MSANA membership stats , oh my !!

Discussion in 'General masonic Discussion' started by Ashlar2006, Aug 16, 2011.

  1. Ashlar2006 Masonic Mafia

    Staff:
    Manager
    Verified:
    Yes
    I am truly happy no one has posted MSANA's 2010 membership stats here yet . Why so many are hung up on numbers eludes me .

    Thoughts ?
  2. Duncan1574 Lodge Chaplain

    Lodge:
    Ozaukee 17
    Staff:
    Moderator
    Verified:
    Yes
    I would suspect that that the membership in the Celestial Lodge is increasing at close to the rate of decline in the terrestrial Lodges.
    We are an organization with an old membership, I wonder what the mean age of a Brother is?
    How about the length of membership and the age at the time of petition?

    STRAW POLL!!!!!
    NAME,year of petition,year of birth (last 2 digits only)

    Russ,10,53
  3. Winter Not New

    Lodge:
    Ben Franklin #83 (EC)
    You have to remember, we are seeing the last of the Brothers die from the membership boom that began just after WWI and happened again just after WWII. Out numbers will, most likely, never return there. Our membership will even out where it needs to be. And the sooner that misguided Brothers quite trying to get back to those numbers by any means necessary the better. Yes, I'm looking at you, GL's in New England. ;)

    This leaves us with the problem of these huge temples with no way to maintain them and Lodges holding onto them with death grip as they are dragged down. There are options, but they all require extra work on the part of the Lodge but I have seen some Lodges able to keep their over sized temples through creativity..

    • Sell the building
    • Have multiple Lodges meet in the same building
    • Historical landmark
    • Rent building for functions
    • Craftsmen Clubs

    The numbers declining are not the problem. That is natural. The problem is when we convince ourselves that they shouldn't be going down and we break our own rules or lower our standards to try to increase the those numbers. When we do this, the Order as a whole is weakened.
  4. Ashlar2006 Masonic Mafia

    Staff:
    Manager
    Verified:
    Yes

    I will be honest here , I started this thread with you in mind Winter . When it comes to this subject , we think alike , and I like how you put it into words .

    I agree with you 100% . Masons need to figure out that we will never attain those WWII generation numbers again , thankfully , and let this tilting at windmills go . The fraternity will get back to where it should be soon .
  5. BukeyeJackson ViMH Advisory Board

    Lodge:
    Reynoldsburg 340 F&AM of Ohio
    I agree, with you guys. What happened to quality over quantity???

    Alex/08/86
  6. Blue Logan New Member

    Quality is key to preserving the Craft and I believe that most MM want to be around like-minded and dedicated Brothers; in my humble opinion! NO PAIN.... NO GAIN!
  7. Ashlar2006 Masonic Mafia

    Staff:
    Manager
    Verified:
    Yes
    Some are just fixated on what they perceive as "what is wrong with Freemasonry" . Some delight in it for some reason and act as if they are the "saviors" of Freemasonry . As far as numbers in membership are concerned , there is no problem , but some can not think of nothing but "how do we get those numbers back up to what they were in the 50's . Answer is.....we can't . The WWII generation is dying off , lodges are getting away from those over-inflated numbers of the past , we are getting away from lodges with hundreds of members where , other than the handful of active members , they do not even know each other's names . We are leveling out and getting lodges to more manageable numbers where Brothers actually know one another and are tighter knit groups .

    As Winter said , if a lodge can not keep the lights on and heat/cool your huge building , then it is time to move on . Either merge with another lodge or move your charter and share a building with multiple lodges . Or turn their Charter in and move on to other lodges who are doing well .

    All these gimmicks to bring in new membership are...... well I leave that up to others to make up their own minds . What we should be doing is practicing Freemasonry , making Masonic education a must and taking what we learn to better ourselves , treating Freemasonry with the solemnity it deserves . License plates , alcohol , poker/card nights and what have you are , when it comes to Freemasonry , unimportant .

    Personally , even though my lodge IS growing and thriving , I would be much happier with a lodge of 30 or 40 dedicated , active members who take their Freemasonry seriously than a lodge of 250 dues paying members in which most of them have never darkened the door of the temple since they were Raised .
  8. Winter Not New

    Lodge:
    Ben Franklin #83 (EC)
    A Lodge should be a small group of Brothers who all know each other on a deeply personal level. There should be no problem having several Lodges in an area if there is that much interest. You should know every Brother in your Lodge as well as you know your best friend. If you don't, your Lodge is too big.

    With that in mind, a smaller, more personal Lodge doesn't need a huge building. We can go back to the way we were and meet in backrooms and such. Then, the focus of all of the Lodges can be centered on building Masons, instead of holding enough events to be able to pay the electrical bill.
  9. BukeyeJackson ViMH Advisory Board

    Lodge:
    Reynoldsburg 340 F&AM of Ohio
    I love this thread already.

