From the Office of the Right Worshipful Grand Lecturer
Lodge Courtesies
Conventions are the rules which society makes for itself, without the force of law, by which its members live together with the least friction. It is not a sin to eat with one's knife, walk on the inside of the pathway when escorting a lady or keep one's hat on in the house. But it is not “good form” or good manners.
Masonry has developed its own conventions, by which its members in lodge and the ante room act. Not to proceed according to their dictates is not a Masonic offense; it is merely a lack of Masonic manners.
As you passed through the three degrees you received instructions in the ritual and the obligation. You were carefully taught those essential things which a man must know in order to be a Mason. But unless you belong to a most unusual lodge, or had a most wise brother for a mentor, it is doubtful if you were told much about these little niceties of lodge conduct. You are supposed to attend your lodge and learn by observation.
Not all brethren are observing, however. It is not uncommon to see some brother, old enough in Masonry to know better, crossing the lodge room between the Altar and the East. He might have observed that his brethren didn't do it: but it is more difficult to note the absence of an act than to take cognizance of something done.
Brethren do not pass between the Altar and the East in lodge. It is a convention; there is no penalty for its infraction. It is a courtesy offered the Master. It is rooted in the theory that, as the Charter of the lodge is essential to the regularity of a meeting, as the Charter is the particular care of the Master, and as its place is upon the Altar, the Master should never be interrupted in his plain view of it, even for an instant.
Well informed brethren within the tiled door are equal; the officers are the servants of their brethren and not their superiors. All seats, then, might well be considered open to all. But Masonry exacts long service of her officers; Past Masters have worked hard and long for the lodge they love. The Master recognises their devotion and their loyalty with a special word of welcome, and an invitation to them to occupy a seat with him, in the East where they once sat. From this pretty custom has developed the invitation to a “seat in the East” to any distinguished visitor, or some member the Master wishes especially to honor. If all in the lodge helped themselves to seats in the East there would be no opportunity for the Master to offer that courtesy.
Brethren who respect the formalities of their lodge will not enter it undressed; that is, without their apron, or while putting that apron on. The spectacle of a brother walking (usually he slouches!) up to the Altar, tieing the strings and adjusting his apron while Master waits for his salute is not a pretty one. A man who entered church putting on his collar and tieing his necktie could hardly be arrested but he would surely receive unflattering comment. The strangeness of the new badge of a Mason and unfamiliarity with its meaning cause many to forget that it is as important to a Mason in lodge as clean linen, properly adjusted, is to the man in the street.
The Worshipful Master in the East occupies the most exalted position in the gift of the lodge. A lodge which does not honor its Master, not because of what he himself may be, but on account of the honor given him, is lacking in Masonic courtesy. The position he occupies, not the man, must be given the utmost respect, if the traditions of the fraternity are to be observed.
It is, therefore, to the Master, not to John Smith who happens to be the Master, that you offer a salute when you enter of retire from the lodge. Like any other salute, this may be done courteously and as if you meant it, or perfunctorily and as if you didn't care. The man who puts one finger to his hat brim when he speaks to a woman on the street compares poorly with his well brought up neighbor who lifts his hat. Taking the hat off is the modern remains of the ancient custom of knights who removed their helmets in the presence of those they felt their friends, and thus, before those they wished to honor by showing that they trusted them. A man removes his hat before a woman to show his respect. Touching the brim is but a perfunctory salute. Similarly, the salute to the Master is your renewed pledge of fealty and service, your public recognition before all men, of your obligation. It is performed before the Master and the Altar to show him your veneration for his authority, your respect for all that for which he stands. To offer your salute as if you were in a hurry, too lazy properly to make it, bored with its offering, is to be, Masonically, a boor.
A man in lodge is the servant of his brethren, if he engages in any lodge activity. Servants stand in the presence of their superiors. Therefore, no Mason sits while speaking, whether he addresses an officer, or another brother. This does not refer to conversation on the benches during refreshment but to discussion on the floor during business meeting.
During refreshment the Master relinquishes the gavel to the Junior Warden in the South, which thus becomes, for the time being, constructively the East. All that has been said about the respect due the Master in the East applies now the Junior Warden in the South. Too often, at refreshment, brethren pass back and forth in front of the South; it is a Masonic discourtesy of which no well informed Mason is ever guilty. It is illegal to enter or leave the lodge room during a ballot; it is discourteous to leave during a speech, or during a degree, except at the several natural periods which end one section and begin another.
Smoking is permitted in some lodge rooms during the business meeting. Alas, there are some which do not interdict it during a degree! You will, of course, be governed here by the customs of your own lodge, although it is to be hoped you will never lend the weight of your opinion towards establishing the custom of smoking during the solemn ceremonies of a degree, unless indeed, you would like to smoke in church!
TERENCE JACKSON
RW Grand Lecturer
Reference: A MASTER'S WAGES, CARL H. CLAUDY