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The search for more and more light goes on day after
day. The cost runs into billions of dollars year after
year. Even in industry, which might be termed a
post-educational
institution, the quest for knowledge is encouraged and
supported by tremendous sums
of money.
In industry and non-profit organizations the search has
differing terms. Two of the most popular are
"research and development" and "training
programs". As the term "training programs"
most closely fits Freemasonry's search for more light,
we'll use it here.
Do we really need training programs in Masonry? Do. we
really need to seek and
spread more light? The answer may be "no", but
if any of the following are present, the
answer must be "yes."
Attendance at meetings is poor. Loss of membership is
experienced
- Requests for demits are numerous
- Suspensions for any reason are high
- The degree work is pool
- Candidates don't return for the Second and
Third Degree
- Programs are poor or non-existent
- The Lodge is not considered a vital part of the
community
- The Lodge ignores requests or orders from the Grand
Lodge or Grand Master
- Reports to the Grand Lodge are not made promptly
- Errors in reports are numerous
- District or area Conferences are sparsely attended
- The Lodge is making members instead of Master Masons
Other items can be added to the list. Each Lodge should
determine where its own
weaknesses are. If it is then determined that a search for
more light is needed, some kind of training program will
be required.
It must be emphasized that no training program can be
successful unless the "top" is
fully "sold" on the need. Unless the Worshipful
Master and his officers are agreed
that more knowledge about Freemaonry is essential, any
program is doomed to failure.
This does not necessarily mean that the Master, or even
one of his officers, be the
leader of the program. The wise Master realizes that all
men have their limitations.
He also realizes that all men are proficient in some
area. So he seeks out the most
knowledgeable Masons he can find for the particular job
that must be done. He
remembers that he acknowledged when he was installed
Worshipful Master:
The honor, reputation, and usefulness of your lodge will
materially depend on the skill and assiduity with which
you manage its concerns, while the happiness of
its members will be materially promoted in proportion to
the zeal and ability wish which you propagate the genuine
principles of our Institution.
For a pattern of imitation, consider the Great Luminary of
Nature, which, rising in the East, regularly diffuses
light and lustre to all within its circle. In like manner,
it is your
province to spread and communicate light and instruction
to the brethren of your lodge.
The Worshipful Master is charged to manage his Lodge,
i.e., to set goals, to lay out
plans, to reach them, to set the Craft to work and to
superintend them in their labors,
which means he will use the talents of his members for the
benefit of Freemasonry. He
will assign the tasks that must be done to the best men
available. By doing so, with
"skill and assiduity", he will "propagate
the genuine principles of our Institution". Above
all, he will then be fulfilling his most important duty -
"to spread and communicate
light and instruction to the brethren" of his Lodge.
Who does need this Masonic Light that the Master is
charged to spread and communicate?
- The new members
- All the officers of the Lodge
- The "old timers"
- Sojourning Masons, members of other Jurisdictions
residing near the Lodge
To reach these men, and to cover all the areas that need
Masonic enlightenment, many
types of training activities will be required. It is
impossible for one person to list all the situations
peculiar to the 16,000 Lodges throughout the United
States. Not even Freemasonry's legendary first Grand
Master, with all of his wisdom, could find all of the
answers. Every person is different; every Jurisdiction has
its own peculiarities; every Lodge has a differing number
of members and location; so every Lodge must determine its
own needs.
These needs, and the kinds of training activities required
to meet them, can be determined in part through
- Seeking the advice and assistance of the Committee on
Education and other Grand Lodge officers
- Interviews with members who have left the Lodge
- Analyzing the programs used by other Lodges in and out
of the Jurisdiction
- Obtaining information from publishers of Masonic books
for training programs and other books available
- Conferring with other organizations, such as management
centers of local universities, about training programs and
the results they achieve
- Seeking assistance from outside consultants, such as
management training specialists in banks and industrial
corporations
- Getting advice from current authors of books and
articles on management and training programs
- Talking with teachers in schools and universities in the
area
Actually, the sources for assistance from non-Masons and
Masons are plentiful. The
leadership of every Lodge can find the help required to
set up any program desired.
Every Lodge has members who will be willing to take the
time necessary to learn how to be a Masonic teacher. The
ritualistic instructors have proven this. In those few
lodges where Masonic education has been put to work, other
instructors have been
available. All it really takes is a Worshipful Master
eager, anxious, and willing to spread the Light of
Freemasonry to his members.
It would be impossible to hire on the open market the type
of talent needed to carry out the required training
activities. There isn't enough money in the treasury of
any Lodge for that. But Freemasonry is fortunate. It has
all the talent it needs among its members. It just isn't
being used as it should be. It hasn't been put to work!
