PAST MASTERS

Presented by VWB Ken Ellingson on Nov. 18, 2006

What is a past master and how does he add or distract from Freemasonry?

Past Masters in most cases are a valuable tool Masters may use in the government of a Lodge when requested.

The key word here is when called upon.

But in to many cases we hear the term," That was not the way we or I did it when I was Master."

That is a problem! They are no longer Masters.

Masters of a Lodge should be free to govern their Lodges based on the fact that this is now their turn to govern and not held to standards of the past.

There is no better point to this than a Grand Lodge where Past Masters control the direction of the Grand Lodge and in conjunction also control the Lodges. They are not the Master or Warden yet they control the direction we will travel.

Change is good as long as it does not conflict with the Grand Master or Masters of Lodges when in come to leading us into the future. That is the duty of the elected officers of both Grand Lodge and the Lodges of this Grand Jurisdiction.

In looking back at past Grand Lodge Communications, it is evidence that also most 100% of the legislation that is pasted is past is pasted by the Past Masters present. Should not our direction be guided by the Masters and Warden who are or will be in charge of the Lodge and it's future.

Old ideas of Past Masters may have worked well during their period.

But we must turn over that control today to the new Brethren who may see a brighter way to travel.

In closing, I would like to see the following change to Grand Lodge balloting and voting. Reserve that privilege for Masters and Wardens or their proxies. We have nothing to loose by trying. We may find we have a greater turnout of Master and Wardens when they believe they are setting a better and brighter path for us to follow.