After reading “The Ideal Lodge” by Allen E. Roberts and as the incoming Master of our lodge I felt compelled to publish this article. As masons we have often said that one of our goals is to make good men better but what about making a good lodge better? The thought intrigued me. We like many lodges have a long history with a variety of good men and interests and we will continue to develop the brotherhood and fellowship described by Master Mason Dwight L. Smith in this article.
The Master Mason Dwight L. Smith, Past Grand Master of Masons in lndiana, provoked a discussion among several members of The Philalethes Society. That’s an intemational Masonic research society over which Dwight was then presiding. The discussion concerned Lodges and what can make them ideal.
An Ideal Lodge: What is it? What can it do that other Lodges don’t?
First, an ideal Lodge isn’t interested in bigness. The largest Temple in the state is cold and useless if there isn’t the warmth of Brotherhood in it. A numerically large membership is worthless if the members don’t attend and don’t participate in Masonic fellowship. A sizable bank account usually suggests the Lodge is more interested in saving for the next depression than it is in Brotherhood.
Because it’s not interested in numbers only, the ideal Lodge will see that no man receives the degrees until he knows what Freemasonry is and is not. An Indoctrination Team will visit every petitioner. It will meet with him and his family. It will tell them what’s expected of the man if he’s accepted into the Lodge. It will answer their questions truthfully and fully. This means the fellows on the Team must be top-notch Freemasons. They must know what Freemasonry is all about. It also means some petitioners will learn this Order is not for them. It does mean that those who believe it’s what they want can become the life-long-active Master Masons we should be seeking.
THE IDEAL LODGE
THE MASONIC SERVICE ASSOCIATION
A word of explanation about the preference for Teams instead of Committees. There is a description of committees which is all too true: “A committee is a group of men who, individually-, can do nothing, but who can, collectively, decide that nothing can be done.” Committees have chairmen. Usually everything is left for him to do. If he does nothing, that’s what the committee does. Teams. if properly manned. work as a group. A good group can accomplish much, much more than any individual. I’ve proven this in many seminars.
The ideal Lodge is interested in Fellowship. So, it will have feasts and fun. Have you ever thought about why those first four Lodges in England came together? lt was for a feast. For fellowship. For Brotherhood. It’s only incidental that from that meeting the first Grand Lodge of speculative Masons was formed. There wasn’t any mention of ritual in the early days. Members looked forward to those Masonic feasts. They wouldn’t miss the opportunity of meeting with their Brothers on common ground. It was an adventure.
After the “do-gooders” turned our Masonic Lodges and Grand Lodges in this country into Puritanical gardens in the 1850’s, the feasts and fun disappeared from Freemasonry in the United States. This is not so in foreign climes. In Canada and Scotland fellowship still takes place. A Scottish Masonic leader told me when I was visiting Scotland: “The shorter the degree, the longer the harmony.” Harmony is what the “after Lodge get together” is called. And it is fun-not Tomfoolery.
Members care for each other in the ideal Lodge. Everyone knows of the needs of everyone else. If a member is too ill to work. his fellow members will mow his lawn, do his grocery shopping, take care of the home work, and sit by his side if necessary. Whatever is needed his Brothers will provide. It will be done cheerfully. They believe in Freemasonry’s First Tenet Brotherly Love. They find nothing effeminate in one man loving another.
Let me tell you a long story briefly. Before the days of the War Between the States, Ann noted some unusual activity by her husband. He left the house at odd hours; he often took little items from their home with him, not telling her why. One night he asked her for a shawl she no longer wore. The next day while she was in the village shopping, she saw a beautiful young lady wearing that shawl. Angrily she followed the girl. Into a shack walked the young lady. Not far behind went Ann, bursting through the door. She found the young lady bending over an obviously sick woman lying on a crude bed.
The woman greeted Ann with a smile. They talked. Ann learned the woman and girl had almost frozen and starved to death. Then, mysteriously, the young lady fbund food, coal. wood, and clothing outside the door one morning. Almost every morning since then she found the same thing. Both were regaining their health. And through some avenue just as mysterious, the young lady had been given a well-paying job.
When they had settled down after supper to their usual tasks. Ann looked at her husband and smiled. “Today,” she said, “I learned the great secret of Masonry. It’s to do good and not tell about it.”
This is exactly what those members who belong to ideal Lodges have been doing for centuries. They have been helping others and not bragging about their good works. This is what members of ideal lodges will continue to do for centuries to come.
All of us are individuals. This is recognized in the ideal Lodge. Some of us want to sing. Others like drama. There are some who ride motorcycles and want to do this with a group of like-minded men. Or it might be horses. Different activities appeal to different men. We all know this. So why not encourage them to do their own thing?
