Freemasonry - the digital challenge

An interesting but long article from Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry - by Bro. Ronald J. Watkins of Wayfarers Lodge #50, Grand Lodge of Arizona
http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/freemasonry_digital_challenge.html

Some excerpts ...

Every generation of Freemasons has faced the issue of the state of the Craft, as it exists in its day and as it will exist in the future. So it is for us today. In this first decade of the 21st century, Freemasonry faces yet another century of challenges, but within those challenges are also opportunities, opportunities unprecedented in their value to the Craft. If these opportunities are properly recognized and responsibly acted upon, the Craft will enjoy a resurgence that it has not experienced since the eighteenth century.
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The Internet and Freemasonry

It is said that the Internet is the best, and worst, thing to ever happen to Freemasonry. It is the best because it makes the tenets of Masonry more widely available than has ever been possible previously. It is the best because it makes for more effective lodge communication. It is the best because it allows Masons removed by distance to remain in active touch with their home lodge and lodge brothers.

It is the worst because that which we’d prefer to keep secret has never been more readily available. Every aspect of Craft ritual can be found with just the a few clicks of a mouse. It is the worse because never before has it been so easy to disseminate lies about us. It is the worse because never before has it been so easy for the profane to pretend to be brothers and gain the unwitting trust of those who truly are. It is the worst because never before has it been so tempting for a brother to forget his obligation while in the comfort of his own home, surfing in the artificial intimacy of Internet Masonry.
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Grand Lodges and the Internet

The Internet and Masonic websites within the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge can be an invaluable resource for brothers, and can do a great deal to correct misinformation about Freemasonry. In this digital age, Websites should be the primary educational resource for Grand Lodges and their subordinate lodges and should receive substantial resources of every Grand Lodge.

The Internet is the present and future of Masonic education ...

There have already been conflicts between Grand Lodges, subordinate lodges and individual Masons over website content. Establishing clear standards so that everyone understands what can and cannot appear on the Internet will go a long way in preventing such conflicts.

It is not said lightly that this is the most important challenge the Craft faces in the 21st century.
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Masonic Issues and the Internet

The presence of regular Masonry on the Internet should not be simply to recruit members but to improve the public perception of the Craft in general. From that members will come, as will a greater recognition and understanding of Masonry.

There are, however, important issues unique to Freemasonry which are created by our use of the Internet. These issues must be addressed by the various Grand Lodges. Here are just a few of them:

• What constitutes Masonic communication in a digital world?
• Should a regular lodge website link to an irregular site?
• May a regular Mason post on a forum that allows irregular masons to post?
• Is it a Masonic offense to post on the Internet using an assumed identity?

There are many perils for regular Masons on the Internet. It is easy to join forums that allow irregular and feminine masons to participate. Discussions of disputes between a Grand Lodge and a subordinate lodge, discussions that should not take place in public, are widespread on the Internet. The greatest threat is that it is very easy to form a false impression of Freemasonry because so much of what is widely available on the Internet is irregular or clandestine. This false impression then leads to counterproductive behavior within the lodge and will eventually have an adverse impact on the Grand Lodge.
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The challenge - sorting what is regular Freemasonry from that which is irregular and clandestine

Freemasonry is already a reality on the Internet. Blogs, forums and Masonic websites exist by the tens of thousands, and will soon number in the hundreds of thousands. Freemasonry and the Internet are now, and will continue to be, inexorably tied. The overriding question is: To what end?

Freemasonry, ultimately, is not about the ritual, nor is it about the rich and vast reservoir of knowledge that has been set down in print. Whatever Freemasonry is, or becomes, is always determined by the dominate view of each generation of Freemasons. The majority beliefs of Masons as expressed on the greatest means of mass communication in world history, clandestine or not, will inevitably determine the direction of Freemasonry in the 21st century. It will influence thinking, identify issues and create change.
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Conclusion

There will be many positive consequences as a result of establishing regular Masonic standards and identifying regular Masonry on the Internet.

• Regular Masonic information will be delineated from irregular information.
• We will have a significant presence which will improve the public understanding of us.
• It will provide a more contemporary portal for new members and for ongoing Masonic education.
• Regular Masonic thought and research will spread at speeds unknown heretofore.

We can only benefit from all these.

The reality Freemasonry faces today is that the definition and practice of community has been profoundly altered. The roots of the Craft have always been in the community, and we must see to it that continues to be the case in the future.

Addressing our needs on the Internet is an enormous undertaking. Bringing order which serves our ends from the current state of chaos cannot be accomplished simply or in the short-term. But if we do this right we are at the birth of a golden age for the Craft we love so dearly.
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The complete article is at http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/freemasonry_digital_challenge.html

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In summary - those interested in becoming Freemasons and future Freemasons will discover more and more about Freemasonry and its mimics from the internet. Ensuring that misleading information is not given about regular Freemasonry will be an increasingly great challenge.

Masonic Leadership

Masonic Leadership
by R.W. Bro. Ivica Saric

Presented to Westmount Lodge No. 76 on October 02, 2006

from October 2006 issue of the Grand Lodge of Quebec magazine, "The Rough Ashlar"

From the point of view of leadership or managerial competence, there is a parallel between Masonry and modern business. To be a good leader in Masonry is to be a good manager; in fact it generally demands more talent and better communication skills than to be a manager in business or industry.

