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Opening and closing lodge

ChrisB

Registered User
That true I can agree with that. Sometimes I see a lot of older brothers reading from a book. And it sickens me.
 

rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
Cannot argue that the ritual is in the krapper within allot of lodges but why? It was spot on 30 years and back. My lodge had two sometimes 3 degree teams that where about as clean as they come from I read and am told, so what happen? Some of those men are even still alive and active? Did Grand Lodge police the ritual back then? My guess is it might be connected to the that generation not replacing themselves with the new generation so after years of churning out the same ritual they got tired of it and went on to something else. Most went to appendant bodies where fresh challenges await them and the blue lodge ritual was left behind because no new blood was there to marvel in its mysteries. That is just a theory. Seeing the results Tommy Griffin had trying to improve the ritual I am not sure legislation would help. That caused a ton of belly aching but maybe that is a good thing this is a tough issue as I am very partial to a good ritual but hate hearing the moaning some do over the issue.
 

Papatom

Premium Member
Premium Member
Cannot argue that the ritual is in the krapper within allot of lodges but why? It was spot on 30 years and back. My lodge had two sometimes 3 degree teams that where about as clean as they come from I read and am told, so what happen? Some of those men are even still alive and active? Did Grand Lodge police the ritual back then? My guess is it might be connected to the that generation not replacing themselves with the new generation so after years of churning out the same ritual they got tired of it and went on to something else. Most went to appendant bodies where fresh challenges await them and the blue lodge ritual was left behind because no new blood was there to marvel in its mysteries. That is just a theory. Seeing the results Tommy Griffin had trying to improve the ritual I am not sure legislation would help. That caused a ton of belly aching but maybe that is a good thing this is a tough issue as I am very partial to a good ritual but hate hearing the moaning some do over the issue.
Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a ritualist?
 

Dave in Waco

Premium Member
Cannot argue that the ritual is in the krapper within allot of lodges but why? It was spot on 30 years and back. My lodge had two sometimes 3 degree teams that where about as clean as they come from I read and am told, so what happen? Some of those men are even still alive and active? Did Grand Lodge police the ritual back then? My guess is it might be connected to the that generation not replacing themselves with the new generation so after years of churning out the same ritual they got tired of it and went on to something else. Most went to appendant bodies where fresh challenges await them and the blue lodge ritual was left behind because no new blood was there to marvel in its mysteries. That is just a theory. Seeing the results Tommy Griffin had trying to improve the ritual I am not sure legislation would help. That caused a ton of belly aching but maybe that is a good thing this is a tough issue as I am very partial to a good ritual but hate hearing the moaning some do over the issue.

For some of those experienced Masons, it has just been so long since they have done the rituals. I remember an EA degree we had a few months ago. A PM from about 30 years ago wanted to master the degree, so we gave it to him and never doubted his ability him having performed so many degrees in the past. I had been originally asked to confer it, but I was still a little shaky on a part and wanted to make sure the guy had a good degree. So anyway, the PM went to confer the degree and he began to stumble right out of the gate. He was prompted a little bit thinking that it would come flooding back. It got progressively worse between his frustration with himself and from being prompted, and we found out afterwards that it had been about 30 years since he had done one. So to that is a lesson in itself on the practice we need to maintain our knowledge.

Right now, my Lodge has a set night every week we practice. During practice we usually try to cover a degree plus questions and answers. We also might go over openings and closings and/or other rituals in the Lodge. It's both educational, plus gives everyone more of a chance to get comfortable taking on different roles and perfecting their usually. Plus it makes it all look sharp, and perception goes a long way.
 

Bro. Stewart P.M.

Lead Moderator Emeritus
Staff Member
Why do we need Grand Lodge to police our ritual why can we not handle this at the lodge level?

As much as I would love to be able to agree to a non-"policed" ritual it is unfortunate that many of the Lodge's as a whole are not currently preforming the rituals correctly today. District Instructors and ritualistic standards set forth by the Committee on Work are a needed structure for us to be able to keep that which is not written intact within its Ancient Form.
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Cannot argue that the ritual is in the krapper within allot of lodges but why? It was spot on 30 years and back. <snip> Did Grand Lodge police the ritual back then?

Yes, they did. Had the Grand West not done away with officer certification some years back, this whole thing would be a non-issue. What I find interesting is, that the Lodges with younger officers have no problem with certification nor with being graded on their proficiency. Rather than bitching about it, they have accepted the challenge and have arisen to it as all Lodge officers should.
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Papa, the GL Law used to read "shall"- it got changed to "should" & that's when the ritual went south.
 
