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Met a mason today

Brother_Steve

Premium Member
Im glad that both my jurisdictions can open in the 1st. The decision is usually made the night of the meeting depending on who is there, if we are all MMs then we open in the 3rd if a FC ispresent the 2nd...ect. I prefer opening in the 3rd only because it doesn't take as long...lol...But I like the fact we can open so that our EAs and FCs can some, also it gives a litmus test for which of them will be active in the lodge
We can drop to whatever degree we wish to after all business that requires a vote is done. We do not have any ritual in NJ that spells out how to open on the 1st or 2nd. If it isn't in the book, we can't do it.
 

Trufflehound

Registered User
I would say so. American Lodges used to open that way until the Morgan affair. Our EA's have full voting rights - all votes are taken in the First Degree. You must open in the first them if working a higher degree - open in it, then when closing come back down. Our lodges always open and close in the first degree.
Do you make a distinction between voting and balloting? Are EAs and FCs permitted to ballot in your jurisdiction, or is balloting reserved for MMs only?
 

Bloke

Premium Member
Do you make a distinction between voting and balloting? Are EAs and FCs permitted to ballot in your jurisdiction, or is balloting reserved for MMs only?

Voting is done by show of hands. This is used for motions. Election of candidates, by secret ballot - using the ballot box and white balls for black against.

EA's and FCs have full voting rights so they vote on motions and for the approval of candidates.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
In my US GLs EAs cannot vote or ballot.

Unwinding the strange decisions of the Baltimore Convention has been taking a long time. So far I'm not sure every US GL in our branch of the family has started doing meetings by the world wide standard. It now makes sense to restore more aspects of the world wide standard, but that takes Brothers motivated on the topic enough to push the process through one jurisdiction at a time.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
Unwinding the strange decisions of the Baltimore Convention has been taking a long time. So far I'm not sure every US GL in our branch of the family has started doing meetings by the world wide standard. It now makes sense to restore more aspects of the world wide standard, but that takes Brothers motivated on the topic enough to push the process through one jurisdiction at a time.

I think what ever change you do, it needs to be made for good reason AND realise it might be of time or place. I like opening in the First, but if I was in an American Lodge - I'd be looking at retention before I changed it asking which of the two methods retains more men beyond the 5 years mark - and drilling down further to find what education and mentoring systems are in place... but at the end of the day, if the lodge next door is doing something that works for them, and you think it would work for you, try it. One thing lodges are bad at is experimentation. I think Freemasons are the strangest mix of conservative and progressive I know of (not in a political sense - but in terms of their attitude to change)... We should be using the fail small, fail fast, fail forward trendy business idea, because it works... but no, we tend to sit on our hands for decades debating such change
 

The Traveling Man

Registered User
General Remarks of the Emulation, by VWBro Graham Redman, PGSwdB, DepGSec (now Acting GSec as RWBro Nigel Brown, PJGW retired from the position), Senior Member of the Committee of Emulation Lodge of Improvement stated clearly that once the lodge is closed, it is inappropriate to do the signs.
And by the way we do not have due guards here. I have heard of a rumour that the due guard is the position when you take the ob.

No due guard? Interesting...
 

The Traveling Man

Registered User
Voting is done by show of hands. This is used for motions. Election of candidates, by secret ballot - using the ballot box and white balls for black against.

EA's and FCs have full voting rights so they vote on motions and for the approval of candidates.

In my Lodge vote is show of hands as well. Petitions and advancement are voted by ballot. But, while we can and do open on the EA and FC degrees if there are EA's and FC's present, they are not allowed to vote at all.
 

Brother JC

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
I received a business e-mail at work today from someone I haven't communicated with before. His signature included a line about "The brotherhood of man..." I replied, asking if he was a "Traveling Man." Sure enough, he's an EA in Arizona. I love it when that happens!
 

Ripcord22A

Site Benefactor
We can drop to whatever degree we wish to after all business that requires a vote is done. We do not have any ritual in NJ that spells out how to open on the 1st or 2nd. If it isn't in the book, we can't do it.
Thats interesting that u domt have the ritual for it. What about closing on degree nights? Does the master just close with out form or does the new brother get kicked out?

Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app
 

MBC

Twice Registered User
Premium Member
Here, different knocks for each degree.
Same here also. Different k...s for different degrees. *** / * ** / ** *
But in many lodges in the English jurisdiction, all businesses are transacted in the first degree so that the EAs and FCs can also participate if necessary.
The lodge will only open in a superior degree when the ceremonies demand it, otherwise it will stay on the first degree.
We have Openings and Closings for all three degrees but the Closings of Second and Third degrees are very rarely used, most lodges just resume to the first degree.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
Same here also. Different k...s for different degrees. *** / * ** / ** *
But in many lodges in the English jurisdiction, all businesses are transacted in the first degree so that the EAs and FCs can also participate if necessary.
The lodge will only open in a superior degree when the ceremonies demand it, otherwise it will stay on the first degree.
We have Openings and Closings for all three degrees but the Closings of Second and Third degrees are very rarely used, most lodges just resume to the first degree.

Same - our ritual is basically Emulation with a few variations...
 
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