Helping Sisyphus

Last night was my first Official Visit of 2011.  Forbes Trail Lodge and Worshipful Master Pete Randazzo hosted approximately 60 members from the District and I again had the honor of presenting a Fifty Year Service Emblem to one of their own.  Before retiring for a fabulous meal, I was pleased to offer the following remarks:

Helping Sisyphus

In ancient Greece, it was customary to award the winners of Olympic events with a crown fashioned from laurel branches. In modern-day Boston, the winner of the marathon receives the same award and the term laureate, as in Poet Laureate has its origin in the word laurel and signifies that the poet has received a special honor for his or her work.

In the most recent Freemason Magazine, you may have read that for the first time in fifty years, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania has seen an increase in membership - in fact we have increased by 449 members since the end of 2009.  That they have seen an increase can also be said of a few of the Lodges represented here tonight, not all of them unfortunately, but some. As membership growth was arguably the cornerstone of Grand Master Sturgeon’s 21st Century Masonic Renaissance, it might then be fitting and proper for us to award him a crown of laurels and maybe even give them to ourselves for helping in the effort. After all, it took the hard work of many to see such a feat accomplished.

The tendency after making a great effort can sometimes be to take a break. It is human nature after all to occasionally rest from our labors. Let’s take a look however at those mentioned earlier and see if that is what they would do. Would an Olympian finish the competition and be satisfied to fade into oblivion? Would he see all the hard work and energy spent to reach the pinnacle of success be immediately undone – satisfied to return to his home and ordinary life? Probably not. Would the marathon runner hang up her shoes, never to run again? No. She would probably go out the next day for a recovery run and continue to keep herself in peak physical condition – able to compete again. Would the poet, a person uniquely qualified to craft the written word in such a way as to invoke images, colors and emotions in the minds of all who read his words stop writing and stop dreaming after one poem? No. He would continue to hone his art and make the world a more beautiful place through his words.

The origin of the term “resting on one’s laurels” comes from the idea that people rely on their past achievements rather than constantly moving forward toward a new goal or a new horizon.

I am here to tell you tonight, Brethren, that we as Freemasons are NOT going to rest on our laurels. We are not going to sit back and bask in the glory of a year of growth, pat each other on the back and say “Great job! Let’s go grab a beer.” We are going to use the momentum we have gained to continue to move our Lodges forward, continue to grow and continue to do good works in our communities and for our charities. We shall not be content to sit back, rest on our laurels and say at some future date that we were part of that ONE year when Freemasonry grew.

The Grand Master has authorized us to hold regional One Day Journeys. We will be holding ours in conjunction with the 47th and 55th Districts at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center on October 15th of this year. More details will follow, but preliminarily, it will follow a similar format to last year’s event. I expect every Lodge to grow this year - every Lodge. We will set goals for growth and plans to achieve it. If we ask each of our new Brothers from last year’s Journey to recommend at least one friend, we would be nearly there.

To increase our visibility in our communities, we will continue to do service projects, helping to make our towns and neighborhoods places that we can be proud of. To help the public understand just who we are, every Lodge will hold at least one open house and invite the community into the Lodge to see how it works. Breakfasts, sponsorships of community events and booths at local festivals also help to make people aware of who we are and what we do and I encourage your Lodges to consider them.

Every Lodge will again hold fundraisers to benefit Masonic and other charities. I expect every Lodge to make at least a $2,000 contribution to Masonic Youth Groups, not because the Grand Master has asked – he has not. Not because I asked either, but because it is the right thing to do. Charity is one of the basic tenets of our Craft and if we do not continually strive to be charitable – especially to those institutions ancillary to our own – then we are not being faithful to our calling as Freemasons. Not every Lodge met the $2,000 request last year. Some did not really even try which is enormously disappointing. This year we all will. I know we will because I am even going to get in on the game. I am training to run the Pittsburgh Marathon in May and I will be seeking pledges for the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation. There will soon be a link set up on the District Website where pledges can be made by credit card through Paypal. My goal is to raise at least $2,000 as well. I cannot even imagine the embarrassment a Lodge will feel if the District Deputy, using only his feet, his training and four hours of intense suffering, is able to raise more money than its 200 plus members.

