Ambassadors for Freemasonry
A short talk that can be delivered in open lodge or at the festive board which encourages all to be
open about their Freemasonry
Brethren, I wish to spend a few moments with you discussing a most important aspect of freemasonry
and that of being a mason. A part that is very important in the way our Order is perceived by the
public.
But let me start off with a question for you.
Imagine yourself in a situation where freemasonry is being discussed. It may be at a dinner party or
on the golf course, perhaps in the local pub. The topic of conversation may have arisen because of an
article in the local press or perhaps someone may have just told a joke about funny handshakes. I am
sure you can picture the scene.
How do you respond? Do you join in the conversation without revealing your membership, or do you
let them know that you are a mason? If you take the latter course what do you say to the questions
that may be aimed at you as a result? ‘Why?’, ‘What do you all do?’ or maybe ‘Is it really relevant
these days?’
What you say in the next few moments are most important, both for your own credibility and that of
masonry in general.
When you look at it like that you may think it best just to keep quiet. Why put yourself up for possible
challenge when you can just say nothing? After all isn’t that the motto of the craft?
Audi, Vidi, Tace – ‘Hear, see and be silent’.
Before we look at addressing that question let us first look at how Freemasonry in general, under the
direction of the United Grand lodge of England has itself dealt with speaking to the non-masonic
world.
For many years the policy towards external public relations did seem to be in line with our motto,
especially the ‘silent’ part. This is not surprising and indeed understandable when one looks at the
context of the time. World changing events of the Mid 20th Century resulted in secrecy about
membership as an advisable if not life-saving necessity. But out of this silence grew a vacuum of
information into which rumour, scandal and falsehood flourished.
However things have changed and recent years have seen a much more progressive approach
towards publicity. We have witnessed legal challenges towards those organisations, mainly public
bodies, which deemed it necessary to force their employees to declare their masonic memberships. In
winning such cases Grand Lodge showed that it was not acceptable for masons to be treated
differently than anybody else. Every time a newspaper printed negative stories regarding
Freemasonry they were invited to Grand Lodge and shown the error of their words.
Great victories indeed, but what these actions also showed is that we were no longer on the back
foot; we were standing up for ourselves, no longer accepting unlawful discrimination, no longer
placidly accepting negative publicity.
As any cricketer knows, footwork is essential; playing off the back foot is an important part of a
batsman’s armoury. But sometimes when you really want to take control, switching to playing off the
front foot is the best way to take the game to the opposition. A few of our brethren; Herbert Sutcliffe;
Donald Bradman and Clive Lloyd to name a few but a few knew all about that.
Recent times have certainly seen Freemasonry moving onto the ‘front foot’ with a much more coordinated and pro-active approach towards publicity and public relations. 2002 witnessed our first
Freemasonry in the Community Week, a nationally co-ordinated series of events which saw local
masons reach out to their local communities and highlight the good works we do and the positive
ideals that we hold. Today many lodges still regularly highlight the good works that they do in their
local press.
So let there be no doubt that the old days of silence are past and great efforts have been made to
ensure the general public have a greater understanding of what Freemasonry really is and stands for.
But there is perhaps one person who can do a great deal of damage to all this good work. One person
who by saying the wrong things, or worse, nothing at all can undo all lot of the positive publicity
achieved in recent times. One person who will give the impression that masonry is all about secrecy
and old boy’s networks and allow all the gossip and falsehoods to come back.
Unfortunately that person may be you.
Let me take you back to that scenario where you are in the midst of a conversation about
Freemasonry. Someone asks you if you are a member, how do you reply? Yes or no?
The decision must always rest with you. Only you are aware of the circumstances in which you find
yourself. Prevailing attitudes at work or amongst friends may actually give credence to the saying
‘discretion is the better part of valour’. No one is suggesting that you place yourself in a situation that
would be detrimental to yourself or connections, to coin a familiar phrase.
But if you do feel it is appropriate to let people know you are mason you are in very good company
indeed. In the winter 2011 edition of Freemasonry Today the Deputy Grand Master, Jonathan Spence
gave us his views on this subject in his article ‘Speaking Openly’. He spoke of his recognition of the
role of individual brethren promoting a positive image of Freemasonry.
So you say ‘Yes I am a Freemason’. Now what? As I asked earlier how do you handle the subsequent
questions? Saying the wrong things may do more harm than good.
This is not a question I am able to give a definitive answer to. But perhaps a few guidelines may be
helpful.
You may wish to start by talking about the charitable aspects of the Order. For many years Charity
has been used as a vehicle to gain positive publicity for us and there has been undoubted success in
this. No one can argue against the positive aspects of an organisation that gives so much money to
worthy causes and you may feel that this is a safe basis to start explaining Freemasonry to your
audience.
Such talk will, no doubt, impress your audience but you must be careful not to oversell this as
Freemasonry does not exist purely as a charitable organisation. In fact it may be argued that charity is
but a by-product of what we stand for. Please also remember that when talking about charity it is also
about the giving of yourself, your time and your compassion to those in need.
It may be a much better representation of the Order if you talk about how it aims to help men from all
backgrounds develop themselves as individuals, family members and as part of their community.
You may wonder what you are allowed to talk about and what you are not. As a general rule you can
discuss almost any aspect of the Craft without fear of breaking your oaths and obligations. The only
area that you should not discuss is that of the signs, tokens and words. There is nothing sinister about
this but you have vowed not to reveal them and if someone is really that interested in knowing them
they just have to visit the local library or log onto the internet.
However it is not only WHAT you say but HOW you say it that is just as important. At all times avoid
masonic terminology and phrases. The moment that you describe Freemasonry as a ‘peculiar system
of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols’ may just be the moment you lose the interest
of your audience. Please do not just say ‘brotherly love, relief and truth’ and expect this phrase to be
automatically understood. It is far better to use words such as ‘tolerance and respect of others’,
‘helping those less fortunate’ and ‘trying to act with fairness and honesty in business and life in
general.
If you have been a mason for some time try to use examples that relate it to what you get out from it
personally: perhaps a desire to better yourself as an individual; the opportunity to make life-long
friends; extend your social circle or give something back to the local community. Personal examples
may be more readily understood rather than grand talk using esoteric language.
For some of our longer serving brethren talking about their Freemasonry may still be a challenge to
them, taking them out of the ‘comfort zone’ of silence. If this is true imagine how much more daunting
it will be for those new to the Craft. It will be only natural for them to want to talk to their families about
what they have joined and perhaps their friends and colleagues also. This is where their Mentor can
help them. As a more experienced brother they will guide them in the most appropriate ways to talk
about their membership.
So let us imagine ourselves once more at that dinner party, on the golf course or in the pub. What will
you say about the Craft? If you do declare your masonry will you use this wonderful opportunity to
highlight the many positive benefits of being a mason? Will you talk in such a way that your audience
will at least understand, maybe even applaud your membership?
If you are able to speak well of the Order you will be acting as a true Ambassador for Freemasonry.
You will be letting those around you know that you are proud to be associated with an organisation
that has stood for so many positive and worthy ideals for over 300 years.
May I end this talk by wishing you well? I also wish you the strength to speak of your convictions. I
wish you the ability to do so in an easy manner but most of all it is my wish that you are able to put
across the joy and happiness that we are all feel by being a part of this glorious brotherhood.
Thank you