Two Kinds of Charity

Vocabulary (12)

Two kinds of charity

The published Masonic understanding of charity has two complementary forms. The first is institutional: what a Mason supports collectively, through dues and donation, by way of the published Masonic charities. The second is personal: how a Mason treats his neighbor, his coworker, the stranger he passes on the street. Neither replaces the other; the Craft is built to do both at the same time.

Love thy neighbor as thyself

The published moral ground both kinds of charity rest on. The phrase is from Leviticus 19:18 ("Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself") and is quoted again as the second great commandment in Matthew 22:39 and Mark 12:31. Mackey notes that the rule is older than Masonry, but Masonry adopts it without reservation: the Mason is not better than his neighbor and is bound to treat him as he would be treated.

Relief, the published tenet

The second of the three published tenets of the Craft (Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth) and the one that names institutional charity by its Masonic title. Webb's published lecture defines Relief as the active duty of soothing the unhappy, sympathizing with their misfortunes, and restoring peace to their troubled minds. By deed where the Mason can, and by word where he cannot.

Masonic Charities Foundation of New Mexico (MCFNM)

A New Mexico Masonic charitable foundation. MCFNM works through the Lodges in their local communities, supporting the projects each Lodge identifies for its own neighborhood, and stands ready for identified statewide circumstances such as natural or other disasters. The giving is bottom-up: the Lodge knows the family or the need, and the Foundation moves the resources. The appendant-body charities (KTEF, KTEdF, RARA, CMMRF, the Shriners' work, the Scottish Rite's work) are separate organizations that raise and direct their own funds.

Knights Templar Eye Foundation (KTEF)

The published philanthropy of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States, established 1955. It funds pediatric ophthalmology research and provides direct grants to children whose families cannot afford eye surgery and treatment. New Mexico Templars contribute through the Grand Commandery and through individual Commanderies.

Knights Templar Educational Foundation (KTEdF)

The published educational arm of the same Grand Encampment. It provides student loans and scholarships, traditionally to undergraduates of any background who present a need; Templar membership is not required of the recipient. Loans are administered through state-level Commanderies, including New Mexico's.

Royal Arch Research Assistance (RARA)

The published charity of the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons International. RARA funds research and treatment for Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) in children, a hearing-comprehension condition not detectable on a standard hearing test. Royal Arch Chapters across the country, New Mexico's included, contribute annually.

Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation (CMMRF)

The published charity of the General Grand Council of Cryptic Masons International, founded 1995. CMMRF funds research into arteriosclerosis, age-related macular degeneration, and other vascular disorders that disproportionately affect older adults. Cryptic Councils across the country, New Mexico's included, contribute annually.

Take Flight Dyslexia Program

Published dyslexia therapy developed at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and now used in Scottish Rite Learning Centers and partner schools across the country. Children receive structured language remediation taught by certified therapists, traditionally at no cost to the family. Take Flight is one of the published, evidence-based reading interventions associated with the Scottish Rite's children's-charity mission.

Shriners Hospitals for Children

The published philanthropy of Shriners International, an appendant body whose membership is open to Master Masons. The network treats children for orthopedic conditions, burns, cleft lip and palate, and spinal cord injuries, traditionally without billing the family. The hospitals are the most publicly visible of the Masonic charities; many a stranger first learns the Craft exists by way of a Shriners parade or a hospital story.

Shrine Transportation Fund

The published fund that pays to transport a child and a parent to a Shriners Hospital for Children for treatment. The hospitals don't bill the family for care; the Transportation Fund covers the trip itself. Local Shrine Temples and clubs raise for it through their own activities, and the fund moves the money to the families who need it. Without the fund, the hospitals are out of reach for a lot of the families the Craft most wants to serve.

Charity at home, in plain clothes

The personal face. Mackey's published reminder is that the same Mason who gives to KTEF on the Lodge floor also returns home, to a wife and children, to neighbors, to strangers met by chance, and to opportunities the Lodge never sees. The Craft teaches the disposition; the world tests it. A Mason who is generous in the published charities but ungenerous at his own door has not yet finished the lesson.

Multiple-choice (12)