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Papatom

Premium Member
Premium Member
Papa, the GL Law used to read "shall"- it got changed to "should" & that's when the ritual went south.
Do you think R.W. Carnes and R.W. Rogers can get the law changed back? I for one would sure like to see it happen. This past week I visited three lodges and 2 (TWO) could not even come close to opening or closing. Talk about short form.
 

Christopher

Registered User
I think men come to Masonry for many different reasons, and I think that's okay. For me personally, the ritual and philosophy is very important and meaningful. I personally would enjoy a very formal lodge. However, I've also come to appreciate sitting around in my jeans, chewing the fat, and just enjoying the company of my brothers. I can understand why someone would come to Masonry and stay active in Masonry just for the company of good men.

In my opinion, we have more than enough lodges in Texas that we can have ritual/philosphy-focussed lodges and more fraternity-focussed lodges and direct candidates to lodges appropriate for their interests. I think it's a sign of the depth of Freemasonry if different men can get different things out of it.
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Do you think R.W. Carnes and R.W. Rogers can get the law changed back?

Remember, it got changed back during PGM Griffin's year & then was gutted last year. I doubt it'll get changed back until the young guys take over the Grand West.
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
I think men come to Masonry for many different reasons, and I think that's okay. However, I've also come to appreciate sitting around in my jeans, chewing the fat, and just enjoying the company of my brothers. I can understand why someone would come to Masonry and stay active in Masonry just for the company of good men.

My Lodge is one in which we dress casually & put great importance on fellowship, however we also place great emphasis on correct ritual. (Could it be because the DI is also the Secretary?) ;-)

In my opinion, we have more than enough lodges in Texas that we can have ritual/philosphy-focussed lodges and more fraternity-focussed lodges and direct candidates to lodges appropriate for their interests. I think it's a sign of the depth of Freemasonry if different men can get different things out of it.

Why can't a Lodge place proper importance on both ritual & philosophy and fraternity? I think it can & mine does. We insist upon correct ritual, our Chaplain presents a Masonic educational talk (usually philosophical in nature) at almost every meeting, and, besides the fellowship before & during Lodge, many of us meet at a local watering hole afterwards for "Liquid Lodge".
 
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MacFie

Registered User
Yeah ours is very informal for the dinner and everything, but our guys are amazing with the work. Every now and then there's a slip up, a bit of a laugh, and bam, people are better than they were before. I'm glad I came across the lodge I did!
 

Papatom

Premium Member
Premium Member
many of us meet at a local watering hole afterwards for "Liquid Lodge".
Are you going to share your LIQUID LODGE with other brothers?
 
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Bro. Stewart P.M.

Lead Moderator Emeritus
Staff Member
My Lodge is one in which we dress casually & put great importance on fellowship, however we also place great emphasis on correct ritual. (Could it be because the DI is also the Secretary?) ;-)


Brother Bill, you are correct. Lodges need to have a proper balance of both in order to help appeal to both the older & younger Brothers.


Why can't a Lodge place proper importance on both ritual & philosophy and fraternity? I think it can & mine does. We insist upon correct ritual, our Chaplain presents a Masonic educational talk (usually philosophical in nature) at almost every meeting, and, besides the fellowship before & during Lodge, many of us meet at a local watering hole afterwards for "Liquid Lodge".


Our Lodge set up is very similar to yours. It is most likely easier for us to blend the estorical excellence with relaxation and fellowship when we meet twice a week. When it is time to prepare for an event or degree our floor school time is just that, school and the expectations are high. We are proud to have two District Instructors (14-G & 14-H) as members and mentors, what one doesn't catch the other one does. We laugh a lot during degree practice but the team pulls off spotless degrees come showtime. When we are not studying for something comming up we use the time to simply be social and "catch up" in each others lives.

I must also add that we have a "5-O'clock" crew that meets up before everything really starts on meeting nights. We get all of our social activities done and out of the way long before the older crew shows up at 6:45PM for the instruction or degree. I really believe that this really helps our fraternal bonds.

I LOVE the idea of a Liquid Lodge!
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Are you going to share your LIQUID LODGE with other brothers?

Sure! Following our stated meetings on the second Tuesday of every month at Larry's Texas Cafe y Cantina, 210 S. Richmond Rd., Wharton, Texas- come on down!
 

kmfisher1

Registered User
Papa, the GL Law used to read "shall"- it got changed to "should" & that's when the ritual went south.

Sad, that with the change of one word the work could become so bad in such a short time. That change had to have been for-see-able...or did it just go from bad to worse?
 
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