Let's Make Time for a Festive Board!

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Randy Sanders

When was the last time you truly celebrated something? For many of us, we can raise our hands with an answer of last month or this Spring because of COVID shutdowns and isolation. Let's change that answer of "meh, we celebrated" by maintaining the joy we found in returning to labor. We often make a meeting a little special by way of a congratulatory cake or small celebration for a 50-year pin, or a barbecue, or possibly a breakfast/dinner fundraiser. When is the last time your lodge did a Festive Board for no reason except the Festive Board? When is the last time your lodge put on a party for no reason? I think now's the time.

I recently expressed a similar idea for combining the Festive Board with a Valley Library fundraiser, and I'll work with the St. Louis Valley to follow through on that. However, I'm also pushing to get more festive boards going in local lodges. This tradition seems to be overlooked by many, and how many new brothers were waiting on COVID before receiving the degrees? How many of those new Brothers would benefit from a good social time, honoring Masonic traditions, and learning a bit more about Freemasonry during a Festive Board? It can and should be included in the new Brothers' experiences, and who knows? Maybe those new Brothers decide to pick up the torch and organize the next one?

In some areas, Festive Boards and Table Lodges are close to the same thing. However, In my jurisdiction, (Missouri), they are quite different. I bring this up as you may need Grand Lodge dispensation before putting on a Table Lodge or Festive Board, and it's worth the time to investigate with your own Grand Lodge, your lodge bylaws, and the GL's bylaws what permissions are needed. This investigation may also generate interest from the Grand Lodge, and that's a good thing.

Recommendations for making the Festive Board or Table Lodge a success can be found in old minutes from various lodges, but the biggest initial recommendation is to play up the novelty. That is, focus on the positive of doing something different. Find a speaker. If you are fortunate to know local Brothers comfortable in presenting educational topics, have them do a short 20-30 minute presentation on a fun topic. Masonic Education may not be the only way to make the evening memorable, but it's a fair bet that a good education topic will start some discussion afterward. Does it have to be Masonic? Check with your Grand Lodge about how open your festive boards might be. Mine are not tiled, but we're still careful in topics and how we phrase certain words and subjects. Inviting the local Mayor or a City Council member to speak may get you closer to the community. Inviting the local officers of the Toastmasters organization to give a speech they wrote for Toastmasters can be an excellent lesson in Rhetoric. I'm sure you get the idea that a good presentation can come from many different sources with a little investigation.

Keep it short. What? Why? The Festive Board, or Table Lodge, itself shouldn't be very long. Multiple long toasts need to be broken up with announcements or quick topics for conversation. I found a couple of hours, including refreshments, to be the limit of my own enjoyment, and then I can retire to the patio or designated area for less formal conversation over a beverage of choice. Many Brethren enjoy an occasional cigar with that beverage, and that can mean another hour or more just hanging out, spreading the cement of Brotherly Love. Oh yeah, and definitely put the word out you'll all need designated drivers.

~Bro. Randy

Bro. Randy and his wife Elyana live in O'Fallon, MO just outside of St. Louis. Randy earned a Bachelors in Chemistry with an emphasis in Biochemistry, and he works in telecom IT. He volunteers his time as a professional and personal mentor, is an NRA certified Chief Range Safety Officer, and enjoys competitive tactical pistol. He has a 30+ year background teaching Wing Chun Kung Fu, Chi Kung, and healing arts. Randy's Masonic bio includes lodge education officer of two blue lodges, running the Wentzville Lodge Book Club, active in York Rite AMD, Scottish Rite Valley of St. Louis co-librarian, Clerk of the Academy Of Reflection through the Valley of Guthrie, a trained facilitator for the Masonic Legacy Society. As a pre-COVID-19 pioneer in Masonic virtual education, Randy is an administrator of Refracted Light and an international presenter on esoteric topics. Randy enjoys facilitating and presenting Masonic esoteric education, and he hosts an open, weekly Masonic virtual Friday Happy Hour. Randy is an accomplished home chef, a certified barbecue judge, raises Great Pyrenees dogs, and enjoys travel and philosophy.

Marking Time

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Randy Sanders

When in High School, I was part of the competition marching band.  We did pretty well, and I learned many of my lessons in discipline and perseverance while practicing very early and during very long hours.  I gave up my summers while dedicating it to marching practice and playing the music until perfect.  This period also marks my initiation and activity in the local DeMolay chapter, although by my Junior and Senior years I had already found my attention and focus had drifted toward band practice and the competitions.

The discipline and perseverance paid off, although admittedly I could have benefited from some lessons in patience.  We won the competitions, traveled, won more competitions, and suddenly the season was over.  No more Friday football games, no more 6:15am Mellophone sectionals, nada.  It left a void in me until the next marching season was upon us.  I enjoyed sleeping in a couple of hours later each morning before classes started, but there was something important missing in me.  That void was tangible in that I missed working together with my classmates trying to perfect a move or emphasize some piece of music.  I feel the same in lodge as we go dark for a couple of months in the summer or get into the Holidays.