A leader in the Craft has institutional authority (derived from his position) and power (based on his knowledge and skill); he governs those over whom he has control through "growth-needs": responsibility, advancement, achievement, recognition and involvement. These all require a high degree of communicative skill. A successful Masonic leader should adopt a style of managing that builds in high expectations, while at the same time involving and informing others to the fullest extent possible. Some people will not respond to this style; but in a voluntary organization they will be a few in number. In our present age of enlightenment those who are being led must feel that they are participating and getting involved.

Naturally this does not mean that a lodge will run itself, or that the members will automatically do what is expected of them. Nothing can be more disastrous than for a leader to abdicate his responsibilities. The effective leader will seek every means of understanding the individual with whom he is dealing. He must avoid the basic pitfall of being blinded by prejudice. Only through understanding can he be flexible and responsive to the needs of others – specifically, to their perception of the situation. If he does, they will freely accept responsibility for certain tasks and become committed to them.

All can share in the tasks, objectives and strategies for the well being of the lodge. Decisions on the other hand are not a group function, but are in the final analysis the responsibility of the leader (Worshipful Master, Chairman etc.). Decisions of course cannot always please everyone. Those who disagree will at least realize that their views were heard, and that the decision was reached on the basis of mature deliberation, and not by manipulation.

THE NEW MEMBER

Many of our newly initiated brethren go through the three degrees only to fade into obscurity within the first year. This is one of the biggest communication problems facing Masonry. Not only does it represent a lot of wasted time, talent and effort by dedicated Masons; it is also a loss of human potential, which the fraternity might have tapped. If we ask, "What ever happened to So-and-so?" the usual answers we hear are "I guess he did not find what he was looking for", or "Masonry is not for everyone."Often the real reason is that he was neglected once he had taken his three degrees. Our concern for him needs to be extended and broadened; we must recognize his needs and foster his feeling of belonging.

RESOURCES – INVENTORY OF TALENT

Problems and questions are bound to arise for any active Mason, above all for a Worshipful Master. When they do arise, it is not an admission of weakness to ask others for help. Many resources, within the Craft are available to answer questions and solve problems. Masonry welcomes men from all walks of life, and a lodge may include a virtual cross-section of society. Many brethren of diverse talents are able and willing to help, and are only waiting to be asked. Try to become aware of the occupations and interests of as many of your members as possible. Every lodge, even the very newest, has a reservoir of Masonic experience in its Past Masters. You are not bound invariably to follow their guidance; but when asked, they can often give a good advice to the Worshipful Master and his officers. A wise Master will consult them. Leadership is best demonstrated by commitment to serving others.

Charge to a newly installed Grand Master

A Charge delivered to Bro. Samuel James Way, the first Grand Master of Masons of South Australia, at his Installation on 17 April 1884. This Charge was delivered by RW Bro. H.C.E. Muecke, the Installing Grand Master who had just resigned as District Grand Master of Scottish lodges in South Australia. It would appear that the Charge was written for the occasion by Bro. Muecke.


"Most Worshipful Sir - for henceforth you are entitled to be thus held - in inducting you to your Chair of Office, as a symbol of the commencement of your government over the Craft, I am performing a most solemn duty.

By the immemorial usages and landmarks of Freemasonry you, as Grand Master of Masons, are invested with powers and prerogatives which are well nigh absolute. The interests of the Craft, for weal or woe, are placed in your hands during your term of office. The good resolutions you have doubtless formed in your own mind that these powers shall not be abused or perverted while in your hands, I would gladly strengthen by a few words of admonition which it would not become me after this morning to utter. The very consciousness of the possession of so great a power, will ever make a generous mind cautious and gentle in its exercise.

To rule, has been the lot of many. It requires neither strength of intellect nor sound judgment. But to rule well has been the fortune of but few, and may well be an object of every honourable ambition. It is not by the strong arm or the iron will that obedience and order, the two great requisites to good government, are secured, but by holding the key to the hearts of men.

The Office of Grand Master is one of great antiquity and respect, and is one of the highest dignities to which we may aspire. Its incumbent, to rule well, requires the possession and practice of several important requisites.

As a man, he must be of approved integrity and irreproachable morals, freed from the dominion of hasty temper or ill-governed passions; of good repute in the world, and practising as an example to the Craft the cardinal virtues of prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice.

As a citizen he must be loyal to his government, obedient to its laws; prompt in the duties he owes to society, and a very pattern of integrity in all his social and domestic relations.

As a Mason he must cling to the Ancient Landmarks, and sternly oppose their infringement; be a proficient in the laws, language, and literature of the fraternity, ever desirous to learn and apt to teach; though not a workman himself for the time, yet master of the work and qualified to earn his wages; ever ready to relieve, slow to demand; ever remembering that, though elevated for a time above his fellows, he was elevated by them, that he is yet a Craftsman more sacredly bound by a Craftsman's obligation; and that at all times, wherever he be, he should practise the golden tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.

As an officer [of the Grand Lodge] he should remember, first of all, that he is an individual Mason, and as such, sharing a common lot with his Brethren, and feeling an interest in the welfare of each and all; he should avoid all undue ostentation or haughty overbearing; be accessible to all, cultivating the closest friendship and most unlimited confidence with his associate officers; ever ready to take council with the Brethren, and to give it; forbearing long and much with evil doers, ready to reward the good; be free from favouritism, and wholly impartial; watchful over the treasury, keeping an eagle eye on every part of his jurisdiction, and breasting over the restless spirit of innovation.

Such, Most Worthy Master, are some of the qualifications of a Grand Master of Masons. The virtues he should possess, the errors he should avoid. Probably most, if not all, have not come up to this standard, but it is attainable; be it your purpose to reach it, and be a shining light to your successors."