Wouldn’t it be fun to have a quartet in your Lodge? How about a string band? Couldn’t a dramatic group provide excellent programs for your Lodge? Not to mention the District and Jurisdiction? Wouldn’t it be excellent public and internal relations for these groups to appear throughout the community? Especially if they were sponsored and supported by the ideal Lodge? What about the dozens of other activities various men are interested in? Shouldn’t it be easy for a Lodse to find enough interesting things for its members to do to keep them active in the Lodge?
In widely scattered cases some of these things are now being done. But the scale is too small. Even so, where there is activity there is more than casual interest in the Lodge. Why not give it a try? Of course, there’s work involved. But not too much. Especially if the leadership will delegate responsibility and authority. There’s no need for the Master to lead a quartet, a dramatic group, an orchestra, or anything else. This should be delegated to the best man for the job. Then it will get done as it should. No one man can do everything. No one man knows all the answers. (This you will learn as you study more about leadership. What you learn will amaze you.)
Once you’ve decided you want your Lodge to be ideal, how are you going to let your members know their Lodge is once again worth attending? By telling them about it. The usual post card won’t do. Neither will the “bulletin” that contains little but the names of the officers, members and committees. You’re going to have to get out a newsletter. More work? Not really. Every Lodge has at least one member who knows how to write news stories. He may have been overlooked because he’s not a Past Master, or even an officer. Many Masonic gems are being cast aside for this reason.
Delegate! Find the member who will write your newsletter. Tell him your goals and plans. Then let him tell the membership what those goals and plans are. The response just may sulprise you. But don’t expect miracles. If your Lodge has been practically dormant for years, you’re not going to arouse much interest in a month. Keep the good programs rolling. Keep your members informed about what’s happening, going to happen, and has happened. More and more will start attending Lodge, even it’s out of curiosity. Once you have them there. inform and entertain them-Masonically. Keep the civic programs out of your Lodge. Give them what they can find nowhere else-Freemasonry. If you do, your members will keep coming back.
Freemasons are hungry for Masonic information. You’ll find this is true wherever you travel. It is difficult to believe that many Masons have no idea where they can find good Masonic books and material. Only a small fraction of our members know there’s a Masonic Service Association ready, willing, and anxious to serve them. Most members have serious questions they want to ask, but have no way of knowing where to find the answers.
The ideal Lodge will hold periodic Study Classes. Here well-informed Brothers will impart the Masonic information the members are seeking. Here they will find the questions the ritual raises answered. Here they will be given an opportunity to give and take in the discussions. They will be asked to search in depth for some of the puzzling aspects of Freemasonry. They will be given the chance to pass along their new-found knowledge to their Brethren.
We all know ritual is important to Freemasonry. It’ s the first thing we encounter in our journey into Masonry. Too often it’s the only thing stressed in our Lodges and Grand Lodges. It’s too important to take lightly. The ideal Lodge realizes this. So, it forms ritual classes to help the ritualists achieve perfection. It is during the conferring of the degrees the new member forms an opinion of the Craft. They are entitled to nothing but the best for the money they’ve paid to receive degrees.
Classes are where budding ritualists should be allowed to confer the degrees. After our man has been raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason, what are we going to do with him? Are we going to let him leave without words of encouragement? Are we going to let him leave empty handed? Not if he has become a member of the ideal Lodge.
The Indoctrination Team has learned all about his likes and dislikes. lt has learned what type of work he does; what his hobbies are; what special activities he enjoys. These have been cataloged and his file will be on record in the Lodge. The Master will have this file and will know exactly what to ask the new Master Mason to do. If he sings, he can become a part of this group. If he plays an instrument, the band may be where he wants to make his contribution. lf he likes to cook, the stewards Team will have a valuable addition. The important thing is to put him to work doing what he wants to do.
In the ideal Lodge the new member’s endorsers will see that he attends his Lodge regularly. They will take him to other Lodges and other Masonic functions. They will see that he finds all the things Ancient Craft Masonry has to offer.
The Lodge Educational Officer, Historian, or someone designated by the Master will see that the new member has Masonic literature to read and study. He will be given a good Masonic publication before he leaves the Lodge on the night he’s raised. He will be told where and how he can obtain more Masonic books and literature. In an ideal Lodge this will be no problem. It will have an excellent Masonic library.
There is plenty of work to be done in the ideal Lodge. There is no reason for any member not to have a job he will enjoy doing. Most active men aren’t interested in being just bodies on the sidelines. They want to participate in some way. This is one big reason so many Lodges have small attendance. Too many members don’t feel they are important. The ideal Lodge will see this doesn’t happen.
There’s no limit to the heights the ideal Lodge can reach. There’s no limit to the activities the ideal Lodge can have. A11 it takes is ideal Leadership to set the course.
Remember, Leadership is all-important. Study it in depth. If you will, both you and your Lodge will be the beneficiaries. So will your Grand Lodge and all Freemasons.
