So it is inevitable huh? It will be something to look forward to. This is not me getting ahead of myself but more out of curiosity but I have been wondering is becoming an officer like petitioning whereby you have to ask, and will not be asked or is it more a case of an honor paid to a worthy brother? Also if it is a case of asking how long after being raised is it polite to begin to ask?
Given the depth of meaning in the degrees, at least in the EA degree since it is the only one I have received so far, I imagine it must take a considerable amount of time to acquire a sufficient understanding of the myriad lessons contained in the degrees to convey them to a candidate.
Martin, I presume you had your tongue in cheek here. I wouldn’t say inevitable, but likely. It depends on the situation of your lodge. I believe you mentioned, maybe in a PM, that there were Past Masters working in your initiation. That usually signifies a shortage of officers. If that’s the case, if you express an interest, you will be welcomed with shouts of Hallelujah.
Even if your lodge has a full complement of officers and other brothers who are interested, I think it’s highly unlikely you would be discouraged. If they need to wait for the bottom chair to open up, you might be put to other duties, like catechism instructor, for the time being. You might be encouraged to attend rehearsals and maybe even to sit in a lower chair occasionally to get your feet wet. But if you are interested after receiving the MM, let it be known to the WM and wardens and PMs and see what happens.
If/when you start as Jr. Steward, you have about 6 years in the normal course to learn all the work, including that of the WM. If you pay close attention at meetings and rehearsals, you will know the work before then. One piece of advice: Learn to do the work slowly, deliberately, clearly, audibly, and above all with feeling and conviction. I would much rather hear work done like that, even with technical flaws and some prompting, than hear it delivered word-perfect in a monotone, or reeled off like a telemarketing call.
