"How to Hold a Lodge/Chapter of Discussion"

Has any Lodge or Chapter tried this or have experience of it?

Getting The Ball Rolling
 
Holding a Lodge of Discussion requires only three things:

• One moderator
• Two or three willing participants (plants or starters)
• An idea

If a Worshipful Master is willing to try out a Lodge of Discussion, the rest of the items will fall
quite easily into place. The concept is not a complicated one, nor is the execution.

Once the Worshipful Master has agreed to host a LOD (Lodge of Discussion) then the
moderator need only find a couple more people to attend and assist him in getting things
started. Some discussion on the topics prior to the meeting would be of great benefit as the
plants can also serve to keep the conversation going should it start to lag.

The last item on the list is an idea, and here, the sky´s the limit. Topics for discussion are
most effective if they run a little closer to the edge. Care should, of course, be taken not to
offend any brother, nor cause disharmony in the lodge, but topics that are somewhat
controversial in nature tend to generate more lively discussion than those based on the
merits of, say, what time meetings should start.

 The following is a list of suggested topics for discussion, though the brethren are free to choose
anything they may feel is relevant to their lodge/chapter depending on interest levels,
demographics and location:

What is the role of Masonry in today´s society?
How is Masonry a part of your everyday life?
What are the true origins of Freemasonry?

Should Masonry change with the times?
Are we failing our newly made Masons?
Why not extend time between degrees?
What are our lodge traditions?

The Big Night – Implementation In Lodge

There are a few things to keep in mind when holding the discussion. These are guidelines
rather than rules, but they have been developed over the course of a year of trial runs and
come from what has worked best in that time.

1. The Moderator has the most important job of the night. It is his job to introduce the
concept, to engage the brethren with the topic and to not only keep the conversation lively
and active, but to diffuse any tensions that may arise from differences of opinion. It is
absolutely vital that the discussions are conducted in peace and harmony.

2. The topic can make or break the evening and it is a delicate balance between a topic that
can be summed up in a few statements and one that will divide the brethren.

3. There is no time limit. The Moderator is at liberty to use his judgment based on the agenda
for the evening. If the LOD is the only item after General Business, then an hour is not
unreasonable. That being said, 10 minutes while the candidate resumes his personal
comforts on a degree night may also be sufficient to get the brethren thinking and talking in
the banquet room after the meeting.

4. Keep the atmosphere relaxed. The WM may grant permission to suspend the use of signs
and titles for the duration of the discussion, if he sees fit. Likewise, gentle humour is also a
great means of making people comfortable with one another and lessens the distance across
the lodge room.

5. Be flexible. Stay on topic as much as possible, but if the general consensus seems to
lead down other avenues, don´t be afraid to follow where it leads. It´s a great way to find the
pulse of the lodge and that information can be used to structure future discussions.

6. Have fun! Be creative and make the evening one the brethren will tell their friends about.

Keeping The Ball Rolling – Feedback and Follow-Ups

It is a suggested that the Moderator provide feedback forms or questionnaires to the brethren
in the anteroom after the meeting. This is an excellent means of gauging the success of the
meeting and for plotting the future of LOD´s. Submission of these forms to your District
Education Chair - if you have one -(or even a simple email detailing what you have done and
how it went) will also assist in better ascertaining what works and what doesn´t.

In A Nutshell…

So there it is in a few simple words. For all of the guidelines above, the greatest is this. Keep
it simple! Be conscious of those things which need to be done to make the evening a
success, but don´t over-complicate things. It is, after all, simply a conversation amongst the
brethren.

So get out there, have fun, get them thinking, and “Let´s Talk Masonry!’

Running a Lodge of Discussion
(in 50 words or less)

- Select a topic.

- In advance, ask two men to think about the topic, so they can be "plants" and when the
conversation flags, say something outrageous.

- Have one moderator who presents the topic, gives members permission to talk without formalities
and keeps order.

- Watch the miracle.

Learning by Participation

The scene is familiar. We have all been there. The business of the lodge has been
completed, minutes read and approved, accounts passed, reports heard, a ballot taken, when
the WM, trying his best to sound enthusiastic, announces, “Brethren, this evening Bro. John 
Brown will give us some Masonic Education.’ The groans from the side benches are scarcely
disguised as audible sighs, postures slump, arms are folded, and legs are crossed as the
members prepare to endure another lengthy discourse. Heads begin to nod as the
well-intentioned Brother reads his carefully prepared script with the same animated verve as
the minutes of the last meeting. Little wonder that the traditional approach to “Masonic
Education’ gets a bad name in the Lodge.

Yet, leaders tell us that “Masonry and Education are synonymous terms’ and continue to
emphasize the crucial role that learning plays in the life of the lodge, the mentoring of
candidates, and the retention of active members.

Learning is a participation sport. Real understanding requires participation on the part of the
learner. We only truly know something when we have applied it, manipulated it, or added to
it. Surely there is a lesson to be learned from operative masonry – the rough ashlar requires “
hands on’ work to polish and perfect it.

Nothing focuses our attention quicker and clarifies thought better than a pointed question.
Socrates, the Athenian philosopher (469-399 BCE), used this method of teaching to question
his students The Socratic method or dialectic question and answer remains a most useful
pedagogical tool.

Examine the old rituals. They were cast in the form of questions and answers, remnants of
which are found in the Openings and Closing of the three Degrees. Over time, these
catechisms evolved into the lecture forms used today.

The basic concept embodied in Let´s Talk Masonry in Masonic Nights at the Round Table is
learning through participation. At a Round Table all places are equal, and all are equidistant from
the centre, where Truth may be found. There are no inappropriate questions, and there is no one
right answer. All opinions are valid, and there is always more than one interpretation to be
considered. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Is there risk in inviting questions? Of course, one must be confident in one´s ability to admit that
one may not have the answer. That, however, is the essence and value of putting these
questions on the floor, and sharing the benefit of the collective knowledge of all participants.
Remember, risk and reward travel side by side. Avoid one and the other will also pass you by.
 
What we discover for ourselves through conversation and discussion, reading and research is
always more significant and permanent. To debate the validity of ideas expressed, to test the
truthfulness of what we read, to make up one´s own mind what is true – these are the most
effective means of enlightening the mind. “To repeat what others have said, requires education;
to challenge it, requires brains.’ – Mary Pettibone Poole, A Glass Eye in a Keyhole (1938)

Of course it´s easier to stand up and read a paper that has been prepared. There is no question
that there is a place for lectures, addresses and papers. Much can be learned from eloquent
scholars and skilled orators. We do not all learn in the same way. Astute and capable
Worshipful Masters will employ a variety of means to instruct their Brethren in Masonry. A
well-conducted Lodge of Discussion when pertinent questions are posed and considered will
never be a boring night at Lodge.
 

Contributed by a UKMasonList member.