Ronald A. Seale, 33°
Lieutenant Grand Commander, S.G.I.G. in Louisiana
11617 Millburn Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70815–6324
rseale@worldnet.att.net

The issue of the Scottish Rite's relevancy is our greatest challenge but also our greatest opportunity.

The question before us, "The Relevant Rite," is of supreme importance.1 In fact, it is the question beside which all others pale in comparison. The issues of Valley programming, finances, ritual, and reunions are all important, but secondary to what is the relevancy of our organization to our times and the years ahead. When we are considering our relevancy, we are considering our life. The issue of relevancy is our greatest challenge but also our greatest opportunity.

Our Fraternity, in the United States at least, is not threatened by government or church. Our greatest threat is the indifference and apathy of the uninitiated who believe, if they have any awareness of Freemasonry at all, that Masonry simply does not matter.

Think of the many men you know who are not Masons. They are at your places of employment, in your neighborhoods, in your churches or synagogues. Perhaps they are in your families—your brothers, sons, grandsons, or nephews. Why are they not beating a path to our doors? I wonder if it could be that we have not answered the clarion call and taken into consideration the issues of our relevance to the young man of the 1980s, the 1990s, and the present decade of the new millennium?

Has something changed over the past 25 to 35 years? Something has happened. Adorning the walls of your buildings or filling the pages of your scrapbooks in the archives are those pictures of Reunion classes of long ago. You know the pictures—the old yellow ones, brittle, crinkled with age, memorializing the large classes of years ago. Remember those classes? Where are they now? Do we believe, as the decade of the 1960s ended, that we saw the last generation of men worthy of Masonic membership and that there are no more good men to be found?

We will not move forward and successfully resolve the question of our relevancy until we pass through a time of redefinition. Simply put, we must know who we are and what we are trying to do as a Masonic Fraternity.

Who are we? Are we an organization of titles, regalia, costumes, and great ceremony? Is it upon these characteristics that we stake our claim? Maybe we are an organization of philanthropic efforts. Is it here that we pitch our relevancy to the young man of today and tomorrow? A Fraternity dedicated to morality? Yes, perhaps this is it.

When asked the timeless question, "What are Masons?" we often respond that we are "a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." This is a high-sounding definition, but I doubt it will bring new members to our ranks. Maybe we are a social Fraternity. We gather at meetings, go on trips, and have a great time. Is this what we offer to those from whom we seek to obtain a measure of their guarded and most precious leisure time? It is imperative for us to know what we offer to the man considering Masonic membership.

Equally important, what are we trying to do? Is it our mission to hold Reunions, to have meetings, to host conventions, to read books, to engage in philanthropic activities? In the final analysis, do we know what we are trying to do as Masons?

How do we expect to attract the best and brightest of the new millennium if we don't know who we are as Masons and what we are trying to do? Do you know? Can you write it down? Can you tell others?

If we are acting only out of a sense of self-preservation, seeking to do only that which will bring members to solve "the membership problem," then I believe we are missing the mark. If we see new members as our solution for "the revenue problem" and the answer to keeping the doors open, then we are still aiming wide of the target. In these "solutions" our interest is not in giving Masonic light to others and, thereby, serving them but in serving our own needs. It is not realistic for us to expect the uninitiated to come to our doors to help us meet our own needs. Not until we understand the needs of our potential candidates and seek to meet those needs will we then find our way. When we seek, as a primary objective, the enlightenment of others and the raising of them to a better life, then we will also discover that Masonry, as an institution, will benefit in the process.

The problem in determining relevancy is not limited to our ability to redefine ourselves and identify our objectives. We must equally identify and learn about those whom we hope will consider Masonry.

Can we present ourselves in a way that will attract their attention? What do we know about this generation, those whom we hope will fill our ranks? What are they interested in? How do they work? How do they play? What do they value? How do they learn? How do they process information? These are the questions that demand an answer as we present ourselves to the world as an organization worthy of consideration. Herein lies the difficulty for relevancy. It is a changing target.

What seems relevant today by tomorrow is history. Recall the excitement of yesteryear as the Pony Express raced across the plains only to give way to faster and more expedient means of communication. Telegraph lines gave way to telephone lines and telephone lines to satellites and other forms of communication. The stagecoach was passed by the train and the train by the airplane. The relevant items of today have a place reserved in the museums of tomorrow.

As we enter this millennium, where do we see Masonry in 25 or 50 years from now? How will our role be defined? Will we be seen as a relic of the past, an organization of yesterday, which attracted the great men of days gone by but is of little influence or relevance for the present? Or will we be seen on the cutting edge of the issues confronting men of today?

We have the opportunity to be a worldwide, dynamic Fraternity bringing to men of the new millennium the never-changing message of what's right, good, and true, thus giving to our novitiates the sound principles upon which to build a good life. Unfortunately, we also have the opportunity to be an organization of men without agendas, confined to dark and musty buildings, there to discuss trivialities of Masonic lore as we recall the greatness of the Craft in bygone days. The choice is ours alone.

We recognize that reshaping our role and redefining our structure can be disconcerting as it causes us to move from our places of comfort and familiarity. We will most certainly face the troll who runs from under the bridge to yell in purple-faced rage "We have never done it this way before!"

I do not advocate that the tenets of Masonry change nor that they are irrelevant. Men of today, I believe, are just as interested in what is good and right and true. They, too, are searching for those things that are lasting and of value upon which to base their lives. The great lessons of our Degrees are as relevant today as they were a generation ago. In this fast-paced world, the need for an anchor is just as great as a generation ago. Masonry meets those needs and gives a man the chance to ponder great issues, causes greater than himself. Masonry today, as yesterday, seeks to assist us as we face those timeless choices of how best to go about the business of building one's life. This great cause will never become outdated nor lose the urgency of its mission.

When the roll of the Craft is called 25 years from now, indeed when it is called tomorrow, who will answer? Who will stand with us in the ranks and pick up the working tools which have been laid down by others before them? Who will see the designs on the trestleboard and build according to the plans there written?

These questions will be answered in large part as we seek to determine who we are and what we are trying to do. Our role will also be determined by our ability to listen to the young men of this generation and, with courage in hand, to move forward to make the changes needed to keep Masonry strong, vibrant, and alive well into this new millennium.