Samuel Colt Lodge

Samuel Colt with 1851 Navy Revolver

Minnesota, being an incredibly dynamic and interesting place to practice Masonry, has a new lodge forming, Samuel Colt Lodge. The Lodge will meet at the Osseo Gun Club, which is located in Osseo, MN.

The lodge will support the Shriners Hospital. $20 from each member going to buying gifts for the kids at the Minneapolis Shriners Hospital, which is just awesome. They currently have 19 signatories and need at least 25. If you are interested and you are a Minnesota Mason, I can get you in contact with the brothers organizing this new lodge venture. Best wishes and I'm glad to see another lodge forming in Minnesota.

Leave a comment below.

Going to My Grandpa's Home Lodge

My grandpa, my dad, and I at my dad's raising

The great thing about being in Minnesota is that sometimes, if a lodge needs a ritualist for some part, a lot of us will drop everything to help. I've been fortunate to help at a number of lodges and when I was an elected officer of my blue lodge, to have brothers come in to help us out. When I received a phone call from one of my mentors about potentially helping out with some degree work, I just got ready to suit up and head out the door. Then he mentioned the lodge: Fidelity Lodge No. 39 in Austin, MN.

"Fidelity? Really?"

Fidelity Lodge is my grandfather's mother lodge. Grandpa Dick passed away a few years back and even now, it's tough to think about his passing. Grandpa Dick was the man who got me started on my Masonic journey. He's a man I continue to respect, more so each day. When I got the call to help, I was beside myself. How could I possibly say no?

I have always had a major regret. It still eats at me every time I think of it. My grandpa was one of those Masons that joined at a very young age, around the same age that I did, and after a long life, he finally arrived at his 60th year as a Mason. The ceremony for his 60 year pin presentation was scheduled on the same night as a lodge meeting when I was still a Warden for my lodge. Sadly, what I now describe as the rather useless, kinda dumb, pre-meeting program was set for the same evening. Me being a young, dumb officer, I believed that I couldn't miss the rather useless, kinda dumb pre-meeting program so I skipped his 60th year award. He passed a couple years later so I missed all further anniversary celebrations; all potential trips to his lodge to sit in lodge with the man that made me a Mason were never, ever going to happen. I was devastated. When I received the phone call to help, I felt that redemption was possible.

Austin is a little bit of a drive from my house, but I was fortunate to have my mentor drive. We talked and shared stories and just had a real good time. I've visited Austin my whole life but I had never seen the lodge, not even the exterior of the building. This was all new to me. I can honestly say I was nervous. Like teeth chattering nervous.

We got to the door and I started thinking about what went through my grandpa's head when he opened this exact same door the first time he visited the lodge before he even became a Mason. I looked up the long flight of stairs, the really long flight of stairs and I paused.

"This is it," I thought. "This is grandpa's Masonic home."

I got to the top of the stairs and everyone saw us and started shaking our hands. It was as if I had known these men my whole life. One of the first men I met was Otto. Otto is very important to my Masonic story. When I was considering petitioning, my grandpa asked Otto if he knew a local lodge where I could join. He got in contact with my mentor and I was off to the races. I had never met Otto and had only spoken to him once over the phone. Otto is a great man and I had a lot of fun talking to him about my grandpa and the lodge.

I also met Bill who is also a great Mason and was very kind in showing me around the lodge. I was fortunate to have eaten with him and chatted about all things Masonic. And it was great to see Dean again. Dean and I have seen and chatted at Southeast Area events often, for almost a decade now. For the longest time, he was the only Austin Mason I knew and he was always happy to tell me about my grandpa.

Finally, the meal was over and I needed to focus. Ritual is very important to me and whenever I'm the Senior Deacon on this particular degree, I have to get my game face on. Masons in Preston-Webb states know why I'm saying this. Considering where I was, though, it was even more important to me. We had three candidates that night and I wanted to do a great, scratch that, stellar job for them.

Me next to the charter for Fidelity Lodge

As I began my ritual work, I started to look at the benches, at the officers' chairs, the altar, and the large lodge room. In my mind, I saw my grandpa. He was there. He was there listening to me deliver the ritual. He was there smiling with an encouraging glance. He was there as the candidate, experiencing the ritual for the first time. He was there as a long time member, listening again to the important lessons conveyed. He was there with me.

As we finished up the ritual work for the night, I finally sat down in the chair. I was emotionally drained but happy. I looked around. They were smiling. It was as if everyone in the room was saying, "you made your grandpa proud." It was tough not to tear up at that moment.

During the comment section, when everyone in the lodge was asked if they had something to say, I paused to let everyone speak. Finally, I stood up. I told everyone who I was and what the lodge meant to me.

"A lot of you knew my grandfather. My grandfather was a man of few words. I just want to say, 'thank you.'"

