WHO NEEDS IT?
MORE LIGHT in MASONRY:
WHO NEEDS IT?
by
Allen E. Roberts
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.
De 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 Freemasonry 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
nonMasons 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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