York Rite College

Illinois York Rite College #15

Last night I was inducted into the Illinois York Rite College #15.

It was an amazing night.  When I walked into the room, it was filled with many of the Masons whom I have come to respect and admire.  Whom I consider to be most of the movers and shakers of Masonry in the Metro area.

The degree itself was quite amazing, but the most important thing is that it really made me reflect on my journey in Freemasonry.  We hear over and over in our obligations about how we are supposed to live our lives, but how many of us, truly live by those words that we hear.  One thing that was mentioned a number of time is, "remember, you are obligated ... "

I have written before in the past about this, but for the first time, I had it pointed out to me at a masonic meeting that this was a fact.  I am obligated.  Perhaps, because I do take my obligations seriously, I am asked to become a part of these esteemed organizations.

I desire light in Masonry, I truly do.  I want to live my life according to the obligations which I hear and swear to.  I want to conduct my good works, for the mere reason that it is the good and right thing to do.

Due to an incident that took place that evening, I was reminded by several brothers, that this is a volunteer organization.  We do what we do for fun and pleasure, fellowship and community, patriotism and personal pride.  But there are those who do not always see things that way.  They do things for the name on the certificate, the new pin, the colored hat, the new title, seat on a line, the pat on the back and they expect others to be motivated by that same desire.

I do things because I want to do them and if no one noticed, It would not change what I did or how I do it.  I do things to help true and trusted Brothers in their laudable undertakings, in hopes that they would do the same for me some day.  I do things because it is fun and feels good to see other people get enjoyment out of my works.  I do things because I am obligated to do them for the good of the Craft and my fellow man.  I am motivated by knowing I did the right thing.

That same night, I was reminded of that very concept in my degree.  I am amazed at how circumstance or fate or whatever it is that brings those things together at just the right time, to add to my life long journey of learning.  I hope to continue that journey and see what amazements will present themselves to fill my life.

'Jonah syndrome'

Acts of Good Works

"Works without merciful love, he urged, have no meaning, highlighting that the “Jonah Syndrome” is to perform works that are absent of this love."

Pope warns against 'Jonah syndrome' of the pharisees :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

How many brothers do you see doing works because they seek recognition, rank or a new pin?  How often are you told that you will not get that recognition, unless you perform said works?

As Masons, we do good works because it is the right things to do, not because we expect personal gain.   Pope Frances indicated that because a person truly loves and accepts his personal deity (in his case, Christ) the result is that he performs those good works.   The works are a result of his faith, they are invalid if you perform those works hoping to gain that faith. 

In Freemasonry, we have faith that our deity will give us that glorious immortality and because of that, we perform those good works to our fellow man.  Because it is the right thing to do.

We do not perform work seeking to gain favor, a colored hat, a new pin or a seat on a line.  We do Good works because that is what is expected of us as good men.  Good works are not just acts of charity, the are acts of honor.  Being true to our obligations, caring for those that can not care for themselves, Charity, brotherly love, living in truth.  Being chivalrous and honorable is the result, knowing that you did those good works is all the recognition that one professing to believe in those two traits should expect. 

Men of honor do good works, just because...

Wayfarers #1001 AF&AM, nearing 100 years old

On July 5th 1916, Wayfarers Lodge #1001 AF & AM received its dispensation to conduct business from the Grand Lodge of the State of Illinois.  This year, Wayfarers turned 97 years old and we will begin work toward our century jubilee.  

To start, I will write what I can about the beginnings of Wayfarers Lodge from the primary resources available to me at the Evanston Masonic Library. 

This first piece is a tracnscipt from the Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the State if Illinois, Seventy seventh annual meeting held in Chicago, October 10, 11 and 12, 1916. 

