North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/5194
Page 4 The North Carolina Mason July/August 2009
AMENDMENTS, from page 1
PIG JIG, from page 1
While every Mason in the state is invited, only the master and
wardens of your lodge, or their official proxies, may vote during
business sessions. ey'll join the same officers of the other lodges
around the state. e other voters are committeemen and officers
of the Grand Lodge and its districts. Workshops and commit-
tee meetings held before the official sessions will be at the Twin
City Quarter on ursday, September 24. e Lodge Secretary's
Workshop will be held there that ursday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
and will feature a training session on the new lodge software —
MORI, Masonic Online Registry Interface.
All voting sessions will be held in the Twin City Quarter's
Grand Pavilion Friday and Saturday, September 25–26. Lodge
officers are asked to bring and wear their aprons for all busi-
ness sessions.
Please do not mail your credentials to the Grand Lodge of-
fice. You must present them at the registration desk to receive
ballots and other essential information. You may register at the
delegates should vote in the best interests of your lodge and all
Masonry after hearing all discussion.
e exact wording and changes on the amendments is in the
hands of your lodge secretary and on the Grand Lodge web site,
www.grandlodge-nc.org.
Group 1
After discovering that a couple of lodges were allowing can-
didates to deliver less that the full catechism during examination,
the Board of Custodians is asking us to make the wording in e
Code more explicit.
Group 2
e Board of Custodians is also asking that e Code be brought
into more explicit alignment with the general rules of the OSW.
is change specifically addresses the junior deacon's station be-
ing filled at all times.
Group 3
e procedures for excluding members who do not pay their
dues were modified and simplified about five years ago. is
change, suggested by the grand secretary, fixes references missed
during that original change.
Group 4
e use of alcohol in Masonic facilities has been presented to
Grand Lodge previously. It has been modified in an attempt to
make it safer and more palatable. It is sponsored by several urban
lodges. Alcohol was part of Masonry for many years. It early times
lodges often met in pubs where dinner and a few drinks were part
of the fellowship. at is still the case in much of the world. e
temperance movements here helped push us to a ban all forms of
potentially intoxicating beverages at any lodge function. We went
a step further by banning it in any Masonic building, even when
used by non-Masons. Many still harbor distrust of such drinks
and wish them banned everywhere, not just lodges. ey often see
the use as a slippery slope that inevitably leads to drunkenness.
Many of our lodges believe that they would be better able to
rent their facilities if alcohol could be served by renters. e ex-
ample most frequently mentioned is the wedding reception where
the bride and groom wish to celebrate with a toast. Some lodges
believe they are missing out on thousands of dollars in income by
not allowing drink in moderation. is amendment would not
require any lodge to rent for such purposes, nor would it auto-
matically allow it by those desiring to do so.
ere are two variations ready for presentation.
Both would require that a lodge amend its bylaws to allow al-
cohol use in their facility. Amending lodge bylaws requires discus-
sion and a vote in favor by two-thirds majority. It would further
require proof of proper and defined liability insurance. Permission
of the grand master would also be necessary.
e substitute amendment, to be voted on first would allow
lodges to hold Masonic Festive Boards, a dinner meeting in which
toasts are made with alcoholic beverages. ey are common in
many jurisdictions.
If the substitute fails, the original will be voted on. It would
allow alcohol, but at non-Masonic functions only.
Group 5
e lodges of the 13
th
Masonic District want us to amend e
Code to allow Masonic funerals for entered apprentices and fel-
lows craft. Opponents say qualifying for a Masonic funeral is one
of the things that gets men to finish their degrees. ey say it is
the way things have been done for years.
ose in favor point to several things in replying. ey say that
a stroll through old cemeteries will reveal the square and com-
passes on tombstones denoting all three degrees, not master Ma-
son only. ey further cite our portion of the first degree when we
tell the new entered apprentice that the apron we give him then is
for his Masonic funeral, a promise that we cannot always follow
through on given current law.
In the last year, there have been a number of cases of entered
apprentices dying while working on their degrees. It is difficult to
explain the subtleties of Masonic law when a family is told that
they may not have a Masonic burial of their proud entered ap-
prentice or fellow craft Mason.
Group 6
e Code defines when the Board of General Purposes (the
grand master's advisory board) must have its quarterly meetings.
is alteration would bring that schedule into alignment with
current practice since the changing of Annual Communication
and Grand Lodge installation dates.
Group 7
ese changes are housekeeping issues brought about by
changes made over the last several years. ere are almost always
references missed when the original alteration is made. ese ref-
erence changes in the annual communication dates for lodges.
Group 8
e Code makes certain requirements in terms of lodge record
keeping. With the extensive use of computers that we now en-
joy, these rules need a little updating. ese allow primary record
keeping on computer and define which and how printed copies
must be made available.
Group 9
A one point in time, criminal background checks by Masonic
investigating committees were as easy as a phone call to a lodge
member in law enforcement. is is no longer the case as gov-
ernmental agencies would rarely allow this today. is amend-
ment would allow the Grand Lodge to negotiate a price with a
commercial investigating group to report on all applicants un-
dergoing investigation. is price should be significantly lower
than regular rates.
If you have questions about any of the proposed changes to
e Code, contact the grand secretary's office at