You basically highlight a very important concept that I think most lodges/masons fail to grasp.
Giving charity is fine, but on the flip side, giving charitably should be done with one eye towards benefiting the lodge and masonry. As I've said before, the primary function of a lodge is to make Master Masons. Everything else is a result of that. But making Master Masons is its job, and if you're not doing something towards that end, then your lodge will eventually fail.
My lodge donates money towards a local coffee shop that is designed to help underprivileged and homeless youth. We write them a check and...that's it. There is nothing acknowledging it happened. No plaque on the wall. No newspaper article. And the demographics of the partons aren't exactly the quarry we'd be gathering stones from.
We as a lodge don't focus externally on the community around us, and we're not alone, I'd guess a lot of lodges are the same way.
Some might argue that it's callous to only give with ulterior motives, and maybe they are right. But that is the only way it will benefit the fraternity in the long run.
Ultimately I think that charity needs to begin at home as the old saying goes. We need to make sure that our Masons in need, their widows and children are taken care of. Our scholarships for example should be going to Masons and the children of Masons first. Once we have ensured that our own Masons and those who depend upon them have what they need, then we can expand our charity outward, but not until then.
As I read through your essay, what came to mind was what audience should we be “marketing” to. Your thoughts on preserving our words is important and sharing them is the only way to achieve that. I remembered the Saturday morning educational shorts that taught different subjects such as getting a bill through congress or the use of conjunctions in grammar. With the wide spread use of social media today, could our message of brotherly love, truth and relief be directed towards teens in such a way to teach truth and morality without being overt. Whether it would create a renewed interest in Freemasonry or not it could be a positive influence.
I too remember those 'shorts.' They were clearly a very effective way of providing important messages and education to children. Surely our membership is large enough to flood social media platforms with important and basic information about our Craft. And if we were to do so, it would reach the people we need to reach.
I was also bandying about this idea about the "shorts" to taking these ideas and seeing if we could create skits to present to grade schools. Kind of like a "Founding Fathers" skit that would implant the basics of how our United States Government works in the children. I remember many of the assemblies when I was in grade school that were educational, although many were also entertaining. It can't be too technical, but if it plants a seed, those kids might want to look further into it as they grow up.
You basically highlight a very important concept that I think most lodges/masons fail to grasp.
Giving charity is fine, but on the flip side, giving charitably should be done with one eye towards benefiting the lodge and masonry. As I've said before, the primary function of a lodge is to make Master Masons. Everything else is a result of that. But making Master Masons is its job, and if you're not doing something towards that end, then your lodge will eventually fail.
My lodge donates money towards a local coffee shop that is designed to help underprivileged and homeless youth. We write them a check and...that's it. There is nothing acknowledging it happened. No plaque on the wall. No newspaper article. And the demographics of the partons aren't exactly the quarry we'd be gathering stones from.
We as a lodge don't focus externally on the community around us, and we're not alone, I'd guess a lot of lodges are the same way.
Some might argue that it's callous to only give with ulterior motives, and maybe they are right. But that is the only way it will benefit the fraternity in the long run.
Ultimately I think that charity needs to begin at home as the old saying goes. We need to make sure that our Masons in need, their widows and children are taken care of. Our scholarships for example should be going to Masons and the children of Masons first. Once we have ensured that our own Masons and those who depend upon them have what they need, then we can expand our charity outward, but not until then.
As I read through your essay, what came to mind was what audience should we be “marketing” to. Your thoughts on preserving our words is important and sharing them is the only way to achieve that. I remembered the Saturday morning educational shorts that taught different subjects such as getting a bill through congress or the use of conjunctions in grammar. With the wide spread use of social media today, could our message of brotherly love, truth and relief be directed towards teens in such a way to teach truth and morality without being overt. Whether it would create a renewed interest in Freemasonry or not it could be a positive influence.
I too remember those 'shorts.' They were clearly a very effective way of providing important messages and education to children. Surely our membership is large enough to flood social media platforms with important and basic information about our Craft. And if we were to do so, it would reach the people we need to reach.
Amen to this, you two.
I was also bandying about this idea about the "shorts" to taking these ideas and seeing if we could create skits to present to grade schools. Kind of like a "Founding Fathers" skit that would implant the basics of how our United States Government works in the children. I remember many of the assemblies when I was in grade school that were educational, although many were also entertaining. It can't be too technical, but if it plants a seed, those kids might want to look further into it as they grow up.
These things could be done in person, or online. Imagine helpful content on Tik-Tok instead of harmful! Now that would be making an impact!