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Cimber posted:Whoop! I have my initiation date! on the 28th I get my first degree! I've never seen a booze bottle escape unscathed from a lodge gathering. Congrats ahead of time and you probably shouldn't attend the practice. Check first if you plan to.
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Sep 7, 2016 00:35
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Cimber posted:... Is it appropriate to get a gift for the officers or the lodge? Maybe a bottle of booze or something? Future Junior Grand Deacon spotted. Lovable Luciferian fucked around with this message at 11:22 on Sep 7, 2016 |
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Sep 7, 2016 11:19
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patentmagus posted:I've never seen a booze bottle escape unscathed from a lodge gathering. No, the practice is for them, not me. I am just thinking that since they are doing this extra work for me, i should do something in return. Like getting the lodge a bottle of scotch or gin (or both)
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Sep 7, 2016 12:28
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Cimber posted:No, the practice is for them, not me. I am just thinking that since they are doing this extra work for me, i should do something in return. Like getting the lodge a bottle of scotch or gin (or both) They do all this extra work for everybody that comes in  Congratulations though! It'll be a fun and interesting journey.
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Sep 7, 2016 13:09
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Let there be no mistake tho that any bottles brought in will be appreciated, especially when filled with high grade spirits. It is still a bunch of guys away from their spouses for a bit.
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Sep 7, 2016 13:30
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If you're in the States, don't be offended if they defer it until later at someone's home. A lot of US lodges are dry for no good reason.
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Sep 7, 2016 14:47
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Paramemetic posted:If you're in the States, don't be offended if they defer it until later at someone's home. A lot of US lodges are dry for no good reason. mine isnt. 
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Sep 7, 2016 14:55
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Cimber posted:mine isnt. Lucky guy! (Our solution was to sell part of our building to a good bar) In other news, our first regular meeting back from the summer break was nice. I'm finding that my pockets are beginning to get filled with appendant body applications, though. I received a Scottish Rite and a Tall Cedars application last night, and had to respectfully decline York Rite, due to the whole Jewish ineligibility thing. I'm wary of overextending myself, as my job is fairly demanding, and I'm recently engaged. Not only that, but I'm getting strong hints that I'm a prime candidate for a soon to be vacant JD chair.I'm always eager for more fellowship and brotherhood, of course. What's a good way to prevent burnout?
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Sep 7, 2016 16:30
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Our Grand Lodge either passed or is about to vote on (I can't remember) an amendment saying that non-Masonic functions taking place at temple buildings CAN have alcohol, but actual Lodge functions still CAN'T have alcohol. Ridiculous.
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Sep 7, 2016 16:55
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COOL CORN posted:Our Grand Lodge either passed or is about to vote on (I can't remember) an amendment saying that non-Masonic functions taking place at temple buildings CAN have alcohol, but actual Lodge functions still CAN'T have alcohol. So form a non masonic affiliated social club that rents space from your lodge for the cost of 1 dollar per member per night that the club is open. Said club will be open to the general public, but no one says it has to be advertised to the general public. Then said club is only open on nights that are coinicdentally the nights of a stated meeting.
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Sep 7, 2016 17:46
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COOL CORN posted:Our Grand Lodge either passed or is about to vote on (I can't remember) an amendment saying that non-Masonic functions taking place at temple buildings CAN have alcohol, but actual Lodge functions still CAN'T have alcohol. Worth remembering that some of our brethren are alcoholics in recovery, and the presence of alcohol at lodge functions would make it more difficult to keep both their obligation to sobriety and the lodge.
