In Tennessee, you get your actual leather apron when you are raised, but as I told a newly made Master Mason today, "the next time you wear that, you'll be at room temperature!"
I know some states give the presentation apron to EAs, but I'm glad we don't do that. If you give it to an EA, and he never completes his degrees, you've just wasted an apron and the value thereof.
I think that comes during the entertainment part of the degree...Not a fan of the coin thing, personally. I feel the lesson is complete as it stands.
I'd love to read (or hear) the lecture given in those states that say "you'll only wear this twice." Is that actually in the lecture, or just an addition that crept in later? (Like the coin...)
...the special gift of this Lodge, is yours to wear upon all proper occasions throughout an honorable life, and at your death, is to be placed upon the coffin that contains your lifeless remains and with them shall be laid beneath the silent clods of the valley.
I would feel out of place wearing a custom apron. In my lodge, except for officers in our lodge and visiting from GL, all the brothers wear the aprons that the lodge provides. Otherwise I would like to get one of my own.
Dare to be different. Start a new tradition.I would feel out of place wearing a custom apron. In my lodge, except for officers in our lodge and visiting from GL, all the brothers wear the aprons that the lodge provides. Otherwise I would like to get one of my own.
That's a matter of opinion, not supported by history. Hand-painted and embroidered custom aprons were the norm in American lodges prior to the industrial revolution. Currently, in no other part of the world is it customary to wear the worn-out plain cloth aprons from the pile by the tyler's station. Master Masons are expected to own a proper apron of their own.Getting fancy is not a part of Freemasonry.
Cannot debate what you said. I have only attended lodges in Arkansas and Missouri. Except for past officers, I have never seen MM bring his own fancy apron to lodge. I do have my own, a lambskin presented to me when I was raised. It stays in a drawer where my family will (hopefully) find it at my death. Have only used the "worn-out" aprons provided by the lodge.That's a matter of opinion, not supported by history. Hand-painted and embroidered custom aprons were the norm in American lodges prior to the industrial revolution. Currently, in no other part of the world is it customary to wear the worn-out plain cloth aprons from the pile by the tyler's station. Master Masons are expected to own a proper apron of their own.