked the door, and parted ways in the parking lot until the next round of checks need to be cut. Getting in the car I realized that we might have set a record for the shortest meeting at the lodge as the clock told me that only 25 minutes had passed since we arrived. Efficient, productive, but not rushed… seems like a good formula for any meeting.

Quarterly Debriefing

This past weekend a few of the brothers from the lodge made their way across the commonwealth to attend the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. While I have attended this meeting the past two years and I was considering making a day trip to Pittsburgh, I simply did not have the time to attend. These meeting are always an interesting gathering of brothers from around the commonwealth and I enjoy reconnecting with many of them whom I have gotten to know a little during previous meetings. However, the real motivation which made the decision of whether to attend rather difficult was that, for the second year in a row, our lodge was being recognized with the Grand Master’s Award.

There have undoubtedly been a few obstacles over the past few years and moments when quite a few of us have questioned whether we could continue but we have always pulled together and pushed through those barriers. And that is the real reason why we have been able to achieve such recognition recently. Not only have we been surrounded with brothers of great tenacity but, more importantly, we have brothers in the lodge that can clearly see what the end goal is and what we need to do, or fix, to reach that goal. Thankfully, this seems to be a common thread among many of the brothers that have joined our lodge over the past few years as well… a few of which have already become tremendous leaders in our small part of the fraternity.   

Having now been recognized with two award there is no doubt that the lodge has undergone a drastic change over the past few years and now we have set a new precedent for ourselves to continue the progress that we have made during this rather short period of time. The truly exciting aspect of this is that we have the leadership and new members that not just make that a possibility but a probability. I am not going to predict another Grand Master’s Award for this year but there will definitely be at least one more presentation made in the near future. After all, we have already accomplished a great deal and seeing the brothers continuing to invest in the lodge and in one another makes this almost a sure thing.

But, as was the case in the past, awards are not our point of focus. Education, fellowship, participation, and leadership are what will bring about the change that we all hope to achieve. If we can focus on these four foundation principles while maintaining our motivation there is nothing that will stop us from making our lodge the jewel of the district and one of the leaders in our jurisdiction. Do this and the rewards will be a natural result of our transformation.  

No Shoe For You!

The last couple of years we have been able to round up the brothers and converge en masse in Conshohocken to take the shoe for the remainder of the year. It seems as though, like many things, time has gotten away from me a bit and the reminders weren’t as frequent as they have been in the past. This was clearly an issue last night as our turnout to the last official district visitation of the year wasn’t nearly what it had been during our previous efforts. Because of this we all got in our cars knowing that another lodge would be holding the shoe until the calendar changes.

However, while we may not have walked away with the shoe, it was a great night when I was able to reconnect with some brothers I had not seen since this same meeting last year while others I was meeting for the first time… at least I think it was the first time. It was during these moments of re-acquaintance that some of the best conversations of the evening took place and I was able to find many more commonalities with a few of my brothers which I had not realized previously. Of course, as usual, there were also moments when I realized more clearly just how much more I have yet to experience in the fraternity.

The meeting itself is always a little odd for me as I am used to sitting in the east for the duration and actively playing a role in all meetings. Sitting on the sidelines for the entire meeting is something that I am simply not used to doing. I can’t tell you how many times that I nearly stood up when I heard only two raps from the gavel. That being said, there were things that I was able to observe from this perspective as I watched another secretary take charge. There were some things that I didn’t prefer while there were other items that I will certainly incorporate moving forward.

However, there was a singular moment that caught me completely off guard. As the names of those brothers that were suspended was read to those in attendance, my mind stuttered a little when I heard a brother who shares my family name was no longer in good standing. I guess this year my work will have to go beyond my lodge and I need to improve my communication not just with the brethren but within my own family as well. After all, no matter you endeavor, which is how we learn and that is how we band together both as brothers and as a family, separately and together.

Fellowship… With Horseshoes

It was nice knowing that when I arrived at the lodge last night that there were no emergencies, no meetings that needed to take place, and nothing that needed to be completed that night. It was an opportunity to go to the lodge and enjoy the fellowship while casually discussing topics that happen to come up in conversation. What I didn’t expect was that those conversations would be happening over a game of horseshoes in the back yard.

