Annual Election of Lodge Officers

Right Worshipful Doug
It’s coming to that time of the year again the Election of Officers. Could you point me to chapter and verse on the subject of Election of Officers? The question keeps coming up, do we nominate candidates or not?

The election of lodge officers is an annual event, specified in the lodge bylaws. The mechanics of the election are governed by a few sections of the Minnesota Masonic Code and quite a bit of lodge tradition. Tradition holds that the Master of the lodge appoint a committee of three (usually Past Masters) to serve as a Tellers Committee.

Below you will find the specific references from the Minnesota Masonic Code dealing with the election of lodge officers. The question about nominations being permitted is a perennial question and that change is one many members are uninformed about. About fifteen years ago the Minnesota Masonic Code was mended by the insertion of the words, “except that at the time of election of officers, formal nominations are permitted” into the UnMasonic Conduct section of the Code, so where it previously said it was unMasonic conduct: “To solicit votes for election of Lodge Officers, even outside the Lodge Hall, at any time or place.” And that effectively prohibited nominations. But with the change from several years ago it now expressly permitted nominations, but did not require them.

Section C9.06 ... In case a Lodge fails to hold its annual election at the regular time, the same may be held later upon a dispensation from the Grand Master and upon like notice to all its members.
SECTION C2.03 The following are enumerated from the Ancient Constitutions as having the force of Ancient Landmarks of the Fraternity, having been generally received and acknowledged by Masons as such:
...
(14) That no one can be elected Master of a chartered Lodge, except at its first election, but a Master Mason who shall have served as a Warden.
SECTION G13.16 The three (3) recognized methods of voting are:
(a) The secret ballot - upon all petitions for degrees, affiliation, reinstatement or restoration.
(b) The written ballot - for election of officers.
...
SECTION G6.03 Beside violation of Section C8.01, of the Constitution, the following specific acts shall be deemed unmasonic conduct and shall render the offender subject to discipline.
...
(o) To solicit votes for election of Lodge Officers, even outside the Lodge Hall, at any time or place, except that at the time of election of officers, formal nominations are permitted.
SECTION G13.28 Blank ballots and those cast for other than eligible members of the Lodge in good standing are void and must not be considered or counted in announcing the result either of an election or otherwise.

So the short answer is absolutely yes, nominations are permitted at the time of the annual election of officers.
Doug

Ancients and Moderns Today?

My older son is thinking of joining a lodge and going through the degrees in California, which, I understand, is a "Free and Accepted Mason" state, not an AF and AM state. Can you explain the difference? Would his degrees be recognized in Minnesota, for instance? Would there be a problem, if I wanted to participate in his raising? Are F and AM masons "clandestine"?

Historically, I think this goes back to the formation of the first Grand Lodge in England when there was a schism for about fifty years and one group called itself the "Ancients" and the other group the "Moderns." This was about the time that Masonry came to the colonies and some came as Ancients and some as Moderns. They merged back together to form the United Grand Lodge of England and that was pretty much the end of the distinction. But by then some Grand Lodges over here had started using the A. F. & A. M. designation and some using the F. & A. M. designation. Michigan is F. &. A. M. as is Wisconsin, California, New York, Ohio and several other states. Minnesota is A. F. & A. M. as is Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and several other states. For us out here west of the colonies, I think it had to do with where the first masons came from and what they had back at home.
Today, there really is no distinction between the two other than the historical designation difference and the rituals of the two are largely interchangeable. So as long as your son is joining a lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of California, F. & A. M., with their Grand Lodge office located in San Francisco, then you would be welcome at the degrees and any of their lodge meetings. They are a recognized sister jurisdiction and not considered to be clandestine to those of us under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. But there are many clandestine Grand Lodges operating in California so you would want to be sure that your son joins a lodge listed in the List of Lodges Masonic, a book published annually by Pantagraph Press. The Grand Lodge of Minnesota mails a copy to every Minnesota lodge once a year so your lodge secretary should have the book.
By the way, congratulations on your son starting his Masonic journey, a proud day for any Mason.
Doug

Restoration of a Member Previously Suspended for Nonpayment of Dues

How does a former member who was dropped for nonpayment of dues get reinstated as a member in good standing?

