AN ACTION TEAM IN ACTION
The Freemason - Fall 1987
This Short Talk Bulletin has been adapted from an article
in Fall 1987 edition of The Freemason, official publication of the Grand Lodge
AF & AM of Missouri.
Just before closing John Blair Lodge No. 700 in its last
meeting of the summer, Bro. Hugh Jones spoke up when Worshipful Master Dick
Smith asked if any brother had anything to offer. The Master recognized him
somewhat reluctantly because it had been a kind of druggy year in the lodge and
Hugh was always wanting the lodge to do something besides just meeting. Besides
it was a warm night, and the brethren seemed anxious to get out so they could
have refreshments downstairs in the dining room.
“Worshipful Master,” began Hugh, “I wonder if any plans
have been made for us to celebrate the Bicentennial of the Constitution in
September.”
The Master stuttered a bit. He remembered that the lodge
secretary had read the proclamation from the Grand Master calling for a lodge
observance of the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution
on September 20.
“No, Brother Hugh,” he replied, “I was going to get around
to it, but I guess I just forgot it.”
Brother Jones pressed his point. “Worshipful Master”, he
explained, “the way our meetings come, we’ll have just one communication in
September before the 20th. If we’re going to get anything done, it’s
going to have to be in shape before that time. I think we ought to have a
special committee make plans for this, but we ought to have a little discussion
about it before the committee is appointed.”
“Worshipful Sir,” said Jim Post, the Senior Warden, “we’ve
had lots of committees that never functioned. When we went to the Grand Lodge
Leadership Seminars this past year, they said we ought to call them Action
Teams. That way you’ll expect them to do something.”
The Master noticed that several of the brethren were
sitting up in their chairs while others were squirming a bit as if they wanted
to get out of the meeting. He felt that the subject was getting away from him,
so he had better take charge again .
“I’ll appoint the committee or action team or whatever,” he
asserted, “but I think you’d better give them some direction.”
There was a momentary hesitation on the sideline, and old
Worshipful Brother Golightly was heard to mutter, “We’ve never done it this way
before.”’ Brother Samuels, who was a deacon at the church down the street,
laughed and declared, “That’s what they said about our church when somebody
proposed something new. They called it the seven last words of the church. Maybe
it’s time the lodge did something new.”
Several of the brethren were nodding assent to this, so the
Master felt he ought to follow up by making the appointments.
“Hugh, since you brought this up,” he ad dressed the
brother, “I’m going to make you chairman of the committee, or let’s just call it
an action team.”
A wild thought came into the Master’s mind. Perhaps there
were some brethren who had the ability to work with Hugh and make a go of this
thing. It might turn out a good way to wind up his term as Master of John Blair
Lodge. Besides some of the newer members had been wanting some special
activities which would make the lodge more visible in the community.
“I’ll also appoint Brothers Sal Minnicello and Hardy
McClellan,” Worshipful Master Smith announced. “Hugh, you get them
together.”
A brother objected, “Sal hasn’t been a citizen too long. He
just came from the Old Country several years ago.”
“That’s a lot of hogwash,” argued Bro. Samuels. “He
probably knows more about the Constitution than most of us because he had to do
this studying before he became a citizen.”
Another brother spoke up, “I hope we’ll make this an open
program on the 20th. Perhaps we can get people to come to the lodge
who’ve never darkened the door of the temple.”
“Yes,” added another brother, gaining enthusiasm, “we
certainly ought to invite the ladies, for that matter, maybe the general
public.”
He turned to Junior Warden Tim Kelog. “Maybe your wife
would bake or get us a cake with red, white and blue icing for
refreshments.”
“I think we ought to have a speaker,” said Jim Post. “Maybe
we could get Prosecuting Attorney Hill to speak. He pays dues at this lodge, but
we never see him except in election year.”
“Worshipful Master, I have another suggestion” said Hugh.
“It might be fine to have Brother Hill make a short talk on the Constitution
then, but we might have another short talk by Mr. Walker, the history teacher at
the high school.”
“He’s not a Mason”, objected another brother.
“That’s true,” Hugh replied, “but he could talk to us about
the history of the Constitution. Besides he had always indicated some interest
in Freemasonry, and this just might be a way to lead him to ask for
membership.”
Brother Brown, who was the Chapter Dad of the local
DeMolays, spoke up:
“We might have the DeMolay boys come and present the colors
and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.” Others around the hall
nodded assent to that.
Lodge Secretary Rider had been searching through his desk
drawers while all this discussion was going on. He triumphantly held up a hand
ful of booklets.
“Here, Worshipful Master,” he almost shouted. “I knew I had
some pamphlets on this. Here’s Famous American Freemasons and a Lodge Cuideror
Celebrating the Bicentennial of the US. Constitution. I’ll bet there are some
other books out in the lodge library. Maybe the committee, excuse me, action
team, can use these.”
Old Brother Golightly, who generally was so contrary, stood
up with a new interest in his face. “Worshipful,” he said, “the old timers used
to tell us that this lodge was named for John Blair, who helped sign the
Constitution along with George Washington and the others. You know, this town of
Blairsville was founded last century by settlers from Virginia, and John Blair
was a Grand Master of the state. We’ve got a lot of history right here in the
lodge and this town. We know what it means to say WE THE PEOPLE. We’re the ones
they made that Constitution for, and we’re the ones who’re going to have to keep
it.
After a bit more discussion, Worshipful Brother Smith
closed the lodge, but everybody knew that the spirit of Freemasonry was going to
keep alive and well over the summer. The brethren had great things to look
forward to in the fall.
When the members parted in a little while, Hugh Jones found
himself thinking about the Masonic phrase, “who have gone this way before me”
and he also thought about those names on the plaque in the anteroom, brothers of
another day who had lost their lives in the struggle for freedom. Perhaps their
September 20th celebration could be a little way of saying “Thank
you” for a country and a Constitution like this.
How did the program turn out? Well, you’ll have to wait and
see how John Blair Lodge No. 700 and dozens of other lodges around the country
did. It’s pretty important because I don’t reckon that any of us are going to be
around to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of the Constitution.
* * * * * * * * * *
The preceding story is fiction. John Blair Lodge No. 700
does not exist. The characters are reflections of the author’s
imagination. However, the action of the story could have taken place in
any of thousands of lodges. ..maybe yours! A master is faced with many
challenges, not the least of which are preparation and planning. He must be
prepared for any eventuality. There are many aids and “tools” which are
available to assist him. He must have clearly defined ob jectives and a firm
timetable of intermediate goals to reach them. To do this, he must communicate
with his officers and members and get them all involved. Before he can motivate
the membership, he must himself be motivated. That’s leadership!
There are literally hundreds of Masonic publications which
can be used to assist lodge officers. Unless they are used, they don’t do a bit
of good especially if buried in the Secretary’s desk .
All of us want to feel that our lodge is the “best” lodge.
We want and expect our lodge to be active, involved and needed. To accomplish
this, we must follow the example of those master builders who erected the
beautiful cathedrals with such exactness. They laid out their designs on their
trestleboards and followed each detail in the construction. Just as the Builders
were working at their Craft, so must we be workers in preserving our Craft.
The key words are WORK and ACTION. back to top
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