Lodges, Grand Lodges & McDonalds
What if one day, a Brother said to you:
"I'm tired of this. I'm starting a Lodge at my house. We're going to focus on education, great degrees, and spend really quality time together over beer and footy. We don't need a Grand Lodge, we don't need a Charter, we are going to do Freemasonry as we believe Freemasonry should be. Will you come join us?"
This thought experiment was to put the readers of Emeth which is a Masonic newsletter written by MW Bro Cameron M. Bailey PGM of MWGL Washington. It's surprising for this thought experiment to come from a Grand Master, isn't it?
I have seen this debate come up several times over the years. The justification is that the lodges prior to 1717, when the first Grand Lodge was founded, just met; they didn't have a charter. They existed in their own right without permission from anyone.
The debate on this matter is always really about the need for a Grand Lodge. It rears its head from time to time, usually when someone disagrees with something that the Grand Lodge did or didn't do.
As an individual Mason and also a Grand Lodge Officer and Board Member (remember I write this on my own and anything I say is not that of a Grand Lodge or other Masonic body!), plus with my unique view on the world, I have come to coin the term, "The Grand Lodge Paradox". The paradox is this:
Masons/Lodges will always blame Grand Lodge, saying that they're not doing anything, not doing enough, or doing too much. But then, when Grand Lodge does something, the response is "go away - we're private lodges" or "we don't want to do that".
It's the international sport of blaming the Government. Freemasonry, Football, your local Municipality, State, or Federal. Any Government of any kind. It's the duality of the matter.
But it does raise an important question — what's the actual relationship between Masons, Lodges, Grand Lodge, and the answer to this little thought experiment?
Let's start with the thought experiment.
Regardless of how Freemasonry was governed prior to 1717, the Lodges of the time made a decision to formalize Freemasonry and form a Grand Lodge. By formalizing a Grand Lodge, they transferred power and responsibility to a governing body to administer the craft on their behalf. This is an irrevocable epoch. Anything thereafter must be under the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge. But wait just a moment.
Governance issues aside.
Who is the Grand Lodge? It's not the Grand Master or those fellows wearing Blue and Gold. Grand Lodge is actually the Lodges. Lodges are individual Masons. The Grand Master is an individual mason, from a lodge, elected by his brethren and fellows who represent their lodges.
So those original lodges, by forming a Grand Lodge, what they did was create a single identity. But it also gave themselves the ability to control that identity and allow for expansion. They created the first block-chain network ;) Freemasonry wouldn't likely exist today if there wasn't a mechanism to create new lodges from the individual masons that come from within it.
The quote from the Initiation, "This is our Charter or Warrant of Constitution, under it this Lodge has its existence, regularly holds its meetings and duly administers the rites and ceremonies of ancient Freemasonry"
Want to know what that Warrant actually is? It's a Franchise Agreement. Yep. The business model of McDonalds is modelled off Freemasonry.
When you have a Franchise, you get a license, branding, and the recipe to produce "McDonalds" or in our case "Freemasonry".
To go back to the thought experiment. Anyone can open up their own burger restaurant or have their friends over for burgers on a bbq. But unless you have that franchise agreement aka a Charter from Grand Lodge, you are not Freemasonry.
Don't believe me? Well, in the examination it is said that we know ourselves to be masons by the "regularity of my initiation". You follow the pattern and put the logo on things, but unless it came from a Warranted Lodge, it's like making a fake Rolex.
But let's focus on the thing that really matters. The relationship between Masons, Lodges, and Grand Lodges.
If you look at your Book of Constitutions, a Grand Lodge is primarily responsible for one thing — Warranting Lodges. Everything else is all second to that and in support of that. Are lodges private? That's a separate discussion, but really "private lodges" are a misnomer. It's really "Warranted Lodges". Is a franchisee a private McDonalds restaurant? Nope. But they are private from each other.
Ok, what about Individual Masons? Fun fact, Grand Lodge is not technically responsible for individual masons. See, when the first Grand Lodge was founded, there was a special power they reserved for themselves as Lodges, which they didn't give to Grand Lodge— only a Lodge can make a Mason. A Grand Lodge cannot make a Mason.
It's often said that Grand Lodges make Lodges, Lodges make Masons. Well, it's really a virtuous circle.
Lodges made Grand Lodge, so Grand Lodge can make Lodges, for those Lodges to make Masons. For those Masons to travel in their Lodges and to form Grand Lodges.
Why did they do this?
Because the Ancient Landmarks say that every mason ought to be gainfully employed. He can only be employed by a Lodge.