I honestly can’t remember the last time that I tossed a horseshoe across the grass in the hopes of hearing it ring on the post. It has probably been at least fifteen years since I flipped the steel from my fingers so there was quite a bit of relearning taking place throughout the evening. Of course, the last time that I recall playing was simply as a fill in while one of my uncles took a break so there wasn’t much of a technique to be found in my past either.

The most important part of the whole evening was that fact that we could enjoy the fellowship with our brothers without an agenda to be mentioned and we were able to get to know one of our newly raised brothers a little more and in a relaxed setting. While we have had conversations in the past and I have spoken with him at great length, there is something to be said about seeing a person’s personality during a casual competition. Safe to say, more so than I was before, I am glad to have this new mason as my brother.

It is this type of environment that I would like to see constantly fostered and built upon as we move forward. This is a return to the way brothers used to interact with one another all over the world not just at lodges here and there. This is what we need if we are going to see our lodge and our fraternity as a whole thrive in the coming years and decades. Brothers of all ages and experiences simply going to lodge to enjoy the fellowship found in our fraternity.

Nights like this are part of why I decided to become a mason. It is not just about learning something new and striving to be better men, it is a brotherly bond that you share with your fellow mason, with whom you truly enjoy spending time with at the lodge and beyond the confines of the building. This is certainly something that I have to improve upon and embrace as I rarely see the brethren outside of a masonic setting. I guess I have another goal for the summer.

Fortunately And Unfortunately

Heading to the lodge this week I had a clear cut set of objectives that I needed to address with a number of the brothers who would be in attendance. There have been a few item that have come up over the last week that needed to be worked on immediately and a number of scheduling matters that had to be taken care of so nothing was overlooked heading into the summer. With these projects in place and the responsibilities coordinated, it would afford me the time to take care of a few other tasks so that we could have a clean slate after the stated meeting.

After sitting in an inordinate amount of traffic on my way down and saying goodnight to my son over the phone, I arrived at the lodge with a number of brothers already gathered around one of the dining tables taking care of business. Certainly a welcomed sight knowing all that needed to get done. While I did arrive a touch later than usual, by the time I set my bag down the necessary conversations had already begun. As soon as I sat at the table, I pulled out my laptop and we got to work.

Fortunately and unfortunately, some of the recent difficulties that we have faced earlier in the year have actually put us in a great position to fulfill some of the recent requests made of us by Grand Lodge. This is also why the work that we accomplished last night was quick and highly efficient. There are a few things that still need to be collected but we will certainly be able to submit all the necessary paperwork well before the 45 day deadline. It was actually rather surprised as well as appreciative and impressed by the organization demonstrated by the Trustees of the lodge. Everything was ready to go and transferred to me within minutes.

I had expected this first meeting to be much more drawn out than it was so all the other tasks for the night were handled in a much more casual and also thorough manner allowing me to check and double check regarding a variety of ongoing and new projects. By the time we locked the doors and headed back out to the parking lot I was feeling good about the upcoming meeting and looking forward to the long break over the summer. Hopefully, meetings like the ones I had tonight become more of the norm rather than the exception to the rule which has been the case in previous years.

Different But Similar

There have been several occasions when I have heard people compare the first meeting with a candidate with that of a sales meeting. I wholeheartedly disagree with this premise. Meeting with those men interested in becoming masons should never involve any kind of sale whatsoever and should never come across as such. Meeting with a candidate for the first time should be a time to answer questions and start and interesting conversation. At no point during such conversations have I had the goal of getting a petition signed… my objective has always been to have a great conversation.

By approaching the process in this way it allows all the cards to be put on the table. The potential candidate gets to know me and I get to know them. We find our similarities and, sometimes, we discuss our differences. While I do my best to answer any questions they may have about freemasonry and give a very broad overview of the lodge, the fraternity, and the process of becoming a mason, it is a very open and broad conversation as a whole. Right or wrong, this is how I approach these opportunities to meet interesting people from the community.