* * *

Wayfarers Lodge, U.D., Evanston, Cook County, Illinois

A dispensation was issued for this lodge on July 5th, 1916, by Brother Ralph H. Wheeler, Grand Master.  This Lodge was instituted on July 5th, 1916, by Brother Robert N. Holt, D.D.G.M. for the First District.  The work of this Lodge was as follows:

Number of petitions received ..........  18
Number Elected  ..............................  10
Number Rejected  ............................   2
Number Initiated  .............................  9
Number Passed  ...............................   4
Number Raised  ...............................   4
Number not acted on  ......................   6
Number named in dispensation .......  75
Number named in dispensation and not signing petition for
            charter  ................................    2
Number signing petition for charter  77

Whose names are as follows:

George Francis Melick Tyson, George Francis Baker, Edwin Grey Gross,
George Washington Carman, Carl Merritt Cooley, Abram Milne Ramsay,
Theodore Schuermann, Charles Kawin, Fredrick Laird Kerr, Ernst Howard
Merchant, George Robert Lemmer, William Arthur Cavanaugh, Charles Ken-
neth Thomson, Frederick Otto Streich, Charles Summer Harris, William
Perey Gunthorp, Harry Walter Thorp, David Tilt, Victor Gillette Lumbard,
William Henry Becker, James MacDonald Fraser, John Paul Trickey, Frank
Orma Beck, Maynard Dawson Howell, William Dalzell Dickson, Charles
Robert Aiken, Arthur Windfield Copeland, William Dale Barnes, Arnold
William Hoffmann, Leland Alvadore Gilbert, John Peter Moos, Andrew
Gordon Fraser, Horace Edward Bent, Henry Adolph Apps, Thomas Speer
Roberts, Lester Soule, Walter Valentine Wilson, Simeon Carl Cecil Smith,
Earl Wilson DeMoe, Samuel Aultaman Poe, Earl John Brown, James Rich-
ards Parker, Glenn Rogers Frisbie, Roger Corr Frisbie, Peter Roland Shoe-
maker, Frank Edwin Leffingwell, Donald Walter Gunthorp, Harry Putnam
Pearsons, George Bulman Coover, Walter Elmer Pond, Arthur Davis, Del-
bert Oscar Sprague, James Edward Dolson, Robert E. Thayer, Thomas
Joseph Williams, Robert C. Knaggs, David R. Hopkins, Ernst Wilder
Hewitt, Frank Cole Thomas, Voorhis Haight Jr., Ira Benson Sellery, George
H. Coleman, George H. Scurlock, John Adank, Edgar G. Richards, Thomas
Shearer, Bert F. Crawford, William Carleton Wilson, William McDougall,
George H. Bigelow, Henry Gough Bell, John F. Stafford, Albert Edward
Bassett, J. DeWitt Murphy, Edward William Lloyd, Elwyn William Sey-
mour, Walter J. Gunthorp

We recommend that a charter be granted this Lodge as "Wayfarers Lodge #1001".
(Page 134-135)

Later in the Appendix Part II on page 27 of the appendix the following info is given:

1001  Wayfarers
Evanston Post Office
District 5
Carl M. Cooley, Secretary at 1015 Church Street
George F. Tyson, WM at 845 Chicago Ave
Lodge Meets Each Wedsnesday of each month

Page 32 of Appendix Part II indicates that Wayfarers Lodge was Chartered on October 11th 1916

Page 40 of Appendix Part II indicates that Wayfarers Lodge is in the Fifth District and the Lodge meets at 810 Davis Street in Evanston. 

* * *

That is a lot of information.  Next week, I will look though the 1917 Proceedings to see what I can find.  There was no mention of the Lodge in the 1915 Proceedings.  The History will continue!
   

Inspirational Trestle Board - W. B. wojtas

“Normalization of deviance is a long term phenomenon in which individuals or teams repeatedly “get away” with a deviance from established standards until their thought process is dominated by this logic:  Repeated success in accepting deviance from established standards implies future success.  Over time, the individual/team fails to see their actions as deviant.  Normalization of deviance leads to “predictable surprises” which are invariably disastrous to the team”. – Mike Mullane 

Does this ring a bell in any of our minds?  When we read the texts of the great Masonic minds of the past, can we see this phenomenon?  Are we the same now that we once were in the late 19^th century?  The early 20^th century?  The mid 20^th century?

Present day Masonry is the result of this phenomenon.  We have deviated so far from what we once were, the only explanation is this phenomenon known as the Normalization of Deviance.  More often than not, it is applied in the technical or safety fields.  Astronaut Mike Mullane used it to describe the reasons behind the Shuttle disasters at NASA.  But it fits here in our own Fraternity.  

