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Blue Jeans or
Tuxedo
Here is an exchange of mails on an International mailing
list for freemasons or those interested in masonry. The discussion was on
Mason’s dress code. I have left the mails in their original form.
15/1/2005
After reading several of the messages
posted in this group over the
last few months, I have noticed two things
that stand out more than
anything else.
One being
that there are a lot of "masons" who can't seem to use the
compasses for thier intended use as free
and accepted masons. You
can go into many other groups that have
nothing to do with brotherly
love and not see as many men offending (
intentionally or
accidentally ) what is supposed to be thier
equals in life.
The second being that there are,
apparently, several "masons" who
look down on thier brother masons because
of attire, meeting
rituals, and pretty much anything else that
freemasonry in the U.S.
is supposed to not care about. If I attend
a meeting at one of my
lodges around home, I can be assured
that,if I am wearing blue jeans
or a suit, I will be accepted and treated
like a brother and an
equal. However, for certain occasions, I do
understand that you
should dress in your best.
That being said, I wish you all many
blessings.
Fraternally
Damon S. Whitehead
17/1/2005
Bro. Whitehead,
This is where a cautious choice of which
lodge you join comes in.
You really should feel comfortable in your
lodge and with the brothers you join with. Some lodges are really picky about
your attire and in respect for their point of view it would be best to follow
the lemming flock over the cliff rather than appear disrespectful over such a
small issue. On the other hand if you are more comfortable in less formal attire
try to find a more relaxed lodge. Mine for example! I was master last year and I
told everyone that happened to ask that I would rather see them in denim & a
shirt than not at all. It is really dumb to scare off members over an opinion of
their clothes. I actually insisted that a brother I work with drop in one night
right out of work. We work in a hospital and he had scrubs on. He ended up
bringing a change with him but I think I made my point clear.
Basically the door swings both ways. It is
best to try to dress
respectfully but it is also in the best
interests of the lodge not to make someone feel unwelcome if they just don't
feel comfortable in a tie & coat. Perhaps a compromise of a sweater & black or
white denims or khakis.
I did however expect officers to wear a tux
on degree nights and
when we expected Grand Lodge guests. Line
officers do need to stand to a higher level of scrutiny as everyone is looking
at them weather they want to or not. Our lodge may be different in this respect
than many as we have a lot of young members. I would emphasize that others may
be different but they also tend to whine more about the gloom & doom forecasts
of the diminishing membership. We can't expect younger members if we growl at
them over their clothes of all things this is one area we can loosen up some.
Fraternally,
Amos Brooks
PM Trumbull #22 (2004)
New
Haven, CT
22/1/2005
Dear Damon:
And in my lodge, a visitor will be warmly
accepted and welcomed whether he is in a tuxedo, a suit, or in blue jeans. Many
are quick to recite that "it is the internal, and not the external..." etc. But
the logical extension of that is the following:
"We don't need to paint the building, or
fix the broken windows, or mow the weeds out front of the lodge building because
the important work is done inside."
"We don't need to vacuum the carpet, or
replace the carpet with holes in it, or straighten up the boxes of junk that are
stacking up in the corners of the lodge room, because the real work of the lodge
will be done just as well without doing all that."
"We don't need to serve fancy meals at
lodge. We don't even need to serve any meals. Because the brethren don't come
for the food. They come for the fellowship."
"We don't need to dress up for lodge. We
can confer just as good a ritual in shorts, t-shirts and shower sandles, as the
other lodge can in suits and ties." (I'm not exagerating about the shorts,
t-shirts and shower sandles.)
Then when the older fellows who are happy
with the lodge just the way it is (weeds and broken windows, ratty carpets and
junk stacked everywhere, lukewarm spaghetti on paper plates, and lodge officers
in shorts and bluejeans) wonder why the young men are not flocking to the lodge,
they often just say, "the younger generation is not interested in Masonry."
I would say that they are wrong. The
younger generation IS interested in Freemasonry. They are just interested in the
Freemasonry of their great-grandfather's generation. The Freemasonry that was
exclusive, and did things in a first class way, with a great deal of pride. That
is the Freemasonry they are interested in.
Pete N.
Dear
Brother Amos:
You wrote: "We can't expect younger
members if we growl at them over their clothes."
Maybe the problem is the "growling" and not
the clothes.