The general procedure for restoration is that the Brother completes a petition for restoration in his former lodge (Petition form for Affiliation, Dual Membership or Restoration, http://www.mn-masons.org/sites/mn-masons.org/files/Petition%20for%20Affiliation.pdf) and attaches his check for the current year’s dues and the total of the dues that caused him to be dropped for NPD. So if a man was dropped in 1980, he would probably owe two or three years from 1978-1980 and the current year’s dues. He does not need to pay for all intervening years while he was suspended. Then the petition follows the normal course, being read at one stated meeting for the first time and balloted on at a subsequent stated meeting. The decision as to whether or not to have the petition investigated is up to the lodge.
Should a Brother wish to be restored just so that he can affiliate with a different lodge than the one from which he was suspended, then the process can be simplified by the use of a certificate of nonaffiliation. The certificate of nonaffiliation can be obtained by the brother upon payment of the dues which caused him to be dropped from the lodge. Then with that certificate in hand, he is free to petition a new lodge for affiliation, just as any member currently in good standing would do.
Doug

Per capita? Raising fees?

From a new lodge Secretary:
What is the amount per brother raised for the per capita we owe Grand Lodge?

We may be talking about two different things. The per capita for every lodge member is $29.00 per year regardless of when the member was raised. The per capita is calculated on the annual report form, due next January 15th. A new member shows up on the annual report one year and then the following year is the first time the per capita is paid on him.
But there are also two one time only special assessments for every new member, $5.00 for the support of the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia and $12.50 for the Help, Aid and Assist Fund, part of our Grand Lodge Benevolence Fund. These two fees, totaling $17.50 are generally referred to as the "raising fees" and are due in the Grand Lodge office two weeks after the new member is raised to the Master Mason Degree.

Minnesota Mason Newspaper Schedule

As the Minnesota Mason Newspaper is published through the Grand Lodge office, we get quite a few inquiries about the paper's schedule and the deadlines to get a story or photo into the paper.
The Minnesota Mason Newspaper is published six times a year:
January - February
March - April
May - June
July - August
September - October
November - December
The deadlines for submitting stories and photos do not change from one issue to the next but rather they always follow this general schedule:
The general deadline for a given issue is the 1st of the odd numbered months and the absolute drop dead date is the tenth of the odd month. If the paper is full with the material submitted by the first, then it gets ready to go to the printer. If it is not full then we go looking for articles and photos to get it completed by the tenth. Then with editing time and getting it ready to go to the printer, we should have it on the press between the 20th and the 25th, thereby having the finished paper in your mailbox no later than the last day of the odd numbered months.
If you have a story or photo that you would like to submit, please send it to the Grand Lodge office via e-mail and we will do our best to get it into an upcoming issue.

The Ancient Landmarks

Dear Brother Grand Secretary,
I am doing some research on the the Ancient Landmarks adopted in the United States and England and I could not find when the 26 Landmarks of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota were established. Please, could you give me a little history on their origin in Minnesota.

The Grand Lodge of Minnesota was formed in February 1853. Our constitution published as an addendum to the Proceedings of the convention establishing the Grand Lodge of Minnesota enumerated 26 ancient landmarks, each of which is substantially the same as the 26 ancient landmarks contained in our constitution today. So while I cannot tell you definitively where our ancient landmarks originated, I can tell you that they are as old as the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. As the Grand Lodge of Minnesota was formed by three lodges in 1853, one from the Grand Lodge of Ohio, one from the Grand Lodge of Illinois and one from the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, one might assume that our 26 landmarks might have come from one of these three grand jurisdictions. But a quick reading of the publication published by the Masonic Service Association in Silver Springs, Maryland, “Ancient Landmark of Freemasonry, as adopted followed or undecided by the fifty-one Grand Lodges of the the United States” does not seem to indicate any similarity between our 26 ancient landmarks and the ancient landmarks of those three grand jurisdictions today. It would take more research by an interested party to know whether one or all those three grand jurisdictions have substantially changed their enumeration of the landmarks over the past 156 years, but I can tell you that ours have not changed substantially in that same time frame. Every one of the subjects of the 26 landmarks in 1853 is still the same subject of that landmark today, although in some cases their have been word changes to them.
I don’t know if you are familiar with the Masonic Service Association publication that I refer to above, but if you are a student of this subject then you really should have a copy. It was originally published in 1932 and updated several times over the years, most recently in 1983.
I thank you for your interest. Below you will find the 26 ancient landmarks of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota as they exist today.

