Courtesy Work

In my area it's not uncommon for one Lodge to ask another to do what we call "courtesy work," especially for the smaller Lodges.  It may not be the ideal situation, but it's sometimes necessary.
 
A recent request for courtesy work brought to mind an evening when another Lodge in my area asked my own Lodge to perform a Third Degree.  We couldn't fit it into our schedule, so we punted it over to the local Study Club, which had an upcoming meeting in our building.

So instead of Study Club, we held a Called Meeting. As we were preparing to begin, a Brother from out of state walked in, said he had seen our outside light was on and decided to attend.

With the study club members present we had the luxury of putting the "best of the best" in each position. I was the Chaplain that evening.  I suppose I belonged in that esteemed group only because the Chaplain's job is to watch the entire degree and then, near the end, not mess things up.

Fact is, with that team in place, we simply performed the most amazing degree I have ever seen.  Everyone knew their parts; everyone hit their marks; it went off like clockwork. 

At the end of the evening we went around the room for the requisite introductions and remarks.  When our out-of-town visitor stood up, he let us know he was, in no uncertain terms, astounded by the quality of the work.  He went so far as to say it put his own jurisdiction's work "to shame."

I don't know if anyone ever told him our little secret.  We brought the A-Team that night and hit one out of the park.