I said a few other things but really, I just remember the thank you. We closed the lodge and I went out to chat with everyone. A number of the brothers came up to me and told me little stories about my grandpa. One brother told me that he worked with him on the railroad starting the fire in the engine (and he even said to me that I would never remember his name which turned out to be true.). Another told me about bowling with him. It was great. I was starting to fill in the blanks of his life, a life I had never known.

Bill pulled out a book of members and there was my grandpa's page, right there, open on the counter. I stared at the page a long time. This was his record. This was the record of my grandfather. He had a memorial laid up in this very lodge's records for eternity. As I was leaving, the brothers handed me a mug and pen from their sesquicentennial (and later, they even sent me a thank you card).

As we drove away, the night sky filled with low clouds, I looked out the window at a view that I had seen countless times but one I best remembered as a child. The cornstalks swayed as a late August rain was slowly rolling in and my mind wandered back to that cold and crisp Thanksgiving day in 2005; my family and I entering my grandparents' door, greetings exchanged, and coats doffed and hung. I remember seeing the letter on the counter, a letter from a knightly order, and the long conversation I had with a man I admired then and continue to admire now.

Now that I have my own kids and my dad is a grandpa, I often think about the time when my own kids are grown. What will life be like then? But I try not to tarry too long on that question. I start to play with them and wish they'd stop growing. I wish those little moments could slow down. That I could have just one more hour at the playground, just one more day before he has to start preschool, just one more year before he's getting on a schoolbus. That's the funny thing. When you want time to stop, it speeds up. As one brother told me, "raising children is like this: the days are long and the years are short." The best we can do is try our best to remember and store away those memories in our heart.

I'm going to say something that we never said while you were alive but, Grandpa, I love you, I miss you, your great-grandchildren are doing great, and I look forward to seeing you again.

Sons of the Desert: Nothing But Trouble Oasis No. 309

Oliver: Now isn't this nice?
Stan: It sure is. We're just like two peas in a pot.

Bro. Matt Gallagher of Braden Lodge No. 168 in Saint Paul has sent me a paper on a new body that some members of his lodge have started, Nothing But Trouble No. 309, Sons of the Desert. Enjoy.

On Thursday, November 14th, at 7:00 pm several brothers from my lodge, Braden #168, are hosting an event we hope will become a continuous tradition for local Masons, their friends, and family. In cooperation with the Sons of the Desert (the Laurel and Hardy fan club), we have chartered our own group (also known as a "tent" or "oasis"), Nothing But Trouble No. 309.

Why? Well, frankly most of us just didn't care to be Shriners.  Not for any malicious reason. Some just don't like the Shrine vibe. Some can't afford the expense. And for a lot of us it would have just been one more thing. But we all love fezzes.

The Sons of the Desert is an honest-to-goodness "fraternal order," taken from the famous movie of the same name, and started by the great Chuck McCann and company, to honor and preserve the films of the even greater, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Starting in New York City, with Sons of the Desert Tent No. 1, they have formed these tents across the country, and around the world, to gather, drink, watch, laugh, talk, drink, laugh, drink, and pass these films to a new generation who get an inexplicable, empty feeling watching Dumb and Dumber.

The Sons of the Desert, from the movie, were a fraternal order based not-so-loosely on the Shriners, in a tongue-in-cheek, affectionate way. Oliver Hardy was, himself, a Shriner. The real world organization was formed with the blessing of Stan Laurel, who even contributed some ideas, not the least of which is that it have a "half-assed dignity about it." With that mandate in mind, we have formed and officially chartered Nothing But Trouble:  Sons of the Desert Oasis No. 309. Our evenings will consist of films (Laurel & Hardy, and others of the classic era), filmography, cocktails (mocktails, actually, as we meet happily in a dry building), a little comedy, and a lot of great fellowship.

We have no annual dues, and there are no door fees. We will be charging $5 per person for a free all-night pass to the concessions counter. All profits and donations will go to a fund reserved for the preservation and revitalization of Triune Masonic Temple, the last building from the turn of the 20th Century in Saint Paul still in Masonic use today.

In short, it's all for laughs and good fraternity, as well as the ability to mingle fraternally with other masons, non-masons, and yes, even women. If you would care to join us, our Facebook page can be found here. If you can, please RSVP to next week's event here, and if you are not on Facebook terms with the internet, you can always subscribe to our newsletter here.

My Wild and Crazy Summer

Well, dear reader, I apologize for taking so long to get anything up on this blog. I've been really busy with family, friends, and Masonry. But I'm back to give a little bit of my adventures during the month of June.

In May, I was installed as Captain General for Faribault Commandery No. 8. It has been great to serve in this capacity and attempt to bring forward a great many ideas to encourage the Templary side of Masonry.

June became a crazy month for me. The first big event was the first Order of the Temple to be conferred in Faribault in many decades. For many years, new Sir Knights had to go through the One Day to Templary or find a place to do courtesy work. However, after many years of working, gaining incrementally, and reviving the spark, we turned the Commandery around and now have many new Sir Knights willing to jump in and do the work. All this culminated in the Order of the Temple. Special thanks to the Sir Knights of Cyrene No. 9.

