MasterMason

Author unknown
Please read this and you will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so difficult for her. She did not know how she was going to make it through life and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed to her that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘Tell me what you see. ‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg…

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, mother?’

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: Which was boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean?
The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you (I JUST DID); To those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.

If you don’t send it, you will just miss out on the opportunity to brighten someone’s day with this message!

It’s easier to build a child than repair an adult. This is so true.
May we all need to be COFFEE

Comment
This paper was shared with me by a very close friend, and, after making a commitment to myself, I have decided to share it with you the reader.
Have a wonderful day & God Bless.
Norm

Author Unknown: Adapted for use in The Educator by V.W. Bro, Norman McEvoy

So, what is the future of Freemasonry? Where does it go in the future? Should it change or be changed? What challenges does it face? These are all pertinent questions, so let us turn our minds to possible answers. But before we can do that, we need to discover what Freemasonry is, and where it comes from – that may give us some clues.

As to as the origins of Freemasonry, which we must admit no one knows for sure There are no extant definite/perfect records. But there are several theories.

A popular theory is that Freemasonry originated from the guilds of operative stonemasons (known as lodges) which flourished in Europe, and Britain in particular, during the Middle Ages. Stone-masonry was then a most important craft, the manifestation of which can still be seen today in the many cathedrals, churches, castles and manors that survive from those times.

However, operative lodges were somewhat different from the guilds associated with other medieval trades. Stonemasons were itinerant workers who were forced to travel to renew their employment as available. The fluid nature of the operative craft, therefore, posed many problems in the determination and recognition of qualifications and skills. In the largely illiterate society that then prevailed, lodges acted as trade regulatory bodies, not only in the area of professional skills and the recognition of practical qualifications, but also in the moral and religious standards of their members. In response to these needs, the operative craft, through its lodges, evolved a system of instruction that combined practical knowledge and morality. The medieval lodge system also, of necessity, involved a degree of privacy and secrecy, so that the supposed skills of a newly-arriving stranger could be readily checked.

The march of technology in building saw the decline of stone construction in the late Middle Ages, and with it the steady demise of the stonemason’s craft and the operative lodges. As a reaction to this decline, the passage of time saw increasing numbers of men who were not stonemasons being received into lodges. By the eighteenth century, lodges had largely ceased to be composed of stonemasons. These non-operative members became known as Speculative or Symbolic Masons. The decline of operative masonry and the rise of the speculative kind also heralded the end of the itinerant/mobile nature of some lodges. All lodges could now find permanent homes in urban locations. The premier Grand Lodge of England was formed on 24 June 1717 by four London lodges. No records remain of the event.

Our knowledge of this foundation meeting comes largely from Anderson’s 1738 edition of the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge. According to Anderson, representatives of the four lodges met in 1716 and determined upon a meeting in the following year to revive the Annual Assembly and Feast, at which they would ‘choose a Grand Master from among themselves till they should have the Honour of a Noble Brother at their Head’. The first meeting was duly held and one Anthony Sayer, Gentleman, was elected as the initial Grand Master.

There would seem little doubt, therefore, that the formation of the Grand Lodge was not prompted by a perceived need of central organization, but simply to enable the London lodges to meet together socially—bearing in mind that members were now largely of the speculative kind. The only other discernible reason was a desire to elect a ‘noble brother’ as their leader with, one suspects, the view of raising the social status of their organization.
Success first occurred in 1721, with the election of John, 2nd Duke of Montagu, as Grand Master. Since then the Grand Lodge of England has continuously had either a Peer of the Realm or Prince of Royal Blood as Grand Master.

It was not until the 1720s that the Grand Lodge commenced its emergence as a regulatory body. In 1723 the first secretary to Grand Lodge was appointed, and regular minutes kept. Grand Lodge started to meet more frequently, and its Constitutions were published. The membership of nobles attracted press publicity, and the number of lodges rapidly expanded—not only in England, but overseas as well. An independent Grand Lodge was formed in Ireland in 1725, followed by a counterpart in Scotland in 1736.

The early years of organized English Masonry, however, proved far from harmonious, and the eighteenth century saw six rival Grand Lodges emerging at various times to claim jurisdiction over England or part of it.
Only two of these persisted with any substantial following. These were the premier Grand Lodge of England (often referred to as the Moderns Grand Lodge, or Moderns), and the Grand Lodge of England According to the Old Constitutions (known as the Atholl Grand Lodge, or Antients).

