No Mason Left Behind : The Final Cut

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. "Doc" Gentry

No Mason Left Behind Series

This will be my final piece (for now) on this subject and I thank you for bearing with me, especially the Intenders and Mentors. In fact, Intenders and Mentors, thanks for all the hard work you do!Let me ask a question,  how many of you ever felt alone when there was a new Brother inducted into the fraternity?  Almost like the job of the lodge is to say, "Oh Brother Dan, you're the candidates Intender." And that is all the lodge does besides the ritual?  Well, let us address this now.

This piece is directed to the lodge as a whole, and especially the three principle officers. Let's address some lodge officers and see if we're doing all we can. Brothers Stewards and Brother Junior Warden, you see the lodge as a whole from your positions and offices, not just in ritual but in general. Brothers Stewards, your jobs are during times of refreshments and fellowship. You have seen the new Brother interact in all aspects of Freemasonry not only in the ritual. What does this new Brother bring to the table of Freemasonry as a whole? Did you explain your offices and what they represent as a whole, to the new Brother?  Brother Junior Warden, did you fulfill your purpose with this new Brother? Did you give the "New Brother Report" to the Senior Warden and the Worshipful Master? You three are the "Open Eyes" of the lodge, I pray you did your duties not only your rituals.

Brother Marshal, Brother Junior Deacon and Brother Senior Warden, how has the west impressed upon this new Brother? Brother Marshal, do you believe that your position is opening and closing the doors? Did you teach the esoteric purpose of your office?  How about you, Brother Junior Deacon? Have you have had the most intimate relationship with this Brother outside of his Intender/Mentor, what have you given him? What did you notice of worth from this Brother? Did you impart the new Brother with old knowledge so that he may grow? Brother Senior Warden, overseer of the West Gate, did you notice this Brother on each of his entries? What imprint did his comings and goings leave upon you? With the information from the Junior Warden, what information can you pass to the Worshipful Master so that he can perform his duties upon this new Brother? 

Finally Brother Senior Deacon and Brother Worshipful Master, you two most of all are responsible  in the development of the new Brother, your fulfillment of your duties are the most detrimental. Brother Senior Deacon, how did you follow through and guide this Brother in his actions outside of ritual? Brother Worshipful Master, did you take the advice and information as well as recommendations from the Junior and Senior Warden? Did you use that to create a plan of action to give this new Brother proper instruction? Do you know how to properly set him to work according to his passions and skills? 

Here's the secret my Brothers, it takes a lodge to raise a Master Mason. As he was given instruction and walked the path through the body, starting at the heart and ending as part of the soul, remember, he did it with the whole lodge.  Did we give him proper resources and instruction? Can we do better in raising a Master Mason? Will we?

No One Takes A Step In Freemasonry Alone! No One!

~Doc

No Mason Left Behind Part 3

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. "Doc" Gentry

Part One

Part Two

I just want to touch on a few things. First, congratulations on taking the first steps in Masonry with your candidate / brother and doing it right with all the advice given to you. I hope you realize that I am just gathering information, the best practices as it were, of the way others have mentored and has been successful. These aren't original "Doc" thoughts, because SUPRISE, I'm not that smart.

Your candidate has taken his time to observe and take in your words of wisdom-- the esoteric teachings to which he has either gone crazy with or thought they were cool and has since moved on. As a brother, and yes as Entered Apprentices, they are brothers on the level, your lodge has invited him to stated meetings and other EA degrees and hopefully your lodge had a Worshipful Master who was smart enough to invite the new brother to the East at these events to see the whole thing from that perspective, I mean what's the purpose of becoming a Master Mason if not only to one day become a Past Master. (I will write another piece on this later, just place that idea to the rear of your mind for now). Your candidate / brother is now absorbing information, asking comprehensive and very deep questions about their journey so far, because if you follow the steps, that is exactly what happens, questions get asked! Also, I hope he is still being encouraged to write in his journal of all the feelings and emotions through each step he has taken. 

The day has finally come for the second degree and you are ready! You give him those really wise words and tell him you will be there to help when it's done. You sit in lodge and watch and someone fumbles their ritual, others forget their lines, and remember, this is the hardest degree to perform, but at the end, so much information is given to the brother and there will be shock from it all, even if it is done correctly. This is your chance to shine brother, to be that Mentor that will go down in the history books, fore you will talk with your Intendee after its all over. 

