My Freemasonry | Freemason Information and Discussion Forum

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

How went the votes at Grand Lodge last week?

dfreybur

Premium Member
I noticed that if Resolution 14 passes I'll not make any Masonic education presentations until it is repealed. Severe overreach of authority. The Committee on Work's job is to teach what our ritual IS, not to censor what any one Brother thinks it means.

For Resolution 2 I didn't read the exact wording. Did it mean officers need to hold certificates or instructors? I did my proficiencies in a different state. At most I might relearn the local versions after already being a local PM.
 

Thomas Stright

Premium Member
I noticed that if Resolution 14 passes I'll not make any Masonic education presentations until it is repealed. Severe overreach of authority. The Committee on Work's job is to teach what our ritual IS, not to censor what any one Brother thinks it means.

For Resolution 2 I didn't read the exact wording. Did it mean officers need to hold certificates or instructors? I did my proficiencies in a different state. At most I might relearn the local versions after already being a local PM.

2019 Resolutions
1. Passed as ammended
2. Rejected
3. Rejected
4. Passed
5. Passed
6. Withdrawn
7. Withdrawn
8. Passed
9. Withdrawn
10. Withdrawn
11. Rejected
12. Rejected
13. Rejected
14. Rejected
15. Rejected
16. Passed as ammended
17. Passed as ammended
18. Withdrawn
19. Passed
GM REC Passed


Sent from my iPhone using My Freemasonry Mobile
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
I noticed that if Resolution 14 passes I'll not make any Masonic education presentations until it is repealed. Severe overreach of authority. The Committee on Work's job is to teach what our ritual IS, not to censor what any one Brother thinks it means.
Besides being an overreach, it was directed at the wrong Committee- should have addressed the Masonic Education & Service Committee.

For Resolution 2 I didn't read the exact wording. Did it mean officers need to hold certificates or instructors?
Officers.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
To bad about number 15 allowing the FC lecture from the floor. The first time I attended a Texas second degree I was dismayed that almost half of the degree had been deleted. To me any attempt to restore the deleted material is a good idea.

There is the unending "let's do it like the rest of the world" versus "no we don't do that in Texas". Sigh. Yet the EA proficiency here is huge. Go figure.
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Thsmk

Thanks. In Utah, almost all pass or are withdrawn. We do our politickin ‘ :)
Much smaller area to cover & we are not allowed to "politick".

Art. 508. Certain Other Masonic Disciplinary Violations. It shall also be a Masonic disciplinary violation for a Lodge, a committee or any combination of Masons, or an individual Mason:
28. To circularize by letter or other form of publication other Lodges in this Grand Jurisdiction proposing or advocating any amendments, repeal or enactments of laws in or by this Grand Lodge, without first securing a dispensation for such purpose from the Grand Master.
 

Glen Cook

G A Cook
Site Benefactor
Much smaller area to cover & we are not allowed to "politick".

Art. 508. Certain Other Masonic Disciplinary Violations. It shall also be a Masonic disciplinary violation for a Lodge, a committee or any combination of Masons, or an individual Mason:
28. To circularize by letter or other form of publication other Lodges in this Grand Jurisdiction proposing or advocating any amendments, repeal or enactments of laws in or by this Grand Lodge, without first securing a dispensation for such purpose from the Grand Master.
UT doesn’t do the writing, but the smart ones talk to the reps and PGMs.

In a similar vein, I’ve proposed a definition of electioneering.
 
Last edited:

chrmc

Registered User
Wow. Is it usual for that many resolutions to be rejected at that assembly?

To me it looked like there were more this year that was not well prepared, or written as they should be. Seems like some more homework could have been done.

The other interesting thing to mention was that on the debate about the walking FC lecture, the Chairman of the Committee of Work completely got his leg cut out under him. He came up and spoke against it, and later one of his committee members came up and gave statistics on how many places it is done, and essentially supported it. Haven't seen that done so blatantly before.
Think there is a couple of people that have aspirations for the Grand South in a couple of years...
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
The other interesting thing to mention was that on the debate about the walking FC lecture, the Chairman of the Committee of Work completely got his leg cut out under him. He came up and spoke against it, and later one of his committee members came up and gave statistics on how many places it is done, and essentially supported it.

Texas is the first state I've ever seen that completely deleted the dewdrop lecture and moved the senior deacon work to the east. The first time I saw a Texas second degree I sat there in astonishment at having all of the events leading to the middle chamber deleted. Then a bit over half of the lectures that are delivered by the senior deacon on the floor got delivered in the east in place of the dewdrop lecture. Pillars, supports, orders of architecture, liberal arts and sciences while on the stairs then the origin of the pass in the south. In Texas they get listed not each getting its own individual explanation. The first time I went through the line this separated the guys working the lower chairs on whether they would be able to handle the east. Present all that to a live candidate in a second degree and you were going to be able to handle anything else in the ritual.

Do a lot of states have the senior deacon not deliver a couple of lectures from the floor during the second degree? I have no idea if it's only Texas that dropped so much from the second degree.

Most states have the staircase lectures on the staircase and at the south gate. California calls it the middle chamber lecture because it's presented while getting to the middle chamber so the last words of it are saying that's where we've arrived. It's the usual random variation in terminology.

I don't know of a US that calls the lecture presented from the east in the middle chamber the dewdrop lecture. I learned that term on-line back in the days of Usenet.
 

chrmc

Registered User
Do a lot of states have the senior deacon not deliver a couple of lectures from the floor during the second degree? I have no idea if it's only Texas that dropped so much from the second degree.

I can't speak to the content, but according to what the committee member said during the debate it was more than 45 states that had allowed the lecture to be delivered from the floor.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
Texas is the first state I've ever seen that completely deleted the dewdrop lecture and moved the senior deacon work to the east. The first time I saw a Texas second degree I sat there in astonishment at having all of the events leading to the middle chamber deleted. Then a bit over half of the lectures that are delivered by the senior deacon on the floor got delivered in the east in place of the dewdrop lecture. Pillars, supports, orders of architecture, liberal arts and sciences while on the stairs then the origin of the pass in the south. In Texas they get listed not each getting its own individual explanation. The first time I went through the line this separated the guys working the lower chairs on whether they would be able to handle the east. Present all that to a live candidate in a second degree and you were going to be able to handle anything else in the ritual.

Do a lot of states have the senior deacon not deliver a couple of lectures from the floor during the second degree? I have no idea if it's only Texas that dropped so much from the second degree.

Most states have the staircase lectures on the staircase and at the south gate. California calls it the middle chamber lecture because it's presented while getting to the middle chamber so the last words of it are saying that's where we've arrived. It's the usual random variation in terminology.

I don't know of a US that calls the lecture presented from the east in the middle chamber the dewdrop lecture. I learned that term on-line back in the days of Usenet.
"the dewdrop lecture" - not known to me... I've just looked it up... we don't really have a charge like it.. is it widely used in the States ?

As to the role of our Deacons - the conduct and instruct - but never actually give a charge.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
"the dewdrop lecture" - not known to me... I've just looked it up... we don't really have a charge like it.. is it widely used in the States ?

Every state in the US I've seen a second degree in has used some form of the Dew Drop lecture. Always trimmed from the version on-line. Sometimes trimmed so much it goes from a magnificent tree to a yard bush. Sometimes trimmed much less.
 
Top