CHAPTER 45
Communication of a Lodge
The communications of a
lodge shall be stated communications and emergent communications.
1. The stated
communications shall be held at such time as the lodge prescribes in its
by-laws and shall be held at a definite hour on a particular week day of the
calendar month. This subdivision cannot be dispensed with, except as provided
in Regulation 45-2. [54-1.1; 45-23.1].
2. An Emergent
communication may be held as provided in Regulations 45-3, 45-3.1, and 45-4.
3. The minutes of
every communication, stated and emergent, shall show the day of the month, the
year, and the hour the lodge was opened. [45-2.4; 62-1.1.C; 62-2.6].
REG. 45-2
STATED COMMUNICATION.
A lodge shall hold at least
one stated communication each calendar month, however, it may provide in its by-laws
for the omission of any or all stated communications during either or all of
the months of June, July and August and those falling on legal holidays and may
omit a stated communication by dispensation of the Grand Master (this regulation amended, effective 1/1/2004).
1. In the event
the stated communication, as named in the by-laws of a lodge at which the
officers should be elected as required by Regulation 54-1, shall fall on a
legal holiday then the lodge shall hold that stated communication on the day
following such legal holiday, except Sunday. [43-2.4; 44-7
(Art.8); 54-1.1].
2. A lodge cannot
hold more than one stated communication on the same day.
3. A lodge cannot
transact the business of a stated communication until the hour fixed in the
by-laws as the time of the meeting.
4. A lodge,
regularly opened on the third degree for an emergent communication on the day
of a stated communication at an earlier hour than that named in its by-laws for
that stated communication, may be changed to a stated communication without
going through the ceremonies of closing and again opening in the following
manner.
A. At
a time not more than thirty minutes after the hour named in the by-laws for the
stated communication, the Master shall announce in open lodge that "the
hour for the stated communication having arrived, and the lodge having been
opened on the degree of Master Mason, further work in the emergent
communication will be deferred and the business of the stated communication
taken up."
B. The
work of the emergent communication shall be concluded before the lodge is
closed.
C. The
minutes shall show that the declaration was made by the Master and shall give
the names of the officers occupying the various stations and places, and the
hour that the stated communication was declared open. [44-7 (Art.21, Sec.1); 45-2.3, 45-3.3; 62-1.1.C; 71-17].
REG. 45-3
EMERGENT COMMUNICATIONS.
Emergent communications of
a lodge may be held at any time at the pleasure of the Master as provided by
law and the usages of the Craft. [45-1.2; 45-5; 45-3.1; 45-4; 59-2.5; 59-9.6].
1. If an emergent
communication is ordered and announced at a stated communication for a purpose
then and there stated, no other notice shall be necessary.
2. If not so
ordered, then notice of the time and object of such emergent communication
shall be given each resident member so far as practicable. [45-1.2; 59-12.12].
3. A lodge cannot
transact the business of an emergent communication until the hour named in the
call and notice therefor.
4. A lodge shall
not transact the following business at an emergent communication:
A. Election of officers, [54-1; 54-1.2;
54-1.1; 54-1.3]
B. Receipt of petitions for the degrees or
action thereon, [65-1; 68-1]
C. Receipt of applications for affiliation or
restoration or action thereon, [68-1; 75-8; 78-2.2.D; 101-6]
D. Receipt of applications for advancement or
action thereon, [68-1; 73-6]
E. Amend the by-laws of the lodge, [44-7 (Art.24)]
F. Grant a demit, [76-4]
G. Exclude a member for non-payment of dues,
[77-20.7]
H. Grant a waiver of jurisdiction, or [42-9]
I. Transact any business which is required
by law, or by order of the Grand Master, to be transacted at a stated
communication.
5. A ballot which
may deprive a brother of his Masonic standing must be taken at a stated
communication. It may be taken at an emergent communication only when
discipline is applied under Chapter 100 for contempt.
All notices emanating from
a lodge, or its officers, shall be sent to members under sealed cover, except
that a notice setting forth merely the time and place of meetings and the
degree to be conferred may be published in the newspapers, sent by postal card,
or both. Unless otherwise provided, a notice of a communication shall be deemed
sufficient if it is given not less than twenty-four hours, or published in a
local newspaper not less than eight hours prior to the communication.