This was the case last night as I had previously coordinated a time to meet with a prospective candidate last week. After a brief introduction and welcome, we made our way into the hall and sat at one of the dining tables to simply have a conversation and to get to know one another. Over the course of the evening there were a number of other brothers who introduced themselves and joined the conversation and by the end of the night we had discussed a wide range of topics. However, the most important part of the evening was that we were able to learn a little about him and he was able to learn a little about us as individuals, the lodge, and freemasonry in general.

As we talked about our families and the reasons why freemasonry piqued our interest there were a number of commonalities in our perspectives and in our lives that wouldn’t necessarily be evident to someone who would simply see the two of us talking. The reasons for our interest in the fraternity are nearly identical and we are both interested to learn about our grandfather’s lives within freemasonry. However, he did surprise me by the end of the night by immediately completing a petition on the spot. This surprised me both because I didn’t expect him to do so (I never go beyond handing someone a petition and asking them to think about it) and because it is the same way that I would have reacted had I been given the same situation.

Again, I walked toward the parking lot reinvigorated by the night and excited to have another good man interested in joining our lodge and becoming part of this fantastic fraternity. I consider myself very lucky for having witnessed that same passion and excitement so many times in so many good men over the years (especially over the last several months). There is a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to during the second half of the year.

A Shared Journey

As I sat at my desk and opened my lodge folder, I couldn’t believe that it had been over a year since I found myself participating in a degree conferral. At the same time, I was excited at the prospect of being able to attend extra meetings throughout the remainder of the year. There have been some good men who have already entered the fraternity and a number of other men who have demonstrated interest. Additionally, we have already had some great brothers transfer to our lodge. It is quite the interesting group that we have brought together but also a group of brothers passionate in their own ways about the freemasonry and eager to do their part to improve the fraternity.

I have always enjoyed extra meetings as it is a time when we all come together to continue someone on their masonic journey but it is also a time when we are a little more relaxed when beyond the outer doors. The same can be said about fellowship nights but there is something about the purpose and importance of degree nights that resonates on a much deeper level for me. The simple fact of the matter is that we are all choosing to be at the lodge and participate in these important occasions not just because we believe it to be expected of us but because we enjoy the company of our brothers.

Throughout the night there was a welcoming atmosphere felt by all, newly passed brothers and all others sitting in chairs and on the sidelines. To my recollection, this is a completely different feeling than that which I experienced during the last conferral for which I was in attendance. And it was a great mix of masons from those who are approaching 50 years in the fraternity to those who upon which the last bestowed. All of us present for a singular purpose… to further our collective progress on our respective masonic journeys.

These are the nights when I walk back to the car and drive home feeling as though I have helped to accomplish something… I have participated in something much great than myself. While this is certainly part of stated meetings as well, it is a much more pronounced emotion following the conferral of degrees. What is additionally satisfying about these nights is that soon the men whom I witnesses advancing to the next degree may be the ones conferring those degrees in the future. After all, while I wasn’t present for the meeting, I know that it has already happened once during my short time as a mason.

Another Season, Another Blood Drive

After a long week I left the house this morning with some trepidation. Our son still hasn’t completely recovered and his schedule has been off lately. And with him still on the mend, I knew that I wouldn’t have my family with me in Ardmore as I had been expecting when I originally organized the event. As I woke up early this morning, I knew that it was going to be a long day but I was also looking forward to reconnecting with a few of the brothers as we all converged upon the lodge for our spring Blood Drive.

Arriving at the lodge a few minutes later than expected (thanks to abnormal Saturday traffic), I didn’t waste any time in coordinating with the Red Cross drivers parked next to the building and immediately opened the doors, turned on the lights, and adjusted the heat. With these minor preparations out of the way, I finally turned around and assessed the space only to find that nothing was ready for the event. So the work continued and even though we had to spend an additional twenty or thirty minutes in setting up the space, everything was ready to go by the time our first appointment arrived at 10:00am.

