# Greetings



## Blackstar (Jan 13, 2019)

Hello!  Thanks for having this space on the internet for discussions about Freemasonry. 

I am not a member.

In a few weeks, I will be participating in a Grand Master's Class.  I don't know if the language is the same from Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge, but in other words, it is also known as a One Day Class.  They have their reasons for offering them and I have my reasons for choosing this pathway.

Many of the Freemasons I am close to are not familiar with this pathway, but are supportive of me entering this way, so long as it's regular.  They have genuine curiosity about it.

I have general nervousness about the process.  I am not nervous about how I will be treated once I'm in, because I'm grown and have already stopped caring what people think of me, lol.

My uncle is a Mason (inactive for a few years) and my grandfather was a member of a lodge that is now defunct.  

I figure I might as well say hello since I've been lurking long enough now!

PS - My screen name comes from a David Bowie album and song.  I'm a big fan.


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## Brother JC (Jan 13, 2019)

Welcome!
While each of us has our own opinion of one day classes in the end it does not make you less of a Brother.

Great album, too.


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## Warrior1256 (Jan 13, 2019)

Greetings and welcome to the forum!


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## Bloke (Jan 14, 2019)

Greetings and welcome - it will be interesting to follow your thought on your experience as you enter Freemasonry in this way..


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## Blackstar (Jan 17, 2019)

Bloke said:


> Greetings and welcome - it will be interesting to follow your thought on your experience as you enter Freemasonry in this way..



I will be sure to share my perspective!


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## Blackstar (Jan 26, 2019)

It's about a week out before the event.  A lot has been going on with me personally and professionally, but I'm still moving forward and nothing's going to turn me around from doing this.

I am in a college fraternity.  One thing that eased my anxieties about that process was that I knew what was going to happen, or at least what was supposed to happen.  I'm a little nervous because I know a little more about what happens in a traditional masonic experience rather than a one day class.  I literally don't know what's going to happen, how many people will be there, how everything will make me feel, etc.

I am okay with sitting with those feelings, and I am not afraid.  But again, am I nervous?  Yes.

I am a teacher, and one of the reasons I am choosing this way in is because I am a believer in multiple learning modalities.  I feel very lucky that I had a traditional secondary education that came easy for me.  College coursework was not as easy, and rote memorization when I pledged my fraternity was a nightmare.  But I was excellent and writing papers and synthesizing knowledge that way, formulating arguments, and creating things (project based learning).  As a teacher, I use multiple ways to reach my students, because most can't perform well under pressure, either.

For those of you who are familiar with pedagogy, you already know that it's not simply a matter of discipline and concentration when your brain is wired differently in the first place.  I don't just want to remember for the sake of a test--I want to understand for the sake of application.

So I'm hoping that this way into Freemasonry allows me to get to the heart of the work and the understanding of it without the pressure of proficiency in between degrees hindering my ability to serve. 

I hope that makes sense.  I know that everyone says a Brother is a Brother, yet I also know that there will be those who feel badly for me because I didn't enter the same way.  And the fact remains that I still don't exactly know what will happen after the three degrees are conferred and I report to my first lodge meeting.  But all in all, this still feels like the right thing to do in the right way for the style of learner that I am.


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## Schuetz (Jan 26, 2019)

Here in southern Illinois, we call one day classes "Blue Lightning" and is typically held around St. Louis with dozens (maybe a 100?) candidates. There is a stigma, of course, because many don't ever show back up. As long as you regularly attend your Lodge and pay your dues, any such doubts will vanish. 

Quentin E. L. Schuetz, M.M.
Shekinah Lodge No. 241 • IL
Murphysboro Lodge No. 498 • IL


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## dfreybur (Jan 26, 2019)

Blackstar said:


> I am in a college fraternity.  One thing that eased my anxieties about that process was that I knew what was going to happen, or at least what was supposed to happen.  I'm a little nervous because I know a little more about what happens in a traditional masonic experience rather than a one day class.  I literally don't know what's going to happen, how many people will be there, how everything will make me feel, etc.
> 
> I am okay with sitting with those feelings, and I am not afraid.  But again, am I nervous?  Yes.



One crucial aspect of our degrees is trust. You put yourself in the hands of a friend trusting he will take good care of you. Every one of us did exactly that as our starting point. If you can not or will not trust your friend that suggests that you are not worthy of being trusted.

Nervous? That's okay. Some are. Some aren't. Trust does not eliminate nerves it just makes us willing to go forward in trust. Either our Brother who signed your petition is worthy and we'll take good care of you or he's not and we won't. Step back and think of Grandpa down the street with the Square and Compasses knocker on the door of his house. Was he going to stay a member for 50+ years if they did not take good care of him at the start and if he did not care good care of new guys when it was his turn to work in degrees?

Looking up the content of the degrees beforehand betrays the trust. It shows that you are not worthy of being trust because it shows that you do not give trust. Read all you like on Masonic philosophy and history then learn the content in person stepping out in faith. Oh look, I just used a different word for the same idea. We are men of faith and this is your initial act of faith. Faith in small human activities is the starting point for faith in the divine.


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## Blackstar (Jan 26, 2019)

I appreciate those words, gentlemen.   Thank you.


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## bashkim (Jan 26, 2019)

what exactly are those one day classes?


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## Schuetz (Jan 26, 2019)

It's when multiple candidates go through the degrees at once. Sometimes it's all three, sometimes you have to be an Entered Apprentice and they take the second and third degrees. There is usually a "representative" that actually goes through the degree, recites the catechism, says the oath, while the others watch. It's usually reserved for older people or people with odd work schedules or military about to be shipped off, etc.

Quentin E. L. Schuetz, M.M.
Shekinah Lodge No. 241 • IL
Murphysboro Lodge No. 498 • IL


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## Blackstar (Jan 28, 2019)

Well, my journey is delayed.

A former student of mine has died, and I have been asked to eulogize him. His funeral is at the same time as the degree conferral. I've sent the lodge my regrets and they said they will keep me in the loop for future Grand Master's Classes.

I'm bummed, even though I know I'm making the best choice.  And of course, I'm sad about my student (a favorite) passing away.  But the timing was unavoidable.


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## Bloke (Feb 2, 2019)

That's very bad news - on both counts. The degree can be done another time, but the funeral cannot. Sorry about your student passing away.


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## Blackstar (Feb 2, 2019)

As it turns out, I was able to participate in the Grand Master's Class after all.

I am now a Master Mason.

There is a lot to process and I have mixed feelings, that may be complicated by the funeral I participated in immediately after. 

Thanks to everyone who responded before.  I appreciate you.


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## dfreybur (Feb 3, 2019)

All the way in one day. Some guys like that. Most old timers are gratified when new guys want individual degrees.

Welcome to the family once adopted Brother. Welcome again to the family twice adopted Brother. Welcome again, and again, to the family thrice adopted Brother. All in the same day.


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## Blackstar (Feb 3, 2019)

dfreybur said:


> All the way in one day. Some guys like that. Most old timers are gratified when new guys want individual degrees.
> 
> Welcome to the family once adopted Brother. Welcome again to the family twice adopted Brother. Welcome again, and again, to the family thrice adopted Brother. All in the same day.



Thank you, Brother.  It's a good thing we don't do it to gratify others.


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## dfreybur (Feb 3, 2019)

Blackstar said:


> Thank you, Brother.  It's a good thing we don't do it to gratify others.



One of the hardest lessons to learn is that now that we've had our degrees, other degrees are no longer about us. Now they are about the candidates.


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