Masonic Law #13 - June 01, 2007
T.F.S.
Three, five, and seven
3 5 7
By Ed Halpaus, Grand Lodge Education Officer.
Number 100 – June 01, 2007
This publication, while it is printed with the permission of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of A.F. & A. M. of Minnesota, contains the writings and opinions of Ed Halpaus and is not in any way the opinion of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.
“Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile interests; which interest each must maintain, as an agent and advocate, against other agents and advocates; but parliament is a deliberative assembly of one nation, with one interest, that is of the whole; where, not local purposes, not local prejudices ought to guide, but the general good, resulting from the general reason of the whole. You choose a member indeed; but when you have chosen him, he is not a member of Bristol, but he is a member of parliament.” Edmund Burke 1729-1797. [This quote from him is a good description of a Grand Lodge and its members too.]
Minnesota Masonic Law #13 says: “That the Master and Wardens of every Chartered Lodge are of right and inalienably representatives in, and members of, the Grand Lodge.”
This Masonic Law is similar to Brother Mackey’s listed Landmark #12: “The right of every Freemason to be represented in all general meetings of the craft, and to instruct his representatives, is a twelfth Landmark. Formerly, these general meetings, which were usually held once a year, were called general assemblies, and all the fraternity, even to the youngest entered apprentice, were permitted to be present. Now they are called Grand Lodges, and only Masters and Wardens of the subordinate Lodges are summoned. But this is simply the representatives of their members. Originally, each Freemason represented himself; now he is represented by his officers. This was a concession granted by the fraternity about 1717, and of course does not affect the integrity of the Landmark, for the principle of representation is still preserved. The concession was only made for the purpose of convenience.”
When it comes to the written law we see in the General Regulations of the Grand Lodge of England, which were adopted in 1721, and are sometimes called Anderson’s Constitutions, we read in X (10): “The majority of every particular Lodge, when congregated, shall have the privilege of giving instructions to their Master and Wardens, before the assembly of the Grand Chapter or Lodge, at the three Quarterly Communications hereafter mentioned, and of the Annual Grand Lodge too; because their Master and Wardens are their representatives, and are supposed to speak their mind.”
What is a Grand Lodge? A Lodge is a certain number Masons duly assembled with the Holy Bible Square and Compass and Charter or Warrant empowering them to work. But what makes a Grand Lodge Grand? Grand in this sense means first, principal, or most important; much in the way we use the term Grandfather, or Grand Total. It doesn’t mean Grand in the sense that the Lodge is grand being big, impressive, or beautiful.[i]
Every once-in-a-while when I’m speaking with a Brother Mason, the idea that the Grand Lodge is some separate thing way off in the big city, and detached from the average Mason will come up. One brother told me once that the Lodges in the far-flung regions of our jurisdiction feel disenfranchised by the Grand Lodge. That may sound familiar to something you may have heard.
This thinking about the Grand Lodge being a separate entity is not new it has been around for a long time. It was written about back in 1946 by Brother Elbert Bede in the Philalethes,[ii] he called it “A Mistaken Conception,” and he went on to offer two reasons for this “Mistaken Conception.”
One of the reasons Brother Bede cited for this line of thinking was that Grand Lodges for the most part called the Lodges in their jurisdiction “Subordinate Lodges,” which would indicate a subservient place for the Lodges. The Minnesota Grand Lodge, as well as in some other Grand Lodges, a number of years ago changed the wording from subordinate, because the Lodges in Minnesota, as in all Regular Grand Lodge Jurisdictions, control the Grand Lodge. So, instead of being subordinate they are in fact ‘Constituent’ Lodges. Every Grand Lodge Officer is first and foremost a member of a constituent Lodge; who meet on the level with their Lodge Brothers.
