Don’t Mistake Who Rules The Lodge

In most Lodges, it’s the Secretary who runs the lodge, but the Worshipful Master and Wardens are the three Principal Officers and are the ones who Rule the Lodge.

But who does the buck stop with,

Who is ultimately and personally responsible for the Lodge?

Many Secretaries will argue that the Master has delegated this responsibility to them, and to an extent this is true. But in the Secretaries investiture is to observe the Master’s will and pleasure, not act as a proxy or pseudo Master on account of inexperience.

When Masters and Wardens let the Secretaries and Past Master run the lodge, this creates a disconnect between those who are actually in power, and those who assume the power. In many cases, this is usually caused because there is no succession plan for the office of Secretary, the same with the Treasurer. As for the Past Master’s, we tend to stay too actively involved as we’ve had the experience.

What I have noticed across many lodges, is the Master and Wardens are merely passengers of the Lodge, caught up and are only consumed with what takes place between the open and closing of a regular meeting. They aren’t aware that they’re personally accountable and responsible for the Lodge, and if they knew this, they’d be more active and engaged in the running of the Lodge.

But we as Past Masters, are also accountable for the Lodge, hence why so many of us, won’t let go, to allow the Master and Wardens the opportunity to run it as they see fit.

Too many PM’s strangle the Lodge, and shut down initiatives and efforts by the Master & Wardens on account of “we’ve always done it this way” or the usual other palliatives to subdue the enthusiasm. It’s no wonder many Masters after their time in the Chair are left wondering if it was all worth it.

I know in many jurisdictions there are two cliffs that cause membership drop offs, once they’re a Master Mason and once’s they’ve been through the Chair. It seems to me, a Masters ability to run and rule the Lodge is likely a direct correlation to his retention and subsequent engagement.

But here is the thing, and it’s what we’ve missed as a Craft. Likely because we haven’t interrogated our Book of Constitutions as thoroughly as we should have.

Did you know Master (and Wardens) is ultimately responsible for the Lodge, and he’s personally accountable and held responsible by Grand Lodge?

It’s not the Secretary, it’s not the Treasurer, it’s not the Chaplain or any other officer.

Here is how the Master is the one who is personally responsible and accountable:

You know what gives a Lodge its existence, allows the Lodge to regular hold its meetings and duly administer the rites and ceremonies of Freemasonry?

It’s the Warrant/Charter.

The Warrant is what gives the lodges its existence which is issued by the Grand Lodge, but who is it issued to?

Before I answer that, it’s important to remember the relationship between Grand Lodge is not with individual Masons, it’s with Lodges. Lodges have a relationship with individual Masons. If you read our ceremonies, and your Grand Lodges book of Constitutions, it is the Lodge who takes action, everything is done by and for the Lodge.

Yes, our constitutions do have stipulations on the Master and Wardens (and Past Masters, but I will get to that), but those are included because, Grand Lodge needs to specify who at the Lodge is personally responsible.

See a Lodge can’t not have a Master, it’s the only position in the Lodge (in most constitutions) that someone can’t resign from.

Yes, every other officer the Lodge can resign, and here something interesting, even the Grand Master can resign — but the only person who can’t resign is the Worshipful Master. He’s practically married to the lodge, and for the Master, it’s “death do us part” until he Installs his successor.

Now let’s go back to who is the Warrant issued to? Well during the consecration it’s the property of Grand Lodge, but entrusted to the care of the Worshipful Master, who is given the instruction to transmit to his successor on nights of Installation.

Then each year, the Warrant isn’t entrusted to the Wardens, the Warrant isn’t entrusted to the Secretary or Treasurer - but the Worshipful Master. He receives it from the Immediate Past Master (well is supposed to).

The newly installed Worshipful Master is entrusted with the care of the Warrant, no one else is. So everything that the Lodge does and could be held accountable for, it’s all under the Warrant that he is the custodian of. Which is why he’s personally accountable.

If you then read your Book of Constitutions, you will find that in most cases the recourse of action for the Lodge not fulfilling its obligations (and I want to make this point very clear)— it is never an individual member who doesn’t fulfill the obligation of the Lodge to the Grand Lodge, it is alway written as “The Lodge”. It is “The Lodge” who has obligations to the Grand Lodge, it is “The Lodge” that has obligations to its members. So, Grand Lodge can only take action against The Lodge.

Now, if a Grand Lodge is going to take action against a Lodge, does that mean everyone get’s off scott free? If no one is accountable for the Lodge then any punishment is superficial, and it means the individuals who carried out the actions in the name of Lodge aren’t held responsible.

Like under Corporations Law which holds Company Directors personally responsible for the companies actions. Grand Lodges, hold the Principal Officers, ie, the equivalent of Company Directors personally responsible.

In my constitution, if the Lodge has its Warrant penalised by the Grand Lodge, then the Master, Wardens and Past Masters are all excluded from the privileges of Grand Lodge. Their privileges to Grand Lodge are by the virtue of their Lodge, not direct to Grand Lodge.

This is how the Master and Wardens are personally responsible, but what about the Past Masters?

As I mentioned earlier, as PM’s we often strangle the Lodge and the ideas and initiatives of the Master and his Wardens. It’s easy to justify this behaviour now we also understand that we are on the hook as well.

What we need to realise is, we are a Masonic body and we are kind of unique in a way. But let’s go back to the Company and Corporations Law example for a moment.

Most corporations and companies have shareholders, but we don’t have those in our lodges. When the Directors of a company misbehave, its at the detriment of the shareholders, and for companies, this is where things like the AGM come in (our election of officers) and the Shareholders can vote out the directors and the board.

Seeing as Lodges don’t have shareholders, we put the Past Masters on the hook. They have by virtue of having had the Warrant entrusted to their keeping and, if you read your book of constitutions, where in the absence of the Master, the Past Masters based upon their order of precedence, are required to step in to act as the Master until a successor has been duly elected and installed.

But the issue of PM’s strangling the Lodge is because we as PM’s don’t understand when we are supposed to step in, and when we are supposed to sit back. I’ll also state that even if the Secretary or Treasurer is a PM, that doesn’t give him the right to be the master by proxy by virtue of his accountability as a PM.

See, we as the PM’s and the Members of the Lodge elected the Worshipful Master, we elected his Wardens and the other officers. We must let the Master rule and govern the Lodge as he sees fit, we must allow the Principal Officers as the rulers of the Lodge to hold the officers of the Lodge accountable.

As I mentioned, the constitution states that only in the absence of the Master are we, the Past Masters required to act. Only in his absence, negligence or inability to fulfil his duties that we elected him to do, do we as PM’s step in.

If it ever gets to the point where the Grand Lodge needs to penalise the Lodge, then and only then is it the PM’s place become active. But they are to become active by encouraging the Master & Wardens to resolve the matter. But they also need to be prepared to step up and step in, provide the support and man-power to the Master to resolve the issue.

But what is the point I am trying to make?

If you are the Master and a Warden, stop being a passenger. As Principal Officers, you are responsible and accountable for the Lodge. Masters, you delegating responsibility to your officers is not an abdication of your ultimate accountability.

Past Masters, let’s enjoy the fruits of our Labor and only be active when we have taken on an office in the lodge, and remember, we must pay due obedience to the Master and Wardens — We would have wanted the PM’s when we were in the chair to let us run the lodge, so let’s give them the same opportunity we wish we had.

Secretaries and Treasurers— as much as you are the unsung heroes of the Lodge, do a thankless job and keep things ticking over. We know you do this out of duty to the Lodge and to the craft because you don’t want to see it fail or stumble. But because you create big shoes to fill, no one will ever have big enough feet to fill them.