Lodge Growth

[mdonahue66]

Last night our Secretary went over membership details for the year. If my memory serves me, we raised 5 new brothers and gained another through affiliation from a different lodge. 3 brothers passed away, may the Rest in Peace, 3 demitted their affiliation, and 8 are being dropped from the lodge because of non-payment of dues. That's a net loss of eight, in a lodge that started the year with 140 brothers. There has been a similar trend in the few years I've been a mason. I will say, of the 6 brothers that have come in, 4 of them are fairly active. Of those we lost, I know of none that have been active (participate in lodge and take an active role) for at least a few years, although I think all three of the deaths were Past Masters. What are we proactively doing to buck this trend? What kind of ideas do we have? Should we try to reverse it, or will we eventually stabilize with a smaller but more active membership?

 

[Winter]

Quick question, of the 140 or so members in your Lodge, how many come to meetings? How many have you met?

We've had this discussion on a couple of threads here. This seems to be the norm, Lodges that relay on numbers and growth because of the dues needed to keep the lights on, when in reality only a handful of Brothers actually attend their Lodge.

 

[mdonahue66]

I would say I've met 50. A state communication usually has 14 to 18 brothers. Our last two degrees, both MM's and both in December, we had 22 and 28, although thats probably a little more than normal, as both of these new brothers are grandsons of very beloved, long term (45 or 50 year) past masters.

 

[Bropreston]

my lodge has about 50 members of which I`d say around 30/35 attend on a regular basis, this is very high in our area, there is another lodge nearby who have 150 members but only get 30/40 attending.

 

[Gary]

my lodge has about 50 members of which I`d say around 30/35 attend on a regular basis, this is very high in our area, there is another lodge nearby who have 150 members but only get 30/40 attending.

Out of 150 members, 30/40 attending is pretty good! We have about 120 or so, and are lucky to see 20 on a good day.

 

[removed12612]

same here garyE.....more like 7-11 @ stated communications.....maybe 20-25 at degree work

 

[mdonahue66]

In October, we had a celebration for the 150th anniversary of our lodge. We did a lot of fundraising to make this a very inexpensive event. We were able to serve a very nice dinner with as much beer and wine as anyone could drink for $10, and had it on a Saturday evening at 6:30. Spouses and family were invited. We still only had 41 masons there, and probably 4 or 5 of them were from neighboring lodges. That was the largest turnout of brothers from our lodge I have ever seen.

 

[Winter]

And this is what I am getting at. Why be a Mason if you aren't going to be part of your Lodge? What are we doing wrong that these men join and don't feel the drive to be an active member?

To the Brothers that are getting 20-40 at a meeting, that is great! But it is not the norm. Even in Lodges with more than a hundred or two.

We need to seriously look at how we do things.

 

[Gary]

And this is what I am getting at. Why be a Mason if you aren't going to be part of your Lodge? What are we doing wrong that these men join and don't feel the drive to be an active member?

To the Brothers that are getting 20-40 at a meeting, that is great! But it is not the norm. Even in Lodges with more than a hundred or two.

We need to seriously look at how we do things.

What we are doing wrong is: Failing to provide an environment that promotes the growth of the member. retention diminishes when a Brother becomes a victim of disallusion or loses interest in the social aspect if his needs aren't met.

 

[Zack]

Just my opinion and you know what that's worth;
I no longer concern myself with the inactive members. They know where the Lodge is and when we meet. If they choose not to attend, so beit. I think more effort should be spent on retaining the newer Brothers than trying to jump start members who no longer participate. The hope for Freemasonry is not the 65 year old member sitting on the couch(they do serve a purpose, dues $$) but is the 25-40 year old' who are starting to show up. Is M/Edu the answer? It sure can't hurt. But to me the big thing is to give the new Brother a job. Not necessarily an officers chair but put them on a committee or a "make" work project, anything to get their attention. Make them feel a part of the Lodge.

An EA is the most eager time of a Masons life, imo, the most curious, so full of questions, so moldable, if you will, and most of the time we drop the ball leave them with their questions unanswered and little attention paid them except for the catechisms. Where'd they go??????

 

[Windrider]

What we are doing wrong is: Failing to provide an environment that promotes the growth of the member. retention diminishes when a Brother becomes a victim of disallusion or loses interest in the social aspect if his needs aren't met.

