Secretary of a Lodge of Masons

The Secretary of a Lodge is the most difficult, and most time consuming, Office in a Lodge of Masons.  As with any organization the Secretary of a Lodge has more to do than any other Officer.

In theory the Worshipful Master runs the Lodge but in reality the Secretary of a Lodge has the most important job in the Lodge.  A Lodge of Masons cannot function with out a competent Secretary.  I have been both Worshipful Master and the Secretary of the Lodge so I am sure that the Secretary of the Lodge has a lot more to do with running the Lodge than the Worshipful Master.  This is not meant as disrespect to a Worshipful Master but is simply stating the facts of life in a Lodge.  I have walked in both pairs of shoes.  When I was Worshipful Master I relied on the Secretary to help me in almost everything.  He did a fine job and I hope to be able to assist our current and future Worshipful Masters to the best of my ability.

The Secretary of a Lodge is an Elected Officer who is usually elected at the December meeting of a Lodge of Masons. His term of Office is for one Masonic Year but he is usually reelected over and over again.  Very few men will accept the position of Secretary of a Lodge due to the amount of work that is required.  He will usually take office on December 27 at Noon. 

In many Lodges the Secretary of a Lodge is paid.  The Office of Secretary is unpaid in Wilmington Lodge No. 804.

Learning to be Secretary of a Lodge is a lot of work which is one reason the Secretary of a Lodge usually is reelected over and over again until he has has had enough, or until someone else is willing to accept the Office of Secretary of a Lodge.

The Secretary of a Lodge needs to be willing to put forth a lot of time and effort to the functioning of the Lodge.  He is the person who handles all the Communications of the Lodge.  He also must keep the records of the Lodge up to date. The Secretary of a Lodge must also be somewhat well organized and computer literate as most of the Communication with the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania is done via the computer.  The Secretary of a Lodge must update the records kept by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania via computer.

The Secretary of the Lodge is responsible for completing a variety of Forms for a variety of reasons.  See Forms Main Page for these forms. 

Some Lodges also have an Assistant Secretary.

Click here for information about the Secretary of Wilmington Lodge No. 804.