Ronald A. Seale, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander

We must make Freemasonry relevant to the contemporary man,
his family, and his community.

On October 3, 2003, I  had the great honor of being elected Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, USA. I had some inkling of what I was getting into from my experience, starting in 1995, as the Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Louisiana.

House of the Temple, Washington, D.C.

In Louisiana, tradition hangs heavy like Spanish moss, and this is also true with respect to the Craft and Scottish Rite. We sometimes find ourselves battling tradition or habit despite the fact that we labor hard to enliven our Masonic meetings, serve our members more effectively, and reach out more emphatically to the general public. Regarding the latter, public awareness of the Rite, I had a sobering experience recently when, in preparation for assuming the Sovereign Grand Commander’s office, I went to a large bookstore in my hometown of Baton Rouge and sought out several guidebooks relevant to Washington, D.C.

I made a point of looking to see if the House of the Temple was indexed and discussed. Of the 20 or more guidebooks I checked, only a few mentioned the House of the Temple. Yet the building is truly an architectural masterpiece. Designed by John Russell Pope (who also designed the Jefferson Memorial, National Archives, and National Art Gallery, among other grand buildings in the nation’s capital), the House of the Temple is worth any tourist’s attention. And it is located just 14 blocks from the White House and not far from the haunt of most tourists, the National Mall.

Some of the guide-books that did mention the House of the Temple were basically positive and informative. They noted it housed the first library open to the general public in the District of Columbia and commented on the building’s architectural significance. However, the slant was often sarcastic and dismissive. One guidebook compared the Temple Room to Batman’s cave and the best place in D. C. to hear a really spooky organ. Another characterized the Temple’s museum exhibits as a plethora of gaudy aprons, cordons, sashes, caps, rings, and portraits—all relating to long-dead Masons with such ornate titles as Most Puissant Inspectors, Exalted Knights, Royal Inquisitors, Princes of Saint Somebody, Chiefs of the Sun, Imperial Architects, Grand Whatevers, and, yes, Sovereign Grand Commanders. No, except for the last, these were not the actual titles mentioned in the book. Out of courtesy—and respect for what these titles really represent—I have changed the wordings. But, clearly, the authors were poking fun at our Masonic penchant for exotic titles.

One book skewered a Temple guide for droning on endlessly. This book, title withheld, advised: “Say you have only 20 minutes for the tour, check out the main ceremonial rooms, and then, claiming a pressing need to get to the airport, get out quick!”

I ask you frankly, “Is your situation any better? Are the men or women who guide visitors through your facilities dynamic, enthusiastic representatives of the Craft? Are you gaining members? Are seats hard to come by at your meetings? Are visitors crowding your Masonic halls? Does the general public, in any positive way, know you exist? Are you working in what is, in effect, a museum rather than a living, dynamic center manned by forward-thinking Brethren who are making a difference for good in Freemasonry and in your community?”

Yes, we should be proud of our Masonic heritage. Yes, Masonry has been an integral and beneficial part of our nation since the American Revolution. But we can’t live in the past, nor depend on it for our future. We must live in the real world today. We must make Masonry relevant to the contemporary man, his family, and his community.

Certainly, I, as the Southern Jurisdiction’s new Grand Com-mander, am challenged. We all are challenged. That is why, at this Masonic Leadership meeting, I wanted to avoid the feel-good, self-complimenting tone of too many Masonic speeches. You are the leaders of our Craft. You can make a difference. You are in positions of influence, and you are not powerless, despite the magnitude of the challenges facing you or your brief tenure in office. The architecture of your headquarters building may reflect the ancient world, Greek or Roman, and the House of the Temple, where I work, is modeled on an ancient tomb, the mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Bodrum, Turkey. Yet, though the word “Ancient” probably appears in the official title of your Masonic order, we cannot remain “ancient” and survive.

Albert Pike Museum, House of the Temple, Washington, D.C. Photo: Maxwell MacKenzie, Washington, D.C.

Recently, a Secretary of a Scottish Rite Valley, name and Valley withheld, submitted an article for publication to the Scottish Rite Journal. He complained of his Valley’s members, particularly their “crotchety- old-man syndrome.” He noted that only 5% of the Valley’s membership attended meetings. He complained that members did not really know what the Scottish Rite was all about. He complained that his Valley had only one or two Candidates per Reunion.

I wanted to ask: “Have you really listened to the complaints and addressed their causes? Have you made your meetings interesting and enjoyable so that there is a reason to attend? Are your Degrees so well performed and presented that their message gets through? Have you followed up after the Reunion and mentored each Candidate, involved him in your Valley’s work, and made his family welcome? Have you treated the Candidates like the very special persons they are, provided opportunities for sincere fellowship, and made them want to bring in their friends so that they, too, can share the inspiration, accomplishment, and, yes, fun of being a Scottish Rite Freemason?”

Like you, I love Freemasonry. Since my days as a DeMolay, I have realized the value Masonry can bring to an individual’s life, his community, even the nation and world. At one time, the Craft did. Consider the key influence of Masons and Masonic philosophy in the American Revolution and in liberation movements across Latin America and around the globe. It is up to us, as leaders of the Craft, to see that Masonry again becomes a respected, influential institution. If not us, who? If not now, when? We cannot rest on the laurels of past generations. The mission of Masonry is ours, and it is now or never for the Craft. We must stop arranging deck chairs on the Titanic and change our course—radically.

As the newly elected “captain” of my particular “ship,” you can be sure I will try my best. I will work with you in every cause to benefit our Order. Posing and posturing, infighting and competition, are not my games. Rather, I intend to join you at the oars of our Craft, to pull hard, and to pull in unison so that we can direct Freemasonry into the waves, high though they may be, and follow the light that a hundred Masonic studies have shown us. This is no time for safe harbors, for doing things as we always have, for reveling in titles and the perks of office as the band plays on and the ship goes down. We know what we have to do. Let’s do it.

Let’s look at the realities of today and face them head-on. The time for studies is over. It is time for action. Let’s stop feeding egos and, instead, build a valid pride in Masonry and its leaders, a pride based on what our Craft, via whatever Masonic Body, delivers of real value to the member, his family, and his community.

There is neither a better time nor a better place than the 2004 Conference of Grand Masters to begin facing the challenges we all confront today. For the sake of the Brother who is in our ranks or who may join, for the sake of the many our multiple Masonic philanthropies serve, Godspeed to us all!

Ronald A. Seale, a member of the Valley of Baton Rouge, La., since 1970, graduated with a Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, Birmingham, Ala., in 1973 and entered law practice in Baton Rouge from 1974 through 2003. Active in the Methodist Church, American Cancer Society, and Louisiana Sheltered Workshops, he has had a distinguished career in Freemasonry in, among other Masonic Bodies, his Blue Lodge (East Gate Lodge #452, Baton Rouge, Master in 1988), the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, and the International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay.