Michael Hatley
Premium Member
Brethren, fellas, lurkers - forgive me in advance for the length of my ramble. Had some thoughts I wanted to pen and this seemed like the best place for a braindump. A fair bit of this is Shrine related, but my main thoughts are aimed at Blue Lodge so I figured here might be better.
By way of introduction, I'm a pretty new Mason. I got involved a while back after being introduced to it by an Australian man I was working with on a project down under, and then a year by a 92 year old fella local to me who's goodness glows off of him in practically a tangible aura, both of which are long winded stories. It turned out they were both very, very well traveled men who do their best to keep me out of trouble.
Anyhow, my lodge rents space in our local Shrine center and I'm both active in my lodge's line and at the Shrine. I've got a background in community activism (been a commissioner with the city of Houston, worked with the po-pos on a bunch of stuff, yadda yadda) and feel pretty strongly about leaving the forest better off than I found it. And since our lodge had a forest fire about the time I joined it there has been only up to go to if you get my drift :scared:
I've been in some wrong places at the wrong times since I joined the fraternity and fell down some rabbit holes :closedeyes: I'm a shy fella, so never got the hang of small talk. So I spark up philosophical discussions with people a bunch wherever I go, mostly so I can hide my awkwardness with a few big words I memorized
So /tiphat, glad to meet ya.
Now a lot of you have prolly been following some of the disagreements Blue Lodge has been having with the Shrine. I'm no expert, but a lot of it seems to have sprung from personal disagreements and ballooned out of control. Keeping in mind my lodge is within my local Shrine center and I'm active at both. So the whole thing gives me indigestion, especially this latest rumbling I've heard about the Shrine potentially removing the requirement of being a Master Mason to join their ranks. Joking aside, it is a worry, to me. I love that my fellow Shriners are Brothers and I'd personally have it no other way.
This weekend at an event down a rabbit hole I had the pleasure of sharing a few tables and with a number of past potentates current divan members (leadership muckity mucks in the Shrine, most of them members of the board for the hospitals and that sort of thing) from different parts of Texas, and some mover and shaker guys in their 30s from various Blue Lodges who are either recently past masters, sitting masters or senior officers in their blue lodges. And since I'm not worth a darned at small talk I generally go right to whats important to me - getting their opinions on this rift (imagined or not), how to attract new young doers into the Fraternity and so forth.
My general take - the young men like me (who don't have a vote at Imperial) were all very strongly opposed to removing the Masonic requirement from the Shrine. To a man, actually. Many privately said they would demit from the Shrine immediately if it happened.
The old timers hedged, mostly. And since I share the view of my younger Brethren I pressed the issue every time and tried to assert that it would be a Very Bad Thing.
Now I think it is important to note that in order to become a Potentate of a Shrine you generally have to have a pretty substantive core. At least thats what I've found talking to these sorts over the last couple of years. They are aw shucks sorta fella until you get to the nut cutting, and then you realize that pretty well all of them are very, very shrewd businessmen and leaders. Their opinions are very reasoned and valid. And they are all serious about charity, real serious. Being in the Divan is very time consuming - far more than most Blue Lodges. Its a different scale, generally speaking.
One particular conversation I had with a man who will be potentate I think it is next year in a Shrine Center here in Texas stands out. Rosy cheeked fella of good cheer that I shared some time telling jokes with, and when we both ran out of em I went to my old standby of asking him about The Rift. It was amazing how the question flipped on his serious side and we talked seriously at length.
It turns out this fellow was a product of Masonic Home and School of Texas, back when we had an actual building for it and all that. An orphan. Masons literally raised him, and he made a point of saying Masonry literally saved his life - with passion and a tear in his eye at one point. He's served that organization to give back for many, many years.
When I asked him about The Rift, he, like a bunch of the old hands, hedged. He didn't want to see it but allowed it might become necessary - and he didn't know how the vote this year would go. I got the impression he hadn't made up his mind how he would vote.