My Blue Lodge has about 175 members. The largest crowd I've seen in the past six months was about 30 members. I have been to every meeting of my Blue Lodge and every Lodge of Instruction since I've been an EA. I'm the Lodge's webmaster, Santa, and disk jockey. I've even said "no" a couple of times Some of the guys are trying to get me fitted for a tux.

So, beside the hot dogs, what keeps me coming back and active? I think Masonry is something that hits me directly in the soul. I love almost everything about it. My Brothers are always ready to make a space at their table for me. I delight in the people from so many different backgrounds gathered in the spirit of Brotherhood, learning, generosity, and fun. When I'm in public and wearing my ring, strangers walk up to me and call me "Brother". I find the more I'm involved, the happier I am.

So what drives the others away? I think it's pretty simple. As one of the Brothers on my investigation committee said to me, "You get out of Freemasonry what you put into it." The small percentage of new and old brothers who jump in with both feet are caught and held close by the ones who made that leap before. It's only natural that those who, for whatever reason, don't make the leap feel left out. They are left out. When men work together, their friendship grows.

So how to fix it? I believe we need to go out of our way to give each man a reason to feel welcomed at Lodge. Some people just enjoy helping out. Others need to be sure their efforts will not be in vain before they will commit. Still others have no interest in doing more than socializing.

Some of the members of the Lodge hate the politics and backstabbing that goes on. I firmly believe we are better than that and the majority of my Brothers conduct themselves accordingly. Keep the infighting between the fighters if we must fight at all. Politics of any sort is divisive.

Make sure the Brother you haven't seen in a while or is new is made to feel just as welcome as the guys who do all the work. Call them over to your table after the meeting. Get them a beer. Ask about their lives and families. I bet we would see more of them.

If you know somebody who hasn't been to Lodge in a while, there might be a good reason for that. Find out and bring Relief to his troubles. If each of us got on the phone and called two "rusty brothers" to find out how they are and what they want from the Lodge, I bet some of them would come back if only for one or two meetings. That's our chance to make them feel what we profess to believe, Brotherly Love.

See, we have all the tools. We just need to get down to the work.

 

[Laxguy38922]

8 Members pass away in my lodge, 1 dropped out and 0 suspended for non-payment but we had 11-12 brothers come in with 2 or 3 petitions waiting to be voted on. We have around 200 members in the lodge and on a good month we get around 40 to come out. The largest I saw at my lodge was one month this year we had 120.

I am a young mason(23years old) so my views on things may be alittle different and some older masons might not like it but I feel the same way Zack and probably most of you feel. Get the new members involved with whatever you can(but not overload them) to make them feel apart of something. Also, I think lodges should do something more than just your stated meeting/degree work every month or so. My lodge use to do this back in the day but had stopped it until a couple brothers and I suggested it. We did a Community Family Night, Breakfast with Santa, Blood Drive on top of our yearly banquet all in the last 2 months and are planning more and more things(Ballroom dance classes,Casino Night, Poker nights,etc). They get the current members something to come out and spend more time bonding while doing something good for the community and possibly attracting new members.

 

[Cemore]

Brother Winter
I am not sure the Masonic lodges are doing things wrong, both my lodges are getting younger members and doing degree work two to three weeks a month. In my case of not show up, lodge starts to late for me and my work schedule. After almost 24 and 3/4 years I find myself unable to attemd lodge regulary as I would like. I do have to say that both my lodges keep me informed as to what is going on, most specialy the degree work.

 

[Winter]

Brother Cemore,

If your Lodge has the partipation of the majority of it's members, then your Lodge is the exception, not the norm.

And if your Lodge is doing that much degree work, that is great as long as you are getting the quality members that we need. How many members are on your Lodge's books and what is the average attendance at a meeting?

 

[Azpir8king]

I may have posted this somewhere else on the forum, but I sent this email out as a follow up to the reminder I received about the FC degrees coming up at our Lodge (actually going tonight). I looked over the CC list and saw a LOT of names of Brothers I had never met. I have only missed one Lodge activity in the last year since I became an Entered Apprentice. Even on MM nights, I sat outside with my counselor and went over the catechism.
One of the FC's being passed is a Brother who's petition I top lined.

As I looked over the email list of good men in my lodge, I thought there is a message i can send. I have attached that email in its entirety below:

Brethren,
It adds up to 91.

