Page 37 - August 2018

Have You Ever Raised A Garden?
Have You Ever Raised A Garden?
W. Brother Mark Pearrow
W. Brother Mark Pearrow
Have you ever raised a garden? Maybe a vegetable protect it from the wild beasts of the fi eld, and shelter it
garden, or fl owers? Many years, my wife and I plant a from the inclemencies of the weather, so can we learn to
vegetable garden, and every time we do we have great do the same for our new Brothers.
hopes for the bounty of produce we’ll enjoy: cucumbers; Understanding the optimal growing conditions of a
big, ripe tomatoes; hot peppers, corn...I’m getting hungry plant helps the gardener ensure its health. The same is
just thinking about it as I write. With every new garden, true for a Brother! Everyone comes to the Craft for a
we spend a weekend getting the soil ready, getting reason. What is that reason for each Brother? What are
seedlings from our favorite garden store, or putting in they looking for? How can your Lodge provide it? What
seedlings we’ve grown ourselves during the preceding are the conditions that will empower a Brother to fl ourish
months, and generally making a fuss over the things we in Masonry? A Master’s duty is to set the Lodge at work,
are planting. Looking at the garden after we’ve planted and give necessary instruction. Every Mason should have
it, we feel pretty satisfi ed, and imagine the awesome a fi ve-year plan, whether he is an Offi cer, a committee
salads we are going to enjoy, the grilled veggies on a member, or someone on the sidelines. Knowing what
hot summer night during a backyard barbeque, and the kind of work he will be doing and what goals he will
delicious herbs we’ll use to season our dishes. A garden attempt to attain will give a Brother a sense of direction,
is a truly great thing. and a feeling of belonging; both are essential to growth.

But once we’ve planted the garden, it all too frequently A good plan will tie into each Brother’s interests that
happens that life gets busy, and we don’t tend to the brought him to Masonry, whether it be community
weeding as much as the garden needs. Oh, and the service, Masonic history, outreach, or Fellowship. It will
blight, which always seems to show up unannounced. contain concrete, measurable goals. Such a plan should
Last year’s lovely corn looked so delicious, and I am be worked out with the Brother and the Membership
sure it was to the raccoons who stole it. And wait – those Committee, making sure that the Brother is well-
cucumbers are the wrong breed altogether; they are supported and knows how, and who to ask for help. The
pickling cucumbers! We won’t be making any Greek Master should check in with each Brother periodically to
salad with those. Of all the pepper plants we planted, see how he is progressing on his plan, and to fi nd out if
Peter Piper couldn’t have packed a peck out of them – any blight is creeping in.
only one pepper sprouted! Oh, the disappointment. My Toxic personalities in the Lodge can be a huge source
neighbor’s garden is so awesome, and mine is just sad. of attrition in good members. A disproportionate level of
It’s easy to be mad at nature and blame the garden! But emphasis on the trappings of Masonry, rather than the
the painful truth is I haven’t been a good steward of the underlying tenets, can also stunt a newly-planted Brother.
seedlings, and I have no one to blame but myself. Ritual and traditions are only tools that are used to teach
Raising a fruitful garden of Masons is just as hard, and what’s really important. They are symbols that express
probably even harder than raising a garden of veggies. a deeper meaning that words alone cannot capture. To
Someone who is newly initiated into an order is often focus only on the surface value of those things is folly,
called a neophyte. Not surprisingly, the word neophyte and too much of it can spoil a new Brother’s progress
comes from the Greek neophutos, “newly planted.” The and alienate him. Likewise, a single toxic personality
early Masonic life of a Brother is every bit as fragile can sour a Brother’s experience and lead to attrition. A
as a seedling, and without proper tending, that life will good Master will need to identify any such blight and nip
wither on the vine. Those of us who have been around it before it can spread.
for a while are the gardeners. We can’t just “plant” our As the soil itself must be properly tended to ensure
Entered Apprentices and expect them to fl ourish without healthy garden growth, so must the “soil” of a Lodge be
proper tending. It’s all too common for us, in our busy fertile with opportunity, leadership, grace, and purpose.
day-to-day lives, to lose sight of the several obstacles Without this, even the hardiest of species cannot take
those Brothers meet in their progress. root (or what does take root is a weed in your garden).
Feeling directionless is a common blight on new Do the veteran members of your Lodge know the names
Brothers. The raccoons of modern life steal their of your newest Brothers? Do they know what they do
attention away from the Craft. Some Brothers come into for a living, if they have kids, or what their Masonic
the Fraternity expecting one thing, but fi nd something mission is? A Lodge that makes the eff ort to integrate a
utterly diff erent. Predictably, those fellows frequently new Brother and give him a sense of belonging will see
fall off the vine, and the Craft is poorer for it. fewer empty seats, and will be able to enjoy the happy
refl ection consequent on a well-tended Masonic garden.
The good news is that this is a solvable problem. Just Reprinted from the Trowel magazine, Spring 2018,
as a master gardener learns how to nourish his crop, Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

Volume 94 Number 6 Montana Freemason Page 37