MWPGM BAILEY, I know that the M. W. Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of the State of West Virginia was formed about June 20, 1863 (when WV was formed from the State of Virginia)! I bet Masons in the Western portion of Virginia had done some "long range planning"? I've been told that they took the text governing the Masonic Grand Lodge of Virginia, and wrote in "West" before each place the word "Virginia" appeared?
In 1968, my dad was Secretary of Hermon Masonic Lodge No. 6 in Clarksburg WV. It had been Virginia Charter Hermon Lodge No. 98 December 14, 1814 (The father of Thomas J "Stonewall" Jackson had been a member of that Lodge).
I don't know anything about it, but I've often imagined that the formation of the GL of West Virginia would have been a really fascinating thing to see, as would have been the formation of the State.
Do we approach it from the perspective of long range planning or from that of preservation? Are they both intertwined?
Because the history is from such a long time ago, and as you mention, not always well documented, I wonder if we can have a good base of knowledge on the original intention and also the hope and long range planning that our predecessors had in mind.
I do believe that all Masons, past, current, and future, are the custodians of the craft. Do we convey that to our existing Masons and the new Brothers we initiate? Do the various Grand Lodges keep long range planning in mind? I've never served in an officer line in our Grand Lodge so I am unaware of efforts on communication or coordination between jurisdictions and countries.
I do know that ritual differences exist between our states in the US but also vary widely around the world.
I believe the core of Masonry is still shared though. But I have to ask, how we might have effective long range planning with a globally distributed fraternity? Or do we consider it from our own local influence?
I do think that Long Range Planning can be done on a global scale. Effectively.
But, I don't think it can be done by our Grand Lodges. For a handful of reasons:
-Leadership changes too often for momentum to be sustained.
-A specific Grand Lodge's immediate goals/needs may be contrary to effective long range planning.
-'Top Down' generally doesn't work in a Craft as diverse as ours.
I think that effective long range planning would be for a group of active and committed Masons to:
-Envision what our Craft should look like two hundred years from now.
-Figure out what needs to happen now in order for that vision to come to fruition.
-Sell the heck out of that vision, in any way possible, to Lodges and individual Masons.
Here's just an example:
I imagine that we can all agree that the schism between our style of Freemasonry, and the Continental style of Freemasonry is a bad thing. That rift should be healed.
And I imagine that it would not be an unreasonable goal to see that schism healed sometime in the next one hundred years.
But to my knowledge, no Grand Lodge anywhere, nor any other Masonic body has ever communicated any sort of vision for the eventual healing of this schism. Why not? Is it really wise for us to just pretend as if it doesn't exist for the next one hundred years? As we have done for the last one hundred years?
I think it can be done.
But we have to find a vision that all can believe in. We have to figure out what the 'product' is that we are 'offering.' We have to 'see' the future, and once we have that, we have to 'sell' it.
At this point though, when we consider some of the Continental Masonry practices of allowing women in lodge, or making them Masons, perhaps one of the largest divides, I consider how we have "sort of" handled it in our Grand Lodge. Simply stating the person must be male at birth.
One of my lodges has a Master Mason who now identifies as a woman. He has not attended lodge since that change in his mind, and I don't know how we will deal with it if he chooses to attend again.
I think the intricacies are still not quite clearly defined yet.
I want to also note that one of my lodges enjoys an incredible turnout every month. There are two key reasons, in my mind.
1. They are social by nature. (Filipino)
2. Their significant others attend every month to enjoy the dinners and then they remain in the dining area and have all kinds of entertainment, while the Masons attend the regular state meeting.
They are not Masons, they do not attend our stated meetings unless we go to off session for some special presentations, etc. I have never heard any of them mention the desire to be a Mason though.
That is just one rift that needs to be addressed but it can be a huge one.
>>>2. Their significant others attend every month to enjoy the dinners >>>and then they remain in the dining area and have all kinds of >>>entertainment, while the Masons attend the regular state meeting.
This can make a huge difference.
>>>They are not Masons, they do not attend our stated meetings unless >>>we go to off session for some special presentations, etc. I have never >>>heard any of them mention the desire to be a Mason though.
