A New Season Begins

After a short break from the hectic schedule of a District Officer, the 17th is waking up with a bang! Before the first September event has even occurred I am already scheduled for ten evenings. Pretty wild for there being only twenty-two weeknights available. It is great to see the lodges with so much activity, to many candidates is a good thing. I am more than a little worried about my potential for burnout this year.

I did manage to read a lot of great books over the summer: Committed to the Flames by Morris and de Hoyos, William Preston by Dyer, Freemasonry: Secrets, Symbols, Significance by MacNulty, Knights Templar of the Middle East by Prince Michael, The Magus of Freemasonry by Churton, and a ton of reference materials for my paper and the MEALS Committee. Hopefully, this will provide materials for me to use during my brief Masonic education talks.

A Contribution to Maine

Working on the Masonic Education and Lodge Services Committee (MEALS) is simultaneously heavy work and a great pleasure. Rarely are we given an opportunity to marshal all so much information in so useful a pursuit. Over the last few months we have been reviewing and updating the "Instructor's Manual." This monumental collection of documents aim to help candidate coaches prepare themselves with suggestions for topics, interpretations of the ritual, and background on our Order and the degrees themselves.

For the most part this task is one of consultation and criticism, only rarely are we able to put something new into the texts. While reviewing the Fellow Craft Instructors Manual I finally had the chance to contribute a bit of new material, which was a real pleasure. As we worked through this document, it was apparent that there was insufficient detail about the symbolism of the "ancient and original Orders in Architecture." The previous paragraph discusses the first three steps in the "flight of winding stairs" and then briefly mentions the Orders in Architecture without additional information. I composed the following additional paragraph, which was accepted by the committee:

There is a hidden message in the first eight steps of the Fellow Craft Degree. Reflecting life around us, our knowledge of the Craft builds upon itself. The first three steps remind us of the three principal officers, which we were taught in the Entered Apprentice Degree represent wisdom, strength, and beauty. The “ancient original orders in architecture” also represent these same three principles. The Ionic column depicts an opened scroll, the very source of learning for the ancients, and represents wisdom. The Doric column is simple and sturdy and thereby demonstrates the essentials of strength. Finally, the Corinthian column is enriched with intricate floral designs on its capital, showing to the entire world its great craftsmanship and beauty. The principal officers, and King Solomon, King Hiram and Hiram Abif, whom they represent, are always depicted with these columns to cement our understanding of these ideas and encourage their application to our lives.

Role Changes

Since my last posting I have had a number of new responsibilities added to my Masonic plate. At the Annual Communication in May our Grand Master, M.W. Bro. Robert Landry, appointed me to the position of District Education Representative (DER) for the 17th Masonic District. The 17th is a Cumberland County region consisting of the lodges in Portland, South Portland, Westbrook, Scarborough, Gorham, Yarmouth and Standish. I have never been particularly interested in joining the purple aprons, so named for the color of a Grand Lodge apron, but the job is a genuinely interesting one.

The DER is responsible for assisting with Masonic education in his District. This includes organizing and hosting the Assistant Grand Lecturer with his School of Instruction, giving education presentations to the lodges, and coordinating other speakers. During the past few months, I have offered since my last posting I have had a number of new responsibilities added to my Masonic plate. At the Annual Communication in May our Grand Master, M.W. Bro. Robert Landry, appointed me to the position of District Education Representative (DER) for the 17th Masonic District. The 17th is a Cumberland County region consisting of the lodges in Portland, South Portland, Westbrook, Scarborough, Gorham, Yarmouth and Standish. I have never been particularly interested in joining the purple aprons, so named for the color of a Grand Lodge apron, but the job is a genuinely interesting one.

The DER is responsible for assisting with Masonic education in his District. This includes organizing and hosting the Assistant Grand Lecturer with his School of Instruction, giving education presentations to the lodges, and coordinating other speakers. During the past few months, I offered a few interesting programs including: “4^th Night” for Deering Lodge and “Masonic Etiquette” for Harmony Lodge. With any luck the renewed Grand Lodge Speaker's Bureau will provide an opportunity for a variety of speakers to get involved with Masonic education the District.

Another appointment given to me by M.W. Bro. Landry is as a member of the MEALS Committee, where MEALS is an acronym for Masonic Education And Lodge Services. Is responsible for managing the DERs and providing materials to the lodges to help them with administration and education. The committee is presently reviewing our "Candidate Instruction Manual," which gives candidate mentors educational ideas for each of the three degrees. Since the manual includes references to Masonic history and ritual development, the review is taking me the better of eight hours for each section. At our last meeting we spent over two hours just reviewing and approving revisions to the Fellow Craft Degree manual. The experience has been educational as I am constantly forced to pry references from my head to back up, or undermine, assertions made in the manual.

I hope, over the next two years, to be able to give Masonic Light back to my District after all it has given to me.