Every constituent Lodge is an important member of the Grand Lodge. In order to open a Lodge Communication there needs to be at least seven members of the Lodge present, and in order to open a Grand Lodge Communication there needs to be a majority of the member Lodges represented, or present. So if there are less then 7 members present a Lodge cannot open, and if there are less than a majority of the constituent Lodges present a Grand Lodge can’t open.[iii]
Since every Lodge in the Jurisdiction is a member of the Grand Lodge the Master and Wardens of each constituent Lodge are also members of the Grand Lodge. In fact, that is stipulated in the Masonic Law number 13 of the Masonic Laws adopted by the Grand Lodge of Minnesota on January 9, 1856.[iv] Here is what Masonic Law #13 says, “That the Master and Wardens of every chartered Lodge are of right and inalienably representatives in, and members of, the Grand Lodge.”
There are other members too, like those the Constituent Lodges elect as the elected officers of the Grand Lodge, and those who have been elected in the past, such as Past Grand Masters, and also the officers appointed by the Grand Master. These include the line officers, non line officers, Grand Lodge Representatives, and the like.
So here is the bottom line: No legislation may be enacted, no change in any law, rule, or regulation may be made, and no Grand Lodge Officer may be elected, and thus installed unless the representatives of a majority of the constituent Lodges are present to constitute a quorum. By the way, the number required for a quorum was set by the representatives of the Lodges while they were assembled as a Grand Lodge a long time ago.
The Grand Lodge Officers are powerless to proceed as a Grand Lodge unless the constituent Lodges make it possible for them to do so. As Brother Bede said in his article, “In my opinion, it might with more truth be said that Grand Lodge is subordinate to the constituent Lodges than the Lodges are subordinate to the Grand Lodge.”
The Second reason, cited by Brother Bede, that the Grand Lodge is perceived a separate entity, is that the representatives of the constituent Lodges have so frequently played such a small part in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge Annual Communications.
This is an easy thing to correct. It possibly comes from the fact that the representatives of the Lodges are unaccustomed to voicing their opinions in such a large assembly as a Grand Lodge Communication. So how do we correct this? It’s easy enough to do. For one thing, become familiar with the proposed amendments submitted prior to the Grand Lodge Communication, discuss them in your Lodge, find out what the members of your Lodge desire, write out something to say to contribute to the possibility of passing or defeating the motion, and be willing to let your fellow representatives of the constituent Lodges know what your opinion is. Another way to correct this is to become involved with the Grand Lodge in some way, and one way is to volunteer to serve on a committee.
Here is what the Minnesota Masonic Code says about Committees: “Those members of a constituent Lodge of the Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Minnesota who shall have attained the rank of Master shall be eligible for appointment on any committee. The aforementioned requirement shall be waived for Special Committees or Committees handling programs and projects set forth by the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge. The members of these committees shall be Master Masons of this jurisdiction.”
Also if there is something in the Masonic Code of our Jurisdiction, which a Grand Lodge member thinks should be corrected in some way he may draw up a piece of legislation, (the Resolutions Committee will help him with this if he would like it,[v] and our Grand Secretary will put him in touch with the committee,) and submit it so that it will be discussed and brought up for a vote at the Grand Lodge Communication.
When, and if, you see the only changes to legislation proposed are by Grand Lodge officers the reason is, no one else is doing it. The Masons we elect would prefer that the representatives of the Lodges take an active part in the workings of the Grand Lodge Communication. But as our elected representatives they also will do what we have asked them to do, and that is to continue to run our Grand Lodge effectively: If we don’t participate in the proposal process that is our choice.
The Master, and Wardens of the constituent Lodges, as well as the other Masons who are members of the Grand Lodge, control the acts of every session of our Grand Lodge. They have the power to propose, enact, or not to enact, by their approval or disapproval on any motion, or proposed legislation. We who are members of our Grand Lodge need to be active and informed on the workings of the Grand Lodge so that we may do the best job in representing our Lodge Brothers while we are in Grand Lodge convened.
Also we who are members of our Grand Lodge should know that any criticism offered by us on any action of the Grand Lodge is a criticism of ourselves,[vi] because we as Masters and Wardens of our Lodges, or having been elected as a Grand Lodge Officer, or having been appointed to a job for our Grand Lodge by our Grand Master, possibly have not done what we should have done as a member of our Grand Lodge.
