~ Light vs. Apathy ~

By Jay Adam Pearson
Senior Grand Warden
August 2007

Often after lodge while we are sitting around discussing the work I get asked questions as they relate to the ritual. Now some of these questions are thought provoking, while others cause me to wonder if perhaps there are times we cannot see the forest for the trees. This is my point, we need to do the work correct, and yes masonry in South Carolina is learned mouth to ear not eye to book. One goal we need to set is to mentor not only the newly raised master masons, but the officers as well. A mentoring program will answer many of the questions that arise in the work. The Worshipful Master should not simply assign one of his red books to an officer and then expect him to learn through osmosis. How can we know what a word in the ritual is unless we are taught the correct word? How can we communicate those words unless we look the word up in the dictionary and learn the words? When I count my blessings my thoughts continually go back to my mentors. I consider it an honor to be mentored by M.W. Brother G. Ray Marsh PGM and our Grand Secretary. When I attend Grand Lodge and lodges around our state I can still hear M.W. Brother G. Ray say “Let us file the past year into our memory banks for reference, but let us press on to greater heights, ever bearing in mind that we must be active in the quarries of Freemasonry if our beloved fraternity is to continue to grow and survive”. To my knowledge, M.W. Brother G. Ray is the first Grand Master in South Carolina to have a theme. His theme is even more poignant for the craft today, than when he was our Grand Master. His theme was “Accentuate the Positive”. Perhaps we need to accentuate the positive through communicating the work and not just reciting ritual. Many of the questions I get asked answer themselves if we just look at the work. Here is something to ponder. If a lodge has candles as the lesser lights, what order does the Senior Deacon light the lesser lights in? Does he light the one in the South first or does he light the one in the East first? I have diligently sought an answer to this question and I can find nothing written in the work that will give the craft direction. I have listened to arguments from those that feel the Senior Deacon should start with the light in the East and I have listened from those that feel the Senior Deacon should start with the light in the South. When you have a question concerning the work in South Carolina; you need to consult the committee on Work and Ceremonies and receive the answer. Your committee on Work and Ceremonies has determined each lodge must look at the custom and tradition in each lodge and govern themselves accordingly. I am a member of Inman Lodge #201 and it is our custom for the Senior Deacon to start with the light in the South first. When we look at the work and the lodge is not opened the Junior Warden’s Column is standing up to signify he is in charge of the craft. It is the duty of the Junior Warden to superintend the craft at refreshment. Therefore the Senior Deacon lights the column in the south first, then the West and the East last signifying the Worshipful Master is in his station ready to open and govern his lodge. Thus the column of authority is passed from the Junior Warden to the Worshipful Master. This is our custom and whether the Senior Deacon starts in the South or the East it is your Lodges decision. In the last issue of our Masonic Light I challenged you to keep your eye on the ball. With this in mind Masonry is not about the order in which you light the lesser lights. Masonry is about taking Gods light to a world trapped in the labyrinth of apathy. Masonry has many truths we can apply in our daily lives. It is in the quarry of life where we need to practice masonry, not in the confines of our lodge room. Let each of us pull from our memory banks the lessons and press on to greater heights. So when we leave our lodges let us take the lessons we have learned and “Accentuate the Positive”.

Words of the Month:
Circumambulation: The word is derived from the Latin verb “circumambulare” walking around a central point, which consists of a procession around the altar or some other sacred object. The lodge represents the world and the three principal officers represent the sun at its three principal positions- at rising, at meridian, and at setting. The intellectual symbolism is that the circumambulation and the obstructions at the various points refer to the aspirant and his progress from darkness (ignorance) to intellectual light or TRUTH.

Tiler: The word is derived from “tile”’ the ceramic product used to cover a roof to protect it from the weather. Today we are seeing tiles once again utilized to cover the roofs of houses. The worker that places the tiles is a tiler. The tiler of a lodge “covers” the lodge from intrusion. The tiler needs to guard against the “eavesdropper” and the “cowan”. The eavesdropper climbs up the outside of a building or stands against the outside and listens to the deliberations through the openings between the exterior walls and the roof line. This opening is for ventilation and is called the eaves. Thus he would be hearing the droppings/ deliberations drop from the eaves. The “cowan” (a Scottish term) is a lazy mason who builds walls without mortar or cement, thus he is unskilled.

Quote for the Month: “I long to accomplish a great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker”. Helen Keller

Thought for the Month: Often the one thing that can make a difference between having a day of joy and excitement and a day of gloom and doom is motivation. Motivation is something that we must diligently seek from within our soul. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning…” Lamentations 3:22-23.