Am I asking a lot of you? Maybe. But to those to whom much has been given, much is expected. You have been given the singular honor of being a Freemason. You are following in the footsteps of some of the greatest men ever to walk this earth – poets, writers, men of letters, men who have freed nations from tyranny and countless others who have risked or given their lives that others may be free. So I will ask that question a different way: Is asking you to sacrifice a few hours of your personal time to ease the path for our youth, to better your community and to grow this great Fraternity for another year too much? I hope your personal answer is no.

Sisyphus was a great king of Greek mythology. For overstepping his bounds and angering Zeus, he was condemned to spend eternity pushing a heavy boulder up a hill.  Just before he would reach the top with it, however, it would slip away and roll again to the bottom and he would be forced to start all over again. Thus a Sisyphean task is one that is pointless or interminable.

Making Freemasonry better is certainly not pointless, but it most assuredly is interminable. Last year’s growth is just that -last year’s. It is history, relegated to the pages of our own mythology. The boulder is back at the bottom of the hill and must be pushed up again. Instead of watching one man do it himself, let us band together and help Sisyphus. Whether you interpret that as helping your Lodge and Grand Lodge grow and prosper, working to see your Lodge become relevant or making your community a better place to live is up to you. But if we each stand up, put our shoulder to the stone and help our own Sisyphus, we will most assuredly lighten the load for others and make ourselves again worthy of the name Freemason, not resting on our laurels while there is work yet to be done.

I want you to join me - not because I ask, but because you know it is the right thing to do – join me in continuing the hard work required to make this Fraternity greater so that we can look back in years to come and say not that we were part of that one year when we grew, but that we were there at the beginning of its Renaissance, the time that Freemasonry reawakened and began the long-term rise to the greatness it deserves.

Pride of Ownership

Last night Tyrian Lodge No. 644 played host to my ninth Official Visit of the year.

We had a great deal of work on the Trestleboard.  We presented two Fifty Year Embles and a Sixty Year wreath.  I had the opportunity to present a Century Club pin and certificate to Brother Byrl Johnson.  Brother Byrl has conferred 153 degrees in his own Lodge and countless others in Lodges all over the area.

We also awarded the final Travelling Trowel award to Pollock Lodge No. 502 and the Boaz and Jachin Ritual Excellence Award to Bethel Lodge No. 789.  Congratulations to the Brethren and the Lodges for each of their honors.

I was pleased to offer the following address when called upon for remarks:

Pride of Ownership

One ship sails east, another west,

By the self-same winds that blow.

It isn't the gales, it's the set of the sails,

That determines the way we go.

-Ella Wheeler Wilcox

For several months now, I have come before you to talk about the Grand Master’s 21st Century Masonic Renaissance. You all know about the great tools he has given us to help slow the membership decline in our Fraternity.

You all know that we can now ask men of good character to join; that we have a brochure entitled You’re Invited to answer any questions they may have. I have told you all about the One Day Journey to be held on October 30th where a man can become a Mason in just one day. He will need training and guidance after, but he can take all of his Degrees and be a full-fledged Mason by the early afternoon.

You know about the “Call to the Craft” program that makes phone calls to your members fast and easy. We have shared our Acts of Kindness, and talked about the monthly service projects and fundraisers, all designed to boost our image in the community and the individual Mason’s pride in his membership.

In ancient Athens, the young men of the city had to take the following oath upon reaching their majority:

• We will never bring disgrace on this our City by an act of dishonesty or cowardice.
• We will fight for the ideals and Sacred Things of the City both alone and with many.
• We will revere and obey the City's laws, and will do our best to incite a like reverence and respect in those above us who are prone to annul them or set them at naught.
• We will strive increasingly to quicken the public's sense of civic duty.
• Thus, in all these ways we will transmit this City, not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could take that kind of delight in our Fraternity? How much more grand would we be if every Mason felt that kind of pride of ownership. That’s what we are, owners – or perhaps stewards would be more accurate – of the Craft.

What does it mean to transmit [the Lodge], not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us? It means work. It means labor and toil and sweat and tears and sacrifice. There are Lodges in this District that have not read a single petition this year. Those same Lodges will suspend members and undoubtedly lose a few through death. Conversely, there are Lodges which have read more than ten petitions for Initiation and may suspend few or no Masons because they have done the work necessary. They have used the Call to the Craft for dues reminders and have made personal calls to delinquent Brothers reminding them of the value of being a Freemason. It isn’t the gales, but the set of the sails that determines the way we go.