In my area, the younger men, many that are
college age, flock (like
lemmings?) to the lodge that requires
tuxedos for its members. They prefer the lodge with the dress code over the
lodge with the shorts, blue jeans, and Guyabera shirts.
We have two lodges in our town. One lodge
(the lodge without the dress code) is the old lodge where everyone petitions and
receives their degrees. Then when the young men become MMs, they start attending
monthly meetings. Then they go and visit the "tuxedo lodge." Then they either
transfer their membership to the "tuxedo lodge" or ask for a plural affiliation
it. Then they become less
active in the older, informal lodge.
The younger men are excited about the
opportunity to join the "tuxedo lodge" because it is more exclusive, and is what
they imagined Freemasonry would be like before they joined. The average member
pays about $200-250 a year to belong to our lodge. $50 is annual dues, and the
other $150-200 goes to pay for "dining fees" for four stated meetings, a Table
Lodge, and the Annual Lecture.
But we don't eat spaghetti on a paper
plate. We eat New York Strip.
So you can see, we never "growl" at the
young men about anything, we don't need to. We welcome them warmly and they
can't wait to go buy their tuxedo and leave their blue jeans at home.
Its all about a positive attitude. And not
negativity.
Fraternally,
Pete N.
23/1/2005
Furthur the disscussion on jeans etc.., a
comment in some submissions talks of a destitute brother not being able to
afford a suit. I am 43 & joined back in 1995. I was just going through a divorce
so wasn't well off at all. I joined with a second hand suit given to me by my
proposar, after a dry clean it was like new and wore this suit well into my
Master ship, when I was a PM my 2nd wife & I got a windfall & we were able to
exstingush some bills & I had enough to purchase a new suit on sale, so I used
the hand me down till 2001, 6yrs, it shrunk hahaha it is still in my wardrobe
ready for anyone else who may require a suit. Even now with a mortage 3 little
girls & 1 wage it's as hard as ever to make ends meet, living on credit etc, but
I still manage to turn out for meetings with a suit. We have had alot of members
who have started lodge with hand me down suits & regaliar, plus there is always
a member of yours or indeed any lodge who may be able to assist with any needs
to assist a brother in time of need, so saying that some members can't afford
any form of suit doesn't seem to wash. As I said I'm not rich but still am able
to turn out at meeting times kitted out in proper attire. At the moment being a
Past Dristrict Officer I had to purchase a new Dristric apron from UK, @
$296.00nzd saved most of the $, it arrived just before christmas, now I require
a bigger case & can't afford one, I will have to improvise & settle for 2nd
best, but as long as it looks right, if I could've got a 2nd hand apron I
would've there were none available.
All in all I am just saying don't let the
culture of Freemasonry
deminish because people are too lazy to do
the right thing.
W.Bro Jim Lewis PDGP
In reply to some disscussion concerning
blue jeans vs suits, for me
it really has nothing to do with looking
down on other Bros. or
treating them with contemp because of
dress, over time as we get more laid back about the morals of life like religion
etc, & with our christian nations take it or leave it attitudes we seem to be
loosing something I think is essential to our ways of life, our culture.
Freemasonry
as we all know it isn't a religion all freemasons know
this but it is a culture & part of that
culture is our monthly
meetings, ritual & smart attire, it is like
rules written in history
so to speak, I'm not implying that jeans
shouldn't be worn but if a
particular lodge's dress code is a suit
than a suit it should be.
Like the militry if a general wears a dress
uniform his soldiers
don't wear jeans & sandles, uniforms are
their culture.
But in saying that their is unfortunatly
some masons who think they
are of a higher standard than others & this
is sad, although they are few, they have never crasp the true concept & meaning
of freemasonry. In
New Zealand where we are very fortunate to have
4 constitutions, I myself are in the English, we all have our dress codes which
makes for colourful meetings, the NZC wear mainly Tuxedos.
23/1/2005
I have
gotten several e-mails about my blue jeans and tuxedoes submission and am quite
appaled at some of the people who call themselves masons. I totally understand
that the officers of the lodge are under scrutiny at every meeting and therefore
should dress in proper attire, but as so many people have filled me in on this
"its what's on the inside" spill, where does that put the mason with lesser
finances? Should he not be allowed in your "UPSCALE" lodges? Is this financially
destitute BROTHER not welcome in your lodge simply because he has not the means
to be dressed in formal attire?
