There are salient points made here. As you said, there are lodges who are doing these things and those that are not; and it's easy to see which ones are which. Great ideas to share and I really like your emphasis on building value vs. cost.
This is the best and most pithy and relevant posting you have ever made ...
It goes to the core of our methods and craft ...
My grandfather ... was meeting with his brothers from his and nearby lodges DAILY for one or another project or socialization ... and as a child ... I remember his masonic brothers and their families and kids appearing regularly in his home ... I was often tasked with taking care of the younger kids so that a couple could attend an event or socialize ... from barn-raising (yes they really did it as a lodge) ... to a barbecue ... to simple help for routine life events ... shoveling the snow for older members or repairing a roof ... lodge brothers delighted in and invested in each others lives ... about 95 % of it ...outside the lodge ...
When my grandfather died ... it was not my parents who took me aside to provide context and comfort ... it was his lodge brothers and their families to checked on me and made sure I was ok.
I carried with me for decades (until I passed it on to someone as well) ... an alabaster broken column ... that one of his brothers hand carved with me ....
Want to change the future ... make our worthy mission real .... get out of the lodge ... show brotherhood, love, kindness, insights, skills, to other brothers and their families ...
When I was young ... a teacher who saw my enthusiasm and interest in photography took me aside and took the time to teach me the chemistry and optics involved and lend me his most prized possession ... his very expensive nikon camera and lenses ... and in the process demonstrated to me the highest order of true brotherhood ... the willingness to risk unconditionally in someone else to better their life ... only years later on his death ... did I discover he was a brother mason ... and that my first professional gigs where shooting weddings and events for his lodge brothers ...
That skill set allowed me to work my way thru college as a professional photographer and photo consultant ... and changed my life ...
Get out of the lodges and not just for events with brothers ... do things to drag community members, kids, adults with projects ... into the fold as well ...
Build the playground with the boy scouts, hold a "learn to swim" event with the local swim team, volunteer enmasse at local school fundraisers ... etc. ...
One lodge I know of in Virginia ... gets together every saturday ... and pressure washes the sidewalks around their lodge block for everyone ... repaints for the fire department fire plugs and adds street reflectors to make it obvious where the plugs are ... and where folks allow ... puts up "little library" boxes around the neighborhood for folks to exchange books ... a local baker started showing up to join with pastries .... and the local starbucks started bringing drinks for the workers ... and soon ... other local folks came out to join and help ... and now there is a regular saturday morning social work crew that goes well beyond the lodge members ...
Is that lodge thriving ... yes they are ... and yes ... stated meetings are FULL ...
As a visitor .... the first thing they did was hand me a membership list and tell me flat out "we are your bothers ... call any of us at any time- you are always welcome" It was only with a bit of insistence ... that they let me go back to my hotel instead of bedding down in our of their homes ...
That ... is brotherhood ... and brotherly love ...
Several did ring me up the next morning to take me out to breakfast however ...
Thank you Brother. I truly appreciate your kind words, and I'm glad that you found some value in the post.
The Lodge you mention in Virginia sounds quite superb! What a truly wonderful welcome for a Brother.
There are Lodges here that get together, for something, every week too. And those Lodges are truly thriving. Unfortunately, they are perhaps 2% of our Lodges. Somewhere along the way we seem to have collectively forgotten that if a man takes the time and spends the money to join a Brotherhood, he will actually want and expect to spend time with his Brothers!
Within the Scottish Constitution there is much intervisitation where visiting Deputations will be asked to perform ceremonies on candidates . This is arranged in advance and leads to close co-operation between Lodges.
Thank you for the video.
Thank you for watching my ugly self!
There are salient points made here. As you said, there are lodges who are doing these things and those that are not; and it's easy to see which ones are which. Great ideas to share and I really like your emphasis on building value vs. cost.
Thank you Brother! Yep, the differences are very plain for all to see.
Tried to play and it would not play? Enjoyed district 9 meeting at Fidalgo Bay Lodge yesterday
I am sorry Brother. It should just start playing when you come to this page.
This is the best and most pithy and relevant posting you have ever made ...
It goes to the core of our methods and craft ...
My grandfather ... was meeting with his brothers from his and nearby lodges DAILY for one or another project or socialization ... and as a child ... I remember his masonic brothers and their families and kids appearing regularly in his home ... I was often tasked with taking care of the younger kids so that a couple could attend an event or socialize ... from barn-raising (yes they really did it as a lodge) ... to a barbecue ... to simple help for routine life events ... shoveling the snow for older members or repairing a roof ... lodge brothers delighted in and invested in each others lives ... about 95 % of it ...outside the lodge ...
When my grandfather died ... it was not my parents who took me aside to provide context and comfort ... it was his lodge brothers and their families to checked on me and made sure I was ok.
I carried with me for decades (until I passed it on to someone as well) ... an alabaster broken column ... that one of his brothers hand carved with me ....
Want to change the future ... make our worthy mission real .... get out of the lodge ... show brotherhood, love, kindness, insights, skills, to other brothers and their families ...
When I was young ... a teacher who saw my enthusiasm and interest in photography took me aside and took the time to teach me the chemistry and optics involved and lend me his most prized possession ... his very expensive nikon camera and lenses ... and in the process demonstrated to me the highest order of true brotherhood ... the willingness to risk unconditionally in someone else to better their life ... only years later on his death ... did I discover he was a brother mason ... and that my first professional gigs where shooting weddings and events for his lodge brothers ...
That skill set allowed me to work my way thru college as a professional photographer and photo consultant ... and changed my life ...
Get out of the lodges and not just for events with brothers ... do things to drag community members, kids, adults with projects ... into the fold as well ...
Build the playground with the boy scouts, hold a "learn to swim" event with the local swim team, volunteer enmasse at local school fundraisers ... etc. ...
One lodge I know of in Virginia ... gets together every saturday ... and pressure washes the sidewalks around their lodge block for everyone ... repaints for the fire department fire plugs and adds street reflectors to make it obvious where the plugs are ... and where folks allow ... puts up "little library" boxes around the neighborhood for folks to exchange books ... a local baker started showing up to join with pastries .... and the local starbucks started bringing drinks for the workers ... and soon ... other local folks came out to join and help ... and now there is a regular saturday morning social work crew that goes well beyond the lodge members ...
Is that lodge thriving ... yes they are ... and yes ... stated meetings are FULL ...
As a visitor .... the first thing they did was hand me a membership list and tell me flat out "we are your bothers ... call any of us at any time- you are always welcome" It was only with a bit of insistence ... that they let me go back to my hotel instead of bedding down in our of their homes ...
That ... is brotherhood ... and brotherly love ...
Several did ring me up the next morning to take me out to breakfast however ...
Thank you Brother. I truly appreciate your kind words, and I'm glad that you found some value in the post.
The Lodge you mention in Virginia sounds quite superb! What a truly wonderful welcome for a Brother.
There are Lodges here that get together, for something, every week too. And those Lodges are truly thriving. Unfortunately, they are perhaps 2% of our Lodges. Somewhere along the way we seem to have collectively forgotten that if a man takes the time and spends the money to join a Brotherhood, he will actually want and expect to spend time with his Brothers!
Within the Scottish Constitution there is much intervisitation where visiting Deputations will be asked to perform ceremonies on candidates . This is arranged in advance and leads to close co-operation between Lodges.