Many of you know I’m a fairly avid runner. I don’t generally run very far – only about three to four miles at a time – but I do run frequently. Recently, a friend suggested that we run the half marathon in Pittsburgh together. I said yes thinking it would never happen. Well, on May 2nd, I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, drove down to the city with Gail (my cheering section) and joined 16,000 other people at the common start of the marathon and half marathon. Prior to that time, the longest run I had ever taken was ten miles. I’m now set to increase that by thirty percent all at once. During the race, there were stretches of straightaway where you could see thousands of people ahead of you and thousands behind you all working toward the same goal. It made me wonder what our Fraternity would be like if we did that.

Gail asked me why I wanted to do it. I guess the answer is that I wanted to see what I was capable of, and the only way to find out was to try.

At the end of the race, there are people there to place a finisher’s medal around your neck. Those of you who have heard me decry participant trophies may sense some irony here, but I assure you this is something different. You see, excluding the elite athletes who are racing each other, the half marathon and marathon are challenges to yourself. They are races against the inner voices that tell you that you cannot overcome adversity or pain; that quitting would be easier. When I crossed the finish line, I did not care about who was in front of me because I wasn’t racing against them. I beat the part of me that said you can’t do it and that was my victory. I now have pride of ownership in that medal because it was purchased by my sweat and hard work.

We need to bring that kind of drive to our Lodge. We need to set our goals high and then work to attain them. Soon, what was difficult and cumbersome becomes habit and custom. You won’t mind doing the hard work, because it will become part of what you do. The victory will be the perpetuity of the Lodge; it will be in leaving it not only not less, but greater than when it was in your care. Every single Lodge in our District should grow in 2010. There is no reason for that not to happen. The Grand Lodge has given you the tools, now you need to pick them up and use them. Be mindful of the men in your life who would make good Masons. Tell them about the good things we do and invite them to be a part of it. Freemasonry is yours Brethren, be proud of that.

In 1914 Brother Sir Ernest Shackleton’s was preparing for an expedition to the South Pole. There is a legend that states he placed a newspaper ad recruiting men for his ship The Endurance. The ad read:

MEN WANTED FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS."

The story is told that he received thousands of applicants for the trip.

Our journey is not hazardous, there is no bitter cold, constant danger or complete darkness and our safety is not in doubt. Our journey on the Renaissance will require effort. It will take some time and sacrifice on the parts of all of us. Our reward will be honor and pride. Honor, in that we did the right thing for Freemasonry even though it was difficult. Pride, in knowing that our labor is responsible for the successful future of the Craft we all love so deeply.

Set your sails and join me Brethren!

 

Building Bridges

On Tuesday, April 20th I made my Official Visit to Plum Creek-Monroeville Lodge No. 799 - my home Lodge.  I was pleased beyond measure to have Brother Vern A. Henery, PDDGM travel with me.  Brother Vern acted as Guide for my Entered Apprentice Mason's Degree, so he was really the first "face" of a Freemason for me.  It was great to have him in the travelling party. 

We presented three Brothers with 50 year Emblems.  What a thrill.

Before retiring to the fellowship hall for an excellent meal, I was pleased to offer the following remarks.

Building Bridges

What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal. - Nietzsche

When you hear the word bridge, what comes to mind? I believe for most people it would be the image of a bridge – Brooklyn, Golden Gate or maybe even a pastoral scene with a small covered bridge spanning a little trout stream. What if I asked what a bridge means? That would be something different entirely.

Dream dictionaries offer several interpretations of bridges. They can symbolize transition from one thing to another, a crossing over or a birth.

Tonight I want to take a close look at bridges and bridge building as those things relate to Freemasonry. We will examine how to build bridges within and without the Craft and ways that Freemasonry itself is a bridge.

In W.A. Dromgoole’s poem The Bridge Builder, a tale is told of an old man travelling alone who comes to a difficult river to cross. He does so, and upon reaching the other side, built a bridge. A traveler on the other side asks him why, since he is old and will never pass through again, he spends his time making a bridge.  Then:

The builder lifted his old gray head.
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."

