Does any brother have any suggestions on how to get new Brothers to come to Lodge, is this a problem for others. I realize that if they do not wish to come they do not have to, and cannot be forced. We have many who finished degree work, then we never see them again. Our lodge has discussed this often, I would like to hear from others on this.
Assistance and suggestions.
- Thread starter Coxman
- Start date
Ashlar2006
Masonic Mafia
That has been the topic of many of meetings .
I've discussed this many of times. I'm sad to see 10% +/- of our membership in our Lodge. I understand some join just to go to the Shriner's or other body.
Our Lodge does not do much other then meetings and a breakfast on the third Saturday. I've tried to setup things like a Christmas Party without any luck. I even had a party at my house, and invited every Brother I could from the Lodge to have one person show up, where out of the five or six members of the Tin Lizzies, I had two show up, traveling a further distance.
I've thought about setting up a mentor-ship type program. Where a Brother would take a newly raised Mason under his wing for 6 months and help him out, call him a day or two before a meeting and see if they want to car-pool, answer questions about how the Lodge works, why do such and such.
But sadly, it is a struggle.
Our Lodge does not do much other then meetings and a breakfast on the third Saturday. I've tried to setup things like a Christmas Party without any luck. I even had a party at my house, and invited every Brother I could from the Lodge to have one person show up, where out of the five or six members of the Tin Lizzies, I had two show up, traveling a further distance.
I've thought about setting up a mentor-ship type program. Where a Brother would take a newly raised Mason under his wing for 6 months and help him out, call him a day or two before a meeting and see if they want to car-pool, answer questions about how the Lodge works, why do such and such.
But sadly, it is a struggle.
Ashlar2006
Masonic Mafia
Ah , I forgot about that . I want to start a mentorship program also . It will start when a perspective candidate asks for a petition and will continue through his Masonic life . This way , no Brother is left out or left behind .
The mentor will touch base with him at least once a month . The mentor will either coach them in the lectures or make sure they have someone to coach them if the candidate already has someone else in mind . The mentor will take new EAs' and FCs' to other lodges who are putting on work in the new Masons respective degrees . And the mentor will take new Master Masons around to other lodges for stated meetings ,degrees and events also . Get them out there and meet more Brothers from other lodges . And the list goes on .
I am still working out all the details of it so I can be ready to set up my mentorship committee by St. John's Night after I am installed in the East .
The mentor will touch base with him at least once a month . The mentor will either coach them in the lectures or make sure they have someone to coach them if the candidate already has someone else in mind . The mentor will take new EAs' and FCs' to other lodges who are putting on work in the new Masons respective degrees . And the mentor will take new Master Masons around to other lodges for stated meetings ,degrees and events also . Get them out there and meet more Brothers from other lodges . And the list goes on .
I am still working out all the details of it so I can be ready to set up my mentorship committee by St. John's Night after I am installed in the East .
Ashlar2006
Masonic Mafia
I know Freemasonry is serious business , and we should be serious when it is proper , degree work being number one . But we should also inject some levity into our stated meetings , which can be dry and boring , to keep it interesting .
Windrider
Plus-sized tuxedo model
My first Communication, other than degree work, at my lodge consisted of our regular Communication followed by closing the lodge and reopening for our Annual Communication, followed by closing and reopening the lodge for the official visit of the Deputy District Director to basically pick up a check for the annual dues for the Lodge. This took over three hours and no other business was done other than about 10 minutes of announcements. One of the main aspects of the meetings that made them pass with a smile was the organist's sense of humor and effort to get to know the members. I'm new, but he played "Let's Go Fly a Kite" when I was involved to honor my hobby of kite flying. The NFL theme and several other amusing tunes were used to keep us on our toes. The officers of my Lodge made some minor mistakes and the WM lead us all in laughing with them saying things like, "That works, too." So the first two portions of the meeting were actually kind of fun. I intend to continue to be present at Regular Communications and Degree work as much as I am able as it seems like the best way to be an active member of the Craft. I was repeatedly invited but never ordered to attend by many of the officers. One even commiserated with me that of all the meetings to start with, that one had to be the worst.
On the other hand, the WM led us in remebering a fallen Brother. I was touched by the solumn and respectful behaviour of every man in the room and can only hope to be so treated on my passing.