I am not trying to ruffle anyones feathers,
but trying to understand how there is to be brotherly love and a feeling of
equality when it seems to me that so many masons care more about what store
everyone shops in and what tag is on the clothing rather than caring about the
brother inside the clothing. Am I to assume that if I were to travel into some
of these jurisdictions and be in need of assistance that I would be frowned upon
because of my attire? If I should attempt to attend lodge in one of these high
society lodges in my best dressed state would I not be entitled to the
fellowship of the local bretheren if my best was not the same as their best?
Remember, I am in no way trying to insult
or be disruptive, I am simply trying to secure in my mind what entitlements I
can expect if I were to travel outside of the areas that I regularly attend. I
want to find out if a mason from the southeast should expect to be treated as a
legitimate brother if he travelled to the northwest or northeast. I have only
been involved in masonry for a few years and in this short time have been to
lodges in
Alabama, Tennesee, and Colorado. None of these
lodges cared about formal attire with the exception of awards and annuals, so
the dress issue brings to mind the question of are the less fortunate
(financially) masons frowned upon elsewhere.
Thank you for your patience and
understanding with this matter.
Fraternally
Bro. Damon S. Whitehead
24/1/2005
Dear
Brother Whitehead:
First of all, I take very real exception to
the notion that lodges in the south, southwest and southeast are all "blue jean"
lodges. This is the kind of negative anti-southern prejudice that one can hear
on just about any night on the Jay Leno tonight show, and I for one object. The
members of my lodge in south central
Texas
attend lodge in tuxedos. But we have never refused anyone admittance based upon
how they are dressed. I have written this several times in
repeated postings but seem determined to
ignore it, prefering instead to pick a fight.
What we have found is that when everyone is
dressed identically, in standard inexpensive ($199) tuxedos, that you really do
concentrate on the man you are meeting rather than who has the most expensive
$500 lizard skin cowboy boots, or the shiniest $500 sterling silver belt buckle.
But before we go any further, let me inform
you up front, that if you attempt to attend a lodge in
Europe
in blue jeans, white athletic shoes, and a plaid short-sleeved shirt you will
not even get in the front door. In fact, in many lodges you will not be admitted
if you are wearing a colored tie, inspite of the fact that you are in a dark
business suit with white dress shirt. The
advice I give to brethren sojourning in
Europe is this, take a dark suit, white shirt, BLACK tie, your white leather
apron (or PM or officer's apron) and white gloves. And I advise a
LOT
of brethren travelling to Europe. I know that the same advice applies to some
lodges in many of the larger cities around the U.S.
and
Canada
(thank goodness).
You ask about "entitlements." You should be
aware of the fact that you are not "entitled" to admittance into any lodge to
which you are not a member. I know that Albert Mackey wrote that "visitation" is
a right, but every lodge has the right to decide who they will admit and under
what circumstances. Some lodges do not admit visitors unless the visitor is
invited by one of the lodge members.
Fraternally,
Pete Normand
Bro. Pete,
I think we are actually more in
agreement than it appears. I never advocated a casual lodge to the extent you
described. And I am sure you on the other hand wouldn't toss someone out on
their ear if they didn't have their tie on straight. My point is that people
should dress well if they can and those that can't or those that just feel
awkward dressed to the nines should be accepted and not made uncomfortable. I'd
rather have them at lodge than at home blowing us off.
Officers I must say do have a higher bar to
maintain. Officers
should set an example for the rest of the
craft. If they dress well then the craft will likely emulate their dress. Folks
taking part in degrees should, in my opinion wear tuxes. The rest of the craft
should be comfortable. Not Carribean vacation comfortable, more like sweater &
slacks comfortable. If they want to dress really well then fine just remember
that they are just a brother too and we are all on the level. I have never been
impressed with fashion shows. Overemphasis on clothes is really missing the
point of what we are doing. (It rather borders on vanity actually) Dress decent
but we're not on
5th Avenue here! Dress for show when visiting or
doing degree work of when being visited, but it is important to maintain
perspective.
At this
point I should add that I'm certainly not accusing someone
that likes to dress well of vanity I am
merely trying to say that dressed up or not we're all brothers and that clothes
don't make the man, they just make him look good. Putting a monkey in a tux and
George Washington in denim and t-shirt doesn't change who they are. I do hope I
haven't offended anyone in the way I wrote this.