Doug Campbell,
Grand Secretary

SECTION C2.02 The Ancient Landmarks are those principles of Masonic government and policy which are among the parts of Masonic law or rules of government that may never be altered or disturbed, as, for instance, the universal language of Masons, and those peculiar marks of distinction by which they are separated from the profane, and by which they are enabled to prove themselves as the "Sons of Light."

SECTION C2.03 The following are enumerated from the Ancient Constitutions as having the force of Ancient Landmarks of the Fraternity, having been generally received and acknowledged by Masons as such:

1. That belief in the Supreme Being, "The Great Architect of the Universe," who will punish vice and reward virtue, is an indispensable prerequisite to admission to Masonry.
2. That the moral law which inculcates charity and probity, industry and sobriety, and obedience to law and civil government, is the rule and guide of every Mason, to which strict conformity is required.
3. That obedience to Masonic law and authority, being voluntarily assumed, is of perpetual obligation.
4. That the rites and ceremonies (which include the unwritten language) of the true system of the Ancient York Rite, and which constitute a part of the body of Masonry, are immutable, and that it is not in the power of any man to make innovations therein, except when in Grand Lodge convened.
5. That contentions and lawsuits between Brethren are contrary to the laws and regulations of Masonry.
6. That charity is the right of a Mason, his widow and orphans, when poor and destitute, to demand, and the duty of his prosperous brother to bestow.
7. That Masonic instruction is, like charity, a reciprocal right and duty of Masons.
8. That to visit Masonicly is an inherent right of Masons, but no visitor shall be received into a Lodge if any member present objects.
9. That a candidate for Masonry must be a man of mature age, free born, of good report, hale and sound, having no maim or defect in his body that may render him incapable of learning the art and physically able to conform substantially to what the several degrees of Masonry respectively require of him. If a candidate is unable to so comply with the physical requirements, he shall nevertheless be eligible to receive the degrees of Masonry, if, after favorable action by the Constituent Lodge, his petition for degrees, accompanied by a detailed report of the nature and extent of his disabilities, is approved by the Grand Master.
10. That the Grand Master may make Masons at sight, and may grant a dispensation to a Lodge for the same purpose, but in all other cases a candidate must be proposed in open Lodge, at a Stated Communication and can only be accepted at a Stated Communication following, by the scrutiny of a secret ballot, and a unanimous vote, and must pay a fixed price before admission.
11. That it is the duty of every Mason to be a contributing member of some Lodge.
12. That a Mason who is not a member of a Lodge is still subject to the disciplinary power of Masonry.
13. That the Master and Wardens of every chartered Lodge are of right and inalienably representatives in, and members of, the Grand Lodge.
14. That no one can be elected Master of a chartered Lodge, except at its first election, but a Master Mason who shall have served as a Warden.
15. That every Mason must be tried by his peers; hence, the Master cannot be tried by his Lodge.
16. That no appeal to the Lodge can be taken from the decision of the Master, or the Warden occupying the chair in his absence.
17. That Masonic intercourse with a clandestine, suspended or expelled Mason is a breach of duty and an offense against Masonic law.
18. That a restoration of the privileges of Masonry by the Grand Lodge does not restore to membership in a Constituent Lodge.
19. That the failure of a Lodge to meet for one (1) year is cause for the forfeiture of its charter.
20. That it is the duty as well as the right of every chartered Lodge to be represented in the Grand Lodge at its communications.
21. That this Grand Lodge has supreme and exclusive jurisdiction, as exercised, within its territorial limits, over all matters of Ancient Free and Accepted Masonry, and accepts the right of the Grand Lodge of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of Minnesota as having supreme and exclusive jurisdiction over matters pertaining to that Grand Lodge.
22. That no appeal lies from the decision of the Grand Master in the chair, or the Deputy Grand Master or Grand Warden, occupying the chair in his absence.
23. That the office of the Grand Master is always elective, and should be filled annually by the Grand Lodge.
24. That the Grand Lodge, composed of its officers and representatives, must meet at least once in each year, to consult and act concerning the interests of the Fraternity in its jurisdiction.
25. That all officers of the Grand Lodge or Constituent Lodge must be Master Masons.
26. That no subject of sectarian or political character can be discussed in a Lodge, and any Mason proposing such a subject renders himself liable to the disciplinary action of the Lodge.

