Part 2 - Changes That Improved Our Lodge

Yesterday, I wrote about the changes that improved our lodge and why we needed to make them. These focused on the Junior Warden, Senior Deacon and Inner Guard (Click to read).

In this second part, I am going to focus on The Senior Warden as well as the Worshipful Master. But, there are also some ideas about the other officers that I have been developing and discussing some Brethren. Like the PM’s, Secretary and Treasurer. If you want me to do a part 3, with those, just vote below.

When King Solomon went to build his magnificent temple, who did he enlist to help him?

We should all know this was in fact, Hiram King of Tyre.

But what is it that King Solomon asked King Hiram to help with?

Well, our ceremonies and also the Volume of Sacred Law tells us that it was to organise the workmen and work itself. So King Hiram was completely responsible for the workers and the work to build the temple.

Hang on, what about Hiram Abiff? If you know your allegory, Hiram Abiff was the widow’s son of Tyre. Who was his King? Hiram King of Tyre. That’s right, Hiram Abiff was so exalted for his craftsmanship that King Hiram elevated him to the same level as one of the three responsible for the building of the temple.

That’s why the Worshipful Master empowers the Senior Warden to be in charge of the Brethren while they are at labour. However, we often mistake this to mean that’s only while the Brethren are in the Lodge room, the Lodge is tyled and the column on the Senior Warden’s pedestal is upright.

What if I told you, that we have actually failed to fully understand the allegory in our ceremonies when it comes to the duties of the Senior Warden?

Let me first address what that allegory is, before I explain why we either miss it completely or misinterpret it all together.

In the allegory from our ceremonies: King Hiram of Tyre was supposedly responsible workmen…. All the stone was prepared in the quarries and only placed in the temple by wooden tools. No metal tools were used at the actual job-site of the temple…. That the SW represents Hiram, King of Tyre who is in charge of the Brethren while they are at labour.

Now, I have combined the few different elements from the ceremonies into this entire allegory. Here are the parts we need to pay attention to.

1. Hiram King of Tyre is responsible for the Workmen when they are at Labour

2. The Lodge (when tyled) is symbolical of the Temple as a job-site,

3. The majority of the labour was conducted in the quarries,

4. The quarries are a symbol of work conducted outside of the lodge

What this tells us is, that Masonic labour doesn’t just occur while the lodge is tyled, but it occurs away from the lodge as well.

Therefore, you can take from this, that the Senior Warden is in charge of organising the workmen for King Solomon— The Worshipful Master.

Now an obvious question comes up, what about the Director of Ceremonies. Isn’t he responsible for organising the work?

To an extent but, my view is that the Director of Ceremonies should be focused on ensuring the workmen aka the Brethren can perform the work they are allocated.

He should be focused on ensuring the officers are well aware of all the things they need to know when it comes to performing the ceremonies. He should be running rehearsals and be the point of contact for the brethren about ceremonial aspects.

The Director of Ceremonies should be involved in assisting and supporting Brethren when they are learning charges or the ceremonial aspects of their office, he is an Instructor and more of a coach than a manager, organiser, or Directing the Ceemony.

If the Director of Ceremonies is active in the brethren’s learning of the ceremonies, instead of putting his time towards organising and managing, then you will find the quality of the work performed in lodge increases.

This is not to diminish the role of the Director of Ceremonies, it’s actually to elevate it. Afterall, the DC is the only Brother who can correct the Worshipful Master and the Wardens. Who else in the Lodge is empowered and charged to correct two Kings?

This means the DC should be active in helping the Master, Wardens and Officers learn and perform their work. Even if that means running phone rehearsals with each individual officer.

Now, I have kind of repeated myself a bit with the Director Ceremonies, but this is to drum home the point of his role and how it’s supposed to be seperate to the Senior Warden.

If the Senior Warden is in Charge of the Work and the Workmen, what about the Worshipful Master — isn’t that his job?

Cast your mind back our ceremonies and the remember what’s in the Volume of Sacred Law about King Solomon. He was a CEO, he had a team of people under him who were empowered with responsibilities.