Masonry is a craft, when you read the old texts, it is hard not to believe that it is not a technical craft.  It is known that as a society, we have drifted far from classical rhetoric and education that was prevalent among the educated classes of the 18^th century, which was generally who made up the ranks of Freemasonry both in the Colonies and in Europe.  Here in the States, we slowly drifted away from what Freemasonry was in Europe (and in many cases today, still is).  We allowed everyman access to our craft and to ensure its survival.  Over the years, we have become more and more lenient in our admissions.  We had to, because it became more and more difficult for some to understand and memorize the profound mysteries of our Craft.  Reading became less and less a part of our radio, television, computer and device driven culture.  To the point where some, or many men are not properly vouched for, for the sake of survival.  

Honestly, how many of you have signed a petition vouching for a man you had just met?  That, my friends is 100 years of the slow moving Normalization of Deviance in action.  We have done what Hayward had written about in Symbolical Freemasonry,

“The Fraternity is not a social club, an insurance society or a charitable institution, but a body of picked men consecrated to a certain set purpose; therefrom it follows that only those who possess the qualifications for such a fellowship and the abilities for such a work should be permitted membership.  The receiving of unfit candidates, as was the fate of so many buildings erected by the old Norman architects in England which went down because “they used poor stone, and scamped with the trowel.” A wise business manager will not employ insufficient help.  A sensible church will not accept unworthy members.  For like reasons Freemasonry must guard well its own portals else it fail of its high mission, which God forfend!” 

We are all guilty, but we had to.  We as a fraternity had to survive, we needed the dues, the petition fees.  We took the chance that these men would become worthy and well qualified.  The risk was taken, the standards slowly drifted away, because we continued to survive.  “Repeated success in accepting deviance from established standards implies future success” (Mullane).  

Hayward goes on to say, “his name and his dues are valueless if they are not accompanied by his willingness ever to serve as a loyal son of Freemasonry”.  By deviating, we have largely become a Fraternity of watch fob Masons, which is “invariably disastrous to the team”.  I say largely, because the truth is in the books of the Lodge.  How many names are on your books, versus how many of those same names are willing to sacrifice their time (the length of their cable tow) to answer a summons.  It is also very true, that not all Lodges suffer this same problem, which is why I always look to what those Lodges are doing differently.  

  

We can not go back to what we were ages ago.  As an organization, we are far from home and the mindset of those within the halls of our temples are not all alike, they don’t all seek the same light.  But we can work with what we have to achieve greatness.  It just takes true and worthy leadership to inspire that willingness to serve the Craft and the Lodge.  

“The power of all teams resides in the uniqueness of the team members; in their diversity of life experiences which yields a diversity of insights into team situations.  When individuals become “passengers” and don’t put their unique perspectives on the table for the team and leadership to consider, the team will suffer”. – Mike Mullane  

We, meaning the lodge, are a Team in the 21^st century.  We need to learn to operate as a team and include all of the unique and diverse skills and traits of each building block in our team.  Leadership is about team building and orchestrating the many hands placing the blocks into place to build that virtual temple.

 

We as leaders in our craft have to learn how to inspire, to some, this is natural, to others, it is a learned skill.  We have good men in our midst, but it is up to us as Masonic leaders to inspire participation in our membership.  Making each member feel like an individual contributor, that their voices are heard and valued is how we start to inspire that sense of belonging, of community.  How we do that, is found within each individual leader.  We all lead in different ways and we have to know what stones we have to build our temple and how to best place those stones, to make a strong and beautiful structure.  

As leaders, we take that rough ashlar and turn it into the smooth ashlar, which is what is needed for the building of the Temple.  We inspire change, devotion and action.  Anyone can give orders, forcing someone to act, to inspire others to achieve is another thing all together, that not everyone can achieve, but we can all aspire to do.  A great leader also inspires others to out achieve the master himself.   

“Success isn’t a final destination.  It’s a continuous life journey of working toward successively higher goals for yourself and your teams.” – Mike Mullane

It is true, we have deviated from what we once were.  It is true that our building blocks are not as perfect as those who preceded us.  But we are not as bad off as we think we are.  We have the tools we need at our disposal, we have the materials in our midst to build the Temple, now we need to take the trestle board and lay out our plans, using what we have to work with and to inspire others to achieve that level of success and to work towards receiving the lost word of a Master Mason.  To work towards becoming an inspirational man who can set the craft to work and give them proper instruction.