‘Think beyond mere survival’

    

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That “How to Kill Your Lodge” meme proliferates on social media this week. It seems someone or some A.I. image-maker recently fashioned a graphic out of the familiar list of don’ts we’ve all seen so often.

There’s no disputing the content of the list, but it is a myopic and judgmental view. Looking longterm instead, I hereby plagiarize Andrew Hammer’s Eight Steps to Excellence, because we, as Free and Accepted Masons, always should encourage, not reproach. (I know, I know, sometimes I’m very reproachful, but just read this.) Think beyond mere survival. Lodges that practice the habits below probably are not worried about dying.

The following is taken, albeit shortened, almost meme-like, from the MRF website. Read the full text here.

GUARD THE WEST GATE—Not every man should be a Mason, and not every Mason belongs in just any Lodge.

BE PROFICIENT IN RITUAL AND LAW—We must know what we are doing and why to uphold the highest standards of our Grand Lodges.

PROGRESS THROUGH MUTUAL AND GENUINE EFFORT—Progress in the degrees requires commitment of time and effort from candidate and mentor alike. Proficiency should be required before any advancement or that advancement has no measurable value.

DRESS YOUR BEST FOR LODGE—Dignity expressed outwardly through dress serves as a superstructure helping to enhance that dignity that can be created only from within.

OFFER QUALITY AND PAY FOR IT—Dues should allow the Lodge to support and sustain itself and enjoy quality experiences that rise above the ordinary. A festive board, for its conviviality, is the essential second half of a meeting.

RETURN A SENSE OF AWE TO OUR CEREMONIES—We should use music, the manipulation of light and darkness, the Chamber of Reflection, the Closing Charge, and the Chain of Union to create a very unique, contemplative atmosphere.

MASONIC EDUCATION AT EVERY MEETING—Without it, no Freemasonry is taking place. We should offer some education, be it the degrees or presentations on the various lessons of the Craft.

     

     

Don’t forget the Masonic Restoration Foundation’s Fifteenth Annual Symposium will be hosted at San Antonio in August. Click here.