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Sep 7, 2016 21:11
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Brothers, I don't want to air dirty laundry here, but we had a pretty major (and incredibly petty) York Rite event happen today. I've been debating typing out what happened, but I want to use it as a cautionary tale of what can happen when you let your beef with another brother get out of hand. Basically, it ended in a York Rite reunion (scheduled for today) being shut down at 8am TODAY. All candidates for the degrees were sent home, and all of the $1500 worth of food was driven down to a local homeless shelter. Companions and Sir Knights from all over the state, some of whom had to wake up at 3am just to make it in time, had to turn around and drive back home. All because of a petty beef between two grand line officers. I'm keeping it vague because I don't want this to turn into gossiping, but keep in mind our obligations, brothers. Keep in mind the working tools. For God's sake, work out any problems you have with your fellow brothers. Don't let it affect the craft. Ugh. I've been stewing about this all day - this isn't what Masonry is. And now the candidates won't have great stories to share with other brothers, but rather they'll spread the word of how petty and bad the York Rite is. Ugh.
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Sep 11, 2016 02:33
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COOL CORN posted:Brothers, I don't want to air dirty laundry here, but we had a pretty major (and incredibly petty) York Rite event happen today. I've been debating typing out what happened, but I want to use it as a cautionary tale of what can happen when you let your beef with another brother get out of hand. Basically, it ended in a York Rite reunion (scheduled for today) being shut down at 8am TODAY. All candidates for the degrees were sent home, and all of the $1500 worth of food was driven down to a local homeless shelter. Companions and Sir Knights from all over the state, some of whom had to wake up at 3am just to make it in time, had to turn around and drive back home. All because of a petty beef between two grand line officers. Goodness! That's truly disheartening. I hope that the candidates are able to dissociate this event from the organization as a whole... I'm sorry you had to bear witness to that, Brother. hopefully the officers involved are able to settle their differences...
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Sep 11, 2016 03:46
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Full sympathies, Cool Corn. We had a similar problem for our craft installation recently, and it's always a tragedy to see men let the institution down.
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Sep 11, 2016 13:46
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COOL CORN posted:Brothers, I don't want to air dirty laundry here, but we had a pretty major (and incredibly petty) York Rite event happen today. I've been debating typing out what happened, but I want to use it as a cautionary tale of what can happen when you let your beef with another brother get out of hand. Basically, it ended in a York Rite reunion (scheduled for today) being shut down at 8am TODAY. All candidates for the degrees were sent home, and all of the $1500 worth of food was driven down to a local homeless shelter. Companions and Sir Knights from all over the state, some of whom had to wake up at 3am just to make it in time, had to turn around and drive back home. All because of a petty beef between two grand line officers. My facebook feed has been blowing up about this, but I've been hesitant to call anyone to get the back story. I'm on vacation, dammit. I really feel for the candidates, who had their big day ruined by grown men, who are supposed to be better than this, squabbling like old hens.
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Sep 11, 2016 14:23
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Cholmondeley posted:My facebook feed has been blowing up about this, but I've been hesitant to call anyone to get the back story. I'm on vacation, dammit. Since you're local, IIRC, you can shoot me an email if you want more info. My Gmail address is "ianblake". (Full address left out because of spambots)
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Sep 15, 2016 21:06
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COOL CORN posted:Since you're local, IIRC, you can shoot me an email if you want more info. I think I've heard enough of the details to have a pretty clear picture. I always thought the shrine was where all the misbehavior radiated from, and the York Rite were just sort of mellow, cosplay types, but I may have to rethink my position.
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Sep 16, 2016 02:41
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Sub Rosa posted:Worth remembering that some of our brethren are alcoholics in recovery, and the presence of alcohol at lodge functions would make it more difficult to keep both their obligation to sobriety and the lodge. This has been bothering me for over a week now and I am not sure why. In my lodge is a recovering alcoholic and some three years ago he stood up and made an announcement "My name is M and I am an alcoholic. I want you all to know and I wish to apologize for my past behavior." From that day I never seen him drink anything but soft drinks and juices, but he had no problems joining others in the social gathering. I think that is the issue I have with your statement. As brethren we cannot ask of one to consume alcohol, just as much as one cannot ask his brothers not to consume alcohol. It is a two way street in which we are all equal.