The answers received to our question, "Do we really
need to seek and spread more light?" will determine
where the problems are. When we find them, the next step
is to do something about them. So, let's define a problem
and analyze it in some detail.
The attendance has been poor for several years. Seldom do
over 15% of the resident
members of the Lodge attend. We must determine why; so
you, the Worshipful Master, call a meeting of your
officers. You don't stop there, however. You want the best
information you can get, so you also call in the Past
Masters and as many members as you can roundup. You don't
ask just the faithful members to meet with you. You bring
in as many of those who have lost interest in the Lodge as
you can find. These are the men who will "let their
hair down" and tell you what is really wrong.
What you will learn will probably shock you, especially if
there has been frank and open participation. But you don't
stop with this meeting. You ask these men to go out and
contact all the members of the Lodge. You are particularly
interested in the views and comments of those who are not
active. And you want as much information from those who
have left the Lodge as possible. A time limit of one month
is set by the group.
A month later you find that what shocked you earlier is
even more shocking. You have
learned that attendance is poor because there have been no
Masonic programs. The Lodge has been opened, the minutes
read, the bills paid, and if there was no candidate, the
Lodge closed. Hardly worth leaving the reclining chair and
TV for.
The consensus also indicated that the degree work needed
much improvement. That's the reason three candidates
didn't return to receive the Second or Third Degree. And
that's the reason many who did go on to become members
don't bother to attend the
meetings now.
Many of those who don't still want to know what is going
on in the Lodge. They are
unhappy because they only receive an occasional post card.
That tells them nothing. They want better communication
than that from the Lodge.
A few wanted to know more about Freemasonry. They could
find no one to tell them anything about the Order
beyond the lectures (catechisms) that they had learned.
They couldn't even find out where to obtain Masonic books,
and the Lodge had none. This was one reason that several
let themselves be suspended for non-payment of dues.
It was learned that the community knew little or nothing
about the Lodge. That was the main reason the good men of
the community were not petitioning the Lodge. No one is
interested in becoming a part of an inactive organization.
There were civic clubs
available that were doing something.
The Master learned that in trying to define one problem -
lack of attendance - he had
found several areas that needed improving. He enumerated
them as
1. A lack of Masonic programs at the stated meetings
2. Poor degree work
3. No Lodge library
4. A lack of communication with the members
5. No Masonic education program
6. The Lodge is not a vital part of the community
There was no question about it. If the Brethren were to
receive More Light in
Masonry, there was a lot of hard work ahead.
The problems couldn't be solved overnight - not even in a
year. To do the job that ought to be done, all the
officers would have to be committed to work with an
overall educational program for several years.
Fortunately, your officers agreed to seek and spread
Masonic Light throughout their Lodge.
More Light in Masonry? Who needs it?
Those of us who aren't proud to be called a Master Mason.
Those of us who don't feel that "we" can
identify with Freemasonry. Those of us who can't talk
about the Order, not even to our families, because we
don't know what to say. Those of us who asked questions
about the Fraternity but never received meaningful
answers.
If the goal of making every member a Master Mason hasn't
been set and reached, there is a need to seek and
spread More Light in Masonry. If the members and officers
aren't enthused about being Freemasons, knowledge about
the Craft is lacking. If every Master Mason isn't a worker
in the quarries of Freemasonry, there is a need for more
and more Light.
The Worshipful Master in our "problem"
discovered the need to spread Masonic Light
in many areas of his Lodge. By studying the problem of
attendance, the officers were in a position to answer the
question which forms the title and subtitle of this essay:
MORE LIGHT in MASONRY: WHO NEEDS IT? - All of us!(Next: A
Plan of Action. How the Worshipful Master of one Lodge
worked toward the goal of
making Master Masons and not merely members.)
SUGGESTED MATERIALS for STUDY
1. Your Grand Lodge educational materials: (outlines,
programs, instructional materials for officers and
candidates, etc.)
2. Short Talks, the Masonic Service Association We Can Do
It! (Oct., 1968) Lodge
Organization (May, 1966) Increasing Lodge Attendance
(Oct., 1928)
3. Leadership (booklet), the Masonic Service Association
Leadership Training (booklet), the Masonic Service
Association
4. The Master's Book, Carl H. Claudy, The Temple
Publishers, Silver Spring, Maryland
5. Key to Freemasonry's Growth, Allen E. Roberts, Macoy
Publishing & Masonic Supply Co. (full length book on
Lodge management)
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