One of the toughest aspects of our Masonic careers is the Masonic Funeral Service. Due to the boom of membership in the late 1940s, we have many of our brethren that are reaching the age of living a full life. And once the Great Architect of the Universe finally makes that call upon us, it is the utmost of importance that we as a brethren provide our very best work in performing the service.
While the brother who has passed on to the Pearly White Gates will not be of concern on the number of brethren nor the quality of the service, it is very important to the families. The family has lost a dear loved one, and we owe it to them to help them through this mortal toil.
As brothers in the Lodge, we spend a large amount of time preparing to perform the three degrees. We work very hard to portray the degree to the best of our abilities so that the newly obligated brother has a great experience. While it is important to our new brother to receive the respect of correct ritual, we cannot forget our duty to to the families. The Masonic Funeral Service is one of the most important, as this is the only opportunity for the world at large to see the work that Freemasons can do.
We need to prepare our Lodge to perform this service, and perform it better than any other degree we may ever perform! The sole job of a Masonic Lodge is to make Masons. Part of this job, is to help men learn how to speak in public, how to memorize a speech, and especially portray yourself as someone who takes his work seriously and is confident in his demeanor. We memorize the hours of degree work, we can and should be able to give back a flawless Masonic Funeral Service.
Create your team of brothers, and don’t forget to include nearby lodges in your preparations. Practice the degree work often. Make sure that the majority of brothers present know the work and are able to mentor a newer brother who is witnessing the ritual for the first time. Most versions of the service really only have three of the members doing most of the speaking parts, and these three brothers should practice more often together. But importantly be sure to practice the portions of the service that include the whole team at least once a month, if not more often.
You should always have at least one or two other brothers as backups for the three main speaking parts, as you never know who may be available at the last minute to perform a service. Many times we only have a couple days notice, because a Masonic Service may not be the first thought for the grieving family. These 6 – 9 brothers should be practicing their parts each week until they know the full service by memory and can perform any of the portions of the service. Once the service is committed to memory, please practice at least once a month with the full lodge so everyone can feel comfortable with the work.
It is the utmost importance that we provide great degree work. We are inspected by the Grand Lodge each year for the three degrees of Masonry. However, it is the public that gets to inspect us while performing the Masonic Funeral Service!
Let’s show the world what Freemasons are capable of doing! Let us give them a flawless Funeral Service!