In the course of one lodge meeting, Freemasonry is a spiritual organization when the chaplain leads the brethren in prayer and asks for the blessing of Diety. It is a guild when the Master of the lodge teaches the new Mason the symbolic uses of stonemason’s tools. It becomes a school of instruction when the new brother learns about the importance of the 7 liberal arts and sciences. At other moments, it is an amateur theater company when the ritual is performed. The lodge becomes a men’s social club when meeting for dinner and fellowship. It becomes a charitable group when relief is provided to distressed brothers, their families or the local community perlocal community. It is also a business association when members with similar interests share ideas. The lodge resembles a family when fathers and sons, strangers and friends bond as ‘brothers’, and it is a community league when volunteers are needed for a project.

Mark Tabbert