|
If You Enjoy Music
There are four different salutes
given within a Lodge: If an officer is absent, the
officers below his station do not necessarily move up, each a chair. There
is no "advancement by right" for any office except that of Master. The
Master fills any vacancy by temporary appointment. In the absence of the
Master the Senior Warden presides. In some jurisdictions it is Customary
for a Master to ask a Past Master to fill a temporarily vacant chair; in
others, he may ask any brother he believes qualified. The Obligation and the Oath:
The obligation is a promise made by the candidate to the members of his
Lodge and to the Fraternity. The oath is the "So help me God!" that
follows the obligation. In most jurisdictions, when the
Lodge is open, it is a form of grave disrespect for a member to pass
between the East and the Altar except during progression in the degrees.
The Master should always have the Holy Writ, his inspiration and Light,
directly in view. In jurisdictions in which the Lesser Lights are
placed in a triangular form about the Altar, it is customary not to walk
between the Altar and a light. The theory is that the Altar and the three
lights about it represent the Sanctum Sanctorum, or Holy of Holies of the
original tabernacle in the wilderness. Into this the High Priest could go,
but only to return the same way. Brethren enter this symbolic
representation of the Sanctum in a lodge room, but do not use it as a
passageway by passing through it. The Altar may be draped as a mark
of respect to a dead brother. If so the draping is of black cloth
which is beneath the three Great Lights. The Altar should not be draped in
any flag; it is disrespectful to the flag to place anything upon it, and
not even a national flag should cover the Altar. The ballot box should be placed on
the Altar, not on the three Great Lights, obscuring them. Nothing
but the square and compasses should rest upon the open Book of the
Law. A Lodge may not be adjourned for
any purpose. No member has the authority to present a motion for
adjournment since that would usurp the Master's power. A Lodge must
be in one of three conditions: Closed, open and at work, or at
refreshment. Always be fully "dressed" before
entering a Lodge while in session. It is a serious disrespect
to the Master to approach the altar while still tying or adjusting your
apron. This should be done in the anteroom prior to entry. The
Tyler should insure that a brother arriving late is properly dressed
before announcing him. When, as
sometimes happens upon "big nights", there are not enough aprons, a
handkerchief may be tucked in the belt to take its place. Concerning dress: Many
Lodges have dress codes. If you plan to visit a Lodge, make every
effort to discern their standards for proper dress before your
visit. If that is impossible, then you should dress as you
would to attend church. Few, if any, Lodges will find fault with
your dress if in a coat and tie, even though they may attend Lodge in
formal dress. Some Lodges have a "come as you are" standard,
especially those Lodges where many of their members are farmers or
laborers who would not be able to return home after a day's work to change
and make it to Lodge on time. In my humble opinion, attending Lodge
is an obligation. Being properly dressed is a courtesy to the Lodge
officers and it's traditions. If I might be permitted another
opinion: Two of the most damaging subjects to the universal good
name of Freemasonry are: The Masonic (Square and Compasses)
ring is not an official item of Masonic Jewelry. General consensus
seems to be that if the wearer wishes to advise others that he is a Master
Mason, then he should wear the ring with the Compasses tips toward the
fingertips. If the ring is worn to remind the wearer that he is a
Master Mason, then he should wear it with the compasses tips toward the
wrist. A man in lodge is the servant of
his brethren if he engages in any lodge activity. Servants stand in the
presence of their superiors. Therefore, no Mason sits while speaking,
whether he addresses an officer or another brother. This does not refer to
conversation on the benches during refreshment, but to discussion on the
floor during business meeting. It is illegal to enter or leave
the room during a ballot. It is discourteous to leave during a
speech, or during a degree, except at the several natural periods which
end one section and begin another. The convention of good manners is
what makes society pleasant, and Masonic good manners make lodge meetings
pleasant. One does not talk in church. God's
House is not for social conversation; it is for worship and the learning
of the lesson of the day. A good Mason does not talk during the conferring
of a degree. The lodge room is then a Temple of the Great Architect of the
Universe, with the brethren working therein doing their humble best to
make better stones for His spiritual Temple. Good manners as well as
reverence dictate silence and attention during the work; officers and
degree workers cannot do their best if distracted by conversation, and the
irreverence cannot help but be distressing to candidates. In general, discussions of
sectarian religion, partisan politics, race or any subject which divides
men into opposed schools of thought are prohibited by Masonic law. In most
lodges, speaking for or against any candidate prior to election is
forbidden; good manners would seem to demand no such discussion even when
permitted. The utterance of personalities, the showing of bitterness, ill
will, criticism of officers or Grand Officers are of course
discourteous. There is a special lodge courtesy
to be observed in all debates to any motion. One speaks to the Master; the
Master is the lodge. One does not turn one's back on him to address the
lodge without permission from him. One stands when addressing the chair.
