ONE-DAY CLASSES

Sir,
    I am a young mason, just turned thirty-one, and have been a mason since 1998. The state of Freemasonry in New York concerns me greatly. To have One-Day Classes where all three degrees are conferred seems to be a bit ridiculous. Our Degrees are beautiful and thought-provoking and they need to have serious thought put into them by the candidates. I do not believe the full grasp of the Degrees can be fully understood in a one-day setting. Some of the lessons take a lifetime to learn.
    It seems to me that masonry in New York is turning into a civic organisation like Kiwanis or the Lions Clubs. California is the most liberal state in the United States but our masons are some of the most conservative regarding the ritual and conferral of Degrees.
    I understand that Freemasonry is less popular than thirty or forty years ago but solving these problems will not be done by having these One-Day Classes. We need to get to the root of all masonry in order to attract new members; by being the best masons and citizens we can be and by letting other men know that they can profit greatly by associating with other men in a spirit of fraternalism.
    Gregory S. Wheeler, Union Kit Carson Lodge, No. 58, Sacramento, California, United States.

Sir,
    I greatly appreciated Julian Rees’ article in Freemasonry Today, Issue 25, regarding the pernicious spread of One-Day Classes in American Freemasonry. Here in Massachusetts we are in the run-up to a November ‘Class’ to be held in five different locations around the state with a goal of 1000 so-called candidates at each one. In order to reach this absurd number lodges have been pushed and bullied by our Grand Lodge in ways that would have once been unthinkable. Articles announcing and extolling the Class have been published in the name of at least one local Lodge without any notification of permission of that Lodge. Some Lodges have simply had would-be joiners assigned to them without any opportunity for investigation or interview by the Lodge members. The Lodges are beginning to show some resistance.
    There is irony in this sad situation: after an interruption of several years our Grand Lodge has just resumed Lodges of Instruction with special candidate sessions (for traditional candidates only, not the One-Day joiners). As part of this re-introduction they have produced a curriculum of four lectures with slide-show presentations that are truly excellent. There is one for each Degree plus a fourth class on travelling etiquette, the structure of our Grand Lodge, appendant Orders and so on. These lectures are clear and eloquent introductions, in modern language, to the symbolic, philosophical and ethical content and significance of the Degrees. They are really something to be proud of.
    As a long-time instructor, I can say that this is by far the best material I have ever seen for this purpose. If we had been making this effort to reach all of our new members with this kind of material for the last few years I honestly feel that we would have had a far better retention rate and better continuing participation by our membership, perhaps even to the point where our leaders would not feel the need for their One-Day expedients.
    Perhaps nothing will stop these One-Day Classes short of threats of de-recognition from abroad. That would be a painful situation for those of us who value our universal ties but for their own protection from these ‘cowans’ our overseas Brethren may have to consider such action.
    Gary L. Dryfoos, Mount Scopus Lodge, Malden, Massachusetts, United States.

Sir,
    I was surprised to learn from Bro. Johnson’s letter in the last Issue of Freemasonry Today that many of those initiated into Freemasonry at One-Day Classes go on to become active Lodge members. It has long been my concern that by mass-producing Freemasons in this manner some of the usual quality control would be lost.
    When I was initiated into Freemasonry, about a year and a half ago, I found it to be an intensely personal and unique experience, particularly the Third Degree ceremony. I wonder whether it would have been so had I been initiated at one of those production lines. I much prefer the tried and trusted method whereby existing members are expected to propose members from those suitable non-masons in their circle of acquaintances.
    That said, no one could doubt that action is needed to swell our numbers. A recent survey of our local membership told the wider story of Freemasonry - more Brethren are leaving and dying than are being initiated.
    A couple of years ago my Lodge held an open evening, open to all men and women. We had a guest speaker who gave an excellent presentation about Freemasonry and invited questions from the floor. I left that evening inspired to do something more positive with my life and join. It was the best move I ever made. I was not the only new Freemason recruited that evening.
    Perhaps this would be a more effective means of recruitment and maintenance of standards were it more widely adopted. I think it would be particularly useful for attracting younger members like myself.
    Andrew Johnson, Norcliffe Lodge, No. 7371, Blackpool, Lancashire.