Agreed. My wife is the same way. She has most likely attended more Masonic events through the years than a large majority of Masons, but she's never expressed any interest in being a Mason. She likes hanging out and supporting me, and she likes spending time with the other wives, kids &c.
Years ago, I was an active member of a tiny, now defunct, but Regular Masonic organization that allowed wives to sit through the ritualistic work. Their main occupation seemed to be laughing at us while we Opened and Closed.
In 1988 the Masonic Renewal Task Force of the Masonic Service Association researched attitudes towards Freemasonry by members and non-members with the idea of understanding membership development and retention.
From these studies, the MRC produced a comprehensive planning guide for grand lodges in 1994. It was titled, “Seven Steps- A Renewal Blueprint for Masonic Grand Lodges in North America.”
This document followed two strategic planning conferences open to all grand jurisdictions. The first, held in May 1991, was attended by 23 grand jurisdictions. This group determined that Freemasonry needed:
• To establish a vision for the future that would ensure the survival of Freemasonry as a relevant organization in North America;
• To identify the current and future needs of its members and develop specific strategies to achieve a satisfied, active, and involved membership;
• To develop recommendations whereby the Masonic lodge and Grand Lodges might become better managed, and learn to be more responsive and more efficient organizations capable of meeting the expectations of membership with quality; and
• To become a relevant 21st-century organization that meets the needs of its current and future members and the needs of society in such a manner that Masons might again become an organization of excellence noted for making a difference.
This document, as indicated on its cover, was intended for use by grand lodge officers in “Developing a Strategic Plan for the 21st Century.” It included extensive worksheets, narratives, and case studies to guide a grand lodge renewal committee through a classic strategic planning process.
Also, the MRC indicated that it would develop several products for use by the 15,000 Blue Lodges in North America. Those products would be kits for Membership Management and Development, Leadership and Management Development, Community and Family Involvement, and Public Awareness.
I have the entire manual which was well done and provided an excellent template for a Grand Lodges to embark on Strategic Long Range Planning and produce executable strategies. I'm not sure how extensively it was used, if at all.
As with many Masonic improvement endeavors, somewhere along the way, the excitement of the vision and initial momentum is lost, and as leaders change, what was once approached with a sense of urgency fades, and positive action dies.
Planning is necessary and the length is not as important as continual review, reaction to current trends, plan revision, and most important, continual execution.
I don't know if I have ever seen the documentation for that particular plan. I was though, when I became JGW, given a similar (maybe the same) plan that had been completed in the 80's or 90's. It came to me from a PGM of that time, and I in turn have passed it down. As I recall, it was created with the assistance of one of those large management consultancies one hears of from time to time.
I think the problem is exactly what you mention. Leadership changes, current issues that must be dealt with drown out future visions, and all momentum is lost. My pretty serious hunch is that for these reasons Grand Lodges probably aren't bodies capable of doing this sort of thing effectively.
From what I've seen over the past years, MSA is now a shadow of its former self. I'm not sure how long it can continue. Unfortunately I was in the room, but without a vote, when I believe it was set on a path towards collapse, and the reasons were no better than when a Lodge dies because the members of it refuse to increase their dues.
One of the primary considerations in any Long Range Master Planning ... is ... the issue of homogeneity vs heterogeneity ...or diversity ... in the population of the membership or parties involved (not all of whom are directly members ... families, employers ... community etc.) ...
Our population is very diverse ... the reasons members joined masonry and our appellate organizations ... is very very diverse ... as is what they expect out of the relationship/membership...
I know members who joined so that they would have a place to go play poker on men's night ... guys who joined because the lodge had a ping pong table ... guys who joined so that they would have an excuse regularly to get away from the wife and kids for a night ... men who joined to further their careers in lodges that were primary trade related lodges ... guys who joined because dad and grand-dad simple expected it ... guys who joined because the wife banned them eating meat at home and the lodge requalry served yummy meat dishes at diners ...
and dozens of other - not especially masonic reasons for joining ...
hell ... the founder and editor of a masonic newspaper told me his primary reason for joining was that he wanted a discount on golf club mambership and play ... and did the newspaper because it was easier than getting a job ...
