Secretary Duties w.r.t. when a Mason Dies
(Created 10 Sep 2010 23:30 and last updated on 11 Sep 2010 00:15
)
If the Mason who died was a member of your Lodge at the time of his death the Secretary needs to do the following things listed below. These need to be done by the Secretary even if a Masonic Funeral Service is not being held.
1) Notify at least the WM, and the other Officers of your Lodge if
possible.
2) Assist the Worshipful Master as needed.
3) If the dead Mason was not a dual member and only belonged to your Lodge, or if the member who died was a dual member with your Lodge having been his Primary Lodge, update his Masonic record in the GLOP computer. If the dead Mason was a dual member whose Primary Lodge was another Lodge, then you need to contact the Secretary and/or the WM of his Primary Lodge since only the Secretary of a Mason's Primary Lodge can update his Masonic records at the GLOP computer. In either case you should attempt to notify the Secretary or the WM of his other Lodge as a courtesy.
4) Update the Secretary's local records of information about members to reflect his death.
5) Stop sending notices to the dead member and remove his name from the mailing list.
6) Remind the WM to hold a moment of silence at the first Stated Meeting of the Lodge after the Member has died.
7) Change Number of Members on the Monthly Notice to reflect his death.
8) If the dead Brother was married his widow should be listed in the list of widows both in the GLOP computer and in you local records.
If the widow , or other members of his family request a Masonic Funeral Service the there are additional duties that the Secretary of a Lodge needs to do. If a Masonic Funeral Service is not request by the widow or by the family it shall not be held. Some widows and/or surviving families do not want a Masonic Funeral Service for whatever reason. If she or they do not want the Service then the service will not be held. The Lodge has no right to insist upon a Masonic Funeral Service.
1) Determine the date and time that the Masonic Funeral Service will be held. It must be after the end of any calling hours according to Masonic Law. This information should come from either the widow, the family, or the funeral home director.
2) If the dead Member was a dual member it is the right of his Primary Lodge to conduct the Masonic Funeral Service if they wish to so do. If you lodge is the dead Mason's Secondary Lodge the Secretary of his Primary Lodge should be notified as soon as possible and given the opportunity to have his Lodge conduct the Masonic Funeral Service. If the Primary Lodge wishes to conduct the Masonic Funeral Service then the Secondary Lodge should make its facilities available as a staging area for the event.
3) Notify as many of the Members as possible. Mail is not a good way to notify the Brethren as the dead member will probably be buried or cremated before the mail will get there. Use of the Call-em-All program may be useful, and e-mail should be sent to as many members as you have e-mail addresses for. Also members of other local lodges should be notified if possible.
4) Complete the Masonic Funeral Document that comes from the GLOP
(Do in fancy script if possible)
5) Complete the Scroll that will be placed in the Casket
(Do in fancy script if possible)
6) Have members sign the Masonic Funeral Document if they attend the Funeral
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Note: By the very nature of the service, nothing is secret during it since it is done in the presence of the family of the dead Brother. Therefore this is all written and is available to all.
Instruction for a Masonic Funeral Service (Info from GLOP packet) (As .TXT)(As .PDF)
Info below is not linked in the website yet.