As King, he needed to be across and make decisions for all the different streams of work that were required to build the temple. Do you think King Solomon concerned himself with finding an individual Mason to cut some stone, no, that’s what Hiram King of Tyre was for. There were around 150,000 workers building the temple.

What the Worshipful Master must focus on is ensuring all those individuals with delegated leadership, like the Senior Warden, the Junior Warden, the Director of Ceremonies, The Secretary, The Treasurer, The Membership Officer, The Caring Officer are all performing their duties; he should be leading them, supporting them and unlocking them, putting in place the the tools and systems to make it all happen.

He should be giving direction to all those leaders in the lodge, as to what his vision is.

Think of the Worshipful Master as the CEO of the Lodge, The Managing Director or General Manager of a Company. He’s responsible for making it all come together and not getting bogged down in making sure there is someone who present a charge, that’s the Senior Warden. He shouldn’t be making sure that there is food for the festive board, that the Junior Warden. You get the point.

The Worshipful Master should be empowering the leaders to perform their duties and holding them accountable for. Making decisions at the recommendation of those he’s empowered to lead their respective streams of work.

Ok, but how does the Senior Warden exactly organise the Workmen?

First, this is in conjunction with the Worshipful Master and not in spite of him.

One thing the Senior Warden needs to do is be working with the Master to plan the years work out. What candidates do we have upcoming, who is ready for advancement to their next degree and working out that schedule.

This means, he needs to be speaking with the Membership Officer about which prospective candidates are coming through and how their petition will affect the plans for work. Knowing that you may have an Initiation in a couple of months, means you can organise the other degree work around it.

Then, working with he Apprentices and Fellowcrafts and their mentors on where they are up to in terms of being ready for advancement. Scheduling those in as well.

In the absence of Degree work, finding other work to be done. Can we take on a candidate from another lodge to Pass or Raise; can we get a Masonic Educator in to run a proper education session, and not have someone just do Masonic trivia. It may be, partnering with other Men’s interest or personal development organisations like Men’s Table or Toastmasters, and putting a Masonic spin on it.

Then once the work is scheduled, such as degree work, making sure all the charge presenters are organised. Encouraging Master Masons to learn a new charge and having the DC support them to learn it. Confirming the officers of the lodge are available for the next meeting, and if they’re not, finding someone to fill their spot.

Making sure the Deacons and Inner Guard are setting up and taking down the lodge room at the start and end of the night. Ensuring that if regalia needs replacing that he brings it to attention of the Master, so the Treasurer can authorise payment for it.

But also being in constant communication with the Master about the plan and ensuring everything is lined up and going to happen. Communicating with the Secretary the details of the work, so the Secretary can prepare the notice paper.

Because as the Senior Warden, I’ve got everything penciled in, which the Master has agreed to. The Master is preparing his work, so are the officers. We already have a general idea who is doing what work over the next few months.

What this means is that within 7 days after the Lodge is closed Tyled, the Senior Warden has confirmed the work for the next month. With the candidate, officers and charge presenters— or the presenter of the education item— the Secretary and the Master now get an email advising them of who’s doing what.

The notice paper can now go out on time or early, visitors can then be notified of your upcoming work and actually plan to attend. Everyone knows what’s going on ahead of time and are not allowing “emergencies” to come up.

If you wait until the last minute to let your members know what’s going on,

If you aren’t treating their time as precious,

If you treating members like they’re there to serve you by attending lodge

If you aren’t giving them a reason to block out the night of your Lodge meeting before anything else comes up

Then you will just have low attendance and last minute apologies, and we know this all leads to call offs.

By doing these things, while it’s taken a few months — the reality it, its only taken less than 9 meetings to turn things around.

Which if you think that, it takes 14 repetitions to form a new habit, we are starting the see the fruits of our labours.

The quality of our work has improved, but, more importantly, our officers now feel responsible and part of the running of the lodge. They’re being empowered and encouraged and they’re improving as well.

Our attendance from members is up, our attendance from visitors is up, we are attracting new candidates to our lodge. Most importantly, we are building a core group of Brothers who are there for each other.

Should I do part 3 tomorrow?