To start with, let me iterate that since my Raising I have come to the conclusion that the Degree’s, while interesting or maybe even repetitive for those with active parts, are really about the candidate. It’s theirs to experience. It’s for their benefit.

They will not remember little flubs or skips, but will remember the tenor, professionalism and the BROTHERS that attended the work. It’s for the candidates. It’s the thing they will ALWAYS look back on and quite possibly the thing that drives them to stay with it when they may have doubts. The total immersion created during a well done degree is priceless and having traveled to a lot of Lodges in the last few months, I can state without reservation, Damascus puts on GREAT degrees!

I recently went to an MM Raising at another Lodge. As I looked around, it just didn’t add up. Here was a new Brother being raised to MM and the number of people needed to PROPERLY put on his degree was (by my calculation): 23 (if you don’t share parts). That seems high. There were 10 present, plus three guests. A little under half what it should be. Some Brothers did not participate. We (the guests) basically invited ourselves to participate.

Did the candidate know the difference that night? No, probably not. He will when he sees a properly cast and executed degree. That’s when the disappointment MIGHT set in.

The Lodge relied HEAVILY on written notes and books. Will the Candidate know the difference? No, not until he "see's" a degree put on like the Damascus degrees. Then he will KNOW he was robbed of an experience.

So, why is Brother Tinney, a relative newbie, writing this email? Well, it’s to remind everyone (using Brother XXXXXX reminder email) that the NUMBERS make a difference. Do you like math? I like math. Let’s do some math.

This is how many brothers (based on my memory…but we could check the minutes) took part in my becoming a raised Maser Mason from my first inquiry to the eating cake after I was Raised:

1 got asked by me “How do I become a Mason?”
2 got phone calls to coordinate a visit (1 was the Grand Secretary of the State)
8 showed up for fellowship night at the movies to talk to me
3 interviewed me
11 were on my Masters board
10 were at my EA ceremony
15 plus were at my posting
11 were at my FC ceremony
12 were at my FC posting
18 (or so) at my MM

That’s 91. Sometimes it was the same people at my various degrees, but that’s still 91 Brothers taking the time to make sure my Masonic Journey was the best it could be. I think I owe those men for their efforts. It will be a LONG time before I can honestly say I have equaled their dedication and investment of time in MY Raising. That is the time I need to pay back with bringing good men forward and supporting those that “ask to be one” by showing up at THEIR interviews, boards, postings and ceremonies. That’s 91 trips to Damascus at a minimum.

So, in my OPINION, Paul and Jason DESERVE to have as many of us show up to support their progression (and to listen to the FC Charges…which I really like) as possible. We need to pay back the time to those that brought us through and let Paul and Jason see what we do at Damascus to support future brethren and the degree efforts. If you haven’t been in awhile, haven’t seen an FC Degree or just want to support our new Brothers……Come on down. You owe it to yourself and you owe it to those that put their time into YOU!

These are just my thoughts on why I will continue to show up for degree work whenever possible (plus the food, Brother Cookie). I hope to see all of you there.

Brother Tom



Tonight, I will take a count and see if any more than the usual suspects show up......

 

[Gary]

My Blue Lodge has about 175 members. The largest crowd I've seen in the past six months was about 30 members. I have been to every meeting of my Blue Lodge and every Lodge of Instruction since I've been an EA. I'm the Lodge's webmaster, Santa, and disk jockey. I've even said "no" a couple of times Some of the guys are trying to get me fitted for a tux.

So, beside the hot dogs, what keeps me coming back and active? I think Masonry is something that hits me directly in the soul. I love almost everything about it. My Brothers are always ready to make a space at their table for me. I delight in the people from so many different backgrounds gathered in the spirit of Brotherhood, learning, generosity, and fun. When I'm in public and wearing my ring, strangers walk up to me and call me "Brother". I find the more I'm involved, the happier I am.

So what drives the others away? I think it's pretty simple. As one of the Brothers on my investigation committee said to me, "You get out of Freemasonry what you put into it." The small percentage of new and old brothers who jump in with both feet are caught and held close by the ones who made that leap before. It's only natural that those who, for whatever reason, don't make the leap feel left out. They are left out. When men work together, their friendship grows.