The Sir Knights of Faribault Commandery with our two newest candidates.

This next event was a Saint John's Day procession to attend worship services. This year, we attended the services of the Congregational Church of Faribault. Faribault Lodge and church have had the same members since the founding of both. The Grand Lodge of Minnesota laid the cornerstone of the Parish House for the Congregational Church.

Cornerstone of the Parish House. PGM Jenkins, PM of Faribault Lodge No. 9 , was the presiding GM in 1923.

We, as a lodge, opened and assembled ourselves into procession. We processed the three blocks from the lodge hall to the Church, in full regalia. We then sat for services. It was a wonderful day without rain. (Minnesota now apparently has three seasons, winter, road construction, and rainy.) Thanks to Pastor Jan and the wonderfully welcoming congregants of the Congregational Church of Faribault.

With Pastor Jan

Then, the next day, Monday the 24th, I attended a Saint John's Day procession being held by Red Wing Lodge No. 8. I was the Marshal, as I have planned these processions in the past, and was honored to serve in that capacity. This was a procession to the local Lutheran Church but without any worship services. Instead, we were fortunate to behold a fantastic meal set before us and a wonderful speech on Masonry in America by MWB Tom H., PGM of Minnesota. It was a wonderful and moving experience for all involved.

We processed to the Lutheran Church two blocks away

Now, if all this was not enough, I attended the Grand York Rite Session as I am both the Principal Conductor of the Work for my Cryptic Council, Northfield Council No. 12, and Captain General for my Commandery. I also happened to have been appointed and installed as the Grand Chaplain for the Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of Minnesota. So yes, I am a purple coat now. Thank you MIGM Jim for your confidence in me in this endeavor.

Ta da! Notice that I have the wrong apron. 

I think that's it in the Masonry sphere. It's been busy but that's cool. Hopefully, we can keep this going. I have many more ideas I'd like to implement and hopefully, I can continue to write about them.

Polar Plunge 2013

"Jump in a frozen lake", they said; "it'll be fun" they said. 

Okay, quit whining. You'll be fine. They'll have EMTs on staff. 

EMTs?! Am I going to die?

Knock it off you baby.

Okay, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Ok, now I'm ready to do it. I'm ready to jump in but I'm going to need everyone's help to get me over the mountain.

Polar Plunge 2013 is a great charitable event for Special Olympics Minnesota. My lodge, Corinthian Lodge No. 67, is fielding a team of crazy... intrepid brothers who are going to jump into the freezing cold water of Crystal Lake in Burnsville. Our team name: The Stonecutters. The jump will be on February 23rd. The actual plunge starts at 2:30 pm but I'm unsure when my team will be jumping. There will be a free shuttle going back and forth from Brunswick Bowl in Lakeville just so you can avoid the parking snares that may occur.

If you would like to donate, just visit our team page and pick any of the team members to donate. We're all swell guys and would really appreciate your support in this extremely worthy cause.

I think I can, I think I can.

Hip-Hip-Hooray!

My wonderful readers,

I am happy as a clam, as proud as punch, laughing like a hyena, yeah, I think that's it. Anyway, tonight is the big night for Corinthian Chapter No. 33. We will be conferring the big degree, the most sublime degree of the Royal Arch, on 10 worthy brothers. It has been a long road but we are almost there.

I am so proud of all the hard work my Chapter has done. All ten will then be greeted into our Cryptic Council on the 16th of February. And perhaps, a Commandery is also in their futures as it is mine.

This is also my last night as High Priest, after a two year stint. When I started, our membership was at 32. Today, we'll have more than 50 companions. All the congrats go to my team of officers and companions who have jumped in and really done a lot to make our Chapter emerge from the doldrums of slumber.

I have most of my parts ready and hopefully, we can all make this a memorable degree. The Royal Arch is my second favorite degree after the Entered Apprentice degree. The lessons and information one gets from this degree will stick with the candidate for as long as he is a Mason. The American Royal Arch degree is chock full of themes that tie together everything that Masonry means and what it stands for.

I am just so proud and I can't wait to see what the future holds for our Chapter. In the words of Stan Lee, "Excelsior!"

The Case for Candles

Courtesy of Unizar Lodge No. 347

Brothers,

I've been thinking about the constant tug-of-war between tradition and modernity in our Craft. It's an interesting issue that continues to arise as the modern world outside the lodge and the traditions within the lodge either clash, merge, become accepted practice, or exist yet are ignored. Case in point, candles.

At the beginning of speculative masonry, lodges used candles as the lesser lights. This was obviously out of necessity. The only way one could light a room effectively was using candles as the long lasting and practical Edison incandescent light bulbs would not be invented until the late 1870's. Candles were the thing to use, it was just that simple.

