What is defined as an emergency meeting?

An emergency or emergent meeting is a lodge meeting called to elect a candidate and confer degrees in a case of emergency, or for any other sudden and unexpected cause 1. Such an emergency is understood to exist for the benefit of the candidate rather than for the convenience of the lodge or the Fraternity 1.

Jurisdictions differ on who holds the authority to determine what constitutes a valid emergency. Historically, the Master and Wardens of a lodge held the prerogative of deciding cases of emergency 1. Under the English Constitution, the emergency must be real in the opinion of the Master of the lodge 1. In modern usage in the United States, the Grand Master serves as the sole judge of whether an emergency exists 1.

In practical lodge administration, emergent meetings have traditionally been called to process degree work when regular meetings could not accommodate incoming candidates, to confer degrees on candidates facing imminent military reassignments, or to handle specific lodge business such as presenting testimonials to lodge officers 2.