“You’ve seen where we meet and you’ve met the two of us. Are there any other questions we can answer while you’re here this afternoon?” The Lodge’s Master knew full well that the minute the young man left the building a thousand questions would pop into his mind. While they were standing right there outside the storage room door where the Old Webmaster was comfortably ensconced, it seemed the perfect time to address concerns.
“Have you two known each other very long?” Now there was a question the Lodge’s Master never anticipated. Usually questions about dues, religion, etc. were tops on everyone’s list. “I’ve known our Webmaster for about 7-8 years now. We first met when, like you, I came to the Lodge for a tour. He was sitting up here with his laptop which, back then, was about 10 times bigger than the one he now uses.” The memory of that first meeting was still fresh. It was a pivotal point in his life. Although his children were still young, he wanted to be part of an organization that fostered family values and he was somehow motivated both by the ‘making good men better’ phrase that he’d seen as well as the many famous men in history who’d been a part of the organization. “It was this man who got me started on the path to where I am today. I consider him a very close personal friend.”
“I’ve gained the weight the laptop has lost.” came a voice from the dimly lit room. The Old Webmaster didn’t miss a trick….
“But you refer to him by his title. And he refers to you as ‘Worshipful’. It seems odd for friends to not use names. Is that something that Masons always do?” The friendship between the two men, clearly separated in age by at least a generation, seemed genuinely sincere. More than that, it was respectful. This was something that the young man hadn’t seen very often and it really intrigued him. They showed deference to one another but their voices reflected a clear sense of trust and closeness.
The chair in the storage room squeaked again. “I sense your question is more than just that, is it not?” asked the Old Webmaster in a gentle, encouraging voice.
“Well, I guess it is. He refers to you as ‘our Webmaster’ or ‘Brother Webmaster’ while you refer to him as ‘Worshipful’ or ‘our Master’. I guess I just thought that the senior person….” but even as he spoke the words, he realized that he wasn’t quite sure WHAT he thought.
“I suppose there are a lot of answers for that.” said the Old Webmaster. He paused, realizing there wasn’t a simple, pat answer. “There’s no specific format that Masons use when speaking to each other except when we’re in the lodge room engaged in the ritual portion of our work. In those cases, the ritual that we use dictates who says what to whom and what forms of address are used. From that, though, we often pick up cues that then ‘lap over’ as it were into our other interactions. The Master of a Lodge is much like the president of any organization. He’s been elected and he runs the meeting. We refer to him as ‘Worshipful Master’ or, simply, ‘Worshipful’ when we’re addressing him directly. It’s not – as he’ll quickly point out – that we worship him….”
“I’ve tried to get them to do that without very much success!” the Master quickly interjected. There were grins and chuckles all around. It was hard for the young man to make sense of why there were those on the Internet who railed about this phraseology. He was in England last year when he’d read about the ‘Worshipful Lord Mayor of…’ but his reverie was quickly broken.
The Old Webmaster was still chuckling as he added, “As you may have read on the internet, the term actually comes from times past and is used by Masons for the title holder of the office. Because we’re here in the Lodge building, it’s really a normal thing because we’re used to doing it that way. Were we to meet in the supermarket, I’d still refer to him that way if there was no one else around but I’d call him by his given name if anyone was in earshot. Being Master of a lodge is quite an honor. He has a LOT more authority than the leader of any other organization. However, as any wise Master will tell you, each time someone uses your title, it reminds you that you have a duty and an obligation to ‘do the right thing’. Whenever someone calls our Lodge’s Master on the phone and says, “Hey, Charlie….”, it’s a LOT different than when someone calls and begins by saying, “Worshipful Master….” For the person holding the office, it snaps your head around and makes you pause.”
“But haven’t you been Master of a Lodge too?” the young man asked.
The Old Webmaster chuckled yet again. “Here’s where it gets even more confusing. Once you’ve been elected to the office of Master, your title – from then on and forever among Masons – is ‘Worshipful’, unless you become a Grand Lodge officer when you may earn some other honorific. A Master as well as a Past Master is entitled to the title ‘Worshipful’ forever after. However, ONLY the presiding Master of a Lodge will be addressed as ‘Worshipful Master’. It’s the title PLUS the name of his office. If you’re holding another office, even though it might be junior to that of Master, you’ll normally be addressed with the title of that office. ‘Brother Secretary’ or ‘Brother Treasurer’ for example, although it’s pretty common that both men will be Past Masters and you could just as easily say ‘Worshipful’ to which they’d reply. I know that’s a bit confusing but you’ll see it in operation soon.”
“I guess it’s all just foreign to me because I’m not a member yet.” How many titles do they have? The young man thought he might ask that as well but it seemed unimportant at this point in time.
“And you too have a title now, my friend. We’ll be referring to you as a Candidate just as soon as you submit your petition.” The Old Webmaster’s voice seemed filled with pride – and yet, they’d just met an hour before. It was a pride all three men there that afternoon felt.
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