WheatBarley
Registered User
I've seen the subject of fraternization among Masons who are in the military mentioned here a few times, and I wanted to give some input based on my own experiences.
My background: Military officer (Air Force Captain), not a Mason (yet).
I've been involved in several church ministries, either affiliated with the military, or off-base. In both cases, I've interacted with enlisted military members, some who work for me, and some who I only know through church.
The general protocol I follow is this: when in a church setting, the uniforms come off (metaphorically). I call the enlisted personnel by their first names, and they call me by mine. Enlisted personnel who don't work for me are welcome to come to cook-outs at my house, etc. as long as they're a somewhat official event where everyone from the Bible study group/Sunday school/etc is invited.
For enlisted personnel who work for me, I talk with them privately and express that it would be better for both of us if they don't come to events at my house, but that I'm happy to see them at church events either on church premises, or hosted by another member of the church/ministry/etc. We also set the expectation that we will keep appropriate professional distance while at work, and although neither of us will lie about belonging to the same church/Bible study/etc., we won't broadcast the fact. The main thing is to strenuously avoid any impression of favoritism while at work, and to avoid discussing any church business/events/gossip while we're both in uniform.
Seems to me that if you replace the word "church" with "lodge", this policy would work well in a Masonic setting also. You could also replace "church" with "ultimate frisbee team", "chess club", or "PTA", and it would work equally well. I welcome your thoughts on the subject, fellow military forum members.
My background: Military officer (Air Force Captain), not a Mason (yet).
I've been involved in several church ministries, either affiliated with the military, or off-base. In both cases, I've interacted with enlisted military members, some who work for me, and some who I only know through church.
The general protocol I follow is this: when in a church setting, the uniforms come off (metaphorically). I call the enlisted personnel by their first names, and they call me by mine. Enlisted personnel who don't work for me are welcome to come to cook-outs at my house, etc. as long as they're a somewhat official event where everyone from the Bible study group/Sunday school/etc is invited.
For enlisted personnel who work for me, I talk with them privately and express that it would be better for both of us if they don't come to events at my house, but that I'm happy to see them at church events either on church premises, or hosted by another member of the church/ministry/etc. We also set the expectation that we will keep appropriate professional distance while at work, and although neither of us will lie about belonging to the same church/Bible study/etc., we won't broadcast the fact. The main thing is to strenuously avoid any impression of favoritism while at work, and to avoid discussing any church business/events/gossip while we're both in uniform.
Seems to me that if you replace the word "church" with "lodge", this policy would work well in a Masonic setting also. You could also replace "church" with "ultimate frisbee team", "chess club", or "PTA", and it would work equally well. I welcome your thoughts on the subject, fellow military forum members.