The Moderns, according to their opponents, introduced unacceptable changes into the rituals and practices of Freemasonry.

The Antients Grand Lodge, apparently spawned by their opposition to these ‘innovations’, had emerged by 1751. Irish Masons then living in England who were ‘unhappy’ with the premier Grand Lodge originally established it. The two Grand Lodges developed quite a number of divergent practices. However, except at official level, ordinary Masons were not particularly interested in this rivalry, and most members on both sides either ignored these divergences or paid little heed to them.

As Freemasonry spread rapidly around the world, the passage of time saw the old discords largely disappear. Newer members on both sides had no understanding of the issues involved, and even less interest in them. The pressure for union increased, and the chance of such an occurrence was greatly enhanced by the election of HRH the Duke of Sussex as Grand Master of the Moderns, and his brother HRH the Duke of Kent as Grand Master of the Antients.

Joint committees of the two Grand Lodges met and overcame remaining problems, and the union was happily effected on 27 December 1813. The title United Grand Lodge of England was adopted, and the Duke of Sussex became its first Grand Master.

The United Grand Lodge of England subsequently developed into the largest Masonic body in the world, having lodges chartered on every continent. English Freemasonry has directly or indirectly been the source of all Grand Lodges elsewhere on the globe. The Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland, generally accepted as the second and third Grand Lodges formed, have also chartered lodges all over the world. As Masonry grew in strength in various localities, other Grand Lodges were formed. Most European countries possess a Grand Lodge, as do virtually all the provinces of Canada, and the States of America and Australia. Similarly, most South and Central American countries have at least one Grand Lodge each. Diverse countries such as Israel, South Africa, India, Japan and the Philippines are likewise blessed.

It needs to be appreciated that Freemasonry is not one worldwide confederation. There are more than a hundred independent Masonic Grand Lodges in the world, most of which maintain ‘fraternal relations’ with each other—diplomatic relations, to put it in non-Masonic terms.

There are also quite a number of differences in the constitutional, operational and ritualistic practices between Grand Lodges, but these are far from major, and under normal circumstances a mason can readily visit other Mason lodges anywhere in the world.

So, that is where Freemasonry has come from, but what is about?

Freemasonry is a moral and ethical education society, and a universal brotherhood.
Its primary aim is to teach morality and ethics to its members. One of the best ways to define Freemasonry is to quote from Masonic ritual itself:

‘Freemasonry is a peculiar System of Morality veiled in Allegory and illustrated by Symbols’.

‘Peculiar’ here means ‘special’ rather than ‘strange’ or ‘unusual’. The idea of teaching through allegories and symbols is not a new one. All great teachers have followed this method. The System of Morality is that which every Freemason is bound to profess and practice. It includes principles with which he was to some extent familiar before his entry into Freemasonry. The new member will, nevertheless, find them presented in new ways and in forms different from those previously encountered. If he finds in Masonic teaching nothing particularly new, he must remember that in some respects at least ‘there is nothing new under the sun’, and that the essence of morality is to be found in the simplicity of its requirements.

Freemasonry recognizes the richness of the cultural beliefs of all men and excludes no individual from membership on the basis of race, religion or politics. In this sense it is a liberal organization, recognizing the value of all men who share a belief in a Supreme Being, the goal of self-improvement, and who work towards the betterment of mankind. A man who becomes a Freemason makes a commitment to strive for excellence in all aspects of daily life.

Three great principles that are the cornerstone of the beliefs of Freemasonry are taught in lodges throughout the world. These are traditionally described as Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Freemasons are expected to practice these principles by:

• Showing tolerance and respect for the opinions of others and behaving with kindness and understanding to all people.
• Practicing charity and care for their own and for the community by charitable and voluntary work.
• Striving for achievement of the highest ethical and moral behavior and spiritual truth.

One of Freemasonry’s greatest strengths is that it is a universal brotherhood.
To be a Freemason one must believe in a Supreme Being. How each member interprets God is purely a matter for him. Thus, there are thousands of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists around the world who are Masons, who sit together in lodge in harmony

• neither politics or religion can be discussed in a Masonic context.

As an example, some years ago I sat in Israel. To my right were several Palestinian Muslims, to my left were several Jews, and the Master of the Lodge was Christian Arab. Outside was a society largely racked by hate and fear, inside the lodge was harmony, brotherly love and peace.