One Grand Master has said at the beginning of the Grand Lodge Communication in his Jurisdiction, to the representatives of the Lodges assembled, as soon as the communication was opened, that they are the Grand Lodge. He urged them to participate and gave them every opportunity to do just that.[vii]
“Grand Lodge is not a separate entity. It is composed of constituent Lodges which, through their representatives are responsible for all its acts.” And I will add that when you as a member, or attendee, of Grand Lodge, participate as much as you are able you will enjoy the Grand Lodge Communication a whole lot more.
So who makes up our Grand Lodge, and what is the Grand Lodge? It is the governing body of Freemasonry within the Jurisdiction of Minnesota. It is composed of its officers, and its permanent members, (usually past Grand Lodge officers,) and the Masters and Wardens of the all the Lodges Chartered in the Jurisdiction, which are the Constituent Lodges of the Grand Lodge.
In the Minnesota Masonic Code, also called the Book of constitutions, the powers and duties of the Grand Lodge are listed, and it says; “The powers of the Grand Lodge are executive, legislative, and judicial; and the Grand Lodge is supreme in all Masonic matters, limited only by this constitution, which it may amend or change, as provided therein, and by the ancient landmarks. The executive powers are such as will make effective its legislation and enforce Masonic usage and custom, and shall be carried out by the Grand Master.” So all of the members of the Grand Lodge make up the group, which is the Grand Lodge, and the Grand Master carries out their wishes.
The communications of the Grand Lodge are of three types. The three types of Communications may be Annual, Special, or Occasional. I think we all know what the Annual Communication of a Grand Lodge is, because we have been talking about that.
The Grand Master may call a Special Communication at any time for the transaction of such business only as he may name in the call thereof, but no business affecting the constitution, the general regulations, or laws shall be transacted. And 30 days notice shall be given by mail of the Special Communication to each Lodge, and to each officer and past officer who is a member of Grand Lodge.[viii]
The Grand Master may open an Occasional Grand Lodge at any time or place, for the purpose of Masonic funerals, dedications, cornerstone layings, breaking ground for Masonic buildings, constitution of new Lodges, and other strictly Masonic ceremonial occasions.[ix]
So the Master, Wardens, and possibly other Brethren, of your Lodge and mine are members of the Grand Lodge, they together with all the other Masters and Wardens along with the other members of Grand Lodge work on our behalf to take care of the business of our Grand Lodge.
“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor; for we are members one of another.” Ephesians 4:25
More Light – Mehr Licht ©, Masonic Matters © and T.F.S. ©, are sent out by E-mail at no charge to anyone who would like to receive them. If you enjoy these publications please share them with others. To subscribe to any one or all of these publications just send an E-mail to ed@halpaus.net with Subscribe and the Title, or ‘all 3,’ in the subject line and you will be added to the list to receive the publication you want.
“It is not the possessor of many things whom you will rightly call happy. The name of the happy man is claimed more justly by him who has learnt the art wisely to use what the gods give, and who can endure the hardships of poverty, who dreads disgrace as something worse than death.” Horace 65 - 8 B.C. E.
Exegi momentum sere perennius = [Latin] = My work is done, the memorial more enduring than brass. [Also a quote from Horace 65 – 8 B.C.E.]
From the Great Light of Masonry: “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.” Psalm 97:1 NIV
With “Brotherly Love”,
Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
To read this paper in Adobe PDF: http://www.halpaus.net/TFS100.pdf
[i] Minnesota Counselor’s Guide
[ii] Philalethes, a publication of the Philalethes Society 1946- Bro.Elbert Bede, M.P.S.
[iii] Minnesota Masonic Code
[iv] Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia 1995 edition
[v] The Secretary’s Handbook, the Grand Lodge of A.F. & A.M. of MN
[vi] Philalethes, a publication of the Philalethes Society 1946 – Bro. Elbert Bebe, M.P.S.
[vii] Philalethes, a Publication of the Philalethes Society 1946 – Bro. Elbert Bede, M.P.S.