If we are to thrive as a Fraternity, we need to have that kind of vision. Those who came before us did. They set out to establish a legacy – to build a bridge so that generations of men to follow could learn the valuable lessons that the Craft has to offer. They knew that they had something of value and weren’t ashamed that it had a price. They were always mindful that to be responsible meant not only to be able to pay the bills, but to have money left to build a trust fund for the future. Today we are content to rest on our laurels, to live off of the hard work of those who came before.

We must change our thinking Brethren! We need to examine not only what it costs us to run the day to day operations of our Lodge, but what we need to continue to build a bridge (like those who came before did for us) to the next generation of Freemasons. If that means that dues need to increase – and they probably do – then do the right thing. Give the Lodge, its Officers and its members the chance to enjoy Masonry the way our forefathers did. Ensure that your Lodge will be a shining monument to forward thinking and hard work for generations to come. Build the bridge.

Within the Craft we also need to build bridges to those who are thinking of leaving. We MUST contact our delinquent Brethren, ask them why they are giving up membership in the greatest fraternity the world has ever known. If they have fallen on hard times, we need to be charitable. If they have just lost interest, find out why. Maybe we need to look at whether we are providing our members with what they want.

There’s a story about a woman who had stopped going to church for a while. After a few months of sitting home on Sunday, she finally decided to quit. The pastor got her letter and called her. “Why are you leaving our church,” he asked.

“Well, I was getting the feeling that I just didn’t matter to the congregation, so I decided to stay home for a few weeks to see if anyone noticed. No one did, so I guess I was right.”

Sometimes, all we need to do is let the Brethren know they matter. The “Call to the Craft” is an excellent tool to let them hear from you. The Lodges that use it regularly have seen increased attendance. As your May Stated Meeting approaches and it is time to suspend for non payment of dues, you must first have made every effort at a personal contact by telephone and it should be your goal to suspend no one. Let no man feel that our great Craft is better off without him, or he without it. Build a bridge.

So too must we construct bridges to the community. In his 21st Century Renaissance, Grand Master Sturgeon has authorized us for the first time in our history to invite good men to be a part of our Fraternity. He has prepared a brochure answering the questions that most men would have of our organization. What do we do? Who do we help? Where do we come from? What are our ideals? And most importantly, how do I join? It is downright tragic when you consider the number of fine men who have gone to their graves wondering why no one ever asked them to be Masons. There are no doubt men who volunteered in their community, supported their local church, synagogue or temple and walked as uprightly as anyone could who simply couldn’t figure out why they weren’t invited into their local Lodge. The problem is, they never knew that the first step was supposed to be theirs. Not anymore my Brothers. The You’re Invited brochure is now a tool that you can use to start a dialogue with a friend who you deem worthy of our Institution. It is the bridge to a conversation about a man becoming a better father, son, citizen and brother. Use it. Build a bridge.

You see, a problem looming in our not too distant future is that of declining membership. I am preparing a report for each Lodge to show membership statistics over the last five years. I will use Plum Creek Monroeville Lodge for illustrative purposes, but the picture I paint is essentially the same across the board.

In the last five years, this Lodge has initiated, restored or affiliated forty-nine men. In that same period, we have lost to suspension, death or resignation one hundred fifty-four. That is not quite twenty percent of the membership. I don’t think you need me to explain the dangers of that kind of decline.

If you hand a brochure to a friend and he tells you that he is just way too busy to join, the answer is the One Day Masonic Journey. On October 30th we will meet in Soldiers and Sailors Hall and confer the three Craft Masonry degrees by one o’clock, p.m. The One Day Journey is not a shortcut to the Craft. It is a bridge from what we did in the past – because men simply did not have as many demands on their time as they do today – to the 21st Century where we seem to schedule our days, hours and minutes to wring productivity out of each second.

Will some of these men take the Degrees and never be seen again? Yes, and that happens just as often with the traditional conferrals. Will some of them go on to become active members, Officers and even Masters of their respective Lodges? There are several here tonight who bear witness that they will.

Another way to build bridges to nonMasons is through our works. Grand Master Sturgeon has asked us to perform monthly community service projects. The Lodges of the 54th District have answered that challenge. We have volunteered at food banks, answered phones at fundraisers, sponsored teams, picked up litter on highways, read to children at their schools, beautified cemeteries, helped the scouts, the elderly, the veterans and the sick. It is simply astounding what we have been able to do.

