Some Thoughts about Membership from My Brother Steve

In my Lodge, there is a very wise brother who is currently the Senior Deacon of the Lodge named Steve. I have decided to reprint a comment that he left on a previous post as I think he has some real insights into how we as officers, seasoned brothers and newly raised Master Masons can improve our Lodges throughout the Masonry.

Steve writes,

In my humble opinion, it is very important that the new member be allowed the opportunity to take up work, such as they are able, and as soon as possible. It is important to "Get" involved in order to "Keep" involved.

Whenever I hear well-intentioned Brothers call for a meeting of "Key Officers" I look around the lodge and wince, because I see new, motivated, and enthusiastic Master Masons realize that they have no role to play, and no voice. We need to make full use of the knowledge and enthusiasm of all members, not just those who are able and willing to be at a certain point 'in line'.

As someone who has watched Millennial-era Master Masons upon their entry to the lodge, this seems even more evident in light of the fact that they come to the first meeting well informed in Masonry. It is time for us to make use of the heritage of our founding fathers and truly make the lodge representative.

We have had discussions in and out of lodge about the value of brotherhood. I would call to attention the particular value of matching new Masons with the 'more seasoned'. The veterans will be invigorated, and the newer members of the fraternity will benefit by the guidance and steady hand of those who have practiced the craft through generations.

I think Steve has some very good points concerning Masonry and how we as Lodges must meet the expectations of members. Many of the brothers that are finding us today are coming as individuals with very little knowledge of the actual members of a particular Lodge and are finding us through means such as the Internet. These members need to be presented with opportunities or they will just demit and be done with us. I thank Steve for his thoughtful comments on this subject and I hope that he and I can implement his thoughts into our Lodge.