[viii] Minnesota Masonic Code
[ix] Minnesota Masonic Code
Three, five, and seven
3 5 7
By Ed Halpaus, Grand Lodge Education Officer.
Number 100 – June 01, 2007
This publication, while it is printed with the permission of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of A.F. & A. M. of Minnesota, contains the writings and opinions of Ed Halpaus and is not in any way the opinion of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.
“Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile interests; which interest each must maintain, as an agent and advocate, against other agents and advocates; but parliament is a deliberative assembly of one nation, with one interest, that is of the whole; where, not local purposes, not local prejudices ought to guide, but the general good, resulting from the general reason of the whole. You choose a member indeed; but when you have chosen him, he is not a member of Bristol, but he is a member of parliament.” Edmund Burke 1729-1797. [This quote from him is a good description of a Grand Lodge and its members too.]
Minnesota Masonic Law #13 says: “That the Master and Wardens of every Chartered Lodge are of right and inalienably representatives in, and members of, the Grand Lodge.”
This Masonic Law is similar to Brother Mackey’s listed Landmark #12: “The right of every Freemason to be represented in all general meetings of the craft, and to instruct his representatives, is a twelfth Landmark. Formerly, these general meetings, which were usually held once a year, were called general assemblies, and all the fraternity, even to the youngest entered apprentice, were permitted to be present. Now they are called Grand Lodges, and only Masters and Wardens of the subordinate Lodges are summoned. But this is simply the representatives of their members. Originally, each Freemason represented himself; now he is represented by his officers. This was a concession granted by the fraternity about 1717, and of course does not affect the integrity of the Landmark, for the principle of representation is still preserved. The concession was only made for the purpose of convenience.”
When it comes to the written law we see in the General Regulations of the Grand Lodge of England, which were adopted in 1721, and are sometimes called Anderson’s Constitutions, we read in X (10): “The majority of every particular Lodge, when congregated, shall have the privilege of giving instructions to their Master and Wardens, before the assembly of the Grand Chapter or Lodge, at the three Quarterly Communications hereafter mentioned, and of the Annual Grand Lodge too; because their Master and Wardens are their representatives, and are supposed to speak their mind.”
What is a Grand Lodge? A Lodge is a certain number Masons duly assembled with the Holy Bible Square and Compass and Charter or Warrant empowering them to work. But what makes a Grand Lodge Grand? Grand in this sense means first, principal, or most important; much in the way we use the term Grandfather, or Grand Total. It doesn’t mean Grand in the sense that the Lodge is grand being big, impressive, or beautiful.[i]
Every once-in-a-while when I’m speaking with a Brother Mason, the idea that the Grand Lodge is some separate thing way off in the big city, and detached from the average Mason will come up. One brother told me once that the Lodges in the far-flung regions of our jurisdiction feel disenfranchised by the Grand Lodge. That may sound familiar to something you may have heard.
This thinking about the Grand Lodge being a separate entity is not new it has been around for a long time. It was written about back in 1946 by Brother Elbert Bede in the Philalethes,[ii] he called it “A Mistaken Conception,” and he went on to offer two reasons for this “Mistaken Conception.”
One of the reasons Brother Bede cited for this line of thinking was that Grand Lodges for the most part called the Lodges in their jurisdiction “Subordinate Lodges,” which would indicate a subservient place for the Lodges. The Minnesota Grand Lodge, as well as in some other Grand Lodges, a number of years ago changed the wording from subordinate, because the Lodges in Minnesota, as in all Regular Grand Lodge Jurisdictions, control the Grand Lodge. So, instead of being subordinate they are in fact ‘Constituent’ Lodges. Every Grand Lodge Officer is first and foremost a member of a constituent Lodge; who meet on the level with their Lodge Brothers.
