As before, I’ll quote the recommendations directly, provide a brief thought about each, and then look forward to the discussion.
I hope that we can have a really robust chat about each of these in the comments section of this post.
“7. Repeal the prohibition of alcohol for renters of Lodge buildings and at Masonic banquets. We teach Temperance, not Abstinence. It is long past time that we treat each other as adults, as our brethren everywhere outside of the United States do.”
This one is really easy for me.
When I first became a Mason, there were still some ‘dry’ Lodges in this Jurisdiction, but I gleefully have ignored that ‘dry’ status or desire for my entire Masonic journey.
No Lodge, in the Jurisdiction of Washington has the ability to declare itself a ‘dry’ Lodge. Why? Because doing so conflicts with our ritual. Ritual that specifically mentions the use of alcohol by Masons.
Through the years, some people have been confused when I mention this, so I give a bit more explanation.
Yes, the Washington Masonic Code gives Lodges the ability to declare themselves ‘dry.’ But, any provision of the Code that violates the ritual is invalid. This is no different than when Congress passes a law that is violative of the United States Constitution. When this happens, the courts invalidate it and do not allow its enforcement. It is no different with any Masonic Code Provision that violates the Landmarks of Masonry, or the Standard Work of our Jurisdiction.
Luckily, I don’t have to argue that point much anymore, because ‘dry’ Lodges aren’t much of a thing at all here in 2024.
But, one final point is why our Lodges went ‘dry’ in the first place. It was because Freemasonry, during the run up to Prohibition, violated the Landmarks and got involved with politics in the United States. Grand Lodges declared themselves on the side of Prohibition, and supported those efforts wholeheartedly.
The funny thing is that while the rest of the country very quickly figured out just how moronic Prohibition was, and promptly repealed Prohibition, Freemasonry stuck with it, for decade after decade after decade, never learning from the wider world. There’s an important lesson in that I think.
8. Raise our dues and petition fees to a level reasonable enough to ensure financial stability, and high enough to encourage participation and value. Any Lodge charging less than $100 a year is cheating itself and cheapening the fraternity.
There has been a heck of a lot of inflation since The Laudable Pursuit was first written, so I think we need to view the $100 suggestion as closer to $300 today.
Some of the Lodges in my Jurisdiction have done this. They are charging a meaningful amount in dues. But far too many are not. One of my Lodges is still charging $63.
And our fees for Life Memberships are even worse. Drastic increase is necessary.
9. Adopt long-range plans for financial stability in the face of dwindling numbers, at both the Grand Lodge and local Lodge level. Successive leaders need to sign on to such plans and be involved in their design at an early stage, not just in "their year." Reinventing the wheel every year is destructive, irresponsible and foolish.
If I am honest with myself, I can not say that this has been accomplished. I’m a member of four Masonic Lodges. I would not say that any of the four have effective long range plans for financial stability.
That’s it, the next three recommendations from the Laudable Pursuit. Let’s discuss each of them below. Doing so will help in our quest to learn from each other.
If you haven’t yet read The Laudable Pursuit, you can do so by clicking here.
In our jurisdiction it is still enshrined in law. Only the rental of an appendant body’s building allows the consumption of alcohol in any Masonic building.
It has created a great many frustrations for lodge’s looking for secondary income.
Part of it DOES come from being in the Bible Belt, but we also had a Prohibitionist GM who was over the SBC about a hundred years ago. His legacy has cast an oversized shadow and many can’t imagine functions on Sundays, or alcohol in lodge buildings.
I can certainly see where a prohibition on alcohol even by outside renters would kill any potential rental business. And that is sad, because event rentals can save our buildings if done properly.
We've got Lodges here, one in particular, that does those event rentals extremely well, and their yearly income from it is superb.
But, further proving just how much money can be made, we have a number of Lodge buildings that have been sold in the Jurisdiction because the Lodge could no longer afford it. But, they have been sold to people who rent them out for events, and instantly turned into profitable businesses. Almost all of our Lodges (except those mentioned above) are missing out on a very effective way to pay for their buildings.
It's not just Freemasonry though.
