Our Stations and Places: Masonic Officers Handbook
5/5
()
About this ebook
One of the most respected Masonic officer's handbooks has been revised for the 21st century Freemason. The various stations of the lodge are examined and practical suggestions are offered to help each officer best perform his duties. This 2019 revised and updated edition has been expanded to include a new section for the various lodge committees. This is an indispensable tool for all Lodge officers.
“If it was up to me every lodge should have a collection of these books on hand for every officer to read before the installation so he is well aware of what is expected of him in the upcoming year.”
Michael R. Poll
Michael R. Poll (1954 - present) is the owner of Cornerstone Book Publishers and editor of the Journal of The Masonic Society. He is a Fellow and Past President of The Masonic Society, a Fellow of the Philalethes Society, a Fellow of the Maine Lodge of Research, Member of the Society of Blue Friars, and Full Member of the Texas Lodge of Research.A New York Times Bestselling writer and publisher, he is a prolific writer, editor, and publisher of Masonic and esoteric books. He is also the host of the YouTube channel "New Orleans Scottish Rite College." As time permits, he travels and speaks on the history of Freemasonry, with a particular focus on the early history of the Scottish Rite. He was born in New Orleans, LA and lives a peaceful life with his wife and two sons.
Read more from Michael R. Poll
Masonic Words and Phrases Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMasonic Enlightenment Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Robert’s Rules of Order: Masonic Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving Freemasonry: A Better Path to Travel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistorical Inquiry into the Origins of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn His Own (w)Rite Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Freemasons Key Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seeking Light: The Esoteric Heart of Freemasonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Scottish Rite Papers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Indian Freemasonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Particular Nature of Freemasonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlchemist in a Masonic Apron: A Masonic Book for Freemasons During Their Evolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Masonic Evolution: The New World of Freemasonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRobert's Rules of Order: Masonic Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMeasured Expectations: The Challenges of Today's Freemasonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Particular Nature of Freemasons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPath of Light: A Masonic Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Lodge at Labor: Freemasons and Masonry Today Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Our Stations and Places
Related ebooks
Hidden Depths: 100 Daily Meditations for Royal Arch Freemasons: Masonic Meditations, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Level Steps: 100 Daily Meditations for Freemasons: Masonic Meditations, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Manual of the Freemasonry Lodge: Monitorial Instructions in the Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings365 Level Steps: Masonic Meditations for Every Day of the Year: Masonic Meditations, #5 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manual of the Lodge: Monitorial Instructions in the Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn His Own (w)Rite Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMasonry and Its Symbols Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Travelling Light: Masonic Meditations on the Search for Illumination: Masonic Meditations, #7 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManual of the Lodge: The Truth Behind the Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManual of the Lodge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFreemason’s Secrets:: The True Descendants of the Knights Templar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeeking Light: The Esoteric Heart of Freemasonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Handbook of Royal Arch Masonry: A Guide for Chapter Officers [Revised Edition] Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Freemasons Key Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Look to the East: A Ritual of the First Three Degrees of Freemasonry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Pursuit of Masonic Knowledge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStill Waters: Masonic Meditations on The Book of Psalms Volume II: Masonic Meditations, #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMore Light: Collected Masonic Writings 2017 - 2021 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mason's Apron Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Interpreting Masonic Ritual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Etiquette of Freemasonry: A Handbook for the Brethren Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Builders: A story and study of Masonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Law of Freemasons: A Study of Constitutional Laws, Usages and Landmarks of Freemasonry Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Look to the East: A Ritual of the First Three Degrees of Masonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Symbolism of Freemasonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDuncan’s Masonic Ritual and Monitor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The wisdom of the Freemasonry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook to the East Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shibboleth a Templar Monitor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Social Science For You
The Art of Witty Banter: Be Clever, Quick, & Magnetic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A People's History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Men Explain Things to Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All About Love: New Visions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Secret Garden: Women's Sexual Fantasies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Close Encounters with Addiction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Verbal Judo, Second Edition: The Gentle Art of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mythology 101: From Gods and Goddesses to Monsters and Mortals, Your Guide to Ancient Mythology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for Our Stations and Places
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
Our Stations and Places - Michael R. Poll
Our Stations and Places
Masonic Officers Handbook
by Henry G. Meacham
Revised and Expanded
by Michael R. Poll
Our Stations and Places
by Henry G. Meacham
Revised by Michael R. Poll
A Cornerstone Book
Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2007 & 2019 Cornerstone Book Publishers
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
First Cornerstone Edition - 2007
Second Cornerstone Edition - 2014
Third Cornerstone Edition - 2019
Cornerstone Book Publishers
New Orleans, LA
www.cornerstonepublishers.com
This book is available in print at most online retailers.
