The Stonecutters Song:
from the Simpsons
Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do!
Who leaves Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the martians under wraps?
We do! We do!
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do!
Who robs the cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscars night?
We do! We do!
Arcadia Lodge had a stated meeting last night. I know that some people think that we actually do things like the song above from the Simpsons but we don't. We read minutes (by passing them around. Listen to communications, make motions, debate them, make announcements and other mundane things like that. Our meetings are usually efficient and done in good time. We had a nice meal served by the Order of the Amaranth and coffee and ice cream after the meeting. The Secretary has a lot to do to get ready for the meeting and when you have that meeting and another big one looming on Saturday you have a lot to do. I feel like I have been on this bridge all week.
The real "business" of freemasonry takes place when we do degree work and to do that we have to have petitions. Last night we received a petition. The petition is referred to a committee of three who will meet with the candidate and ask him questions. Sometimes these are of a personal nature but that is as it should be. Masons need to be careful about the type of person we let throgh the "West Gate." He must believe in a Supreme Being and he is generally not someone with a criminal background. He must be abe to support himself and family and understand that Masonry is not a benefit society. Next month the Committee assigned to investigate him will report and we will vote on him. If everyone in the Lodge votes in favor he will start on the three ceremonies which will make him a Mason.
No goats are ridden on our ceremonies. They are impressive and very serious. We sometimes joke about "riding the goat" and everybody has heard about giving someone the "third degree" but the actual fact of the matter is that it is a solemn and sublime ceremony designed to impress truths on the candidate and "make him a Mason." But that is just the beginning. Being with a person's Brothers and bonding with them and participating in activities, helping each other out - bonds us into a "society of friends and brothers among whom no contentions should ever exist except that noble contention or rather emulation of who best can work and best agree."
So aside from what people think we do in actuality what happens is much more important than what the song says and if you think about it, we really do do important things. Just not the things that the profane think we do. We do enjoy the jokes as much as others do...It is just that we know the truth!
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