As with all modern advances, the light bulb began to be adopted en masse as Edison and several competing inventors changed the way we viewed light, the night, and time. Of course, this modern advance finally found its way into Masonic lodges.

I haven't found any source material on when most Masonic lodges in my state switched from candles to incandescent bulbs but it must have been very nearly after when the incandescent bulb was invented and mass produced from age of the lamps I have seen. I can't be sure why bulbs were chosen but I wish to speculate. I believe the reason was to save time.

If you've ever seen a lodge with candles and not bulbs, you have probably noticed the biggest difference when lighting the lesser lights. The candle route takes time, at least two minutes for the Senior Deacon to go from candelabrum to candelabrum while a lamp takes, well, a second. Flick. Now the lesser lights are on.

In this case, switching from our old way to light the lesser lights to this new way has not improved the lodge experience. In fact, I'm going to go further and say that the bulbs have done nothing but to remove an important symbol from our lodge.

The lodge visits I have attended that employ candles change me somehow. Both methods of light come from the energy of the sun but only with candles do I sense kinetic energy. Candles, with their dancing flames, placing light in seemingly random sections of the Lodge Hall, changes my experience. The candles encourage action, sharpening my mind in a way a light bulb never could. In fact, I would say, I put no thought into the lesser lights when a lamp is used. None. They are just a perfunctory step to opening and closing.

Tradition and modernity can work together. Lodges can and should have lodge websites. If a lodge wants an organist but can't find one, using a prerecorded track may be okay. These tools allow lodges to accept a changing world without losing everything that Masonry should keep.

Modernity should not force its way in, disrupting what is strictly not its purpose. I can imagine that at some point, a lodge will attempt to use a Kindle, its screen set to "Always On", as a representation of the Holy Bible. I suspect, that some brothers will attempt to record the ritual and have candidates watch a screen, thus, losing that important connection of ritual to self-transformation.

As with all things, we must take care not to lose our traditions. We must always balance why we do things with what we can do after advances in technology take hold. I do believe that we can create a balance, we need only be cognizant and vigilant at every meeting.

What are your thoughts? How do we effectively protect our traditions and accept helpful technological advances into our lodges? Leave a comment below.

Not a Concession Speech

As I promised, this is not a concession speech but a bittersweet statement. I have been an officer in my lodge, Corinthian Lodge № 67, since a year after I was raised. That's five years. I've worked hard as an officer to ensure that whatever the lodge needed to grow and thrive, I would be there.

But I feel good. I see the new officers and what they hope to accomplish and can be nothing but supportive. We are experiencing a fourth year of growth in the lodge. We are seeing a renewed interest in Masonry. Every meeting feels brotherly and I enjoy every one of them, even the long ones. It's been a fun ride.

Of course, even as I'm writing this, I'm remembering all the work that I still have to do in the York Rite. I'm currently the High Priest of Corinthian Chapter № 33, R.A.M. and Captain of the Guard for Northfield Council № 12, R&SMs and will be starting my Commandery Orders next Tuesday. I will finally be stepping down as High Priest. Currently, we have ten candidates going through this year and we have done a lot of work to bring life back to our York Rite. And when I say we have 10 candidates, I should say that my Chapter has less than 50 members meaning we will have increased our membership by more than 20% in one year. Wow!

I'm very excited to see where Masonry goes from here  for me. I see a lot of opportunities for leadership in my lodge. I'm learning from the Past Masters about the transition and I think I'm doing well. I will continue to work hard, continue to learn, and continue to teach other brothers and allow them to learn from their knowledge and experience. This isn't my swan song, regardless of the picture I chose above, but my triumphant song of happiness and relief.

Marshal the Troops

At Corinthian 67, our bylaws require that the outgoing Master serve as Lodge Education Officer, and that the outgoing Lodge Education Officer serve as the Marshal. That means, if you are Master of the Lodge, you will serve two more years in some lodge leadership role. We designed our officer succession because we wanted to keep the Master in lodge as long as possible. We want his expertise.

As someone who has now been assigned a new role, I have to figure out what the heck I’m supposed to do exactly. I like to do my own thing so I’ve added a bit. Let’s start with the basic framework of a Marshal.

Let’s look at the language of the Minnesota installation ritual:

It is your duty to form and conduct processions of the Lodge on all public occasions, and to attend to such other interests in the practice of our rites, as the Master shall direct.

Okay. So I do some stuff, mostly in public. That's a start but I'm going to need some more information. Let’s go further. 

This is the description from the Minnesota Officers Guide:

The Marshal should:
1. Assist the Tyler to open and close the Lodge and to set up the Lodge.
2. Present the Colors of our country.
3. Assist the Stewards.

Okay, that helps a little bit more. I’m supposed to be a helper. I like to help but again, I’m not sure what aid, other than setup and cleaning, I’m supposed to provide.

I’m writing my own job description for the office of Marshal.

