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One Day Journey

Benton

Premium Member
The Shrine requirement that a man be a Knight Templar or a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason is, as was pointed out above, no longer in effect.
 

Nemesis242

Premium Member
I reiterate doesn't 50 years of membership declination speak for itself?? If that isn't a time to get alarmed, when is?? Just my humble opinion.
 

nwendele

Registered User
I reiterate doesn't 50 years of membership declination speak for itself?? If that isn't a time to get alarmed, when is?? Just my humble opinion.

Of course it it time to be alarmed! However, it should be a call to arms for Brother Masons to get in gear and work harder! Make Masonry more visible in their communities, wear their jewelry, be proud, and answer questions when asked and refer good men in the right direction. You can't make men join without recruiting by just hanging out in Lodge with your Brothers.

If your classic car is running rough, do you pour more love and hard work into it, or trade it in on a new Honda? One day journeys are a path do a different Masonry, not fixing the one we love.
 

Kenneth Lottman

Registered User
Forgive me brethren i have only been a MM for a few months but here are my 2 cents.... I believe a "one day journey" cheapens our fraternity! It took me a year to complete my 3 degrees alot of time and effort was put into becoming a MM and it will be a year I will never forget! If this is their solution to increase membership in our great fraternity they have missed the mark big time.

I remember growing up in Chicago I would see emblems on cars, the masons and shriners were in every parade and brothers decked out in hats, rings and shirts. I rarely ever see this anymore and this is what we have lost. We are no longer a presence in our community anymore. We are just a building with a logo on the front.

This has to change or we will continue to see the decline. We need to find new ways to connect to the communities that we live in and show our neighbors what we are all about!
 

Bro. Stewart P.M.

Lead Moderator Emeritus
Staff Member
Correction if I may, Bro. Stewart:

Just a Master Mason; nothing more, nothing less is required. (And this too will change).

I'm not trying to be a $mart a$$, I just thought you might want to know...

As much as I would love to be perfect I am not. At one time this was a requirement of the organization. As to the "and this too will change", this will (if it happens) become the worst mistake that the AAONMS ever makes. IMO.

The Shrine requirement that a man be a Knight Templar or a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason is, as was pointed out above, no longer in effect.

I stand corrected.


My previous statement appears to be out of date. However, the facts presented did occur in the past was not widely accepted by the GL's.
 

Traveling Man

Premium Member
As much as I would love to be perfect I am not. At one time this was a requirement of the organization. As to the "and this too will change", this will (if it happens) become the worst mistake that the AAONMS ever makes. IMO.

None of us are perfect, that wasn't the point. That's why I stated the part of being a $mart a$$; sorry!

I too was against that change; but things becoming what they are now and will be, they might not have a choice. As mentioned here things need to change and change fast, if we intend to arrest this situation. I'm with you brother.
 
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rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
I reiterate doesn't 50 years of membership declination speak for itself?? If that isn't a time to get alarmed, when is?? Just my humble opinion.

What if the problem was the large numbers we had 50 years ago and Masonry is just correcting itself?
 

rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
Re: you cannot destroy the strongman's goods...

I have already stated that I accept the "One Day" Mason format, as long as those Brethren are held to the same exacting standards of proficiency.

FYI as well Brother Stewart is that Texas is one of the few states which still require memory work to progress through degrees. Something to be proud of as Texans though is that no other jurisdiction in the world has to memorize as much as we do in our catechism but the standards of being proficent do vary greatly.
 

M.M.Wood

Registered User
I can honestly say that I am proud of the journey,proud to have learned the work purely by memory and honestly feel that it is what makes us who we are.
 

jwhoff

Premium Member
Why is it necessary in a one day process to also become a shriner and 32 degree srm? I am very new to the Fraternity and while I plan on joining both shrine and Sr there is something to be said for the journey.

Most reunions for Scottish Rite are two-day events. Eight to 10 degrees are bestowed. However, like anything else if you desire the light from the further degrees you must apply yourself and study. Each month most of the valleys of Texas have a study class which goes over the 29 degrees in some detail. Also, there are Craftsman I and II programs to provide more light. Guthrie, Oklahoma offers a series of courses in its masonic university. Too, you can simply attend enough reunions to see all 29 degrees. Short of that, you can spend a long weekend up in Guthrie and see all or most.

Light is everywhere for those who look. Unfortunately, the greater percentage of appendant body masons make no greater effort there than in their blue lodges. And, brother, it shows.
 

