The Purpose of The Traveling Gavel

1. To promote Brotherly Love and Fellowship among the Brethren of Freemasonry and more especially Masons of the C.S.T District.
2. To instill enthusiasm and interest for Freemasonry, Brotherhood, and the Craft in general.
3. To increase attendance of Lodge Stated and Called meetings by increasing visitors and members by vying to take the gavel and keep it.
4. To encourage visitation within the District for fellowship, education, and degree conferrals.
5. To propagate knowledge of the Craft and share experiences of Masonic philosophy and history with Brethren.
6. To have fun and instill healthy competition among Lodges for bragging rights and excellence.

The Rules of The Traveling Gavel

1. The Lodge in possession of the “Traveling Gavel” will ensure that it is prominently displayed in the East.
2. Your group must number at least 5 of the C.S.T. District.
   1. One must be a Master or one of the Wardens.
   2. One must be a Past Master
   3. One must be an Appointed Officer
   4. The remaining can be composed of any other Officer or Member of the Lodge in good standing. The more, the merrier.
3. For the Gavel’s purpose and out of respect, visiting Brethren should be present from the opening to the end of a Stated Meeting. This doesn’t apply to fundraisers, social gatherings, or other events.
4. Every Time the Gavel is captured, the new holder will complete the following tasks and if not, the original Lodge from which you obtained the Gavel has the right to reclaim it after one month, in accordance with the stipulated rules.
   1. Log an entry into the “Traveling Gavel Log” accompanying the Gavel with the following.
      1. The Date that the Gavel was captured.
      2. Name of your Lodge.
      3. The list of the Brothers with you.
   2. Your lodge must inform the Webmaster of cstmasons.org (details provided below).
5. Once the Gavel is taken from a Lodge, it can only be reclaimed by the original Lodge if…
   1. The current Lodge holding it loses it to another Lodge.
   2. If Rule No. 4 is breached.
   3. After 6 months, any Lodge can claim the Gavel via the stipulated rules.

In the Event of a Tie

1. In case two or more lodges are competing at the same meeting the Lodge with the largest group will take possession of the Gavel.
2. In the event that two or more lodges show up and have the same number of brothers, then the Lodge whose Lodge is furthest away will take possession.

Note: The Lodge capturing the Gavel will notify the webmaster of cstmasons.org so the new location can be published. You can do this by using the website www.cstmasons.org or Email webmaster@cstmasons.org with the Lodge Name, Date, and Brothers that captured it.

These rules originate from the Old Officers Training Guide and were revised by R.W. Justin J. DeVine on September 2023 when the Gavel was featured on the district website. The updates aimed to reinforce the traveling gavel’s purpose and modify the method of communicating its location, given the absence of a masonic paper.