FamilyMan
Fidelis ad Mortem
Very true.True..... free thought and understand are part of what being a mason is...right?
Very true.True..... free thought and understand are part of what being a mason is...right?
SMIB to the part in BOLD....First off, as has been posted, most jurisdictions in the US require the business of the Lodge to be conducted in the Third Degree. I won't debate the merits, or lack thereof, of excluding EA's and FC's from the business of the Lodge.
But the business of the Lodge in my opinion is just that, the business of the Lodge, and should be done in a Tyled Lodge.
That being said, when a Lodge spends so much of it's time on just the everyday business of the Lodge during a stated communication it will serve no purpose other than to make the members not want to go and if they do attend they can't wait to go home. We put so much more focus on the mundane administration of our Lodges that we never have the time for what we are supposed to be focusing on. The personal and collective growth of Masons and our Order.
If the Lodge meeting has been completely taken over by the everyday administration business of the Lodge it seems to me that the problem is in the organization of how the business is handled, not whether we conduct the business in a Tyled format or whether we have enough people that know the ritual.
I'm not harshing your Lodge Fireman! lol Merely suggesting that most Lodges in the US could do with a dose of reorganization.
Bills are the business of all members; NOT backroom politics of a select few. And, Lodge business can not be conducted other than stated Meetings, nor before stated time of the meeting and must be properly recorded in the Lodge minutes. ... If a member doesn't show up, then that is his problem.1...WHY...is there something unique about the bills in GA?
2) I agree with Education...but why do it the same night as the business meeting....have them separate...the do it in full ritual form....
To ME....a tyled Lodge should be : Degree work, practice of ritual, Masonic Education and other ceremonies....
When we discuss business ie bills, if we are gonna have a pic-nic, set up the lawn mowing etc really doesnt have a masonic theme......I did the exact same thing in the volunteer fire department I used to belong to....these are not secrets....who cares if someone hears if our electric bill is $100.00 or we can afford to hire a lawn service so we have to get volunteers to mow....THIS is NOT a masonic meeting ...it is just a meeting where the members of the Masonic Lodge gather to take care of the formalities of taking care of the property....
I understand that is how it has been done for MANY...MANY years and I know it WONT change....I just have an opinion and would like to hear a reason why paying bills should be done in a tyled meeting.
Never said they should be for a select few.....never said it couldnt be a stated....here a stated is one that is at a set time....never said minutes shouldnt be recorded.....Bills are the business of all members; NOT backroom politics of a select few. And, Lodge business can not be conducted other than stated Meetings, nor before stated time of the meeting and must be properly recorded in the Lodge minutes. ... If a member doesn't show up, then that is his problem.
"To ME....a tyled Lodge should be ...." ... When you become Grand Master, you can dictate that to your jurisdiction. ... But Georgia Code stipulates business to be conducted within the Lodge.
Because we are an Order whose foundation of everything we do is based in and on the ritualized way of doing everything we do. It makes sense to me that even the mundane matters we deal with should be part of our ritualized way of doing things.If the code book said we had to wear our undies and an apron and thats it in Lodge...would that make it a Masonic reason to do it?.....NO....I get that the "code" book says to....I still want a "Masonic" reason....if there is on
Except we basically use "Roberts Rules of Order" for our business meetings ( the exact format we use in Lodge is the same as it was/is at the VFD I was on)...but I can appreciate this answer...it is more than the code says too...Because we are an Order whose foundation of everything we do is based in and on the ritualized way of doing everything we do. It makes sense to me that even the mundane matters we deal with should be part of our ritualized way of doing things.
Thank you. Having knowledge is useless if you cannot pass it to others successfully.See.... now you are giving viable answers.... you are a pretty good explainer
EXACTLY......I didnt mean to be argumentative (with anyone) but using the "code" is not a true Masonic reason....all to often it is used as a crutch because one can not give any other Masonic reason....Thank you. Having knowledge is useless if you cannot pass it to others successfully.
BUTT....we successfully have done it....If I want to discuss something Masonic, in lodge is the best place to do it. Even if it's just a business meeting. And if we're tyled, we cans speak freely without regards to secrets. Hard staying on topic with statement about undies and aprons!!
If I want to discuss something Masonic, in lodge is the best place to do it. Even if it's just a business meeting. And if we're tyled, we cans speak freely without regards to secrets. Hard staying on topic with statement about undies and aprons!!
Fireman, Bro. Donahue obviously hasn't been conferred the sacred Masonic Squirrel Degree yet! LOLBUTT....we successfully have done it....
He is still just a chipmunk......... masonic discussion in Lodge....has he lost his mind???Fireman, Bro. Donahue obviously hasn't been conferred the sacred Masonic Squirrel Degree yet! LOL
LOL, He hasn't lost his mind yet... I'm sure our "linear discussions" are making him wonder though.He is still just a chipmunk......... masonic discussion in Lodge....has he lost his mind???
I'm going straight home to refreshen on some Chip and Dale cartoons. If memory serves me right, those two chipmunks always got the best of their antagonistsLOL, He hasn't lost his mind yet... I'm sure our "linear discussions" are making him wonder though.
Bro. Donahue, We only kid with those that we like, so please don't be offended by our cheekiness.