When we step into the community to ease the path of others, we are changed as well. The satisfaction of having done something to help should never be your motivation, but it sure is a nice side effect. And when others see our works, they too may be spurred to action. We may become the bridge from self-indulgence to self-sacrifice.

Acts of kindness and selflessness can have a ripple effect. Just as self-interest has deteriorated our communities, so too can altruism rebuild them. It will take patience and time. As water eroded stone slowly – literally one grain at a time – to give us the beauty of the Grand Canyon, we can slowly bring about change in our world by effecting change in ourselves. We can entice good men to do the same by giving them something worthwhile to do and to be. Build those bridges.

Leave this sanctuary of peace tonight, think about good men in your life who are not Masons and invite them to be a part of this esteemed band of men. Support the One Day Journey as a mentor. Volunteer with your Lodges as they build better communities. Be a span – from intolerance to peace, from self-indulgence to self-sacrifice, and from the past to a future made more glorious because Freemasons played their parts.

Vision Amazing

We are the music makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams,

Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

And sitting by desolate streams;—

World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:

Yet we are the movers and shakers

of the world for ever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties

We build up the world's great cities,

And out of a fabulous story

We fashion an empire's glory:

One man with a dream, at pleasure,

Shall go forth and conquer a crown;

And three with a new song's measure

Can trample a kingdom down.

We, in the ages lying

In the buried past of the earth,

Built Nineveh with our sighing,

And Babel itself in our mirth;

And o'erthrew them with prophesying

To the old of the new world's worth;

For each age is a dream that is dying,

Or one that is coming to birth.

A breath of our inspiration

Is the life of each generation;

A wondrous thing of our dreaming

Unearthly, impossible seeming—

The soldier, the king, and the peasant

Are working together in one,

Till our dream shall become their present,

And their work in the world be done.

They had no vision amazing

Of the goodly house they are raising;

They had no divine foreshowing

Of the land to which they are going:

But on one man's soul it hath broken,

A light that doth not depart;

And his look, or a word he hath spoken,

Wrought flame in another man's heart.

And therefore to-day is thrilling

With a past day's late fulfilling;

And the multitudes are enlisted

In the faith that their fathers resisted,

And, scorning the dream of to-morrow,

Are bringing to pass, as they may,

In the world, for its joy or its sorrow,

The dream that was scorned yesterday.

But we, with our dreaming and singing,

Ceaseless and sorrowless we!

The glory about us clinging

Of the glorious futures we see,

Our souls with high music ringing:

O men! it must ever be

That we dwell, in our dreaming and singing,

A little apart from ye.

For we are afar with the dawning

And the suns that are not yet high,

And out of the infinite morning

Intrepid you hear us cry—

How, spite of your human scorning,

Once more God's future draws nigh,

And already goes forth the warning

That ye of the past must die.

Great hail! we cry to the comers

From the dazzling unknown shore;

Bring us hither your sun and your summers;

And renew our world as of yore;

You shall teach us your song's new numbers,

And things that we dreamed not before:

Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,

And a singer who sings no more.

Ode - Arthur O'Shaughnessy

I originally set out to quote only excerpts of the above poem Ode, by Arthur O’Shaughnessy, but as I sat at my computer and tried to edit it, distill it down to just a few stanzas that may apply to our Craft, I realized it just wouldn’t be possible. Poetry has been described as the perfect economy of words in the perfect order. In other words, if you add or subtract from it, it will be diminished.

Now I can find no evidence that O’Shaughnessy was a Mason which leads me to believe that he was not. And it is obvious that Freemasonry is not the subject of the poem – it is clearly describing artists, musicians and writers, but if you really think about it – allow yourself to get lost in the words – it can be applied to anyone working for positive change.

One man with a dream, at pleasure/Shall go forth and conquer a crown;/And three with a new song’s measure/Can trample a kingdom down. Throughout history and all around the world, Freemasons and their doctrine of the equality of man have played pivotal roles in trampling down oppression and defending liberty. Bolivar in South America, Garibaldi in Italy, Revere, Washington, Franklin, Hancock, Churchill – the list is almost endless. What is amazing is that where there has been a rebellion against injustice, men who were Masons have been there to lead.

The Renaissance is going to change the way we teach our Apprentices. No longer will we simply make them memorize ritual without explaining what it means. We are now going to teach men of our proud and glorious history so that when someone approaches them and says, “I see you’re a Mason. What do you people do,” he can tell them of our good works, past and present and feel proud. A breath of our inspiration/is the life of each generation.

Grand Master Sturgeon has made it easy for us to talk to nonMasons about who we are. We now have a brochure entitled You’re Invited to hand to men of good character. In it, they can read about where we came from, what we do, and why we are worthy of their time. If you haven’t handed one to a friend, you are doing him a disservice. Your brothers, uncles, sons, fathers, nephews and neighbors know you to be a good man and they probably know you’re a Mason. Share it with them, you’ll both be better for it.

And o’erthrew them with prophesying/to the old of the new world’s worth/for each age is a dream that is dying/or one that is coming to birth.  The Renaissance, or rebirth, is not without its resistance, for a rebirth implies the death of something else. Brethren, if you examine where we’ve been and trend it forward, it becomes clear that the old way – the way we’ve always done it – isn’t working. Drastic steps had to be taken to curb the membership decline. The brochure was one. The One Day Masonic Journey is another.

The old way – the way we’ve always done it – was to confer degrees over a three month period. There are Brethren who are up in arms that we are offering a “short cut” to the Craft. I suppose that if Ben Franklin, Elias Ashmole or other Freemasons of yore saw how you and I entered the Fraternity, they would call it a short cut as well since it used to take several months or more to earn each Degree.

The One Day Journey will allow men with limited free time to receive all three Craft degrees on the morning of October 30th. What happens next is up to your Lodge. Will your mentors invite them to the next meeting? Will you ask them to come to your next social outing? Will you do everything in your power to make them feel as welcome as you did? Or will you shake their hands, offer congratulations and stand up at the next meeting and complain that the One Day Class didn’t work? In short, will you be a stumbling block or a stepping stone?

They had no vision amazing/Of the goodly house they are raising/. . ./But on one man's soul it hath broken,/A light that doth not depart;/And his look, or a word he hath spoken,/Wrought flame in another man's heart.  Last night I was standing outside of Penn Brotherhood Lodge with a few other members when a young man approached dressed in his naval uniform. As he walked toward us, he removed his hat, tucked it into his belt and nervously said, “I am interested in becoming a Mason. Is there someone here I can talk to?”

Imagine the courage it takes to walk up to a building filled with men you have never met before and ask them to admit him to their ranks. As we talked, he shared with me that he only knows a few men who are Masons, but they are the best men he has ever met. Those unnamed Masons’ looks or the words they had spoken wrought flame in that young man’s heart to be sure.

Why should we wait around for men to find the bravery to ask us? I charge you all to take an active role in our shared future. Use the tools that the Grand Lodge has given us to enliven our Lodges and prepare tomorrow’s leaders.

Our history is written and it is glorious. The future is ours to shape. We can either resign ourselves to mediocrity or we can, with our dreaming and singing, shape a tomorrow whose suns are not yet high.

Great hail! we cry to the comers/From the dazzling unknown shore;/Bring us hither your sun and your summers;/And renew our world as of yore.  Let us renew our world, renew our Lodges and with vision amazing march hand in hand with unanimity toward a new and invigorated Craft.

The Practice and Profession of Freemasonry

Last night was the third consecutive night of Official Visits in the District.  I know that it was a lot to ask of the Officers and I thank them for answering the call.  Worshipful Master Sam Harper conducted a fine meeting.  At age 87, Sam has taken up the helm in his Lodge for the second time.  The first was 1978.

After the meeting closed, we presented 50 Year Emblems to two Brothers, one 60 Year Wreath and a long (20 years) overdue 25 Year Award.  A beautiful evening indeed.

I was called on for remarks and offered what follows.

The Practice and Profession of Freemasonry

One must be something to be able to do something. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

There’s a story that has been told about a young boy and some starfish. You see, every so often there is a perfect combination of tide and wind and current that causes unusually high numbers of starfish to wash up onto beaches around the world.

It was on one of those days that an old and wise man decided to take a walk on the shore to clear his mind and think. A little way ahead of him, he saw a young boy constantly stooping to pick something up and throw it into the ocean.

As the old man approached, he could see it was the starfish that the boy was so focused on.  He stopped and asked the boy, “Why are you spending so much time throwing those starfish into the ocean?”

