Tag Archives: freeemasonry

A Look at the Lodge Room and its Officers

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I had wanted to give a bit of a history lesson as to why women can’t become Freemasons this week, but due to a hiccup in research, I was forced to go another route. Hopefully I can get that done for you guys soon.

In the meantime, I realized yesterday that I had never actually gone over not only all of the officer positions that a Mason may hold while in Blue Lodge, but hadn’t even discussed how a lodge room is set up! I can assure you that while this information may feel like I am giving away deep, dark Masonic secrets, I can assure you that this is not the case. Please also be sure to note that this information is only accurate for blue lodges within the United States. In the later degrees and organizations, there are different officer positions, and the lodge room is set up slightly differently. I do not think that there is much if any difference for Masonry in the UK, but I do not know that for sure.

The Lodge Room

A.k.a, the place where all the super secret rituals take place. You can go in there. No, really. If you ever visit a Masonic lodge, and would like to see the lodge room, chances are that if you ask, and they are not currently holding a meeting, you are welcome to go in. To be honest, it’s not anything too special to see, but every piece of furniture in the room has a special purpose. Every lodge room is different, some are very elaborate, some are very simple, but they all contain a few key elements.

  • All lodge rooms are orientated east to west. Or this at least the attempt. The front of the lodge room, where the Worshipful Master (more on him later) sits is east. Even if it is not actually in the east, it is still referred to as such.
  • It is a rectangular room with seats around the perimeter. The idea here is pretty simple, you want everyone to have a good view of what is going on. There’s usually no more than two or three rows of seats, so you (hopefully) don’t get stuck sitting behind someone with giant hair like you might at the movies.
  • An altar in the middle of the room with a sacred text on it. In many parts of the country, this may be the Bible. In others, the Koran or the Torah. Some lodges have all three. It is referred to, not as the Bible, but as the Volume of Sacred Law.
  • Three candles in a triangle position around the altar. Threes are important to Masons (three degrees, three lead officers, etc), and the triangle acts as a reminder of the compass. These are usually electric candles, though not always. These are used when the Volume of Sacred Text is read aloud.
  •  Special chairs in the room for officers. More on this later.
  • Two pillars with globes on top. One of these is a globe of the Earth, and the other of the heavens. The pillars are fashioned after the two bronze columns from Solomon’s Temple, which is the location that all of the degrees revolve around. These are usually near the Senior Warden, or near the main entrance.
  • An illuminated letter G. This may hang over the Worshipful Master’s chair, or over the altar. The G stands for both G-d and for geometry, because it was the secret knowledge of the operant (building) masons.
  • Other structures vary by lodge. The floor around the altar may be a black and white checkerboard, because Solomon’s Temple was described as having a similar floor. It may have giant stones, one rough, and one nice and polished, these are referred to as the rough and perfect ashlar, respectively, and are used in an analogy during degree work. You may also find the lodge’s original charter in the room, as well as other masonic and masonic affiliated pieces in the room. Often the blue lodge is not the only group that meets in this room, and so you may find artifacts of York Rite, Order of the Eastern Star, or others as well.

Typical Lodge Officers

Remember when I said earlier that every officer has their own seat? That’s because there are thirteen officers within the lodge, each with their own job. Not sitting in the same spot every time would disrupt a ritual a great deal! There are two ways to get an officer position to get in at the bottom and sit in (almost) every chair, one each year, for a total of 7 years, or simply be appointed or elected to the position. Every officer position has a jewel of their office.

