Masonic "Business" Cards

Just a brief entry this time. I mentioned printing Masonic business cards and having them on hand in a previous blog entry. One of my Lodge brothers passed away last week and I represented the Lodge by attending the viewing. It was such a class act to be able to pass out to the family members my Masonic "business" card, I can't begin to tell you. It was so much better than trying to write down my name and phone number on a scrap of paper or on the back of the program(!).

You don't even have to have expensive card made. I downloaded a free Microsoft Word™ resume template, inputted my information, put in a suitable Square and Compasses logo, and printed to card stock. Easy.

This reminds me of what we called in the Army the Six "P"s - Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance. Having those Masonic cards on hand before I needed them was the way to go.

An Often Overlooked Part of the Job of Master

An important, but not often discussed, part of being the Master of a Lodge is that of making everyone feel welcome. Call it schmoozing, gladhanding, making chit chat, or mingling – it’s all the same thing, making everyone feel welcome.

As Master, it is your job to circulate among the brothers and guests at all your meetings, regardless if you are an introvert or extrovert. Believe me, I realize the toll of being in charge – everyone wants a piece of you and asking for direction or wanting you to make some command decision or three. These things too are important. You don’t have to attend to everyone’s needs and comforts right then and there, that’s what deacons and stewards are for. But it is incumbent that as the brother in charge, you chat with everyone, if only for a few moments.

Not only do you make everyone feel welcome by circulating the room, but you get a chance to ask how a brother’s wife or children are doing, how his job search is going, etc. This is what truly matters in Freemasonry – brotherly relief and friendship.

Leadership

I have briefly touched on leadership in a previous blog entry, and now I want to expand upon the concept.

The importance of demonstrating leadership, as Master of a Masonic Lodge, cannot possibly be overstated. If you have been in the fraternity longer than five or so years, you probably know or have heard of a master of a lodge who may have been hapless, rudderless, and completely ineffective. I have heard it said, “It’s only for one year, it can’t be that bad?” But it can be. I truly believe the adage that it takes three or four years of strong leadership to rebuild a Lodge after a man who lacks leadership skills has been in the East. Do not let this rudderless man be you!!!

Here are my thoughts on Masonic Leadership.

I have been fortunate to live close to not only my close friend, mentor, signer of my petition, but also the man I followed to the East. We often carpool to Masonic events and I have found the time spent with him truly invaluable. Sometimes we complain about our wives and kids, sometimes we talk about anything other than Masonry, but most often we discuss the Craft. I acted as a sounding board for him on his way to the East, and I learned my chair from listening to, and watching, him. Now that I’m in the East, I know I can always rely on Jon to hear me out, suggest an alternate course of action, tell me I’m plain crazy, let me vent, or tell me I’m dead on. The latter doesn’t happen as often as I’d like! I’ve decided that this is a very important leadership and training component in my arsenal and it should be in yours, too.

In your climb up the chairs, be sure to watch what the other officers do and act at all Masonic functions. They will often have more “time in service” than you and will (hopefully) act accordingly. Select the good and positive attributes you see displayed and also identify the things and actions you don’t agree with. In situations that could have been handled better, try to identify what led up to the mistake, what was the critical mistake, and what should have been done differently. It is the wisest of all who can learn from the mistakes of others!

I have made this plug before, but you really have to get the book, The Leadership Challenge, by Kouzes and Posner. In their research, they identified five critical components to leadership which they put into the acronym: MICE-E:

Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart

I was introduced to this book in a leadership training course offered by my agency and I can honestly say it has changed for the better my perspective on life and my interactions with my wife, family, Lodge brothers, and work colleagues. Caveat: I know don’t always live by what I learned from this book, but I’m trying!

One last thing to keep in mind during your year in the East: this is a volunteer organization and you should act accordingly! Even though the Methodical Digest says that the Master rules and governs his Lodge, the reality is that if a majority of the brethren and/or your officers are telling you something is a bad idea, you really should rethink it through and heed their counsel. You may be right in making a unilateral command decision, but if the brothers and officers don't feel like you at least heard their concerns, they will vote with their feet.

My first blog entry

This is my very first blog entry.

What I hope to accomplish

I want this blog to be a place where I can put down my thoughts, ideas, and plans while I am in charge of my lodge for the year. I want this to be a journal so my officers can use this as a reference - hopefully it will be a good reference.

I would like you, good reader, to post comments to my entries, telling me I'm wrong, right, give me hints on what I should be doing, and worked for you in your year.

About me

I first learned about Masonry from a dear friend. Richard was a civil engineer by profession and a gentleman from birth. He was thoughtful, calm, rational - most of the things I was not. He was a friend of my father and I knew him from when I was a small child. When I got to be in my mid-twenties, he and I would go surveying and we often had to drive an hour or more to job sites. There was never a dull conversation with him, despite the 40+ year difference in our ages. I quickly learned he was a Master Mason, which intrigued me. At the time I didn't know much about the Masons, but was very interested. I ultimately did not join Masonry at that time - I was still starting out in life, trying to finish grad school, start my career, etc.

By 2002, I was in my chosen career (working for the government), happily married, and felt my life was pretty stable when I reread a favorite book, Born in Blood, by John J. Robinson. The author traces Masonry back to the Knights Templar and really was a great read. I remember thinking, "I think I'll do it, I'll really join a lodge." Problem was, Richard had died by this time - though I didn't know it - I didn't know any Masons, nor did I know where a lodge even was. By serendipity, one day I was getting my car washed. As I climbed in my shiny car, I looked across the street and there was a Masonic Lodge. I felt my fate as I looked at the building.

Screwing up my courage, I called the number listed in the phone book and talked with a very nice man. He invited me to some of the open lodge events, where I quickly made new friends. After about seven or more months, two brothers signed my petition and I was voted in. I was raised a Master Mason in June of 2003 and have never regretted it.

The Present

I am the current master of my lodge. What's scary is that I only have five years in the fraternity, a drop in the bucket compared to the average Mason in my lodge. I have great friends in the fraternity who give me quiet advice, fantastic officers on whom I rely all too much, lodge brothers who help out when and where they can, and a terrific wife who supports me in my year.

I think this will end my first post. I will be making more posts as I get time and I think of something to write about.

David