IN SUPPORT OF ONE-DAY CLASSES

Sir,
    Today I received my Fall issue of Freemasonry Today and read with great interest the letters concerning the Grand Masters’ One-Day Classes currently becoming popular in the United States. Change for most of us is a difficult thing, for Freemasons it would seem utterly impossible. We are a twenty-first century organisation still clinging to our eighteenth-century ideals. I must admit that I have all but given up on petitioning any new members for when I explain the process and the lecturing time involved they all but laugh out loud, stating that their family and work obligations would never allow such activity.
    The standard response to this is that we just don’t need ‘numbers’ and that quality individuals will seek us out and take the time to join our fraternity. Well, a look at the statistics on our membership indicates that this argument is no longer valid! If we are to survive we must enter into the age of cell-phones and the internet. We must make membership easier and quicker and still maintain the great lessons and objectives of our Order.
    John S. Payne, Buechal Lodge, No. 896, Louisville, Kentucky, United States.

Sir,
    I am a new brother who was raised on the New York Grand Lodge One-Day Class. I have only the greatest respect for masonry and the possibility of participating in this historic event was truly an initiatory experience for me. It may not fit within the context that most Brothers call initiation, but for me it was a transformative event that put me back in touch with the masonic current that I experienced as an adolescent in the Order of DeMolay.
    That Brotherhood taught me many important lessons and the initiations I received there, both in the lodge room and in the interactions with my Brothers, gave me a perspective that taught me to be a morally stable citizen who could function in a free and democratic society with a sense of spiritual purpose and enquiry towards myself and others.
    Yes, I admit that I did not follow through and become a mason when I became an adult but one’s wish to participate in something positive like Freemasonry is often frustrated by the intensity of demands that contemporary life in North America places upon individuals. It is not easy to lead a successful life and also find the time to make the connection with such a fraternity such as Freemasonry.
    It was the 27th of December last that I sought to re-contact these masonic influences on my life and thanks to the masons who had participated in the DeMolay Chapter I was able to contact the Secretary of my current Lodge. To say the least, I was surprised that there was an opportunity to become a Master Mason in one day but the event was the start of my masonic journey.
    I do not feel that this journey was slighted in any way by the speed with which I propelled into the Fraternity. The Lodge I joined also has been experiencing a renaissance and while I admit that I am new to Freemasonry and that I need to seek more light, I cannot say that becoming a Freemason that Saturday at the magnificent Grand Lodge in Manhattan was anything less than a positive experience that has rekindled a spirit of enquiry and discovery within me.
    For some of us, at least, the One-Day Class can be the entry into a new world of masonic enquiry.
    Alex T. Roshuk, Brooklyn, New York, United States.

INSTRUCTION OR REHEARSAL?

Sir,
    With reference to the letter from A. R. Portchmouth in the Summer Issue of Freemasonry Today: I am in full agreement in that I find the whole concept of One-Day Classes alien to my views on masonry.
    However, I must take up his point that the Lodge meetings and Lodge of Instruction are thereby left with nothing to do. Sadly, only too often the Lodge of Instruction is nothing more than a Lodge of Rehearsal. The rituals are learnt by rote with no understanding of the exoteric, let alone the esoteric, meaning behind the words. At the Lodge of Instruction time should be given over to learning about the foregoing by experienced senior members of the Lodge. Question and answer sessions, encouraging the reading of suitable books, setting up a Lodge Library, are all ways of deriving a continuing interest in the Craft.
    Lodge meetings can also be enhanced by a catechetical use of the Emulation lectures and other lectures; white evenings are to be encouraged as a means whereby our wives, partners, prospective members and the general public can be made aware of our activities.
    M. G. Bruce-Squires, Paphos, Cyprus.