I previously wrote about the need to refresh ourselves and recharge our Masonic batteries, and that still applies.  I’m happy and a bit relieved that my Blue Lodges and most other bodies are rather quiet during the heat of our summer as I need the break.  Yet, here I am with the void again.  I’m looking at my calendar wondering where I can go sit with Brothers this evening or next?  Who opted not to go dark, so maybe I can help out with some degree work or just show up showing support?

I know I’m not alone with these feelings of simply marking time, and returning to degree work after COVID was a blessing for us all.  I encourage you to reach out to your lodge brothers that you haven’t seen in a while.  Pick 5 or 10, and simply send them a text.  Pick up the phone and call a few of the older generations that may not be as comfortable with texting.  They may be a bit nervous about returning to lodge, and maybe that friendly voice, mouth-to-ear, is something they need to hear.  I know it helps me when I hear from Brothers.

~Bro. Randy

Bro. Randy and his wife Elyana live in O'Fallon, MO just outside of St. Louis. Randy earned a Bachelors in Chemistry with an emphasis in Biochemistry, and he works in telecom IT. He volunteers his time as a professional and personal mentor, is an NRA certified Chief Range Safety Officer, and enjoys competitive tactical pistol. He has a 30+ year background teaching Wing Chun Kung Fu, Chi Kung, and healing arts. Randy's Masonic bio includes lodge education officer of two blue lodges, running the Wentzville Lodge Book Club, active in York Rite AMD, Scottish Rite Valley of St. Louis co-librarian, Clerk of the Academy Of Reflection through the Valley of Guthrie, a trained facilitator for the Masonic Legacy Society. As a pre-COVID-19 pioneer in Masonic virtual education, Randy is an administrator of Refracted Light and an international presenter on esoteric topics. Randy enjoys facilitating and presenting Masonic esoteric education, and he hosts an open, weekly Masonic virtual Friday Happy Hour. Randy is an accomplished home chef, a certified barbecue judge, raises Great Pyrenees dogs, and enjoys travel and philosophy.

Coming Back Is Not Easy

by Senior Midnight Freemason Contributor
WB Gregory J. Knott

I don’t know about you, but returning to meetings for the blue lodge and other groups has been harder than I thought.   After basically a year of not attending meetings in person, I’ve come to see I have a different perspective on the necessity of my attendance.   I haven’t had as much free time as I did in the last year since I was very young and I have very much enjoyed not going to as many meetings.

As we get back into full speed, I have personally made the determination that I am going to attend meetings I wish to attend, not because I have to attend.   My days of going to mindless business meetings that really serve no purpose other than to plan the next mindless business meeting or talk about who is behind on paying dues are going to be limited.   

This isn’t to imply that I am down on Freemasonry, because I am not.  However, for me, Freemasonry isn’t reading the minutes, talking about a roof for months on end or complaining about the same guys who don’t pay their dues on time year after year.    Freemasonry to me should be educational opportunities, fellowship, service to others, and work within the community all with a purpose of individual self-improvement. 

What are your thoughts on returning to the lodge?  Do you look at things differently?  Are you satisfied with the way things were going before the pandemic and hope they return?  I am curious about your thoughts and perspectives.   Please leave them here in the comments or on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/midnightfreemasons

~GJK

WB Gregory J. Knott is a founding member and Senior Contributor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign-Urbana. He is also a member of ANSAR Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The Masonic Society and is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and The Philathes Society. He is a charter member of a new Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter U.D. and serves as its Secretary. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts—an Eagle Scout himself, he is a member of the National Association of Masonic Scouters. You can contact him at gknott63@gmail.com

Cranking Up The Organ

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bill Hosler, PM

                                                                                               

Back in the day organ grinders were a common sight in many cities. The attraction consisted of a man with a “portable” (For that time) hand-crank organ which would play music and draw a crowd. Once a crowd gathered a cute little monkey dressed in an outfit, would dance around with a little tin cup, and gather change from the assembled crowd. I can honestly say I never have seen an organ grinder in real life but I got acquainted with them by watching old Bugs Bunny cartoons as a child.

It appears that the Covid-19 quarantine is beginning to wind down. Several Grand Lodges have begun to awake from their Rip VanWinkle like slumber and talk about meeting in person again and eventually start conducting degree work again. I may be in the minority, but this worries me a bit. Not because of the pandemic and the curve but in what I have seen as progress the Craft has made in the last few months. (As many of you know I am one who is not averse to picking up a horse and giving a dead horse a few whacks). I have said that since we weren’t able to keep the degree machine humming like a factory machine Freemasons and Grand lodges have gotten back to the roots of the Fraternity and have begun to once again practice Freemasonry.

I have been immensely proud to see Brethren providing Masonic relief to their Brethren, wives, widows, and orphans. Making sure the members of their lodges, especially their more elderly brethren have food and shelter. Doing such things and running to the drugstore to gather life-giving prescriptions for these Brothers and their homes are heated and comfortable and they are cared for. I have even heard of Brethren arranging for such things as diapers and baby formula for young families. It was refreshing to me and if I were honest, left my eyes a bit misty to see all this time and treasure being used to care for the Brethren we took an obligation to “help, aid and assist” instead of devoting to get the Fraternity’s name in the paper in hopes of getting new members to knock on our door.