Items for the Grand Lodge Website Calendar?

Hello Grand Lodge,
How can we get our lodge's events on the Grand Lodge website calendar?
Thanks, A Brother.

We welcome postings of lodge special events such as degree work, table lodge events, anniversary celebration, just about any event other than stated communications. Other Masonic related bodies are also welcome to post their special events too. Any lodge or other Masonic body can add items to the Grand Lodge calendar anytime, just go to the calendar page, http://www.mn-masons.org/calendar and in the upper right corner you will see a link “Submit your event.” Follow that link and you get a few brief instructions on a page where you simply fill in the information for your event. Each event must be approved before it is posted and that process takes place behind the scenes, automatically, usually within 24 hours.

Please pay particular attention to the date and time formats; the date must be entered in exactly this format mm/dd/yyyy and if you use anything else it won’t take it. Same on the time formats, they must look like this: 06:00PM or 09:30AM
Doug

Special Dispensation for Summer Degree Work?

Good morning R. W. Brother Doug,
Since our Lodge has gone dark for the summer months, do we need special Dispensation from the Grand Master to hold a First Degree later this summer? If so can you get us the dispensation?
Thanks in advance.


Hello W. Brother Secretary,
Even though a lodge traditionally goes dark for the summer months (or in some cases in the winter months), you do not need a special dispensation from the Grand Master to do degree work. Degree work is one of the defined purposes for which a special communication of the lodge may be called by the W. Master at any time, with the exception of Sundays. So presumably the Master wants to call this particular special communication for the purpose of putting on the Entered Apprentice Degree and no further permission from the Grand Master is needed.
Doug

By-law Changes

RWB Doug,
As a follow up to a conversation we had about a month ago about us possibly changing our by-laws to raise the application and degree fees, we have the following questions:

1. Does this require approval from the Grand Lodge.
2. If so, what is the protocol (i,e, between the first reading and second or before ever officially presented) and is there a specific format to use?

Thanks,
L.P.


Dear W. Brother L. P.
Once you have the bylaw changes ready to submit, it must be proposed in writing at a stated meeting of your lodge. If it is approved at that time by the majority of those present, then it is sent to the Grand Lodge office. We get it approved by a member of the Jurisprudence committee and send it back back to the lodge, with a cover letter containing some additional instructions. The lodge then reads it at the subsequent stated meeting and takes no action. Then the lodge publishes a copy to all of the members telling them that a final vote will be taken at the third of this three stated meeting process. At that time, if the change is approved by 2/3 majority then it is sent back to the Grand Lodge office for the Grand Master’s final approval.
The actual Minnesota Masonic Code language is below.
So the short answer is yes, the change does need to be approved by Grand Lodge, using the procedure outlined here.
Doug

Here is the section from the Minnesota Masonic Code dealing with bylaw changes:
SECTION G13.32 Neither by-laws of Constituent Lodges nor amendments thereto shall be effective unless approved by the Grand Master and should follow the suggested form in the Masonic Handbook for "Forms and Petitions." They, or any part of them, may be amended at any Stated Communication, but only in the following manner:

(a) Any proposed change must be in writing, by Article and Section, and read to the Lodge a first time. If the Lodge favors the change, it must be by a majority vote of those present.

(b) After it has been read and a majority vote favors the change, the Lodge Secretary will send it to the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge for transmission to the Grand Master and one of the members of the Committee on Jurisprudence for approval as to form only, or correction. The Grand Secretary shall divide the submissions between the members of the Committee on Jurisprudence.

(c) Upon its return by the Grand Secretary with the Grand Master's approval, it shall be read to the Lodge a second time at the next Stated Communication, but no action should be taken at this communication other than to lay it over until a subsequent Stated Communication.
(d) At least five (5) days before the subsequent Stated Communication when action is to be taken, notice by mail to every member at his last known address shall be given, with a sufficient summary of the change to enable him to understand the proposed action.

(e) At the Stated Communication when action is to be taken, the proposed change is to be read a third time; and upon receiving a two-thirds (2/3) vote in favor by those members present, the change shall be declared adopted.

(f) The Lodge Secretary will attach one (1) copy each of the original and the amended Article(s) and one (1) copy of the notice of proposed action sent to the members of the Lodge, and mail these to the Grand Secretary, together with a copy of Certifying By-Laws For Approval, as found in the Handbook For Forms And Petitions.

