From the Worshipful Master

Masonry attracts men from all walks of life, and at all stages of life. While we talk, in our rituals, about these stages, it is not uncommon for men to come to the craft, not in their youth, but in their middle age, or even advanced years.

In Arizona, a man may join the fraternity at 18 years old, but I have met brothers who were in their thirties and forties, or later, when they joined. A 100-year-old member of our lodge told me, in 2015, that he became a Mason in the 1960s; he would have been in his mid-forties or early fifties, I believe.

But while some Masons may be well-versed in life, it does not mean they are well-versed in Masonry. A newly-made brother knows little about the fraternity. Though he is given some instruction, it is primarily during his initiation, and often hard to recall when needed.

Whether an apprentice is young or old, it should be a service that every master offers, to aid him in understanding Masonry, in what to do and how to do it, even in what the apprentice can do as he gains experience in Masonry, and makes his way to the rank of master. Many men do not know what is available to them as they grow in Masonry, and a friend and brother who can aid a man in knowing what he can do to serve or aid others can be a great boon. A brother who can tell you—gently—what you did wrong and the correct way to do a thing can be worth years of experience. Learning requires teaching.

So remember that though your new brother might be older than you in years, he may be young in Masonry, and it is a service, and, indeed, your duty, as his brother, to help him in his walk.

Bryan Bullock
Worshipful Master

From the Senior Warden

Wayfarer’s #50 is a relatively young Lodge in general. Most of our entire officer’s line are de-facto graduates of our monthly education night. I remember most of our officer’s line being raised to the sublime degree of Master mason shortly after I became a Master Mason in the middle of 2013.

My profession is as a Registered Nurse. I have had the experience to work in a variety of settings and medical facilities in Arizona. As I have traveled to different places, I found that some units that I work on are very user friendly and some are not in terms of finding things that I need and so forth. Some places I receive and orientation to the unit, and others I get thrown into without any explanation whatsoever. One phrase that I have come to repeat in my head, and sarcastically out loud is “if only someone took 5 seconds out of their lives to explain this to me, it would have saved me 30 minutes of time wasting.”

Some of the troubles I have had in new medical units are just basis things can be solved with a few seconds of explanation. I have noticed many similarities with the fraternity of Fee and Accepted Masons. There is a great deal amount literature, ritual to memorize and perform, how to operate and run a Lodge, appendant bodies, traditions, customs, traveling, etiquette etc. I would admit most of these things are not intuitive; they just require a t least a brief explanation.

My Brothers, I want us to be mindful of our younger Brothers. This could mean our Brothers younger in age, but I mostly mean our younger Masonic Brothers. Some things require a few seconds and maybe a few minutes of our time to explain how things work. The fraternity is huge and even now I feel I am scratching the surface. When I teach in our monthly education nights, I often think about things that just require explanation, and give the appropriate explanation. This is what we, as Masonic coaches try to do as well. As Masonry has its own culture, the job of the coaches is to socialize our candidates so as to be familiar with the customs and traditions.

I want to encourage all of us to be patient with our fellow Brothers. Sometimes all that is required is a simple explanation.

Christopher Huson
Senior Warden

From the Junior Warden

Supporting our newer brethren is an extremely important care of the lodge and its brothers. Putting aside the obvious necessity of keeping up with study, it’s often forgotten that introduction to a brand new environment, surrounded by new faces, can be hard to adjust to. Besides the particular brothers that new members already know, their new lodge is going to be full of unfamiliar people, and certainly more than one Mason over the years has ceased attending because they felt out of place or not entirely welcome. Brothers don’t have to be rude or unwelcoming to cause this; it can happen simply because we don’t notice or don’t bother to talk to the new guy. We just talk to the people we’re used to week after week, never venturing a welcoming hand to a face we don’t recognise, brother or no.

So brothers, greet a new face in the lodge with a handshake and a smile. It matters not if they’re a visiting Master, new brother, or some curious dude off the street. Good men made to feel welcome become brothers, and brothers who feel like they belong stick around to become lifelong friends.

Cameron Smith
Junior Warden