What is not important:
How big our Lodge is. How much money our Lodge has. How fancy our Temple is. How much we are able to contribute to charity.
What is important:
That our Lodge is able to effectively communicate the values and principles of Freemasonry to our Masons, and those Masons in turn adopt those principles into their daily lives.
What is true:
If we take care of that which is important, we will find that our Lodge will grow and become more financially stable.
I go to a small country lodge. We try to do something for first responders annually, but we aren’t hugely philanthropic. We have an adequate building that was built in 1956, the year my grandfather was in the East, after our 2 story cypress bldg burned down. But we have some great meals, and great fellowship…and I’d say our ritual is pretty good a lot of times. I agree with you, that’s what’s important. We aren’t a charity or a bank, we are a 501C10 fraternal order. Even the IRS knows what we REALLY are. 😁
I hope you don't mind but I shared this to my Lodge page