The seriousness and ceremony involved in Communications seems anachronistic in these rushed times. I think it takes a certain level of maturity to view it as an opportunity rather than a failing. In my humble opinion and limited exposure, it seems the format of the Communications is one that ensures each Brother there meets "on the level" and has not only the opportunity but the obligation to be heard as an equal to all others. I can see the perspective of some to want to see change in some of the more anachronistic aspects of the Communications and each suggestion should be seriously considered. I believe we can have fun while being serious and that my Lodge's organist and WM do all they can to keep it fun where it can be.
I'm not sure how to get people to the Lodge other than the way the officers got me there. Open on the first degree and invite everyone.
On the other hand, the WM led us in remebering a fallen Brother. I was touched by the solumn and respectful behaviour of every man in the room and can only hope to be so treated on my passing.
The seriousness and ceremony involved in Communications seems anachronistic in these rushed times. I think it takes a certain level of maturity to view it as an opportunity rather than a failing. In my humble opinion and limited exposure, it seems the format of the Communications is one that ensures each Brother there meets "on the level" and has not only the opportunity but the obligation to be heard as an equal to all others. I can see the perspective of some to want to see change in some of the more anachronistic aspects of the Communications and each suggestion should be seriously considered. I believe we can have fun while being serious and that my Lodge's organist and WM do all they can to keep it fun where it can be.
I'm not sure how to get people to the Lodge other than the way the officers got me there. Open on the first degree and invite everyone.
LindenSwanson
New Member
Such a common problem in so many lodges. I've seen some success by applying the practices previously suggested. I'd like expand and share a bit more.
WM's that make a point of involving recently raised masons in the lodge seem to have a few more sideliners. There are a variety of committees or even the first couple of "chairs" that most MM's find interesting. Keep the momentum of interest going.
Inviting members to events is always productive. The stated meeting dinner is an event that seems to be attractive for many. After having dinner, members can take a short walk to the lodge room for the meeting.
Try appointing a group of members to call and invite your "MIA's" to a meeting or event. This can become a bit like making phone sales but, sometimes it's all that's needed to nudge a few members.
I'd like to share a word of caution as well. Many times it becomes the same small group of members that make up the lodge officers. Unfortunatly, these will intentioned masons often become a "clique" that can be a bit intimidating to new members. New members attend and feel like a fifth wheel. Particularly when the 50 year member rolls his eyes because the "new guy" forgot to sign.
WM's that make a point of involving recently raised masons in the lodge seem to have a few more sideliners. There are a variety of committees or even the first couple of "chairs" that most MM's find interesting. Keep the momentum of interest going.
Inviting members to events is always productive. The stated meeting dinner is an event that seems to be attractive for many. After having dinner, members can take a short walk to the lodge room for the meeting.
Try appointing a group of members to call and invite your "MIA's" to a meeting or event. This can become a bit like making phone sales but, sometimes it's all that's needed to nudge a few members.
I'd like to share a word of caution as well. Many times it becomes the same small group of members that make up the lodge officers. Unfortunatly, these will intentioned masons often become a "clique" that can be a bit intimidating to new members. New members attend and feel like a fifth wheel. Particularly when the 50 year member rolls his eyes because the "new guy" forgot to sign.
Brother Liberty
Service Officer
Like everyone has said, this a is a problem throughout masonry. We have meetings all the time to attempt to find ways to lure members back to the regular meetings. Moreover, the grand lodge has been asking for open and frank answers as to why newer masons are not returning after they finish their degree work. While I am not on the committee, I have heard the results several times and what they have been hearing is:
-The meetings are boring.
-The meetings run too long.
-Newer masons do not feel engaged by the older brethren.
Lets take a look at these.
The meetings are boring. Its really hard to argue with this one. We have a laid back lodge with lots of laughter and banter, but lets face it; sitting quietly in a room, in a suit, watching degree work can get tedious. Especially when compared to sitting at home watching Monday night football (we meet on Mondays.) I don't know about the other lodges, but we do degree work every meeting where we are not receiving the DD.
This leads right into the second point which is that the meetings run too late. My lodge is lucky if a night with degree work ends before 11pm. I have a job and a young family. I want to be in bed at 10 let alone not getting in until after 11. This seems to be a newer problem because prior to the last couple of years, most of the brothers were retired and it didn't matter.
