Doing Masonry

Reflecting on the past, I remember something the PGM Lemons(then SGW?) said while visiting Davison Lodge during a difficult time for that lodge.

In discussing their predicament at the time, Lemons said, "You brothers need to get out from under the pressures of keeping this building going and get back to doing Masonry."

That is one of the most profound statements concerning our fraternity that I've ever heard.

Davison Lodge was at a crossroads as a lodge. The building was killing them financially based on their dues paying members and the amount of revenue generated. They were simply doing everything they could to pay the bills and the true mission of the lodge was floundering.

The day came and they realized that the building would have to be sold, and a new home would need to be found for Davison Lodge. They moved to the Flint Masonic Temple. They continued the struggle for several months.

Now fast-forwarding to present time about 3+ years after moving out of their building in Davison they are on the upswing. Membership has continued to grow, involvement of the members has increased and they are once again "doing Masonry."

I feel that they have done a tremendous job in several key areas. First and foremost....survival. Secondly...bringing new members into the fraternity, and last but by no means last....getting the new members and some of the older ones involved in...you guessed it....doing Masonry.

This above scenario will undoubtedly play out several times in the near future. There are many that think because of the constricting of lodges and the levels of membership the fraternity is on it's death bed. A brother told me just a few days ago that if things don't change Masonry will cease to exist.

My response was a very strong disagreement. Yes, we have the older membership that is rapidly transitioning to the Celestial Lodge above....but at the time I was talking to the brother, I could easily count at least 7 brothers in our area that had either been raised or was in the process of moving toward that goal. That was 7 new brothers in contrast to I think 1 or possibly 2 brothers who had passed.

I don't like comparing Masonic Lodges or the Fraternity as a whole to the business world, but there seems to be a relationship that can't be ignored. For example in our own local area, General Motors has moved many operations out of the Flint area and the number of GM employees has greatly diminished.....but now that the light truck market has evolved into a more efficient and again a desirable vehicle, GM has made some significant investments in the Flint area and built a new shop and is working on a second one.

My point with the fraternity is that yes we have lost membership numbers...but now we are gaining a whole new generation of brothers because we lost at least a generation. We are still maintaining more buildings than we actually need....just as Davison Lodge was met with the harsh reality that they could no longer afford their building.....we have many lodges that are slaves to a building...they concentrate all of their efforts to paying the bills....suddenly when the burden is lifted they start "Doing Masonry"....it's amazing how things grow when the focus is shifted back to where it needs to be.

Now Davison lodge will be merging with Fellowship lodge....putting the resources of two lodges into one....and hopefully "Doing Masonry" will become the new focus for this combined lodge and meet the needs of the new brothers who are discovering this great fraternity.