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F.U.E .L. For The 90's

Education

Masonic Education is so broad a cate-
gory that we could spend years just de-
fining it. Thankfully, my task is to relate
to the parts of education which impinge
on the good ship Freemasonry getting to
Vision Island.

I have come to believe that Freema-
sonry is essentially an educational insti-
tution. Our allegories center around that
which is lost and symbolically teaches
that men must always seek to grow in
order to live.

In the 90's we need to focus our ma-
sonic Education efforts around member-
ship retention. The Renewal Task Force,
and many Grand Lodges, are committed
to Membership Development programs,
and rightfully so. The next and most
critical partner in that process is mem-
bership retention.

Perhaps our best approach to education
might be to view ourselves as citizens of
a country to which our new candidate
wants to immigrate.

Hence, our first focus in education is to
assist the candidate and new brother in
starting to understand and relate the
meaning of the ritual to his own life and
his family. If this task is seen as a priority
for lodges, we will begin to have mem-
bers who have an emotional and psycho-
logical buy-in to the Fraternity.

Protocol is the next phase of education
for the new brother. We must find cre-
ative ways to help him feel at home.
Again, viewing the new brother as a val-
ued immigrant is a good mind set. If we
help him and his family learn the lan-
guage and the procedures of our culture,
we may assist him in adopting Us.

Once he has a working knowledge of
the language and customs, involve him
in the culture of his new land in a signif-
icant way. Find out what he is interested
in, what his skills and weaknesses are
and play to his strength.

As the history of immigration has
taught us, the newly arrived is eager to
know more about his country after a
certain level of comfort has been estab-
lished. He truly desires to be a citizen. If
his mentors place a high value on reading
and joining organizations such as the
Philalethes, and generally reflect their
own commitment to the learning pro-
cess, psychologically he will have no
choice but to choose such a path for him-
self.

We owe it to ourselves and to the future
of the Craft to enculturate our new mem-

The Philalethes, April 1994

by Richard C. Friedman, MPS
ry 1993 Issue- Part ll A Vision

bers and reinvigorate ourselves to con-
tinue the search for that which is lost.

The Educational FUEL for the 90's lies
in our desire to create an atmosphere for
learning which is fun.

Too often our members look at every
Masonic chore as a job. Masons as a
whole are great at whining and moaning
publicly, and privately working ex-
tremely hard for the Craft. In my first
two years as a Mason I couldn't figure
out how such a negative group could
muster such energy in the midst of such
depressing attitudes. This can end must
change, but how?

Leadership

The positive mi~d s-et that I alluded to
earlier is the key to the renewal of Ma-
sonry in the 90's and the primary crite-
rion for our Leaders.

Masonic Leadership suffers from an ex-
treme case of low self-esteem. Leaders at
every level seem obsessed with that which
is wrong, and disconnected from that
which is right about the Craft and its
brothers - and don't they let us know it!

The glass is always half empty. More
weight is attached to a mistake than to a
victory. More emphasis is placed on not
getting into "trouble" than in taking a
chance on a new idea. Allen Roberts has
a famous cartoon in his book Key to
Freemasonry 's Growth. Allen' s cartoon
pokes fun at one of our most serious
problems. He shows a frustrated Ma-
sonic leader screaming: "We've never
done it that way before." This cartoon
illustrates the mind set we must drive out
of Masonry: playing not to lose rather
than playing to win.

All of the courses in Leadership train-
ing, all of the seminars, all of the new
emphasis on TQM means nothing if our
leadership does not move its paradigm
from the negative to the positive.

In the 90's we will learn to live with an
empowered brotherhood which will let
its input be known to our Leadership.

Many of the aspects of Total Quality
Management will be good to introduce
to the Craft. The emphasis on team, val-
uing each brother as a customer of our
fraternal product, and the push toward
quality and customer satisfaction, will
truly benefit the Craft. That benefit can-
not be derived, however, unless we cre-
ate a risk-free culture for our leaders.

We must, as leaders, feel good about
our skills, our Craft and ourselves, be
secure about receiving input, making de-

sired changes to our operating proce-
dures and not getting caught up in the
turf battles that determine whose title is
more grand, whose power is more influ-
ential, and who can do more of what to
whom.

New York State Freemasonry has taken
a giant step in this direction. During
August 1992, we did something that has
never been done before in this jurisdic-
tion. We brought together all of the
newly appointed District Deputies and
Staff Officers. We then put them in our
Youth Camp for a weekend retreat.

