more light #316
A Penny Saved
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
“A penny saved is a penny earned” – Poor Richard’s Almanac (Bro. Ben
Franklin)
As one waits, sometimes impatiently, at a check-out line, you tend to notice
the more mundane features of the area. Recently I pondered the significance of
the ubiquitous change collectors customers use to put their extra pennies in.
Unlike some innovations in our society, I doubt anyone can pinpoint where or
when this relatively recent phenomena occurred. I am equally certain each of us
have availed ourselves of this little ‘bank’ and either deposited a penny or two
or withdrew same to make exact change for the cashier. Regardless of how or
where this custom began, it’s a good one. The storeowner gives up a few square
inches of counter space and in return potentially quickens the check-out
process. Best of all, those who deposit or withdraw pennies either smile or
display a sense of resolution. You or I can easily join in this process as we
discard excess pennies and/or grab one when we are ‘short’. “Fine” you say,
“nothing to argue about here but is this why I’m reading “Mehr Licht” today”?
What if we imagined that little container, sometimes a torn paper cup, other
times a specially made, embossed container, was our Lodge Hall? Whether well
worn or sparkling new, our Lodge Room can be that little container. Some of us
coming to a particular Stated meeting seeking ‘light’, advice, a consoling arm,
sharing a joy and the like. We need to withdraw a penny or twol Others are
anxious to dispense good cheer, answer queries, give wise counsel or perhaps
even constructive criticism. The over-riding principle however is that our
Lodge has to be such a container if the mutual “give & take” can be fully
achieved.
Does your Lodge serve that function of providing a ‘bank’ that is always full
of change? “Change’ in the sense that we make a depressed Brother whole, share
the joys of others and answer concerns of yet more Brothers? And what of that
occasional nickel or dime we see in such containers? When the WM or a Committee
chair is desperate for a volunteer to handle an unpopular chore, do we provide
that nickel or dime by raising our hand? Conversely, when our personal life has
taken a serious downturn: loss of a loved one, unemployment, poor health, etc
can we expect to find a nickel or dime in our Lodge room? Can we assume our
Brothers will stretch their cable tows and give us the support we need just as
we hopefully have done for them in the past?
Consider your next Stated and the enjoyable times just before the Opening &
Closing as we share a meal or just converse. How many pennies and nickels do
you see or hear proffered? How many are handed out with no sense of obligation
of the ‘return’ of same? Are there some “nickels and dimes” representing
extraordinary needs or charity? Or is your Lodge merely going thru the motions
of being an alleged working Lodge where Brothers successes and failures are not
even shared much less addressed?
Can we resolve, this minute, to make our respective Lodges very active
“change” collectors and dispensers? Would we not then be better Masons? So
what is real Masonry? Perhaps this can be another definition: Masonry is a
change collector. AND as we make “change” of the pecuniary kind, we also make
“change” of the life-shaping kind! So mote it be…..
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