Zoom calls have been a temporary replacement for lodge meetings and gatherings. It has been for Brethren (including myself) who were not able to visit their home lodge a way to “Spread virtual cement” with guys who have not been in each other’s presence in a long time. Zoom calls have also become an excellent way to further the cause of Masonic education. I know I have personally been able to attend several education courses in the United Kingdom, California, and several other jurisdictions I would never have been able to attend if it was down in the traditional way.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating we become an all online fraternity. I am also not advocating we stop providing charity or letting young men we are still around or scraping successful campaigns such as “Not just a man, a Mason” or the https://beafreemason.org/ website. I believe the campaign was a stroke of genius and a perfect balance between recruitment and public relations. What I am saying is we take such tools and build upon them.

Since I was raised to the sublime degree in 2002 I have become aware of many polls and surveys conducted by various Grand Lodges of young men who fit the demographic of or who joined the Fraternity and left. Even though the percentages were all different, the message was pretty much the same: These young men didn’t want cheap dues or relaxed dress codes. These men were looking to become “better men”, to become something “bigger than themselves” and to make lasting friendships. They wanted what we advertise. Freemasonry. For some reason, we take the numbers and messages we are given and just file them away. The result is the same. They join and leave, never to be seen again. This was explained not long ago in this piece by Robert Johnson: http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2016/06/freemasonry-isnt-dying-its-refining.html

I am trying to say: what the Fraternity has been doing since (at least as long as I have been in it) has not been working. I believe no matter how much we try to push cheap dues, flip flops and cargo shorts in lodge or big box store lasagna as the norm, (I dare not mention Masonic education and chambers of reflections as an idea without causing fistfights in the parking lot), it isn’t going to be the ointment to cure the Crafts illness.

It just makes common sense, before we start cranking up the organ and get the dancing monkey out again by passing out petitions, let’s remember the lessons we have learned and maybe we can keep more of the new Brethren we bring in to the lodge coming back instead of constantly doing degree work for nothing.

~BH

WB Bill Hosler was made a Master Mason in 2002 in Three Rivers Lodge #733 in Indiana. He served as Worshipful Master in 2007 and became a member of the internet committee for Indiana's Grand Lodge. Bill is currently a member of Roff Lodge No. 169 in Roff Oklahoma and Lebanon Lodge No. 837 in Frisco, Texas. Bill is also a member of the Valley of Fort Wayne Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in Indiana. A typical active Freemason, Bill also served as the High Priest of Fort Wayne's Chapter of the York Rite No. 19 and was commander of the Fort Wayne Commandery No. 4 of the Knight Templar. During all this, he also served as the webmaster and magazine editor for the Mizpah Shrine in Fort Wayne Indiana.

Going Back to Lodge

By Midnight Freemasons Senior Contributor

W.B. Gregory J. Knott

It’s been over four months since I last attended an in person meeting at our local lodge. So when fellow Midnight Freemason Darin Lahners and my son Hayden recently went to St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 to perform a deep cleaning, it was like seeing an old friend again. Everything was there just as we had left it after the last stated meeting.

As we did the sweeping, dusting and deep cleaning, I couldn’t help but think about all the great times I have had in that lodge over the last decade. I had met numerous new brothers, we had brought the lodge back from the brink of closure and been very active in the community.

As Worshipful Brother Lahners outlined in his last piece our lodge has lost some momentum and some of those brothers we had raised over the last decade had faded away, moved away or simply left Freemasonry. As WB Lahners once again goes to the East, we will have some work to do in once again energizing the lodge.

I have to be honest and say that over the last few weeks I have thought maybe it would just be easier to turn the lights out and merge with another nearby lodge. But I keep coming back to the impact St. Joseph Lodge has had in our local community since 1914. In this day and age, once the lights go dark, more than likely they will never be turned back on again.

It’s not that you should work to keep the lights on just for the sake of keeping the lodge tradition going, rather I believe that local lodges can be a source of personal growth for those men seeking to make themselves better. In turn these men go into the local community and are active in their churches, schools, scouting units, local government etc. In other words we offer a value proposition that can serve as a vital link in bettering individuals who in turn better their communities.

So as we return from a post COVID-19 break, take a moment and think about what role your lodge can play in helping to support the community. Look around for those men that could benefit from what Freemasonry can offer. How can your lodge offer programs that help men grow? What support can you give your brethren, some of whom may have had personal difficulties over the last few weeks.

We finished our cleaning of the lodge room and it’s ready for the membership to return. I am ready to return and see my friends and brothers. I wish you and your lodge great success as we resume our labors.

~GJK

WB Gregory J. Knott is a founding member and Senior Contributor of the Midnight Freemasons blog.  He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign-Urbana. He is also a member of ANSAR Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The Masonic Society and is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and The Philathes Society. He is a charter member of a new Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter U.D. and serves as its Secretary. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts—an Eagle Scout himself, he is a member of the National Association of Masonic Scouters. You can contact him at gknott63@gmail.com