TSS: www.TheSanctumSanctorum.com

What is www.TheSanctumSanctorum.com (TSS)?

TSS is a resource for Masonic education and networking established by Freemasons to educate the Craft and the general public on what Freemasonry is all about.

It is designed to put into electronic practice the three principal tenets of Freemasonry--Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.

It is a window into which the world of Freemasonry may look and see the true reflection of Freemasonry around the world.

Why is there a need for www.TheSanctumSanctorum.com?

The internet is rife with inaccurate information about Freemasonry.

TSS was created as a public forum where people with a genuine interest in the ancient Craft may come to ask sincere questions and get replies from experienced Freemasons.

TSS is an online masonic community, where Freemasons from around the globe can learn from each other.

I am a member of Co-masonry. May I join the forum?

TSS has a policy prohibiting anyone claiming to be a Freemason who is not a member of a Grand Lodge or Orient that is not recognised by at least one regular Grand Lodge, as defined by the various regular Grand Lodges of North America.

Is this just “another” forum about masonry? What is different about www.TheSanctumSanctorum.com?

TSS is firmly committed to providing quality educational discourse about Freemasonry on the web.

Some of the very best minds in Freemasonry have gathered at TSS to assist the developing Freemason get the most out of his Craft, and to assist the public to understand Freemasonry.

At TSS we are constantly developing projects and programs to meet our goal of providing quality interactive and educational experiences about Freemasonry.

New Forum: We are Live!!

Greetings Brothers,

If you haven’t heard of it, there is finally an online Masonic discussion forum that is specifically geared towards Regular Masons by Regular Masons, and interests pertaining to their mutual associations as such.

www.TheSanctumSanctorum.com

Finally, there is a place to refer Masons to, new and not, young and old, on the internet, where there isn’t a concern that they will encounter the negative information that seems to fill the majority of the web pages out there.

I look forward to seeing you there, whether you just want to read and watch. If you have a desire to participate in the discussions being had, or even if you might feel compelled to start one of your own, you can.

This forum is for Regular Masons and those who might have questions about perhaps becoming a Freemason.

Best of all, it’s free!! If you like what you find there, feel free to spread the word and forward this message as appropriate.

Check it out and have fun, and enjoy meeting some good brothers from across the world.

Be well brothers.

Sincerely & Fraternally,

WB William A. Isabelle

The Moderators Rule!!!

Brethren,

As I'm sure you have heard by now, The Sanctum Sanctorum is in the middle of getting ready for the big move! Cool huh?!

This discussion forum has become such a smashing success and the brothers here are enjoying such 1st Class fellowship that we have put into motion a plan to acquire our own dedicated space at

www.TheSanctumSanctorum.com,

so be sure to bookmark the domain name to your favorites now!

Since this kind of major move requires intensive, time consuming effort, your TSS admins have been busy getting ready and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together to make it happen.

So with that, the admins are going to be locked up in their basements, with nothing but the dim light of their computer screens, until they have our new home ready. As such, we have decided that since there is so much activity here, we needed help!

Therefore, we have invited a handful of brothers to help us out by joining the Moderation Team, which will be headed up by Damocles, our Moderator Admin, and Maximus, our Moderation Team Leader, both of whom will be working with our new team members to help our fellow forum members, wherever needed.

Thank you brothers, for your time, your effort and your energy, as your help will make all the difference while we are working to ensure a smooth transition to our new home!

I look forward to seeing you all there.

Several Conservative Arts, by Paterson Burns

Brothers,

Why do young men come in to Masonry and become disinterested and ultimately disappear? False advertising and a lack of practical Content.

I would submit that the reason many young Masons enter a Lodge, go through the process of initiation, become dues-paying members and leave, is because of a lack of content. The content being offered to the new member of the Lodge is nothing that a member of generations X and Y hasn't already run across on the internet in the numerous tens of thousands of websites that are advertising the "Secrets of Freemasonry", that peaked his interest in the first place.

When he Googled Freemasonry, scrolled through the search results, jumped to a local Lodge listed in Yahoo Local and then printed off driving directions from Mapquest, to get to the Lodge that he submitted his Petition for the Degrees of Masonry to, he was hoping to find more than what he had already found on Google.

Upon his first entrance into Lodge, he was not looking for a group of men, huddled into a handful of separate cliques around long folding tables slurping weak burnt coffee, wearing powdered blue blazers with bolo ties, sporting white patent leather dress shoes, waiting for the "Nickel-Nasty" pre-meeting bowl of pork & beans with Costco bagged salad and too-thinly spread margarine on a bun, served on a paper plate with plastic utensils.

Too often brothers, that is the image of the Lodges and Valleys nationwide, and it is not the image that is portrayed in the books, movies, magazines and variety of other media vehicles which are lapping up subscription dollars while they have a field day titillating and stimulating the public's interest in "Secret Societies" and "World Domination" conspiracies and the like. We as Masons, Scottish Rite Masons especially must do a much, much better job of living up to our "press" and media generated reputations.

There is a ton of free publicity about our fraternity and our endeavors, and we are doing a really poor job of stepping up to the plate and maintaining our facilities and organizational appearance to new members as a whole. We should be dumping a supertanker of cash into maintaining, renovating, remodeling and improving our Masonic Temples and facilities, so that when a new member, or more importantly, the new member's friends come into our halls and temples, they are awestruck and dumbfounded by the impressive and awe-inspiring condition, appearance and gilding of our Masonic locales. The sad truth is that the average Starbuck's or MacDonald's is a more inviting and comfortable place to meet than the local Masonic Lodge.