(g) If a member of the Jurisprudence Committee, when requested, finds the proposed amendment(s) to be correct and proper for final approval, he shall so certify to the Grand Master. A quarterly report shall be made to the Grand Master by a member of the Jurisprudence Committee of all proposed by-law amendments which have been found incorrect and improper for final approval.

(h) When a new set of by-laws is proposed for adoption, the foregoing procedure as to amendments shall apply.

(i) This section may be suspended by any constituent Lodge for the purpose of amending their by-laws for:
1) changing the annual dues to pay increased per capita to the Grand Lodge for its operations and its assessment to the Minnesota Masonic Foundation, Inc. or
2) amending the Lodge by-laws to change isolated single words or numbers, or
3) to act upon a motion made from the floor to change isolated single words or numbers following the third reading of an amendment insofar as receiving approval as to form only from the Jurisprudence Committee of the Grand Lodge and the Grand Master.
All other provisions of this section must be strictly complied with regarding notice and voting, and upon completion of the amendment, a certified copy thereof shall be filed with the Grand Secretary to become effective.

Mentor Program

A Past Grand Master informed me that if we contacted Grand Lodge with a list of candidates and their respective mentors, there was a package of things that would be sent to the candidate. We will make sure this occurs before initiation with our next candidate (who we are voting on at our next stated meeting). We are assigning mentors to each of our four raised brothers. Is it too late for them to get the material?

Fraternally,
W. Master


As our Most Worshipful Brother mentioned, the way the Grand Lodge of Minnesota Mentor Program works is for the lodge to let us know in advance as to who the candidates are, who the mentors are and when they will receive the Entered Apprentice Degree. We then pend them until a day or two after the Entered Apprentice Degree and we send them a welcome letter from the Grand Master and a copy of Freemasons for Dummies. If you can assure me that these four will all be mentored for at least the next several months, getting them to attend meetings and participating in lodge activities, then I can go ahead and send them each the welcome letter and the book. But I would still need all of the information for the database (full names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, dates of birth, employment, spouse and earlier degree dates)? The lodge secretary should send us all of this information for the database when the petition is balloted on and then we add them to the database as they take their Entered Apprentice Degree. The complete information for the database is part of the deal to receive the package.
Doug

Masonic Meeting Do's & Don'ts?

RWB Doug,

Is there a Manual, link to our Web Page, or somewhere where I can educate myself on some Information on Meetings?

Here is where I'm going with this. Are there certain things that can only be done on the Master Mason Degree . We read a petition a couple of weeks ago and we were open on the Fellowcraft Degree . Someone leaned over to me and said we can't do that on this degree, it has to be done on the Master Degree.

I elected not to interrupt the meeting as I wasn't sure that was the case. Can you read petitions, vote, etc. on any degree as long as only Master Masons discuss and vote?

Other things have come up over the years that escape me right now, but I'm looking for information to educate myself so that I can speak confidently on it when it comes up and better serve our Lodge.

Thanks


Hello W. Brother,
There is a book called the Minnesota Masonic Manual, which has a chapter on opening and closing the lodge includes sections on stated communications and special communications for degree work. We made the change about 10 years ago to allow for business on any degree at the Master’s discretion, so many of the brothers who are more involved with the running of the meeting prior to that time probably remember how it was when they ran their meetings, and of course everything was done the Master Mason Degree. So that may be why they are telling you that you couldn’t do that a couple of weeks ago. But we do now allow business to be conducted on any degree and if you’re open on the Entered Apprentice Degree you can read petitions, ballot on petitions and any other type of business you might normally do on the Master Mason Degree. Should you have other Masons present who are only of the Entered Apprentice Degree or the Fellowcraft Degree, they would not be allowed to vote but they would be allowed to be present, they do not have to leave the meeting.
The complete Minnesota Masonic Manual is on our Grand Lodge website as well as a printed version being available from the Grand Lodge office for $10. Here is a link to the website http://www.mn-masons.org/lodge-resources/secretarys-resources/documents-manuals-forms and if you desire a bound copy in a little book the same size as the cipher just let me know and I’ll get one to you.
There is a lot of good information in the Minnesota Masonic Manual so if you do not have one, you should probably get one, or read it on line.
Doug