Here goes:

The Marshal should:

1. Serve as the lodge’s Grand Lodge liaison. At a minimum, he will provide the officers of the Grand Lodge with the calendar of dates and invite them to all important lodge functions. 
2. Present the Colors of our country. 
3. Serve as the lodge’s public relations ambassador. These may include: 
1. Inviting distinguished guests from the community to open lodge functions. 
2. Asking community officials if they need assistance from the lodge.
3. Planning and leading any community outreach with the assistance of other brothers. 
4. Other duties as assigned.

I will probably think of some other stuff that the Marshal should do but that’s what I can think of off the top of my head. I hope to serve Corinthian Lodge well and I want to congratulate all the officers as they continue to lead C67 to further glory.

What do you think the Marshal should do? Does your state do something differently? Leave a comment below.

Intrigue Theater at the Triune Masonic Temple

I’m passing along this great show which will benefit the Triune Masonic Temple in Saint Paul. If you have never traveled to Triune, you are missing out, the building is beautiful and the lodges that meet there, Saint Paul No. 3, Braden No. 168, and Unizar No. 347, are very welcoming. This is one of the most unique fundraisers of ever heard of. Bravo brothers of Saint Paul #3.

Ghosts Sighting in St. Paul Masonic Lodge!

Masonic Lodge St. Paul No. 3 is proud to welcome INTRIGUE THEATER
to the Triune Temple in St. Paul, MN on Friday the 13th of May.

Travel back in time to the Victorian era and witness an amazing performance of Illusion and Mentalism Starring Sean-Paul and Juliane and featuring special guests from the other side.
INTRIGUE THEATER offers a unique experience reminiscent of 19th Century entertainment. Witness magical demonstrations, feats of astonishing mental capabilities, and elements of spiritualism in a seance, as observed and celebrated in the 19th century. Spirits may make their presence known with whispered answers and unexplained phenomenon.

There will two performances Friday May 13th and Saturday May 14th.
Showtime is 8:00 p.m.
Tickets are $10.00
There are only 200 seats available for each show.
We are projecting that both shows will sell out.
Purchasing tickets on-line by clicking here is recommened.

Wanted: 1 MILLION DOLLARS

Triune Temple is one of the few historic Masonic temples still remaining in the Twin Cities area. It is one of the earliest and best preserved buildings erected exclusively for the use of a single Masonic Lodge.

This performance is a fundraiser that will benefit St. Paul No. 3 with their efforts to maintain their building which in March celebrated its Centennial.

The Lodge as Lab Part 1: The Full Third Degree

By Hannes Grobe 19:04, 3 September 2006 (UTC) (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

As I began to pull back into my new role as Lodge Education Officer, I’ve been thinking about all the different programs I tried at Corinthian Lodge No. 67 while I sat in the East. Masters are given a lot of leeway to try new programs out to get the brothers more active. We may not make innovations in the Craft but this prohibition is aimed at the ritual and have little to do with programs that make Lodge a fun and worthwhile experience, i.e. no fourth Craft degree. When I took the Oriental Chair, I began to view myself as a scientist, testing experiments on the brothers and candidates to see what works and what doesn’t work. The first experiment I would like to discuss is the idea of giving each candidate the full degree work.

In Minnesota, lodges have the ability to abbreviate the second section of the third degree on all but the last candidate. I wanted to see if retention and more especially, participation, went up if candidate received the full second section. I should first preface why I wanted to test this hypothesis.

For many years at Corinthian Lodge, we had many candidates go through and witness the second section performed on the last guy. I began to notice that there seemed to be a correlation between them coming to lodge and taking a part in the full degree. I also had a personal reason. The fee for degrees is not a small number. Many lodges charge hundreds of dollars to take the degrees yet we weaken the degrees’ punch by abbreviating them. Essentially, all but the last candidate becomes a spectator and loses any dramatic punch from the third degree.

This is what I did. We had three candidates for our spring class. (Corinthian Lodge ranges from one to three classes a year). I decided that I wanted each brother to receive the full third degree. As Master, it was my responsibility to plan the third degree and I took it upon myself to get the right brothers for parts. I doubled each part of the third degree and let the experiment begin. I also had all the candidates together for the first section of the degree as that was what they were used to. When the degree started, the results were astonishing.

I imagined the time to do each second section taking at least forty-five minutes if not longer. I was surprised to find out that it takes less than 25 minutes at a normal pace. With the right planning, three candidates at a normal pace take an extra 25 minutes maximum. Also, if brothers need a break, having roles doubled removes the stress and gives each candidate a different perspective on the degree. The ritual is the same for each candidate but the different emphasis and inflection of the words. Also, the first candidate to go through is able to watch the rest of the degree and understand more fully what just happened to him. Now for the results.