He pointed out to me a few things, and I may not have understood him completely so blame me if I get something wrong. But you know how we are supposed to have something like 100k Masons in Texas? I forget the number. You fellas realize that in a bunch of those numbers, they count lodge memberships, not men? Think about that a moment and you'll get depressed about how many Masons we actually have in this state. It isn't as many as sometimes we think there are, and even that number is what, a third of what it was a few decades back?
Now as an active line member I'm always on the prowl for men, especially young men, to help me - and since we can't recruit I just try my best to be a good example and all of that. Not just because I want help, but because I enjoy the company of fellas who get Facebook, or played WoW some, or had a Whitesnake cassette tape, or have seen an episode or two of Game of Thrones, or whatever. Folks whose wives are my wife's age and all of that so they can hang out too. Its nice.
But finding men who are both young, interested enough to not just join the fraternity but make it to MM, and then to join the line and make it through? Those are rare birds in my experience. A lot of them in this state are either active posters or lurkers right here at this website, so you know what I mean, brethren. You know how when a few of us doers get together and share a libation or two how comfortable it feels - it makes me sigh down to my toes and just feel good. I want more of that, brethren. The responsibility of runnin a lodge makes us brothers in arms, sort of. It feels like the relationship I had with my fellow infantrymen, a feeling of brotherhood for well and true. We understand one another. We are common men. It is very real in a world of plastic things. I live for that esprit de corps, fellas.
So anyway, I pressed this issue with this fella I was speaking to and we wound up delving into a philosophical discussion about what Masonry is.
He posed a question to me. What is Freemasonry's work? If you had to sum it up as succinctly as possible.
My answer, after scratching my beard for the best answer for a couple of minutes was "making good men better".
He nodded, and agreed. We both went through adding on many other things but for us, at that time, that was the central bit. Yours may differ - mine might even on a different day or whatever, but it was what we came up with for the moment.
Then he asked "what does the public perceive as Freemasonry's work?"
To which I had to respond with Dan Brown/Lost Treasure stuff. Illuminati and blah blah. If you are lucky, the perception is history, the founding fathers and so forth. Or a respected man, uncle or whatever that perhaps someone knows. A Grandfather who passed away. Etc.
Then he asked "what is the Shrine's work?"
To which I immediately answered "the hospitals".
He nodded, and asked "why did you answer so quickly, Brother?"
I answered that because I'd been to them. I'd seen the children who had multiple limbs completely burned away. Worked to stifle my tears in their presence. Felt my calling in my bones to help them.
He nodded, and asked "what does the public perceive as the Shrine's work?"
To which I immediately answered "the hospitals".
He nodded. And then he told me that decades ago, people often would have said the Masonic Home and School of Texas were a very big part of the work of Freemasons in Texas. We took care of orphans and people knew it. It would have been an immediate response. Now few know that it even exists as an organization.
We both grew quiet and stared out of the window together for a while together and reflected.
I told him that in my travels I often ask young, active Freemasons what they most enjoy out of Freemasonry in an effort to plant a banner, to do my part to attract these good men.
Traditional Observance is a trending thing among our crowd, and I've attended a TO lodge here in Texas (St. Albans) and really, really enjoy it. The getting back to our roots. The substantive presentations. The air of gentlemanly and brotherly conduct. I believe in many parts of the TO model.
And on the flipside, events like the fork and knife event at Spring Lodge up north of me is really great fun. Good men, good food, like minds, warm atmosphere and warm hearts. I dig it and events like it a whole lot.
But Brethren, I wonder. I wonder if charity represents a united path forward for the century to come.
Maybe a new charity. That we all get behind.
You know the Shrine didn't always have the hospitals. My impression (which may be wrong) is that the Shrine was perceived as a bunch of scoundrels (the more things change, eh?) and decided to pivot and created the hospitals as a new path forward. They threw their hearts into it. They marketed it. And it worked.
