Certificate of Service to Masonry

Most serious Masons aspire to receive a Grand Rank, a very high honour conferred by Grand Lodge on deserving and worthy Masons, based on very strong recommendation by the District Grand Master. However, as Grand Lodge has its own set of criteria for conferment, aimed at not diluting the value of the honour, not every recommendation results in the award. Age is one of the criteria, and if the recommendation comes too late in one’s Masonic career, it is very likely that the honour will be held back. 

If the District Grand Master strongly feels a person deserves to be honoured but missed becoming a Grand Officer, he has the prerogative of awarding him the Certificate of Service to Masonry (CSM). The CSM is the local equivalent of Grand Rank, and a CSM recipient is in no way inferior to a Grand Officer. 

As Grand Officers are toasted at a Banquet after the Grand Rulers, so also are CSMs toasted after the District Rulers.

The major difference is that the Grand Office has a distinguishing set of regalia, which the CSM does not. However, the CSM recipient is honoured with a lapel pin (shown alongside) which he can wear with pride at any Masonic meeting anywhere in the world. 

Also, unlike a Grand Officer, the CSM recipient receives a certificate with a citation highlighting his achievements as a Mason. It serves as a memento for him to preserve and pass on to posterity as a family heirloom, which indeed it is.