I have noticed that the first three brothers that we tried this on have been incredibly active. Two out of the three are in Scottish Rite and all are looking for other avenues for Masonic light within our Fraternity. All of them are voracious readers of our history and philosophy and are incredibly committed in just a short time of being a Mason. It looks like we will continue this tradition of the full second section on each of our new candidates.

My conclusion in this experiment is that we need to give candidates the same attention and care that we would want paid to us. Candidates pay a lot of money to join our Fraternity but may not get to experience the full feeling of being a Mason. Men petitioning now are looking for something more; not merely a place to hang out with the boys but a society of seekers looking for the tenet of Truth. They want to be true initiates of our Order. I think the only way we can give them that feeling and status is by giving them degree work without becoming a spectator.

Does your Lodge do the full third degree on each candidate? Why not leave a comment?

My Year

My year is complete and I am now happy to report of the great successes that we have had in Farmington, MN. When I first joined Masonry, I really didn’t know the brothers of the Lodge. I traveled to Farmington so rarely before joining that I didn’t even know the way to get there. Now, the path seems so well-worn that I sometimes forget the trip to the Temple. I have spent so many hours repeating ritual during that half-hour to lodge that I have probably conferred each degree a hundred times.

This year has been great. However, whatever success I have had has been a part of nearly a decade of growing from being small and nearly forgotten to well-regarded in Minnesota Masonic circles. I am proud of all the hard work we have done this year.

I started with some real goals to accomplish. The first task to tackle was my lodge’s website. We needed an overhaul. The ease of putting up content on the existing site was nearly impossible. Articles would disappear, trees would branch to nowhere, and I would have trouble transferring what I had written with pictures. I am a computer novice and sometimes these “compruters” confuse me. In just one simple switch, Corinthian Lodge No. 67 has one of the best sites in Minnesota. We switched to SquareSpace and Google Apps and never looked back. Our calendar is up to date and everyone knows what is going on at the lodge.

We started the year’s degree work with a Table Lodge/First Degree, something we had never done. All of the brothers were in good spirits and the meaning of brotherhood was never clearer. We had at that degree the just Past Grand Master, the sitting Grand Master, and the then Deputy Grand Master, now Most Worshipful Grand Master of Masons in Minnesota. At that first meeting, we had four candidates as well as a recently raised Master Mason from the One Day class.

I also tried experimenting with our practices. One such practice is performing the full third degree on each candidate for Master Mason. The Minnesota Masonic Code allows for an abbreviation of the third degree for all but the last candidate. We, as a Lodge, had been abbreviating the experience for years. I wanted to see just how different it would be for the newly raised brothers if each brother received his degree in full. I called as many learned brothers as I could to share the degree workload and we did a wonderful job. The day was raining, the building was hot, but everyone had fun learning the important lessons of the third degree.  These brothers are now truly dedicated and rarely miss meetings and are completely engaged in the Lodge.

We hosted a great pancake breakfast for our scholarship fund, the first in many decades. We had fun discussing Masonry with interested men, showing off our nearly a century old temple and seeing all the brothers and their families. Chris Cakes worked the griddle which gave us more opportunities to chat with the public about who we are. Bro. Jarrod stepped it up along with Bro. Rick to make the event a great success. Kudos.

We also have done quite a bit of traveling as a lodge. Traveling is something that most Master Masons will never do while they are on this earth. In Minnesota, the right to travel is codified as an Ancient Landmark and every Mason in good standing should travel as often as they can. The types of Lodges a brother can visit in Minnesota alone are mind boggling. And once you have traveled in Minnesota, both A.F. & A.M. and F. & A.M., look to other states. Fraternal bonds can be formed in nearly every country in the world.

I won’t describe everything that we have done this year but I invite you visit the Lodge’s blog that lists all that we have accomplished. I have had one of the best years of my life and I hope that in my own little way, as I am an Eagle Scout, that I have left the lodge in as good, but hopefully better condition, than I found it.

Please No Open Flames, Candle with Two Ends Present

If you ask, things will get done. Of course, when I ask for things, I should make sure not to have them all collide into one week of near Masonic overload. This week will probably be the busiest week of my life as a Mason.

Today, I was at the degree practice for the upcoming 2nd degree that we will be having for four brothers coming up tomorrow. I will be giving the full lecture for the 2nd degree (you know, that one), so I've been stuffing (well, more like restuffing) everything I can back from the six months that it's been. I have been practicing for around a month so I hope to truly make this lesson memorable for the brothers. I really enjoy the 2nd degree because well, firstly, I get an attentive ear (captive?) from the candidates as well as creating that all important but often neglected middle step.

On Wednesday, some brothers and myself will be going to _________ Lodge No. ____. I've left it blank just in case the brother in question that we want to surprise reads my blog. I've really wanted to travel to other Lodges and I'm thankful that my Senior Warden, Steve, has been pushing for more travel by the Lodge and I am more than happy to oblige. It's one of my goals to check out all the Lodges in the District and we'll see if that goal is doable.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention, Corinthian Lodge will also be hosting a 4th School of Instruction on Thursday. The 4th School focuses on opening, closing, balloting, and receiving Grand Lodge Officers. We will be fortunate to have our Area Custodian, RWB Brian Beermann, in attendance to help us with improving our work.

