Behold How Good and How Pleasant

Had some great fellowship over the weekend. For starters, Friday night attended Grand Blanc's fish-fry. They had a nice crowd and we had a full table of brothers and their ladies. It is really neat to get together and break bread and have some nice conversation.

Saturday, we had our monthly Country Breakfast at Mt.Morris. Another great opportunity for fellowship. Unfortunately we were very short-handed...but there were a few Masons and Stars who really stepped up and made it a success.

The most interesting conversation concerning the craft was had between myself and one of our junior officers. We went to another activity which was eventually cancelled because of circumstances beyond our control....however, we made the most of our time and had a great conversation about getting the newer members interested enough to come back.

In talking with this brother who is in the "younger" age group, he mentioned that he had his own ideas about why the newly made Masons are not coming back to take part in the activities of the lodge. He summed up his feelings to three simple words----it's too easy-----

He feels that they have very little invested financially, and they have very little time invested. They pay a little over a hundred bucks to get in.....they invest three evenings....and bam---they are a Master Mason. Their dues are good for the balance of the year, they have probably less than an hour invested in learning their "lessons"....they find out all of the "supposed secrets" and there is nothing left for them to learn or to work at.

I know what most of you are thinking.....there are dozens, hundreds, if not thousands of things to learn. In their mind they have learned everything they need because after-all they are Master Masons. This young officer alluded to the "old days" when an initiate was made an EA they had to invest some real time and real effort to pass the "test" before moving on to the next degree. In learning that lesson they worked their butt off and also built a relationship with one or more brothers preparing to be tested.

He also noted that we as a fraternity have lost sight of membership, in his opinion it is a "honor and privilege" to be a Master Mason.....we, the fraternity, because of our starving for membership, consider it a privilege to have them join and in his opinion that is opposite of how it should be. He also noted that he has never seen anyone turned down for any reason.....it's almost like the old mirror test.....if you can fog this mirror---you're in.

There is much to be learned from this conversation. The words that the RWDGM Ray Lemons spoke of at the summit meeting----they are joining us....we are not joining them. Are we so starved for members that we move them through too rapidly? Only to have them be raised to the sublime degree of a MM so they have no reason to come back......I'm not sure.

The one thing I do know is that with some exclusivity, protecting our ritual, letting a certain air of mystique be known, filtering the candidates through a more thorough investigation, and maybe prolonging advancement, and getting them involved in lodge activities inside and outside the confines of the temple just might be our ticket to ensuring the everlasting longevity of this fine fraternity.