Dedication
To the Seekers of Light and the souls
with a hunger to grow.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Chapter I: The Worshipful Master
Chapter II: Courtesies of the East
Chapter III: The Secrets of the Chair
Chapter IV: The Mastership and the Board
Chapter V: The Senior Warden
Chapter VI: Why in the West?
Chapter VII: The Junior Warden
Chapter VIII: The Chaplain’s Place
Chapter IX: The Treasurer
Chapter X: The Secretary
Chapter XI: Brother Senior Deacon
Chapter XII: The Junior Deacon
Chapter XIII: The Master of Ceremonies
Chapter XIV: Scripture Lesson First and Second Degree
Chapter XV: In The Days of Thy Youth
Chapter XVI: Third Degree
Chapter XVII: Masonic Etiquette
Chapter XVIII: The Badge of a Mason
Chapter XIX: Has Your Lodge a Plan?
Chapter XX: Masonry Militant
Chapter XXI: The In-Between
Chapter XXII: Committees
Appendix A: The Power of the Worshipful Master
Appendix B: Why Freemasonry Has Enemies
Appendix C: Sugar-Coating Masonic Education
Appendix D: Lodge Courtesies
Appendix E: Truly Prepared
Appendix F: Preparation
More Books from Cornerstone Publishers
Foreword
In 1938, Henry G. Meacham published the first edition of Our Stations and Places. This present work is that first edition revised and expanded for best use in today’s Freemasonry. The goal remains the same as in 1938; to provide assistance to Masonic lodges, through their officers, by the means of a clear and useful officer’s handbook.
The original edition was written specifically for lodges under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New York. This edition was revised so that it can be put into use by lodges under any jurisdiction. The present edition was also expanded with the addition of a chapter on the various Lodge Committees and a collection of papers directly relevant to the subject of lodge improvement and understanding.
Our Stations and Places is a tool. Like any tool, it is only as beneficial as it is used. If you have the desire to be of service to your lodge and the willingness to apply your creative mind to the improvement of your lodge, then wonderful things can happen. The sky and your imagination are the limits.
This book is part of the Cornerstone Officer’s Education Series alongside of the Worshipful Master’s parliamentary tool, Robert’s Rule of Order: Masonic Edition.
We sincerely hope that you study and put this handbook to use in your Lodge. Your singular effort to improve your Lodge is vitally important to the whole of Freemasonry. Each single effort builds a solid foundation for the success of all of our Lodges.
Fraternally,
Michael R. Poll
Spring, 2007
Chapter I
The Worshipful Master
We often hear about the duty and prerogatives of the Worshipful Master, and of things that he can do to activate the particular group of Brethren who compose his lodge.
We also hear sighs, If I were only young just for tonight,
and thereby express, rather aptly, the state of mind of those who feel they have not taken advantage of all the opportunities presented during their lifetime. If they could only be given a second chance, things would be so very successful.
We are living in the present, however, not in the past. What we do should be for today and the future, and it is important that we turn our minds to some of those problems that a Warden must consider if he is to be a good Master,
problems that the Maser must understand if he would possess those qualities of knowledge, and leadership so essential to being a successful Mastership.
Turn to the pages of your Grand lodge Monitor to the chapter generally titled, Prerogatives and Duties of the Worshipful Master.
You will read something close to this in the introduction:
By the prerogatives of the Worshipful Master the inherent right and authority he possesses by reason of the position he occupies, giving him as it does, extraordinary powers and privileges, which belong to the presiding officer of few other association. In all instances his decision on points of order is final in the lodge for it is a settled principle of Masonic law that no appeal can be taken to the lodge from the decision of the Master. The Grand lodge, or the Grand Master alone, can overrule his decision on any point it of order.
The prerogatives of the Worshipful Master are so numerous and varied that only some of the principal ones are here presented.
We must wonder how many Masters and Wardens have read the above, how many have studied it. The statements represent an important stone in the foundation of Masonic knowledge and with a careful perusal of his duties and prerogatives, as given in this part of your Monitor, is most essential to anyone who is anxious to be a success in the East.
Opening the lodge
Let me quote the third duty as herein given:
To open his lodge at the time specified in the By-laws, and do it at a suitable hour.
It would seem safe in asserting that a no small amount of the failure of Brethren to attend lodge may be ascribed to the lateness of the hour at which the Master calls his lodge to order - in spite of the fact that the By-laws of the lodge say when lodge shall be opened. To cause Brethren to stand about for half or three quarters of an hour, waiting for lodge to be opened when there seems to be no apparent reason for tardiness, does not encourage members to attend. It shows a considerable amount is lack of concern for both the lodge and the Brethren. Most people have a pretty fair sense of time and punctuality, and many can be irked by being forced wait for the Master who, through lack of concern, fails to observe the much needed factor of punctuality.
