Change? Why should we change anything?
It’s been an interesting week since I last wrote to you. First off, I had to miss joining everyone in the North East Department for their last department conference of the Triennium because I was on Maryland’s Atlantic coast to officiate at the wedding for a wonderful couple. The husband grew up with my sons and is like a son to me (even to the point of having eaten us out of house and home more than once!) and a fellow military veteran. His wife is a beautiful woman who certainly knows how to keep Steve in check. Hated not being with folks, but family is important to me. But, I’m sure you all understand.
When not doing all things Masonic or tending to my chaplaincy duties, my primary vocation is as a program manager. I have led and managed projects and programs from very small to well over $150 million dollars and teams from a couple of engineers to over 150 people and multiple locations around the globe. There is a very important and common thread I have learned about every project and program, regardless of size or nature. Ready for me to share it? Good! Here we go!
No one likes change.
Related to that is a second common thread:
Those designated to lead change
are generally disliked.
Change is tough. We are used to doing things a certain way, and to change how we have done things “since time immemorial” really twists our tails a bit. However, change is absolutely necessary. The challenge is figuring out the right changes to make and how to do them as smoothly as possible, knowing there will be “bumps in the road.” We as Knights Templar are facing a time when change is also an absolute necessity, because we have to do things differently if we expect to reverse the current downward trend.
So, what might be some things that would fit that bill? I’ve mentioned some of them already, of course–getting every DeMolay into the lodge-chapter-council-commandery cycle as soon as he reaches his lawful age in his jurisdiction (18 most places, but there are some 21 still). I firmly believe this is a no-brainer.
In order to make that kind of influx happen, it also means we have to get out the Ritual books, dust them off and crack the spines, and get back into memorizing the work, and make sure we have all the equipment and supplies we need.
We also need to clean out those storage closets, replace every broken or missing piece (even that cheap plastic sword Uncle Joe’s first ex-wife’s late husband gave him and he donated to the commandery 74 years ago), toss out the thread-bare, waaaay too small for men in the 21st century costumes and replace them with new ones Tip: A decent seamstress can make multi-purpose costumes at a fair price. The Grand Chapter of Ohio has–or at least had last I looked–a great set of instructions on how to make costumes for Chapters that could easily adapt to Commandery, especially the IORC. We would not spend $75 for tickets to see the “Phantom of the Opera” national touring company perform while reading scripts and wearing ill-fitting costumes. Why in the world do we think our candidates for our degrees and Orders would be satisfied spending a lot more than that and more time than that single performance? Stop making Freemasonry look so cheap. There, I said it.
If necessary, create one to four teams (maybe more in Texas, just because) of Ritual all-stars who can confer the work and do it well. Have the teams work regionally, and once a year, maybe do a “best of the best” festival conferral in a special place with all the bells and whistles. Be creative!
Maybe three Commanderies team up and one takes on the task to do Red Cross, one Malta, and a the third the Order of the Temple. Or, perhaps one says “We’ll cover the Chapter degrees,” a smaller one says “We’ll get the Council,” and the third takes the Commandery, with members of the other 2 helping to fill in the smaller parts. Before anyone says “But Commanderies can’t confer the Chapter and Council degrees,” let me say slow down–every single one of us has received those degrees and, in fact, is required to belong to a Chapter and Council. If it takes a Commandery to stand up and learn the work of the other bodies in the jurisdiction, then just do it! Go to those other bodies and say, “We are here to do the whole enchilada if you can’t. But, if you need spots filled in, we are pleased to do that to help you get brothers exalted and companions greeted so we can get them knighted.” While you are at it, if getting men through Blue Lodge is tough in your area, create a York Rite team to confer the Fellowcraft degree. It is a very clean way to open the door to York Rite degrees because of the way Chapter and Council fit into the Blue Lodge allegories, and let’s be honest with one another, even struggling lodges want to be the ones to confer the EA degree and there are at least a half-dozen special or affinity groups out there ready to take their Third Degree Team out on the road at the drop of a hat. Finding a great ritualist who knows the Middle Chamber and can confer it with grace and class is a much harder task, especially if it’s short notice.
My Fratres, this is the kind of change I am talking about as a starting point. We have to do things to get men through the work and into our Asylums. As we grow back in strength, some of those who have stayed home instead of having a stale donut, weak coffee, and poor meetings will start coming back as well, joining those new guys and wanting to find a place to work. Welcome them with open arms! Start doing this and expect change to happen. No, it won’t fix itself overnight, but it’s taken us 50 years to get to this point, so let’s see if we can take two years to “flatten the curve” and then five more years to get that curve going back up faster than it went down.
My friends and brothers in Christ, this is only a starting point of ideas I am ready and willing to share with you, and will do whatever I can to help you implement if you elect me to serve as your next Deputy Grand Master. And not only that, I’ll be there at the ready to help you create your own plans to make your own ideas a reality in your own jurisdictions.
Here’s another promise I make to you: If you do not elect me to be your next Deputy Grand Master, I will still be here to assist you in making change happen. I am but a phone call or email away.
I hope this week’s installment generates some ideas in your heads, and I would love to hear them and help share them with others across the Grand Encampment. I’ll appreciate your feedback as much as your vote next August in Salt Lake City.