What would you like to see changed or improved in Masonry?

CoachN

Builder Builder
...I disagree, what is bigger than hemorraghing members? ...
What's Bigger? The "Cause" of that hemorrhaging. The hemorrhaging is ONLY a symptom; it is not a cause. It you focus on the symptom, it'll not stop. You can beat that hemorrhaging drum all you want, it ain't gonna solve your problem.
 

cemab4y

Member
OK, we agree, there is a huge loss of membership. texas lost abot 10% of the membership in one year. Therefore what should be done? Most masons are not convinced there is a problem.

Q:it ain't gonna solve your problem.
endQ

Ok, what is the problem, and what is the solution?
 

cemab4y

Member
I believe that the huge loss of membership, is THE most serious problem facing 21st century Masonry. After all, what difference does it make if the roof leaks, or there is a stain on the carpet, if the lodge hall is empty ?

I also believe that the solution should be "holistic", focusing on both the symptoms and the cause. What do you think?
 

Windrider

Plus-sized tuxedo model
This is a complex issue. My generation, basically hippies, were pretty much defined by a rejection of structure and authority. We were not joiners. Now, I see that changing. I have seen many men come to our Fraternity seeking brotherhood. My daughter's generation is again not known for being joiners. They seem to have their heads stuck in their phones and depend on "Social Media" for their connections to one another. The challenge to me is finding a way to convince them of the value of face to face interaction vs Facebook or Twitter.

There is nothing to compare with the joy of receiving a hug from a brother. They may never know the awe of hearing 250 men reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and meaning it. How do we tell them the value of knowing that they can trust every man who has knelt where Hiram did? That they could be part of a world-wide brotherhood? I have met men who do not understand the value of such ideas and have no interest in being part of anything they can't unfriend with a click. They say they are too busy. They say they don't want to get dressed up. They say there is nothing in the Fraternity that they can't get on the internet.

So, what is my solution? Ask any business person which is more expensive, retaining existing customers or recruiting new ones. They will all tell you it's much harder to recruit new customers than retain existing ones. We need to retain our members better. The way to do that, I believe, is we need to bring Masonry back to our meetings. The first change that I made when I assumed the East was to create the "Masonic Minute" where I or anyone from the lodge presents a short Masonic poem or essay that they found inspirational. I am seeing attendance rise as a result. While I can't say for sure, I believe this will also help with retention. We are inviting guest speakers to present talks. We are getting our families involved with a pot luck supper and a Pig Roast. I am actively reaching out to brothers who are attending and those who are not. We have a facebook presence and a web site. The members who are staying and attending meetings are naturally bringing their friends and family members into the lodge. As a byproduct of retention, we are getting better candidates who are coming for all the right reasons.

Bottom line: Men join Masonry for exactly the reasons we tell them we provide, a framework in which to become a better man. If we do not provide that and spend our meetings paying bills these men will seek light elsewhere.
 

cemab4y

Member
There is a great deal of prescience and truth in your posting. I am a "boomer", and I was never a hippie (It has been a long time since I heard that term). Men have all kinds of outlets for their free time, much more than even 50 years ago. Joining clubs and groups, is old hat, and near obsolete. I have no children, but I have seen the phenomena of which you speak, with kids withdrawing from human society, and socializing only electronically.

And you are "spot-on" about your observations on how Freemasonry is "marketed". Basically, it isn't marketed at all.

I am 1000% in agreement, that retention is a serious problem. In some areas, lodges are losing more members to suspensions, non-payment, and demits/resignations, than they are in deaths! This should be a wake-up call to all lodges.

We are in agreement, that if Masonic membership provides "value" ( however you define it), then participation and attendance with increase.

I am in agreement with you, that most stated meetings are B-O-R-I-N-G. Open, read the sick list, pay the bills, close gohome. No surprise that masonic meetings are sparsely attended.

