It
went better than I expected but at one point during the meeting the
DDGL leaned over to the RGL and whispered, "The Senior Warden
said, 'You will advance to the West and communicate the password...'
It should be, 'You will approach the West...' Should we stop them and
say something?"
The
RGL shook his head, "No… they got there."
I'm
with the RGL: I am not a hard-core ritualist – and that's blasphemy
in some circles. Don't get me wrong. I like a well-done ritual as
much as the next guy; but I care more about whether the ceremony
comes off well than if a Brother says "this" when he should
say "that." I know… I'll never be a DDGL.
And
don't even get me started on the guys in the "peanut gallery"
who start yelling out the next line any time the speaker has more
than a two-second pause. I'm not alone in that. I've been in Lodge
when the Master appointed a proctor with the admonition, "I
don't want to hear a word out of anyone else." I'm big on
proctors.
I
bring all this up because this week my Lodge tested for one of the
ritual awards my Grand Lodge sponsors. We invited the DDGL in to
grade us on our opening and closing. The guys were well-practiced and
the ceremony went like clockwork.
I
just sat there thinking how enjoyable it is to be in any of our
ceremonies – especially degree work – when things just click
along. That, as opposed to the living hell of sitting through the
same thing when the speakers are ill-prepared and have to be prompted
on every line. Sitting through an opening like that is the only time
I actually look forward to getting to the reading of the minutes.
So,
congrats to my Brothers at Liberty Lodge #31. They got the award.
Oh,
there were mistakes. There are ALWAYS mistakes. I knew our perfect
score was gone as the Chaplain, asking God to subdue our discordant
passions, prayed, "Grant that the sublime principles of
Freemasonry may so subdue every insubordinate passion within
us…"
See,
I just let that roll right off my back. In fact, I thought it was
kind of funny. Unfortunately, the DDGL – you know, the guy keeping
score – was not amused.
1 comment:
As a four times Past Master, and PDDGM, who, at the ripe old age of 72 became what we in Arkansas call a "White Card Holder" certified in the opening and closing ritual, I certainly hear and see mistakes made. I will usually make contact after the meeting to offer my assistance to the Brother mispronouncing or leaving a word or words out of his lines. I NEVER correct or cue an officer from the sideline unless asked by him. We have formal and informal schools of instruction that are open to all members where we can teach the proper ritual. A meeting is not to be disturbed to "fix" mistakes, sometimes embarrassing a Brother.
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