WHAT TO EXPECT IN AN EMULATION LODGE, AND WHY Jason Schaff, PM Fiat Lux Lodge No. 1717 “
I
greet you well, my Brother!” Does that sound a little peculiar to you? It is a common, although certainly not universal, greeting among Masons who practice the Emulation Working as promulgated by the United Grand Lodge of England. There might be many things which might strike a good and worthy Brother as strange or peculiar when visiting an Emulation Lodge for the first time. My Masonic career began in an Emulation Lodge (our own Fiat Lux Lodge No. 1717) almost a dozen years ago, and I was certainly confused by a few things on my first couple visits to other D.C. Lodges after being Raised. As Fiat Lux is one of only two Lodges in the United States performing the Emulation Work in the English Language, a visit to one of our Communications will likely be the first time a D.C. Brother has encountered this particular ritual system, and I hope that this article can help make that experience more comfortable for visitors and help you understand the “why” (either symbolic or practical) behind some of what we do. Please understand that what I am describing below are the specific practices within Fiat Lux; if visiting our D.C. Brethren who perform the Emulation Work in another language, you may see some differences, as the Emulation Lodge of Improvement recognizes a degree of freedom among private Lodges to modify the published Ritual for the individual character of a Lodge. One of the first things you will notice is that one’s entrance and exit in an Emulation Lodge is very different from that in other D.C. Lodges. We Tyle in the North-West and there is an officer, the Inner Guard, whose primary duty is to exercise physical control over the door to the Lodge. This is largely a practical
WB Jason Schaff in his Emulation regalia.
matter, as the Junior Deacon has several duties that would not typically be assigned to him in other systems. To expect him to control the door in addition to those duties would not be practical. Another important point is that, once the Lodge begins the process of opening and until it closes, the door is opened only for the purpose of admitting Brothers and Candidates or allowing Brothers to depart. How, then, does the Tyler know what is going on inside and therefore,
how to govern himself accordingly? The Inner Guard and Tyler communicate that information through a series of coded knocks by which the Inner Guard informs the Tyler in what Degree the Lodge is working and the Tyler acknowledges receipt of the information. To me, this carries an important symbolic message about the importance of protecting our Masonic Secrets. In the Emulation Lodge we are so cautious as to ensure that even if an eavesdropper has somehow been able to escape the watchful eye of the ISSUE 1, 2022 THE VOICE OF FREEMASONRY | 11