Now I've often brought up Charity to my brethren. I've got a presentation on it and the other virtues I'm working on, but many of you know that charity is central to Freemasonry.
But from many Brothers, they say things like "Blue lodge is an organization that does charitable works, but it is not a charity" and other things that make the process of making good men better, education, knowing thyself, brotherly love and so forth as bigger priorities than charity. I understand. Part of me agrees.
I wonder though. If we united behind a common cause and charity and threw our hearts into it, could it not only make us better men but attract more good men from our society?
What if, for example, Blue Lodge was known in Texas as much as for helping the children of Veterans as the Shrine was for their hospitals? Or wounded veterans. Or autistic children. Or the homeless.
Pick something that rides the wave of the zeitgeist of our era and unite behind it rather than a hundred random charities.
Personally, I think it could help us a great deal. Worth thinking about seriously.
In my opinion, a common charity shared by GLoTX and MWPHGLoTX would be a beautiful thing.
Quixotic? Maybe so. But something has to change in my opinion.
Anyway, I got the impression that this fellow believed that if the MM requirement were gone from the Shrine that while they might lose members, eventually they would surge in membership. I think he is wrong about that, for various reasons. And I don't want to see the two organizations split and I am vocal about that.
But I think that the worthwhile thing to focus on is charity, Brethren. Whether you like the Shrine or not, the hospitals are real and are an effective banner we have rallied behind. It makes you feel good. It makes your wife feel good about what you are doing. Your parents. Your friends. It is karma, brethren. If I tell people I am a Freemason they raise their eyebrows. If tell people I am a Shriner I gain their respect. This public perception is important in my opinion.
Could we learn from that and bring the approach to Blue Lodge?
Or do we delve down the rabbit hole of Traditional Observance, of ritual, secrecy, exclusivity and gravity?
Why not both?
Ah, I have rambled far FAR too much. Just my braindump of part of my travels seeking the path forward for bringing more good men to the table and bringing meaning to the table as much as possible.
Apologies for the length and lack of organization of the note, have to get to makin my daily bread!
Fraternally,
Michael
By way of introduction, I'm a pretty new Mason. I got involved a while back after being introduced to it by an Australian man I was working with on a project down under, and then a year by a 92 year old fella local to me who's goodness glows off of him in practically a tangible aura, both of which are long winded stories. It turned out they were both very, very well traveled men who do their best to keep me out of trouble.
Anyhow, my lodge rents space in our local Shrine center and I'm both active in my lodge's line and at the Shrine. I've got a background in community activism (been a commissioner with the city of Houston, worked with the po-pos on a bunch of stuff, yadda yadda) and feel pretty strongly about leaving the forest better off than I found it. And since our lodge had a forest fire about the time I joined it there has been only up to go to if you get my drift :scared:
I've been in some wrong places at the wrong times since I joined the fraternity and fell down some rabbit holes :closedeyes: I'm a shy fella, so never got the hang of small talk. So I spark up philosophical discussions with people a bunch wherever I go, mostly so I can hide my awkwardness with a few big words I memorized
So /tiphat, glad to meet ya.
Now a lot of you have prolly been following some of the disagreements Blue Lodge has been having with the Shrine. I'm no expert, but a lot of it seems to have sprung from personal disagreements and ballooned out of control. Keeping in mind my lodge is within my local Shrine center and I'm active at both. So the whole thing gives me indigestion, especially this latest rumbling I've heard about the Shrine potentially removing the requirement of being a Master Mason to join their ranks. Joking aside, it is a worry, to me. I love that my fellow Shriners are Brothers and I'd personally have it no other way.
This weekend at an event down a rabbit hole I had the pleasure of sharing a few tables and with a number of past potentates current divan members (leadership muckity mucks in the Shrine, most of them members of the board for the hospitals and that sort of thing) from different parts of Texas, and some mover and shaker guys in their 30s from various Blue Lodges who are either recently past masters, sitting masters or senior officers in their blue lodges. And since I'm not worth a darned at small talk I generally go right to whats important to me - getting their opinions on this rift (imagined or not), how to attract new young doers into the Fraternity and so forth.