Two blocks from my house is an old, massive Elks Lodge. The Elks couldn't afford to fix it anymore, so they sold it and got a different building. The Elks aren't around anymore in this little City. But the old Elks Lodge is rented out seemingly constantly, at a rate of $4,400 dollars per day, not including catering and all the other fees. This in a small, economically distressed city.
We've got to get smarter about utilizing our buildings to their full potential.
Both Lodges you mention have shamefully low dues, but the one charging $55, per capita included is acting disgracefully. That works out to 7 cents per day per Mason.
Neither Lodge will survive unless those dues are dramatically increased.
Ultimately, it amounts to exactly what you say. Lodges that are not charging enough in dues are doing nothing but squandering the legacy left to us by all the Brothers who came before. It's a kind of theft actually.
Bottom link to Laudable P. is a dead link at least on my end.
Ritual and alcohol. You allude to alcohol being mentioned in the R. I am confused by this. ?
Landmarks Of F. What a frustrating topic this is for me. Without going into much detail I don't believe that Landmarks are even a big deal anymore with jurisdictions. My research over the years has surfaced problematic issues. Some Jurisdictions recognize the Mackey list some other lists. Some don't recognize any landmarks and just say they are important.
At least in my jurisdiction of Oregon the degrees just refer to their importance.
As W. Glenn mentions, reference to booze is included in our FellowCraft Degree here. I've attended a FC Degree in your Jurisdiction, and I know that there are differences between your FC work and ours, but I can't remember if this might be one of the differences.
Our Work also includes alcohol in the Cornerstone Ceremonies, and when the Grand Master Constitutes a Lodge, and probably some of our other "Ancient Ceremonies" as well that I'm just not remembering at the moment. I would also argue that we call it out fairly plainly in our opening and closing rituals, specifically by the JW.
As for the Landmarks:
Our Landmarks are those things that without which, what it is that we are doing would not be Freemasonry. If one isn't present, then we may be doing something, but it isn't Freemasonry.
That said, I share your hesitation about them. Jurisdictions are all over when it comes to Landmarks. My Jurisdiction doesn't have any written Landmarks for example. (That doesn't mean that we don't have them, just that they are unwritten, much as the English Constitution is unwritten.) Other Jurisdictions have long lists.
In my personal view, our Landmarks, regardless of Jurisdiction, should be those adopted in North America in 1952 in order to guide the work of the Commission on Information for Recognition. They are summarized as follows:
"1. Legitimacy of origin.
2. Exclusive territorial jurisdiction, except by mutual consent and/or treaty.
3. Adherence to the Ancient Landmarks – specifically, a Belief in God, the Volume of the Sacred Law as an indispensable part of the Furniture of the Lodge, and the prohibition of the discussion of politics and religion."
There is a proposal at our upcoming Annual Communication for our Jurisdiction to adopt a written version of Mackey's list. (The proposal seems to have made some changes willy-nilly and without explanation.) That would, in my view be a grave error. I believe that we do better with unwritten Landmarks, as we have done here since our founding, or if we insist on a written list it should be a list that everyone can agree with, such as the list above that's been accepted by North American Freemasonry since the early 1950's.
All three are great suggestions that lodges should consider.
We had an elderly brother declare that when we start to have alcohol in the building is when he'd quit masonry. While we respected his opinion, we didn't pay much attention to it. I do think alcohol in the lodge room itself during a meeting is a bad idea, but otherwise, as long as the brothers are looking out for each other to make sure no one imbibes too much, it should be allowed. Oh, the brother never did act on this threat of leaving.
Dues for most lodges are criminally low, and as you mentioned so is the life membership fees grand lodge charges. Both are intrinsically tied together. I applaud the resolution raising the Life Membership fees put forth for the coming Annual Communication, it's well overdue.
I think the issues with long range planning, beyond the obvious, is that lodges subsist on relatively meager funds and expenditures. Temple Boards are the ones that if anything, need long range plans, if just for the upkeep of the building and planning on routine maintenance. Our temple board, for example, is struggling with funding required upgrades to our kitchen ventilation system, that the local fire inspector has been requesting to get fixed. The Temple Board has a middling amount of investments, but this needed repair will pretty much deplete all of it's funds. The building is old. The recent legislative bill phasing out natural gas use is going to bankrupt the TB as well. The furnace was converted from coal to NG, and no more NG means the entire system will need to be replaced, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Our state is filled with morons for allowing the legislature to approve such bullshit.