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Sep 16, 2016 07:23
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Good on him for not having any trouble being around people drinking, but that isn't the norm. And asking people to not drink around you isn't the same thing as asking someone not to drink at all. I could see the issue if someone were to walk into a bar and ask everyone to stop drinking for the sake of their sobriety. But this is exactly the reason that I don't think we should make the Blue Lodge a bar.
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Sep 16, 2016 14:43
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It's certainly an interesting issue. On the one hand, in many other countries, as I understand, lodges having a bar is fairly typical. It's not been the case in my lodge, but I do live in the United States, and specifically, in a city that only recently repealed laws prohibiting liquor sales on Sunday. In situations where it's expected that a lodge have a bar, I'd expect that someone interested in the Fraternity would have to contend with that temptation, should they be a recovering alcoholic. However, as a large portion of lodges in the United States are dry, I don't know how I'd feel about them suddenly opening bars, for the reasons Sub Rosa discussed. It is worth considering that, for a recovering alcoholic, coming together in fellowship is a good way to be social and amongst friends without having to contend with battling addiction. I'm not an alcoholic myself, but there's a few recovering in my family. Some of them avoid minor family parties because they'd rather not be faced with that situation. In short, perhaps our lodge could be more fun if it had a bar, but we're not losing any candidates by not having one, and I certainly wouldn't want to lose a Brother by virtue of obtaining one. Fair assessment?
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Sep 16, 2016 23:40
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Old Dirty Cumburgs posted:It's certainly an interesting issue. On the one hand, in many other countries, as I understand, lodges having a bar is fairly typical. It's not been the case in my lodge, but I do live in the United States, and specifically, in a city that only recently repealed laws prohibiting liquor sales on Sunday. In situations where it's expected that a lodge have a bar, I'd expect that someone interested in the Fraternity would have to contend with that temptation, should they be a recovering alcoholic. Yeah, fair enough. It's a little embarrassing to find myself on the dry side of the discussion, but I've never seen a lodge suffer for being dry. That said, if there are a few lodges within driving range then having some dry and others not seems OK, but it's probably better to leave that to the shrine. At least things are consistent and everyone knows what to expect.
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Sep 16, 2016 23:51
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patentmagus posted:Yeah, fair enough. It's a little embarrassing to find myself on the dry side of the discussion, but I've never seen a lodge suffer for being dry. That said, if there are a few lodges within driving range then having some dry and others not seems OK, but it's probably better to leave that to the shrine. At least things are consistent and everyone knows what to expect. Why, are shriners known to bend an elbow or two?
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Sep 17, 2016 01:50
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Cimber posted:Why, are shriners known to bend an elbow or two? It is, in essence, their purpose for existing. That and supporting children and burn victims.
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Sep 17, 2016 02:40
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Where I am, beer is served at the south and we hold those in the same building as the temple. The overall theme is of moderation, though - I usually drink a whole beer and I'm considered to be the heavy drinker of the group. If one of our brethren was known to have a problem with alcohol, I think we'd readily remove the temptation from their table or from the entire place, at least for a while, in order to try and support their recovery.
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Sep 18, 2016 07:50
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Lodges with bars here have to have a license to serve booze, which requires not only a premises license but also a personal license holder to oversee operations and everyone who serves to be specifically trained and recorded. Most do have a bar, though drinking booze prior to a meeting is frowned upon. That comes afterwards, with the harmony. Many do just drink water / tea / soda, but a majority will have whisky/beer/cider/etc in varying amounts.
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Sep 19, 2016 19:50
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I know there are some Greensboro-area goons in here, anyone going to Grand Lodge on Friday/Saturday? I have to be there as a dais officer, would be cool to meet fellow goon brothers.
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Sep 19, 2016 23:08
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I'll be there in the DDGM corral. I'm around from Thursday until Saturday, and would definitely be up for a meetup.