1. An emergent
communication to conduct Masonic burial services may be held at any time
without previous notice provided there is a quorum present. Reasonable means
should be employed to notify the members of such communication. [45-1.2; 45-2.3, 45-3.3; 45-5; 59-12.12; 87-3].
2. Any required
notice which is mailed to a brother at his last known address for mail is a
proper notice. [45-3.1; 43-6].
REG. 45-5
CALL FOR EMERGENT COMMUNICATION.
The Master, or in his
absence the Senior Warden, or in the absence of both, the Junior Warden, may call
an emergent communication of the lodge at his pleasure. On a written request of
eight or more members of the lodge, the Master shall call an emergent
communication for the consideration of such matters as may be named in said
request. Due notice of all emergent communications shall be given to the
members of the lodge, and no business shall be transacted at the communication
except that specified in the call. [45-4; 59-9.3].
REG. 45-6
ANNUAL COMMUNICATION.
The annual communication
shall be held as provided in Regulation 54-1. [54-1.1].
REG. 45-7
PLACE OF COMMUNICATIONS.
The communications of a
lodge shall be held in the meeting place or hall within the city, or town, or
place of its location as the lodge shall name in its by-laws. [13-3.8.G; 38-4; 38-4.1; 38-4.2; 38-5; 42-3; 71-12; 71-14; 82-9].
Seven Master Masons,
members of the lodge, one of whom shall be authorized to open the lodge and
preside, shall constitute a quorum to open the lodge on any degree and for the
transaction of any business that may lawfully come before a Master Mason’s
lodge. The
REG. 45-9
DEGREE ON WHICH LODGE OPENED.
All business shall be
transacted in a Master Mason’s Lodge, except proficiency examinations and
degree work in the first and second degrees, or the discipline of Entered
Apprentices and Fellow Crafts as provided in Chapter 100.
1. A subordinate lodge shall be opened and
closed on the degree of Master Mason in Due Form and on the first and second
degrees in Form, except when the Grand Master opens and presides, then they
shall be opened and closed in Ample Form.
2. The representatives of the three Lesser
Lights shall be lighted at all times when a lodge is open on the Degree of
Entered Apprentice. It shall be optional whether they be lighted at any other
time when the lodge is open. Their places shall be in a triangular position
near the altar.
REG.
45-10 CONFERRAL OF DEGREES.
A lodge shall hold but one
emergent communication in any one day to confer any one of the three degrees.
1. It may confer each degree but once on any
one day.
2. If two or more emergent communications
are called on the same day for the purpose of conferring degrees, the lodge may
be opened on the degree of Master Mason, and then not closed on that degree
until after the completion of the degree work for that day.
3. The lodge shall be opened and closed on
each degree in which work is done and a proper record shall be kept of the
proceedings of the lodge and of the brethren present at each degree. [45-15; 71-21].
REG.
45-11 SUNDAY COMMUNICATIONS.
A lodge
shall not hold a stated communication or an emergent communication for the
purpose of degree work on Sunday. (This regulation amended,
effective
When the Master is absent,
the Senior Warden shall preside and perform his duties as Acting Master.
If both the Master and the
Senior Warden are absent, the Junior Warden shall act as Master. If the Master
and both Wardens are absent at a stated or lawfully called emergent
communication, the lodge may be opened by the junior Past Master in point of
service of said lodge present, who shall for the time being have all the powers
of the Master. Business may be transacted as if the Master were present. The
powers of a Past Master serving as Acting Master shall not extend beyond that
particular meeting. The brother occupying the East shall be covered and wear
the jewel of the Master. [57-2; 57-3; 57-8.1; 57-8; 59-2.24; 59-2.50; 59-9.4; 59-9.7; 59-10.3; 87-3; Chapter
57].
1. In the absence
of any member qualified to open and preside, the lodge cannot be opened. If the
circumstances justify it, the Grand Master may commission a Past Master of
another lodge in the state to open and preside for a specified communication
only, or he may direct a District Deputy Grand Master to do so. [13-3.3;
59-2.24; 87-3].
2. The ranking
officer present may permit or request any Master Mason to open the lodge and
conduct its business and do its work, provided the Master, one of the Wardens,
or a brother legally qualified to open and preside over the lodge, is present
at all times. The Master Mason so presiding shall be responsible to the officer
who places him in the East. [71-15].
3. A brother acting
in any office of the lodge shall be addressed as if he were the regular
officer. [56-3; 57-8; 57-8.2].
