The Three Masonic Bodies to Which You Should Be a Member

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Bro. Adam Samuel Roth

When you join Freemasonry, your options for participation and learning are endless. There are blue lodges, lodges of research, and grand lodge activities. There are a myriad of appendant bodies, ranging from the Scottish Rite, York Rite, and Shriners, just to name a few. How do you choose which lodges and appendant bodies to join and in which to participate? Every Master Mason should be a member of three Masonic bodies. The lodge that raised him, his local lodge, and the body that speaks to his passion. Allow me to explain why.

You will always have a special bond with the brothers and lodge that raised you. Hopefully, you will have spent countless hours with a mentor or several brethren who taught you the catechism and ritual. This lodge introduced you to Freemasonry and gave you your first impressions of it. This lodge "berthed" you as a mason, which is why it is often referred to as your mother lodge. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the fifth commandment is to "(h)onor thy father and thy mother." So should you honor the lodge that raised you with your continued membership and prompt payment of dues. Though you may move far away from this lodge, you now have a duty to ensure that it is sustained. This duty continues even if your mother lodge merges with another.

Your local lodge is where you can truly be a part of your community and do the most good. The men of your local lodge, and their families, are your neighbors. You will see them at school, the supermarket, and elsewhere about town. You will get to know them well. They are the ones who will lend a helping hand when you are in need. It will also be easier for you to help your fellow brother when he is in need. Due to your proximity to the lodge, the labor you do will not place an undue burden on you or your family. You can also do the most good for your community with your local lodge. The local lodge is the lodge that sees what the community needs and acts to alleviate it.

There are many forms of Freemasonry. There are ritualistic, social, historical, charitable, and esoteric forms of Freemasonry. I am sure that one or more of these forms of Freemasonry is what you were looking for when you joined the fraternity. Perhaps you discovered a new passion during the process of becoming a Master Mason. No matter which form of Freemasonry you wish to practice, there is a lodge or appendant body that will feed your passion. If your mother or local lodge is not providing you with the form you crave, don't give up on them. Find the lodge or appendant body that satisfies your needs. This will keep you engaged and make your labors within the quarry more enjoyable.

Some are lucky enough to have a single lodge perform two or all three of those functions. But why should you stop at three? Shouldn't you join all the appendant bodies? The answer is quite simply no. If you spend all your time going to Masonic events, you leave no time to practice your Masonry out in the real world. Your spouse, your children, your family all want to see you. Isn't that the purpose of all of that we do and why we devote our time to the Craft?

I hope that all Masons, young and old, heed this advice. It keeps not only our passions within due bounds but our labors as well. It ensures that our families don't resent our participation in the Craft. It prevents us from getting burnt out. Most importantly, it keeps us engaged and happy. 

~AR

Bro. Adam Samuel Roth is the Chaplin of Anacostia-Pentalpha Lodge No. 21, in Washington, DC and a member of Acacia Lodge No. 16 in Clifton, Virginia. He is the curator of the Masonic Archive, which can be found at www.masonicarchive.org. He is also a devoted husband and father who works in the IT industry.

What If We Actually Did Masonry?

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

RW Robert H. Johnson

We’ve all been there, a meeting where everyone has to put in their two cents regarding a charity event or a lodge repair. A discussion that lasts twenty minutes too long. Men informing the lodge that they “know a guy.”, who can do it cheaper, or perhaps raising the dues $5 a year is too expensive, or still yet, perhaps it's about how much money is going to be earmarked for the upcoming scholarships.

I commend these brothers who dig into the nitty-gritty of lodge minutia. It’s something I’ve just never cared much about or felt I needed to contribute to. These guys are into it though, they do it without being prompted, they take ownership and are made sure their voices are heard.

The title of this article alludes to the core mission of Freemasonry, to make good men better. Yes we’re charitable, yes we serve our communities, but what are we teaching our members about actually improving men? I addressed this concern in a previous piece which you can read HERE.

What if though?

What if, that same gusto for discussing these things--building maintenance and pancake breakfasts, was had when we introduced Masonic Education? What if Masonic Education wasn’t met with eye rolls from around the lodge? What if people cared as much for Masonic Education as they do about the minutia? What if Worshipful Masters didn’t buckle under the stress of the membership, requiring Masonic Education to be a mere five minutes or less? What if we did what we’re supposed to do, and fulfill the membership in the Masonic way, through improvement and education? What if instead of being told that we should start a study club on off nights for Masonic Education, we embraced the present opportunity to affect all present?

