For many years I have observed the earnest and faithful efforts of the officers of lodges as they held meetings for the purpose of suggesting ways to improve attendance and maintain interest. In every instance some outstanding program has been launched, which if carried to completion, always bears fruit which is the result of honest planning. However, it is my conclusion that all we hope for, the molding of Masonic principles into a strong Masonry, must be the result of the doing of little things. Everything else, it seems, is subordinate to the idea of keeping fresh Masonic teachings through the medium of doing. Again and again we refer to the "Old Time Masonry." Yet we know full well that the principles of Masonry are the same today as they were centuries ago. What do we really mean? What is that spirit that we must recapture?
Get out the minutes of your lodge and review the history of "those old days." Strike deep into the heart of that history and then report truthfully. What do you find? A Masonic funeral was an occasion at which was reflected the obligation of the living to the dead. Masons left their work and devoted all the time necessary to pay due and proper respect to the departed and to the loved ones. Look at the record of your lodge as it reports visitations to the sick, acts of charity to the unfortunate, comfort to the heartbroken. Review the work of committees, the work of brothers who asked for no titles, no recognition, but only the opportunity to render service. Look over the names of those Masons, those working brothers, and see if they were not the same who were leaders in their communities. Also look at the heritage they left. It was not measured in dollars. It was character.
That which we seek is within us. "Old Time Masonry" is not a thing that belongs to the past. It is a Spirit that is the result of Doing Great Little Things
Author Unknown