We should refer the routine business items to executive committee. The WM and secretary,etc should have authority to pay all bills under $500. The lodge minutes should be published on the lodge web page, and then the next meeting can amend/correct the minutes as needed.

Lodge meetings should be "show business" not club business.
 

CoachN

Builder Builder
OK, we agree, there is a huge loss of membership. texas lost abot 10% of the membership in one year. Therefore what should be done? Most masons are not convinced there is a problem.
Q:it ain't gonna solve your problem.
endQ
Ok, what is the problem, and what is the solution?
The problem is what the system offers is no longer attractive enough to stick around.

I believe that the huge loss of membership, is THE most serious problem facing 21st century Masonry.
You can continue to harp on a symptom if you wish, but until you accept that it is a symptom, you'll head for the rocks and bring along all those who fall into this insane siren song trance.

After all, what difference does it make if the roof leaks, or there is a stain on the carpet, if the lodge hall is empty ?

I also believe that the solution should be "holistic", focusing on both the symptoms and the cause. What do you think?
Until the root is dealt with, everything else is a distraction (you know, a "superfluity!")
 

CoachN

Builder Builder
...Bottom line: Men join Masonry for exactly the reasons we tell them we provide, a framework in which to become a better man. If we do not provide that and spend our meetings paying bills these men will seek light elsewhere.
yup. ya can't be caught too many times promising and not delivering before you lose your audience.
 

cemab4y

Member
Let's not get into a p****ng contest. We have a "chicken or egg"situation here. Meetings are not giving the current membership "value", no one disputes that. Membership is down, no one disputes that, either.

So where do we go with this , and what do we do?

I would love for meetings to be exciting and worth the hassle of getting dressed up, and driving to the lodge. What will it take?

Some ideas:

Require a minimum dress code - no flip-flops, cutoff shorts, 'wife-beater' shirts, etc.

Have a short period before the meeting, when lights are turned down low, and a short musical number (classical!!!) is played.

Conduct routine business in executive session, give the WM/Secretary authority to pay any bill up to $500

Post the lodge minutes on line, and edit/amend the minutes at the meeting.

What else?
 

Charlie Buckles

New Member
I have a friend who manages a hotel. One time I asked him why his hotel was spending tens of thousands of dollars replacing perfectly good 32 inch TV's with 32 inch flat screens. His reply was that research showed that people wanted the illusion of luxury and that if they didn't get it they would go somewhere else. But wait, this thread isn't about hotels. I wonder why I thought this would be relevant here?
 

CoachN

Builder Builder
yup. ya can't be caught too many times promising and not delivering before you lose your audience.
Let's not get into a p****ng contest. We have a "chicken or egg"situation here. Meetings are not giving the current membership "value", no one disputes that. Membership is down, no one disputes that, either.
There is no contest going on. There is a clear effort to convey that you're view is self-defeating. It is not a chicken-egg situation. It is a cause/effect which is clearly NOT circular OR self-starting. Continue to focus on the down numbers and you miss the point - The SYSTEM is perfectly designed for high loss through attrition. A comparable analog to this is complaining about the pain every time you hit yourself in the head with a bat and focusing on the pain rather than stopping the bat from hitting.
So where do we go with this , and what do we do?
REDESIGN THE SYSTEM or ACCEPT THAT THE OUTCOME YOU ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT IS A NATURAL PART OF THE SYSTEM'S DESIGN.

I would love for meetings to be exciting and worth the hassle of getting dressed up, and driving to the lodge. What will it take?[/quote
CHANGE THE SYSTEM!
Some ideas:
Require a minimum dress code - no flip-flops, cutoff shorts, 'wife-beater' shirts, etc.
Have a short period before the meeting, when lights are turned down low, and a short musical number (classical!!!) is played.
Conduct routine business in executive session, give the WM/Secretary authority to pay any bill up to $500
Post the lodge minutes on line, and edit/amend the minutes at the meeting.
What else?
<snore... cough... choke.. sigh...>
 

Windrider

Plus-sized tuxedo model
There are four lodges in my building. Two of the lodges are recycling past Masters and have very few new initiates. One is holding steady. My lodge has no past masters in the line and brothers are waiting for their chance to get in line. We had a Fellow Craft degree last night and I was delighted to see brothers from all the other lodges in the building in attendance on the sidelines as well as from other lodges in our district.