Lindenswansen hit it right on the head when it comes to my third point about not feeling engaged. The cliques are present in every lodge I have attended. The same people tend to sit together during dinner and in lodge. How does this look or feel to a guy who may not know another person there, or only know one? Not very welcoming I would say.
Here are some of the things we have done to attempt to combat this stuff:
-Once a quarter we try and have a meeting with no degree work. This leads to longer waits for candidates, but it allows the brethren to have a business meeting, close, then move on to dinner and just hanging out.
-The current master has strategically put in breaks at predetermined times to allow those brothers who need to get out earlier to slip out with having to stand up and walk out of lodge during something. Several brothers who have started to attend again have said this is on of the reasons.
-Every brother has taken it upon themselves to make sure that they greet each new person at every lodge meeting. Walk up with a smile, introduce yourself and ask them where they are sitting for dinner. Walk them around the room, introduce them to people. Treat your new brothers as kings. Most importantly, police yourselves. Call out the cliques. Poke fun at the guy who is not engaging the new people. Have fun with it.
-Remember that this is a fraternity. Part of this means you must have ample opportunities to socialize outside of regular communications. We designated the third Friday of every month "Brothers Night." We got a pool table off of craigslist and bought dominos and cards. It took some doing, but we average between 15 and 20 brothers a night. We also allow brothers to bring people who have expressed an interest in masonry. By engaging them in this manner, they already know a bunch of people if and when they start their degree work.
-Get some good swag! Get hooded sweatshirts, or t-shirts or baseball caps. We have specific hooded sweatshirts that no other lodge in MA has. Complete with custom designed logos. We order them only about every 15 months or so. Thus the newer members or newly active members have to wait until the order comes up again. We also, only offer it up in lodge, so the guys who don't come miss out.
-Actively use facebook. We have seen a greater turnout at about every event since we started putting together facebook groups and invites. Even several of the older members have learned how to use it. We put pictures of there and everything. It works.
Alright, I will climb down off of my soapbox!! This is just an issue I am rather passionate about.
-The meetings are boring.
-The meetings run too long.
-Newer masons do not feel engaged by the older brethren.
Lets take a look at these.
The meetings are boring. Its really hard to argue with this one. We have a laid back lodge with lots of laughter and banter, but lets face it; sitting quietly in a room, in a suit, watching degree work can get tedious. Especially when compared to sitting at home watching Monday night football (we meet on Mondays.) I don't know about the other lodges, but we do degree work every meeting where we are not receiving the DD.
This leads right into the second point which is that the meetings run too late. My lodge is lucky if a night with degree work ends before 11pm. I have a job and a young family. I want to be in bed at 10 let alone not getting in until after 11. This seems to be a newer problem because prior to the last couple of years, most of the brothers were retired and it didn't matter.
Lindenswansen hit it right on the head when it comes to my third point about not feeling engaged. The cliques are present in every lodge I have attended. The same people tend to sit together during dinner and in lodge. How does this look or feel to a guy who may not know another person there, or only know one? Not very welcoming I would say.
Here are some of the things we have done to attempt to combat this stuff:
-Once a quarter we try and have a meeting with no degree work. This leads to longer waits for candidates, but it allows the brethren to have a business meeting, close, then move on to dinner and just hanging out.
-The current master has strategically put in breaks at predetermined times to allow those brothers who need to get out earlier to slip out with having to stand up and walk out of lodge during something. Several brothers who have started to attend again have said this is on of the reasons.
-Every brother has taken it upon themselves to make sure that they greet each new person at every lodge meeting. Walk up with a smile, introduce yourself and ask them where they are sitting for dinner. Walk them around the room, introduce them to people. Treat your new brothers as kings. Most importantly, police yourselves. Call out the cliques. Poke fun at the guy who is not engaging the new people. Have fun with it.
-Remember that this is a fraternity. Part of this means you must have ample opportunities to socialize outside of regular communications. We designated the third Friday of every month "Brothers Night." We got a pool table off of craigslist and bought dominos and cards. It took some doing, but we average between 15 and 20 brothers a night. We also allow brothers to bring people who have expressed an interest in masonry. By engaging them in this manner, they already know a bunch of people if and when they start their degree work.
