Part 3: Recognizing Individual Excellence |
Greetings, Sir Knights! For December in Maryland, it’s been a bit blustery. Some areas around Baltimore have even had flurries (nothing sticking–so far). Something to be said for warmer climates, even if I do like the change in seasons. We’ve looked at accountability and how we can build ritual teams and partnerships. This week, I’d like to share some thoughts on providing incentives to our members to encourage greater participation in our Ritual work. Everyone likes to be recognized for excellence and service. Whether it is receiving the KTCH or a hearty handshake and “Thank you, my brother,” it makes us feel good to be recognized. Today. let’s consider what we might do to recognize excellence in Ritual proficiency within the Grand Encampment. One of the valuable things we have in the Grand Encampment is a common Ritual. (Yes, I know tactics/floor work will vary by building, let alone jurisdiction. Even the Grand Lodge of Maryland, the jurisdiction in which I hold Blue Lodge membership and is, in my 40+ years of experience, the jurisdiction that holds tightly to the theory that “Freemasonry only works the way was we do it here, so don’t even suggest otherwise,” acknowledges that every lodge room is different in size, so some floor work will differ from place to place.) This means one can learn the work in North Dakota, move to Texas and step into a role with a limited amount of effort–mostly local tactics. That’s pretty convenient, frankly. In my 40+ years as a Freemason, I’ve done Ritual work in a lot of places. I’m honest about it–I mix up the work a lot, especially obligations. Things are similar, sure, but just enough different that it’s not hard to have a past master or grand lecturer come up and say, “Nice work, but not our work.” In part, it’s why I am in the German-language lodge in Maryland, because I didn’t learn the work in some other German-language jurisdiction, so I’m learning it “fresh.” Several Grand Commanderies recognize ritual proficiency with a jewel or ribbon-jewel, but unlike the General Grand Chapter and General Grand Council, the Grand Encampment doesn’t have a standard award to recognize Knights who have learned and exemplified their work on candidates. One very good model is in the Grand Commandery of Indiana (and when I was Grand Commander of Maryland, it was introduced here). They have a four-level program (Pilgrim, Warrior, Knight, Commander) and award a ribbon-sized jewel like the Veteran’s or KYCH jewel. After earning the first, it is exchanged for the next higher ribbon as more points are earned,and you can find it here. I highly commend it to every jurisdiction, because it is well designed and requires Knights to confer parts on two separate occasions in order to get credit for a part, and it breaks the Ritual parts down into small bites so one doesn’t have to “iron man” a degree in order to get credit for working in an Order. In Maryland, we did adapt the Indiana program to allow for credit to be earned for the short form Order of Malta because it is so widely used here. (In retrospect, I wonder if that was a wise decision, and has held back getting Commanderies to cofer the full-form Order of Malta). I also know the Grand Commandery of Virginia has a similar program, and the Grand Commandery of Tennessee is receiving a proposal to adopt the Indiana plan. I would love to hear from other jurisdictions with details on other programs. I firmly believe we are in need of a standard recognition program to be sponsored by the Grand Encampment and available for use across every jurisdiction. Because it recognizes individual work, it allows each Knight to participate on his own merit and decision. Because most of the programs, like Indiana, require performing a part at least two different times to receive credit, it encourages interested Knights to either encourage their own Commanderies to confer the Orders more frequently and to travel to other Commanderies to assist in conferring the work where help is needed. Because it would be a Grand Encampment-wide program, Knights wearing the jewel would be easily recognized when traveling or when they move to new areas, and that opens the door for encouraging participation in new places.In short, it is a winning opportunity for all. Administration of the program can be decentralized, with award authority to be granted to the Grand Commanderies, and the Grand Commanderies should be authorized to order and maintain a quantity of Ritual Award Jewels locally, rather than requests having to be received and processed through the Grand Encampment office. This is the third and final installment of this multi-part sequence on the Ritual and ritual proficiency. I hope it is caused you to reflect on the importance of our work, how we might encourage Commanderies to recover and strengthen their proficiency, and how we might recognize individual Knights for their dedication to learning and conferring the work. In addition to these brief messages, I posted some longer writings on my website that will take a deeper look at this and related topics. Read for the first posts, then check back often for new additions! |