Fraternally,
Amos Brooks
Bro. Pete,
Judging from the posting that you
submitted, I assume that you were indeed one of the members whos feathers I had
ruffled. I will say this one mere time and if you still feel as if I am trying
to pick a fight them I believe that you are just one of the ones that I seem
destined to stay away from. I AM NOT trying to start a fight, offend anyone or
drag this subject out, but instead I was trying to get things straight before I
assumed anything wrong. I wanted to gain more knowledge as some of us are not as
well informed as others.
Never have I stated nor implied that all
lodges in the south, southeast, and/or southwest were "blue jean lodges" as I
have only been to a handfull of lodges in my life, and I certainly was not
meaning to try to make anyone go on the defencive about why they feel that it is
imperitive to dress up so as not to be assumed common.
I started this subject to gain information
and have found out that, sadly, there are several members of this group who have
been offended by my questions. When I joined this group, I did so to gain
knowledge. I have gained some good knowledge and some not-so-good knowledge. For
the most part, the bretheren have been very helpful, but it seems that some of
you seem to get offended if preumed common and others get offended if a brother
doesn't know as much as they have learned in their 50 years of masonry.
Now in as much as I am tired of getting
accused of trying to start a fight or be accusing, I will be unsubscribing from
this group.
Fraternally,
Bro Damon S Whitehead
25/1/2005
Dear Brother Amos:
You
wrote: "Folks taking part in degrees should, in my opinion wear tuxes. The
rest of the craft should be comfortable. Not Carribean vacation comfortable,
more like sweater & slacks comfortable."
It looks to
me like you have a more narrowly defined dress code than anyone!
In 1987,
when I was District Deputy, I wrote a letter to all the WMs in my District
stating our GMs view of how members should dress for lodge. It did not say "how"
they should dress, it only said that they "should take the time to dress nicely"
to "demonstrate their respect for their lodge."
One PM from
the old lodge downtown (who normally rode his Harley-Davidson in denim bib
overalls to lodge) called me and tried to give me heck about that portion of my
letter. I tried to get him to highlight one sentence that he actually disagreed
with, but he could not. He just said that members ought to be able to "dress
comfortably" when they come to lodge.
About three
months later, a young (34-year-old) stock broker friend of mine dropped by that
lodge one evening to give some paperwork to the lodge secretary before the
meeting. I implored him to stay for the meeting, but he was hesitant. He hadn't
planned to attend the meeting and didn't feel that he was dressed appropriately.
He was wearing a nice pair of khaki walking shorts, a fresh Polo shirt, a $65
latigo leather belt, no socks, and some very nice casual loafers.
The old PM
in his bib overalls was LIVID that anyone would attend lodge in shorts and no
socks! I got a good chuckle out of it as I watched him turn red, unable to say
anything, because, obviously, the young Mason had dressed "comfortably." He had
to reassess his earlier argument.
You also
wrote: "And I am sure you on the other hand wouldn't toss someone
out on
their ear if they didn't have their tie on straight."
Yes. And in
fact I have even gone so far as to state, on at least a couple of occasions,
that our lodge does not exclude anyone on account of dress. I was starting to
wonder how many times I'd need to say it before you understood it.
I will,
however, defend any lodges right to set a minimum dress code. I know of several
lodges in Texas that have always kept some nice sport coats and ties in their
Tyler's closet for visitors who may show up without one. Its nicer to provide
them with a jacket and tie than have them feel uncomfortable without one.
You
wrote: "I never advocated a casual lodge to the extent you described."
I believe
you were referring to the practice of wearing shorts, "legible t-shirts," and
shower sandles. But this would have never happened back in the early 1980's when
I was a younger Mason. Back then nearly everyone wore coat and tie in my mother
lodge. But it got more casual, and more and more began to wear sport shirts and
slacks. Then blue jeans. And eventually, shorts and sandles. Its a slippery
slope. Once you defend the so-called "right" of members to dress however they
want, you will soon have a lodge that quality men in your community will not
want to join. You will go from a lodge that once had Mayors,
city
councilmen, business owners, etc., to a lodge that is populated with "destitute
brethren." Now the younger men are transferring to the new tuxedo lodge and the
older casual lodge is perplexed about it. But its a situation of their own
making.
You
wrote: "...clothes don't make the man, they just make him look good. Putting
a monkey in a tux and George Washington in denim and t-shirt doesn't change who
they are."
