"[. . .] whereby Masonry becomes the Center of Union, and the means of conciliating true Friendship among Persons, that must have remained at a perpetual distance."

There is supposedly an old Chinese saying (are there ever any new Chinese sayings?) that runs something like: "If you save somebody's life, you are responsible for them forever." I left ( Read more... )

It was really only five years ago that I was the new guy, the young Mason attending Grand Lodge - or more correctly, the reunion and hospitality suites the night before Grand Lodge session. I'd taken the afternoon off from work and we'd spent the time prepping tons of food and drink for the wandering brothers. Several of the older, more experienced ( Read more... )

For those 19 readers that I have in Connecticut, there will be a Fellowcraft Degree at the Masonic Hospital in Wallingford on Saturday, March 29 at 1:00 pm in the auditorium.

The purpose of the degree will be to allow Masonicare residents who can not normally get out to attend a degree. The various lodges from the 5th District will have different ( Read more... )

This District Grand Lecturer position is a totally sweet gig. All I'm actually required to do is make sure that the incoming Master of a lodge passes a ritual test, and at rare times, oversee a little written test on the Grand Lodge rules and regulations. In Connecticut, most lodges have their installations from December to January; human nature ( Read more... )

Every year, the next-to-junior Past Master of Friendship Lodge gets the the unenviable task of gathering together a large group of his predecessors for the purpose of putting on a Master Mason degree. We typically hold two sets of degrees, one in early spring and one in the fall, and the Past Master's degree is performed at the Master's discretion ( Read more... )

I am often out to lodges both in and out of my district, and as a result I get to see a lot of different ways to have a degree ceremony. Unfortunately, sometimes I see lodges that - and I'm going to put this as tactfully as I can - really do not seem to be putting as much effort as possible into initiating our new brothers into the mysteries of the ( Read more... )

September is when lodges in Connecticut come back from their summer break, and frequently have candidates from late spring to be initiated. It's common to see the busier lodges schedule a set of degrees in the spring and then another in the fall. As we approach the end of the month, most of the lodges in the 5th District have now had a fall EA ( Read more... )

So, it started off simply enough. I was to travel to Newington to Sequin-Level Lodge No. 140 in order to check the ritual proficiency of one of the officers. We opted to do this on a night that they were to have a degree rehearsal - a plan that I encourage because running a degree is nerve-wracking enough without the officer worrying that I'm going ( Read more... )

Time: Wednesday evening
Place: Deep in the Masonic Headquarters (in the room with the comfy chairs)
Purpose: District Grand Lecturer's Meeting
Agenda:

- Give reports on ritual proficiency in the districts: Check
- Discuss Grand Lodge job description for District Grand Lecturer: Check
- Discuss plans for upcoming seminars: Check
- Discuss ideas for future ( Read more... )

Ah yes, it's the end of August, Labor Day weekend is here, and families and friends are rushing to get those last few holiday cookouts in before we kiss summer goodbye and settle in for the fall.

Where did the time go?

This means that it's also time for me to get back to my new Masonic duties, to wit: keeping an eye on the ritual proficiency of the ( Read more... )