A
lodge may designate any communication as a special night for any particular
profession, trade, or organization, but only with the prior dispensation of the
Grand Master. During degree work on a
special night, the Master may invite degree teams and individuals who are
Master Masons from outside his lodge to confer or exemplify degrees. However, he shall be responsible for the
proficiency, conduct, appropriate attire and decorum of each Master Mason
assigned to a degree team that performs in his lodge. He may assign to a degree team any Master
Mason wearing a uniform which the person is legally entitled to wear, or one
wearing a costume and regalia approved by the Board of Custodians. Special nights are not to replace Past
Master’s Night, Grand Master’s Night, or Masonic Veteran’s Night, but the
Master of the lodge bears the responsibility for the exemplary conduct of
degree teams for every event in his lodge. (This regulation amended, effective
REG.
45-14 FAILURE TO MEET FOR SIX MONTHS.
The Grand Master should
arrest the charter of a lodge which has had no meeting for six consecutive
months, and cite it to appear before the Grand Lodge unless immediate and satisfactory
steps be taken to rehabilitate the lodge. A District Deputy Grand Master shall
be negligent in his duty if he fails to report such dormant lodge to the Grand
Master. [41-10.6; 49-2].
REG.
45-15 DEGREE MUST BE OPENED FOR WORK.
No work can be done in any
degree without a formal opening of the lodge on that degree. [45-10].
REG.
45-16 NO WORK AT REFRESHMENT.
No part of the work of a lodge
shall be done by a lodge while at refreshment. A lodge shall not be called from
labor to refreshment or dispense with labor while conferring a section of a
degree. [72-2].
REG.
45-17 WORK MUST BE COMPLETED.
A lodge duly opened on the
degree of Master Mason can dispense with labor and open in any other degree or
for the purpose of examining candidates for advancement. When a lodge has been
opened for any purpose, it may complete the work or business for which it was convened
before it is closed. A lodge, when opened on any degree, shall not call off or
adjourn, but it may be called from labor to refreshment as often as desired for
a specified time not beyond the same day. The lodge must be closed on each
degree on which it opens even if the hour should be past low twelve of the day
it was opened, but the lodge shall be closed before the members disperse. [59-2.6].
REG.
45-18 MASTER MASON’S LODGE CLOSED.
Every Master Mason’s lodge
shall be closed until the next stated communication unless sooner convened.
Lodges of Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft Masons shall be closed without
date.
REG.
45-19 STYLE OF MASTER MASON’S LODGE.
It shall be improper to
style a lodge of the third degree as a Master’s Lodge. The correct
appellation is Master Mason’s Lodge.
REG.
45-20 TOBACCO DURING A DEGREE.
Use of tobacco in a lodge
while a degree is being conferred is prohibited. [44-7 (Art.22Q)].
Subject to change or
modification by the lodge or by the Master, the order of business at each
stated communication shall be as follows:
1. Reading
minutes: reading minutes of the last stated communication to bring forward
unfinished business and intervening communications as
2. Unfinished
business: business previously laid over. [44-7
(Art.21B)].
3. Reading
correspondence and action thereon: all official correspondence and any
other of interest to the lodge shall be read, or the substance of their
contents fully and clearly stated, and such action taken thereon as each case
may require. All official communications from the Grand Master, the Grand
Secretary or any officer or agency of the Grand Lodge shall be read in the
lodge at the next stated communication after it is received. [44-7 (Art.21C)].
4. Reports of
Committees of Investigation on petitions and applications: reports of
committees appointed to investigate petitions and applications should be
presented, and the fact of the presentation but not the character of the report
should be entered on the record. [44-7 (Art.
21D)].
5. Balloting:
a separate secret ballot must be taken on each petition for degrees and each
application for advancement, membership or restoration and the result entered
on the minutes. [44-7 (Art.21E)].
6. Reception
of petitions and applications: read by the Secretary and record thereof
made stating that the fees are paid. [44-7
(Art.21F)].
7. Reports of
standing and special Committees: read and acted upon. Reports and action on
important matters should be recorded in the minutes at length; matters of minor
importance may be recorded briefly. [44-7
(Art.21G,H)].
8. New
business: bills read and referred or allowed; notice to delinquents
ordered; exclusion of delinquents; general remarks. [44-7 (Art.21I)].