Customs differ in various jurisdictions as to the method of salute, but
some salute should always be given when addressing the Master. The
spectacle of two brethren on their feet at the same time, arguing over a
motion, facing each other and ignoring the Master, is not one which any
Master should permit. But it is also one which no Master should
have to prevent! Failure to obey the gavel at once
is a grave discourtesy. The Master is all powerful in the lodge. He can
accept or refuse to accept any motion. He can rule any brother out of
order on any subject at any time. He can say what he will and will not
permit to be discussed. Brethren who think him unfair, arbitrary, unjust,
or acting illegally, have redress; the Grand Lodge can be appealed to on
any such matter. But in the lodge, the gavel, emblem of authority, is
supreme. When a brother is rapped down, he should at once obey, without
further discussion. It is very bad manners to do otherwise; indeed, it is
close to the line between bad manners and a Masonic offense.
A Master has but three superiors,
God, death and the Grand Master (or his Deputy). Masters, therefore,
remove their hats during prayer, in the presence of death (which includes
announcements) and of the Grand Master (or his Deputy). It is a courtesy to the Master to
advise him beforehand that you intend to offer a motion, or wish to bring
up some matter for discussion. You have the right to do it without
apprising him in advance, just as he has the right to rule you out of
order. But the Master may have plans of his own for that meeting, into
which your proposed motion or discourse does not fit. Therefore it is a
courtesy to him to ask him privately if you may be recognized for your
purpose, and thus save him the disagreeable necessity of seeming arbitrary
in a public refusal. Lodge courtesies, like those of
the profane world, are founded wholly in the Golden Rule. They oil the
Masonic wheels and enable them to revolve without creaking. They smooth
the path of all in the lodge, and prove to all and sundry the truth of the
ritualistic explanation of that "more noble and glorious purpose" to which
we are taught to put the trowel. The most appropriate closing
phrase I know for this compendium of Lodge Courtesies is by the late R. W.
Henry G. Meacham, Grand Lecturer, Grand Lodge of New York: "There is a certain grave
beauty in the practice of Masonic etiquette. The Masonic life as it is
lived out in our assemblies is a conscious work of art, with each and
every part coordinated to every other, and instinct with the feeling of
the whole; if a man enters into that system without preparation or
forethought, and trusting only his instincts, his manner will strike an
awkward note, like a discord jangling across a strain of music; but if he
has trained himself in his part and caught the spirit of the whole, the
genius of Freemasonry will shine through his actions, will express itself
through ritual, symbol, law, philosophy, fellowship and daily deed. To
have one's self thus become a part of a great and living whole is a kind
of satisfying pleasure nothing else can give, a participation in the very
life of beauty, appreciated as much by the beholders as by the actor. This
ability to confer pleasure upon one's fellows when gathered in
communication or in ceremony is not the least of etiquette's rewards."
The data for this page
was taken in part from 1920's publications of No © Copyright. All material in this site may be used to educate everyone, Masons and non-Masons alike about Freemasonry and for the promotion of Freemasonry.
|
Traduzca esta página al español
Traduire Cette Page A Français
Übersetzen Sie Diese Seite Zu Deutsch
The Pine Island Webwright