I had a weird thing happen awhile back; a guy saw my square and compass ring and said "He had got his 3rd degree in Florida on a Saturday saying he went from EA to MM him and several others."
I know I hear brothers from other regions grumbling about York Rite being done on a weekend and how it took them years to complete those degrees.
But, the core of the work is done in the Blue Lodge. I can't really see legitimate Freemasonry taking a candidate from EA to MM in a day with out any memorization of degree work. This seems very clandestine! Has anyone heard of 1-3 in a day degree work? What are your thoughts on the subject?
I had quite a bit of feed back from the PH masonry post which led to very in depth emails from Racism to other logical reasons related to Grand Lodge laws and why such things are done. So now the next one is to tackle why have a clandestine lodge "Milling out Master Masons".
Also, I have noticed a lot of Masons not wearing their ring or only wearing it in lodge meetings or degree work. Is this the norm? I wear mine all the time and proud to show that I am a member of such a wonderful brotherhood. Once again thanks for contributing to my blog and I look forward to hearing from you.
Freemason Store
The Masonic Mill
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
Hi Brother Shane,
It's isn't just clandestine lodges performing one-day classes. Many mainstream Grand Lodges have performed them. Check out http://bessel.org/oneday.htm for more information on one-day classes and which jurisdictions have allowed them. It was done a couple of times here in Connecticut, although I doubt it will happen again. It did not meet favorably with the current brotherhood, as is to be expected.
Fraternally,
Charles
One Day to Masonry Classes are allowed in many jurisdictions through the Mason at Sight Landmark. According to Mackey, the Eighth landmark allows the Grand Master of a Grand Lodge jurisdiction to make Masons at sight. Some jurisdictions do not follow this landmark or don't like the idea of One Day classes. Many brothers have been brought into the Fraternity as Masons at Sight: Frederick, Prince of Wales (1737), Norm Coleman (2003), William Taft (1909).
According to GL of British Columbia, making Masons at sight was very common until very recently and now is considered an overstretch by some GLs. You can find the article here. http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/masons_at_sight.html
The modern practice follows the Scottish Rite method of conferring degrees. Personally, I see no problem with One Day classes. I know many good brothers, including some Past Masters and current Masters, who did not know the time that they could give to the Fraternity but have become incredibly active Masons.
In response to your ring comment, I wear mine every day if I can find it. I have a tendency of leaving things in places and then I lose them for a week or two.
Nick
As has already been stated, some GLs do have one day classes that include all three degrees. I am opposed to such ODCs and am thankful that my GJ does not have them.
P. Bug,
What is your opinion of making Masons at Sight?
Nick
Shane, I've commented about one-day degrees a number of times on-line. It doesn't really affect my jurisdiction because such is not permissible here.
Nobody here has been clamouring for them; it seems to be an American thing. If anything, there have been moves to increase the mandatory time between degrees.
As for rings, I don't wear one and not everyone does.
Justa Mason
"P. Bug, What is your opinion of making Masons at Sight?"
That is a very rare thing in my experience and, it being one of the landmarks that my GJ subscribes to, I have no problem with the practice.
The reason I ask is that Making Masons at Sight is essentially the same exercise in Grand Master power as him calling the occasional Lodge with one or two to be initiated, passed and raised. I have known great brothers who serve as WMs of Lodges, etc.
Nick
millennial: There have been comparisons made between the ODCs and the "at sight" Landmark (No. VIII in the List of 25). Are they one and the same? Being that my GJ does not have ODCs, I don't know.
I think one would need to look at the law or edict of the GLs that use ODCs to be able to answer that question.
This might make for a good educational article for someone to tackle. Here is an article to help an interested researcher to get started: http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/masons_at_sight.html
Odd that you should mention writing an article. I was actually going to wait until October when my brothers in Owatonna hold the first of two one day classes. I am going to wait and ask the brothers their opinions before and after the class. One of the main questions that I will ask is why they decided to attend the One Day class over traditional degree work.
I guess we will see what happens. Thanks PB. I know we disagree on some aspects of the modern Craft but I still agree with your blog's message that mainstream Masonry is still the way to go and that a line should be drawn. The question is still where.
Nick
millennial: We're probably fairly close on our thinking. I just say it rather bluntly. And yes, the line must be drawn somewhere. If we keep moving it, the Fraternity will not be recognizable.
To be hugely cliche, for me, the journey was in many ways more exciting than the destination. I personally believe that the three degrees should be spread out over some time so that the candidate can truly wait a time with patience from degree to degree. But I'm also a product of the Grand Lodge of South Carolina, so my views are likely biased.
Personally, I found the memorization requirements to be both daunting and exciting. Like so many, I figured that I'd never be able to memorize the required material, however, after several weeks of study and coaching, I found it to be very rewarding on many levels. Soon after being raised, I was asked to be a Steward in our lodge, and in one meeting, even asked to perform the duties of the Junior Warden. Had I not had the practice of memorizing the material, I would NEVER have been able to do the role properly.
I believe that we all need to determine what is important to our travels in Masonry.
On one level, it's kind of hard for me to talk down the one-day sessions, particularly since the York Rite bodies in our area confer all degrees through Knight Templar over two Saturdays, and I WILL be participating (with Bro. Shane.) Unfortunately, they are the only game in town, so we have little choice should we decide to pursue the York Rite. But then those degrees aren't the "core" Blue Lodge degrees either.
I'm glad that more and more people are becoming Freemasons, but I just hope that those who do go the one-day route will at least take the time to really think about and ponder what they went through.
If the GJ promoted the One Day Class, you are to support it. End of discussion.
Post a Comment