I am sure that many brothers and fellows have seen the articles concerning M.W. Bro. Haas’ lawsuit against the Grand Lodge of West Virginia. I have taken a different tact while examining the "crisis" in West Virginia. I took a look at the listing of Lodges in West Virginia on the Grand Lodge website and began to look at how many Lodges are being led by Past Masters. The numbers are surprising: according to the website, out of the 140 Lodges in West Virginia, only 47 of the Lodges are being led by Masters who have not served before. That means that only 33.57% of Lodges have first time Masters. It is my opinion that the Grand Lodge officers and Past Grand Masters, including M.W. Bro. Haas, are missing the fact that their Grand Lodge appears to be stagnating. If the brothers on both sides of this top level strife would take off their blinders, they might realize what is happening to their local Lodges. Perhaps they would think about fixing the bigger problems in West Virginia, such as being marginalized as an organization.
1 comment:
In Texas the big city lodges are somewhat starting to refresh their ranks, while in the country side the lodges are having to recycle Past Masters to keep the lodge up and running.
I would be interested in the location of the 33.57% that have first time masters.
Honestly, given the rural nature of the state it wouldn't surprise me if that the majority of lodges with recycled PMs are in rural areas.
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