VWB C. Blair Leckie Deputy of the Grand Master in District 4 of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington for 2005-2007 Mailto: cblairl@excite.com

Questions of Relevancy (March 2006)

We live in an explosion of change.  New technologies appear and become obsolete in a moment.  They read like an Old Testament genealogy chart, one "begets" another and another and another.  It is the age of information, impersonal as it may be.  We are recognized by computers as numbers - pin number, social security number, driver's license number, checking account number, VISA number and on and on.  Ours is a modern society and we live our lives at breakneck speed.

Where then, does a three hundred year old fraternity that adheres to tradition and ritual and whose rate of internal change makes a receding glacier look fast find its place in such a world?  How can it possibly be relevant to men of today?

We do share at least one attribute with change and evolving technologies.  Granted, our evolution is moral and spiritual but we are always seeking to improve upon ourselves.  We are fond of saying, "Masonry takes good men and makes them better." This is not just a catchy phrase.  It is the truth.  More good men in the today's world helps us all. There is definitely a place for that.

Perhaps it is its antiquity, its timelessness and the strength of its traditions that makes our fraternity so valuable in the present.  Masonry provides a place of refuge, of permanence and stability in a maelstrom of never ending change.  Could the fact that we seek to improve ourselves, to become men of integrity and grace, give any hint as to why Masonry is meaningful today?

Charity and brotherly love are virtues in Masonry.  We help one another and reach out to our communities.  Couldn't these attributes, in some small way, be important to a modern, changing society?  To be moral and upright, aren't these qualities to be encouraged even in an ever-changing environment?  The diversity of our Craft, its acceptance of any good man who believes in a Supreme Being, regardless of race or creed, sets a good example in a world of contention and violence.

All over the world, lodges meet on the square united by the same nurturing principles, values and ambitions.  As a result, there is no question that Masonry has a relevant and valuable place in the frenetic times of today.

Thanks to both the District Deputy of the Grand Master in District 4, and the Masonic Monitor which publishes his articles for allowing us to reprint them.  The Masonic Monitor is published monthly (except August) under approval of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington.  The Masonic Monitor can be contacted at: 6619 132nd Avenue NE, PMB 237, Kirkland, WA, 98033-8627, USA.  Phone: (425) 822-4605 - FAX: (425) 822-2535 - Email: masonicmonitor@earthlink.net.