I know one brother who was simply lonely and joined masonry because he was terminally shy and it offered him a way to be accepted and socialize without having to risk so much socially ...
now many men who joined for "non-masonic" motivations grow into at least partial understandings of deeper value and meaning from osmotic exposure to masonic values ... but not all ...
certainly the number of brothers who joined to foster more profound changes in society to broader societal expressions and use of masonic values ... is a small percentage ... and those willing to invest robustly in promulgating such change is an even smaller number ...
So it is easy to glibly pander to patter about "planning" but we now come to the foundational question ... planning for what PURPOSE for masonry ...
remember ... we are not all masons for the same fundamental driving reasons ...
yes we all undertook the same obligations .... but ... but ...
levels of investment and motivation vary massively ... and the root cause ... is still very divisive ... between men ... as is the cultural and personal attachments ...
we have brothers who feel masonry must be strictly christian ... ones who feel men of different races are lesser and should not be in a lodge ... men whose motivations are trivial and social and not profound value based at all ... etc. etc.
so ... what are we planning for ?
simply economic and membership survival ?
well then we need to put on a better entertainment show that we can sell to keep the membership active and coming to the show ... that is one thing to plan for ...
or
should we become an economic force and become bankers ...?
or
should we be a private intelligence agency boosting men and organizations that foster masonic values ?
A few remarks, though sometimes unrelated to each other.
- When I was SW in my lodge, I organized a survey, lodge of discussion, and all kinds of related stuff under the idea of long range planning. Some older PMs were skeptical: they considered that the trends and changes in Masonry cannot be "planned"... Some days I tend to agree with them.
- When it comes to history, we often forget two very important aspects. 1. When it started (and I honestly cannot believe that all the "documents" we like to invoke were ever related to Freemasonry!), nobody had in mind any kind of "long range planning". They created something that served their actual need in that moment of history. 2. We look at history, but we miss the essential aspects: Freemasonry has been changed constantly, both in time and space, adapting itself to the social-political-economical realities of the places where it was implemented... until it didn't. In several decades of the mid-20th century, the Craft petrified into its own effigy. We are still there.
- The 1877 schism was more political than Masonic, even though the Anglo-oriented so-called "regulars" would hardly acknowledge it. Imperial interests and rivalry pushed the GLs to tear apart the till then (kinda) united Freemasonry. While historians and brighter minds admit it, the (Masonic) establishment is far from being able to deal with it. Especially in North America, there is almost a visceral hatred toward everything that is even just a bit different.
[shameless self-promotion: in my book I wrote about the three great schisms in our history...]
- As T.W.Jackson's name came up again, in one of his presentations, he defined 5 types (styles, as he put it) of Masonry, and his thoughts about American Masonry weren't flattering...
- No long-range planning committee will ever solve(?) the crisi of Freemasonry. We need to change Freemasonry to fit our times. BTW, you are lying to yourself, believing and saying that it didn't change for 300 years, so why would there be a need for change now? Because it survived by constantly changing!
- P.S. This comment of mine just gave me an idea for my next lecture :)
I think this is one of those topics that requires consideration for the age of the Craft, the Lodge, and our own limits.
3-5 years to keep a Lodge relevant to the times and engaging the current population.
10 years for the Lodge to allow some flexibility to its operations but still take into account major repairs and improvements.
Centennial for the Craft, as it is a small amount of the total time of its history, but far enough none of us is likely to see it. Forcing us to contemplate the inheritance future Brothers will receive.
I think a Lodge should consider those three timelines to support the needs of the Body, the Temple, and the Craft though I’m sure it could be tweaked a bit to enhance the model.
MWPGM BAILEY, I know that the M. W. Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of the State of West Virginia was formed about June 20, 1863 (when WV was formed from the State of Virginia)! I bet Masons in the Western portion of Virginia had done some "long range planning"? I've been told that they took the text governing the Masonic Grand Lodge of Virginia, and wrote in "West" before each place the word "Virginia" appeared?
