Just what do Freemasons Actually 'do' at their meetings? (Redux)

About a month or so ago I wrote a long and rambling post that included a piece that tried to address the elephant in the room of Freemasonry. I decided to talk about just what it is we actually 'do' in our meetings. In fact, that single thing we do which consumes the bulk of our time, resources, and energy.

As most of you know Freemasonry is an organization that teaches through the process of ritualistic 'initiation'. This tradition of 'initiation' is extraordinarily old; going back literally thousands of years in human culture.

Over the past three hundred years the initiatory process of Freemasonry has been deeply ingrained in the evolution of Western civilization. It is now commonly known that Freemasonry was completely intertwined with the enlightenment movement and the American Revolution.

This process of initiation is unique, and a bit odd and strange. Personally I think that it is absolutely remarkable that in the year 2006 an average guy, for about $100, can experience a ritualistic ceremony that has been handed down as an oral tradition for hundreds of years. That's pretty darn cheap if you ask me. How remarkble that a person can audit this experience, the same one shared by some of the most famous men in history. Heck, nobody really cares that much if you don't come back to lodge again after you experience your initiation, so long as you keep paying your dues.

Oral traditions in human culture are amazing things. The oldest religious document on the planet, the Mahabharata, was passed down as an oral tradition for thousands of years!

Now, can you imagine, here we are in the year 2006 and down at the local Freemason lodge there is a small group of men still trying to keep an ancient oral tradition alive!??! Now, I realize this most certainly is not everyone's cup of tea but I just find it fascinating.

When I made my previous post it was in the middle of a long rambling entry and, unfortunately, included way too many exclamation remarks. Since it was so well received I decided to repost it here, in a slightly edited form.

And, before I do that, I want to make an important comment. I got a lot of positive feedback from fellow Masons on the original article. However, many expressed concern that my post might give the impression that what I say 'we do' is in fact 'all that we do'.

This is not the case, and I say that in my message as well. However, let me clarify again. Memorizing and performing an ancient ritual ceremony is extremely time consuming. It takes a great deal of dedication to the cause and, more imporantly, unless new people join up to carry the tradition along it ultimately dies. It dies a little bit every time a 200 year old lodge closes or merges. It is a pretty darn hard sell to young people today that carrying on an ancient oral tradition is worth their time and energy. In fact I don't debate that at all. I'm simply putting it 'out there' that a large portion of our time, energy, and resources are dedicated to this ritualistic 'work'.

I am also trying to argue that, for some reason that is not entirely clear to me, it is strangely very satifying. A number of my brothers thought I did not stress enough how much of this enjoyment comes from the shared experience with our brethren. This is certainly the case.

And, also, you should be aware that many lodges in many jurisdictions do little to no ritualistic work at all. These lodges function more like a local Lions club or Rotary, primarily dedicated to charity and community activities.

However, since this is my blog and I am relating my experience, I must admit that the bulk of the time in my lodge is spent doing ritual work. And, what is probably more significant, is that when there isn't any ritaul being done, we are all generally a little dissapointed. When you spend so much time and effort memorizing the ritual you certainly want to experience of performing it for the benefit of a new candidate in Freemasonry.

Finally, here is the repost of my original article, with few exclamation marks and less extraneous material.

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JUST WHAT IS IT THAT FREE MASONS ACTUALLY ‘DO’ AT THEIR MEETINGS?


After the normal business of the organization was completed the floor was opened discussions and questions one of which was, "I know you can't really talk about it but. I'm curious, just what is it that you Freemasons 'do'?"

This is hardly a surprising question. It is asked all of the time. And, most of the time, it comes from a prospective candidate.

In fact, it has been one of my main pet peeves. There is a long standing tradition in Freemasonry to keep an aura of 'mystery' and 'secrecy' about our teachings.

However, today, this no longer seems particularly relevant. Freemason rituals are available in hundreds of books and on thousands of websites. Our rituals are re-enacted at least once a week on the History channel in various specials that they keep running over and over again. You can find out our passwords and secret handshakes all over the Internet. And, most importantly, none of this is really new. Our ritual has been well published for over 150 years; starting with ‘Duncan’s Masonic Ritual’ available at Amazon.com or public domain at the Internet Sacred Text Archives.

The reason why this is a pet-peeve of mine is because I think it is the number one reason why so many newly raised members are not active. They get their 3rd degree, they might go out and buy a ring (or not), and then you never see them again.

Why is this? I believe it is because they were told one thing about Freemasonry to begin with and what they actually found confused, disappointed, and turned them off.

When a new member is proposed we form a 'committee of investigation'. This is generally two or three members of the lodge who go to the candidate’s house and talk to him and his family about the lodge. This allows the prospective member to ask questions about Freemasonry and it allows the lodge to make sure the member is not applying for improper reasons.

The sticking point is that when the prospect asks (and they *always* ask), "Just what is it that you actually 'do' at a meeting?" No one actually tells him what our primary activity is.

You are not violating oaths of secrecy to answer this question. You don't have to recite ritual, give him a funny handshake, or say a secret word. I say just tell the guy already.

So, what is it that we are not telling him? Here, let me tell you for myself.

The answer to the question "Just what is it that you actually 'do' in a Freemason lodge?" is as follows:

"We are an amateur theatre group that memorizes and performs an ancient ceremony. And we try to execute this ceremony to absolute perfection. We perform the same three dramatic plays over, and over, and over again year in and year out. We memorize every word, movement, and detail of the ceremony until we can nearly recite it in our sleep. We perform this play with a group of men who are our brothers and friends. We find that performing this ceremony keeps our minds sharp, builds fellowship, and promotes a sense of well being in the group."

