The Practical Effect of Internal Growth

B rothers Shave Heads in Support of Kids with Cancer

J. David Moses Rozsa Senior Grand Steward

To supplement more traditional St. Patrick’s Day nalizing the substantive content of these lessons or celebrations, ten DC Freemasons accepted the simply through the process of dedicating energy to challenge issued by the St. Baldrick’s Founintellectual and spiritual inquiry, we end up improvdation, shaving our heads on March 13th at the ing ourselves. Scottish Rite Center of Washington, DC, in exchange for donations to help raise money for childhood cancer research. By getting our heads shaved in solidarity with kids who lose their hair during chemotherapy, over $15,000 was raised locally by these ten brothers as part of a worldwide effort to conquer kids’ cancer. “Shaving our heads is a small sacrifice compared to what these children endure,” said W. Bro. Michael A. Webb, who raised the most funds at this event. “As Masons, the lessons we learned in the Entered Apprentice’s Degree moved us to raise money for this charitable cause.” While it certainly takes commitment to improve ourselves, it is even more challenging to modify our behavior and habits to reflect that internal growth. Although this external expression of internal improvement may be difficult, it is a critical component of our Craft if we are to have any relevance today or in the future. To be clear, I am not suggesting that our well-regulated institution should as an organization take on charitable causes. Instead, our fraternity needs to inspire each individual brother to “walk the talk”—to live his life in accordance with Brotherly Love, the moral and ethical Relief, and Truth are precepts we teach, to the principal tenets be good to his family of our Order, taught and serve his comthrough our allemunity, and to leave gorical ritual and the the world better than symbolism of operahe found it. tive stonemasonry. By investing in the effort to dig deeper— past the superficial, rote memorization of the words of our ritual—and by sharing personal insights with each other, many of us gain at least a partial understanding of the esoteric meanings underlying the symbols. Whether by interThis individual, practical application of our Masonic teachings about contributing to the relief of the distressed was clearly reflected by the actions of those who participated with me in—or contributed to—this year’s St. Baldrick’s Day: Bro. Robin Bodie, Bro. Stephen S. Brettell, Bro. Tim HatParticipants in the St. Baldrick’s Challenge before and after having their heads shaved.