Where Have They Gone?

 As I sat in lodge last night witnessing the first section of a Fellowcraft degree, I remarked to WB Dale, "How many of these have you seen?" His reply was hundreds. I suppose after 50+ years in the fraternity he has seen it hundreds of times. I can relate with my short 39 years that I'm probably edging close to a hundred myself.

Sitting there gave me an opportunity to reflect on few things. I've seen hundreds knock at the door of Masonry and sadly to say only a few remain. Admittedly some have passed, some have moved, but the largest percentage have faded away. The question is why?

I think if we are honest we know why. Lack of leadership followed by not including the new brothers like they should be included. They should be included in everything from working in the degrees, traveling, lodge projects, and working around the lodge.

Recently I've noticed something that seems to be a common thread among some of the new brothers. The ones that seem like they are really going to stick, all have something in common. They were involved with brothers of the lodge and were around the lodge for a while before they were actually members.

Again, the Six-Steps to initiation as promoted by the Grand Lodge of Michigan plays a huge role. I've seen this play out at Millington lodge with a father and son duo, at Otisville lodge by a very enthusiatic new member who had to wait several months to meet the domiciling provision, and now at Mt.Morris lodge a young man who is very attentive and eager to learn and get more involved. In all of these cases these men were around the lodge frequently, they weren't able to attend official meetings but they got to know the members of the lodge and the members of the lodge got to know them.

The next step is to engage them, to make them a part of the team. Encourage them to travel, challenge them to learn a small part of the ritual, ensure that they are at least offered to participate. All brothers are different, everyone is not a ritualist, but everyone has something they are good at it. As a lodge, we need to uncover that talent and put it to use, we would all be surprised if we really worked at this.

Reflecting back over the years I can't help but think about some of the legends in Genesee County Masonry that have passed on to the celestial lodge above. At the same time it's refreshing to see some of the soon to be legends quietly stepping in to fill the shoes of those who have already gone home.

There are some real good Masons that are stepping up and working on filling some of those holes left by those worthy brothers who have laid down the working tools of life. It's fascinating that in most cases these brothers realize and know in their heart that it's time to step up and attempt to take the place of those who used to do the lions share of the "work" of the craft.

So, we have these brothers stepping in with lecturning and so forth, but they've been around for a while, they've been through the chairs, they've served as Worshipful Master, and they want to contribute to the work of the craft to ensure the new brothers receive the quality degree that they did in the past.

Through the yearsall of the men I've witnessed become Master Masons....where have they gone? Perhaps the greatest challenge facing Masonry, and it has been the challenge for many years now, the greatest challenge is retention and involvement in the craft. Just think if these brothers become engaged then NPD is no longer an issue, finances would become easeier, the big question....who is going to go through the line....all of these challenges would be solved.