GOOD AND EVIL

Sir,
    Reading the report of the Cornerstone Society Summer Conference in the last issue of Freemasonry Today and in particular the symbolism of the Tracing Boards has totally confused me.
    The writer, Kirk McNulty explains that the chequered pavement symbolises how the Deity is the ‘duality of good and evil’. Surely the Deity, which I take to be the Supreme Being, can only be good, untarnished by evil?
    The late O.C. Klagge, in his address on the Grand Lodge Certificate, designates the chequered floor as ‘representing the Light and Darkness, the joys and sorrows of our chequered existence on earth’ which I find to be a far more acceptable explanation.
    By the Light and Darkness he surely means the Deity and the Devil, the Good and the Bad, or however one wants to designate this contrast. But to state that the Deity is a duality of good and evil, as Kirk McNulty does, is something that I find hard to accept. I only wish that I could have been present to hear what else he had to say about it.
    Maybe Kirk McNulty would like to use your columns to enlarge on his theory for the benefit of those who couldn’t make the conference?
    Peter Dodd Tadworth, Surrey.

CHARTRES CATHEDRAL

Sir,
    My wife and I have recently visited France with our local town Twinning Association. During our time there we were taken to Chartres for a tour of the town and cathedral. Whilst in the cathedral I saw the labyrinth and remembered that there had been an article about it in Freemasonry Today.
    On our return I searched through my back issue of the magazine (I have been a subscriber since it started and have kept all of them) to find the relevant copy. It was April 2002 and the picture on the cover showed the labyrinth at Amiens.
    It occurred to me afterwards that if there had not been an illustration on the cover, or that article not of such significance, my task would have been a great deal harder, especially with twenty-six issues published and the number of articles now well over 200. Might I suggest that consideration be given to a comprehensive index being compiled and published at suitable intervals, with updates?
    The tour of the cathedral was very interesting and, when outside, the guide pointed out the hundreds of sculptures on the façade. These included the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences. The guide could only name a few - which a fellow mason in the party and I completed although very quietly. Unfortunately the guide was more interested in stained glass windows - the labyrinth was not even mentioned - to impart much more information about the building itself. This has led me to wonder what other masonic connections may be associated with this particular building. Can anyone help?
    Harry Chapman, Hextable, Kent. Lodge No. 8685, Sevenoaks, Kent.

A MASONIC BRAND

Sir,
    As you can see from the enclosed photograph [of a horse branded with a square and compasses] there are some questions that need answers.
    Can you assure me that the United Grand Lodge of England are not contemplating doing away with our aprons and branding our backsides with the motif that appears in the photograph? I wonder which Lodge the horse belongs to - perhaps ‘Stable Lodge’?
    I took this photograph recently whilst on holiday in Seville. It was taken during a parade outside the Cathedral. There were about thirty horses but this was the only one to have this brand. Is it possible that the owner might have a masonic connection?
    W. G. Taylor, The Cross in Hand of Bickley Lodge, No. 7060, Orpington, Kent.

FREEMASONRY AND AVIATION

Sir,
    I am the Master of The Royal Air Force Lodge, No. 7335 and we are celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2004. To celebrate this I am researching the role of Freemasons in the development of aviation with a view to delivering a presentation entitled ‘Masonry and Aviation’ in Lodge in Freemason’s Hall, London, on 30th March 2004.
    The aim of the presentation is to chart the development of aircraft, both lighter and heavier than air, their application to both civil and military uses and the part played in that development by Freemasons. However, it is proving very difficult to identify the masonic connections of the pioneers, or indeed Brethren working today, in the development of aviation. I should, therefore, be very interested to receive any information which readers of Freemasonry Today might have which could assist me in this undertaking. Please contact me at niel.ker@lineone.net or by post via the Freemasonry Today office.
    Niel R. Ker (Flt. Lt. RAF Retd.), Royal Air Force Lodge, No. 7335, London.