jpeffer2007

I will not use any real names of the Lodges or the Brothers....all I will say is that in was in the Grand Lodge of Alabama.

About 3 years ago my Lodge (Lodge B) merged with another struggling Lodge Lodge H). The merger was completed a few months before the annual communication and some of the officers of Lodge H had in interest in their positions and some of our members were allowed to pro-tem those chairs for the remainder of the Masonic year. (After the merger was complete I never attended Lodge H) When annual communication rolled around I was called and told I need to attend so I could pick up my perpetual membership card and my Past Master certificate and told I should vote for Bro. J for WM. Bro. J had been WM of Lodge B before the merger and it was explained to me that the concensus of the Lodge was that Bro. J was to be voted WM of Lodge H.

I decided to attend annual communication since it had been several months since I had attended lodge. When the election of the WM was held it was a close vote. Bro. J won the election but Lodge H's SW Bro. D came in a very close second. It was obviously that Bro. D was stunned that he wasn't elected as WM. Bro. D had even invited his father to travel to see him be elected WM. It was a sad occurence. It gets worse....

(Shortly after this I demitted from the Lodge but still have several friends there)

The next year when annual communication rolled around Bro. D was well prepared and ready to be elected WM. When it came time to vote Bro. D wasn't elected but the Bro. who was elected WM refused and said he thought Bro. D should be elected. After a second ballot Bro. D was still not elected....at this point Bro. D offered to please be removed from the ballot and openly discussed demitting from the lodge. The Bro. who was elected, again, refused and pointed out that it was Bro. D who deserved the position.

So...after a third ballot Bro. D was elected to the position of WM. In the third ballot there was even someone who voted "anybody but Bro. D." When this story was relayed to me I felt sick. I was also glad that I demitted from that Lodge and left that Grand Body.

This past Monday night I told this story to my current lodge. It helped to display not only the differences in what Free-Masonry used to be and is now, but also the difference between the system of Masonry I/we were in and the system we are now a part of.

Jamie