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 The Rattling of the Gavel of the
Venerable Master.
Something new happened to
me this month. For nearly 10 years I
was the hired help who was appointed to my position, not elected. Wednesday March 7, 2007 I was elected as
Thrice Puissant Grand Master of the Valley of Bellingham. I knew that that is what they called the
Master of the Lodge of Perfection in the Canadian Lodges of Perfection but
is wasn’t until I did some searching in a couple of books printed by the
Supreme Council that I found out that is the formal name of the Master of
the Lodge of Perfection in the Southern Jurisdiction. We commonly use the term Venerable
Master.
I’ve been doing a lot of
talking to my elders in the Scottish Rite and a little reading trying to
discover the secret to being a successful Venerable Master. The answers are not easy to find just
like the answers to being a just and upright Mason are not easily
found. A man could spend a lifetime
searching for the answer and only find some clues, the answer is elusive
and different for every man.
My personal goal for my
year as Venerable Master will be to expend a lot of energy seeking the
answers as to what makes a successful Venerable Master and what will make a
successful Valley.
One thing that my years
of life have taught me is that successful leaders empower others to be
successful. One of my goals this
year is to have four successful Masters in the Valley. That means that you will be seeing all
four masters in the east with a gavel in their hand this year.
On another subject, I
have been giving some thought to dress in the Lodge of Perfection. Historically we have worn a
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dark sport coat or suit to stated meetings in the Bellingham
Lodge of Perfection. However, in my
church were I would have never thought of wearing a sport shirt and no tie
20 years ago now if you wear a tie you look a little out of place and there
are lots of folks wearing jeans. I
think my church found that formal dress doesn’t make the man, actions
do. The world has changed but the
Lodge of Perfection has stood still on this issue.
So, effective immediately the dress code for
meetings of the Lodge of Perfection will be casual. I would prefer that we all wear the red
Scottish Rite shirts that Don Higgerson, 32°KCCH designed when he was
General Secretary but a sweatshirt and jeans will be acceptable.
The Masters will, from time to time, set dress
codes for events like the Remembrance and Renewal dinner that the Wise
Master decided is formal dress and surely we will dress for special events
like degrees and visitations.
It is my hope that this will be a year of fun and
Masonic Education in the Valley
of Bellingham. Another of my goals is to have meetings
where we learn something about the Scottish Rite and the lessons the Rite
has for seeking out what makes a good man better. Scottish Rite Masonry is all about being
the college
of Masonic Education. In a college the search for the truth and
what makes good men better never ends.
In closing, I like to say that was the Scottish
Rite is really all about is enjoying meetings and having fellowship. My most important goal this year is
having meetings that members want to come to and enjoy. If you have any thoughts on how to
accomplish this goal I’d like to hear them.
Steve Cronkhite, 32°KCCH
Venerable Master 2007
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