You are
right. Clothes don't make the man. I would encourage you to wear blue jeans and
t-shirt to your next job interview. And be sure to tell your potential employer
about your philosophy.
This is an
old discussion that long-haired young men in raggedy blue jeans and tie-dyed
t-shirts used to have with their fathers over the dinner table back in the late
'60's and early '70's. They were right, "clothes DON'T make the man." But they
sure leave an impression on everyone else. Today, those same hippies of 30+
years ago are clean shaven and putting on coats and ties to go to work. When
they saw what worked, they simply got with the program.
And the
good man will always want to look his best when attending his lodge, if he has
the proper respect for his lodge and his fraternity. For over 20 years, I worked
at a job that only required me to wear a Polo shirt and dress slacks during the
summer. But every time I have attended a lodge meeting I have gone home first
and changed into a coat and tie. No one has ever required me to do this but
myself.
Regarding
the monkey and our first President. Let me make the observation that you will
never see a monkey (either a real monkey or a human monkey) in a tux unless
someone else made him put it on. And by the same token, you would have never
seen George Washington at Lodge in his hunting or gardening attire. He always
dressed up for Lodge.
Fraternally,
Pete
Normand
27/1/2005
i do happen
to agree with "They are just interested in the Freemasonry of their
great-grandfather's generation. The Freemasonry that was exclusive, and did
things in a first class way, with a great deal of pride. That is the Freemasonry
they are interested in." i picked my lodge becase they do a lot of things in the
twon and the town has logs of things to offer for us to do. i like the fact that
our warshipfull master wears a top hat. i like the feeling i get while i am
dressing in my suit to go to lodge. i like seeing everyone neat and clean. i
love hearing people ask why some of us are in tuxes when we go to the local bar
after we ear after our meetings. it is a known fact that people aft diferantly
depending on how they are dressed. in my privet gramner school... we had to
wear jakets and ties. one in a while we would have a Dress Down Friday" and we
could wear what ever. on thse day the kids would be runing all around the halls
in a bit of kaos(how ever you spell it) on normal
dys the kids would be much more well
behaved. at our lodge in milford ct we just had out stain class window cleaned
up (it has the square and compus on it) and it looks much better... we might not
have grass and flowers but we take pride in how our lodges looks to other
people. first impretions are the ones that last the longest.
RSVP,
(reply to all)
-sean-
Hello Sean,
No such
thing as P/masters apron, in the english constitution we wear our masters apron
with a past masters breast jewel & a past masters collar which we retain for
visiting purposes for two years, if your a keen mason you will atain a dristrict
rank, I've just finished my year as DG Pur. Then you must wear a DG apron of
your rank which is dark blue with gold fringe.
Some of the
members will bring in suits & leave them at lodge for
brothers to
take, unfortunately most are to small for me hahaha.Yes
we have
second hand clothes shops here, so purchasing a 2nd hand suit isn't a problem.
Answer to your question about Tuxes, the English no longer wear Tuxs only dark
lounge suits the proper dress for a Grand or Dristrict Grand lodge officer are
morning suits, black single breast jacket & grey/black pin striped trousers, my
suit is a double breasted charcol pin striped suit.
Only the NZ
constitution wear Tuxes but it's not compulsory. The
Scots wear
kilts & the irish wear lounge suits with the apron worn
under the
jacket. As I mentioned previously we are lucky here to have 4 constitutions in
NZ, I think it's only us & South Africa who have 4, makes for very colourful
meetings espeically at Installations.
Regards
Jim Lewis
Well...,in
my lodge when a mason finishes his year of being a worshipful master he is GIVEN
a Past Masters Apron by the lodge and he gets a case to put it in. he pays
nothing for this.
in the
USA there
are stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army that sell used clothes very cheaply,
yet all the clothes are good quality. i would not be surprised if other
countries have places like this. i would like to know if there are any. one of
the Major things about being a mason is that you are supposed to help your
fellow masonic brother as best you can with out hurting your self. so if you can
afford an extra suit then you can buy one for a brother. or a bunch of brothers
can get together to pay for a suit for a brother. maybe some widows have situs
that used to belong to their masonic husbands. they would be looking to get ride
of them and why can't they give the suits to the lodge? so in the end.. what i
mean to say is that i agree with Jim lewis.
Jim, i have one question... in my lodge if
your an officer, you have to wear a tux... if you can't afford a suit then how
can you be an officer in a tux or does your lodge not make officers were
tuxes??????