As far as the content of information and education that we as Masons provide to our initiates and candidates, I would submit that we would do a much better job of retaining new Masons and compelling them to enroll their closest friends, if we were to perhaps offer them education that they need to be successful in today's society and business and professional environments.

Education and Information such as:

• balancing a checkbook

• the impact of compound interest on high interest credit card debt

• the amortization prospects of a 40year 7% variable rate mortgage

• sound investment strategies for developing a stock portfolio grounded in long term growth (retirement)

• reviewing the rate of depreciation and loss of equity involved with the purchase of a new vehicle

• how to structure tax shelters for single professionals with no dependents to write off on their taxes

• how incorporating as an individual can save you thousands a year on basic costs of living

• basic asset management and wealth preservation

• how to run a non-profit organization

• basic fundraising strategies for developing long term financial stability for the Lodge or Valley

• how to communicate with the press and make use of the "community pages" that every print newspaper maintains, for the sake of promoting activities in the community

These are just a small fraction of the skills and components that are required to become stable and successful in today's society and sometimes shaky economic environments, as an individual and as a fraternity. Basically, if we as Masons make our new Candidates and Initiates more successful by educating them with practical and applicable personal development skill sets, we will only ensure our own Lodge and Valley futures, and the future success of our Fraternity overall.

The same way they brought a man to light 200 years ago, by expanding his understanding and thusly his horizons and his future contribution to the Craft.

How to Improve the Craft, by Arthur Peterson

You have a great idea that you think will benefit the lodge.

What do you do with this idea?

My experiences have shown that no single man can change Freemasonry or a lodge. You can have the best idea in the world, but if it does not sit well with your other Brothers, it will never blossom.

Here are my tips:

1. Thoroughly research your idea. Know what it costs, know how much time it will take out of your lodge, know what kind of manpower it is going to require.

2. Sell the idea. Discuss it with members of your lodge outside of lodge. Find supporters. Find the men who will dedicate the manhour time you have come up with.

3. Present it to the lodge. Give a full presentation. Explain the costs and how you budgeted it, explain who is going to dedicate the manhours to it, explain, explain, explain!

4. Be prepared for rejection. Even the most thought out plan does not necessarily get the majority of Brothers to agree with it. Be prepared for them to say no in the worst case, be also prepared for it to be refered for committee. If it goes into committee, meet with the members and assist them in developing a plan to implement your idea.

5. Never stop trying to improve the craft. Don't count the rejections, only count the approvals! All it takes is one improvement to make the craft better today than it was yesterday. Rejoice if you ever get just one improvement implemented!

Calling a Spade a Spade, by Paterson Burns

Why should anyone apologize for calling a spade?

You shouldn't.

Imagine that you have just won the championship game and the ref comes over tells you that you're going to have to share your trophy with the losers, because they tried....?

Did they win?

No.

Why then, should they be recognized for losing?

Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of trying, being the achievement of excellence, ie. winning, if you were willing to reward those who don't try as hard as those who win, with the same reward as those who try and succeed?

Sounds like a good way to engender and promote an entitlement society of whiners who expect to be rewarded or applauded for trying out for the team, let alone being on the winning team at the end of the season.

If someone quits the team, say a week before the final cuts from tryouts, before the season even starts,... should they be allowed to call themselves champions?

Or more rightly, wouldn't they be referred to as quitters?

Is calling a quitter, a quitter, a crime?

Me, I'd be awful proud to be on the winning team, holding that trophy and feeling the satisfaction that comes from actualizing goals, I can't see me handing over that trophy to the guy that quit the team before he could get cut, let alone play in a winning season with me and my teamates.

Why Do You Go to Lodge? by Arthur Peterson

At our last stated communication of the last year, I asked my Brothers why they came to lodge, and what they thought would make for an occasion that others would be eager to experience.

I received a lot of great inputs. My lodge is has a membership of about 119 of which only about 10 regularly attend.

Asking that question in lodge revealed a lot to me. The 10 who come regularly come because they feel obligated, for the camaraderie, but even they admit it is a stale experience.

We have made changes, and all it took was asking the question.

So...why do you go to lodge?

Is it everything you think it should be?

If not, what would you like to see different?

If not, have you discussed it in open lodge?

Useless Content & Extraordinary Content, by Paterson Burns

It seems that some "Masonic" discussion boards are full of witty banter over useless nonsense that has nothing to do with Masonry.

I realize some folks have compulsivity issues when it comes to hitting the reply button, but wouldn't it be dynamic if the content of this board in particular were filled with the reflections, experiences and exchanges of thoughful, intelligent and articulate regular Freemasons, working to promote honor to the fraternity?

Can you imagine truly filling the void left by others and being a resource for those seeking relevent, referenced and accurate content, and Mentors to help explain it and provide context?

Here lies the opportunity to create a relevent resource for "Mainstream" Regular Masons and those seeking to become the same. I know that if I can actually confidently refer a friend to an online discussion forum for regular Freemasons, I will.

There is a short list of discussion boards that are worthwhile and not a total waste of time, and hundreds that are garbage.

Give them what they're looking for, not what they've seen.