As a furtherance of its teachings, Masonry and Masons are heavily involved around the world in charitable pursuits, in running hospitals, homes for elderly and donating large amounts of money to worthy causes.

So, with this background let us return to our initial questions.
What is the future of Freemasonry???

In today’s ever increasingly complicated and materialistic world, I hold the view that a Society based squarely on morality is more needed than ever before. A case can be argued that Masons have made a huge contribution to civilization over past centuries. Do not forget it was mostly Masons who wrote the American Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution, to give but one example.

So, should Freemasonry change? Why should it! It has stood the test of time. It still remains the largest non-political, non-religious organization in the world. Certainly, its teachings are as relevant today as in the past; probably more so.
Should we become less moral, just because society has? I think not. Yes, it faces some challenges.

We are attacked by various religions on occasions, quite unfairly as Freemasonry is neither a religion nor a substitute for religion. But we have been attacked by religions for over 300 years. Nothing knew about that. Certainly there is a worldwide trend in modern times for Masonry to focus on community relations, to explain its ethics to the wider community. And so it should, it is a part of wider society.

Masonry does face the ongoing challenge of declining membership in some parts of the world – certainly in North America. But so do many other worthy organizations in civil society, such as Rotary, Lions, and of course, many churches.
The pattern of people disengaging from community organizations has been ongoing for perhaps the last forty years. There is much research to suggest that various changes in modern society are the cause.
Frankly, falling membership does not worry me – to me the focus must be, as it always has been, on the quality rather the quantity of members.
And many men still continue to join Freemasonry, we are in no danger of dying out, rest assured.

In conclusion, let me state that I have been fortunate enough to visit Masonic lodges all over the world, and I never ceased to be amazed at the friendship I receive wherever I go.

Freemasonry is the only social organization in the world, where one can walk into a room of complete strangers, anywhere in the world, and be immediately welcomed as close friend and brother. And that will not change.

Comment
May I begin by stating that I have absolutely no idea where this paper came from nor the name of the writer who produced it.   What I do know is that I have been pondering the creation of a Category within The Educator which would be solely dedicated to the History of Grand Lodges ALL OVER THE WORLD who would each (as interested) provide “The Educator” with a History of their own Grand Lodge (using the same format as The Educator), and for inclusion in this NEW Category.

As to criteria to be followed,
NO promotion or degradation of Politics or Religion will be permitted. (BY ME–the Editor)

Have a wonderful Day & God Bless
Norm

Author unknown but deeply appreciated

People always say how mean kids can be, never how nice they can be.

This story will either make you cry, give you cold chills or just leave you to put life into perspective.

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the school’s students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all that attended.

After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question,

“Everything God does is done with perfection.”

Yet, my son Shay cannot learn things as other children do.

He cannot understand things as other children do.

Where is God’s plan reflected in my son?” The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. “I believe,” the father answered,

“that when God brings a child like Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize his Divine Plan presents itself and it comes in the way people treat that child.”

Then, he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, “Do you think they will let me play?” Shay’s father knew that the boys would not want him on their team.

But the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging.

Shay’s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates.

Getting none, he took matters into is own hands and said,

“We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning.”

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the outfield.

Although no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base.

Shay was scheduled to be the next at-bat.

Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?????????

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have ended the game.

Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling, “Shay, run to first, run to first.” Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, “run to second, run to second!”

By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball.

He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman for a tag.

But the right fielder understood what the pitcher’s intentions had been, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman’s head.

Shay ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home.

As Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, “run to third!” As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams were screaming, “Shay! Run home!”

Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and was cheered as the hero for hitting a “grand slam” and winning the game for his team.

“That day,” said the father softly with tears now rolling down is face,

“the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine Plan into this world.”

Comment none needed

Have a wonderful Day & God Bless

Norm

Author Unknown

It was a tale of Masonic men surrounding a campfire in the Old West, at night, discussing the Fraternity and its teachings. One old man listened patiently, and finally spoke up:

“I can tell you more ‘bout Masonry in a little example than some of the great Masonic philosophers can in books. Everybody stand up, and gather in circle around the campfire.”

They did that. “Now, everybody hold hands with the man next to him.” they did that, too.

“Now, what do you see looking ahead?”

“The face of a brother through the flames.”

“What do you feel in front of you?”

“The warmth of the fire, and the comfort it brings on a cool night.”

“What do you feel at your side?”