The focus was on small team interac-
tion and peer learning to assist them in
the tasks which lie before them. Most of
their time was spent together in their
teams talking to one another and assist-
ing one another with new ideas and di-
rections. The groups were led by a Ma-
sonic Team Leader. The results?

Excitement, cheering, the most rele-
vant Masonic event most of our new
leaders had ever participated in, by their
own feedback forms, handed in without
signature. Overall a tremendous success.

Once we have achieved the positive
mind set, and the upper echelon of the
Fraternity buys into the concept of
change, we can then be in the proper
position to utilize concepts that have
been advocated for decades by men such
as Allen Roberts: team building, com-
munication, educational seminars, and
all kinds of input that the positive leader
will absorb.

Leadership in the 90's also means giv-
ing local districts and lodges a choice in
setting their own priorities for their focus
of activity. Presently Grand Lodge tells
the districts what the priorities are and
the districts tell the Lodges.

The wisdom of forcing Lodges into the
same priorities, given the fact that they
exist in city, suburban or rural areas:
whether they are large or small; mon-
eyed or on a shoestring; with or without
good attendance, is lost on me. More
importantly, in most instances the re-
sponse coming from the bottom up is
underwhelming.

What we found in our August Training
was that our Brethren really exist in
thousands of Masonic Worlds, all
unique, and need the latitude to negoti-
ate their challenges in ways which suit
their circumstances.

As a Lodge Master this year I am ex-
pected to provide names for a wide vari-
ety of committees which I know full well
my Lodge is neither interested in nor will
support. Many Lodges could have more
committee chairpersons listed than they
have brothers attending meetings.

By empowering a district or lodge to do
what is right by them or for them, we

43
have more of an assurance of a motivated
effort.

We need action teams or task forces
which are organized around limited
time, and specific goals; which have a
clear mission, are staffed by men who are
knowledgeable on the subject to carry it
through, and go out of business once the
mission is completed.

Pardon my bias, but to me the essence
of success for a Masonic Leader or any
leader, for that matter, is his ability to make
his vision of any particular task so positive that
those who are working with him, rcgardless of
what thcy arcdoing, do so withgrcat cxcitcmcnt.
Therefore much more attention must be
paid to freeing our leaders' ability to
envision, and giving them the time and
energy to be happy in their work.

ViBiOn Island

The good ship Freemasonry, com-
pletely F.U.E.L.'ed, has now sailed into
the tropical port we have dubbed Vision
Island.

VisionIsland'sChamberofGommerce
motto is: "We only do it the way its been
done before - if it was effective. Other-
wise we do it differently. "

When Phil O. Craft desired to be a
Mason on Vision Island, he spoke to
several of the well-identified and proud
Masons whom he knew would be help-
ful.

As Phil told his sponsor, one of his
reasons for joining was the good works
he had witnessed, both big and small,
clearly achieved by Masons working in
their communities.

The Masons that Phil knew seemed to
be all good men and true who were anx-
ious to attend Lodge and be a part of
something which appeared to be fun.

Phil also knew and was impressed that
the Shriners were all Masons because
they wear a pin with the Square and
Compasses attached to the Sword and
Scimitar.

In fact he was impressed that all the
Lodges and concordant bodies had
pooled their resources to build a central
Masonic Community Center which was
handicapped-accessible and built to suit
the needs of families.

Phil's wife liked the idea that the com-
munity center had child care facilities so
that she could attend dinner and the
many open meetings with him once he
joined .

When Phil joined the Lodge a team of
well-informed Masons came to his
home, met with the entire family, and
spoke about Eastern Star to his wife and
DeMolay to his teenaged son. In fact, the
emphasis was on preparing the entire
family to enjoy and get the most out ot
what they referred to as the "Family of
Freemasonry. "
44

Before Phil's degree, the Lodge held a
Brother Bring a Friend Night and en-
couraged Phil to bring a friend. Phil's
co-worker ended up coming and enjoy-
ing the night so much that he decided to
join Phil in the Fall Class.

At the First Degree at Vision Island
Lodge #1, the candidates were invited to
dinner, courtesy of the Lodge. They were
then addressed by a senior member who
put their minds at ease by explaining as
much of the process as he could, partic-
ularly the reason for getting undressed
and handing over their valuables.