Don't blow it! Don't say something stupid like, "Do you have any questions?" Or "Would you like me to explain anything?" No, no, no, no! You are smarter then this, you're a Master Mason for goodness sake! You need to block out a good chunk of time after this event, but not right after, because he is going to be confused. Don't believe me? Remember when you did it! Go back into your journal (if you kept one) and look into what you were feeling and thinking right after this. Every brother I mentored, after the second degree feel the need to go write in their journal, it's overwhelming. So wait. Wait until after the cake and pie, wait until after the handshakes and congratulations, wait until after the lodge is closed and locked. Let him take in the second degree before you try and talk about it. They don't even know how to pose the questions they have yet. So when you finally get to the time where you will talk to them, front load some questions you think they are going to have. What's wrong with being prepared? Take a good amount of time to go through these and the ones you have that they don't ask, pose them and answer them anyway. This may take multiple sessions and that's fine, it means they are on the right path in Masonry! We don't just say ritual, real master Mason's know at the baseline what they mean and have enough understanding to explain them simply. We have studied it to not just memorize, but to figure out what we heard. 

Take your time, Freemasonry is not a race, it's a life long journey for the perfect ashlar. You will make mistakes too, admit them. No matter what your Grand Lodge says do not, do NOT, DO NOT pressure that brother to "hurry" their journey. Numbers and retention be damned! These experiences are for him and no one else and you as the Intender should be blessed to be on this journey with them, remember, no one takes a step in Freemasonry alone, not even the Intender, don't forget that. You as the Intender are a Mason, and No Mason Left Behind is not just a cute statement!

~DG

Brother Daniel "Doc" Gentry is a Brother Master Mason under the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Mason's of the State of Illinois, in the 1st Northeast district. His sign is Leo, and has been known to enjoy long walks in blizzards. He is stubborn and has no plans of joining the York or Scottish Rite anytime soon. Also in his spare time, he is a great DM for D&D games. Sacred Geometery! You can reach him by email at doc@midnightfreemasons.org

No Mason Left Behind: Part Deux

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. "Doc" Gentry

Read Part One Here

Welcome back all ya'll (that's the plural form of ya'll that don't speak southern). I hope you didn't think the last piece was the "end all be all" of this understanding of us being present, but let's move on to the degrees and let's start on initiation. So if we have followed a healthy train of thought on mentoring, then they have met and talked with the brother the lodge has assigned as a mentor for this individual, the Intender. I hope you have spent time getting to know this possible brother more than just having him come out to you and made an effort to learn more about them outside lodge and to get to know their family, and hopefully for them to get to know yours. Yes, we focus on the individual, our potential new brother, but his family must not feel left out either. 

Hopefully you talked about some of the history, how some states differ, and even explained clandestine freemasonry and the stance by the Grand Lodge of your area on this topic. I hope you know that all clandestine lodges aren't the same. I also hope you had time to explain the difference between irregular and clandestine lodges. Now it's the candidates night!

Your candidate comes into fellowship with the brothers, but he is and should be the focus. If everything goes the right way, he is the focus of the night, all brothers are positioning to talk to him, to know his feelings and thoughts, and even his expectations of the night. Hopefully he has started a journal to write this down because he may forget if he doesn't and without that retrospect later in his Masonic life, he will miss out on growth opportunities. Everything is in place and ready to go and it goes off without a hitch. Ok so what little things did you share beforehand? And did you leave enough mystery to keep this ceremony in a light to leave an impact? Ok did you share 1-3 things of an esoteric value of the degree to which the new brother went through? No!?! Why not? You don't do the esoteric stuff? I got that, but what if the new brother does? I'm not saying you need to delve into the mysteries of Sacred Geometry and give the new brother all the new mysteries of the universe, in fact esoteric studies are proven to bring different light, though similar, to each researcher. You do however, need to know a few things to show them the path and the plethora of different facets our brotherhood has in store for them. 

You see, No Mason Left Behind means that each Intender has a relevant understanding of the various topics within Masonry to be able to speak on a topic to show a direction, not give the answers but give a path that leads to the answers. I know this is tougher for the longer running members sometimes, and there is nothing wrong with their reasons for joining the fraternity. How do you know if it is something you don't like, if you are not sure what it is?

How about the historical aspects of the degree they just went through? Do you understand the ritual enough to translate it for them? You know that mad scientist Einstein said that if you truly know something, you can explain it simple enough that others will understand it, or something like that. I look at it this way, Freemasonry is a lot like the medical field, in that when you think you know it all, you no longer understand any of it. We all, from the newest Entered Apprentice to the 50 year Master Mason need to continue to study, learn and apply Freemasonry. No one takes a step alone, not even the guy who has been Grand Master. In fact the longer you are a Freemason, the more important it is for you to surround yourself with "younger" Freemasons. Not by age, but how long they've been in the brotherhood.

I will leave you with that thought, let it sink in and let the hate-mail come forth. I love you all and like what I say or disagree, please let me know, comment or drop me an e-mail. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Read Part Three

In love and on the level,

-Doc   

Brother Daniel "Doc" Gentry is a Brother Master Mason under the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Mason's of the State of Illinois, in the 1st Northeast district. His sign is Leo, and has been known to enjoy long walks in blizzards. He is stubborn and has no plans of joining the York or Scottish Rite anytime soon. Also in his spare time, he is a great DM for D&D games. Sacred Geometery! You can reach him by email at doc@midnightfreemasons.org