Masonic Summer Picnics

Editor's Note: I'm still in the process of writing the continuation of "Too Many Meetings", but saw this link and thought a quick post would be timely.

Happy 4th of July! I am currently celebrating our nation's Independence Day on foreign soil. As I looked out on a Nova Scotian harbor from my campsite and started up my day's blogroll, I found a quick article that I believe would be beneficial to all brothers for this summer season.

It seems that in the summer months, nothing is more Masonic than picnics, BBQs and pig roasts. Many of these are pot luck, where brothers will be inundated by countless containers of boring baked beans or repetitive pasta salad. Creativity may be lacking at some of these picnics, but it doesn't have to. Check out 101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics for some great ideas on how to spice up your lodge's BBQ and get people excited!

Now if only I can find a list of 101 Not-so-boring Master's speeches!

Too many meetings? - Part 1

Have you ever heard any of the following statements by your lodge brothers?

• I can't wait for the lodge to have its summer break!
• It feels like we're meeting all the time!
• I don't have much free time at home because we're meeting so much.
• I can't come to all of the lodge meetings, because we have too many.
• If we schedule another degree, I think my wife will kill me!

I have definitely heard these statements and many more regarding the number of meetings we have. In fact, I have personally said all of these statements at one time or another. At times, lodge brothers can feel inundated by the number of meetings that is required of them. In addition to stated communications, there are Fellowcraft Club meetings, Building Association meetings, planning meetings, funerals, social functions, special communications, etc. etc. The time commitment for lodge can be quite extreme for many brothers.

At the last meeting of my Blue Lodge before we went on our two month summer break, I decided to propose two potential bylaw's changes. The first proposed bylaw's change was an increase in our lodge dues. This motion needed to be made before the summer, so that we could send out the proper notices for the vote prior to next years dues notices being sent out in the fall. I hope in the future to discuss further my proposal for a dues increase, however this post will focus on my second motion.

The second piece of legislation was a change to how often we meet. Currently, we meet twice a month for ten months out of the year. The change I proposed was that we meet once a month for ten months out of the year. I proposed this legislation because like many Masonic lodges we still suffer from what many brothers perceive as a membership problem. My lodge typically has 10-15 members at its stated communications and 20-25 members at degrees. Many brothers, myself included at times, believe that these numbers are too low and that we should have a much larger turn out. In the past, we have tried many different approuches to getting members to come to the meetings. Some ideas have worked for a time and some have not.

When I proposed this bylaws change, I stated unequivocally that proposing this motion was by no means an endorsement of the motion. I stated quite plainly that I believe that this idea has some merit, but I was unsure if it was a good solution. The main objective of this proposal was not to have it passed, but to get the brothers of my lodge to start thinking and to discuss the problem; do we have too many meetings?

This is not an easy question and it doesn't have an easy answer. I want to use the next few blog posts to explore this topic. I plan to ask several questions regarding this topic, contemplate the root causes of the problem and deduce if my proposal is in fact a good solution. I hope that you stay tuned and give some valuable input on the subject.

A Quick Update...

So, it has been about a month since my last blog posting. Since this last posting, I have concentrated on getting my health and life in order to help combat my diabetes. Things are looking good now. My body is growing accustomed to the medication. I'm exercising regularly. So far I'm up to running/jogging/walking for three miles straight when I go to the gym. I'm eating right; no more sweets, no more fried foods, very little carbs, lots of vegetables and fruits. My blood sugar is averaging 120, which is a far cry from the 430 I was at previously. I'm losing weight and feeling great.

I have not forgotten about this blog, the Masonic Renaissance. Nor do I plan to discontinue writing my thoughts and ideas about revitalizing Masonic Lodges. In fact, the past month has been so life changing for me that I have an over-abundance of ideas that I want to express. Currently, I am toying with the idea of starting another blog that focuses more on my personal journey and Masonic experience. I want to keep this new blog separate from the Masonic Renaissance, because the objective and goal of this blog is not personal, spiritual or emotional. Therefore, I want to keep the clear delineation between what I write here as being strategic, operational and experimental. I hope that I will have some time soon to write more. Please stay tuned.

Always on the square,
Brother Charles

On health and wellness...

The Masonic fraternity teaches that the 24-inch gauge is a symbol of temporal moderation. The time a man has in a day is finite and when he excessively focuses on one aspect of his life, the other aspects of his life suffer. This lesson is one of the first taught in the lodge and is perhaps the most readily disregarded. Typically, Masons are doers and givers. Our calendars are full with events, degrees and meetings. We give to others liberally, sometimes at great expense to ourselves. Masons want to change the world and build a better tomorrow. This new spiritual building must be built brick by brick, stone by stone.