“The warm hand of a brother.”

“OK. Now drop the hands, and turn around.”

They do so. “Now what do you see, looking ahead?” “Complete darkness.”

“What do you feel, looking ahead?”

“A sense of loneliness, of being alienated.”

“What do you feel at your side?”

“Nothing at all.”

“What do you feel on your backside?”

“The warmth of the fire.”

“So it is with Masonry,” said the old man.

“In Masonry gatherings, you can feel the warmth of Masonry interaction, you can see the face of a Brother through the light Masonry brings to you, and you can always feel the warm hand of your Masonic Brother.

When you turn away from masonry, and are out in the world, you see darkness, feel alienated and alone, and do not feel the warm hand of your Masonic Brother. But Masonry, and the warmth and light it brings, are just a turn away from you.”

Comment none needed

Have a Wonderful Day & God Bless

Norm

by Bro. H.T.J. Coleman, Mount Newton Lodge No. 89

The legend of the winding stairs is an important tradition of Antient Craft
Masonry and it has its origin in 1 Kings, Chap. 6.

“The door for the middle chamber was on the right side of the house; and
they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the
middle into the third.”

It is more than just a legend, however, it is an impressive allegory as well
It suggests the progress of youth upward from childhood to full manhood,
and it speaks also of the ascent of the initiate towards a fuller revelation of
Masonic truth.
The growth of humanity from savagery through barbarism to what we call
“civilization” has been a slow and painful process, and is, as we know, far
from completed. It is one of the glories of Freemasonry that it seeks to
indicate symbolically the goals towards which that future growth may aspire.
In many ways the life of the race resembles the life of the individual human
being. The savage, like the child, looks out upon only a very small world.
Though he has a very lively curiosity, that curiosity is circumscribed both
by his limited powers and his narrow circumstances. He knows little of the
Arts and Sciences and aspires to little beyond today’s needs.

With the discovery of the arts of reading and writing, the horizon of man’s
mind was vastly enlarged. Later, in the early centuries of the Christian era,
human learning was given a classic form under the name of the Seven
Liberal Arts.

Of these the first three, Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic were
the key to the understanding and use of languages; and the last four,
Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy marked the beginning of those
sciences of nature which are the basis of our modern material civilization.

This brief reference to the intellectual history of man will show that his
progress has been by a winding stair. He has moved a step at a time, and, from
century to century, in different directions; but when viewed from the vantage
point of our day, his progress is seen to have been, on the whole, an upward one.

It was assumed in ancient times, for reasons that were then thought
adequate, that the winding stairs consisted of fifteen steps.
These reasons are highly poetic and are charged with a deep spiritual significance.

The ancient Hebrews had no system of arithmetical symbols such as we have today.
Numbers were indicated by letters of the alphabet, and the letters which represented
fifteen stood also for the Hebrew name of God.
This detail of the allegory suggests powerfully:

that however slow and difficult the upward movement of mankind may have been, and however varying its direction from time to time, it has been a part of the Divine plan.

The winding stairs, like all the other parts of the building, have spoken the mind of the Divine Architect.

Turning now to the philosophy of Freemasonry we may note that the E.A. stands,
as it were, within the door of the Temple. Like the child, and like primitive man, he must be content for the moment with imperfect knowledge and limited skill.
In the F.C. he mounts the winding stairs & in his ascent he learns more of Freemasonry, of its aims, and of the means through which these are realized.
As he stands in the middle chamber he looks forward to further enlightenment,
and to the increased power that such an enlightenment will give.

He is like the youth with the promise and potency of full manhood still before him.

But he has learned the Masonic counterpart of the truth which a modern poet has sought to apply to human life and to human aspirations as a whole:

“Heaven is not reached by a single bound,
But we build the ladder by which we rise
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies,
And we mount to its summit, round by round.”

Comment
This wonderful paper speaks to the “Spiritual Ascent” taught in the Second Degree,
He has placed an excellent paper before us & I add my congratulations.
Have a wonderful Day & God Bless

Norm

author(s) unknown

One of the most frequently corrected errors experienced in Lodge is the failure of a Warden to raise or lower his column appropriately.

Let an absent-minded Junior Warden forget to lower his column when the lodge is called from refreshment to labour, and many a frantic gesture from the side lines will remind him of his dereliction!