I asked one well respected brother from another lodge why he was there. His answer was telling. He was at my lodge because he felt more welcomed there than at his own lodge. He said he was tired of the politics and infighting at his lodge. He liked the way we do things, making sure every visitor is recognized and made welcome. He especially liked the simple fact that we don't play politics.

I'm seeing attendance growing at every meeting and brothers coming back to lodge that we haven't seen in a while. Don't get me wrong, this isn't me. This is a long line of good men who prepared this lodge and I'm just the beneficiary. My job is to continue to make the lodge better so my successor can say the same thing.

None of these ideas we've implemented are new or original. I got most of it from Carl Claudy's "The Master's Book" (which every incoming Master should own and read three times.) which was written in the 30's. I would love to hop in a TARDIS and sit in his lodge for a meeting or two.

The two lodges that are not growing are shrinking. They are not doing anything to make their meetings interesting. They may do a bit of ritual, but one of them didn't even set up a table at the state wide open house. They are really great guys and I'm proud to call them brothers but something is wrong when I have more of their sideliners at my meeting than they have at their own.

The lodge that is holding steady has a strong group of brothers that basically run the lodge. While this can work, it doesn't encourage growth. We have brothers in my lodge that have affiliated with that lodge. They bring the candidates they sponsor to my lodge.

I lose sleep. I had to upgrade my cell phone plan to unlimited minutes. I have had periods where I only have dinner with my wife once in two weeks. It's not easy but when I see the brethren hugging one another and going out of their way to make sure every man in the room is greeted warmly by every other man my heart soars. It's worth the effort because I love my lodge and the men that make it great. The Masters that came before me did exactly the same things.

So, how do we spread this to the whole Fraternity? Many of us would like to see innovations in our ritual. Some want to have us go back to our old ways. Still others want to fling open the West gate and see who comes in. I believe everything we need to turn the Fraternity around is already there and just needs to be taken advantage of. What I've seen in my short term as Master is we have to make our meetings interesting enough to beat out the competition of TV, work, and simple laziness. We have to make our meetings a time and place that exemplifies our principals of friendship, morality and brotherly love. If our brothers look forward to going to a place they are inspired, learn something and are in the company of brothers among whom there is no contention save that noble contention of who can best work and best agree they will look forward to being there.

It takes work and leadership. Thankfully, we already have some great leadership training in our progressive line. It takes putting the lessons we teach in our ritual into action. It takes a strong gavel that is tempered by brotherly love and affection. Above all, it takes each of us contributing our time, money and work to make our lodges great.
 

Windrider

Plus-sized tuxedo model
AMEN! I have driven 2.5 hours each way to attend a Lodge like the one you describe. My own Lodge is 20 minutes away.
I'm glad you found them and are willing to make the effort to attend. That says a lot about your dedication to the Craft.

When I was going up the line I had a mentor who constantly was preparing me for the East. After each degree, I said to him, and now say to the whole lodge, any mistakes were my own and any success is because of him. When I see a lodge in trouble, I see politics and usually it's the old buzzards at the heart of it.

The senior members of my lodge have been an example of how a real Mason behaves. One in particular needs a cane to walk but rises to speak after he is recognized. He sets the example of protocol in the lodge. He presented a short talk about the Masonic history of the Forget-me-not. He has contributed financially and is spearheading the revitalization of our small museum. He also has volunteered to be a mentor for a new brother. This is the kind of support the lodge gets from our Past Masters.

If the Past Masters are nothing but old buzzards, any lodge could be in trouble. My lodge is succeeding because of their support. They say they are so active because of how I am leading but I know they would be there for anyone.