As usual, the bulk of the appointments were at opposite ends of the day with morning schedules and late afternoon schedules proving to be the most flexible. By the time lunch came around, the steady flow of people had slowed to a trickle and we found ourselves falling well short of our goal for the day. In actuality, while not great our attendance was pretty good but we ran into a number of hiccups along the way as there was an unusually high number of people disqualified from donating (new travel restrictions in particular where not helping).  

The afternoon brought a welcomed flurry of activity both in donations and other brothers joining us for a couple of hours. In the end, while we only received 12 out of a possible 21 donations, it also provided many of us the opportunity to meet brothers whom we had not seen in some time, brothers from other lodges, and also members of the community and from the extended masonic family. It would have been nice to have held a successful blood drive but there was at least some good that came out of the event in the way of fellowship, sure up plans for other events, and gaining greater understanding of what we need to do next time around to far exceed the number of donations that we have received the last two events.

Darting To The Lodge

That is not my car... but it is for now.

Given the conditions of the roads and still feeling stiff and sore from the accident, I hesitated heading over to the lodge last night. However, there were a multitude of meetings that I needed to take care of this week and driving to Ardmore was the most efficient means of getting everything done. So, while not the most comfortable option, I slowly navigated the bright white Dodge Dart rental around the suburban pothole minefield and made it to the lodge in plenty of time to check the mail and settle in before the next brother walked through the door.

As it turned out, I was not the only one having a bit of an off week as there were a couple of meetings that had to be postponed due to personal reasons. However, even with a few brothers having to miss the fellowship night, the lodge was still busy with nearly a dozen scattered throughout the building. Some of us were discussing various topics in the hall while others were practicing for the upcoming degree work. And, of course, we also had our new candidates in attendance nearing what they need to know before taking the next step.

Much of my night, without the aforementioned meetings, was regarding matters unrelated to the lodge. The first conversation I had was with a brother who will be helping me with some of the home renovation projects that I mentioned in a previous post. We also discussed my recent accident and reviewed some of the lessons that we each have learned over the years through personal experience as well as the accounts told by others. With books in hand it was also an opportunity to share with my brothers the work that has finally come to fruition in recent months (more about those later).

Finally, toward the end of the night, my cousin arrived to both take care of some replacement SAR paperwork and also to catch up a bit. It is great to have this common bond with him and have a space where we can meet and talk about our lodges, work, family, and anything else that may come to mind. It is also a great opportunity to introduce him to some of the brothers from the lodge in case he ever wanted to join us for a meeting. While not all of the meeting I had planned for took place, it was still a productive night and while I didn’t get home until much later than expected, at least I could relax knowing that a few things were crossed off my list for the week.

Stacking Meetings

This is what needs to be done every night I go to the lodge...

At the last stated meeting I made arrangements with the new Treasurer that we would meet every third Tuesday of the month. It is a schedule that works out for both of us as I am usually able to make it to lodge on those days and he has greater flexibility during the second half of the month. So, being that yesterday was the third Tuesday, we were both there to have our monthly discussion. However, that was only one of the meetings that I scheduled.

Before any of the other brothers arrived in Ardmore, I met with a new CPA who is also a brother of the lodge and was recommended by another brother with whom I have conducted some personal business. Frankly, I have become fed up with the previous CPA firm that we have been using as their prices are astronomical and there is no regularity from year to year. Basically, I have no idea who will be preparing our taxes. The connection we once had with the firm is long gone and the time for change is long overdue.

As expected, the meeting went very well and I am happy to hand off our taxes this spring to someone I can trust. Of course, by the time we were wrapping up our conversation, there were a few others that had arrived and just as we were about to part ways my next meeting quickly started. Having gone through the requests for information that the lodge has received recently, I scheduled some time to meet with another prospective candidate (I was originally going to meet with two prospects but there was some unavoidable family matter that came up with one of them). I prefer meeting in person and actually having a conversation rather than relying on email or phone conversations.