The conduct of the Worshipful Master often sets the tone for the conduct of the lodge. A Master who governs his actions responsibly and with the lodge’s best interests in mind can inspire like attitudes in the membership.
We may consider the Master a vitally important part of the educational department of the Grand lodge.
The Work
To render the ritualistic work of the lodge and the Brethren therein.
The Master should be, in fact, Master of the Work, competent to render every part thereof and therefore may be compared to the principal of a school. While he may not, himself, teach every candidate that comes into his lodge, he must make certain that the education given each new Brother is a quality education.
The Master alone is responsible to the Grand lodge for his lodge, and he must be himself competent to instruct his Brethren. A Master who is not competent in the Work teaches that no one needs be competent. The example set by the Master sets the tone for the lodge.
But what does it mean to be competent in the Work? Is the Work
the words of the ritual alone and is the limit of the Master’s responsibility to know the words much as an actor is required to know his lines in a play?
Our Art can be understood as taking an imperfect human and attempting to teach him methods of improving his life. To represent this goal, we use the symbolism of working the Rough Ashlar into a more Perfect Ashlar. If the Master does not understand the meanings behind the words of the Work, then all he can teach is empty words. We might as well have a video of the ritual with a computer generated Master in the East. The Work will be letter-perfect, but the video will be unable to answer questions or give any additional explanations to aid in understanding the Work. The Work will not be done.
One who accepts the office of Master should be well versed in both the proper words of the Work as well as the meaning of the words and various symbols. Only then can he be considered competent in the Work.
Notification and a Summons
One of the standard prerogatives gives an interesting distinction between a Notification
and a Summons.
The distinction between ‘Notification’ and a ‘Summons’ is so great that it is strange how many overlook it. The former issues from the Worshipful Master or the lodge, and is practically an Invitation. It is at the option of the Brethren receiving it to attend the meeting or not, as he pleased. But a ‘Summons’ comes directly under the province of his Order of Business, and for its neglect he may be disciplined and punished. To disobey a summons is a serious Masonic offense.
Take your mind to the Work of the Second and Third Degree, particularly to that of the Second Degree, that you may observe how this matter of the summons is definitely emphasized. It is stressed purposely in order that a strong impression may be made on the mind of the candidate - and it should be equally emphatic to all of the Brethren.
The important distinction between a Notification and a Summons should be clearly understood, and a Warden who fixes it in his mind is taking an important step in the direction of a proper understanding of his duties as Worshipful Master of his lodge. The Master who has fortified himself with a knowledge of this distinction, and who is duly impressed with its importance, cannot fail to impress upon the minds of his Brethren their responsibility in connection with a Summons.
The Minutes
It would be wise, too, that the Master of the lodge and the Secretary read the ninth duty.
To exercise Supervision over the minutes, that nothing improper be recorded, and nothing essential to a complete record be omitted
It is the Worshipful Master who should supervise all aspects of the lodge operation, yet in some lodges we see the Secretary running the show.
This shift of authority might be explained by the normal length of office of each position. Most lodges allow a Worshipful Master to serve only one term (normally of one year) at a time, but the Secretary is often elected to that position for a number of years. It is not so uncommon to see a Secretary holding his office for a time longer than the Worshipful Master has been a Mason. In reality, the Secretary is often the more experienced officer. In some cases, if the Secretary did not exercise his experience, the business of the lodge would suffer under an inexperienced Master incapable of properly fulfilling his duties.
A lodge does not benefit from a Worshipful Master ignorant of his duties or from a Secretary operating under the belief that the Worshipful Master is his subordinate. In both cases, the answer is education.
Chapter II
Courtesies of the East
Courtesies of the East
- a phrase uttered by many Masters at least once at every meeting during the year. We might wonder if the phrase is not so often used as to lose its significance in the mind of the one employing it.
The question arises because the Spirit of the phrase is too frequently departed from, not so much in the matter of welcoming Worshipful, Right Worshipful, and Most Worshipful Brothers to the East, but in the entire business of making welcome Brethren who come to render the lodge a definite service which they have been asked to perform.
Anyone who travels to more than a few lodges can discover cases of what amounts to down-right incivility — due without any doubt to simple thoughtlessness. One recent instance came to me of a Brother who journeyed twenty-five miles to give a lecture at a meeting of a lodge. He was not invited to come early to be the guest of the Master, or the lodge, at dinner, and no offer was made to pay his expenses. The visiting Brother arrived at the suggested hour of nine, but was kept in the ante-room until ten o’clock. When he was called in, and after a quick expression of thanks, the brother was told that owing