Layout of typical officers seats

  • Worshipful Master – Starting at the top and working our way down, we begin with the Worshipful Master. This is the head honcho, the guy in charge. This office is the highest honor to which a lodge can appoint any of its members. He sits in the big chair in the East, and oversees all business of his lodge. He also presides over all ritual and ceremony.  Think of him as the president of the lodge. Someone who used to be the Worshipful Master but is no longer is referred to as a Past Master. Note: The use of the word “worshipful” here is a honorific meaning “worthy of respect”, not one to be worshipped. His jewel is the square.
  • Senior Warden– Next “in line” is the Senior Warden. He is the second of the three principal officers in the lodge, think of him as the first vice president. The Senior Warden may act as Master of the lodge if he is unavailable,. Usually he will become Worshipful Master next year. His jewel of office is the level.
  • Junior Warden This is where it can start to get confusing. Think of the Junior Warden as the second Vice President of the lodge. He is the third of the three principal officers in the lodge, and may also be able to act as Master of the lodge if he is unavailable. In some lodges, the Junior Warden is in charge of making sure that visitors have the necessary credentials. He is also usually in charge of arranging meals.The jewel of this lodge is the plumb.
  • Senior Deacon The role of the Senior Deacon is to act as the Worshipful Master’s messenger. He will often carry orders between the Worshipful Master and the Senior Warden.  He also assures that the Volume of Sacred Text is opened to the correct page at the beginning and end of the meeting, and also lights and extinguishes the candles around the altar. The jewel of this office is the square and compass with the sun in the middle. He carries a rod with the jewel.
  • Junior Deacon The Junior Deacon acts as the Senior Deacon’s assistant, making sure that correspondence between the Worshipful Master and the other officers are carried out. He is also in charge of making sure that the Tyler is guarding the door at all times, and assuring that visitors have been vouched for. Some jurisdictions split this into two positions the Junior Deacon and the Inner Guard. The jewel of this office is a square and compass with a moon in it, and he carries a rod with the same symbol.
  • Senior and Junior Steward The Stewards are the assistant officers. They are the first to be asked to fill in if an officer could not make it to lodge. They also have the role of escorting the candidates around the lodge room during the degrees. The Junior Steward acts as an assistant to the Senior Steward when necessary. Stewards may sit in a different location than seen above, as their location is never mentioned in the ritual. The jewel of this lodge is the cornucopia. They both carry rods with this jewel. 
  • Treasurer Up until this point, all of these officer positions are in the progressive line. That is, if you start as a Junior Steward, if your lodge uses the progressive line system, in seven years you will be Worshipful Master, if you sit in every seat. The Treasurer is not in this line, and his job is exactly what you would think. He is responsible for all financial transactions within the lodge, including dues. Usually the same person will hold this position for many years. His jewel is the crossed keys.
  • Secretary Again, you can probably guess what this officer does. The secretary is in charge of all correspondence to members, minutes of Lodge meetings, petitions of new candidates, holds a continuous roster of lodge members, as well as other administrative duties. He communicates with the Grand Lodge, types letters, and receives the mail. He must be very well versed in his Grand Lodge’s By-Laws, as well as his Lodge’s By-Laws. For this reason the same person holds this office for many years. His jewel is the crossed quill pens.
  • Marshall The Marshall is the Lodge’s conductor of ceremonies. His job is chiefly the organization of processions, and ensuring that there the correct etiquette is carried out within the Lodge meetings. It is also his job to formally introduce visitors to the Lodge. His jewel is the crossed batons.
  • Chaplain The Chaplain is the spiritual leader of the lodge. Although he may not be a Minister, Rabbi, or Imam, he acts as such within the Lodge. He is responsible for prayers in the opening and closing of the meetings, as well as during degrees and before meals. Everything the Chaplain does is strictly nondenominational. His jewel is the opened book. 
  • Tyler (or Tiler)- Perhaps one of the most important officer positions within the Lodge is the Tyler. It is his duty to ensure that only those who are qualified enter the Lodge room, and that there are no eavesdroppers or unneccessary interruptions. It is also his job to ensure that all who enter the Lodge room are wearing a Masonic apron. His symbol is the sword, and he also carries (a not very sharp) one. 
  • Other officers There are many other officer positions, although these tend to vary from Lodge to Lodge, as well as from Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge. These include: Inner Guard, Chaplain, Director of Ceremonies/Ritualist, Marshal, Senior and Junior Master of Ceremony, Almoner, Organist/Director of Music, Superintendent of Works, Immediate Past Master, Orator, Historian, Charity Steward, Poet Laureate, and Pursuivant.