Unfortunately, while we devote our mind, body and soul to the principles of Freemasonry and give to the world ever drop of energy the Grand Architect has bestowed upon us, we often neglect our own lives. For some brothers, their marriages may become strained from too many evenings and weekends away from home. For others, their jobs may suffer from being too tired after several long nights.

I, too, am guilty of not heeding the lesson of the 24-inch gauge. For the past several years, I have been running myself ragged. As a student, I typically took the maximum number of credits possible, while working and being very active in the lodge. On average, I would leave the house at 7:00 am and not return until 11:00 pm. Since I have graduated, I typically work 60 hours a week and am still active in the lodge. I combine these responsibilities with my duties to my family and my volunteer commitments. Due to this, I have adopted several bad habits in terms of eating and resting. I ate too much fast food, candy and caffeinated drinks to keep up my energy. I didn't sleep very much and was overly stressed all the time. The lesson of the 24-gauge was lost on me.

Last Friday evening, I received a rude awakening that my lifestyle had to change. I stayed late at lodge with my wife for a Wii night, where some of the younger guys got together with some of the DeMolay kids and played video games. Like normal, I had candy, pizza and a large amount of diet soda. When we got home, I stopped to see my mother. In passing, I mentioned that I have been very thirsty lately and have had to frequently urinate. My mother, having diabetes, recognized these symptoms and made me take my blood glucose level. It was 430 mg/dl. This is well above the 120 mg/dl my blood sugar should be. I looked through some materials on diabetes and it appeared that I had all the symptoms of a hypoglycemic event. Yesterday, I went to the doctor's office and was diagnosed formally with Type-II Diabetes. I'm 28 years old and diabetic. My doctor told me that I am on a crash course for disaster if I don't change my lifestyle, because I also have hypertension and high cholesterol. The perfect storm.

So what does this have to do with Masonry? I always had the opinion that I had to spend every minute of my day learning, helping and doing. However, without taking the time for refreshment and sleep, the body can not survive. If my lifestyle kills me, then I can't help anyone and I can't change the world. Many Masons live the same life that I live. We have huge hearts and sometimes forget that you must take care of yourself, before you take care of others.

The three symbolic degrees of Masonry are representative of youth, middle age and death. For years, I lived like I was young. I believed my body was impenetrable to the vicissitudes of poor living. I did not give heed to the lessons of balance and moderation taught in the Entered Apprentice degree and because of this I was given a glimpse into the lesson of the last degree of ancient craft Masonry. We are all mortal. We will all die. But it is our choices that decide how we live.

Symptoms of illnesses are a gift from the Grand Architect. It gives us a chance to ward off approaching danger and listen to the lessons he has presented us in this world. Last Friday, I was given a second chance to steer my ship in the right direction. I hope that I will have the strength and willpower to live life in a healthy manner, so I can continue doing the good works God has presented me with.

Book Review: Founding Brothers

When I first laid my eyes on this book, Founding Brothers, I instantly concluded that the premise of this book was to display the Masonic history of many of our founding fathers. I was sorely mistaken. Although the title of this book may excite the book-loving Masons out there, this book had absolutely nothing to do with Masonry. With that being said, I do highly recommend this book to all Masons, especially the e-masons who are currently entrenched in the online arguments occurring throughout the various Masonic blogs, email lists and bulletin boards. Furthermore, this book once again proves that sometimes non-Masonic books can have more to say about Masonry than Masonic books.

In actuality, Founding Brothers is a narrative description of several key events that occurred during and directly after the American Revolution. Six different vignettes are showcased and display the often adversarial roles the founding fathers had in relation to each other. The author pays particular attention to showing how the ideas of the American Revolution were not homogeneous and how many of the patriarchs of the United States fought bitterly with each other to strengthen their vision of the American future.

Nowhere in this book is Freemasonry mentioned. However, in this historical narrative, I can see many of the same battles that are being waged today by men who call themselves brothers. The hostilities between the federalists and republicans during our nation's birth are so similar to the arguments between the "pro-Grand Lodge" and "anti-Grand Lodge" camps that the parallels are too numerous to list in this short post. Direct comparisons can be made between the Masons who support their Grand Masters and the monarchists of the age. Furthermore, direct comparisons can be made between those brothers who have revolted against their Grand Lodges and the perpetual revolutionaries that attempted to ally the United States with the French Revolution during its infancy.

