The Winds of  CHANGE

by Thomas W. Olzak, MPS

"And slowly Arthur answered from the
barge; 
The old order changeth, yielding place to 
the new; 
And God fulfills himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the 
world " 
       The Passing of Arthur
             Lord Alfred Tennyson
During the first half of the 18th century,
a group of men with common interests, 
common ideals and common moral 
beliefs established the first Grand Lodge 
of Freemasonry. During the next two 
centuries, dynamic forces shaped our 
order. Change was prevalent as ritual 
and tradition grew out of the principles 
and ideals of the men who built our great 
fraternity. Today, many believe we have 
lost the dynamism of long ago. Are they 
right? Have we lost the ability to change? 
Are we locked so tightly in the frame-
work of ancient tradition that we can no 
longer react to the changing world 
around us?

As with all organizations, our frater-
nity must nourish itself with the prevail-
ing hopes and dreams of the society it 
serves. This does not mean we must 
abandon the principles upon which our 
order was founded. It does mean, how-
ever, that we must evolve as man and as 
society evolve. We must provide the 
basic requirements modern man expects 
of an organization worthy of his time.

I think we have to ask ourselves which 
is more important; the ideals we stand 
for or the manner in which we run our 
Lodges. In many cases, we have become 
so involved in the "form" of our frater-
nity we have forgotten the "essence" 
around which the form was constructed. 
By form I mean the traditions which 
control the decisions made from the 
Lodge to the Grand Lodge.

The brethren who built our fraternity 
built it around three basic ideals they 
wished to teach mankind: brotherly love, 
relief and truth. The whole framework of 
Freemasonry exists to teach men how to 
achieve these ideals. These ideals form 
the essence of Freemasonry.

It is easy to get into the habit of defend-
ing the form instead of promoting that 
for which the form was originally 
created. We get comfortable with the 
way things are and we feel safe knowing
we are following the same course set by 
our brethren many years ago.

The threat of change makes us feel un-
easy. It is always more difficult to face 
tomorrow when, instead of relying on 
what was done before, we must choose a 
new path to the future. But change is 
inevitable. It drives our universe from 
the smallest sub-atomic quantum to the 
largest galaxy. Changes in nature are 
driven by universal laws established by 
the Great Architect. Changes in social 
order are driven by the attitudes, hopes 
and fears of mankind. It is with these 
latter changes Freemasonry must be 
concerned. But what do we change? 
How much do we change? To help an-
swer these questions, let us examine one 
of the more controversial topics of 
change - the ritual.

Suggestions for changing the ritual's 
role in our fraternity range from rewrit-
ing it to make it more applicable to mod-
ern times, to eliminating it all together. 
Not unlike most change, there is a 
middle ground between these two ex-
tremes which will not compromise the 
essence of our order. Instead, it will serve 
to strengthen it.

I have already stated that I believe the 
tenets of brotherly love, relief and truth 
form the fundamental teaching of our 
order. Contained within them are all the 
moral precepts contained within the 
Great Light. To tell a newly raised 
brother that he should strive to attain 
them without giving him the means to do 
so would accomplish little. The ritual, 
however, allows us to give our new 
brother the tools with which to start his 
house not made with hands. It also forms 
the basis upon which we as brethren 
come together upon the level and by the 
plumb.

If we rewrite the words surrounding the 
symbols and truths embraced by our cur-
rent ritual, have we changed the essence 
of our fraternity? I think not. The words 
comprising the Masonic ritual differ 
from Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge; the 
concepts do not. As long as the fun-
damental teachings remain constant, 
Freemasonry remains strong.

If, when addressing suggestions for 
change, we use the underlying principles 
of our order as guides, we will always
move forward without leaving behind
anything of value.
As Freemasons, we are men seeking
truth and the perpetuation of the ideals
of our fraternity. We are obligated to look
beyond tradition and dogma to make the
changes necessary to preserve our order.
When properly managed, change can be
a constructive process. However, if we
allow ourselves to be blinded by tradition
or by the fear of change, the results can
be very destructive.
 Edward Gibbon wrote in his "The Rise
and Fall of the Roman Empire, "All that
is human must retrograde if it does not
advance. " This was as true of the Roman
Empire, as it was for the Athenian Em-
pire, as it was for all kingdoms, empires,
and societies which have come and gone.
If our fraternity stops moving forward it
too will begin to suffer the ills of decay.
Its strength and resiliency will begin to
wane. The winds of change will at last
cause its decaying framework to fail. As
the framework falls, the light which was
once held high as a beacon to all men
seeking truth will go out; possibly for the
last time. But it is certainly not yet time
to sound the death knell for Freema-
sonry. We still have hope. The hope of
our members and their belief in what
Freemasonry stands for.
 Matthew Arnold, a l9th century poet
once wrote,
 "Nations are not truly great solely be-
cause the individuals composing them
are numerous, free, and active; but they
are great when these numbers, this free-
dom, and this activity are employed in
the service of an ideal higher than that of
an ordinary man, taken by himself. "
 This service to a high ideal does not
apply only to nations. It also applies to
organizations whose purpose is to eval-
uate the dignity of man.
 If we focus our thoughts on the ideals
of our order, we will gain vision. If we let
the pursuit of those ideals govern our
actions, we will gain wisdom. With vi-
sion and wisdom, we can once again
infuse our order with the courage and the
desire to apply change where it is
needed.


The Philalethes, April 1992