>>>We had an elderly brother declare that when we start to have alcohol in the building is when >>>he'd quit masonry. While we respected his opinion, we didn't pay much attention to it... the >>>brother never did act on this threat of leaving.
Threats like that are unmasonic and show that a man is lacking in character.
But, I've certainly seen that myself.
A Lodge near where I live discussed increasing its dues some years ago. Man after man stood up and started crying about being on 'fixed income' and unable to afford it. Quite a few declared that they would be forced to quit if the Lodge made even a modest increase.
In the end, the Lodge made a very significant increase in the dues. And not one of those guys left. Gotta just ignore that garbage and move forward.
>>>I applaud the resolution raising the Life Membership fees put forth for the coming Annual >>>Communication, it's well overdue.
I agree.
>>>Our temple board, for example, is struggling with funding required upgrades to our kitchen >>>ventilation system, that the local fire inspector has been requesting to get fixed. The Temple >>>Board has a middling amount of investments, but this needed repair will pretty much deplete >>>all of it's funds.
I am familiar with this specific situation. And I am aware that the Temple Board is looking to government grants to pay for the project. That is the right thing to do, and I believe those efforts will be successful.
But...
When a government (in this case Fire Department) says that we need to or must or whatever do something, it is reasonable for us to expect that government to help us acquire the funds necessary to do so. When the Temple Board applies for funds, those applications should be accompanied by letters of support, explaining the necessity, from the Fire Department. I know that I have mentioned this to the Temple Board in the past. Quite some time ago now.
Temple Boards in Seattle will eventually face a similar situation when the City requires seismic upgrades to existing buildings. We will certainly comply, but we will just as certainly look to the City for help in funding these improvements.
Actually the City hasn't passed the ordinance yet, despite talking about it for years, because it hasn't yet figured out how it is going to help with that funding. So, none of this is outside the norm. It just seems that it is sometimes outside of the understanding of our Craft.
The temple board did submit a request to the state for funding for the kitchen, but was not successful this year. As you know, funding was pretty tight and not a lot of it to go around. We will try again next year when funds are more plentiful.
Yes, there is a much better change making it into the 2025 budget.
I would certainly insist however that the Fire Department write a letter of support for the request. If they are the entity requiring it, they should be willing to spend some of their political capital ensuring its funding.
I've not heard of Lodges in California objecting to alcohol, but given that there are so many, there is probably a good deal of variation from Lodge to Lodge.
I remember about a decade ago when I got into a pretty heated discussion (More like a one-sided argument) with a long-time Past Master about Masonic Lodges being dry. He was highly pro-prohibition, and I was pro – proper discretion. He was citing many Brothers are recovered alcoholics, and we, as Brothers, shouldn’t be tempting these Brothers off the wagon by featuring wines, beers, etc. at our dinners. I responded by bringing up a few of those Brothers who were not only sober for many years, but also proud of it, and also attended those functions without incident. He then recalled a Brother from his other Jurisdiction who was sober for many years, but if you were with him and you opened a can of beer, he’d try to rip it out of your hand so he could drink it. I… how do I put this? … told him that if this Brother had tried to yank a beer bottle out of my hand, I would defend myself with whatever means necessary. Let’s put it that way, but the Brother said it’d be wrong for me to assault another Brother. Wrong. It’s not assault if the sober Brother attacks you to get that beer bottle. That’s not a recovered alcoholic problem, that’s a self-control problem. The other Brother was totally up in arms, and I decided (and the third Brother who hung around) that we really need to drop the issue. Bottom line, there’s still Masons out there that are all in with the Temperance movement, although not nearly as many as before.