(please reply to all)
RSVP,
-sean-
jamesx12004 <kathy.Jim.lewis@xtra.co.nz>
wrote:
Furthur the disscussion on jeans etc.., a
comment in some submissions talks of a destitute brother not being able to
afford a suit. I am 43 & joined back in 1995. I was just going through a divorce
so wasn't well off at all. I joined with a second hand suit given to me by my
proposar, after a dry clean it was like new and wore this suit well into my
Master ship, when I was a PM my 2nd wife & I got a windfall & we were able to
exstingush some bills & I had enough to purchase a new suit on sale, so I used
the hand me down till 2001, 6yrs, it shrunk hahaha it is still in my wardrobe
ready for anyone else who may require a suit. Even now with a mortage 3 little
girls & 1 wage it's as hard as ever to make ends meet, living on credit etc, but
I still manage to turn out for meetings with a suit. We have had alot of members
who have started lodge with hand me down suits & regaliar, plus there is always
a member of yours or indeed any lodge who may be able to assist with any needs
to assist a brother in time of need, so saying that some members can't afford
any form of suit doesn't seem to wash. As I said I'm not rich but still am able
to turn out at meeting times kitted out in proper attire. At the moment being a
Past Dristrict Officer I had to purchase a new Dristric apron from UK, @
$296.00nzd saved most of the $, it arrived just before christmas, now I require
a bigger case & can't afford one, I will have to improvise & settle for 2nd
best, but as long as it looks right, if I could've got a 2nd hand apron I
would've there were none available.
All in all I am just saying don't let the
culture of Freemasonry
deminish because people are too lazy to do
the right thing.
W.Bro Jim Lewis PDGP
in connecticut... if you can answer some
masonic questions and show a dues card then brothers of the logs your visiting
will excpet you as a mason and be treated as a legitimate brother. but if your
not in a suit then you just wont be able to go in to the lodge room while a
meeting and or degree is going on. that is just the way it is. if i am wrong
then i hope somone will correct me, asap.
if you go to church and can not aford a
suit, do you go in jeans? if you do they your being disrepectful no mater how
many other people you might see doing it.
RSVP,
(reply to all)
-sean-
my churches
(all 3 i go to) and my lodges (the two or three I visit) are all
come-as-you-are. That is where I am comfortable.
I think there were lodges where suits were
mandatory, but that may not be the rule any longer.
In
Baton
Rouge, suits are not in style for business wear any longer,
especially for those of us in construction
industries, or in the information industry.
Heat and humidity have won out over
propriety.
People seem to be disposed towards doing
business casually.
Every lodge has its customs, as we are
finding out here.
ted baldwin, PM
Bretheren,
I hope that I have not offended anyone with
my questions, if I did it was not intentional. I had a few questions about this
topic so, in search of answers, I came to the people who I felt could enlighten
me. I do thank you all for your replies, they have been very useful.
As the owner of 3 small businesses, (I may
be wrong for doing so) I do most of my business in casual attire. When I go to
church, I dress for the occasion. With that being said, if I were to travel to a
lodge where I knew the dress code was suits or a tux, I would NEVER insult that
lodge nor it's members by trying to enter the lodgeroom in anything other than
the proper attire. If I didn't have this attire with me, I would have no problem
going to the building to meet some of the members dressed in casual wear
knowing that I had no intentions of trying to enter.
Fraternally,
Bro. Damon S. Whitehead
Brethren,
I have visited lodges where a tux was the
norm and where overalls and flannel shirt were. The quality of the clothes has
nothing to do with the quality of the Masons. The little lodge in the middle of
the farms where they wore the coveralls and flannel shirts were in fact the most
gracious bunch I have ever visited. We talked for hours about the differences
and solved most of the worlds problems. :-)
In my jurisdiction, part of the EA degree
says that a man is judges on his inner appearance and not on his worldly wealth.
We are all dressed the same when we are initiated. I can not believe that
imposing a dress code on members will make us any better. It is our actions and
the way we conduct our lives that separate us from the profane. To deprive any
brother in good standing communication with his brethren is in my opinion wrong
and should never happen.
Joe Ohlandt
Sean,
I am correcting you ASAP. I am a Past
Master of a
Connecticut Lodge, Trumbull #22 in New Haven CT
District 4C. I must say I have never prevented someone from sitting in lodge
based on their attire. To get into lodge you need to pass an examination or be
avouched for by a brother we know (preferably a member of the lodge) and have a
dues card. That's it.