    I did have to do a double take at the title. Thought it said MENSA!
  10. Winter Not New

    Lodge:
    Ben Franklin #83 (EC)
    For those unfamiliar with the MSANA and if you have not seen the stats for membership, here is a link:

    Masonic Service Association of North America

    Bookmark the site and look around. the MSANA has some great resources for your Lodge.
  11. Duncan1574 Lodge Chaplain

    Lodge:
    Ozaukee 17
    Staff:
    Moderator
    Verified:
    Yes
    So as there was a membership surge after WWII, are we seeing a similar surge now? No, so lets call it right-sizing and move towards the small intimate Lodge Brother Winter (& others) speak of. I think my Lodge is doing this, there are 10-15 of us who show up all the time. Last meeting, we had WM, S/JW, S/JD, 1 steward, and the tyler and one MM. We had a ball! It was more relaxed and we were helping each other with the JW & JD parts.
  12. Ashlar2006 Masonic Mafia

    Staff:
    Manager
    Verified:
    Yes
    Amen brother , AMEN .
  13. Windrider Plus-sized tuxedo model

    Lodge:
    Ancient York (no numbers in MA)
    Let's not forget that there were other motives beside Masonry to join a lodge during those boom times in the 40's and 50's. Joining Fraternal organizations were one of the few ways a family could get life and health insurance at group rates. Most employers did not offer such benefits back then.

    If you think there are a lot of men who join Masonry and do not become active now, think about the number of men who joined then just to be able to get insurance.

    For more on Masonic insurance MASONIC INSURANCE - Do Masonic lodges offer policies to members?
  14. jason Nec timeo, nec sperno

    Verified:
    Yes
    I take it numbers went down? Does not surprise me. I'm wondering if this will bring up bodies wanting to break off like the Shrine talked about.
  15. Gary Guest

    The numbers from post WW2 are significantly lower now. I for one am glad to see that my jurisdiction is making changes to afford quality over quantity.

    Sadly, I keep hearing the same old story about drumming up members, but I think the concept is finally dying due to the realization that we have neglected the very foundation of the fraternity for far too long.

    Last night at our District Masters and Wardens meeting, the DDGM stood up and said ritual was the most important thing we have. The District Instructor chimed in and said that young men are the future of Freemasonry, and Ritual is Freemasonry.

    I wanted to start clapping because somebody finally gets it. :rolleyes:
  16. Ashlar2006 Masonic Mafia

    Staff:
    Manager
    Verified:
    Yes
    I thought having a few drinks of alcohol in the lodge building after a meeting was Freemasonry ? Wait , rushing off to join the Shrine and the other bodies and how many titles and rank we may obtain is Freemasonry !? Then again , maybe it is how many Masonic emblems we have on our cars/trucks ?

    Sorry , I could not help myself . It is that so many focus on the trivial things that they see wrong with Freemasonry instead of what should be important , like excellent ritual and Masonic education .
  17. FF Sparky Member

    Lodge:
    Federal Lodge #17
    Hey, I might resemble that remark...lol.Did i miss something about the GL's in New England??
  18. cemab4y New Member

    Lodge:
    Bowling Green #73, Bowling Green KY
    Numbers are important!

    The reason that so many are "hung up" on our membership numbers, is that membership is the lifeblood of Freemasonry. Here is an illustrative story.

    In the 1830's a religious group called the "Shakers" was formed. Their group forbade recruiting, or asking anyone to join. They had no missionaries, and all members were required to practice celibacy, including the married members. The Shakers died out.

    In the 1830's a religious group called the "Mormons" was formed. Their group sent out missionaries, and every member is expected to be a missionary. Members are given "tracts" and "information cards", with information about the church. The Mormons send out more missionaries, than all other Protestant denominations combined. They used to practice polygamy, and Brigham Young had 27 wives. Joseph Smith had 300 wives, counting the women who married him posthumously. Today, members are expected to have big families, and all male members are expected to serve a two-year mission. The Mormons have embraced the internet, and all media. What started as a group of 6 men, in upstate New York, is now a world-wide religion, with over 12 million members, in 117 countries.

    The Shakers are extinct.

    Who should Masonry emulate? Masonry is not a religion, but we should take a lesson from both of these religious groups.
  19. cemab4y New Member

    Lodge:
    Bowling Green #73, Bowling Green KY
    When I was made a Mason in 1982,my mother lodge (KY) had over 600 members. Today my lodge has less then 200. Two lodges I have belonged to in the past (VA and NY) have vanished. Gone with the Wind. I see lodges all over the USA closing, and consolidating. I was recently in Georgia, and I tried to visit a lodge, but they no longer hold meetings. I was in one Georgia lodge, and I had to serve as JD, because not enough members showed up for the meeting.

    If numbers are not important? What is?
  20. FF Sparky Member

    Lodge:
    Federal Lodge #17
    I understand not advertising to get major numbers, but how people still know or even heard of freemasonry now. I think the word should get out somehow so we dont lose the fraternity completely eventually. Mass membership, mass degree nights I dont agree with. We need numbers, but we need active numbers in the lodges, so we dont have to fill officers seats with past officers. Being a member should require a standard of attendance. I dont understand being hung up on national or worldly numbers when we can only control local numbers. I did have 2 friends of mine ask about joining. Gave them a petition. And gave them this website.

Share This Page