8. It’s true, dues are asinine with how low they are. But I’ve had many Masons in my area tell me that there’s no Fraternity, service organization, etc. that they’d pay more than $500 to join, or pay more than $100 in dues. I then ask them if they frequent a local tavern, bar, etc. And in my city, many do. And when I bring up the cost of only 1 beer a visit, every weekday, it comes up to much higher than $100 a year. That’d be around 260 days. Multiply that by… depends on the beer, but even at $3, you’re looking at $780. $4 sends that over a thousand dollars. But they won’t spend that – once – to join a Fraternal Organization. I tell them it’s about what the priority is in their life. Just be honest! If you said I’d spend $750, but I’d rather do it at the local tavern than in a Masonic Lodge, Grange, Elks Lodge, etc. then fine, that’s cool! But don’t tell me you won’t spend the money, because in the end, you are.
9. Good news is that many Lodges are now giving consideration on their long-range planning. It might be late in the game, but better late than never! Especially with the newer members coming in and wanting to get involved.
1. It's amazing that the assaulting brother trying to rip that beer out of your hands in that scenario manages to walk through the cooler isle at a 7/11 without ripping open a six pack of beer right there in the store. Such a silly story.
2. Men who are that cheap don't belong in those organizations, and I doubt they would want him either.
>>>He then recalled a Brother from his other Jurisdiction who was sober for many years, but if >>>you were with him and you opened a can of beer, he’d try to rip it out of your hand so he could >>>drink it.
I think Glenn has it right. The story can't be true. Either that or the guy never walked into a gas station or grocery store or sat in a restaurant in his life.
>>>I’ve had many Masons in my area tell me that there’s no Fraternity, service organization, etc. >>>that they’d pay more than $500 to join, or pay more than $100 in dues. I then ask them if they >>>frequent a local tavern, bar, etc. And in my city, many do. And when I bring up the cost of only >>>1 beer a visit, every weekday, it comes up to much higher than $100 a year. That’d be around >>>260 days. Multiply that by… depends on the beer, but even at $3, you’re looking at $780. $4 >>>sends that over a thousand dollars.
Men with that view should have never been allowed to become Masons. It was an error at the West Gate.
So, we would be better off cranking up the dues so that they demit, and leave Freemasonry better for it.
But, once again, as discussed elsewhere, and as we have all seen, these things are simply threats without actual belief behind them. Raise the dues and they stay. Putting lie to the words.
>>>Good news is that many Lodges are now giving consideration on their long-range planning. It >>>might be late in the game, but better late than never! Especially with the newer members >>>coming in and wanting to get involved.
To Glenn and Cameron: I agree with both of you that the story is outlandish, but I didn’t call BS on it. Interestingly, he had told me that story more than once! And I think both times I told the Brother I’d thump the person who would try that stunt. In fact, I remember during that argument that I’ve drank beer in the presence of one of our members who was sober for many decades, and there was no problem. The Brother then chastised me for tempting him. I DID call BS on that one, saying that we’re both adults, and your buddy is the one with control issues. That didn’t help solve the argument, of course, but at least we were able to move on from the topic, and we’re still friends to this day. Cameron knows this Brother, by the way. In fact, my take on topics 7 and 8 are based on the same Lodge. A Lodge that self-destructed, threw in the towel and consolidated with a successful Lodge. So what both of you said makes perfect sense.
I have found when consuming alcohol myself, others become way more interesting. In two weeks from now, I'll have 6 years of sobriety. This was my path at becoming a better person and closer to mastering myself and emotions. Regardless of opinion on serving alcohol, it is up to each lodge to discern or advice. I for one believe drinking leads towards forgetfulness - forgetfulness leads towards ignorance- and ignorance is being in darkness. Who goes to lodge to for this?
I think that these things are individual choices, and I commend you for making the choice that is right for you. That, in my view, is the proper way for our Craft to be. To ensure that all have the freedom to do what is best for themselves.
I certainly know people who drink far too much and harm themselves with it. Including one of my friends in Masonry.
And I know Masons who enjoy an occasional drink or two, with seemingly no harm at all.
We surely all seem unique when it comes to its impacts.
In our jurisdiction it is still enshrined in law. Only the rental of an appendant body’s building allows the consumption of alcohol in any Masonic building.
It has created a great many frustrations for lodge’s looking for secondary income.
Part of it DOES come from being in the Bible Belt, but we also had a Prohibitionist GM who was over the SBC about a hundred years ago. His legacy has cast an oversized shadow and many can’t imagine functions on Sundays, or alcohol in lodge buildings.