-Get some good swag! Get hooded sweatshirts, or t-shirts or baseball caps. We have specific hooded sweatshirts that no other lodge in MA has. Complete with custom designed logos. We order them only about every 15 months or so. Thus the newer members or newly active members have to wait until the order comes up again. We also, only offer it up in lodge, so the guys who don't come miss out.
-Actively use facebook. We have seen a greater turnout at about every event since we started putting together facebook groups and invites. Even several of the older members have learned how to use it. We put pictures of there and everything. It works.
Alright, I will climb down off of my soapbox!! This is just an issue I am rather passionate about.
G
Gary
Guest
Do you mind if I forward your comments to our incoming WM? I'm sure this input would be very helpful to him.
Ashlar2006
Masonic Mafia
We have called meetings for degree work . We do not put on degree work on the same night as our stated meeting unless that is the only time a candidate can show up .
TrowelTalk
New Member
All excellent points and worth repeating. I was a union organizer for 16 years and will post my observations and ideas, but first wanted to acknowledge how well thought out this brothers perspective is:
TrowelTalk
New Member
First Impression:
The old adage, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression" is so very true and can apply to our fraternity. Candidates who petition a Lodge for membership have given the idea a lot of consideration, and all of them have done so due to a "favorable impression of the fraternity."
But what is that first impression after they've been with us a while? Did the new Brother get their phone calls returned and questions answered promptly? Were they made to feel welcome and truly a "Brother" outside of the actual ritual? Did anyone from the Lodge call invite them to visit another Lodge, attend a BBQ or just hang out and have a cold beverage = act as a friend would? Was bickering over heard among the brethren (of course not.......)?
By the time a newly Raised Brother gets to that point, they have a strong impression of the Lodge and the people who make up the ranks. Is it a good impression or one we would not be proud of if they were really candid and told us what they think? Do they identify with the other Brothers, have they made "real" friendships, what "ties" have been created that would encourage them to come back for more?
Continuing Education:
Why do so many move quickly from the Third Degree to an appendage body? More than likely they are still seeking knowledge and/or broadened relationships. Does the Blue Lodge offer continuing education? Are the programs interesting and well presented? We spend so much time rehearsing degree work, do we ever consider rehearsing additional lessons of the more esoteric aspects of the Craft? Do we involve new members in the discussions of what they are interested in? If the Blue Lodge is only doing degree work and paying bills, with the occasional pancake breakfast thrown in; its no wonder young people don't want to come back to Lodge when there are so many other "more interesting" things do entertain them, i.e., Monday Night Football.
Communication:
Is the only way we communicate with our brethren who are not coming to Lodge is through a bland newsletter that looks like it was written on a typewriter and ran off on memograph machine? If you need a definition of a typewriter or a memograph machine, well I've got shoes older than you... and you made my point! Desktop publishing is easily within anyone's grasp these days. Combine that with a cheap digital camera and you are in the publishing business. Put a communication together that looks professional and includes pictures; and I'm not talking about the old standard of all the officers in tuxedos standing there all solemn and serious. Put young faces, smiling, laughing faces in the document. When people see others having a good time, they will be more interested in coming down to see what everyone is all happy about. Do not, I repeat DO NOT sing a song of sadness, chastising the membership for not attending. No one likes to be scolded, and they are even more likely not to want to come down and face you afterwards.
Does the Lodge have a sharp, professional looking website, are they on FaceBook and/or Twitter, do you circulate information via email? If you watch someone under 40 for a few hours chances are they have checked their email and one of the Social Media outlets via a smartphone. If you've never heard of Social Media or email, well, ask you grandson or daughter to show you. ;-)
My $.02 worth...
The old adage, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression" is so very true and can apply to our fraternity. Candidates who petition a Lodge for membership have given the idea a lot of consideration, and all of them have done so due to a "favorable impression of the fraternity."
But what is that first impression after they've been with us a while? Did the new Brother get their phone calls returned and questions answered promptly? Were they made to feel welcome and truly a "Brother" outside of the actual ritual? Did anyone from the Lodge call invite them to visit another Lodge, attend a BBQ or just hang out and have a cold beverage = act as a friend would? Was bickering over heard among the brethren (of course not.......)?
