What would YOU like to see changed in Masonry?

[Zack]

Well said Brother DavisB.

I resent the implication that I am indifferent to Masonry because I disagree with someone's opinion of there being a problem with membership numbers. I seriously doubt, cemab4y, that your "love of the Craft" is any greater than mine.

A great many Brothers have disagreed with your postings on this and other boards. Are we all guilty of "indifference to Masonry"? I find that implication disrespectful and in bad taste.

IMO the indifference was/is the disregarding of the West Gate.

 

[Ashlar2006]

Well said both DavisB and Zack . If I was indifferent to the Craft and did not care about Freemasonry , i would not be on this site . I would not be the Master of my Lodge , I would not be at my lodge every time the door opens , I would not set and study ritual and the meanings behind the ritual so I know more about Freemasonry and can pass this knowledge on to new and old members alike . I would not be a Freemason .

Numbers does not make Freemasonry , period .

Oh Cemb , when I said "No one cares" , what I meant is , no one cares about some numbers on a web site . Big difference ! Sorry I was not more clear .

 

[Ashlar2006]

I would like to add ...

It is not indifference on our part , but a difference of opinion . Some look at numbers and scream "We need more!!!" , some of us think that Freemasonry should be smaller , tighter , more dedicated group of men . Some of us see lodge buildings closing their doors as a good thing . I mean think about it , how many lodge buildings is needed in a town ? My town has 4 within the city limits when one lodge would do .

 

[mdonahue66]

I would like to add ...

It is not indifference on our part , but a difference of opinion . Some look at numbers and scream "We need more!!!" , some of us think that Freemasonry should be smaller , tighter , more dedicated group of men . Some of us see lodge buildings closing their doors as a good thing . I mean think about it , how many lodge buildings is needed in a town ? My town has 4 within the city limits when one lodge would do .

I don't want to agree or disagree with anyone here, and my opinion is certainly worth no more than anyone else's, but different geographical areas may have different needs. In MN, I know of no town outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area that has more than one lodge. Even Rochester, MN, with a population of 100,000 has only one lodge. In Owatonna, we're fortunate to be in a stable financial situation, thanks to some generous, wealthier brothers over the past decade. Other towns in are area aren't so lucky, and are struggling to keep there buildings. They need dues paying masons to continue to do their work in their hometown. And it is important to many of us to be able perform our labors in our own communities. I'm not a proponent of letting everyone with a checkbook become a mason, and I think we should be very careful how we market ourselves, but I also think there are a lot of potentially great masons out there, who are not finding us, and I think we could do a better job seeing that they do find us.

 

[Ashlar2006]

I don't want to agree or disagree with anyone here, and my opinion is certainly worth no more than anyone else's, but different geographical areas may have different needs. In MN, I know of no town outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area that has more than one lodge. Even Rochester, MN, with a population of 100,000 has only one lodge. In Owatonna, we're fortunate to be in a stable financial situation, thanks to some generous, wealthier brothers over the past decade. Other towns in are area aren't so lucky, and are struggling to keep there buildings. They need dues paying masons to continue to do their work in their hometown. And it is important to many of us to be able perform our labors in our own communities. I'm not a proponent of letting everyone with a checkbook become a mason, and I think we should be very careful how we market ourselves, but I also think there are a lot of potentially great masons out there, who are not finding us, and I think we could do a better job seeing that they do find us.

This is true also . But I know in my tri-state area that there are lodges all over the place . Many within a few minutes drive from one another and this is simply is not needed . My lodge is doing great but it would not hurt my feelings to merge with another lodge , as long as I can continue to be a Freemason , I do not care under what lodge name or building it is in .

 

[DavisB]

I don't want to agree or disagree with anyone here, and my opinion is certainly worth no more than anyone else's, but different geographical areas may have different needs. In MN, I know of no town outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area that has more than one lodge. Even Rochester, MN, with a population of 100,000 has only one lodge. In Owatonna, we're fortunate to be in a stable financial situation, thanks to some generous, wealthier brothers over the past decade. Other towns in are area aren't so lucky, and are struggling to keep there buildings. They need dues paying masons to continue to do their work in their hometown. And it is important to many of us to be able perform our labors in our own communities. I'm not a proponent of letting everyone with a checkbook become a mason, and I think we should be very careful how we market ourselves, but I also think there are a lot of potentially great masons out there, who are not finding us, and I think we could do a better job seeing that they do find us.

I think that is exactly where the challenge is. Trying to walk the fine line between making ourselves known and accepting new members, while trying to still protect Masonry and keep membership in this fraternity something to be proud of.

 

[cemab4y]

quote: A man can love Freemasonry and want it to continue and grow without caring about numbers. end quote.

I am having some difficulty with this. How can a person want masonry to grow, and not care about the numbers? How can anyone know if Masonry, is growing or declining, without considering the membership numbers? ( I worked for the US Bureau of the Census.) Imagine taking a census, to count how many people live in the USA, without considering the numbers.

No reasonable person expects Masonry to return to the membership totals that we had in the mid-to-late 1950's. That is science fiction. And we can probably survive, and prosper without having a lodge on every corner. In Texas (and other states), there are many small "country" lodges, that are on life-support. Without plural members, and men from nearby lodges supporting them, some of these lodges would collapse.

Running your lodge, on plural memberships, is only delaying the inevitable. When the Masons who hold multiple memberships, lay down the working tools, the end of these small lodges is at hand.

The Masonic Renewal Task Force, (convened some years ago), studied the overall membership statistics from nearly all USA Grand Lodges. The overall numbers, and the ages of the membership were considered. It is not difficult to establish a trend, and the trend is bad. Lower membership numbers, advancing age, lodges closing. And when a Grand Lodge membership faces several years of decline, under the same demographic realities, the decline can be irreversible.

What needs to be developed, is new attitude among Grand Lodges, Lodges, and individual Masons. We can attract a larger volume of candidates, and simutaneously keep our standards high. No one is suggesting abandoning vigilance at the West Gate.

 

[DavisB]

quote: A man can love Freemasonry and want it to continue and grow without caring about numbers. end quote.

I am having some difficulty with this. How can a person want masonry to grow, and not care about the numbers? How can anyone know if Masonry, is growing or declining, without considering the membership numbers? ( I worked for the US Bureau of the Census.) Imagine taking a census, to count how many people live in the USA, without considering the numbers.

I can love Freemasonry, want to see it grow and thrive, and not care how many members we have. By paying attention to the numbers, it seems as if there is a "magic number" of members, where, if we can just achieve it, everything will be perfect. I do not care if my Grand Lodge has 10 members or 10,000 members, I still want to bring more men, who desire it, to light. I do not however, agree with the tactic of trying to get every person possible to join. That would only dilute what Freemasonry is.

I personally do not see the problem with loges who cannot support themselves, and only drain GL resources, closing is. If my local lodge (about 8 minutes away) closed, it would not stop me from being a mason. Nor would it have stopped me from petitioning. While local lodges are convenient, I see Masonry as something that I would be willing to travel a greater distance for as often as I could. But I guess that is just my opinion. Freemasonry is something that means enough to me that I would sacrifice extra time and resources to be able to stay active.