He may have been the youngest prospect that I have corresponded with so far but he was actually very well informed and we were able to answer many of the initial questions that he had for us about the lodge in particular and Freemasonry in general. Honestly, I am just glad that I was able to answer his questions as, despite recent interest, I have been a little rusty in handing such questions. In the end, honesty never gets old, and that is how I respond to queries that I receive. After the great introductory meeting, I gave him a quick tour of the building, and we parted ways with a plan on meeting again for dinner before the March stated meeting.

By this time the evening was already getting a bit long and it was time to sit down with the Treasurer, and a past Treasurer, to review the books. This is an ongoing issue lately as we want to make sure everything is in line for the current year especially with the audit deadline rapidly approaching. There was some clear progress that has been made and, after our most recent meeting, I am both thankful for all the help that we are receiving and confident that everything will be ready for submission by the end of next month.

By the time that we were all walking back to our cars I was exhausted but also satisfied with the work that I was able to get done both during the day and while at the lodge. We have a great group of brothers that come out on Tuesday nights and there is a lot that is being accomplished during these meetings. Now more than ever, I am looking forward to the progress that will have achieved by the end of the year and the positive changes that will have taken place (more than what already has transpired). Until then, we just have to keep getting our work done.

Masonic Groundhog Day?

Many of the brothers with whom I speak on a regular basis see that there is a repetition at the lodge every month. When I look at my monthly duties I sometimes find myself using that poor choice of words. This usually happens when I am putting together the initial outlines for the notices or minutes and sometimes when I am filling in the ledger or stuffing envelopes. However, that misguided feeling is fleeting.

While I can see why those words are chosen, I tend to disagree with that Groundhog Day assertion and look at the same month over month consistency as the rhythm of the lodge. There are enough things that happen in our lives that come seemingly out of the blue, the same can be said of the lodge as well, that it is rather relaxing to have this annual pattern in place. Each month offers something a little different. Sometimes those differences are obvious while other times you really have to slow down and look at the details.

And that is sometimes what we have to do and what we should do every month… we need to slow down, look at the details, and enjoy the moments that we have together as brothers. Things are constantly changing around us and the slow progress can easily go unnoticed if we keep running through things as fast as we can and assume that every day, month, year is simply just another appearance by Phil. But, even if things stayed the same, it doesn’t mean that we should settle and go through the motions.

There are boundless opportunities for all brothers to enjoy different events, appendant bodies, or simply other lodges. When is the last time you visited another lodge in your district? Jurisdiction? Another state? Another country? And I don’t know about those reading this post but there are a hundred thousand masons in Pennsylvania alone and I certainly haven’t met all of them. I have met a lot of brothers since being raised but certainly not that many.

However, the main thing is that there are some brothers who get into a routine of simply showing up or not showing up. Don’t get me wrong, if you just want to be at the lodge and enjoy the fellowship that is fine but there are many such brothers that see the lodge as unmoving and sometimes stuck in a rut. Honestly, that thought crosses all of our minds at one point or another and I felt the same way at times before I decided to make a personal change and get involved.

That is what it takes. We should have a passion for our fraternity and enjoy our times of fellowship. No mason should feel unwelcomed and no one should be afraid to speak their mind or introduce something new to their fellow brothers. We learn from one another and this is the constant that I seek every month at the lodge. Know your brother as thy self; know your lodge as thy home. This is how we combat that sense of repetitiveness.

It All Begins With A Discussion

Since I had to leave the lodge earlier than expected last Thursday I was unable to sit down and get to know a petitioner that I had arranged to meet with during dinner. Thankfully things have since calmed down and the evening worked in everyone’s schedule so I was able to set aside the time last night and finally have a great conversation with our new petitioner. This is the first step, the most important step in my opinion, which is too often overlooked which is a shame because for me it is the most enjoyable part of the process. There is nothing like seeing that fascination and anticipation in the eyes of a candidate.

That was only the first of many productive conversation that I was able to have last night with various brothers as attendance at this particular fellowship was the highest that it has been in some time and a welcome sight for sure. Once the candidate was on his way, I soon transitioned to coordinating a few items with the Worshipful Master. There are a number of additional items that need to be included in the notice and some paperwork that needs to be prepared for the next meeting that I really don’t want to fall behind on. Ten minutes of productive dialogue is sometimes all it take to ensure that projects will be done on time.

