Sunday, December 14, 2008

Selling the Craft


The Grand Lodge of Michigan has initiated a wonderful website aimed at informing possible candidates seeking light. The website is incredibly easy to navigate and looks great. The website provides a great amount of information and an ability for the potential candidate to contact a local Lodge to petition.

I am completely in favor of this kind of web presence. Grand Lodges, for many years, were fortunate enough to live in a pattern. Brothers would join because their father was a Mason or they knew a brother in the Service. Now, we have a new system in place. Brothers are joining knowing no one who is a member. With websites like this, we are able to communicate with these men.

Another effect that this site has is that it gives Grand Lodges a good model to follow. We, as Masons, need to define our message. For years, our reputation has been defined by others, both for us and against us. We only carried the banner of the square and compass and expected those around us to know who we are. Now, we must define our message in clever new ways. Michigan has an even better tagline than even 2B1ASK1, "Masons, Live Better".

This is a good sign, but we need more. Grand Lodges need to realize that men are stretched for time. We need to show that being a Mason is worth the time put into it. This is a good start and I hope to see more in the future.

If you know any man living in Michigan that is thinking about becoming a Mason, invite them to visit this site.

2 comments:

J Fowler said...

Great to see what Michigan is doing. I assume you know about Massachusetts ads on the radio and TV. And about our "Square and Compasses" Day, twice a year. All Lodges in Massachusetts hold an open house and give tours of the building. We aren't advertising for membership, we are just giving tours, but we always get a flood of applications after each S&C Day.

Now with the recent "Masonic Ambassador" position established here in MA, we're continuing to inform the public who we are.

Millennial Freemason said...

I knew about the commercials in Mass. but I was unaware of the open house and the "Masonic ambassador" office. I think that these innovations are incredibly auspicious and will help to grow and refine our message. Thanks for letting me know.

Nick