HOW TO ORGANIZE A FELLOWSHIP NIGHT
SECTION 17 - HIRAM'S HANDBOOK
Men are often attracted to Masonry through a family member or friend, who is a
Mason and whom they respect. Often they join as the basis of that relationship
alone, believing that some good men would only belong to a worthwhile
institution.
But what of the men who have no family connection or whose masonic friends
are not good at explaining masonry or its purposes? This question has confronted
many Masters who know that there are many men in his community who would make
good Masons and who would join if they just knew more about it. For some men,
many Masons feel uncertain about explaining the Craft to non-Masons.
In response to this problem, Grand Master George Pulkkinen organized a series
of Fellowship Nights with the purpose of explaining masonry to non-Masons. Over
a period of time, he and R.W. Brian Paradis learned what appeals to non-Masons
and developed a format that has been successful everywhere it has been used.
Lodges or Districts are, of course, free to try something different. If you want
something which is tried and true, and yields results, the formula on the
attached sheets worked everywhere it has been used.
1. Help Brethren realize they want/need to have candidates in
their lodges to survive and grow and spread the good works of Freemasonry
(Lodges must raise 5% of their base memberships every year for 20 years to
replace the members of today who average 64 years old.)
2. Select a Lodge Membership Leader for each lodge. He must be a man who
understands the need to raise 5% of the base membership annually. And he must be
a man who gets things done.
3.Help the Brethren identify two friends/relatives they would like to share
their Freemasonry with. Suggest they consider as prospects their sons, brothers,
sons-in-law, cousins, the men they fish or golf or bowl with, or go to church
with. Just two names because the Brethren have a responsibility to get these
guests to the meeting, and two guests (plus their wives) is about all anyone can
easily handle.
4. Get the names and addresses of these two men on a guest sheet and make
certain they get to the lodge Membership Leader. (Sheet attached.)
5. Choose a Fellowship Night date. (IT TAKES 8-10 WEEKS TO ADEQUATELY
PREPARE!)
6. Lodge Membership Leaders should send invitations to guests selected to
attend. All invitations for the same Fellowship Night should be mailed at the
same time, about two weeks prior to the FN. (Sample invitation attached.)
7. 3-4 days after invitations are mailed, each brother should contact his
invited guests and tell them “I’ll be by to pick you (and your lady) up at 6
p.m.” Then do it. We are inviting these guests to an evening of friendship.
It’s pretty unrealistic to expect a man to show up alone at a strange place.
And it’s not a very friendly thing to do, either. Remember, the guest
doesn’t know where the invitation came from until his friend -- our brother --
calls and tells him.
8. 2-3 days before the Fellowship Night, the brother should call his invited
guests again to remind them of the event and that he’ll be by to pick them up.
9..Fellowship Nights work well with 6:30 suppers followed by 7:30 meetings with
everyone on the; way home by 9 p.m.
10..Program should be kept simple with a tight focus. The message should be
Freemasonry... what it is...what it does. ..and why. It’s important to realize
that most of our guests probably know nothing of the Craft or its structure, or
its concordant bodies. Attempts to talk about too much makes: for a confusing
meeting with a garbled message. Part of the great beauty of Freemasonry is its
simple, timeless truths. There’s plenty of time to talk about our other parts
later on.
11. Remember! Your Grand Lodge Membership Team is ready to help you with your
Fellowship Nights. We'll do the entire program if you like. Another
important fact: the 23 Fellowship Nights already put on by the team have enjoyed
a success rate of between 65-100%. That means between 6 and 10 of every 10
guests at every meeting have asked for a petition.
First Guest’s Name/Address _____________________________________
Second Guests Name/Address ___________________________________
Your Name/Lodge/Phone Number ________________________________
First Guest’s Name/Address _____________________________________
Second Guest’s Name/Address ___________________________________
Your Name/Lodge/Phone Number _________________________________
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