JJones

Moderator
I'm not alarmed at all, Freemasonry is still the same regardless of how many people practice it, be it 100 or 100,000 people. Honestly, I'm probably a minority here, I'd rather see membership dip to low numbers rather than cheapen the craft for everyone by having one day journies.

Masonry is about learning how to better ourselves as men and part of that process involves everyone going through the rituals and learning the appropriate memory work, at a minimum. I understand in today's society we tend to think more of something is a good thing but that just doesn't apply here. If someone wants to join the lodge then they should go through each degree individually and learn the work associated with it, this is a firm belief of mine.

If someone doesn't have the time or patience to do so then it's best to wait and reconsider joining another time.
 

Traveling Man

Premium Member
If someone doesn't have the time or patience to do so then it's best to wait and reconsider joining another time.

And maybe some should realise that Masonry is not for everyone; the time, discipline and dedication are not what all individuals can achieve. Then there are others whom just want to become Shriners that will never set foot in a blue lodge again (let alone their mother lodge). I recently was asked to sign a petition of a candidate I knew that lacked the discipline and diligence it required for the work; I passed signing his petition, he has been an E.A. for 2 1/2 years... He'd be an excellent McMason!
 

jwhoff

Premium Member
It's always disappointing to hear a man prove by his own words and actions that he has absolutely no idea of the principles of the brotherhood he is so proud of being a member. Very disappointing.
 

Zack

Registered User
Re: you cannot destroy the strongman's goods...

FYI as well Brother Stewart is that Texas is one of the few states which still require memory work to progress through degrees. Something to be proud of as Texans though is that no other jurisdiction in the world has to memorize as much as we do in our catechism but the standards of being proficent do vary greatly.

In my jurisdiction, Florida, the EA catechism consists of 1,808 words.
the FC is 1,490 words.
the MM is 1,770 words.
----------------
5,068 total.

If Texas has more than that....man, that is a mouthful of words.
 

jwhoff

Premium Member
I'm in Texas and I only counted the total number of questions and answers. WOW! 1808 words.

That's some serious delving into the work there brother.

WOW!

:001_cool:
 

Bro_Vick

Moderator
Premium Member
One Day Classes and a Mason at-sight have been around for as long as the fraternity has, it isn't anything new, the strict memorization methods because a trademark of the fraternity in the last two centuries. I mean Joesph Smith (Founder of the LDS) for instance was made a Mason "at-sight", it's been happening for a long time.

The one day classes also help struggling lodges get new people through the degrees to become active participants. Celebrated Masonic author Chris Hodapp went through the EA in a traditional manner, then his lodge was having difficulty putting together a team for the FC, as time was running short they sent him to a one day class, he is now one of the most sought after speakers and have been on the Discovery channel and History channel discussing the rich history of Freemasonry.

Using the term "McMason" is disrespectful to brothers like Bro Chris, and I respectfully ask that it not be used.

The fraternity grew entirely too large in the 1940s and 1950s the previous generation of Freemasons warn the GI Generation brothers that things are getting too big too fast and that no one was watching the West Gate, the fraternity was never meant to be that large. For the last 30 years Freemasonry has been feeling a sharp decline and it will continue to decline as there is a generational gap between the current young crop of Freemasons and members of the Silent Generation will sometime conflict as the Boomers abandoned anything their father had anything to do with (though some are petitioning Freemasonry now as the approach retirement). This large gap can sometimes make communication difficult and also have a hard time finding similar interests and hobbies (It's not impossible, and I know it happens all the time).

Every organization has it's challenges, and I think most of the men here are very well aware of the challenges facing our fraternity. I don't claim to know what Freemasonry is like in Dallas let alone Pennsylvania, and put faith that those lodges and their Grand Lodge is doing what it can to not only preserve the integrity and the teachings of Freemasonry, but are meeting the needs of it's brothers and candidates.

S&F,
-Bro Vick
 

tmcguire

Premium Member
Cemaby,

Where did you source your data for the demographic trends in Masonry? I find this kind of thing very interesting.
 

rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
Re: you cannot destroy the strongman's goods...

In my jurisdiction, Florida, the EA catechism consists of 1,808 words.
the FC is 1,490 words.
the MM is 1,770 words.
----------------
5,068 total.

If Texas has more than that....man, that is a mouthful of words.

We have a few more than that so I have been told but I have never counted them myself. By my rough estimate we have around 3200 hundred words for the EA and about 1,500 for the FC and around the same for the Masters. THis is a really rough estimate and I would need to talk to some old timers to get a definite answer on this but I would be willing to bet my estimate is a little low.
We have a saying here in the Lone Star State "Everything is Bigger" and we try our darndest to hold true to that, for better or worse!
 
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