Almost every Brother sitting in the lodge room knows the proper position of the Wardens’ columns during labour or at refreshment, and will hasten to signal a Warden if the emblem of his office is awry.
”Up in the West during labor; down in the West at refreshment. Down in the South during labor; up in the South at refreshment.”
Every Brother knows that simple rule for positioning the Wardens’ columns.

It is generally believed, as stated in Mackey’s Encyclopedia, that the Senior Warden’s column represents the pillar Jachin, while the Junior Warden’s column represents the pillar Boaz, those having been impressive
adornments on the Porch of King Solomon’s Temple.
Their names signify Establishment and Strength.

If asked for a symbolic explanation of these pieces of furniture, the average Craftsman will reply that the Junior Warden’s column represents the pillar of beauty& the Senior Warden’s, the pillar of strength. But what has become of the Worshipful Master’s column???
He represents the pillar of wisdom,
“because it is necessary that there should be wisdom to contrive, strength to support, and beauty to adorn all great and important undertakings.”

Some Brethren will explain further that the Wardens’ columns are miniature
representations of the pillars usually stationed in the West, where at one time both Wardens sat, one in the shade of Boaz, the other in the shade of Jachin. Such an arrangement of the Wardens’ positions may still be found in some European lodges whose rituals have come from Continental sources.

There is no simple explanation of the origin of the Wardens’ columns nor of what they represent. Like much in Masonic ritual, they are the result of some interesting changes; yet all well-informed Brethren will agree that today they are emblematical of the offices of the two Wardens, and represent the authority, of the Senior during labour, and of the Junior while the lodge is at refreshment.

As a matter of fact, the raising and lowering of the Wardens’ columns made their first appearance in Masonic ritual as late as 1760, (well into the period known as Speculative Masonry). The “Three Distinct Knocks” , a well-known expose of Masonic ritual published in London that year, contains the first description of the Wardens’ use of their columns.
Unfortunately, there has been comparatively little written about the Wardens’ columns and their uses to show when they were allocated to those officers, or how and when the raising and lowering of these miniature pillars became a part of the proper procedure in Masonic lodges. It is only from such exposes as those noted above that one can assign an approximate date to the beginning
of the practice.

Curiously, William Preston in various editions of his Illustrations of Freemasonry (1792 – 1804), in the section dealing with Installation, assigns the columns to the Deacons. Since the columns had belonged to the Wardens for at least thirty years earlier, and since many of the Craft lodges in England did not appoint Deacons at all,
Preston must have been in error, or was introducing an innovation, which the passage of time has shown to have failed. Preston also taught that the Senior Deacon’s column was to be raised during labour, and the Junior Deacon’s at refreshment.

To those who like Masonic traditions neat and historically logical, it may be disconcerting to learn that in some lodges the Wardens did not have columns on their pedestals. They had truncheons, whose modern function is to serve
as billy clubs for policemen.
An Irish lodge in the 18th century had a by-law reading:
”there is to be silence at the first chap of the Master’s hammer, and likewise at the first stroke of each Trenchen struck by the Senr and Junr Wardens.”
The Rev. George Oliver
(1782-1867), a prolific writer about Freemasonry, quotes an inventory of a lodge
at Chester, England, in 1761, which includes ”two truncheons for the Wardens.” There are still lodges today which denominate the Wardens’ emblems of authority as truncheons, not columns.

There can be no doubt that the Wardens’ columns are the result of Freemasonry’s
interest in the art of building & of architecture and its allied skills and sciences. The operative masons devoted much time and thought to the design, construction,
and ornamentation of columns and pillars. The orders of architecture were an important body of knowledge with which they were continuously concerned.

The mediaeval cathedral builders, however, attached greater significance to the ancient pillars erected by the children of Lamech than to those on the porch of King Solomon’s Temple. On these ancient pillars were engraved all the then known sciences to preserve them from destruction by fire or inundation. As such, they symbolized the esoteric importance of the knowledge of the builder’s art to be guarded and preserved by faithful craftsmen.

In many of the earliest documents of the Craft, the so-called “Old Charges” or
”manuscript constitutions”, some of which antedate the period. of Speculative
Freemasonry by at least 300 years, those primitive pillars of the sons of Lamech are a part of the “history” of the operative Craft. The Temple of Solomon is inconspicuously mentioned, but the two pillars on the porch of that temple do not appear at all.

It was not until approximately 1700 that King Solomon’s Pillars began to appear in Masonic writing and ritual documents & it also answers two test questions about pillars as follows:
“How many pillars is in your Lodge? Three. What are these? Ye square, the Compas and ye bible.”

