STB 1980 07
WORK, WORK, WORK
By
Bro. Alphonse Cerza, Grand Historian of the
Grand Lodge of Illinois.
Work always has been an important concept
and word to Americans and to Freemasons.
Our pre-eminence among nations of the world
is the result of a superabundance of natural
resources, the willingness of our people to work
converting these natural resources into useful
things to make life comfortable, and a
governmental form which encourages individual effort in a climate of freedom to develop
one's inherent abilities. The most important of
these factors is the utilization of one's talents at
work. In Freemasonry we utilize the work
constructing King Solomon's Temple as a
symbol to build character. It takes work to
prepare to teach the candidate the catechism;
and it takes work by the candidate to learn the
catechism and secure the needed proficiency to
advance from one degree to the next. All terms
connected with the tools and work of the
operative masons are used as symbols in the
Craft .
Therefore, work is the foundation stone in
Freemasonry and the work ethic is the
foundation stone of the American Way of Life.
As a practical matter, it is well to observe that
everything is the result of work by someone.
The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the
shelter we use to protect us from the elements
are all the result of work engaged in by many
persons. It involves planning, the securing of
the natural resources, and work to convert the
material into the finished product. Likewise, it
is work that makes a candidate into a member.
First, it takes work by many members to
prepare themselves to be able to confer the
degrees with skill. It takes work by one or more
members to learn the catechism and to teach it
to the candidates. It takes work by the
candidate to learn the catechism to gain
proficiency to advance to the next degree. And,
if the lodge is doing its work well, it will retain
an interest in the new member after he receives
the third degree and will teach him many
fundamentals about the Craft, its philosophy,
its heritage, and its organization and work.
This is the method whereby the lodge can
convert a member into a Freemason. There is a
vital difference between being a member and
being a Freemason. Following the formalities
of receiving the degrees makes the candidate a
member, but he does not become a Mason until
he has learned about our heritage, has an
understanding of the philosophy of Freemasonry, and has adopted the lessons of the
degrees into his everyday life. It takes much
additional work to bring this about, but it is a
necessary part of the work of every lodge which
has been neglected for too many years in too
many places.
Conferring the degrees does not complete
the work of Freemasonry. It is just the
beginning. Unfortunately, for too many years
the word "work'' when used by Masons has
described only the ritualistic work conducted by
the lodge. And in most places lodge instruction
on ritualistic matters, ritualistic schools, teaching by Grand Lecturers and other instructors
have done a creditable job in this area of
Masonic work.. Some have been critic of our
Masonic leaders on the basis that there has been
too much emphasis on perfecting the ritualistic
work of the lodge with the thought that this is
the only thing that matters in order for the
Craft to be successful. There is no question that
the ritualistic work of the lodge is of vital
importance for it contains the philosophy of the
Craft and is the vehicle used to teach the
candidate the Lessons that are the foundation of
Freemasonry. Doing good ritualistic work is
important because it is the first exposure of the
candidate to the Craft and the first impressions
are always lasting ones. The trouble is that so
much emphasis is placed on this phase of our
work that everything else is neglected. Placing
so much emphasis only in the form has caused
us to neglect the substance contained in the
degrees. It has been the easy way out for many
officers who find it easy to work by rote and to
give no attention to the meaning or to the
purpose of the ritualistic work.
There is a need for additional work with the
candidate before he is initiated, after he has
received each degree, and after he has
completed all the formal steps to become a
member. Some Grand Lodges have recognized
this need by establishing Educational Committees which have devised programs to give each
candidate additional instruction beyond the
ritualistic work of the three degrees. Many of
these committees have prepared booklets for
the candidates which are excellent and serve a
useful purpose. (Sec M.S.A. Digest, "Tried
and Proven.") Placing these booklets in the
hands of the candidate is fine, but what
assurance do we have that the candidate will
read the material and that when he reads it he
will fully understand it. What we need is more
time spent with the new member either
personally or in group meetings to answer their
questions and to inform them about the nature
of the Craft and its work. These additional
activities are valuable to the candidate and new
member, but they are also important to the
lodge, because they enable the officers to set
additional members to work. A working
member is always an interested member.
It is the duty both traditional and expressed
of the Worshipful Master to set the Craft to
Work and to give it proper instruction. In too
many places for too many years this duty has
been interpreted too narrowly and has been
confined only to the conferring of the degrees.
As a result of this attitude and interpretation
there has been too much Masonic unemployment among our members. The apathy that has
existed within the Craft in recent years and the
continual net loss of members year after year
would seem to indicate that more work is
needed to make the Craft an important part
in the lives of its members.
As in the business world where productivity
has been declining each year for some time, we
are paying the price with loss of members and
apathy. When productivity is reduced in the
market place, we have fewer good results from
the lesser work performed. It will eventually
mean fewer jobs because persons cannot afford
to pay the resulting higher prices. With fewer
goods purchased, social tensions increase.
