September, 1989


THE PAST MASTER

"There is a time for every season" Eclesiastes

by R.W. Bro.  Norman Senn, PDDGM


This presentation will be made under three headings-First, What
the Past Master is, Masonically; second, What he is not; and
third, What he should be within his lodge.


What the Past Master Is, Masonically

FIRST, he is an upholder of the Ancient Charge as he promised
before his brethren at his installation.  He made one of the
heaviest commitments to maintain the Craft in its existing form. 
It is well to remember this when PM's uphold the status quo.  The
Past Master is a brother who for a period of at least one year
has presided over his brethren as Master of his lodge.  At the
end of this time he has been replaced by a new Master, as capable
as he was, with new ideas, new vigour and sometimes a new
direction for the lodge.

The Past Master is a member of the Board of Installed Masters
essential to place the new Master in the chair of King Solomon. 
He may be elected to be part of the Examining Board who ensure
that new Master has the capability of both running the lodge and
performing the degrees necessary for bringing new members into
the lodge.

The Past Master may be asked to act on the Investigating
Committee to ensure that visitors are Masons and may legally
attend the lodge.

The Past Master may be asked to be the Installing Officer at the
Installation of the lodge either as a routine or for a special
brother.  He may be called upon to raise a brother for some
special reason or as a family matter or give the obligation which
latter task only a WM or a PM may do.

He may be asked to hold one of four offices in the lodge; the
Secretary, The Treasurer, the Director of Ceremonies, or the
Tyler.  These four offices have a specific reason for being
appropriate to a Past Master.

1. The Secretary.  The experience of the Master's office allows
for valuable assistance to a new Master WHEN ASKED FOR.  It is a
rare opportunity to be available for guidance, but every effort
must be made not to lead by any PM in this position.

2. The Treasurer. This position is not necessary to the movement
of a junior officer through the chairs of the lodge and a Past
Master can serve the lodge by his expertise and past experience.

3. The Director of Ceremonies is responsible for all the ritual
and floor work of the lodge.  This requires extensive experience
and a good degree of both tolerance and tact in resolving
ritualistic problems without causing resentment.

In this role he should not hesitate to call practices (Lodge of
Instruction) to correct and/or improve the delivery of the
ritual.

4. The Tyler is the first person to deal with difficulties
outside the door of the lodge.  In most cases the officer is
alone and must make decisions.  A Past Master is ideal for this
post although it is inappropriate to use one Past Master for
excessive periods outside the lodge except by special agreement.

Other positions should belong to younger members passing through
the chairs to gain their own experiences.

Occasionally a Past Master may be asked to act as a fill-in, in
the line of officers, to avoid too large a jump in the officers'
line if gaps occur. This should not be a permanent move into the
progression of that line, but just a service for the maximum of
one year duration; otherwise it deprives younger members of
opportunities.

The Past Master may be asked to serve on any of the Lodge
Committees where his experience can contribute to the life of the
lodge.  It is good to serve on a committee which has at least one
Past Master and at least one younger member.  This can be a
learning experience for all, so long as the Past Master
contributes and does not try to take over; he must remember
always that he is only a member of the committee.

A Past Master first became a member of Grand Lodge when he was a
Junior Warden.  Now as Past Master, he has the opportunity, and
responsibility, to attend all Grand Lodge Communications and
meetings.  The Annual Communication is the most important meeting
of the Grand Lodge year.  It is the time when all members of
Grand Lodge may have a voice in its affairs and should be present
to do so.  While attendance of Past Masters contributes to the
operation of this Grand Jurisdiction it is also the best
opportunity to meet with old and new friends met along the
Masonic path.

The other important Grand Lodge Meeting is the District Meeting
and it is vital that Past Masters offend this meeting to vote for
the nominees for District Deputy, to voice their opinions and to
support their lodge.

The Past Master is eligible to stand for Grand Lodge Office and
to serve on Grand Lodge Committees.  These involvements
infrequently fall out of the blue and if a Past Master wishes to
get involved in some area of Grand Lodge, he should let
appropriate people know.  For Grand Lodge office, nomination
forms are sent to the lodge each year and there is nothing
against P.M.'s asking someone to nominate them if they feel they
can contribute.  For Grand Lodge Committees, while there are not
all that number of positions, one can be nominated for some or
let the Grand Secretary know of a willingness to serve and
indicate where specific knowledge or skills may be of value to
the Craft.


What the Past Master is NOT and what he can no longer do:

- He is no longer the Master of the lodge and consequently does
not run the lodge.

- He cannot correct the Master of the lodge-the current
Worshipful Master is absolute ruler within the lodge.

- He cannot correct younger member of the lodge without the
approval of the Master on lodge related matters.

- He is not the authority on any matter unless the Master and the
lodge accept him as such.


What he is or should be:

- He is a fantastic resource because most Past Masters have 
worked with the officers for many years and know all the
operations of the lodge.

