Copied from the Phoenix Masonic Forum, October 25, 2024
As featured in the Feb. 2024 issue of the Ontario Masons Magazine pgs. 38 & 39
The GL of Canada in the Prov. of ON – Masonic Education Committee
R.W. Bro. James O. Wark, Pillar Chairman of Masonic Education
R.W. Bro. Edward F. Dunsmore, Committee Chairman of Masonic Education

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THAT’S NOT THE WAY WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT!

          When you or I question a practice that seems to defy logic, the answer is likely to be, “That’s the way we’ve always done it.” The response shifts whatever blame there may be to some unnamed person at some unnamed time in the past. The response also indicates no thinking is going to go into whether or not what has been done in the past is the best course for the future. At best, “That’s the way we’ve always done it”, is only partially true. I am always reminded of the story of the young girl asking her mother why she cut the ends off of the Easter ham.

          If Freemasonry is such a progressive order, why, then, is the new Worshipful Master of a lodge who seeks to bring about change that he views as positive so often met with the words, “That’s not how we did it in my year!”

          Indeed, we shall all be changed. In fact, the art of Freemasonry is the practice of intentional change. Freemasonry changes a man from profane to Apprentice to Fellow to Master, and over time, through a course of allegorical moral instruction. Freemasonry teaches that is in three principal stages of change, namely youth, adulthood, and age. Additionally, Masons are taught that we are always undergoing the process of change via the use of our working tools as we seek to change ourselves from rough to perfect ashlars, better fit for the builder’s use.

          Yet, we still hear those famous words, “That’s Not How We Did It in My Year!!”

           It has been said that the only person who likes change is a baby with a dirty diaper. And, frankly, I’ve seen some of them who didn’t much care for it either. One of the principal reasons that humans are uncomfortable with change is because, by definition, it is insecure. We are comfortable with what we know. The familiar seldom surprises us. It is important we realize that one of the aims of Freemasonry is to provide stability. Indeed, there are few human creations more stable than the great cathedrals constructed by our operative relatives. So then, how do we foster security while at the same time maintaining needed change? The answer requires us to have a firm grip on what Freemasonry truly is and what it is not. Freemasonry is a course of moral instruction. Freemasons are good men who seek to become better men through the application of Masonic principles in their lives. Therefore, some things about Freemasonry must never change, or Freemasonry will cease to exist. A few examples of these unchangeable things are solid investigation committees of our proposed members, the Masonic tradition of initiating, passing, and raising men in our ancient ritualistic tradition, the moral teachings of the fraternity and the expectation of high moral conduct from all Freemasons.

          However, many things in our Lodge, not only may change, but also should change. For instance, a Lodge’s meeting time, the time of the banquet hour along with the food eaten at the banquet, to the lack thereof, whether the Lodge reads its minutes aloud or prints them for the members to silently read, are all things that are open to change to meet the cultural expectations and needs of the membership. Once an understanding of what things are changeable and what things are not changeable has been arrived at, then one may safely go about the business of making needed changes. When the changes are being announced and implemented, it is important to emphasize first the things that will be staying the same. Often times, a new Worshipful Master is so excited about his idea that he forgets to present them with tact and humility

          In his play, “Death of a Salesman”, Arthur Miller tells the story of Willy Loman. During his prime, Willy had been the best salesman around. He knew everyone, and everyone loved him. Over time, however, Willy’s friends retired or died. Willy found himself surrounded by people who did not know him. Instead of being viewed with profound respect and awe by those he worked with, his new co-workers viewed him with impatience and disrespect. They wished he would get out of their way and stop talking about the good old days. They had a business to run. Willy just wanted to be treated with the respect and admiration he had grown accustomed to in his prime. At the same time, he was frustrated with his own decreasing ability to perform.

Does your Lodge have a Willy Lomas?

          Many elderly Lodge members are having a difficult personal struggle with their loss of status and power. They have retired from jobs where they were once respected leaders. The children who respected and obeyed them have now grown and moved away. As they look around society, they see people young enough to be their grandchildren in positions of power and prominence. They feel impotent and used up. Therefore, in lodge, the last place where they still feel a sense of power, they often go too far in their attempt to have influence and control.

          And finally, the new Worshipful Master will do well to recognize and always remember it is HE who is Master of his lodge. While he rules his lodge with brotherly love and concern for his members’ well-being, he must also govern with the good of his lodge in mind.

          Remember the story of great grandmother preparing the Easter ham. If we look to the past for examples of doing things the best they could with what they had, we also issue a challenge to generations to come. We issue the challenge not to mindlessly continue as we did, but to build on our accomplishments. Our circumstances change. Our procedures must change with them. Our ancestors understood that. Do we?

          In closing, a thought for today: When a storm is coming all other birds seek shelter. The Eagle alone avoids the storm by flying above it. So, in the storms of life may your heart soar like an Eagle.

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Thought for the Day

 Freemasonry without education in its proper role can quickly devolve
into a mere social club that is a shell of its original self as it grew
from artisan trade guild to a place of philosophical exploration
in the late17th and early 18th centuries.
– Brother Steve Noble, GL of British Columbia & Yukon