In 1968, my dad was Secretary of Hermon Masonic Lodge No. 6 in Clarksburg WV. It had been Virginia Charter Hermon Lodge No. 98 December 14, 1814 (The father of Thomas J "Stonewall" Jackson had been a member of that Lodge).
I don't know anything about it, but I've often imagined that the formation of the GL of West Virginia would have been a really fascinating thing to see, as would have been the formation of the State.
Do we approach it from the perspective of long range planning or from that of preservation? Are they both intertwined?
Because the history is from such a long time ago, and as you mention, not always well documented, I wonder if we can have a good base of knowledge on the original intention and also the hope and long range planning that our predecessors had in mind.
I do believe that all Masons, past, current, and future, are the custodians of the craft. Do we convey that to our existing Masons and the new Brothers we initiate? Do the various Grand Lodges keep long range planning in mind? I've never served in an officer line in our Grand Lodge so I am unaware of efforts on communication or coordination between jurisdictions and countries.
I do know that ritual differences exist between our states in the US but also vary widely around the world.
I believe the core of Masonry is still shared though. But I have to ask, how we might have effective long range planning with a globally distributed fraternity? Or do we consider it from our own local influence?
I do think that Long Range Planning can be done on a global scale. Effectively.
But, I don't think it can be done by our Grand Lodges. For a handful of reasons:
-Leadership changes too often for momentum to be sustained.
-A specific Grand Lodge's immediate goals/needs may be contrary to effective long range planning.
-'Top Down' generally doesn't work in a Craft as diverse as ours.
I think that effective long range planning would be for a group of active and committed Masons to:
-Envision what our Craft should look like two hundred years from now.
-Figure out what needs to happen now in order for that vision to come to fruition.
-Sell the heck out of that vision, in any way possible, to Lodges and individual Masons.
Here's just an example:
I imagine that we can all agree that the schism between our style of Freemasonry, and the Continental style of Freemasonry is a bad thing. That rift should be healed.
And I imagine that it would not be an unreasonable goal to see that schism healed sometime in the next one hundred years.
But to my knowledge, no Grand Lodge anywhere, nor any other Masonic body has ever communicated any sort of vision for the eventual healing of this schism. Why not? Is it really wise for us to just pretend as if it doesn't exist for the next one hundred years? As we have done for the last one hundred years?
I think it can be done.
But we have to find a vision that all can believe in. We have to figure out what the 'product' is that we are 'offering.' We have to 'see' the future, and once we have that, we have to 'sell' it.
I had to look up all the differences in reference to the schism.
I had no idea that Continental Masonry had that many differences that are truly a major difference in beliefs.
It would take a lot to bridge that divide.
It would. The differences are indeed vast.
But, perhaps if the time horizon was long enough, the rift could be healed.
Whether it can be healed or not though, I think we should try. I think that trying is much better than just ignoring the fact that it exists.
I don't disagree with this.
It is step 0.5 though.
At this point though, when we consider some of the Continental Masonry practices of allowing women in lodge, or making them Masons, perhaps one of the largest divides, I consider how we have "sort of" handled it in our Grand Lodge. Simply stating the person must be male at birth.
One of my lodges has a Master Mason who now identifies as a woman. He has not attended lodge since that change in his mind, and I don't know how we will deal with it if he chooses to attend again.
I think the intricacies are still not quite clearly defined yet.
I want to also note that one of my lodges enjoys an incredible turnout every month. There are two key reasons, in my mind.
1. They are social by nature. (Filipino)
2. Their significant others attend every month to enjoy the dinners and then they remain in the dining area and have all kinds of entertainment, while the Masons attend the regular state meeting.
They are not Masons, they do not attend our stated meetings unless we go to off session for some special presentations, etc. I have never heard any of them mention the desire to be a Mason though.
That is just one rift that needs to be addressed but it can be a huge one.
>>>2. Their significant others attend every month to enjoy the dinners >>>and then they remain in the dining area and have all kinds of >>>entertainment, while the Masons attend the regular state meeting.