- He is custodian of history of the lodge over his period of
involvement.  The minutes are better for extended history!

- He is a guide for young, and new Masons by example and precept. 
Here is the greatest contribution which can be made.  The Past
Master who has not learned to practice all the precepts of the
Craft is not a good example - the examples to be shown are in
charity, tolerance, support, positive guidance, cleanliness of
thought, honesty, integrity, never talking behind another persons
back, and fraternalism. You can probably think of many others in
addition to those listed.

- He is an advisor when advice is wanted. Now this is extremely
important, as most Past Masters find it all too easy to step in
and start suggesting how just about everything could be done
better.  But we must restrain ourselves. There were many times
when each Past Master, when he was the Worshipful Master, tried
to do things and barriers were put up by "the old guard." Some
have regretted their failure to ignore the recommendations of
this group.


It is far better if the old guard supports the Master and finds
the strength to say, "why not try it" or, "I'll do my best to
help you make it work." What a wonderful contribution we could
all make! If there is a problem, there should be no comments of
"I told you so" but rather-"what can I do to help you make it
work next time".

Another area is of course to act as an emergency fill-in, in
addition to the fairly regular involvement in the ritual of the
lodge.  Every Past Master should carry his memory (or his book)
to each meeting so that he can pinch-hit for any officer who is
not present if asked. It is vitally important that Past Masters
offer to do some ritual at intervals because there is no doubt
that it keeps the mind sharp and is the stimulus that is needed
to make memory work that much easier.

The Past Master can share the job as a coach for new candidates. 
This is an important role because if only new members are used
they can make errors in transmitting the secret work.  This can
be avoided by having an experienced member as part of the
coaching team or at least at some of the practices of the
candidate. By having both new and experienced Masons on this
committee a valuable Teaming experience is created.

The Past Master should be the friend and mentor to new Masons. 
Many other organizations have a "big brother" or "big sister, for
new members.  While this is not a Masonic policy, the "adoption"
of a few new Masons and friends; making an effort to be a
particular mentor who seeks their company, attempting to explain
their Masonic journey and encouraging their future involvement by
phoning them prior to meetings or visits, gives a great purpose
to the Past Master's life by transmission of his knowledge and
enthusiasm to others.

When the Past Master sees a face that he does not recognize, he
should be the first to walk across the longest distances to hold
out his hand, introduce himself and talk with this new friend. 
Yes brethren, FRIEND, for that is what we are, the instant we
meet a brother.  Then the Past Master can introduce this brother
to other Masons present and thus establish the bond of fraternal
caring that must be dominant in our lives.

The Past Master has a little more time now that he is freed from
heavy ritualistic commitment and lodge management.  He should
establish a regular pattern of visits to his own and other
lodges-this keeps him up to date on what is going on in the
District and surrounding area and also allows him to maintain
these wonderful fraternal relationships that mean so much to us
all.  The Past Master knows better than most, how enjoyable it is
to have visitors, especially if the lodge is poorly attended.  A
Past Master can possibly encourage others to visit with him and
in so doing, add life to a weak lodge.  By these visits the
members of the visited lodge are sometimes stimulated to renewed
activity.

Other activities within the Craft can consist of joining with the
Research Lodge to be involved in a different type of activity,
creating Masonic education for your lodge, or for other lodges in
the District, helping with visitations to the Widows, the sick,
the shut-ins, and possibly organizing some activities for them to
the honour and proer of the lodge.  Taking other Past Masters and
getting them involved in some of these activities is again a most
worthwhile and satisfying role.

Perhaps Past Masters could iron out many problems by having an
allocated PM lead, guide and train lodge officers from Senior
Steward up to Senior Warden.

Finally, a Past Master must never forget the Masonic principles
of brotherly Love, Relief and Truth, coupled with Charity in all
his involvements with his church, his community or other groups
to which he may belong.

The Past Master should never drop his Craft Lodges-these were his
"base" of learning for the wonderful lessons of our Fraternity,
-he should keep involved but remember that the reins of
leadership have been passed on to another expert craftsman who
has the same ideals, same enthusiasm, same energy as he had-and
who will make the same mistakes-and should be allowed to do so. 
He will then join with other PM's as an experience-tested brother
who has enlarged his knowledge and skills by the test of steel.

I hope that you can add a long list of other activities and
involvements for the Past Master, but perhaps I have given you
enough to set you thinking that the word "Past" does not mean
"through", but really means "equipped for real activity beyond
the lodge."

I challenge Past Masters to act, now that they are so equipped.


Bibliography


Alberta, Grand Lodge of, Ceremony of Investing the Officers of a
Lodge.  Calgary: Grand Lodge of Alberta, 1983.

Alberta, Grand Lodge of, Constitution.  Calgary: Grand Lodge of
Alberta, 1983.