Whew! I know that is a lot of information, so be sure and re-read it a few times if you feel like you didn’t absorb any of the information. There are also officer positions that only exist at the Grand Lodge level, but I will not be covering those at this time.

I hope everyone has a great week, and if anyone is in eastern Nebraska, and is interested in attending a Ladies at the Table on Saturday, send me a message!

What a Relief!

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I would like to start things a bit differently this week with a story:

A young man passed a pawnbroker’s shop. The money lender was standing in front of his shop, and the young man noted that he was wearing a large and beautiful Masonic emblem. After going on a whole block, apparently lost in thought, the young man turned back, stepped up to the pawnbroker, and addressed him: “I see you’re wearing a Masonic emblem. I’m a Freemason too. It happens that I’m desperately in need of $50 just now. I shall be able to repay it within ten days. You don’t know me; but I wonder whether the fact that you are a Freemason and that I am a Freemason is sufficient to induce you to lend me the money on my personal note.”

The pawnbroker mentally appraised the young man, who was clean-cut, neat and well-dressed. After a moments thought, he agreed to make the loan on the strength of the young man being a Freemason.  Within a few days the young man repaid the loan as agreed and that ended the transaction.

About four months later the young man was in a Lodge receiving the Entered Apprentice Degree; he had not really been a Mason when he borrowed the $50. After he had been admitted for the second section of the degree, the young man looked across the Lodge room and saw the pawnbroker from whom he had borrowed the $50. His face turned crimson and he became nervous and jittery. He wondered whether he had been recognized by the pawnbroker. Apparently not, so he planned at the first opportunity to leave the Lodge room and avoid his benefactor. As soon as the Lodge was closed he moved quickly for the door, but the pawnbroker had recognized the young man, headed him off and, to the young man’s astonishment, approached him and greeted him with a smile and outstretched hand.

“Well, I see you weren’t a Freemason after all when you borrowed that $50,” the pawnbroker commented.

The blood rushed to the young man’s face as he stammered, “No, I wasn’t, but I wish you’d let me explain. I had always heard that Freemasons were charitable and ready to aid a Brother in distress. When I passed your shop that day I didn’t need that $50. I had plenty of money in my wallet, but when I saw the Masonic emblem you were wearing, I decided to find out whether the things I’d heard about Freemasonry were true. You let me have the money on the strength of my being a Freemason, so I concluded that what I had heard about Masons was true, that they are charitable, that they do aid Brethren in distress. That made such a deep impression on me that I presented my petition to this Lodge and here I am. I trust that with this explanation you will forgive me for having lied to you.”

The pawnbroker responded, “Don’t let that worry you too much. I wasn’t a Freemason when I let you have the money. I had no business wearing the Masonic emblem you saw. Another man had just borrowed some money on it, and it was so pretty that I put it on my lapel for a few minutes. I took it off the moment you left. I didn’t want anyone else borrowing money on the strength of my being a Freemason. When you asked for that $50, I remembered what I had heard about Masons, that they were honest, upright, and cared for their obligations promptly. It seemed to me that $50 wouldn’t be too much to lose to learn if what I’d heard was really true, so I lent you the money and you repaid it exactly as you said you would. That convinced me that what I’d heard about Masons was true so I presented my petition to this Lodge. I was the candidate just ahead of you.”

From the January 1977 New Mexico Freemason

There are three main guidelines that Freemasons are taught, three main ideas to strive to achieve. These are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. The two others I will be discussing in a later post; the one I would like to focus on here is relief, or charity. Masons are perhaps best known for their charity work, it is one of the few things that tends to put them in the public view. First and foremost, relief refers to helping out fellow brothers. This is discussed at more length here. This does not necessarily mean that there needs to be an emergency in order for relief to be given, just that a brother is in a tight spot, and could use some assistance. The point is, if you need help, do not hesitate to ask a brother.