This can make a huge difference.
>>>They are not Masons, they do not attend our stated meetings unless >>>we go to off session for some special presentations, etc. I have never >>>heard any of them mention the desire to be a Mason though.
Agreed. My wife is the same way. She has most likely attended more Masonic events through the years than a large majority of Masons, but she's never expressed any interest in being a Mason. She likes hanging out and supporting me, and she likes spending time with the other wives, kids &c.
Years ago, I was an active member of a tiny, now defunct, but Regular Masonic organization that allowed wives to sit through the ritualistic work. Their main occupation seemed to be laughing at us while we Opened and Closed.
In 1988 the Masonic Renewal Task Force of the Masonic Service Association researched attitudes towards Freemasonry by members and non-members with the idea of understanding membership development and retention.
From these studies, the MRC produced a comprehensive planning guide for grand lodges in 1994. It was titled, “Seven Steps- A Renewal Blueprint for Masonic Grand Lodges in North America.”
This document followed two strategic planning conferences open to all grand jurisdictions. The first, held in May 1991, was attended by 23 grand jurisdictions. This group determined that Freemasonry needed:
• To establish a vision for the future that would ensure the survival of Freemasonry as a relevant organization in North America;
• To identify the current and future needs of its members and develop specific strategies to achieve a satisfied, active, and involved membership;
• To develop recommendations whereby the Masonic lodge and Grand Lodges might become better managed, and learn to be more responsive and more efficient organizations capable of meeting the expectations of membership with quality; and
• To become a relevant 21st-century organization that meets the needs of its current and future members and the needs of society in such a manner that Masons might again become an organization of excellence noted for making a difference.
This document, as indicated on its cover, was intended for use by grand lodge officers in “Developing a Strategic Plan for the 21st Century.” It included extensive worksheets, narratives, and case studies to guide a grand lodge renewal committee through a classic strategic planning process.
Also, the MRC indicated that it would develop several products for use by the 15,000 Blue Lodges in North America. Those products would be kits for Membership Management and Development, Leadership and Management Development, Community and Family Involvement, and Public Awareness.
I have the entire manual which was well done and provided an excellent template for a Grand Lodges to embark on Strategic Long Range Planning and produce executable strategies. I'm not sure how extensively it was used, if at all.
As with many Masonic improvement endeavors, somewhere along the way, the excitement of the vision and initial momentum is lost, and as leaders change, what was once approached with a sense of urgency fades, and positive action dies.
Planning is necessary and the length is not as important as continual review, reaction to current trends, plan revision, and most important, continual execution.
I don't know if I have ever seen the documentation for that particular plan. I was though, when I became JGW, given a similar (maybe the same) plan that had been completed in the 80's or 90's. It came to me from a PGM of that time, and I in turn have passed it down. As I recall, it was created with the assistance of one of those large management consultancies one hears of from time to time.
I think the problem is exactly what you mention. Leadership changes, current issues that must be dealt with drown out future visions, and all momentum is lost. My pretty serious hunch is that for these reasons Grand Lodges probably aren't bodies capable of doing this sort of thing effectively.
From what I've seen over the past years, MSA is now a shadow of its former self. I'm not sure how long it can continue. Unfortunately I was in the room, but without a vote, when I believe it was set on a path towards collapse, and the reasons were no better than when a Lodge dies because the members of it refuse to increase their dues.
One of the primary considerations in any Long Range Master Planning ... is ... the issue of homogeneity vs heterogeneity ...or diversity ... in the population of the membership or parties involved (not all of whom are directly members ... families, employers ... community etc.) ...
Our population is very diverse ... the reasons members joined masonry and our appellate organizations ... is very very diverse ... as is what they expect out of the relationship/membership...
