 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issue No. 28 November 10, 2006 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
R:.W:. Joseph R. Leo R:.W:. David L. Blasch V:.W:. John W. Cola V:.W:. Scott A. Klein Lodges of the Athelstane Cornerstone Goshen Hoffman Hudson River Jerusalem Temple Naurashank Port Jervis Stony Point-Wawayanda Wallkill Warwick West Point Archives No.
1 5/5/06 |
The little mini-editorial that usually fills this space has been put on hold this week. I am learning NOT to publish everything I write and the deathless prose penned in the last few hours require further consideration. Simply put, I hope I am not the only one who finds "Good enough" to be a concept that has no place in a fraternity whose goal is to constantly improve its members; and when is "good enough" ever good enough where our ritual is concerned? There is no brass ring at the end of a degree, you don't get a consolation prize for simply making it to the end. Embracing an attitude of "Just get through it, the candidate will never know" wrongs, cheats and defrauds that Brother, your Lodge, and yourselves. It's November. If the Master still requires prompting or copies of the Opening typed out on index cards, there's something wrong. If your Senior Deacon wears out the carpet and spells OHIO on the Lodge room floor, there's something wrong. If you are skipping the Lecture of Reasons or historical lectures because nobody knows them, there's something wrong. My Brothers, I urge you, do something right. Ask for help to cover a lecture or a role in the Drama, but get Brothers from your own Lodge working on it for next time. You can't rehearse a degree with three people present. Invite the AGLs or myself to your rehearsals. Get your Past Masters out to help with the little touches that aren't in the book but have always been passed down mouth to ear. Here's the tough one: If you're not ready, cancel your degree. Keeping your calendar orderly is far less important than imparting a meaningful Masonic experience; and if you dare to cancel a degree, maybe some of those who didn't think rehearsals were important will come next time. In fact, that's part of the trestleboard for our School of Instruction this month, the Fellowcraft Degree and Running Effective Rehearsals. If people don't see the value of rehearsals, if they consider them a waste of time, or they get frustrated by poor attendance and stop going themselves then your degree is doomed to adequacy at best. Our best ritual Lodges have a commitment from their officers and average 75-90% attendance at rehearsals. Their degrees are good, not just good enough. We have a young Brother in our District that everyone is fawning over, his ritual is letter perfect and superbly rendered. With all respect to this Brother, a close friend of mine, if you are impressed because he is the exception, it's time to work with your own new Brothers and make ritual excellence the rule. He himself is puzzled, wondering why everyone isn't working to do what he does. Does your Lodge GIVE a newly Raised Brother a ritual book? Have your Wardens committed to conferring specific degrees before saying "I do" at their Installation? Do the officers perform their own parts in the degrees or do you rely on a cadre of Past masters who have done the same parts since time immemorial because that's easier than teaching your new Brothers our ritual? Masonry is about finding Light, not excuses. It's time to show up in the quarries and stop phoning our ritual in. Well. It looks like have an editorial after all. Not as dramatic as my first draft, a lot less vinegar, a lot more user friendly. Wow, can you imagine what THAT one was like after reading this. The bottom line, my Brothers, is that we can all work together to improve our ritual. Call the AGL's and I, we'll come to help. I have a hard time saying 'no' to anyone who asks me to help. Join us at our School of Instruction next Monday. For those who do great ritual, we'll make it a Masters Class and help you with the little touches to make your Work sublime. For those of you who were nodding instead of shaking your heads in outrage as you read this, please consider attendance to be mandatory. I hope to see a lot of new faces on Monday. Until then, have a great week! DISTRICT NEWS
Brotherhood Fund Meeting a Great Success Goshen Lodge Holiday Outing Masters and Wardens Meeting Naurashank Dinner Dance 2006 DDGM Visits DATES TO REMEMBER
SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION
The Orange-Rockland School of Masonic Instruction will convene on the second Monday of each month, at locations around the District. Instruction will rotate on a monthly basis between Ritual, Grand Lodge educational programs, and seminars on topics like Leadership and Communication. Our next School will be held on Monday November 13th at West Point Lodge at 8:00 p.m. The work on the trestleboard will be the Fellowcraft Degree. A brief Masters and Wardens meeting will precede the School at 7:00 p.m. If you have any questions, please contact the DDGM. We'll see you there! HELP WANTED
Fellowcraft Degree Assistance Needed Copyright 2006 Orange-Rockland District, GLNY F&AM. All rights reserved. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||