I LOVED my time in DeMolay. MW Cameron is right it is a fantastic place to learn from role models both the other members and the advisors (the adults who supervise). In DeMolay I learned how to speak in public without feeling like I was going to vomit. I learned how to shake hands, to look someone in the eye, and to memorize and properly deliver ritual.
I learned that you can walk up to a girl, ask her to dance, and she can actually say yes. Most importantly, I started learning what it's like to be a good friend and brother. I have learned a lot more about that as a Mason, but DeMolay is where it started.
I was not aware of Masonic youth groups when I was younger, however as a Mason I have tried to be involved as much as my cable-tow allows.
My own daughters are now deeply involved with their local Rainbow Assembly and I would absolutely agree with your comments.
I am pretty well connected with our Boys Chapter in my home Lodge (not the same as the Assembly) and they are and all the groups seem to be struggling a bit for membership.
I wondered how we can get more new members and I noticed that it usually isn't a "kid issue" in that once they are there, they usually enjoy themselves. However the "getting there" part is often the difficult part.
So I believe our role as Masons or affiliated adults of these youth groups, is to encourage the parents, and aunts and uncles, and especially the grandparents that we know, to bring these kids to the appropriate meetings or events.
I believe that is the key to membership success. And almost inevitably, we the adults have fun as well.
I wasn’t in the Masonic youth groups as a kid; however, my brother and I did join the Junior Grange. Similar idea, and it was only a block away from where we lived. We had our Grange vests, and the positions were the same as the regular Grange, which has some similarities with the Masonic Lodge. I went through the chairs, but the Junior Grange folded the year before I was to be installed as the Worthy Master. When I joined the Tenino Masonic Lodge in 1996, it took the Brothers almost a year to break me of the Grange ritual! But it was a great head-start. I learned administrative and cooperative skills in the Junior Grange that helped me when I was installed Worshipful Master of Tenino at the age of 24.
Centralia and Chehalis at the time had all three youth groups. The Job’s Daughters had a booth at the fair underneath the main concert stage, and I believe the Rainbow Girls had that fireworks booth that they still have to this day. There was a DeMolay Chapter in Centralia; however, the members of that Chapter who were in my classes in high school were really snooty and did not give me any incentive to join. Fortunately, it was the characteristic of those boys, not the group in general.
I have found from my interactions with the DeMolay boys and men, that they have more leadership skills than many of our Brother Masons! Same with the Rainbow girls. If you want your kid to be successful, there are a lot of youth groups out there, as well as youth sports, and that’s fine, but if you really want your young one to attain successful lifetime skills, these three Masonic youth groups are an excellent investment in your child’s future.
I LOVED my time in DeMolay. MW Cameron is right it is a fantastic place to learn from role models both the other members and the advisors (the adults who supervise). In DeMolay I learned how to speak in public without feeling like I was going to vomit. I learned how to shake hands, to look someone in the eye, and to memorize and properly deliver ritual.
I learned that you can walk up to a girl, ask her to dance, and she can actually say yes. Most importantly, I started learning what it's like to be a good friend and brother. I have learned a lot more about that as a Mason, but DeMolay is where it started.
I was not aware of Masonic youth groups when I was younger, however as a Mason I have tried to be involved as much as my cable-tow allows.
My own daughters are now deeply involved with their local Rainbow Assembly and I would absolutely agree with your comments.
I am pretty well connected with our Boys Chapter in my home Lodge (not the same as the Assembly) and they are and all the groups seem to be struggling a bit for membership.
I wondered how we can get more new members and I noticed that it usually isn't a "kid issue" in that once they are there, they usually enjoy themselves. However the "getting there" part is often the difficult part.
So I believe our role as Masons or affiliated adults of these youth groups, is to encourage the parents, and aunts and uncles, and especially the grandparents that we know, to bring these kids to the appropriate meetings or events.
I believe that is the key to membership success. And almost inevitably, we the adults have fun as well.
I wasn’t in the Masonic youth groups as a kid; however, my brother and I did join the Junior Grange. Similar idea, and it was only a block away from where we lived. We had our Grange vests, and the positions were the same as the regular Grange, which has some similarities with the Masonic Lodge. I went through the chairs, but the Junior Grange folded the year before I was to be installed as the Worthy Master. When I joined the Tenino Masonic Lodge in 1996, it took the Brothers almost a year to break me of the Grange ritual! But it was a great head-start. I learned administrative and cooperative skills in the Junior Grange that helped me when I was installed Worshipful Master of Tenino at the age of 24.
Centralia and Chehalis at the time had all three youth groups. The Job’s Daughters had a booth at the fair underneath the main concert stage, and I believe the Rainbow Girls had that fireworks booth that they still have to this day. There was a DeMolay Chapter in Centralia; however, the members of that Chapter who were in my classes in high school were really snooty and did not give me any incentive to join. Fortunately, it was the characteristic of those boys, not the group in general.
I have found from my interactions with the DeMolay boys and men, that they have more leadership skills than many of our Brother Masons! Same with the Rainbow girls. If you want your kid to be successful, there are a lot of youth groups out there, as well as youth sports, and that’s fine, but if you really want your young one to attain successful lifetime skills, these three Masonic youth groups are an excellent investment in your child’s future.