Please do not construe these comparisons as attacks on the various positions of our brethren, for this is not my intent. I only focus on this point because a certain perspective should be gained on the current arguments being fostered on the Masonic Internet. The balance between the authority of a governing body and the individual rights of man is not a new argument. This struggle is as old as time itself. Nor is it localized to the Masonic Institution. This conflict has raged on countless battlefields, numerous civil halls and various Masonic halls for centuries.

We as Masons should never allow our passions to overtake us, nor should we forget that the battle for freedom is universal and timeless. The balance between the needs of the many and the rights of the few will always teeter back and forth, but we as Masons must never forget that we stand for the Brotherhood of Man, under the Fatherhood of God. This brotherhood requires that we respect the opinions of our brothers, even when we disagree and that we do unto them as we would have them do unto us.

I highly suggest that you read this book and reflect. Masonry is not always found in things that are Masonic.

Masonic Tech: forvo.com

Have you ever been stuck on a particular word in Masonic ritual and have had absolutely no idea how it should be pronounced? Have you found the phonetic spelling in common dictionaries difficult to figure out? Have you been dismayed when you found that brothers within your lodge pronounce a word entirely differently? Now there is an online tool that can assist you with your pronunciation and help clear up these various problems.

Forvo.com is a website that categorizes words in 177 languages and allows users to record 2.5 second long sound clips of how to pronounce the word. This user-created content is now open for the internet community to listen to and discover how to pronounce those difficult to frame words.

Although the applications for English students and foreign language students are readily apparent, Masons can also find this site very useful. Masonic ritual is filled with words that are not commonly found in present-day English. This causes Masonic Ritual to become ripe with mispronunciations. I can still remember the first time I portrayed the extended apron presentation and was advised afterwards by a Paster Master, that I had mispronounced two fairly important words. It wasn't the end of the word, but now situations like this can be avoided.

The downside of this site is that a person who records the pronunciation could still be incorrect. So all sound clips should be take with a grain of salt. Furthermore, the web site is still new and doesn't have a huge breadth of words yet. However, you can help by recording words that you all ready know. Hopefully in time, the site will be filled with many of those difficult Masonicisms. If you'd like to hear the voice of the Masonic Renaissance's author, you should check out the following words on Forvo:

• irrevocable
• votaries
• Callimachus
  

Royal Arch Masons secretly control Gmail!

For those of you who haven't seen the Gmail logo, I suggest you take a look. It appears that the Masonic World Conspiracy has once again taken control and has now invaded our email. Soon a majority vote in lodge will be required to send an email and all messages will be three weeks late because the secretary couldn't find his e-stamps. What a wicked web we weave!

In all seriousness, for those brothers or lodges out there that don't have an email address, get a gmail account!!! There are countless benefits to getting a gmail account. Here are a few of them:

1. It's Free! No bill to give your lodge and no 25 minute discussion to pay that bill!
   
2. 6.5 gigabytes of storage. Scan lodge documents and send them out to your heart's content. It will take a lot of minutes and semi-harassment letters by PMs to fill your mailbox.
   
3. Keeping your brothers contact information in your contacts lists. No more Treastleboards and call trees to loose. Just keep them all online.
   
4. Gmail application for your cell phone. Now you can check your lodge email while your ear is getting chewed off by a Past DD on the proper way to carry your deacon's staff.
5. IMAP and POP3 support. This means that you can receive your email on your favorite mail client. I pipe my gmail directly into my Mac Mail app, along with my other addresses.
6. Attachments are scanned for viruses automatically. Now you can safely open that email filled with kitten photos that your Senior Warden's wife had sent you.
7. Advanced spam fitler. You can differentiate between Dr. Odo Boodoo from Chad selling you Viagra and Bro. Odo Boodoo RSVPing for the next Blue Lodge Council Meeting.
8. Create multiple accounts. Each officer in your lodge can have email now. You can also create email addresses for the Fellowcraft Club or Temple Building Association.
9. Getting a gmail account instantly gets you a blogger account. Now you can become a Masonic blogger and post really annoying top ten lists about what other Masons should be doing. Man, I hate those guys.
   
10. Email is fast, easy, prevalent and josh darn it, people like it!
    

Now that I know that my New World Order secrets are safe with Gmail, I can finally email my list of UFO landing sites, Presidential Puppetmasters and local lodge fish-fries. A big thanks to the Royal Arch and Gmail!