I can recall shaking the hand of a
brother just before opening lodge that was wearing a pair of blue denim jeans
and a polo shirt. I didn't bat an eye as I think it would have been inapropriate.
He didn't look bad, he just didn't have a suit on. I, myself have conducted a
business meeting (not degree work and there was no visitation that night) in
chakis and a sweater.
I can't think of anywhere in any of
our constitutions (laws that give us the right to run lodge civen to us by Grand
Lodge, and always on the altar) that defines or even mentions attire. It's not
in our by laws and I don't think it is in the by laws for the Grand Lodge. This
is not to say that we can all start coming to lodge all disheveled, afterall the
Worshipful Master has ultimate say over who can sit in his lodge. It is up to
him to decide how important dress is to him and his judgement is tested in the
lodge electing him.
I think as a group we are assuming
that a man in blue jeans can't afford a suit. This is not the case. It is very
likely that he just hates suits. I would also like to point out that during Bill
Clinton's term in the White House he had Cabinet Meetings where the dress code
was business casual. Regaurdless of how you feel about
Clinton he
was president and I assume he could have had a suit if he wanted one.
Fraternally,
Amos Brooks
PM Trumbull #22
New
Haven, CT
28/1/2005
I find this thread
rather interesting. When I was made an EA, I was told that the appropriate dress
was "casual." Being cautious by nature, I dressed as I would for my work as a
teacher: Khakis, blue
Oxford
shirt, sport coat & loafers, but no tie. When I arrived at the lodge, I found
that my lack of a tie was cause for no small degree of discussion amongst some
of the younger brothers particularly, and the brother who assisted me in the
anteroom before I entered the lodge formally for the first time kindly but
firmly let me know that a tie was expected in the future. It seems that the
brother (an older gentleman) who told me the dress was "casual" meant "not
formal evening wear."
I was just invested as
Junior Steward, and as such, I will be wearing my tux to meetings now and
probably for the next several years as I move through the chairs. It feels good.
It looks good. There is no less fraternal warmth and good fellowship just
because I am in my very best clothes. They fit well and are comfortable. I can
relax and enjoy myself just as much as if I were in my favourite jeans and
T-shirt.
It seems to me that
there are many of us today who crave a degree of ritual and formality in our
daily lives which has been increasingly missing from our society since the
second world war. While some might see these things as linked to "The Old
Euro-centric Order" and to rigid class distinctions, I think instead that it is
a matter of honouring others with our best effort -- and isn't that part of what
Masonry is about?
John Martin Marks,
M.P.S., F.G.C.R.
Pickering Lodge #146
Baltimore, Maryland
john,
i just have to agree
with all that you said. your right about it all. wearing a tux feels good. if
somone is uncomfortable in a tux then they need a new one in the right size.
RSVP(reply to all),
-sean-
I guess I'm
somewhat amazed the way this discussion has gone. This
thread, "Blue Jeans and Tuxedos," is a
spinoff of the previous "Man to Daylight" thread which dealt with making
Masons-at-Sight in One-Day/Three-Degree Classes. The comparison was made to
low service, discount "Wal-Mart" Masonry, versus quality "hand-crafted"
old-fashioned Masonry.
I believe I was the one who spun off the
first "Blue Jeans versus tuxedos" posting by stating the following:
"And in my lodge, a visitor will be
warmly accepted and welcomed whether he is in a tuxedo, a suit, or in blue
jeans. Many are quick to recite that 'it is the internal, and not the
external...' etc. But the logical extension of that is the following:
"'We don't need to paint the building, or
fix the broken windows, or mow the weeds out front of the lodge building because
the important work is done inside'."
Now, having stated clearly that my lodge
does NOT reject visitors for
failing to dress as is the custom in our
Lodge, many chose to simply ignore that in favor of believing exactly the
opposite. Go figure.
I then went on to explain that we DON'T
"force" our members to wear
tuxedos, rather we simply open our doors
to many interested brethren who WANT to join our Lodge, in many cases,
BECAUSE we have a higher standard of dress, etc.
Now comes Brother Joe Ohlandt who
writes: "I can not believe that
imposing a dress code on members will
make us any better." (I never said it would make us better. Although we have
noticed that the brethren are much more exacting about their ritual and
everything else we do as a subconcious result.)
