Good Governance: Do we have it?
I have mentioned several times over the past 18 months that our governing documents, the Constitution, Statutes, and Decisions (CSD), have not had a serious revision since being implemented in 1910, and now are well over 260 pages, or more than ten times the length of the US Constitution, as amended, when both are printed at the same font size and page margins. I really have to question if we need a document this long and unwieldy. Sure, we have made amendments over the years, and added tons of Grand Master decisions, but now we have a document so bloated that it is nearly impossible for the average Knight to find answers, and there is enough ambiguity that one can almost get any answer one is seeking, depending on what section might be consulted. This does not make for good governance.
Maybe it is time for us to take out a blank sheet of paper and start over, much like they did leading up to the 1910 revision. Let’s set aside the current CSD for a moment and think about writing new governance from scratch. For the sake of argument, let’s also set a few ground rules to guide us:
- No change in the requirement to be a Royal Arch Mason to be a Templar.
- No change in the general hierarchy. That is, Grand Encampment is still the authoritative body for Templary in the USA and elsewhere it establishes Commanderies/Grand Commanderies.
- We don’t change our three charities: The Eye Foundation, Educational Foundation, and Holy Land Pilgrimage.
Other than these three points, let’s say everything else is fair game to keep, change, or eliminate a. What are some general principles we might want to consider in a “do over,” as we used to say as kids on the ball field?
The Elephant: Let’s start with the powers to be reserved to the Grand Encampment in conclave and the Grand Master when the conclave in is recess. There are some things (in no particular order) that make sense to be the responsibility of the Grand Encampment:
- Chartering new Commanderies where there is no Grand Commandery, and oversight of those Commanderies
- Maintaining the Ritual and controlling changes, other than local tactics, which really do depend in the room/location where the Orders might be conferred (I firmly believe one of our greatest assets is a common Ritual throughout the Grand Encampment)
- Operation and oversight of our three main charitable works–the Eye Foundation, Educational Foundation, and Holy Land Pilgrimage
- Relations between the Grand Encampment and other Templar and non-Templar organizations, particularly those with national or international jurisdictions or membership (Conference of Grand Masters of North America, Grand Encampment Prince Hall Affiliated, General Grand Chapter, General Grand Council, Great Priories of other jurisdictions, and so on)
- Basic guidelines on the uniforms, insignia, and awards that are to be common across the Grand Encampment
- Oversight of Grand Commanderies and Subordinate Commanderies on their work and actions of their officers
Of course, there are other areas, but these are a good start,and I don’t think any of us have a real issue with any of the items on this list. Even the bullet point regarding uniforms isn’t super controversial. We are, after all, a uniformed organization and we should have a standard for uniforms and how to wear them. For many years, Grand Masters have said “We’re not the uniform police.” However, I would suggest that maybe there needs a transition from philosophy to guidance on the uniforms. Some of us are starting to look like the meme of the North Korean generals with badges shoulder to shoulder and head to toe. I’m fairly certain that a lot of metal detectors would go off if we had to walk through them on the way into a meeting. Is this something worth our attention at the Grand Encampment level? Probably.
What about the duties and responsibilities of our Grand Encampment officers? If we learned anything from the events leading up to March 12, 2022, there is a strong opinion in the membership about how much unchallenged power a Grand Master can effectively have. Until that fateful day, it was generally accepted that a Grand Master could do just about anything, except suspend or expel a member, without explanation to the membership or accountability from the membership. We grant similar authority to the grand masters of the several Grand Lodges (with, of course, some variations by state). The question is not should we grant such authority, but rather, should we have stronger guidelines on how it is exercised and reviewed? Freemasonry is not authoritarian or dictatorial in nature. In fact, that in an anathema to our teachings and beliefs. We have fought this in our national political setting for hundreds of years, yet we have continued to accept it as part of our “time immemorial” rules of conduct. Perhaps the time has come for Templars to take a lead here and have a serious conversation about the duties, responsibility, and authority of our leaders as we consider our overall governance as we approach the start of the second quarter of the 21st century.