REMEMBERING THE PAST TO ENSURE A BRIGHTER FUTURE

by Michael K. Greenwald | Junior Grand Deacon

This year, the Grand Master chose to emphasize the protocols, etiquette, and traditions of the Grand Lodge as his theme. One way this has manifested is his direction to Constituent Lodge Officers to wear black suits during Lodge meetings. This is not anything new. He is not reinventing the wheel or changing the code. He is simply reminding everyone how we are expected to act as Masons, both in and out of lodge. His decisions again only reinforce what was in place when each and every one of us joined the craft, yet many of us have forgotten.

Another good example of something we have forgotten is the formal and personal mentorship of one brother to another. In the past, there was no written copy of our ritual, it had to be passed from one Brother to another in an oral tradition we call “mouth-to-ear.”

Catechism practice was once or twice a week and included instructional conversations about how the Lodge works and what was to be expected of new members, the protocol, etiquette, and traditions that surrounded the ritual. When a man was first initiated, it was not uncommon to have dinner and catechism practice at a Brother’s house. Here, the new initiate would learn how to dress, what and where to buy his suit(s), and the proper times to wear them. And back inside the Lodge, lessons on how to properly address Brothers, Officers, and Grand Masters were discussed. It was a long and involved process, but it forged bonds between old and new Mason as they worked to learn the ritual and traditions of Freemasonry, together.

These personal conversations continued between mentor and mentee, until you became the Worshipful Master of your Lodge. In other words, a man’s Masonic foundation was continually being built and molded by these dedicated instructors, who became your Masonic mentors for life.

Then, the printed cipher was introduced as a helpful learning tool for the new Mason. It was meant to speed up the process of memorizing and internalizing the ritual while freeing up the time of both the mentors and the mentees. In that way, the time that was saved could better be spent pursuing other Masonic goals such as charity or a deeper reflection on the symbolism of ritual. At any rate, men were becoming increasingly busy, and the time commitment to memorize ritual and meet with a mentor was becoming a barrier for men seeking to become Masons or, so it seemed.

When the printed cipher appeared and new Brethren learned how to read it properly, the “in person” instructions became fewer and fewer. As a result, new Masons did not get the benefit of any of the knowledge outside the cipher book. So not only were they losing out in a unique bonding experience, but they were also missing the opportunity to learn the “unwritten rules of Masonry,” like the protocols, etiquette, and traditions of our Lodges. And those busy men, just busied themselves with something else other than Masonry and the disconnected Brothers slowly forgot about unwritten traditions.

Perhaps, the convenience of catechism self-study from a pamphlet was the first salvo of the internet age, where a man had to go only to his computer to find community, rather than venture outside his home. It turns out that two great benefits of the mentor/ mentee relationship have been lost in this process.

Men, through time and exposure became important to each other as they slowly learn to see each other as equal human beings, honestly and without pretext. True bonding can only occur slowly, over time, when two people work together towards a shared goal. You can find this type of bonding in several places, such as on a sports team, or in the military. The bonding offered by Masonry, however, is different. It is designed not only to benefit the man, but the community around him, as well. And this bonding cannot happen if Men are not together on a consistent basis, sharing and learning from each other.

Men are busy. They always have been. The difference is that we in the internet age don’t have to leave the house for socialization. While we might be more “social” than ever before, we are also more introverted. We stay at home and use the internet for our socialization rather than visiting the Lodge room, or even the pub for that matter. It is in this way that the internet opens the world but closes it, too. It offers vast knowledge and a place to connect, but it doesn’t foster the deep and meaningful bonds that form when people are physically near each other.

The good news is that there is a solution, it just takes time. Those men in our Lodges who have the knowledge must be willing to sit and share that knowledge with the new generation of Masons that are entering. A task can be created that encourages them to work together towards a common goal of understanding and knowledge. Luckily, the Grand Master has just such a task in mind.

This year, the Grand Master has set in motion plans to make a comprehensive manual for protocol and etiquette, which will take the guesswork out of how we, as Masons, should act. This should, in turn, bring respect to ourselves and honor to the fraternity. My hope is the protocol and etiquette manual will be used as a unifier, undertaken by old and new Masons, together, to help restore the tradition of mentorship that we have let slip away from us. 