“You see sir, the tide is going out and these starfish will be stranded and die. I’m trying to help,” said the boy.

“But my dear boy, there are miles of beach and hundreds, maybe even thousands of starfish here. Why waste your time when what you’re doing can’t possibly make a difference.”

The boy, not missing a beat, picked another starfish up and with all his might, tossed it far out into the waves. As it hit the water with the splash, he looked to the old man and said, “It sure makes a difference to that one.”

Too often in life, we go along unaware of our actions and what kind of affect they have on others. With the cynicism that sometimes comes as we leave childhood and become men, we can easily begin to look at the big picture as hopeless instead of focusing on the specifics like that little boy.

We must be ever mindful that what we do as Masons may not have immediate impact on society as a whole, but it does impact individuals. Perhaps each of those individuals, touched by a kindness or spurred to goodness by a Mason decides to pay it forward. Soon, change happens on a greater scale, blossoming, in a perfect world, exponentially.

We are admonished at the opening of every Lodge meeting to “apply ourselves with zeal to the practice and profession of Freemasonry.” What is the practice and profession of Freemasonry? And how can we apply that to being a 21st Century Mason? We need look no further than the rest of that charge for the answer.

We must seek wisdom, for no man who is wise can be anything but good.

We must be united; for when people strive to work and agree, the load is lessened for all. Conversely, without consensus, the going is challenging at best.

We have been charged this year to do something that we’ve never done before. I say that with a wink, because I think if we’re honest, we will admit we’ve done it for years. Under Grand Master Sturgeon, we can now ask good men to be a part of our great Fraternity. There are stories of sons that have waited years for their fathers to ask them to join the Fraternity only to find out much later in life that they were supposed to make the inquiry themselves. It was always seemed a little like “double secret probation” to me. You only learned that you were supposed to seek membership once you sought membership. Well, that’s no more. We can now tell our friends, “Hey, you are the kind of man that should be a Mason.”

We’re even going to make it easy for these men. On October 30th, there will be a One Day Masonic Journey. Men who don’t have free evenings, men who work second shift and those who truly don’t have the time to join in the usual way can now become Masons. Making them want to stay after they join – that’s your job. Bring them to a Lodge that is active, fun and contributing to a better community and they will stay. They may realize that things they used to find important just aren’t when compared to the transformation he sees in himself as he matures as a man and Mason.

Some may grumble, “Well, that’s not the traditional way. He should have to wait a month between Degrees, like I did.” Well you know what, that isn’t the traditional way either. It used to take up to three years between Degrees. I imagine that our Masonic ancestors, if they were here, might complain that you and I didn’t really do it the traditional way either.

The point is that we must be united. We must realize that today’s Masonry needs to adapt to today’s culture if it is to remain relevant. Use the brochure as a way to open a door for a young man. Support the One Day Journey. It might not be your cup of tea, but we’re charged to be united, so unite.

We are told to be happy and contribute to the happiness of others. There are limitless ways that we can do that. Through our Lodge Community Service Projects, we can beautify our neighborhoods, help families in need and give back to the communities that we call home. Acts of Kindness that we have always done serve as outward symbols of the care and love that our Craft have toward all mankind.

What about promoting the useful arts and cultivating the moral virtues? We must mentor our members and tell them of our history. We must explain the value of adorning our minds and inspire them through the tales of the great Masons who have shaped the world. To help a man soar intellectually is the best gift you can give, for an educated mind is a free mind.

Nowhere is it more important to teach virtue and morality than to our young boys and girls. Building strong foundations of morality, teaching good judgment and empowering our future leaders to be all that they can be is an indispensible part of our mission to make the world a better place to live. Remember, one must be something to be able to do something. Giving fifty cents per member to the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation is one of the points of the Renaissance. I urge you not to stop there. Give more. If you can’t afford more money, give of your time. Bring them to Lodge to exemplify their ritual, ask them to help with your fundraisers, most of all, become their friends. Be the role models that are lacking in our society.

Thoreau said “In the long run men only hit what they aim at.” I charge you tonight to aim high. Aim not for mediocrity, but aim for the stars. Let the practice and profession of our Noble Art be your singular focus. Do all in your power to meet the Grand Master’s challenge to bring Masonry to the 21st Century so that your children, grandchildren and men of good character in generations to come can continue to be a part of something so sublime.

So mote it be.