I joined the SR shortly after I became a MM. They were offering a discount for the degrees, and I took them up on it. Unfortunately, their meetings were on Wednesdays, and at my lodge, Wednesdays were for practicing and mentorship. I attended a few meetings, but as I became more and more active in the line, I had to stop, as I had to dedicate my time to the lodge.
Now that I'm a PM, and actually have moved away and I joining another lodge, I have the ability to start attending again. But like all things, once you stop, it's hard to restart again the longer you've been away.
As far as the degrees, I agree. While the local valley I belong to does a fine job, the entire thing felt very disjointed, especially with a six month gap between the first half of the degrees and the second half. I didn't even realize that it was supposed to be a connected story, honestly. I think you're right, seeing it all in one weekend, and not piecemeal over a span of six months is a much better experience.
Did your Valley confer all the Degrees over the course of that year, or just some of them?
As you say, I too find it hard to re-start something that I left long ago. Habits, once broken can be tough to recreate, plus, I at least tend to forget a lot of things if not practiced regularly. That said, I found my dues card, cleaned a heck of a lot of dust off my cap, and took the plunge. It was all for the good I think.
I think this story exemplifies what is wrong in our organization at all levels. That shortcuts are made for the purpose of either coddling those with poor attention spans, saving time/money, thinking that quantity of members will make up for quality of experience, or perhaps just laziness.
Regardless of the reasoning behind the shortcuts, ultimately we are left with the problem that a man can't find a quality experience at any local lodge, but must specifically seek out the quality experience. But how is a man to know that the lodge he is about to be initiated into is one with a full, no shortcuts, quality experience. He can't. And a good man might be lost because he is initiated into a shortcut lodge and finds the experience so lacking that he loses any interest in the organization as a whole.
I am currently wondering why I am still a member since my job and family limit my travel range and no lodge in my local area offers a full quality experience.
If masonry allows individual lodges to slide into a sub standard experience, such that a man either has to be lucky enough to be local to a quality lodge, or reach third degree and have enough personal time to travel extensively, we will continue to lose more apprentices and fellow crafts than continue to 3rd degree or concordance bodies.
I certainly share your serious concerns about the good man who joins a Lodge that offers a poor experience. I have no doubt but that we have lost thousands of men, probably tens of thousands of men from just that over the decades.
One thing that I truly think is a winner is what they are doing down in the Vancouver area. Every Friday evening, area Masons gather, informally, at some bar. It is a traveling thing. As it has grown, Masons show up from every Lodge in the area. They also invite those who have made an inquiry about becoming a Mason. In this way, the man considering Masonry can meet and talk with members from each Lodge. He can figure out what men he best 'clicks' with, and learn a little bit about the personality and focus of the Lodge. This allows him to make an informed decision before he petitions, instead of a blind one.
It seems to me that this would work in any of our urban/suburban areas. For example, here in Lewis County, it would not be hard at all for Lewis County Masons to gather, informally as they are able, in either Centralia or Chehalis. Once in awhile a trip out to East County could be easy too.
Then replicate it to the north in the Olympia area, another group around Shelton &c. So that it is always local and convenient for whomever wants to show up. In Vancouver, where it has been fully implemented, it is working extremely well.
I joined the SR shortly after I became a MM. They were offering a discount for the degrees, and I took them up on it. Unfortunately, their meetings were on Wednesdays, and at my lodge, Wednesdays were for practicing and mentorship. I attended a few meetings, but as I became more and more active in the line, I had to stop, as I had to dedicate my time to the lodge.
Now that I'm a PM, and actually have moved away and I joining another lodge, I have the ability to start attending again. But like all things, once you stop, it's hard to restart again the longer you've been away.
As far as the degrees, I agree. While the local valley I belong to does a fine job, the entire thing felt very disjointed, especially with a six month gap between the first half of the degrees and the second half. I didn't even realize that it was supposed to be a connected story, honestly. I think you're right, seeing it all in one weekend, and not piecemeal over a span of six months is a much better experience.
Did your Valley confer all the Degrees over the course of that year, or just some of them?
As you say, I too find it hard to re-start something that I left long ago. Habits, once broken can be tough to recreate, plus, I at least tend to forget a lot of things if not practiced regularly. That said, I found my dues card, cleaned a heck of a lot of dust off my cap, and took the plunge. It was all for the good I think.
Only part of the degrees, not all.
Yeah, seeing them all makes the whole thing flow. I certainly plan to return in the future.
I think this story exemplifies what is wrong in our organization at all levels. That shortcuts are made for the purpose of either coddling those with poor attention spans, saving time/money, thinking that quantity of members will make up for quality of experience, or perhaps just laziness.
Regardless of the reasoning behind the shortcuts, ultimately we are left with the problem that a man can't find a quality experience at any local lodge, but must specifically seek out the quality experience. But how is a man to know that the lodge he is about to be initiated into is one with a full, no shortcuts, quality experience. He can't. And a good man might be lost because he is initiated into a shortcut lodge and finds the experience so lacking that he loses any interest in the organization as a whole.
I am currently wondering why I am still a member since my job and family limit my travel range and no lodge in my local area offers a full quality experience.
If masonry allows individual lodges to slide into a sub standard experience, such that a man either has to be lucky enough to be local to a quality lodge, or reach third degree and have enough personal time to travel extensively, we will continue to lose more apprentices and fellow crafts than continue to 3rd degree or concordance bodies.
I certainly share your serious concerns about the good man who joins a Lodge that offers a poor experience. I have no doubt but that we have lost thousands of men, probably tens of thousands of men from just that over the decades.
One thing that I truly think is a winner is what they are doing down in the Vancouver area. Every Friday evening, area Masons gather, informally, at some bar. It is a traveling thing. As it has grown, Masons show up from every Lodge in the area. They also invite those who have made an inquiry about becoming a Mason. In this way, the man considering Masonry can meet and talk with members from each Lodge. He can figure out what men he best 'clicks' with, and learn a little bit about the personality and focus of the Lodge. This allows him to make an informed decision before he petitions, instead of a blind one.
It seems to me that this would work in any of our urban/suburban areas. For example, here in Lewis County, it would not be hard at all for Lewis County Masons to gather, informally as they are able, in either Centralia or Chehalis. Once in awhile a trip out to East County could be easy too.
Then replicate it to the north in the Olympia area, another group around Shelton &c. So that it is always local and convenient for whomever wants to show up. In Vancouver, where it has been fully implemented, it is working extremely well.