Stewarding

One aspect I have never understood about Freemasonry is its [apparent] fascination with stewarding. On Sunday I went to a cycling club Sunday lunch where someone pointed out a former member of a local Lodge.

He had joined and, because newer members were somewhat thin on the ground, all the bar and meal duties were left to him. His response? He promptly resigned. How many members have we lost because of this archaic system?

After a full day's work the last thing a Brother wants to do is wait upon table. This is the biggest singular complaint I hear from newer members. My previous post talked about the lost metaphor of apprenticeship. Getting the apprentice to sort the nails may have been an acceptable practice 30 years ago. Now many of our brethren are university educated this metaphor is lost. In fact apprenticeship in days gone past were little more than a cheap source of labour, which is effectively what stewarding is to newer members.

We are all equal, but some more equal than other it would seem.