Part of my my job is to "receive and conduct candidates". I performed the best ritual I could last Tuesday. Several people were pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure how I set their expectations so low, but the fact is, I worked like a dog to learn the ritual, including acting as steward at a neighboring lodge.
What went well: I spoke clearly and loudly, and tried to make the words sound as new to me as they are to the audience. I wasn't letter perfect, but I was very close. We had several members from two nearby lodges in the audience.
What needs improvement: I have to suppress the urge to correct the other participants in the ritual, and instead wait for them to work through it. I only "popped" once, and to my shame I was wrong. As a group we have to handle two candidates (yes, there were two for this degree). Some of us used the singular, some the plural. I chose to use the singular, and addressed each brother separately during key moments in the beginning of the ritual.
I had a weird moment in the middle of the degree. James, our Junior Steward, escorted the second candidate, and I escorted the first candidate. The first candidate is the one who was initiated first, and is white. The second candidate is black. So we had a white guy escorting the white guy and a black guy escorting a black guy, and I didn't notice this until... well, let's say I suddenly came to Grip with it in the middle. And it just looked weird. And I'm probably too paranoid.
What's next? Allegan needs help this Saturday with two EAs, so I'll be their steward again. Last time their stewards (Tim and I) forgot a Key Piece of Regalia from the brother being passed, and the WM sent us back right away. During our FC, I did check to make sure our stewards are better than those Allegan guys.
What really sucked:
our first candidate -- who was late to the meeting where his proficiency was tested -- left in the middle of the ritual. First, how could you not want to see the second portion of this degree: it's fantastic. Second, how inconsiderate -- all these people practicing and preparing pages of ritual, and you don't show up? You have something more important to do? Well, I learned something from his actions, so maybe it wasn't a total waste.
3 comments:
Royce, I can probably guess what was forgotten by the preparers. It's the first thing I look for before the degree starts to see that it's in place, after having made the mistake once myself.
I'm at a loss to understand how a candidate can be allowed to leave half way during a degree. The ceremony is not over. He has to stay for all of it. He doesn't have any choice.
http://justamason.blogspot.com
During the intermission, when we expected him to return to lodge, he instead said he had another commitment (health care related) and left.
I'm not sure how we could have kept him there, other than tie him down.
He'll have to finish the degree at another lodge next month.
Another commitment? I suggest that someone suggest to him that he re-examine the obligation he just took, and if he takes it seriously, to commit to Masonry wholeheartedly, and inform the Lodge if a particular evening doesn't work with him. He needs to understand that he cannot just leave, for example, in the middle of the Master Mason Degree which he will be taking next (perhaps).
Here in Oregon I believe it is against the laws of our Grand Lodge to confer "half" of a degree. We are required to do the second or third portion (drama/lecture) on the same day/evening as the degree, even if we have to read the lecture out of the book to do so. I do not know what I would do, or assume, if a candidate removed himself before the next section. I imagine here that we would have to finish the degree without him (to live up to the law, however odd that seems) and then repeat the entire degree over again for him on another evening. I certainly would cause him to re-take the first section regardless of whether it is strictly required, to impress upon him that the degree is a whole ceremony and to cause the lecture to remain pertinent to the degree.
I do like to give people the benefit of the doubt, however. Perhaps the date of the degree conferral was not confirmed with this new brother far enough in advance to allow him to clear his schedule? If this were the case, he would possibly have felt distracted and rushed and not have been in the correct state of mind to benefit properly from being passed to the degree of Fellowcraft, anyway.
Best of luck with this.
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