9. Motions and
resolutions: consideration and action upon motions and resolutions. [44-7 (Art.21J)]
10. Informal
communications affecting the Craft: correspondence of a general nature such
as notes of appreciation for courtesies shown. [44-7
(Art.21K)].
11. Work: examination
for proficiency and work in any of the degrees.
[44-7 (Art.21L)].
12. Reading
minutes: reading of minutes for correction and approval. [44-7 (Art.21M)].
13. Closing.
[44-7 (Art.21N)].
The flag of the
REG.
45-23 RULES OF ORDER IN LODGE.
The following rules of
order are for the government of subordinate lodges at their communications.
1. The lodge shall meet at the time and place specified in its by-laws, or in the call for the communication. After it has been opened, if the communication is a stated, the record of its proceedings at the last stated and all intervening communications shall be read, or summarized to bring forward unfinished business as information to the members present. (This subsection amended, effective January 1, 2009) [45-21.1].
2. When a brother
rises to speak, he shall respectfully address himself to the Master, if he
transgresses the rules of the lodge in speaking or otherwise, the Master shall
call him to order, when he shall immediately sit down unless permitted to
explain. After he is put right, he may proceed if he observes due order and
decorum. If he is guilty of transgressing the rules a second time, he may be
peremptorily ordered to leave the lodge room for that communication or he may
be dealt with for contemptuous conduct under Chapter 100.
3. The action of
the lodge should be invoked by motion only in case there is something for the
lodge to decide, that is, where it can legally say Yes or No to a
proposition or question. If the lodge must vote Yes, then no vote is
necessary, the Master must act without a vote. No motion to appoint a committee
on a petition for degrees or membership is in order. When a petition is
received, a committee must be appointed. No motion to spread the ballot
is necessary. At the proper time it must be spread.
4. When a motion
is made and seconded, it shall be stated by the Master or if in writing, shall be
read by the Secretary. Debate may follow.
5. Every motion
shall be reduced to writing if any member requests it.
6. After a motion
is stated by the Master or read by the Secretary, it shall be considered in
possession of the lodge. It may be withdrawn by the mover before decision or
amendment, but not thereafter.
7. No brother
shall be permitted to speak more than twice on any question without leave nor
more than once until every other brother wishing to speak has spoken. When two
or more rise at the same time to speak, the Master shall name the brother who
shall speak first. [36-3].
8. When a motion
is under debate, no motion shall be received except to
A. close
debate,
B. to
refer to a committee,
C. to
postpone final decision until a designated time during the present
communication or to a subsequent stated communication, or
D. to
amend.
E. These
motions shall be considered in the order herein given. [36-10.7; 45-23.13].
9. Any member may
call for a division of the question where the nature of the subject will
permit.
10. Motions and
reports may be referred to committees at the discretion of the Master unless
otherwise provided. The Master may refuse to entertain a motion. [59-2.10].
11. A motion to
amend, until decided, shall preclude all other amendments of the main question.
12. No new motion
which totally changes the subject matter on which the original motion was
intended to operate shall be submitted under color of amendment or as a
substitute for the motion under debate.
13. The debate
ceases at the will and pleasure of the Master. [36-3; 45-23.8]
14. While the
Master is addressing the lodge or putting a question, or while a brother is
speaking, no brother shall engage in private discourse or pass between the
speaker and the chair.
15. All members
shall keep their places except the Deacons and the Stewards who may move from
place to place in discharge of their duties.
16. There shall be
no debate after the question is put by the Master.
17. Every member
present when a question is put shall be required to vote if entitled to do so
unless excused by the Master. No member can be excused from voting in a secret
ballot by balls and cubes. [63-4; 68-3.16]
18. All matters
before the lodge for determination shall be decided by a majority vote except
where otherwise provided by law. [63-13].
19. No member
except one of the majority which decided a question shall be permitted to move
for a reconsideration of such question. [63-13].
20. No appeal lies
to a subordinate lodge from a decision of its Master. His decision can be
reviewed only by the Grand Master during the recess of the Grand Lodge subject
to final action by the Grand Lodge at its annual communication. Such appeal can
be taken by any member of the lodge. This paragraph has no application to
proceedings upon charges for unmasonic conduct under Chapter 100. [36-3; 36-4; 59-2.10; 59-2.11; 59-5; 59-2.29].