I can certainly see where a prohibition on alcohol even by outside renters would kill any potential rental business. And that is sad, because event rentals can save our buildings if done properly.
We've got Lodges here, one in particular, that does those event rentals extremely well, and their yearly income from it is superb.
But, further proving just how much money can be made, we have a number of Lodge buildings that have been sold in the Jurisdiction because the Lodge could no longer afford it. But, they have been sold to people who rent them out for events, and instantly turned into profitable businesses. Almost all of our Lodges (except those mentioned above) are missing out on a very effective way to pay for their buildings.
It's not just Freemasonry though.
Two blocks from my house is an old, massive Elks Lodge. The Elks couldn't afford to fix it anymore, so they sold it and got a different building. The Elks aren't around anymore in this little City. But the old Elks Lodge is rented out seemingly constantly, at a rate of $4,400 dollars per day, not including catering and all the other fees. This in a small, economically distressed city.
We've got to get smarter about utilizing our buildings to their full potential.
One of my Lodges charges $47 dues + $28 GL per capita = $75. The other charges $55 which includes the per capita.
It’s nuts, and directly relates to the lack of long range planning.
They’ve gotten used to an essentially free ride, squandering what previous Brothers worked so hard to build.
Both Lodges you mention have shamefully low dues, but the one charging $55, per capita included is acting disgracefully. That works out to 7 cents per day per Mason.
Neither Lodge will survive unless those dues are dramatically increased.
Ultimately, it amounts to exactly what you say. Lodges that are not charging enough in dues are doing nothing but squandering the legacy left to us by all the Brothers who came before. It's a kind of theft actually.
A couple of tings'...
Bottom link to Laudable P. is a dead link at least on my end.
Ritual and alcohol. You allude to alcohol being mentioned in the R. I am confused by this. ?
Landmarks Of F. What a frustrating topic this is for me. Without going into much detail I don't believe that Landmarks are even a big deal anymore with jurisdictions. My research over the years has surfaced problematic issues. Some Jurisdictions recognize the Mackey list some other lists. Some don't recognize any landmarks and just say they are important.
At least in my jurisdiction of Oregon the degrees just refer to their importance.
My 2c
"Ritual and alcohol. You allude to alcohol being mentioned in the R. I am confused by this. ?"
Wages in the FC degree.
And throughout the "Ancient Ceremonies" here in Washington.
I would argue that it is also plainly called out by the JW in Opening and Closing.
"Bottom link to Laudable P. is a dead link at least on my end."
I tried it, it kicks to a PDF. Your browser might not accept such a link, but Chrome does.
The printed book is available here:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/knights-of-the-north/laudable-pursuit/paperback/product-3510840.html?page=1&pageSize=4
Sorry that the link didn't work for you. The book is available hard copy, and it's cheap. You can snag one here if interested:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/knights-of-the-north/laudable-pursuit/paperback/product-3510840.html?page=1&pageSize=4
As W. Glenn mentions, reference to booze is included in our FellowCraft Degree here. I've attended a FC Degree in your Jurisdiction, and I know that there are differences between your FC work and ours, but I can't remember if this might be one of the differences.
Our Work also includes alcohol in the Cornerstone Ceremonies, and when the Grand Master Constitutes a Lodge, and probably some of our other "Ancient Ceremonies" as well that I'm just not remembering at the moment. I would also argue that we call it out fairly plainly in our opening and closing rituals, specifically by the JW.
As for the Landmarks:
Our Landmarks are those things that without which, what it is that we are doing would not be Freemasonry. If one isn't present, then we may be doing something, but it isn't Freemasonry.
That said, I share your hesitation about them. Jurisdictions are all over when it comes to Landmarks. My Jurisdiction doesn't have any written Landmarks for example. (That doesn't mean that we don't have them, just that they are unwritten, much as the English Constitution is unwritten.) Other Jurisdictions have long lists.
In my personal view, our Landmarks, regardless of Jurisdiction, should be those adopted in North America in 1952 in order to guide the work of the Commission on Information for Recognition. They are summarized as follows:
"1. Legitimacy of origin.