And while it was great to meet with a candidate and have a petition in hand to read at the next stated meeting, I was greeted with an additional surprise when a seconded completed petition was discovered in my folder. However, this one came with a few questions and so my next conversation was with the first line signer of the petition. There are a few questions that still remain but there is a plan in place to address any and all concerns that I have moving forward so while there may be an additional step in the process it is a rather simple solution.

My final interjections for the evening was with a few of the other brothers who had convened to discuss the upcoming building committee meeting. There are a lot of projects that need to be undertaken both immediately as well as a few years from now and the list that was reviewed reflected exactly that dilemma. It will actually be interesting to see how this upcoming meeting is run as the roles overlap significantly with some of the other responsibilities of other brothers in the lodge namely the Trustees. I am hoping that this can be resolved quickly so that each can move in the right direction… the same positive direction that the membership is moving in.

So, while I may have missed the stated meeting last week and there are undoubtedly a number of things that I am still missing, I managed to get up to speed on just about everything that needed to be taken care of this week. It won’t be long now before the next meeting is upon us and then it will be back to the monthly routine. In the meantime, I am sure that there will be plenty of discussions, debates, and projects started. It is going to be a busy year but the good kind of bust this time around.

Email Surprise

I got a bit of a surprise when I checked my lodge email yesterday afternoon. What I thought was going to be a simple message making an appeal to the brethren to attend the fellowship night was something that caught me off guard. The first half of the email stated almost exactly what I expected to read but the second half changed things up a bit notifying those in receipt of the email that all furniture and files were being moved out of the Secretary’s office that night. This was clearly the first time that I was hearing about this clean out.

While this is something that we have discussed many times over the past couple of years, I was not aware of this tasking being scheduled so soon. In my position I hear about a lot of the things happening at the lodge but every once in a while I hear something either right before it happens or immediately after the fact. The problem isn’t necessarily in what is taking place but in being prepared when someone comes to me with questions. At the office and at the lodge, my job requires me to know what is going on and when there is a break in communication, issues like we have had over the past year begin popping up and, as a result, my phone begins to ring regularly.

It seems as though we have gone from one extreme to the other. While there were many plans and little action in the past, now there is plenty of action but few plans to be found now. This is obviously not the entire picture but there is no reason why this should have happened so abruptly and why the first time many of us are hearing about these plans is a mere few hours before we were all to converge on the lodge.

When I read the email the second time I was both happy that something was being done but also annoyed that this could cause more issues and work for me in the near future. And while I don’t like to miss moments like this and evenings at the lodge in general I am actually glad that I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and that I opened the email with the intent of informing the brother who sent it that I would not be in attendance. After an uncomfortable night it is now time to wait and try to put the pieces together through a variety of phone calls and conversations. Hopefully, this goes smoother than similar situations in the past.

Closing Out The Year

The checks are on the way. 

There are always conversations after the stated meeting that get cut short when someone happens to look at their watch. Those discussions are usually followed up on the following week when we all converge on the lodge for fellowship. This week that was definitely the case as there were numerous tasks that needed to be completed and ideas followed up on after the meeting. But, unlike those meeting nights, these weeks in-between are much more relaxed and, because we’re not trying to do 15 things at once, we are usually able to knock out a number of things on our respective lists.

There is still a back and forth among many of the brothers about moving spaces around the lodge, cleaning up and cleaning out certain areas, and other things related to the building usually come up over the course of conversation. This has been a relatively reliable pattern for the first half of the off nights. And while those mini meetings did take place this week, that was not the primary reason for setting aside the time and driving to the lodge last night.

With schedules already hectic and time running short this month, it was time to sit down with both the outgoing Treasurer and Worshipful Master to take care of the final checks for the year. Some were new, some were rewritten for one reason or another, but all of them had to be completed last night. This included the checks that I was looking forward to signing… those to the residents of the Masonic Villages. I tend to take a little extra time in inscribing my name on those checks as they serve, in part, as a means to let our somewhat distant brothers (and widows) know that we are thinking about them and that we are always here to help.

