Page 9 - EssexMason (Issue 89)online_version

Pathway

Intervention of the Lodge Mentor at this point is absolutely crucial and this, in my opinion, cannot be
emphasised enough. But the Mentor’s responsibilities do not end here, because the role of the Lodge
Mentor is a continuous one, it is an on-going supportive role and as referenced earlier, one of education
and personal development too.

trategies that can be employed by a
Mentor are things such as; meeting up
Swith the new member immediately after
each ceremony to talk through what he has
experienced and explain the significance of
that particular ceremony. Helping him with his
preparation for each ceremony is another idea
to support him and answering any questions
that he may have, so that the Mentor, his
Mentor, becomes a source of information,
support and guidance for him.

Nuggets
Integral to the Solomon website, is the concept of
Nuggets which are Talks whose delivery will take
around 5 to 10 minutes and the content of which
is designed to enhance parts of the ceremony as
a way of making sense of it to a participant or to
someone who has witnessed the performance.
The Nuggets can be delivered so that they are
pertinent to any portion of a ceremony, even
Installations.

While I understand that the ‘mechanical repetition of the ceremonies’: first degree; second degree; third degree; Installation;
is important, in fact, it is essential, because it is after all what we are about in terms of ceremony and from this, the making
and the progressing of Freemasons and it is an essential part, the bed rock of our Speculative Freemasonry.
It must at the same time be accompanied with an understanding of why we do what we do, supplemented by some idea of
where we come from as a fraternity, which in turn can help to guide us as to where we are heading in the 21st century and
make us as a fraternal organisation, relevant in today’s world, where everything is challenged, analysed and critiqued.
That said, no matter how much our society’s values appear to change; work pressures and the consequent effect of this on
leisure time, the core values of Freemasonry are immutable and it is this glue, if you will, that binds us and Mentors help to
make sense of all of this in their endeavours and assist in continuing to help make Freemasonry, ‘a centre of union, a nexus of
contact and solidarity between people of different backgrounds.’ (Clark, P. 2000, p.330).

Fostering Curiosity and Developing Understanding
This is the point at which Solomon becomes significant and it was launched in December 2018, with its mission statement of
‘Fostering Curiosity and Developing Understanding’ and ‘to help in making good men better’ and straightforward goal in
helping members of Lodges and Chapters to learn more about Freemasonry. Within the first month of its launch, it boasted
over 10,000 members and the membership numbers are up to; at the time of writing during the hopefully, latter stages of the
Covid-19 pandemic, in excess of 30,000.
Mentors, can either deliver a Nugget at a relevant juncture at a Meeting, whether there is work to be
done or not, or they can help develop that newer member, by asking them to Present a Nugget in the
Lodge, or Chapter. This latter idea has many benefits, from inclusion, to personal development via a
modest research process; the advantages of this are many-fold.

Mentors historically, have always had an extremely important role to play and now, even more so in
modern Freemasonry; in encouraging, supporting and informing members, which will doubtless help
in retention of the membership, so please, do not underestimate the essential part that they have
volunteered to undertake as Mentors, in helping to make a success of the process of recruitment and
retention.
Lastly, a word of encouragement to all Mentors; your role is vital for the success of a Lodge and Chapter and to Freemasonry
as a whole. Do enjoy your position as Mentor so that Brethren and Companions can understand their Freemasonry and that
they will ultimately, with confidence gained through knowledge, encourage others to join us and remain and grow with us
and in the words of the other part of the Solomon Mission Statement, to help in ‘making good men better.’
Provincial Mentor To get a more in-depth view and to download
W.Bro. Pierre Waddoups documents go to b.ugle.org.uk/membership

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