2. Exclusive territorial jurisdiction, except by mutual consent and/or treaty.
3. Adherence to the Ancient Landmarks – specifically, a Belief in God, the Volume of the Sacred Law as an indispensable part of the Furniture of the Lodge, and the prohibition of the discussion of politics and religion."
There is a proposal at our upcoming Annual Communication for our Jurisdiction to adopt a written version of Mackey's list. (The proposal seems to have made some changes willy-nilly and without explanation.) That would, in my view be a grave error. I believe that we do better with unwritten Landmarks, as we have done here since our founding, or if we insist on a written list it should be a list that everyone can agree with, such as the list above that's been accepted by North American Freemasonry since the early 1950's.
All three are great suggestions that lodges should consider.
We had an elderly brother declare that when we start to have alcohol in the building is when he'd quit masonry. While we respected his opinion, we didn't pay much attention to it. I do think alcohol in the lodge room itself during a meeting is a bad idea, but otherwise, as long as the brothers are looking out for each other to make sure no one imbibes too much, it should be allowed. Oh, the brother never did act on this threat of leaving.
Dues for most lodges are criminally low, and as you mentioned so is the life membership fees grand lodge charges. Both are intrinsically tied together. I applaud the resolution raising the Life Membership fees put forth for the coming Annual Communication, it's well overdue.
I think the issues with long range planning, beyond the obvious, is that lodges subsist on relatively meager funds and expenditures. Temple Boards are the ones that if anything, need long range plans, if just for the upkeep of the building and planning on routine maintenance. Our temple board, for example, is struggling with funding required upgrades to our kitchen ventilation system, that the local fire inspector has been requesting to get fixed. The Temple Board has a middling amount of investments, but this needed repair will pretty much deplete all of it's funds. The building is old. The recent legislative bill phasing out natural gas use is going to bankrupt the TB as well. The furnace was converted from coal to NG, and no more NG means the entire system will need to be replaced, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Our state is filled with morons for allowing the legislature to approve such bullshit.
>>>We had an elderly brother declare that when we start to have alcohol in the building is when >>>he'd quit masonry. While we respected his opinion, we didn't pay much attention to it... the >>>brother never did act on this threat of leaving.
Threats like that are unmasonic and show that a man is lacking in character.
But, I've certainly seen that myself.
A Lodge near where I live discussed increasing its dues some years ago. Man after man stood up and started crying about being on 'fixed income' and unable to afford it. Quite a few declared that they would be forced to quit if the Lodge made even a modest increase.
In the end, the Lodge made a very significant increase in the dues. And not one of those guys left. Gotta just ignore that garbage and move forward.
>>>I applaud the resolution raising the Life Membership fees put forth for the coming Annual >>>Communication, it's well overdue.
I agree.
>>>Our temple board, for example, is struggling with funding required upgrades to our kitchen >>>ventilation system, that the local fire inspector has been requesting to get fixed. The Temple >>>Board has a middling amount of investments, but this needed repair will pretty much deplete >>>all of it's funds.
I am familiar with this specific situation. And I am aware that the Temple Board is looking to government grants to pay for the project. That is the right thing to do, and I believe those efforts will be successful.
But...
When a government (in this case Fire Department) says that we need to or must or whatever do something, it is reasonable for us to expect that government to help us acquire the funds necessary to do so. When the Temple Board applies for funds, those applications should be accompanied by letters of support, explaining the necessity, from the Fire Department. I know that I have mentioned this to the Temple Board in the past. Quite some time ago now.
Temple Boards in Seattle will eventually face a similar situation when the City requires seismic upgrades to existing buildings. We will certainly comply, but we will just as certainly look to the City for help in funding these improvements.
Actually the City hasn't passed the ordinance yet, despite talking about it for years, because it hasn't yet figured out how it is going to help with that funding. So, none of this is outside the norm. It just seems that it is sometimes outside of the understanding of our Craft.
The temple board did submit a request to the state for funding for the kitchen, but was not successful this year. As you know, funding was pretty tight and not a lot of it to go around. We will try again next year when funds are more plentiful.
Yes, there is a much better change making it into the 2025 budget.
I would certainly insist however that the Fire Department write a letter of support for the request. If they are the entity requiring it, they should be willing to spend some of their political capital ensuring its funding.