My general take - the young men like me (who don't have a vote at Imperial) were all very strongly opposed to removing the Masonic requirement from the Shrine. To a man, actually. Many privately said they would demit from the Shrine immediately if it happened.
The old timers hedged, mostly. And since I share the view of my younger Brethren I pressed the issue every time and tried to assert that it would be a Very Bad Thing.
Now I think it is important to note that in order to become a Potentate of a Shrine you generally have to have a pretty substantive core. At least thats what I've found talking to these sorts over the last couple of years. They are aw shucks sorta fella until you get to the nut cutting, and then you realize that pretty well all of them are very, very shrewd businessmen and leaders. Their opinions are very reasoned and valid. And they are all serious about charity, real serious. Being in the Divan is very time consuming - far more than most Blue Lodges. Its a different scale, generally speaking.
One particular conversation I had with a man who will be potentate I think it is next year in a Shrine Center here in Texas stands out. Rosy cheeked fella of good cheer that I shared some time telling jokes with, and when we both ran out of em I went to my old standby of asking him about The Rift. It was amazing how the question flipped on his serious side and we talked seriously at length.
It turns out this fellow was a product of Masonic Home and School of Texas, back when we had an actual building for it and all that. An orphan. Masons literally raised him, and he made a point of saying Masonry literally saved his life - with passion and a tear in his eye at one point. He's served that organization to give back for many, many years.
When I asked him about The Rift, he, like a bunch of the old hands, hedged. He didn't want to see it but allowed it might become necessary - and he didn't know how the vote this year would go. I got the impression he hadn't made up his mind how he would vote.
He pointed out to me a few things, and I may not have understood him completely so blame me if I get something wrong. But you know how we are supposed to have something like 100k Masons in Texas? I forget the number. You fellas realize that in a bunch of those numbers, they count lodge memberships, not men? Think about that a moment and you'll get depressed about how many Masons we actually have in this state. It isn't as many as sometimes we think there are, and even that number is what, a third of what it was a few decades back?
Now as an active line member I'm always on the prowl for men, especially young men, to help me - and since we can't recruit I just try my best to be a good example and all of that. Not just because I want help, but because I enjoy the company of fellas who get Facebook, or played WoW some, or had a Whitesnake cassette tape, or have seen an episode or two of Game of Thrones, or whatever. Folks whose wives are my wife's age and all of that so they can hang out too. Its nice.
But finding men who are both young, interested enough to not just join the fraternity but make it to MM, and then to join the line and make it through? Those are rare birds in my experience. A lot of them in this state are either active posters or lurkers right here at this website, so you know what I mean, brethren. You know how when a few of us doers get together and share a libation or two how comfortable it feels - it makes me sigh down to my toes and just feel good. I want more of that, brethren. The responsibility of runnin a lodge makes us brothers in arms, sort of. It feels like the relationship I had with my fellow infantrymen, a feeling of brotherhood for well and true. We understand one another. We are common men. It is very real in a world of plastic things. I live for that esprit de corps, fellas.
So anyway, I pressed this issue with this fella I was speaking to and we wound up delving into a philosophical discussion about what Masonry is.
He posed a question to me. What is Freemasonry's work? If you had to sum it up as succinctly as possible.
My answer, after scratching my beard for the best answer for a couple of minutes was "making good men better".
He nodded, and agreed. We both went through adding on many other things but for us, at that time, that was the central bit. Yours may differ - mine might even on a different day or whatever, but it was what we came up with for the moment.
Then he asked "what does the public perceive as Freemasonry's work?"