Because of the secrecy maintained by Masons about ritualistic matters, it is on the ritual texts of 18th century exposes that we depend for knowledge of the part played by pillars in the development of the Craft’s rituals and ceremonies.

The Grand Mystery of Freemasons Discovered, 1724, mentions the pillars of Solomon’s Temple, but gives them this significance:

they represent the “Strength and Stability of the Church in all ages.”

Samuel Prichard’s Masonry Dissected, 1730, the first expose to reveal a third degree in Masonic ritual, refers to
“Three Pillars” that “support the Lodge .Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty.”
This seems to be the earliest mention of those three virtues symbolized by pillars, which of course had no reference to those in the “Old Charges” or to
those on the Porch of Solomon’s Temple. They were purely symbolic; they had not yet become a part of the lodge furniture.

In those early days of Speculative Masonry, the Wardens’ duties were probably different from those they have now. Some writers believe they had duties similar to those of the Deacons today. They had no pedestals or pillars, because the latter were usually drawn on the floor, or “floor cloth”, to be referred to during ritualistic instruction, but were certainly not then a part of the Wardens’ equipment.

The other interpretation of the Wardens’ columns as representations of Jachin and
Boaz, the two pillars of Solomon’s Temple, was also introduced into Masonic ritual at an early period of Speculative Masonry. Again, it is in the exposes of the early rituals that this development can be traced.

In A Mason’s Examination, 1723, appears this test question: “Where was the first Lodge kept? In Solomon’s Porch; the two Pillars were called Jachin and Boaz.” Nothing, however, establishes a connection between the pillars and the Wardens.
The Grand Mystery, etc. mentioned above also names the two pillars Jachin and Boaz. A number of other such publications in the 1720’s and 1730’s
also identify them by those names.

How miniature representations of Jachin and Boaz came to the pedestals of the Senior and Junior Wardens is still a matter for speculation; obviously it is a part of the variegated development of Masonic ritual in the 18th century.
As symbols of the pillars on the Porch of King Solomon’s Temple, or as
representations of the three principal orders of architecture which the three principal officers of a lodge symbolize, they are to be found in the earliest catechisms and lectures of Speculative Freemasonry.

Undoubtedly, as suggested by contemporary references and illustrations, the pillars soon became artistically designed pieces of furniture to stand in the lodge room as objects for study. There was probably no uniformity of practice in this development. Some lodges had large columns, some small, some drew them on the floor cloth. Some had no pillars at all.

From the creation of such pillars, and from their association with the three principal officers of the lodge. undoubtedly came the columns of the Wardens. They are relics of those earlier larger pieces of lodge furniture. From the traditions of operative craft lodges had lingered the conception of the Senior Warden as the officer in charge of the workmen; his column naturally represented
his authority and superintendence. To give the Junior Warden some similar authority, an imaginative speculative ritualist probably hit on the idea of putting him in charge of
the Craft during refreshment. That idea had been foreshadowed in Anderson’s 1723 Constitutions, Regulation XXIII put the Grand Wardens in charge of the annual Feast.

By 1760, as suggested by the publication of Three Distinct Knocks, the Wardens of a lodge had acquired miniature columns representing the pillars, Jachin and Boaz, which they carried in processions and raised or lowered on their pedestals to indicate whether the lodge was at labour or refreshment. That procedure was apparently confirmed by the
Lodge of Promulgation which paved the way for the union in 1813 of the “Modern” and
”Ancient” Grand Lodges in England.

Thus the raising and lowering of the Wardens’ columns became sanctioned by custom and Grand Lodge approval. It is not a complicated or mysterious symbolic act; it is a simple means
to indicate silently to entering Brethren the status of the lodge.

Since the Junior Warden’s column is erect during refreshment, logic suggests that it be similarly arranged when the lodge is closed, i.e., not at labour. Generally, however, the Wardens’ columns are left just as they happen
to be placed at the time of closing, except in those Jurisdictions whose official ritual has decreed a proper positioning of the Wardens’ columns at closing.

Comment
It is highly unlikely that this paper will be of any interest to the Non Mason &
I am very hopeful that it will be of interest & growth to the Brother who has
Experienced the Fellowcraft Degree.
I thank, you the reader, for any feedback, be it as it will.
Have a wonderful Day & God Bless
Norm