I know members who joined so that they would have a place to go play poker on men's night ... guys who joined because the lodge had a ping pong table ... guys who joined so that they would have an excuse regularly to get away from the wife and kids for a night ... men who joined to further their careers in lodges that were primary trade related lodges ... guys who joined because dad and grand-dad simple expected it ... guys who joined because the wife banned them eating meat at home and the lodge requalry served yummy meat dishes at diners ...
and dozens of other - not especially masonic reasons for joining ...
hell ... the founder and editor of a masonic newspaper told me his primary reason for joining was that he wanted a discount on golf club mambership and play ... and did the newspaper because it was easier than getting a job ...
I know one brother who was simply lonely and joined masonry because he was terminally shy and it offered him a way to be accepted and socialize without having to risk so much socially ...
now many men who joined for "non-masonic" motivations grow into at least partial understandings of deeper value and meaning from osmotic exposure to masonic values ... but not all ...
certainly the number of brothers who joined to foster more profound changes in society to broader societal expressions and use of masonic values ... is a small percentage ... and those willing to invest robustly in promulgating such change is an even smaller number ...
So it is easy to glibly pander to patter about "planning" but we now come to the foundational question ... planning for what PURPOSE for masonry ...
remember ... we are not all masons for the same fundamental driving reasons ...
yes we all undertook the same obligations .... but ... but ...
levels of investment and motivation vary massively ... and the root cause ... is still very divisive ... between men ... as is the cultural and personal attachments ...
we have brothers who feel masonry must be strictly christian ... ones who feel men of different races are lesser and should not be in a lodge ... men whose motivations are trivial and social and not profound value based at all ... etc. etc.
so ... what are we planning for ?
simply economic and membership survival ?
well then we need to put on a better entertainment show that we can sell to keep the membership active and coming to the show ... that is one thing to plan for ...
or
should we become an economic force and become bankers ...?
or
should we be a private intelligence agency boosting men and organizations that foster masonic values ?
or
etc..
before we venture into planning
we need to ask with clarity
what are we planning FOR ?
A few remarks, though sometimes unrelated to each other.
- When I was SW in my lodge, I organized a survey, lodge of discussion, and all kinds of related stuff under the idea of long range planning. Some older PMs were skeptical: they considered that the trends and changes in Masonry cannot be "planned"... Some days I tend to agree with them.
- When it comes to history, we often forget two very important aspects. 1. When it started (and I honestly cannot believe that all the "documents" we like to invoke were ever related to Freemasonry!), nobody had in mind any kind of "long range planning". They created something that served their actual need in that moment of history. 2. We look at history, but we miss the essential aspects: Freemasonry has been changed constantly, both in time and space, adapting itself to the social-political-economical realities of the places where it was implemented... until it didn't. In several decades of the mid-20th century, the Craft petrified into its own effigy. We are still there.
- The 1877 schism was more political than Masonic, even though the Anglo-oriented so-called "regulars" would hardly acknowledge it. Imperial interests and rivalry pushed the GLs to tear apart the till then (kinda) united Freemasonry. While historians and brighter minds admit it, the (Masonic) establishment is far from being able to deal with it. Especially in North America, there is almost a visceral hatred toward everything that is even just a bit different.
[shameless self-promotion: in my book I wrote about the three great schisms in our history...]
- As T.W.Jackson's name came up again, in one of his presentations, he defined 5 types (styles, as he put it) of Masonry, and his thoughts about American Masonry weren't flattering...
- No long-range planning committee will ever solve(?) the crisi of Freemasonry. We need to change Freemasonry to fit our times. BTW, you are lying to yourself, believing and saying that it didn't change for 300 years, so why would there be a need for change now? Because it survived by constantly changing!
- P.S. This comment of mine just gave me an idea for my next lecture :)
I think this is one of those topics that requires consideration for the age of the Craft, the Lodge, and our own limits.
3-5 years to keep a Lodge relevant to the times and engaging the current population.
10 years for the Lodge to allow some flexibility to its operations but still take into account major repairs and improvements.
Centennial for the Craft, as it is a small amount of the total time of its history, but far enough none of us is likely to see it. Forcing us to contemplate the inheritance future Brothers will receive.
I think a Lodge should consider those three timelines to support the needs of the Body, the Temple, and the Craft though I’m sure it could be tweaked a bit to enhance the model.