Reduced profits result and we have more
inflation. Everyone is hurt as a lower standard
of living results. There has been too much
under-achievement per worker in the United
States for too many years. Likewise, there has
been too much Masonic unemployment because
we have not utilized the talents of each of our
members by putting them to work on projects
that will make him an interested and involved
member working for the benefit of the lodge
and its members. (See June, 1980 Short Talk
Bulletin, "What's Your Line?") There seems to
be a contagious co-relation between the causes
that reduce productivity in the market place
and in the Masonic organization. So it is
worthy of note that if we can bring about an
increase in productivity in the market place and
in the Craft everyone in our country and in our
Fraternity will receive valuable dividends. In
the words of Brother James A. Garfield,
twentieth President of the United States, "If
the power to do hard work is not a talent, it is
the best possible substitute for it."
How can we improve this situation within
the Craft? It all boils down to the fact that
more work will have to be done by everyone
involved, apply themselves with diligence in the
performance of their duties; to be determined
to do a better job than has been done in the
past; and to expand the scope of their work and
that of the lodge. It means that the officers
should consider ways and means of improving
conditions in the lodge and its work. It means
that the officers must change their point of view
that the word ''work'' is restricted to the
ritualistic effort of the lodge. The officers must
take a genuine interest in each resident member
as these two elements will give some indication
of the abilities of the members and what their
individual interests may be. Each person is
different and is not interested in the same thing.
We must recognize that not all of our members
are interested in the rote learning of the lectures
and the degree work and will not spend the time
doing something in which they are not
interested. When these individual interests and
talents are ascertained they should be utilized
by the lodge by assigning proper work to the
member. It is surprising how members favorably respond to requests to work for the lodge
within the areas of their interests. To be singled
out to perform a task and to be recognized for
the abilities that one possesses is always
flattering. This will make the member a better
member and the lodge also will benefit from the
work done. As the skills, abilities, and talents
of the members are explored, it is likely that the
lodge may find it necessary to adopt new
beneficial programs to put these members to
work.
It cannot be said at any time that we have all
the workers we need and that there are no new
programs or work to be done by the lodge. The
use of a little imagination will often disclose
new important areas in which the lodge can
function for the benefit of the members, the
lodge and the community. There is always
room for Masonically unemployed members to
become employed. Specific suggestions cannot
be made that will apply everywhere. To be
taken into consideration is the type of members
who belong to a specific lodge, local conditions, what has taken place in the past, and how
much the unemployed members can be motivated to take an active part in the work of the
lodge. There may be a need of having new
committees appointed. It is also likely that the
committees that exist must be converted into
working committees rather than existing in
name only. Giving the member a title and duties
to perform plus a bit of recognition may be
enough to get him to work.
It should not be hard to find things that
need attention. You can start by considering the
physical condition of the premises where the
lodge meets. Do the premises need to be
painted? Do the grounds need to be spruced up
with a lawn, flower beds, bushes, a flag pole,
etc.? Are there widows of deceased members
who have been neglected? Are there sick
members who need some attention? Does the
lodge need a library with Masonic books? Are
there members with hobbies such as stamp and
coin collections with items of Masonic interest
that ought to be put to work in organizing a
display of these items at an open meeting? Do
you have a member whose hobby is gourmet
cooking who can be put to work preparing
fancy dishes for lodge dinners? Do you have
able members who are students who can be put
to work preparing talks on Masonic subjects?
These are some of the questions that come to
mind at once as one explores areas to create
work for the Masonically unemployed members.
Here are some suggestions that might be
considered. If you have a number of retired
members with time on their hands, why not
adopt the "welcome wagon" idea of the
business community? Form a Welcome Committee in your lodge, arrange to get the names
and addresses of all new families which move
into the community, and have these retired
members call on them to welcome them as
neighbors. Visit with the new family and let
them know that if they need any help or
information that the lodge is ready to help. This
sort of project will create much good will with
the new residents and the working members will
get a "lift" from the work.
Hospitals are always in need of volunteers
and this area should be explored with the
thought of having some of the lodge members
act in this area. If there is a Veterans
Administration Hospital within a reasonable
distance with an M.S.A. Field Agent there, a
talk with him may disclose areas in which he
can be helped in his work. He may need help in
wheeling patients to church services Sundays.
He may need Masons to visit with patients who
seldom get visitors.
There is always need for expanded educational activity in our lodges. The scholars,
teachers, and readers of Masonic literature
have been neglected by our lodges. These
members should be put to work studying
various phases of Masonic history, the lodge
records to find interesting items, the philosophy
of the Craft with the view of having them
present talks to the members. Study Clubs
might be considered on the lodge level or
community level. Forums and round table
programs should be considered as a means of
creating work for Masonically unemployed
members.
There is much work to be done by the lodge
and its members. And with the increase in the
amount of work done everyone will profit.
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