Every constituent Lodge is an important member of the Grand Lodge. In order to open a Lodge Communication there needs to be at least seven members of the Lodge present, and in order to open a Grand Lodge Communication there needs to be a majority of the member Lodges represented, or present. So if there are less then 7 members present a Lodge cannot open, and if there are less than a majority of the constituent Lodges present a Grand Lodge can’t open.[iii]
Since every Lodge in the Jurisdiction is a member of the Grand Lodge the Master and Wardens of each constituent Lodge are also members of the Grand Lodge. In fact, that is stipulated in the Masonic Law number 13 of the Masonic Laws adopted by the Grand Lodge of Minnesota on January 9, 1856.[iv] Here is what Masonic Law #13 says, “That the Master and Wardens of every chartered Lodge are of right and inalienably representatives in, and members of, the Grand Lodge.”
There are other members too, like those the Constituent Lodges elect as the elected officers of the Grand Lodge, and those who have been elected in the past, such as Past Grand Masters, and also the officers appointed by the Grand Master. These include the line officers, non line officers, Grand Lodge Representatives, and the like.
So here is the bottom line: No legislation may be enacted, no change in any law, rule, or regulation may be made, and no Grand Lodge Officer may be elected, and thus installed unless the representatives of a majority of the constituent Lodges are present to constitute a quorum. By the way, the number required for a quorum was set by the representatives of the Lodges while they were assembled as a Grand Lodge a long time ago.
The Grand Lodge Officers are powerless to proceed as a Grand Lodge unless the constituent Lodges make it possible for them to do so. As Brother Bede said in his article, “In my opinion, it might with more truth be said that Grand Lodge is subordinate to the constituent Lodges than the Lodges are subordinate to the Grand Lodge.”
The Second reason, cited by Brother Bede, that the Grand Lodge is perceived a separate entity, is that the representatives of the constituent Lodges have so frequently played such a small part in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge Annual Communications.
This is an easy thing to correct. It possibly comes from the fact that the representatives of the Lodges are unaccustomed to voicing their opinions in such a large assembly as a Grand Lodge Communication. So how do we correct this? It’s easy enough to do. For one thing, become familiar with the proposed amendments submitted prior to the Grand Lodge Communication, discuss them in your Lodge, find out what the members of your Lodge desire, write out something to say to contribute to the possibility of passing or defeating the motion, and be willing to let your fellow representatives of the constituent Lodges know what your opinion is. Another way to correct this is to become involved with the Grand Lodge in some way, and one way is to volunteer to serve on a committee.
Here is what the Minnesota Masonic Code says about Committees: “Those members of a constituent Lodge of the Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Minnesota who shall have attained the rank of Master shall be eligible for appointment on any committee. The aforementioned requirement shall be waived for Special Committees or Committees handling programs and projects set forth by the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge. The members of these committees shall be Master Masons of this jurisdiction.”
Also if there is something in the Masonic Code of our Jurisdiction, which a Grand Lodge member thinks should be corrected in some way he may draw up a piece of legislation, (the Resolutions Committee will help him with this if he would like it,[v] and our Grand Secretary will put him in touch with the committee,) and submit it so that it will be discussed and brought up for a vote at the Grand Lodge Communication.
When, and if, you see the only changes to legislation proposed are by Grand Lodge officers the reason is, no one else is doing it. The Masons we elect would prefer that the representatives of the Lodges take an active part in the workings of the Grand Lodge Communication. But as our elected representatives they also will do what we have asked them to do, and that is to continue to run our Grand Lodge effectively: If we don’t participate in the proposal process that is our choice.
The Master, and Wardens of the constituent Lodges, as well as the other Masons who are members of the Grand Lodge, control the acts of every session of our Grand Lodge. They have the power to propose, enact, or not to enact, by their approval or disapproval on any motion, or proposed legislation. We who are members of our Grand Lodge need to be active and informed on the workings of the Grand Lodge so that we may do the best job in representing our Lodge Brothers while we are in Grand Lodge convened.
Also we who are members of our Grand Lodge should know that any criticism offered by us on any action of the Grand Lodge is a criticism of ourselves,[vi] because we as Masters and Wardens of our Lodges, or having been elected as a Grand Lodge Officer, or having been appointed to a job for our Grand Lodge by our Grand Master, possibly have not done what we should have done as a member of our Grand Lodge.
