Dear Brethren:
My Brethren, in this message I would like to challenge each of you to ''exercise'' some of the lessons of Freemasonry beyond attending the two monthly meetings of Federal Lodge.
Enjoying the company of our fellow members during our meetings is easy and often a great pleasure for the attending Brethren. We have conferred an excellent series of degrees on a promising group of new Brothers. The Lodge has hosted some excellent social hours and meals. We have enjoyed some fine presentations to enlighten us in the Liberal Arts. As a result, our lodge is growing and gaining ever greater respect in the community and amongst other Masonic institutions in Washington, D.C.
Masonic discourse and manners aside; I offer these questions for your consideration:
How do we best continue to build a stronger lodge?
A strong line of officers is the cornerstone upon which we build the future of Old Federal; but as individuals we need to encourage both the curiosity of potential candidates and the attendance of our absent Brethren. Speaking to friends about our personal involvement in Freemasonry and making it possible for men to explore what Masonry has to offer for those who ask helps build our future lodge. Within our existing membership, most of us know someone who is not sitting with us in lodge on a regular basis. Each of us needs to make a commitment to call an absent Brother and encourage them to attend our communications. Can we provide transportation to an absent Brother so he can join us? Can we offer something of a personal nature that will promote greater attendance of those who ‘opt out’ of our meetings? What can we do personally to have both potential new candidates and our missing members join us in fellowship at dinner or participate in Lodge activities?
How are we perceived as Masons in daily life?
Daily masonry 16/7 is another story and a far more difficult challenge. I say 16/7 because it is impractical and somewhat difficult to practice Freemasonry while we sleep. As we are taught to divide our day into 3 equal measures for work, personal life, and rest, we must actively review the tenets of our obligations and make an attempt to visibly include these teachings in our daily professional and personal responsibilities. At the risk of redundancy, I am incorporating these lines from the April Trestleboard:
In the lecture of the Entered Apprentice Degree we are informed “if we find someone in a destitute situation, you would contribute to their relief as far as you were able without injury to yourself or family”. Furthermore, we are admonished to have “Faith in God, Hope in immortality and Charity towards all mankind. The greatest of these is Charity; for our Faith may be lost in sight; Hope ends in fruition; but Charity extends beyond the grave, through the boundless realms of eternity”. Practice and repetition, my Brethren, with charity as a prime example, are keys of action for every Brother who wishes to improve both personally and within the Craft. What are the designs you will draw upon your own personal Trestle Board to become a better Mason in daily life?
How do we conduct ourselves as Masons outside of Lodge?
In our professional and personal relationships, do we make a conscious effort to meet on the level, act by the plumb, and part upon the square? When challenged by an intemperate Brother, friend, or family member, how should a Freemason respond?
How do we set the perimeter of behavior that should circumscribe our actions when sorely tempted or sorely tried? Temperance, my Brethren, is the active ingredient in measuring and planning our response. Each of us must think before we act and test ourselves before we respond. There are many individual occasions where each of us might find this course of action a very real challenge; but by the constant practice and application of temperance we will learn to measure and balance our responses in even the most extreme circumstances.
I submit for your consideration that conscious and continuing effort on these points will help each of us to become masonically fit and masoniclly active, which will, in turn, contribute to the strength of this Worshipful Lodge. Remember the resolution offered in January: I will make an effort to regularly attend lodge meetings and enjoy the company of my Brethren.
In closing, a Special Communication has been called for Saturday, May 3, 2008 during which twelve Fellowcrafts will be raised as Master Masons. Your attendance and support of these new Brethren is strongly encouraged and appreciated. And finally, in continuance of the 2008 Federal Lecture Series, on May 12th we will host an excellent lecture “James Hoban and The Eighteenth Century Vaulting of the White House” presented by James Jacobs, a nationally-recognized Architectural Historian.