Most Worshipful Prince Hall

LECTURER

“THE HUMAN ELEMENT OF OUR CRAFT”

            Before we can really comprehend all about the teachings, symbols, and allegories of Freemasonry, we must first try to understand the most fundamental part of our Craft, the people.  Black, White, Hispanic…it is our flesh and blood that drives this great machine.  And along with that comes each of our own hopes, fears, and ambitions – and to these, we must learn to pay attention.

For most Brothers, their first contact with the ideals and lessons of Prince Hall Masonry came from the Entered Apprentice Degree of their ritual and the mind of their Senior Deacon.  As they progressed through the Fellow craft Degree and finished with the Master Mason Degree, their ritualistic and ceremonial knowledge of Freemasonry grew by leaps and bounds.  And once they commit to memory every verse, line, and lecture, they believe they are able to walk and talk with the best of them.  But I can assure you, my Brethren, that when the ritual ends, only then will the learning truly begin…

          Prince Hall Masonry is a veritable microcosm of morals, symbols, business practices, networking, ideas, charity, and friendship.  But like everything else, it is subject to the fallibility of human beings - a perfect system that is inhabited by imperfect people.  So, when we begin to accept and understand this as an irrefutable fact, we can cast away the blinders and begin to see Masonry for what it really is.  We are a group of people doing and acting the way normal people do.  Prince Hall Masonry is, at its basic level, a social structure that must adhere to the rules that all subcultures follow.  The Brothers have the same needs and desires as every other group of people in the entire world.  Every member craves acceptance, recognition, loyalty, and to feel like they are a part of something special.   However, the way we conduct ourselves within or without the Lodge is not a concerted effort, but an individual one.  Our own values, traditions, and heritage will determine our actions more than any other factors.  We don’t have to go into all of the sociological theories about why we are the people we have become, because it is not relevant to do so here.  But the bottom line is this – if we, or anyone else, views our Fraternity as a perfect system but still has the parochial attitude to judge it by its human elements, it will always fall short of expectations.   That gentlemen, is not fair to our Craft.

          Our Masonic forefathers understood that everything we were to do would come with great trials and tribulations.  That is why we have been equipped with the common gavel, the trestle-board, and all of the other working tools – to make ourselves better and stronger.  Every thought we have and every action we undertake is something completely natural for any regular man…but it is how we deal with these situations that makes us Masons.  Before we can begin understanding our Craft ritualistically, we have to understand its human perspective.  Because just as we believe the Symbolic Lodge to be the foundation of Prince Hall Masonry, the men to our left and right are the foundation of the Symbolic Lodge.

Be aware: Looking at Masonry through unbiased eyes can be somewhat of a double-sided coin…you will either come to the realization that we are nothing more than a bunch of men trying vainly to improve our station in life or you will see and appreciate the great Fraternity that our people have cherished for generations.  Either way, I think it is of the utmost importance that you make up your mind how you feel about this Family - because indecision can be just as damaging as a wrong decision.   My Brothers, when you truly understand that the strength AND weaknesses of our Organization lay solely within the character of its people, then you have gained even further light in Masonry.