Greetings, Sir Knights! Well, we have put 2023 behind us and are now into the start of 2024. I wish you and yours the best for the coming year. I have missed a couple of weeks sharing these messages with you for a couple of reasons. First has been the demands of my vocation. Second, both Lady Debbie and I have had to deal with the “creeping crud” cold that has been running amok here in the Mid-Atlantic region. We’re on the mend, but only because of the wonders of Nyquil and other medical miracles. Because of this, and the upcoming Masonic Week events, the video town hall schedule is being adjusted and will be available on the website soon and will be sent in an upcoming email.
Many in the USA, and probably a good number of you outside the USA, have heard at least rumblings of the events of the past Masonic year in the Grand Lodge of Texas, which ended at their just-completed Grand Communication with the election of MW Tommy Chapman, PGM (2018) as the new Grand Master, RW Justin Duty (PG Secretary 2023) as Grand Junior Warden, and RW Brad Billings, PGM (2022) as the new Grand Secretary. None of these brothers were expected by some to be elected, especially after RWB Duty had been removed from office as Grand Secretary and RWB Billings was facing Masonic charges. Frankly, it was ugly, sad, and probably avoidable. (For a deeper look, see Chris Hodapp’s excellent recap here.)
As an outsider, it seemed to me that there was a great lack of communication and transparency going back to the start of the 2023 Grand Lodge Communication in Texas, and a seemingly small number of individuals seeking “power” and “control” over the great demon, “change,” sought to manipulate the work of the Grand Lodge for their personal agenda. It was a different set of events from what happened in 2021-2022 in the Grand Encampment (and I’d even suggest the Grand Encampment’s issue then can be traced back many more years earlier). However, in both situations, it was the lack of good communication and transparency that contributed to the events that troubled both bodies, as well as the presence of good communication that led to the resolution of both.
Leaders need to be good communicators, but they don’t have to be great ones. In fact, sometimes being smooth and “silver-tongued” is one of the worst things a leader can be. Certainly, there are times and situations which require the utmost confidentiality, such as I have experienced as both a pastor called upon to hear confession and as an Air Force officer entrusted with classified information and training. In the former, I am and was entrusted to be the conduit between the penitent and God, and to pronounce absolution as well as counsel. In the former, I was entrusted with knowledge to keep our great nation and others safe from harm, and to use in response to threats to that safety.
In my 40 years as a Freemason, I can safely say there has been nothing I have learned, seen, or experienced that would fit into either category while doing the work of our outstanding Order as to the work we do. That which is shared with me “on the square,” as some might say, remains retained within my breast, even if I might respond with words of counsel and encouragement to the brother to do something or to offer suggestions. Clearly, I don’t communicate our Masonic secrets to those not entitled to receive the same (OK, my male corgis have heard and “corrected” more of my practice work than any Grand Lecturer ever has or will LOL).
I promise you, my brothers and fellow soldiers of Christ, that I will not “pull punches,” withhold information, or ever place personal status or gain before the work of our Order and the furtherance of our principles and teachings. I hope that you see through these messages and our conversations that I love this Order and Freemasonry in general, and that I want to see it grown and strengthen not just in my own backyard of Maryland but across the USA and around the globe. Our world has a lot of problems right now that having a greater proportion of Freemasons engaged and active would go a great way in resolving–not because we have all the “secret knowledge,” but because we have been taught how every man–every person–is created equal and exists on a common plane. We need to be sharing this knowledge with more people.
In short, we need to communicate openly, honestly, and frequently with our brothers and with those who may not (yet) be our brothers. I pledge to you that my communication will be frequent, clear, and transparent.
I appreciate your time and would also appreciate your support and vote to be the next Deputy Grand Master when we gather in Conclave in August 2024.