And he added, "To deprive any brother in
good standing communication with his brethren is in my opinion wrong and
should never happen." (sigh)
Okay, this is my response. Our Grand
Lodge monitor, in the Fellowcraft Degree, teaches us about Grammar. It says:
"Grammar teaches the proper arrangement of words, according to the idiom or
dialect of any particular people, and that excellency of pronunciation which
enables us to speak OR WRITE (emphasis mine) a language with accuracy, agreeably
to reason and correct usage."
Now, I feel that I have done this more
than adequately in regard to the fact that my Lodge does NOT "impose" a dress
code upon unwilling members, but rather enjoys the benefit of a healthy influx
of energetic young members who are excited about joining a Lodge with a higher
standard of dress. There are plenty of Lodges around that do not have our
standards, so no one is left out.
And for Ted's benefit, let me add that,
although he "has never seen a man in tuxedo pushing a truck out of the mud," in
our area we don't have any dirt roads between our homes and our Lodge. Although
if there was one, and someone got stuck in the mud, I'm sure we'd be able to
pull him out with a tow chain without getting too dirty. But its just not a
problem in our neck of the woods, the Texas Highway Department keeps the
highways in pretty good shape. And that's not to say that I don't love
Louisiana, I do. But you brought it up, Ted.
Laissez les bon temps roullez,
Pierre
Bro.
Pierre,
Please keep in mind that communication
through email is emotionless
and many of us don't really care to keep up
with how the thread
started days or even weeks ago. Not every
response that is offered is to your particular message or even train of thought.
My response was to offer first information
in regard to my
jurisdiction for others if interested, and
secondly to give my
personal opinion on the matter which was
not directed any any person,
group or jurisdiction. I have heard of
lodges that would not allow a
Brother to enter if his attire did not meet
a minimum standard,
something I personally disagree with and
voiced such.
Threads do take amazing turns and twists.
You never know what you
might learn, so kick back and enjoy the
flow of information. You want to talk about hand-crafted masonry or the express
elevator? I'm all for it, but my Internet time is limited by my business and
Masonic requirements. Therefore I normally only answer either interesting
questions or ones I feel strongly about.
Glad to hear your lodge is doing well.
Fraternally,
Joe Ohlandt
PM Acacia Lodge #20
Dover,
NJ
Bro. Damon
S. Whitehead,
i could never ever have said it better
myself! i think you finaly hit the nail on the head. i think you have finaly
found the key to being a mason; RESPECT for the lodge and its rules while your
trying to attend a meeting. keep up the good work.
i hope to hear from you soon.
So Mote It Be.
i feel that "come as you are" is not that
good. could you imagen going to a meeting for your job and every one was in what
ever they felt most comfortable in? if i was a client going to that meeting i
would do business elsewhere.
RSVP,
-sean-
Amos
Brooks,
ok.
i beg of
you to come to my lodge (ansantawae #89, 59 broad street milford ct usa) and
wear nothing more then jeans, sneekers and a t-shirt and an out side jacket.
then see if your permited in to the meeting. 98% of the time our meetings are
followed by a degree. we have meetings the first and 3rd fridays of each month.
meetings start at 7:45pm sharp. good luck.
i hope to
see you there soon. be early becase you wont be there long.
it is fine
to shake the hand of a mason in jeans be for the meeting. be for and after the
meeting masons can wear what ever they want. but did that some mason you talk of
go in to the meeting after you shook his hand?
if a lodge
says the masons attending meetings need to dress in a certant way then that is
how it will be in that lodge. if a mason dose not like that way of dressing then
they should not go to that loge or dress that way and sufer it. it is not that
bad of a thing to do. it wont kill anyone.
if any one
in my lodge see that i am wrong then please please correct me ASAP.
i hope to
hear from you all very soon.
(respond to
all)
RSVP,
-sean-
in
connecticut... if you can answer some masonic questions and show a dues card
then brothers of the logs your visiting will excpet you as a mason and be
treated as a legitimate brother. but if your not in a suit then you just wont be
able to go in to the lodge room while a meeting and or degree is going on. that
is just the way it is. if i am wrong then i hope somone will correct me, asap.
if you go
to church and can not aford a suit, do you go in jeans? if you do they your
being disrepectful no mater how many other people you might see doing it.
RSVP,
(reply to
all)
-sean-
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