|
Freemasonry (or simply, Masonry) is a fraternal
order whose basic tenets are brotherly love, relief
(philanthropy), and truth. We strive to enjoy the
company of our brother Masons, assist them in times
of personal trouble, and reinforce essential moral
values. There is an old adage that Masonry "takes
good men and makes them better", which is our goal.
It has often been observed that men are the products
of everything they come into contact with during
their lifetime. Masonry offers a man an opportunity
to come into regular, enjoyable contact with men of
good character, thus reinforcing his own personal
moral development.
Of course, Masonry is also meant to be enjoyed by
its membership, so the order should not be viewed
simply as a philosophical club, but rather a vibrant
fellowship of men who seek to enjoy each other's
company, a fraternity. To maintain this fraternity,
discussion of religion and politics within the Lodge
is forbidden, as these subjects are those that have
often divided men in the past. Masonry covers the
spectrum of both religious and political beliefs and
encourages a man to be religious without advocating
a particular religion, and to be active in his
community without advocating a particular medium of
political expression.
While there probably are some actual stone-workers
who are Masons, Masonry does not teach is membership
the literal techniques of stonework. Rather, it
takes the actual "operative" work of Medieval Masons
and uses it as an allegory for moral development.
Thus, the symbols of Masonry are the common tools
that were used by medieval stonemasons: the gavel,
the rule, the compass, the square, the level, etc.
Each of these has a symbolic meaning in Masonry For
example, Masons are said to meet "on the level",
meaning that all Masons are brothers, regardless of
social status, personal wealth, or office within the
Lodge or in the world at large. Similar symbolism
exists for other tools.
Masonry is distinguished from other fraternal orders
by its emphasis on moral character, its ornate
rituals, and its long tradition and history, which
dates back to at least the 17th century in modern
form, the 14th century (c. 1350-1390) in the written
evidence of its precursors, and back to the mists of
antiquity in its origin. Masonry has a continuously
documented paper history (i.e., Lodge to Lodge)
since 1717, though historical analysis shows Masonry
to be much older. There are also a great many things
that Masonry is NOT: a religion, a secret society,
etc. There are three degrees in Masonry. Other
appendant bodies confer additional degrees, up to
the 32nd (or the honorary 33rd) of the Scottish
Rite, but in symbolic Masonry (or Blue Lodge
Masonry) proper, there are only three.
At the Blue Lodge, Masons receive three degrees.
Promotion generally requires the mastery of a small
body of memorized material, the contents of which
varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In some
jurisdictions, only the basic elements of each
degree must be learned; in others, a longer amount
of material. Of course, no Mason would ever look
down upon a Brother simply because he was of a lower
degree-- the degrees do not exist to create a
pecking order or to confer rank. Rather, they are a
system of initiation that allows men to become
familiar with the august and ancient history and
principles of Masonry at a comfortable pace.
Proceeding from the first to the third can take as
little as three months, but often the time period
between each degree can be considerably longer. Most
Lodges have regular meeting once a month, that are
also referred to as "business meetings". Conferring
of degrees is usually done at other meetings during
the year.
While conferral of degrees and mundane business do
take up a lot of a Lodge's time, there are a host of
other activities that Masons engage in within the
fraternity, Charitable work is often done, in the
form of fundraisers, community volunteer work, etc.
And there are also a great many things done for the
simple pleasure of company: monthly breakfasts or
dinners, picnics and bowls matches, lecturers on
Masonic history, you name it. Masonry is a
fraternity, and its membership seeks to have fun.
Local Masonic Lodges are organized under Provincial
and Grand Lodges.
Masons are very traditional and the differences
between Grand Lodges are usually minor . The head of
a Lodge is given the title Worshipful Master (Right
Worshipful Master in Scotland). This, of course,
does not imply that Masons worship him; it is merely
a stylish title. Masonic Lodges can be found in many
cities, of all sizes, around the world. There are
presently approximately 5 million Masons, half of
which are in the United States. |