If you are heading toward the East as we all claim to be, the men who have already sat there should be stretching out their hands to help you get there, too. I know when my time in the East is done and the next good man sits in the Oriental Chair I will be there for him, too. The instructive tongue, attentive ear, and faithful breast: All three are required.
 

cemab4y

Member
Q None of these ideas we've implemented are new or original. end Q. This is exactly what I have been talking about for years. There are many excellent ideas and programs which were commonplace years ago. Masons are (generally) loath to try anything new. BUT- Some Masons may be more inclined to bring some of the proven programs from our recent past. I would love to see more attention being paid to our Masonic widows. The one demographic that is growing in Masonry, is the number of Masonic widows.

I would like to see a "cap" on the number of members who can join a lodge. Smaller lodges are "Intimate", every one can know everyone. And more good men will have the opportunity to serve the Craft as officers. Large mega-lodges in cities, tend to be more impersonal. If you are just a face in a crowd, how can you practice brotherly love?

One thing I would love to see, is more use of technology in our lodges. I KNOW this is not a "magic bullet" for Masonry. BUT- The Grand Master of Masons could record a podcast each month, and then have it available on line. Masons with internet in their homes can receive it, just like a paper newsletter. And lodges could play the podcast in their lodge meetings. Some Grand Lodges (ex: Kentucky) are already utilizing the web for long-distance learning, etc.

This is an exciting time to be a Mason!
 

cemab4y

Member
I would love for our lodges to pay more attention to new Masons. I just read about a lodge that has a "Masonic Rookie of the Year" award. What a fantastic idea! This is exactly what I am talking about.
 

CoachN

Builder Builder
I would love for our lodges to pay more attention to new Masons. I just read about a lodge that has a "Masonic Rookie of the Year" award. What a fantastic idea! This is exactly what I am talking about.
Yeah, lavish them with more titles; that'll do it.
 

Windrider

Plus-sized tuxedo model
I would love for our lodges to pay more attention to new Masons. I just read about a lodge that has a "Masonic Rookie of the Year" award. What a fantastic idea! This is exactly what I am talking about.
I believe you may be referring to the Massachusetts Master Mason Rookie Award. I was the second brother in my lodge to receive it and you're right, its a great idea. The award can be achieved by any number of brothers and I encourage all Master Masons to work toward it as soon as they are raised.

To achieve the Rookie Award, a brother must satisfy the Master that he has performed the tasks outlined by Grand lodge as qualifications in his first year. The list is simply the duties and events that all Masons should be doing: attend a Masonic Memorial Service; attend Lodge of Instruction; accompany the officers on the DDGM's suite at another lodge; visit another lodge; watch all three degrees from the sidelines; help with a fundraiser; help with the Widows' committee; help set up the lodge room; and so on. It exposes a new brother to just about every aspect of Masonry and those that do the work are usually the most happy and dependable men in the lodge.

Once achieved, the brother is invited to celebrate with a dinner with the Grand Master and all the brothers who have achieved the award. I try to attend this dinner every year and am very proud that my lodge now needs two tables to seat all the brothers who have achieved this award.
 

cemab4y

Member
I do not see your logic. The focus of this discussion, is about what can be changed or improved, not about how Masonry changes individuals.
 

:Prince Ra

New Member
I am NOT interested in changing MASONRY. I am however very interested in seeing some changes in the Masonic experience. What would you like to see changed or improved in the Masonic experience? Therbiquitoe are many changes being forced upon the Craft (and the appendant/concordant bodies). How can we best handle and cope with the changes? One of the biggest, is the expanding and ubiquitous use of the internet. Print newsletters are expensive and obsolete. Lodges are going to be using electronic newsletters.

If you are 100% satisfied with Masonry, and you are convinced that everything is just fine, and no changes are necessary, this discussion is not for you.
Greetings Adelphs from the East Chamber, we have a lot of work to do concerning distress signals not being acted upon.:
 
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