Of course... this is *not* what the committee of investigation says we do. The committee of investigation says we do the following:

* We conduct a business meeting
* We have a scholarship fund.
* We help our brothers in need.
* We work with the boy scouts, the food pantry, and the entire community in fund raising events.
* We have fellowship with pie, cookies, and sometimes sandwiches.

Now, every single one of these things is absolutely true. No question about it. However, it does not represent the key activity of the lodge which is to memorize and perform the same ritual over and over again.

When a prospective candidate gets their first, second, and third degrees they are generally confused and bewildered by it all. It is certainly not what they expected, though there were a lot of pie and cookies afterwards and, on his 3rd degree, someone even brought some lovely sandwiches. The candidate is completely blown away by the awe-inspiring feats of rote memorization he has seen performed. In some cases one man might recite, word for word, a lecture that lasts as long as 30 minutes, absolutely perfectly. The material is interesting, but confusing as well. Nevertheless, one thought in every candidate's mind is "I sure as hell hope they don't expect me to do that!!!"

Once the candidate has been raised, and is now a newly made Master Mason, he is ready to get to work. He is ready to do that scholarship drive, Boy Scout fundraiser, or community wide fish fry. However, the thing is, he comes back to the next meeting and some *other* guy is getting his first degree. Then, the next time, a guy is getting his second, and then his third. He asks about the Fish Fry and it told "that's not until June." Hmmm..he thinks. Is that all you guys do, is keep performing this play over, and over, and over again? That sure ain't for me. See ya later..

Some of these guys run off and join the Shrine where they do a ton of stuff with the community and have a great deal of fun. But, chances are, you won't see them back in the Blue Lodge very often.

Now this experience I am describing is not universal. There are lodges that rarely perform degree work and, if it needs to be done, they have it performed by an outside team. These lodges actually do a great deal of community activities and their meetings are more like the original description. However, in our area the ritual is key and that is what we focus on primarily. Due to a resurgence of interest in the craft there are a lot of guys being raised lately. In my own lodge, which I have now been in for two years, I have only been to two meetings where we were not conferring a degree!

When I joined these were my own experiences and frustrations. I have a terrible memory. In fact I have massive holes in my memory and can't recall things that happened even a few years ago. I can't remember people's names either.

When I found out about DeMolay, and my son wanted to be involved, I found my own service niche within Freemasonry. I enjoy working with these young men. I love to see them grow and mature as responsible and honorable men. I am proud that my own son is involved and it has given me great pleasure to give my time and resources to help out.

I did join the Shrine but I found there really wasn't anything there for me. I have too many other commitments on my time. I do go to a Shrine party once or twice a year and I go to the Circus. I give them money because I believe the Shrine Hospitals to be one of the greatest and most noble causes in human history.

In the Blue Lodge I found that I would go to a meeting and, on the way home, think "That was the stupidest thing I have ever done." But, then a few days later I would find myself wondering "When is the next meeting again?" Over time it began to grow on me. Hearing the same ritual over and over again is almost hypnotic. I found that sitting in lodge left me feeling centered and more peaceful. My favorite piece of ritual in Freemasonry is the closing charge and that little message is what kept me coming back.

Then, something happened. After going to meetings for a few months I found that I had, through osmosis, memorized significant portions of the ritual without even trying! This got me thinking. What would happen if I actually *tried* to memorize some ritual? So, I started with my favorite piece, the closing charge. I did manage to memorize it, though it took me several weeks. Next, I thought, well, sure I memorized it, but I will just forget it in a few days. This is where things got really interesting. I didn't forget it!!?? I can't remember someone's name for fifteen seconds, but I could memorize a page of ritual?? How did that happen?

Next I decided to try to memorize something 'big'. So, I worked on the Entered Apprentice charge. This is a relatively longer piece that is two pages. It was *hard*. I had great difficulty memorizing it and it took me probably two months. Yet, once again, something remarkable happened! I didn't forget a single word ever once it was committed to memory! I can recite it any time, any where, any place.

And, reciting that ritual is like a meditation. It is a soothing experience. To deliver it in a lodge confers a great and powerful feeling. To perform this ceremony as a shared experience among a group of men, who have worked to memorize it just like you, leaves you feeling a kind of 'charge' through your whole body and you leave the meeting feeling relaxed and at peace.

In my lodge I see a man who is 90 years old and has every single word of all of the Masonic ritual memorized. He can still recite it with a strong and powerful oratory even though he looks like he is going to fall over at any moment. If the process of memorizing Freemason ritual can keep your mind that sharp all of the way into the age of 90, I say there has to be something good to it.

Now, finally, we are at the end of this lengthy and rambling post. The purpose of which was to publicly, and on the record, reveal "Just what it is we 'do' in a Freemason lodge". I did this because I want other prospective candidates to read this. I want them to know that, besides an occasional fund raiser or pancake breakfast, the bulk of our 'work' involves rote memorization and performance of the same.

And, mostly, I want to confer the idea that this can be a very, very, satisfying thing. I wonder, do a group of theatre actors in a play have these same feelings when they come off the stage? I imagine they probably do.

In this case we are not performing the drama to entertain but, rather, to teach. Our dramas impress upon the mind important basic truths about morality and the duties of a worthy and honorable man in society.

That is really all I have to say on the topic. I hope this is useful to at least one of the new candidates who might wish to seek admission to a lodge.