To which I had to respond with Dan Brown/Lost Treasure stuff. Illuminati and blah blah. If you are lucky, the perception is history, the founding fathers and so forth. Or a respected man, uncle or whatever that perhaps someone knows. A Grandfather who passed away. Etc.
Then he asked "what is the Shrine's work?"
To which I immediately answered "the hospitals".
He nodded, and asked "why did you answer so quickly, Brother?"
I answered that because I'd been to them. I'd seen the children who had multiple limbs completely burned away. Worked to stifle my tears in their presence. Felt my calling in my bones to help them.
He nodded, and asked "what does the public perceive as the Shrine's work?"
To which I immediately answered "the hospitals".
He nodded. And then he told me that decades ago, people often would have said the Masonic Home and School of Texas were a very big part of the work of Freemasons in Texas. We took care of orphans and people knew it. It would have been an immediate response. Now few know that it even exists as an organization.
We both grew quiet and stared out of the window together for a while together and reflected.
I told him that in my travels I often ask young, active Freemasons what they most enjoy out of Freemasonry in an effort to plant a banner, to do my part to attract these good men.
Traditional Observance is a trending thing among our crowd, and I've attended a TO lodge here in Texas (St. Albans) and really, really enjoy it. The getting back to our roots. The substantive presentations. The air of gentlemanly and brotherly conduct. I believe in many parts of the TO model.
And on the flipside, events like the fork and knife event at Spring Lodge up north of me is really great fun. Good men, good food, like minds, warm atmosphere and warm hearts. I dig it and events like it a whole lot.
But Brethren, I wonder. I wonder if charity represents a united path forward for the century to come.
Maybe a new charity. That we all get behind.
You know the Shrine didn't always have the hospitals. My impression (which may be wrong) is that the Shrine was perceived as a bunch of scoundrels (the more things change, eh?) and decided to pivot and created the hospitals as a new path forward. They threw their hearts into it. They marketed it. And it worked.
Now I've often brought up Charity to my brethren. I've got a presentation on it and the other virtues I'm working on, but many of you know that charity is central to Freemasonry.
But from many Brothers, they say things like "Blue lodge is an organization that does charitable works, but it is not a charity" and other things that make the process of making good men better, education, knowing thyself, brotherly love and so forth as bigger priorities than charity. I understand. Part of me agrees.
I wonder though. If we united behind a common cause and charity and threw our hearts into it, could it not only make us better men but attract more good men from our society?
What if, for example, Blue Lodge was known in Texas as much as for helping the children of Veterans as the Shrine was for their hospitals? Or wounded veterans. Or autistic children. Or the homeless.
Pick something that rides the wave of the zeitgeist of our era and unite behind it rather than a hundred random charities.
Personally, I think it could help us a great deal. Worth thinking about seriously.
In my opinion, a common charity shared by GLoTX and MWPHGLoTX would be a beautiful thing.
Quixotic? Maybe so. But something has to change in my opinion.
Anyway, I got the impression that this fellow believed that if the MM requirement were gone from the Shrine that while they might lose members, eventually they would surge in membership. I think he is wrong about that, for various reasons. And I don't want to see the two organizations split and I am vocal about that.
But I think that the worthwhile thing to focus on is charity, Brethren. Whether you like the Shrine or not, the hospitals are real and are an effective banner we have rallied behind. It makes you feel good. It makes your wife feel good about what you are doing. Your parents. Your friends. It is karma, brethren. If I tell people I am a Freemason they raise their eyebrows. If tell people I am a Shriner I gain their respect. This public perception is important in my opinion.
Could we learn from that and bring the approach to Blue Lodge?
Or do we delve down the rabbit hole of Traditional Observance, of ritual, secrecy, exclusivity and gravity?
Why not both?
Ah, I have rambled far FAR too much. Just my braindump of part of my travels seeking the path forward for bringing more good men to the table and bringing meaning to the table as much as possible.
Apologies for the length and lack of organization of the note, have to get to makin my daily bread!
Fraternally,
Michael