So how to fix it? I believe we need to go out of our way to give each man a reason to feel welcomed at Lodge. Some people just enjoy helping out. Others need to be sure their efforts will not be in vain before they will commit. Still others have no interest in doing more than socializing.

Some of the members of the Lodge hate the politics and backstabbing that goes on. I firmly believe we are better than that and the majority of my Brothers conduct themselves accordingly. Keep the infighting between the fighters if we must fight at all. Politics of any sort is divisive.

Make sure the Brother you haven't seen in a while or is new is made to feel just as welcome as the guys who do all the work. Call them over to your table after the meeting. Get them a beer. Ask about their lives and families. I bet we would see more of them.

If you know somebody who hasn't been to Lodge in a while, there might be a good reason for that. Find out and bring Relief to his troubles. If each of us got on the phone and called two "rusty brothers" to find out how they are and what they want from the Lodge, I bet some of them would come back if only for one or two meetings. That's our chance to make them feel what we profess to believe, Brotherly Love.

See, we have all the tools. We just need to get down to the work.

Excellent post Windrider!

 

[TrowelTalk]

In Maryland, the Grand Lodge has a number of actions underway which hope to bolster "active" membership:

1. Every Lodge must form a "Membership and Retention" Committee. The committee has a host of charges, but because it seems that personal relationships are the strongest tie which bind a man to coming to Lodge, its primary goal is to foster mentoring relationships between active MM and new members coming through the Degrees. We are also reevaluating our meeting agenda to insure we maintain a balance between Ritual Work, Business, Masonic Education and FUN.

2. Effective January 1st, the GL is sponsoring a series of radio and TV ads promoting the fraternity. Quite controversial a few years ago, but recognizing the renewed interest men seem to have from the recent movies and historical TV shows, and anticipating even more with Dan Brown's book and upcoming movie, there was very little opposition to the idea and a whole lot of support. We are also having a State-Wide "Open House" in April. Meaning that every lodge in the State will have their doors open on the same Saturday and manned by members prepared to answer questions and begin developing relationships with perspective members.

Counting the 4 who will be raised on January 6th, my little Lodge raised 13 in the past 12 months, 2 are already in chairs, and 2 more will be next month.

 

[Winter]

Effective January 1st, the GL is sponsoring a series of radio and TV ads promoting the fraternity.

Sorry, but I still believe practices like this are a violation of the basic tenets of our Order.

 

[Windrider]

Sorry, but I still believe practices like this are a violation of the basic tenets of our Order.

Pardon my ignorance, but why?

The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts ran a very successful ad campaign and web site Ask A Freemason :. Home to bring the Craft to the attention of the general public. Interested men were simply encouraged (ok, by a guy dressed up as Ben Franklin) to ask a Freemason. How is that any different than answering the same question on this forum?

From the FAQ section of the web site:

4) How do I become a Freemason? Ask!

Because Masons have not traditionally recruited members, and do not hold public meetings, there has long been confusion about how to join the Fraternity. Does someone ask you? Do you ask? But if you meet the requirements above, it is really quite simple:

Most men can become a Mason by simply asking - like Washington, Franklin, and most every Mason from the past to the present day. Each Lodge manages the membership process for its candidates. In general, men seek out a Lodge near their home or work (the "Find a Lodge Near You" feature will help you find the nearest lodge), or they ask a Mason to recommend a Lodge to them. Once you've found a lodge you would like to join, let them know of your interest and they will provide you with a petition.

If you are unanimously elected by the members of a lodge, joining the Fraternity involves going through three "degrees": Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. Every man accepted into the Fraternity goes through the degrees, thereby making each an equal to the others in the lodge. Typically they are conferred during a lodge's monthly meeting over the course of three months.

 

[Winter]

Pardon my ignorance, but why?

Because it smacks of being a social club just looking to fill our halls.

The doors have already been thrown open too wide in recent decades. For centuries, we did not need ad campaigns. Good, honest, decent men who were true seekers of Brotherhood and enlightenment found us. These ad campaigns make our Order appealing to every whack-job and joe-schmo just looking for something to do on a Wednesday night.

I'd be happier with a third of our numbers if they were actually Masons instead of dues-card carrying pretenders.

Please do not take any of these comments as a personal attack against you, my Brother. They are general statements regarding what I see as the direction our Order is taking as a whole and why I disagree with them... vehemently.