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Purchasing and wearing your own apron.
- Thread starter Levelhead
- Start date
hanzosbm
Premium Member
Just to be clear on your quotation, I wasn't the one who said that.Thread drift and lead to good conversation
In some jurisdictions you are required to have your own apron, not everyone has the "box of kleenex" outside the door.
I was presented a perfectly good apron when I was Initiated and told to wear it through a long Masonic career.
I was presented a perfectly good apron when I was Initiated and told to wear it through a long Masonic career.
Companion Joe
Premium Member
In my state, you get your presentation apron when you are raised, not when you are initiated, and you are given a storage tube in which to keep it. The only two times you actually wear it, you are in the grave.
Most of the people who wear their own aprons here are past masters. I keep my past master's apron in my truck, and I usually only wear it for third degrees at my lodge or when visiting another lodge. I don't recall ever seeing anyone wear their presentation apron. Most York Rite members have their own aprons.
Most of the people who wear their own aprons here are past masters. I keep my past master's apron in my truck, and I usually only wear it for third degrees at my lodge or when visiting another lodge. I don't recall ever seeing anyone wear their presentation apron. Most York Rite members have their own aprons.
Warrior1256
Site Benefactor
Same here in Kentucky.
Does your ritual say you can't wear it till you die, or is that just "local practice?" I ask because I have yet to find a ritual that says to never wear them.
Companion Joe
Premium Member
The ritual doesn't say not to wear it, but it does say it will be buried with you. I don't recall ever reading anything about it in the code, either. Mainly, I'd say it stems from the fact that most Masons here wear their presentation apron in the coffin, and you don't want it to get messed up.
I hear that a lot, but it seems to be one of those variations that has turned into a "rule." I still remember the Lecture... "It is yours; yours to wear throughout an honorable life, and at your death to be deposited on the casket which shall enclose your lifeless remains, and with them laid in the grave." And (as mentioned), "...hope you will wear it with pleasure to yourself and honor to the Fraternity."
I wear mine on occasion, but have been an officer for so long there's rarely a chance.
I wear mine on occasion, but have been an officer for so long there's rarely a chance.
Bloke
Premium Member
One level I'm thinking if the apron represents honour, it should be pure as freshly fallen white snow, on another hand, if we put it on to labour, the grubbier the better as it show I've laboured in the quarry...
My apron is pretty grubby but my honour is intact.... so perhsps the dirtier the better !
As an aside, we have different aprons for EA, FC, MM and PM. On a casket, we place an EA's apron, and if desired, place or wear the apron of our rank inside the casket.
Companion Joe
Premium Member
EAs and FCs here don't get Masonic funerals.
The only difference in aprons (in terms of degree) is how you wear them.
The only difference in aprons (in terms of degree) is how you wear them.
Warrior1256
Site Benefactor
This makes sense to me.
MarkR
Premium Member
Just a side note about "storage tubes." I've had some brothers who have done a lot of Masonic funeral services over the years tell me to get the "raising apron" out of the tube, and stored flat. After 40-50 years in the tube, the leather has dried up, and they can't get them to stay unrolled.
dfreybur
Premium Member
One level I'm thinking if the apron represents honour, it should be pure as freshly fallen white snow, on another hand, if we put it on to labour, the grubbier the better as it show I've laboured in the quarry...
My apron is pretty grubby but my honour is intact.... so perhsps the dirtier the better !
I figure the two different viewpoints on this are why there are traditions but not laws to wear other aprons in our work in some jurisdictions and to wear our own aprons in other jurisdictions. Is not work in speculative Masonry our operative Masonry? Not a question that can have a right answer for everyone, just a question that any one brother gets to pick his own answer.
Adding to the fun I am a member of 3 US jurisdictions and I learned a different way to wear my apron as an FC in each of those 3 jurisdictions. I can quote the SW's instructions from the 2nd degree in all 3 versions and they all explain why, each giving a slightly different story and slightly different instructions.
The US rule that EA and FC do not pay dues and therefore can not have their dues current appears to be the reason they don't get funerals in the US.
Mel Knight
Registered User
I personally have no problem with aprons that most lodges provide, that's one less item I have to carry with me. I was presented with an all white leather apron when I was raised but only wore it once to my dear friend WM:. Funeral.
Me personally I would love to have a nice master mason apron, however I've noticed in my lodge ONLY stationed, PM's, and those with a huge amount of light wear purchased aprons.
Me personally I would love to have a nice master mason apron, however I've noticed in my lodge ONLY stationed, PM's, and those with a huge amount of light wear purchased aprons.
Not under GLoTX- only MMs pay dues but all Masons are entitled to Masonic funerals/services.
Browncoat
Registered User
It's odd how rooted some of these traditions have become, and for no good reason than "that's the way we've always done it." In my jurisdiction, our aprons are given out after returning the MM proficiency exam. This is when you are declared a full, dues-paying member and eventually given your dues card. We are told to keep the apron safe, as the only time we should wear it is in our coffin. In my opinion, that's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
Freemasonry is very symbolic. With all of our variations, I don't think a single Mason will disagree on that point. This apron is part of every degree, and is what denotes us as a Freemason in the first place. The apron holds our working tools and should be used while in the quarry, honing our craft. Bury me in my frayed and tattered apron, one that has shown the efforts of a lifetime of work...not one that is shiny and new.
Freemasonry is very symbolic. With all of our variations, I don't think a single Mason will disagree on that point. This apron is part of every degree, and is what denotes us as a Freemason in the first place. The apron holds our working tools and should be used while in the quarry, honing our craft. Bury me in my frayed and tattered apron, one that has shown the efforts of a lifetime of work...not one that is shiny and new.