For as much as we have been focusing on the present and the future throughout the past year, we need to remember the past and those who put in the time and sweat to make our lodge what it is today. After all, without their efforts, there is no guarantee that we would still have a lodge to meet in every month. And that is what we need to take away from these meetings and informal fellowship nights… while things may not be perfect, they may not be exactly how we want them to be, they are still here because of the work of all the brothers before us. We are only the most recent in a long line of men who strived to make themselves and others better. And that is what we should strive to do every day as well.

Conversations At The Lodge

While Tuesday nights at the lodge usually consist of some kind of training or study in addition to fellowship, last night was predominantly about the latter. There are so many things going on right now and projects that need to be completed that it was time for many of us to sit down an assess where we stand on a variety of topics. By the end of the evening it was quite clear who the new masons were in the room as many are unaware of some of the changes that have taken place and the progress that has been made already.

It is clear that there are a lot of things that need to be worked in regard to both the physical building and the body of the lodge. There is a sense of complacency that has been festering for over a year now and many of us are doing all that we can to keep it at bay. But just like many ongoing issues, sometimes there are good months and others prove to be more difficult. It is a tiring ebb and flow.

There were some good points made around the table last night and the best thing about the conversation is that there are definitely brothers that are willing to put forth the effort to improve the experience of all the brothers at the lodge. This has been known for some time about many of the brothers present but it is nice to have that reassuring dialogue from time to time. With that said, the eagerness of some may need to be tempered just a bit in order for them to truly be effective both in the coming year as well as in future endeavors. It is an ambitious group of men to say the least.

As for me, my job is to listen to the conversations, the ideas, and the dilemmas and interject when needed. For the most part I simply sit back and let the brethren vent, make plans, and discuss the projects and programs that they would like to see come to life moving forward. However, if certain things progress in such a way that they disrupt the harmony of the lodge I may be forced to voice my opinion and do so rather loudly. As of today nothing needs to be said but I don’t expect that to be the case moving forward. While I don’t expect some to agree with me, I know that there are certain stances that need to be taken, votes to be caste, and motions to be made. Hold on… things could get very interesting.

From Across The Street

In between meetings yesterday I pulled up my lodge email only to find that the fellowship for the evening was cancelled due to a variety of commitments of the usual participants. This actually worked in my favor as there were other errands that I had to run last night and the only thing that I really needed to get done at the lodge was to retrieve the mail. So, in reality, I guess you could say that I didn’t even need to be at lodge just in the general vicinity as the post office is across the street.

I left work basically in the middle of the pack. A number of my colleagues had gone home for the day while there were a few still in the conference room working on a presentation. The drive down to the main line was uneventful but slow as no one knows how to merge, change lanes, drive with a sun setting in the distance, and that green means go! Basically, the same annoyances on the road that I encounter every day when I get out of work.

Thankfully, even at the sluggish pace I was still able to make it to my appointment with our realtor on time. We sat at his desk and reviewed the criteria of what we are looking for. We have done this a few times before but it never hurts to do it again, especially in person, as we are trying to find the perfect home that will serve us for many years to come. It really was a productive meeting where we were able to clarify a few things, outline specifically what we are looking for, and part ways with a solid list in hand. Also, he is a brother from the lodge so I guess you could say that this counted as a fellowship night.

After a quick stop at the convenience store for a small snack and, more importantly, large coffee, I headed over to the lodge. Instead of pulling into the parking lot, I stopped the car in front of the post office and walked in the building. There was an unusually large amount of mail for only a week. As I walked out the door and stood a half story above the car, I looked across the street at the lodge. While the building was absent of physical light, knowing the good work being done, the dedication, fellowship, and all that happens within those walls, there was a glow about the building. It made me wish that the evening was not cancelled but, at the same time, it made me appreciate the nights when the doors are open and look forward to the following week.