Where have all the
Brethren Gone
by Abraham Benjamin
A powerful problem that we currently have in Freemasonry is "Why don't the
Brethren come out the stated meetings?" Active Freemasons cannot seem to
understand why 85% of the Brethren of the fraternity do not attended their Lodge
meetings. It is a perplexing problem that must be solved if Freemasonry is going
to reverse its membership loss. Currently, we bring in new members just to see
them become inactive within 4 months of their receiving the 3rd degree. This
trend is not healthy for our fraternity. The purpose of this paper is to explore
with you a possible reasons for this situation.
The reason that men do not attend their Lodge stated meetings comes down to
participation and/or contribution. If you give a man the opportunity to
participate at the state meeting he will attend. If you give him the opportunity
to make a positive contribution to the Lodge, he will attended. If you give him
both, so much the better.
PARTICIPATION
For 10% of our membership, participation in the Lodge means coming to the
meeting, saying "aye", and voting. For 90% of the membership that is
not enough. Participation in the meeting means "doing something". Many
inactive Masons have indicated to me that if they had a reason to come to the
stated meeting, that they would.
Let's look at Past Master for a moment. As a man goes through the chairs of
his lodge he is participating in the meeting. Even when his job is to stand up
and sit down at the correct time (I refer to the Junior Master of Ceremonies).
That man feels that he is participating to the success of the meeting and the
success of the Lodge. As you move through the chairs your participation level
increases each year. Once you are through the East and you are a Past Master,
you are "forced" to sit on the sidelines. Now you do not participate
in the operations of the Lodge meeting. Therefore, it should not surprise you
that 90%+ of men who become Past Masters stop attending Lodge meetings shortly
after they leave the East.
I remember becoming a Past Master and sitting in my Lodge's stated meeting
becoming bored to death. I began to wonder why I liked the stated meetings while
I was traveling to the East. After years of talking with other men and Past
Masters it became clear. I was participating in the meetings. I had a
"job" to do in each meeting. Therefore, I was not bored with the
repetition of the stated meeting. I was a part of it. Once I left the East and
had no participation in the meeting, I began to question why I was there. The
reading of the minutes and the bills is not very exciting.
There is also the occurrence when a newly raised Master Mason starts to
attend his Lodge and is "forced" to take an open chair and he is not
interested . What is mean by "forced" is that the officers surround
the new Master Mason and brow-beat him into sitting in the open chair. The
officers believe that if you give the new man the experience of the chairs that
he will love it as much as they do and he will almost beg you to go through the
chairs. What you are doing is taking a man who wants to participate, but not by
being in the chairs, and turning him off to attending his Lodge meetings.
Perhaps this new man wanted to participate by sitting on the sidelines and
saying "aye". By forcing a chair on him you have discouraged him from
attending because he does not like to give you the type of participation that
you are seeking.
So what form can participation type? Certainly being an officer and sitting
through the chairs is a form of participation. You probably have some men that
would love to sit in a chair and never move (excluding the Wardens' and Master's
chairs). Let them sit in that chair! Have men participate by being greeters at
the entrance to your Lodge. Other men would enjoy being assigned to a visitor or
a new member for the evening. They would be a "guardian" for the
visitor or new member. That is another form of participation.
Other forms of participation could be: being steward, passing out aprons,
helping the older member or the handicapped, giving committee reports. How about
having a choir in your Lodge? A little music would soften the stated meeting and
would be enjoyable.
If you put your mind to it you could find many areas that would create a
sense of participation for your membership. Younger men want to participate!
They are not interested in coming to a stated meeting just to sit on the
sidelines. You must find them a way to participate.
CONTRIBUTION
If you cannot give a man the opportunity to participate in the stated
meeting, another area is to find him an opportunity to make a positive
contribution. Men who join organizations do so to make a difference. I have
heard so many times from newly raised Master Masons, "So, what do I do for
the Lodge?" Young men will join the Lodge and immediately want to make a
positive contribution.
A need for men who join organizations is to do something for the
organization. So now a newly raised Master Mason comes to you as the Worshipful
Master of your Lodge and says "Worshipful Master, what job to have for
me?" You must be careful to give this man a job that he is interested in
doing. Our normal response is, "I have an opening for a Pursuvant!" If
this man is not interested in ritualistic work he will decline the job and walk
away dejected. He will believe that the only contribution that can be made the
Lodge is done by ritual work.
There is so much more to Freemasonry than just the ritualistic work.
Certainly using you creativity you can ways to allow your members to contribute.
A man who feels that he is making a positive contribution to the Lodge will come
to your stated meetings. Let us not forget one very important ingredient: YOU
MUST RECOGNIZE his efforts! A simple report about the activities of a committee
or a charity event is enough. A simple thank you for your efforts is an
excellent recognition tool.
When I was Masonic Education Committee Chairman, the year after I was in the
East, I came to every stated meeting. The reason was that I was making a
positive contribution to my Lodge. I felt that I needed to support the Lodge in
other ways so that the Lodge would continue to support the area that I was
contributing in. The men who are making positive contributions to the Lodge are
present at the stated meetings! The following year (this year 1994), I am not
contributing to my Lodge because I am not the Masonic Education Chairman. I am
not participating at the stated meetings because I am a Past Master, and
therefore, I have attended one meeting this year (at that was strawberry night
in June, an abbreviated meeting).
CONCLUSION
The combination of participation and positive contribution is the key that
will bring men back to the Lodge's stated meeting and keep new members
interested in the fraternity. Men want to participate and make a positive
contribution. Either one of these motivator is enough to maintain interest.
Certainly giving a man both feelings is a major boost.
This concept applies to all organizations. It does not matter if you are
talking about the Masons, Lions or even the church. Participation and positive
contribution are major motivator that will keep members interested in the
organization.
What the Lodges need to do is to understand that ritual is very important.
Also, that tradition is a nice to have. But we must create the opportunities to
allow our membership either participate or make a positive contribution in our
Lodges.
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