One Grand Master has said at the beginning of the Grand Lodge Communication in his Jurisdiction, to the representatives of the Lodges assembled, as soon as the communication was opened, that they are the Grand Lodge. He urged them to participate and gave them every opportunity to do just that.[vii]
“Grand Lodge is not a separate entity. It is composed of constituent Lodges which, through their representatives are responsible for all its acts.” And I will add that when you as a member, or attendee, of Grand Lodge, participate as much as you are able you will enjoy the Grand Lodge Communication a whole lot more.
So who makes up our Grand Lodge, and what is the Grand Lodge? It is the governing body of Freemasonry within the Jurisdiction of Minnesota. It is composed of its officers, and its permanent members, (usually past Grand Lodge officers,) and the Masters and Wardens of the all the Lodges Chartered in the Jurisdiction, which are the Constituent Lodges of the Grand Lodge.
In the Minnesota Masonic Code, also called the Book of constitutions, the powers and duties of the Grand Lodge are listed, and it says; “The powers of the Grand Lodge are executive, legislative, and judicial; and the Grand Lodge is supreme in all Masonic matters, limited only by this constitution, which it may amend or change, as provided therein, and by the ancient landmarks. The executive powers are such as will make effective its legislation and enforce Masonic usage and custom, and shall be carried out by the Grand Master.” So all of the members of the Grand Lodge make up the group, which is the Grand Lodge, and the Grand Master carries out their wishes.
The communications of the Grand Lodge are of three types. The three types of Communications may be Annual, Special, or Occasional. I think we all know what the Annual Communication of a Grand Lodge is, because we have been talking about that.
The Grand Master may call a Special Communication at any time for the transaction of such business only as he may name in the call thereof, but no business affecting the constitution, the general regulations, or laws shall be transacted. And 30 days notice shall be given by mail of the Special Communication to each Lodge, and to each officer and past officer who is a member of Grand Lodge.[viii]
The Grand Master may open an Occasional Grand Lodge at any time or place, for the purpose of Masonic funerals, dedications, cornerstone layings, breaking ground for Masonic buildings, constitution of new Lodges, and other strictly Masonic ceremonial occasions.[ix]
So the Master, Wardens, and possibly other Brethren, of your Lodge and mine are members of the Grand Lodge, they together with all the other Masters and Wardens along with the other members of Grand Lodge work on our behalf to take care of the business of our Grand Lodge.
“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor; for we are members one of another.” Ephesians 4:25
More Light – Mehr Licht ©, Masonic Matters © and T.F.S. ©, are sent out by E-mail at no charge to anyone who would like to receive them. If you enjoy these publications please share them with others. To subscribe to any one or all of these publications just send an E-mail to ed@halpaus.net with Subscribe and the Title, or ‘all 3,’ in the subject line and you will be added to the list to receive the publication you want.
“It is not the possessor of many things whom you will rightly call happy. The name of the happy man is claimed more justly by him who has learnt the art wisely to use what the gods give, and who can endure the hardships of poverty, who dreads disgrace as something worse than death.” Horace 65 - 8 B.C. E.
Exegi momentum sere perennius = [Latin] = My work is done, the memorial more enduring than brass. [Also a quote from Horace 65 – 8 B.C.E.]
From the Great Light of Masonry: “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.” Psalm 97:1 NIV
With “Brotherly Love”,
Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
To read this paper in Adobe PDF: http://www.halpaus.net/TFS100.pdf
[i] Minnesota Counselor’s Guide
[ii] Philalethes, a publication of the Philalethes Society 1946- Bro.Elbert Bede, M.P.S.
[iii] Minnesota Masonic Code
[iv] Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia 1995 edition
[v] The Secretary’s Handbook, the Grand Lodge of A.F. & A.M. of MN
[vi] Philalethes, a publication of the Philalethes Society 1946 – Bro. Elbert Bebe, M.P.S.
[vii] Philalethes, a Publication of the Philalethes Society 1946 – Bro. Elbert Bede, M.P.S.
[viii] Minnesota Masonic Code
[ix] Minnesota Masonic Code
Labels: Landmarks