by Midnight Freemason Contributor
Bro. Brian J. Schimian

We are in a midst of a
change when it comes to the reasons why people are petitioning our lodges for membership. Those members that swelled our ranks after WWII
are thinning and filling the Celestial lodge above. Those members came
looking for the “Brotherhood” and “Service of Others” that they had
found through Military Service to the Country. Today's petitioner is looking to garner from Masonry the “mystical” or deeper esoteric meanings
of the Craft, either to help them more understand and feel closer to
their God or to find a deeper meaning to their existence. The esoteric
meanings, while a part of the ritual, only scratch the surface and are
supposed to be continually sought after the further-mores, as we are
charged to always to be seeking more “Light”… right?
I
understand that part of the “Brotherhood” is having a good time and, to
a point, the lighthearted hazing or joking around with those that wish
to join our Craft. After all, we “paid a price” to join, so shouldn't the
next guy, right? I can say without a doubt that YES they will!!! I
came from the fire service, paying “dues” is more than a financial act.
The jokes about the goat and everything else have their place and if
you ask me, help build that bond of Brotherhood between members as they
become part of sharing in the jokes and fun down the road. But like
everything else, there is a time and a place for this and other things.
I have seen more than once: laughing out of place talking and just
disrespectful actions DURING RITUAL. Don’t get me wrong, I never expect
“perfection” during degree work, but when someone needs a prompt, one
person would suffice. Having five Past Masters on the side lines all
giving prods does more harm than good. I have also seen lodges where
the entirety of the Brothers show up five minutes before the gavel falls,
the minutes are read and the lights are off and doors locked minutes
after the meeting is over. If you think this isn’t driving members
away, you are fooling yourself. Not to be completely cliche here, but
Freemasonry is a living organism. The more you nurture it the more you
will get from it, exponentially in most cases. Trust me, I can never
repay what the Craft as given me, just read the article I wrote: “Everything Good In My Life I Owe To Freemasonry” and you will see the tip of the iceberg that is my life and how much I owe to the Craft.
What
you put in is what you get out applies to more than just ritual
though. Yes, I am talking financials, the dreaded “Raise the Dues”
argument. If you look at what it cost for a person to petition and join
Freemasonry a few hundred years ago and then adjust this rates for
inflation and compare them to today’s costs, we are getting off way too
cheap. Too many times discussion in and about the lodge boil down to
impact on the lodge bank account and the members wallets. Yes, we need
to be financially responsible with our funds to be able to do the most
good. It would be impossible to be a successful organization without
such a responsibility. But, if we adjusted our dues even a fraction of
the percentage of inflation, we could do so much more for ourselves and
others. I wholeheartedly believe that a part of the Brotherhood comes
from having a meal together before or after a meeting. With more money
coming into the lodge from dues, a better meal could be expected. How
many guys come to lodge and choke down undercooked hot dogs on stale
buns and over cooked green beans. It doesn’t take long for someone to
stay home for dinner with the family or stop for a bite with coworkers
before the meetings. Then it isn’t a large step to just not show up at
all, especially when there is a wife and kids at home or a game on at
the bar.
Of course, it's also true that lodges may need
to combine, and this may be for many different reasons. Masonic
buildings are getting older and maintenance costs are soaring and
draining our accounts. The same goes for the Brethren that may not be
able to pitch in and do the work themselves. Sure, nobody wants to give
up their charter, but I contend that it would be better to have a
moderate size group of Brothers that are active and pay a little bit
more in dues than either a bunch of small groups that are essentially
ineffective or a lodge with vast rolls of members that never show up and
are as equally ineffective. Consolidation in membership and buildings
may be the best to maintain the effective reach of the Craft and allow
the most good for the most people.
Let us go
back to the idea of Masonic Education for a minute. First of all, if a lodge can not spare 10 to 20 minutes a meeting for education, they are
spending too much time on the minutes or treasurer’s report and their
focus needs to be refined. I am not talking about a quick blurb about
history or famous people or even “rod work”. I am talking about the
discussion of Masonic lessons, digging into the working tools and
symbols that our Craft is based upon and how they are to be interpreted
and applied to our daily lives. Get beyond the lessons of the degree
work and look for the philosophy and deeper meanings. That is how we
learn to continue to refine and shape our ashlar and become better men.
Get out of the comfort zone, discuss rounded apron’s and different
ideologies that challenge the Brethren in attendance to use their minds a
little and consider different reasoning.
Charity
is something that we as an organization do rather well. There are
hundreds of examples of our philanthropy, both within and external to
the craft that lodges support. But when your lodge has a scholarship
program or answers a call to help a local family or business, how many
times does the treasurer just write a check and hand it to the secretary
to mail off? Why not put a few officers in suits and aprons to go off
and make the presentation? What a great photo opportunity and free
advertisement for the good that you are doing. Local papers are always
up to send someone out for fresh content. Chances are, you may even get
asked for some words about Freemasonry to add some filler to their
article. This makes our work meaningful, to everyone not just the lodge
and the recipient. Then post those stories and pictures in the dining
hall for visitors to see. You can even use social media to get our story out.

If these and
other trends are allowed to continue, Freemasonry will continue to die
the slow death we are currently experiencing. We need to put in an
adequate financial sum if we want to provide the best possible and
welcoming experience for our Brothers to keep them coming back. Let us
not be frugal with our funds and allow for the better food and
experiences like Festive Boards. We need to maintain our visibility in
the public eye and showcase our good deeds. This goes along with making
sure that our buildings are not eyesores on the community. We need to
feed the minds of the younger members that are looking for that deeper
meaning by ensuring time for lodge Education during our meetings. Why
not host an event like a “Masonic Symposium” and have a speaker or two
come in and provide a talk on something, extending invitations to all
whom would like to attend. You would be amazed at how far one would
travel for such an event. If you want to be the leader, prove that you
deserve to be the leader through your actions, not just by showing up.
This is our Craft, the life or death of it falls no place other than on OUR shoulders.
well said my brother!
ReplyDeleteThank You!
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with most of your points, but at times I wonder if the influx of members after WWI and WWII have spoiled us. We have become use to the amount of dues these brethren brought in. What were our membership numbers before for the WWI and later WWII influx. Many of the buildings we are now having trouble maintaining were built after the WWI membership increase, Before that, many lodges met upstairs from a downtown business. If there was a separate Masonic Temple, it was shared by one or two lodges and Star along with the Scottish Rite and/or York Rite, all contributing to the cost of up keep. After WWI, new Masonic Temples and separate Scottish Rite Temples were built. Now, many of these building are 70 to 100 years old and to a point when any building that age needs major repairs, renovations and upgrades no matter how well preventative maintenance has been done. I'm not saying we need to sell our buildings, but maybe we need to be a little more realistic about our numbers and find new ways to help pay for our buildings like renting them out for other community organizations and events. Most of the big Temples have large dinning halls and kitchens facilities just waiting to be used for a wedding reception or a community meeting.
ReplyDeleteMasonic Temple®`°
ReplyDeleteI would like to say I agree with many points in this. I will also say I was raised a year ago and am sitting in a Deacons chair. In our jurisdiction Deacons and Stewards are appointed however. The main reason I am in the chair is because immediately after I got my cipher I began studying the ritual. I think it may be in part because I was in OA as a Boy scout but ceremonies and ritual has always interested me. I am also trying to gain knowledge all I can about the craft. My lodge has some very excellent education and they are talking about trying to get younger members ore involved. This is my $0.02 but sometimes I think being a younger member and sitting in a chair is okay.
ReplyDelete