What would happen if we ALL changed the order of business, so that Masonic Education came right after the opening? What would happen if we spent twenty, thirty, dare I say an hour on a topical presentation complete with questions and answers with discussion from the brothers? Maybe we just change it so that it’s all education and only a couple bills? What would happen if these brothers were as engaged in the educational topic as they are about replacing the toilet seat, or procuring the free pancake mix from the local restaurant? Would the previous discussed minutia be then seen as the five minute bastard of the meeting? Relegated to the end, much like education is in too many lodges?

The chances are we would lose a lot of members by doing this. In fact, because Freemasonry is many different things to many different people, the least of which is an educational system. To do these things would require some sort of drastic change within the organization. Perhaps the way to experience this for those interested is to start a new lodge based on these principles.

Recently there’s been some great conversation about members who are unsatisfied, starting their own lodges. In some cases, a Grand Lodge has asked the members, “Rather than walk away, why not start a new lodge?” Members took that advice. Members across the USA are taking that advice.

Perhaps something that needs to be considered here is that Freemasonry should serve to fulfill its membership. Instead, what occurs is that the membership is largely guilted into not giving up on the current lodge, not walking away and actually to double and triple down and urged to join all the other appendant bodies. These extra organizations which are looking for anyone at all to convey the degrees upon, many times in an abbreviated form, just to get a warm body in a position. Bro. Scott S. Dueball made a case for this in his piece, “Blue Lodge First”, read it HERE.

Above I asked a whole lot of questions, and in my imagination, I thought about the response I would likely get online and the things which would be talked about, if at all. I just couldn’t help but think to myself, that the response would be something like, “I wouldn’t go to lodge anymore.” or perhaps, “By doing education first or by pushing hard for Masonic Education like this, you’re being unbrotherly.” I don’t know how that would be true, but that's basically what I think I’d hear.

I think those imaginary but prophetic responses I mentioned earlier are why the idea would never work. It’s why the membership that’s out there should just go ahead and start a new lodge if they want the educational kind of experience. Focus on what you want and leave the rest behind until they learn to attract you through additional fulfillment, not by begging you to show up. Have doubts about how this works? Check out Admiration Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in Eastern IL. Or ask Homer Lodge, also in Eastern IL about having education right after opening and letting it go for "...as long as it goes." according to Todd E. Creason, founder of the Midnight Freemasons. In fact recently, Todd had let me know that one of their chief detractors in the beginning of this effort, recently came to him and Greg Knott to tell them how much he now looks forward to the meetings.

While some reading this might belong to an education focused lodge and have no issues, I assure you, you are the minority.

I have said it before, and I will say it again. If Freemasonry is indeed a system which teaches good men to be better, then we better start having more education meetings than degrees and business combined. If we’re not doing this, we’re just lip service.

~RHJ

What Kind of Mason Are You? Revisit

by Midnight Freemason Founder

Todd E. Creason

Editors Note* Published just before Christmas in 2012, this piece recently came to mind when I was thinking about the types of Freemasons we have. Specifically, the dues payers and the guys who show up and make it happen. In any case, enjoy this one, it's the third time it's been posted. Guys just seem to love it, it's great! - RJ

Are you an active member

The kind that would be missed

Or are you just content

That your name is on the list?

Do you attend the meetings

And mingle with the flock.

Or do you stay at home

To criticize and knock?

Do you take an active part

To help the work along

Or are you satisfied to be

The kind that just belongs?

Do you ever go to visit

A member who is sick,

Or leave the work to just a few

And talk about the "clique"?

Think this over

You know right from wrong,

Are you an active member

Or do you just belong?

~anonymous

Midnight Freemasons Contributor Greg Knott forwarded this to me about this time last year. Everyone seemed to enjoy it a great deal last year, so I thought I'd repost it for those of you that have joined us since. I hope it makes you think . . .

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog, and author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series. He is member of Homer Lodge No. 199, and a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL). He is a member the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, the York Rite Bodies of Champaign/Urbana (IL), the Ansar Shrine (IL), Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees, and Charter President of the Illini High Twelve in Champaign-Urbana (IL). He is also the author of the blog From Labor To Refreshment . . .