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Sep 20, 2016 03:21
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Now that I switched careers, I no longer have to wear a shirt to work but can come in a sweater or hoodie. It also means I cannot wear cuff links to subtly notify my surroundings so I figured to search the internet. I don't think "tacky" will cover what I found.  Or hilarious: http://hubpages.com/entertainment/Jay-Z-Admits-He-Is-A-Freemason Anyway, can you guys suggest a store? Preferred in Europe because the shipping I can handle but the import tariffs are plain lovely.
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Sep 20, 2016 13:47
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Shopping for Mason gear is tough. You either end up looking like a geriatric, or you end up looking... tacky.
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Sep 20, 2016 13:56
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Keetron posted:Now that I switched careers, I no longer have to wear a shirt to work but can come in a sweater or hoodie. It also means I cannot wear cuff links to subtly notify my surroundings so I figured to search the internet. If I saw someone wearing that I would not only assume they aren't a freemason but I would also assume they might be one of those clowns pretending to be ultra awesome Illuminati. I don't think I would even bother trying the more casual modes of recognition with someone wearing that. In regards to masonic stuff to wear, I take it you're not into jewelry? Edit: gently caress yes! http://www.greekgear.com/masons-fanny-pack.html Lovable Luciferian fucked around with this message at 14:06 on Sep 20, 2016 |
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Sep 20, 2016 14:02
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Lovable Luciferian posted:gently caress yes! Well i's not subtle... but at least it's not overloading symbology And if serves the purpose so win?
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Sep 20, 2016 14:14
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Furia posted:Well i's not subtle... but at least it's not overloading symbology Is there anything more masonic than a fanny pack? I wonder if you could make fanny pack/apron hybrid... In all seriousness the person wearing that is probably a mason and over 70, a mason and a dork, and/or a mason that's the victim of a not so great gift.
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Sep 20, 2016 14:18
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I swear I saw a novelty apron with a flask pouch on the back somewhere.
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Sep 20, 2016 14:31
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All this and nobody is commenting on Jay-Z apparently being a Brother?Lovable Luciferian posted:In regards to masonic stuff to wear, I take it you're not into jewelry? We didn't really pick a date for the wedding, this will likely become a multi-year engagement.
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Sep 20, 2016 16:16
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Keetron posted:All this and nobody is commenting on Jay-Z apparently being a Brother? That's a tough one, a lot of the good subtle gear tends to be ties, cufflinks, and rings. I know my people in my lodge have some tasteful polo shirts and baseball caps... This one from a cursory glance, isn't too bad. Pricey, though, and no clue where it's shipping from. I'm pretty sure our grand Lodge sells merchandise, some of it nice. I don't know if that's the case for other grand lodges.
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Sep 20, 2016 16:41
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Keetron posted:All this and nobody is commenting on Jay-Z apparently being a Brother? I know wrist watches are going the way of the dodo but I think they are classy and there's a lot of options for mason themed watches.
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Sep 20, 2016 17:04
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As a nonmason in the southern us I can say around here a simple square and compass baseball cap seems to be the universal choice of people dressed below business casual.
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Sep 20, 2016 17:29
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I wear this pretty much every day and think it looks great for the cheap price. The emblem is more gold looking than silver like in the photo. It's not very gaudy and it's really durable. My other Masonic ring is an heirloom and I don't like to wear it outside of special lodge functions. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00685IME2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_5Bw4xb8AEMKXQ Emron fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Sep 20, 2016 |
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Sep 20, 2016 17:47
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Keetron posted:All this and nobody is commenting on Jay-Z apparently being a Brother? The Jay-Z illuminati/freemason thing is a pretty old theory, and on top of that I could hardly even look at that website for more than 30 seconds. Ouch my eyes.
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Sep 20, 2016 18:21
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I use a couple of nice pens with our symbol on them, with a nice triangular grip so it can be left on casual display right-side-up. It requires you to have a desk or a job involving paper etc, but it's a subtle way that isn't reliant on formal dress and that you can literally hand to interested parties or people you want to plant the seed in. Get them to sign something and hand them the mason's pen to do it with.
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Sep 21, 2016 06:34
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