Hold on while let out a little primal scream, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Okay so I feel better now.

Drop of a Hat

At my Lodge's last meeting, we were fortunate enough to have a man waiting to take his first degree. He couldn't make the date for the First degree we scheduled for our degree class but he wanted to meet the brothers of the Lodge anyway. As the hands of the clock came closer to 7 and 6, I began to think to myself, "Heck, we have the players, we have the parts, the play's the thing, let's do it."

"Would you like to begin your degree work?"

"Sure?"

"Places everyone!"

"We're doing a degree?"

"Yep, we can do this."

And so it began, the brethren and I initiated our new brother at a moment's notice. Our degree work was wonderfully done and I am so proud of my brothers. Where else but Corinthian Lodge could you do degree work for a brother at the drop of the hat?

1st degree plus a Table Lodge plus Grand Lodge Officers Equals Awesome.

Last night, Corinthian Lodge No. 67 did something that it has never done in its 142 year history, a table lodge/ 1st degree. We initiated four brothers into our Fraternity. But that wasn’t the only exciting event to hit the Lodge, we were also fortunate enough to host the Grand Master, the Deputy Grand Master, and the immediate Past Grand Master and to quote Craig Ferguson, "Whaaaat?! I know."

When I was installed as Master, I had decided to do something different, something new. It’s not that Corinthian has been hurting for candidates or a general sense of malaise has hit widespread. It’s just that I saw a pressing need to keep us relevant, to recognize that we, as a Lodge, must view what we do as a progressive science. We now do degree work on a scheduled basis, spacing them at about a month apart while giving an educational piece in between so that the lessons are better understood. We also used a seven toast Table Lodge in the 1st degree.

This event and program was truly enjoyable and I am so fortunate to have these hard working brothers with me. Our Junior Warden Joel and the Stewards, Dan and Art, really outdid themselves, offering a wonderful meal to all brethren assembled. As we began the meal, I saw the excitement and joy in the faces of our candidates, in our visiting brethren and the members of our Lodge. I was also very happy to see our newest Master Mason, Bro. John, at this meeting, where he was presented with his apron and Bible by WBro. Hugh in a beautiful presentation which I was told is unique at Corinthian Lodge No. 67.

After we had gone through two toasts, it was time to prepare the candidates. To paraphrase the words of our Grand Master, Tom McCarthy, what separates us from any other group is our ritual. It teaches lessons to our new brothers even if they don’t remember it all right there. I could see in the faces of all brothers those memories of our own initiation as well as the excitement and joy of our new brothers as they began their first step into Masonic light.

It was great to see MWB Tom Jackson as well who is truly a great friend and mentor to Masons everywhere, including myself. His zeal and understanding of our Craft is, in a word, "marvelous." It was also great to see Right Worshipful Brother John Cook, our Deputy Grand Master, whose prowess for ritual proficiency is legendary. I will be honored come March to see such a dedicated brother be elected as our Grand Master for 2010-2011 (should tradition prevail) at our Grand Lodge Annual Communication, my final one as an officer of the Lodge.

Seeing the three great light bearers in the state, the just was, is and will be Grand Masters of our state all within the confines of our Lodge hall was inspiring and I hope that our new brothers will understand the solemnity and importance of this meeting and our luck as a Lodge at hosting these three great Masons.

We were also fortunate to have a Custodian of the Work, Bro. Foster of Minnehaha Lodge and a friend of mine and his, Bro. Greg from Accacia Lodge in Cottage Grove were also there to celebrate in this joyous occasion. As you can tell from my feverish writing, we had many things to do that evening but even with all of this, I believe the brethren, especially our new brothers, found an experience that was unique and memorable. Next meeting, we will present more education on the first degree. It should be enjoyable and if you would like to participate, please come on down to Farmington, our doors are always open to a brother.

I have linked to the program that we used that can be found on the Grand Lodge of Minnesota's website. If you are Master or soon to be Master, I can honestly say, try it out. The brothers will love it.

Jeez, It's Been That Long

Well, my faithful readers, I have been very lax at writing on my site. I've discovered that the top hat really does not create the time to write an in depth piece on Masonic programs, etc. However, I can tell you that I've been having a great time with my brethren. We have a lot of stuff planned including a first for our Lodge, a Table Lodge/First Degree on the 20th of January.

Mentorship Part 3: We Need a Plan

There are many reasons that mentors should have a plan. Plans improve the ability to help the brothers. Thankfully, there exist in many Grand Lodges, available to brethren around the world, the tools and plans to mentor a brother into being an active laborer among us, which is really the goal.

