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

A Masonic Lodge (June 2006)

A Masonic lodge is an amalgam of its membership.  It takes on the character of its active participants, their priorities and their presentment.  Some lodges emphasize ritual and take pride in the precision of form and word.  They embrace the more esoteric aspects of our craft.  Others are motivated to serve in the community and are inspired by that most excellent Masonic virtue of charity.   Some lodges are a haven of camaraderie and fellowship.  Sadly though, many of our lodges are in trouble.  They have become stuck in past routines, stuck in their comfort zones.  They resist new or different ways of seeing and stifle creative energy.  Although these lodges are comprised of good, honorable men, as lodges they have lost their purpose and their vitality.

Separate from the distinctive personalities of a lodge, there are a few unwritten commonalities shared by all.  Most every Mason tends to bond and strongly identify with the lodge in which he was raised.  The lodge, to personify it, takes a kind of jealous guardianship or sense of ownership of its members.  In a way, these are good qualities as they reinforce the resolve of a lodge and provide a rich environment for fraternity and fellowship.  On the other hand, this identification may work against our Fraternity by distancing us from every Brother not in our Blue Lodge.  It may even go so far as to distance a member from his own lodge.  For example, my interests may tend toward community service and charity yet the disposition of my lodge may be to be perfect in the ritual.  My reasons for becoming a Mason are not being met yet I feel this loyalty to my lodge.  How can this be resolved?

It might be helpful to reflect upon the reasons why we became Masons.  Then, one might ask, “Is my lodge providing me opportunities to engage those reasons?”  If not, what can I do to help create those opportunities in my lodge?  Or, failing that, consider the big picture of Masonry.  We are, or we purport to be, one united fraternity, not a cacophonous assembly of individual fiefdoms under one umbrella.  We all share a commitment to Masonic values.  Whereas the character of my lodge may emphasize ritual, another lodge emphasizing some other Masonic virtue may be better suited for me and for why I became a Mason.  We are all Masons.  I don’t believe it matters too much where one goes to lodge.  What does matter is that the lodge one does support is alive and engaging and encourages the fulfillment of one’s reasons for becoming a Mason.

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.