Educationals

My lodge held its last regular stated meeting for the year last evening. I was privileged to be able to give an educational.

For those of you who do not know, an educational in Masonry is exactly what it sounds like: an educational lecture or presentation. It is typically related to Masonry, having to do with Masonic history or Masonic principles; it is not unheard of and is completely appropriate, however, to have an educational in lodge that has nothing to do with Freemasonry.

For example, back in 2019, we had non-Masons come in from a local high school's debate team while our lodge was "at recess." They gave a presentation on the pro's and con's of our local area (Washington County) building a water pipeline from Lake Mead to address our drought (given that we live in a desert area). Both sides of their debate team brought up excellent points and were very impressive. Once their presentation was completed and we thanked them, they left and our lodge "returned to labor."

Yesterday, I decided to do my educational on the topic of Temperance, which is one of the four cardinal virtues of Freemasonry. I had a lot of fun putting it together.

For the year 2021, I will be the Senior Warden of the lodge. Tradition in my lodge holds that the Senior Warden is in charge of educationals throughout the year, so it'll be on me to ensure that our lodge learns something at every stated meeting. I will be able to give educationals myself or I can delegate the task to others as they are available and willing.

Having grown up attending weekly sacrament meetings and classes in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have given my fair share of talks (like sermons) over the pulpit (for those who aren't members of the Church and/or are not as familiar with it, talks are typically given by lay members of the Church in our weekly sacrament meetings). Last night presented a special issue, however. At this time, we are still required by the Grand Lodge to wear face masks in lodge buildings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My mask in particular somewhat muffled my voice; I felt that it would be easier for me to be understood if I spoke loudly to the lodge in lieu of clipping a microphone to the outside of my mask. Everyone appears to have been able to understand my speech; however, speaking loudly while wearing a thicker mask makes for a hard time to breathe after a few minutes. By the end of my 10-minute educational, I was gasping for breath. I did receive an ovation, however. After delivering the educational in its entirety, I submitted my paper copy into the records of the lodge.

Luckily, there is a microphone on a stand at the Senior Warden's station, so I will not have to worry about this issue during 2021 should I choose to be the one to give an educational again. It was, however, a memorable experience and I am glad that I was entrusted with the opportunity. I am looking forward to being able to coordinate more of them for the coming year.

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