In Minnesota, Grand Master McCarthy has made mentoring the cornerstone of his plans for this year. I believe that this is truly the most laudable pursuit that we, as Masons, can do. My Grand Lodge has begun a very extensive plan to mentor brothers which will not only provide support for the brothers of Minnesota but also the broader Masonic world.

The program begins with a note from the Mentoring Committee:

Mentoring should never be a single individual’s responsibility. It does not
just begin on the night of the first degree, and it better not end on the night
after the third degree (it should be part of our life long journey as a Mason).

This is key to Mentorship, making sure that the brother has his expectations met as well as giving us an opportunity to emphasize our values to him in a close brother-to-brother relationship. If you or your Lodge needs a plan to mentor these brothers, try out these resources.

Introduction

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

I want to thank the Mentorship Committee for providing these materials and for all their hard work in their creation. We can do this my brothers, we can provide our candidates with the working tools but it will require our time and dedication to teach them their uses.

I Can't Believe I Didn't Learn That in Lodge

Today, I had the honor of presenting three scholarships to three worthy students of the local high school from the Lodge. Sadly, my presentation was, well, to be perfectly blunt, my presentation looked a little something like this:



Now, I know I am being a little rash but it was terrible. So I thought, "why I haven't I learned about public speaking from the Lodge?" I am a Senior Warden for Pete's sake; I talk in front of the Lodge every meeting.

Why haven't I learned to speak to the public? Well, for one thing, in Lodge, I rarely speak to anyone but a select few people, namely, brothers. Also, I have a great script that I repeat all...the...time. However, I hope that next year, I will again be fortunate to present the scholarships to these students with more dignity and grace than today's little SNAFU.

Enough about me, I want to congratulate all the scholarship winners who have shown that through their hard work, anything is possible. I hope all of them the best in their educational endeavors.

Corinthian Lodge #67 Awards/Widows Night

Corinthian Lodge #67 hosted an open Table Lodge/Awards Night/Widows Night. I had a great amount of fun from toast to toast. We had jokes told by our Worshipful Master, Paul, and a very good presentation by our Area Deputy, James. We honored our Widows with a tribute. We also presented Awards to our brothers for their long service to the Craft. We were even fortunate enough to present a one brother with his 60 Year Award. Oh yeah, and I was named Mason of the Year for 2009.


This is a great honor that has been bestowed upon me by my brothers. I was very shocked to learn that I was earning this great award as I didn't know until thirty minutes before. I am truly honored that my brothers think of me so highly and I promise to continue working to improve our Lodge to continue to earn this honor. As I stood to accept my Award, I thought of what I would say. This is an extremely shortened and paraphrased version of what I said:

Masonry stands at a paradox. We are changing rapidly as new brothers and new ideas enter our Lodges. However, we are also an organization that has remained in its current form for centuries. What do we do? I believe that it is to allow exploration to occur but it must always be in the back of all brother's minds the ancient nature of this Fraternity. We truly have our work and our rewards ahead of us.

On an unrelated note, I passed the Bar Exam.

"What Do You Guys Do???"

As many of you who watch my Twitter stream may have seen, I planned and worked the Kids ID booth at the Farmington Expo on Saturday, January 31st. Kids ID is a program where we take height and weight measurements, fingerprints and photos and give the photo disk and info sheet to the parents to take home. During our time there, we, at the table, received a common question, "Who are you guys?" and "What do you guys do?" Normally, I am never for a lack of words but in this case, I was.

The person who asked was a woman in her thirties who worked across the street from the Lodge. She had described that she had seen our red door and was wondering what the heck we do. So I stated that we give money to various charities, including the Cancer Center at the U and the local committee on community charity but she wanted to know what we "do".

As Masons, we are given a canned response to the question of what Masonry is: "a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." But this is frankly not really expositive of anything and makes the questioner feel like we are either being evasive or condescending. So we can then turn to Mackey who stated that "Freemasonry is not a system of morality, either its Speculative form or its Operative form, and was never intended to be, but is a fraternity or brotherhood of men of which the grand idea is work." (Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Part 3, "Ethics and Morals") So what we gave as an answer jives with this definition but the definition still lacks clarity.

So, here I stand as a Mason with an identity problem. I can talk to brothers about Freemasonry, guys who want to be Masons, even my wife and my mother who can't be Masons, yet I find it very difficult to explain who we are and what we do to people who cannot be Mason in the public. Are we a system of morality, are we a charitable organization, are we "workers", and if so, of what, are we a fraternity, or are we just a group of guys who get together to engage in old stuff.

The dust has settled rather thickly on Freemasonry and as the public seems less knowledgeable of who we are and what we do, we are going to need to find ways to shake that from the Square and Compass or risk becoming a further obscurity to the public.

I felt a little embarrassed that I could give her a better response. For someone like myself, I usually have an answer, even if it isn't right. There must be a better phrase, a better explanation that we can use to describe ourselves and our Craft but I just don't know it yet. I just haven't found the right answer yet.