The more known about type of charity when it comes to Masonry is public charity. Freemasons have a number of their own charities that assist the public, in addition to contributing to pre-established ones.

Shriner’s Hospital

Perhaps the most well-known Masonic charity is the Shriners Hospital for Children, owned by, you guessed it, the Masonsic appendant body Shriners International. They have numerous locations all over the United States, however they only specialize in four areas: burns, cleft palate, orthopedic and spinal cord injuries. This sets it apart from the children’s hospital that you may have in your city that will see children with a large variety of issues. Focusing on only four areas allows them to have more specialists and more specialized equipment, therefore being able to provide a higher level of care for the children that see them. A major aspect of Shriner’s Hospital is that they will not turn down a family because of their inability to pay. As a member of the Shrine, you pay a $5 “hospital assessment” fee with your dues, which goes directly to the hospital. In addition to this, many Shrines will hold fundraisers for the hospital, as well as individual hospitals themselves holding fundraisers. The Shriner’s Hospital is the beneficiary of many wills as well, of both Masons and non-Masons.

Masonic-Eastern Star Homes

A quick Google search of “Masonic-Eastern Star home” will give you results for two vastly different age ranges. Both the Masonic-Eastern Star Home for Children, and the Masonic-Eastern Star Retirement homes are services provided by Blue Lodges and Star chapters. However, only one of these are a charity the children’s home. The concept is similar to that of the Shriner’s Hospital, no one is turned away due to their inability to pay. The children’s homes offer safe havens for children who may not otherwise be able to live at home: runaways, cases of abuse or neglect, or simply children of divorce. The homes provide them with a stable environment to grow in, and almost all of the children’s homes have on campus schooling. There is no requirement that the child be that of a mason, or related to one in any way. The homes are funded by Masons giving donations, non-Masons giving donations, and of course fundraisers. Many children that attended the homes go on to join the Craft. These homes are generally run by a board of MM or Star members. There is not one overarching organization for these homes, instead they are usually run by the jurisdiction they reside in.

Rite Care

A little bit different, the Rite Care clinics are the charities of the Scottish Rite. Rite Care provides speech and language therapy for children (as you might have guessed!). The idea is that while schools often provide speech and language therapies at school, a school therapist may be seeing several children in one day, and often there is simply not enough time for some kids to get the help that they need. Alternatively, some children may require more intense therapy than may be able to be provided in the school setting. Usually Rite Care clinics are associated with a local hospital, in the big O the clinic works alongside the university hospital. There are currently over 175 clinics in the United States, giving tens of thousands of children the ability to communicate with the world. Most of the funding comes from the Scottish Rite Foundation, as well as from local Scottish Rite lodges, and of course, non-Masonic donations. Again, no child is turned away because of an inability to pay.

There are numerous other Masonic affiliated charities. To give you an idea…

  • Blue Lodge: CHiP program
  • Job’s Daughters: HIKE (Hearing Impaired Kid’s Endowment Fund)
  • Knights Templar: Knights Templar Eye Foundation
  • Royal Arch: Royal Arch Research assistance Program (Supports research into auditory perception disorders in children)
  • Grottos of North America: Humanitarian Foundation Dentistry for the Handicapped
  • Cryptic Masons: Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation (Supports arteriosclerosis research)
  • And a LOT more!

This is only in the United States of course. Over in the UK the Masonic charities are very well-organized, and are all overseen by the Grand Charity. They also have the Royal Trust for Boys and Girls, the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution, and the Masonic Samaritan Fund.

So, we know that Masons give charity, and who they give to, but why is it that they give to charity? Surely there is something beyond “this book said it was a good idea”. I think it is best summed up in this song: