I became a Freemason because of family tradition. That’s a true statement. I have remained a Freemason because I have come to love the teaching, lessons, and values I have learned over the 40 years I have been a Freemason.
We have challenges/weaknesses/opportunities in a lot of areas–recruitment, ritual, and programming to name three. Today, I’d like to address one that hits close to home: How we care (or don’t care) for our wives, widows, orphans, others in need, and our own brothers. Some of this I have shared in previous messages, but this week I “rip the bandage off” and share what makes me so passionate about our Fraternity.
In 1991, my paternal grandfather, a 49-year Freemason, died. He had been extremely active in many Masonic groups in northwestern Ohio. Well over 150 men gathered for his Masonic memorial service. Care to guess how many times his widow, my grandmother, was contacted by his lodge, valley, chapter, council, commandery, or Shrine in the following two years before she died? Zero. In 1994, my dad died suddenly. Like his father, he was very involved in Masonic groups in northwestern Ohio, and again, well over 150 men attended his Masonic memorial. How many times was his widow, my stepmother, contacted by any of his Masonic brethren following his death until her death in 2015? Zero. In 2015, my sister’s husband was killed in a motorcycle accident when he was struck by a teenage driver at a high rate of speed. A respectable turnout for his Masonic memorial. Since then, my sister has been contacted by his lodge three times. Twice after I made a personal call to ask for some help with some basic help cleaning gutters (she can’t climb ladders) and some leaf raking. ONE brother showed up after each call. The third visit was to drop off a hanging basket of flowers for Mothers’ Day.
What bothers me even more is when we fail to tend to the “household of the faithful,” but will go out of our way to help someone with absolutely no connection to our Fraternity. Sure, it is horrible when someone who is totally innocent is severely injured in an act of domestic terrorism, for example, and we should help when it is appropriate and possible. However, I don’t think we are living up to our obligations and vows when a Grand body makes a jurisdiction-wide appeal and raises tens of thousands of dollars to support one victim and then tells a brother who is in need of a more modest sum because of losing a job that there is “no mechanism to help” and that the brother should “consider selling his home.” This sort of response has happened more than once across our great Fraternity.
It’s incidents like these that make me passionate about our obligations, vows, and values. It is why I started the 40 Miles Project when I was Grand Prelate. My goal was to offer at least some support where I could personally and at least make Grand Commanderies aware of situations within their jurisdictions that there were Knights with need–some large, some small–that had come to my attention. It was a qualified success, in that there were some who reached out, even if it was not in the numbers I had hoped. Awareness was limited in its reach–a mention at Department Conferences, a link on our Grand Encampment web site, an article in the Knight Templar magazine. The pandemic no doubt had an impact. Maybe I could have done more personally to promote the program. I am thankful it has been continued this Triennium by our Grand Prelate and Associate Grand Prelates.
But it is not enough, nor can it ever replace the personal contact and assistance that can be given at the local level by Sir Knights supporting their local members and families. We have vowed to do this, pledging our honor as Christian Masons while kneeling before God at the altar. We are obligated to do better. Indeed, we must do better.
The late Speaker of the House, Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, famously said, “All politics is local.” That may be true, but I suggest that “All Freemasonry is local.” Just think, my Fratres–there are approximately 65,000 of us today. Not one of us can make a difference at the national level, but think of the impact if each one of us would take on just one widow or orphan of a Sir Knight as our personal mission, as well as just one non-Templar-affiliated individual or family who might be in need? That would impact the lives of at least 130,000 people close to us. If even half of those whom we assisted or offered to assist told two of their acquaintances about “that friendly Knight Templar” who did an act of kindness, another 130,000 people would have heard about our work and our Order. Perhaps one in ten of those who heard of our work might do likewise, reaching another 13,000 people. It may not be as contagious as COVID-19, but I am certain that it will make an impact in our communities as well as in the lives of those whom we have helped.
This one-on-one outreach doesn’t have to be a “one and done” activity, nor does it have to be “do something every week or month.” We may not clean gutters every six months or shovel snow after every snow storm or deliver a few weeks’ of groceries in February (long after the Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets have been exhausted). It may just be a quick phone call, a handwritten note, or a quick visit. Caring for those whom we have vowed to care for is not something we do for its intrinsic worth or value, nor is it to “earn us points” on some good works scorecard for God. We do it because we are Knights Templar and it is just what we do.
Yes, I am passionate about this, just as I am passionate about strengthening our Order and placing us on the path to growth and renewal. I am also passionate that we cannot grow and change our current trajectory if we fail to live our vows and demonstrate our core values. If we do, then those who see our good works will glorify our Father who is in heaven, and those who choose to take up the sword and buckler and join in our common work will know not only what we say, but how to do what we say.