By the time a newly Raised Brother gets to that point, they have a strong impression of the Lodge and the people who make up the ranks. Is it a good impression or one we would not be proud of if they were really candid and told us what they think? Do they identify with the other Brothers, have they made "real" friendships, what "ties" have been created that would encourage them to come back for more?
Continuing Education:
Why do so many move quickly from the Third Degree to an appendage body? More than likely they are still seeking knowledge and/or broadened relationships. Does the Blue Lodge offer continuing education? Are the programs interesting and well presented? We spend so much time rehearsing degree work, do we ever consider rehearsing additional lessons of the more esoteric aspects of the Craft? Do we involve new members in the discussions of what they are interested in? If the Blue Lodge is only doing degree work and paying bills, with the occasional pancake breakfast thrown in; its no wonder young people don't want to come back to Lodge when there are so many other "more interesting" things do entertain them, i.e., Monday Night Football.
Communication:
Is the only way we communicate with our brethren who are not coming to Lodge is through a bland newsletter that looks like it was written on a typewriter and ran off on memograph machine? If you need a definition of a typewriter or a memograph machine, well I've got shoes older than you... and you made my point! Desktop publishing is easily within anyone's grasp these days. Combine that with a cheap digital camera and you are in the publishing business. Put a communication together that looks professional and includes pictures; and I'm not talking about the old standard of all the officers in tuxedos standing there all solemn and serious. Put young faces, smiling, laughing faces in the document. When people see others having a good time, they will be more interested in coming down to see what everyone is all happy about. Do not, I repeat DO NOT sing a song of sadness, chastising the membership for not attending. No one likes to be scolded, and they are even more likely not to want to come down and face you afterwards.
Does the Lodge have a sharp, professional looking website, are they on FaceBook and/or Twitter, do you circulate information via email? If you watch someone under 40 for a few hours chances are they have checked their email and one of the Social Media outlets via a smartphone. If you've never heard of Social Media or email, well, ask you grandson or daughter to show you. ;-)
My $.02 worth...
Brother Liberty
Service Officer
These are fantastic points! To the brother who asked to forward my comments to their incoming master, I say please do! This discussion needs to be happening in every lodge and if my thoughts can help spur discussions then I am more than happy to help!
The website thing is something that should be thought about by every lodge. It is something we are dealing with now. There are some other things that are playing into ours that I won't go into here, but it is a very important topic.
Think about it for a moment. For the most part, does anyone really enter into anything these days without researching it on the internet? When I was hiring people I would google them. So if a man is sitting at home pondering masonry, he is going to google the lodges near his home. If you have no web presence, you are going to miss out on that potential member. If you have a lousy website, then he might view the fraternity as archaic. But if he sees a good website, with a list of upcoming events and pictures of fun things the lodge has done and of their charity work, he will want to join or at least find out more.
I also wanted to follow up on something from much earlier in the thread that I forgot in the novel I wrote earlier. Someone mentioned bringing in speakers and such to try and encourage people to attend. I don't know about anyone else, but I always hated listening to speakers in school. Instead of a speaker, bring in poker chips, or a thirty pack. If you have the property put in horseshoe pits. Again, bring the fraternity back into the lodge. Just my two cents on that!
Continuing masonic education is important, but make sure you are considering who is running it. I got up extremely early on Saturday to attend a training over an hour from my home. I sat there and listened to a man in his sixties explain to men in their twenties the importance of the internet and how to use social networking. I am not saying the man did not have some good ideas, because he did. But the bottom line is that just about everyone in the room knew more about it than he did.
We are lucky enough to be only about 18 miles outside of Boston. So, masonic revolutionary history is right around the corner. Our lodge has had great success doing a walking tour of Boston starting at our Grand Lodge. It was extremely informative and fun. Especially sitting in a bar drinking a Sam Adams while looking at Sam Adams' grave!
Ashlar2006
Masonic Mafia
We have very interesting speakers . Let's see , we had one speaking on Freemasons at the Alamo , native American Freemasons . If a Freemason can not find interest in that , then it says more about the person listening than it does the speaker . The largest turnouts we have ever had were when the speakers came , and we still have brothers and their friends and family asking when we are going to bring them back .