The class, which was a mixture of sev-
eral lodges, dressed in immaculate cos-
tumes, entered the Lodge and received
an extremely impressive degree. You see,
the Masters of the Lodges on Vision
Island, unfettered by petty jealousy, had
done the class the honor of gathering the
best ritualists of the several lodges and
after some intense rehearsals had be-
come a crack tearn.

It~was a degree that truly impressed the
new brothers with its beauty as the team
stressed the meaning of the work.

During the time between degrees the
class was brought back to Lodge for
every event. Their coaches were present
and the new brothers got to really know
the coach and his family.

Proficiency on Vision Island is a com-
bination of memorized key sections of
the ritual and an oral examination on
what the candidate understood about the
degree and what it meant to him.

Following the Third Degree, Phil's
coach became his shepherd, and for the
ensuing two years would be available to
Phil to answer questions, direct study
and be of general assistance to him.

On the night of the Third Degree, Phil
was given several books to read and dis-
cuss, as well as a year's subscription to
the Philalethes Society. It was made clear
to Phil that the more he involved himself
in the history and philosophy of the
Craft, the more pride he would develop
and the more active he would remain. It
was also made clear that the members of
the Lodge took this task seriously.

Phil was given something to do im-
mediately, by being placed on the calling
committee and by being asked to do the
Charge- for the First Degree for the
Spring class.

Phil would come to realize that many
things about Vision Island-Grand Lodge
would always make him feel good to be
home after visiting other Lodges.

Vision Island Grand Lodge looked at
Phil and every candidate and brother as
entering into a lifelong system-one that
needed to be set up to nurture and en-
courage its members from newly-raised
to geriatric and in need of care, to go
beyond the grave by attending to
widows.

Phil did not know it, but the Grand
Lodge Membership Development Task
Force has assisted his Lodge with infor-
mation relative to his entrance into
Masonry.

The newly created Membership Reten-
tion Task Force had provided materials
and motivation to the Lodge about how
to retain Phil's interest and make his
membership meaningful.

The Task Force on Family Involvement
had suggested many of the open meet-
ings and child care which created a
strong desire on Phil's wife's part to sup-
port and encourage him to become an
officer in his Lodge.

The Task Force on Of ficer Training had
provided the materials, educational op-
portunities, and training which allowed
Phil to be an outstanding officer and
Master.

The Task Force on Grand Lodge Offi-
cer Selection and Training identified
Phil, while still a Warden, as a potential
Grand Lodge Officer. Following his
Master's year, Phil began an advanced
training course and was prepared to be a
Grand Lodge Officer. Knowing two
years in advance when that would be,
allowed his civic-minded wife and ath-
letic son to organize and plan their sched-
ules accordingly.

Phil did such a good job as a Grand
Lodge Officer that the Task Force on
Grand Line Selection and Training ap-
proached him. At this point Mrs. Craft
balked. "You will be out eight nights a
week, she pointed out. " Phil was able to
tell her that the days of ruining a Grand
Line officer's life were in the past, as
many of the Grand Line were working
men with families. "The expectations
have changed from quantity of nights out
to quality, honey," he replied with cer-
tainty. "

FollowingPhil's term as Grand Master,
and then as International President of
the Philalethes Society, he sat down the
night after his son's raising and reflected
on the state of Masonry on Vision Is-
land.

He concluded his thinking by reinforc-
ing in his own mind that from the begin-
ning of his relationship in Masonry he
had experienced positive attitudes, fam-
ily involvement, a beautiful history and
philosophy to think about and relate to,
a way of life which had made him a better
husband, father, friend, and worker. Per-
haps most of all the Craft had given him
a better spiritual life and made him feel
good about himself.

At that moment the phone rang and the
current District Deputy asked Phil if he

continued on page 49

The Philalcthcs, April 199~r
F.U.E.L. For The 90's
confinued from page 44

would prepare a speech for an upcoming
conference~ The Deputy wanted some-
thing upbeat, as was usual on Vision
Island .

Phil said that he would be honored. He
had thought of a pithy concept -
F.U.E.L. - Fun, Unity, Education and
Leadership, the key ingredients for the
continued growth and prosperity of the
Craft of Freemasonry on Vision Island
today and for all of your Visions for your
jurisdictions of tomorrow.

Brother Friedman gave this speech at the fall
meeting, 1993. The first part was in the pre-
ceding issue - Editor.
