How Scottish Rite Brothers Live Their Values Every Day

For many people, Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite call to mind rituals, regalia, and lodge meetings. But for the men who live it, Freemasonry is something far more practical — a set of principles carried into every conversation, every decision, and every relationship.

We asked four Scottish Rite Brothers to reflect on how Masonic values shape their daily lives, from the work they do to the way they show up for their families and communities. Their answers are a reminder that the Craft is not confined to any meeting room. It lives in the choices we, as Scottish Rite Masons, make when no one is watching.

Brother Sandy Karstens, 33°, Valley of Burlington: "It's a Way of Being."

Ask Brother Sandy Karstens, 33°, how Masonic values show up in his life, and he doesn't hesitate for a single moment. 

"It's a way of being that operates what you do in life, and it grows over time," he says. "I'm sure I'm a different person than I was before I joined. We're fed by all kinds of life experiences that change how we think. But this is very concentrated, because it does have morals that are connected to it."

A professor, Brother Karstens credits Freemasonry with sharpening the work he was already good at. The ritual, the leadership roles, the conversations with Brothers — they all made him better in front of a room of students. The Scottish Rite's emphasis on leadership has seeped into the rest of his life, too. When a room is looking for someone to step up, he's often the one who does. Take, for example, Masters of the Rite, the Scottish Rite’s online degree workshop. When the idea of an online degree workshop came to fruition, and we needed a host, Brother Karstens was the first to volunteer.

The Power of an Invitation

Brother Karstens describes himself as an introvert. He and his wife, also a professor, would rather be home reading. So the way Freemasonry has expanded his life still surprises him.

Years ago, he learned that a Brother in his area had just lost his wife and was moving to be closer to his son. Brother Karstens reached out and mentioned that his lodge was just down the road from his new home.

"I guess that was the invitation he needed," he says. "He ended up showing up. And my gosh, he became one of the most dedicated individuals. He joined the Scottish Rite and traveled with a whole bunch of other people. He was there basically until he died."

That, Brother Karstens says, is the thing he hopes the next generation of Masons takes seriously. "If you really involve yourself in the fraternity and stop looking at it as a meeting to go to once a week — if you let it infuse your whole experience — you're going to find there's a lot more there than you think. You can't let it do its thing unless you go in with both feet."

Brother Alex Hayes, 32°, Valley of Cincinnati: Trust That Becomes Work

When Brother Alex Hayes, 32°, thinks about applying Masonic principles in daily life, he doesn't think first of a lecture or a slogan. He thinks of trust.

"I first learned about a family HVAC company through a Brother in my lodge," he says. "Because I had seen how he carried himself as a Mason, I trusted both the opportunity and the man behind it. A few years later, that choice has become my daily work, which helps keep homes, buildings, and families safe and cared for. It has also given me the chance to bring that knowledge back to the fraternity by helping my Scottish Rite Brothers make better-informed decisions about their buildings and mechanical systems."

For Brother Hayes, that is integrity lived out: being worthy of trust, doing good work, and using what you know to be useful to others.

Service That Hits Close to Home

Service to Humanity has become just as personal to Brother Hayes. He has seen Masonic charity at work through the Grottoes International Humanitarian Foundation, which supports dental care for children with special needs, and through the Children's Dyslexia Centers (CDC).The CDC is one of the Scottish Rite's signature charitable initiatives, with more than 40 centers across the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction providing free tutoring to children with dyslexia.

"As someone who has struggled with dyslexia myself, that work means more than I can properly put into words," he says. "It reminds me that the burdens people carry are not always visible, and that the right help, given with patience and care, can change a child's confidence and a family's future."

Brother Andrew Roberts, 32°, HGA, Valley of Utica: A Fourth-Generation Mason

Brother Andrew Roberts, 32°, HGA, grew up inside the Craft. A fourth-generation Mason, he joined DeMolay International at the age of 12. DeMolay teaches its members to love their parents, have reverence for their beliefs, practice comradeship, be loyal to their promises, be clean in thought, word, and deed, and to give their country an unswerving allegiance.

"Growing up with these cardinal virtues served as a bulwark for developing a disciplined and moral life," he says.

Civility as a Daily Practice

For Brother Roberts, the goal is simple: try to be a better man, a better husband, and a better father each day. The way he tries to do it is simpler still. "Think twice before speaking once," he says.

"In a society that is ruled by 160-character posts and instant gratification, being cautious in what I say and when I say it shows civility."

He also prioritizes faith, hope, and charity – ideals that we as Masons hold dear.  "I have faith in the future, hope that we will become better as a society, and I give what I can in terms of time and contributions to worthy causes."

Brother Jim Hall, 32°, Valley of Youngstown: A Constant Measure

For Brother Jim Hall, 32°, Masonic principles aren't just something to revisit at the next lodge meeting. They are something he carries constantly. As a Scottish Rite Mason, Brother Hall sees his daily conduct as a reflection of every Brother who came before him.

"Applying my Masonic principles to my day-to-day life is essential to me," he says. "They are not simply something I think about during my lodge's or appendant bodies' meeting. It is constantly on my mind, as I feel it measures me as a good man and Mason."

He sees the way he lives as a kind of quiet audition. "These silent principles that Masons live by can be in themselves an audition for potential Masons to see how good and fair men can act civilly in a world that often feels out of control."

A Pillar at Home and in the Community

In his family and community, Brother Hall says, the principles Freemasonry provides keep him upright and honest. He's vigilant that his words and actions will help mold his children into good men, and maybe even Masons themselves.

"The thought that I may be someone's version of Freemasonry — and the way I act could sway their thoughts of Freemasonry as a whole — is a big deal," he says. His actions, he adds, reflect not only on him but on every Mason who came before him. "That is a motivator to let the world know just how good we are."

The Common Thread

Four Brothers. Four different lives. All men who measure every choice against the Craft.

Brother Karstens calls it a way of being. Brother Hayes calls it integrity lived out. Brother Roberts calls it civility. Brother Hall calls it a constant measure. They're all describing the same thing — and it's the thing that Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite were always meant to teach: how to become a better man and create a better world.