Likely a simple request to them will suffice.
Of course I’m no longer associated with Masons, but my brother is a Mason. I’m ask him how his lodge addresses alcohol in Lodi, California.
I've not heard of Lodges in California objecting to alcohol, but given that there are so many, there is probably a good deal of variation from Lodge to Lodge.
For 7:
I remember about a decade ago when I got into a pretty heated discussion (More like a one-sided argument) with a long-time Past Master about Masonic Lodges being dry. He was highly pro-prohibition, and I was pro – proper discretion. He was citing many Brothers are recovered alcoholics, and we, as Brothers, shouldn’t be tempting these Brothers off the wagon by featuring wines, beers, etc. at our dinners. I responded by bringing up a few of those Brothers who were not only sober for many years, but also proud of it, and also attended those functions without incident. He then recalled a Brother from his other Jurisdiction who was sober for many years, but if you were with him and you opened a can of beer, he’d try to rip it out of your hand so he could drink it. I… how do I put this? … told him that if this Brother had tried to yank a beer bottle out of my hand, I would defend myself with whatever means necessary. Let’s put it that way, but the Brother said it’d be wrong for me to assault another Brother. Wrong. It’s not assault if the sober Brother attacks you to get that beer bottle. That’s not a recovered alcoholic problem, that’s a self-control problem. The other Brother was totally up in arms, and I decided (and the third Brother who hung around) that we really need to drop the issue. Bottom line, there’s still Masons out there that are all in with the Temperance movement, although not nearly as many as before.
8. It’s true, dues are asinine with how low they are. But I’ve had many Masons in my area tell me that there’s no Fraternity, service organization, etc. that they’d pay more than $500 to join, or pay more than $100 in dues. I then ask them if they frequent a local tavern, bar, etc. And in my city, many do. And when I bring up the cost of only 1 beer a visit, every weekday, it comes up to much higher than $100 a year. That’d be around 260 days. Multiply that by… depends on the beer, but even at $3, you’re looking at $780. $4 sends that over a thousand dollars. But they won’t spend that – once – to join a Fraternal Organization. I tell them it’s about what the priority is in their life. Just be honest! If you said I’d spend $750, but I’d rather do it at the local tavern than in a Masonic Lodge, Grange, Elks Lodge, etc. then fine, that’s cool! But don’t tell me you won’t spend the money, because in the end, you are.
9. Good news is that many Lodges are now giving consideration on their long-range planning. It might be late in the game, but better late than never! Especially with the newer members coming in and wanting to get involved.
1. It's amazing that the assaulting brother trying to rip that beer out of your hands in that scenario manages to walk through the cooler isle at a 7/11 without ripping open a six pack of beer right there in the store. Such a silly story.
2. Men who are that cheap don't belong in those organizations, and I doubt they would want him either.
3. Yup.
>>>He then recalled a Brother from his other Jurisdiction who was sober for many years, but if >>>you were with him and you opened a can of beer, he’d try to rip it out of your hand so he could >>>drink it.
I think Glenn has it right. The story can't be true. Either that or the guy never walked into a gas station or grocery store or sat in a restaurant in his life.
>>>I’ve had many Masons in my area tell me that there’s no Fraternity, service organization, etc. >>>that they’d pay more than $500 to join, or pay more than $100 in dues. I then ask them if they >>>frequent a local tavern, bar, etc. And in my city, many do. And when I bring up the cost of only >>>1 beer a visit, every weekday, it comes up to much higher than $100 a year. That’d be around >>>260 days. Multiply that by… depends on the beer, but even at $3, you’re looking at $780. $4 >>>sends that over a thousand dollars.
Men with that view should have never been allowed to become Masons. It was an error at the West Gate.
So, we would be better off cranking up the dues so that they demit, and leave Freemasonry better for it.
But, once again, as discussed elsewhere, and as we have all seen, these things are simply threats without actual belief behind them. Raise the dues and they stay. Putting lie to the words.
>>>Good news is that many Lodges are now giving consideration on their long-range planning. It >>>might be late in the game, but better late than never! Especially with the newer members >>>coming in and wanting to get involved.
Agreed, it is never to late to begin.
To Glenn and Cameron: I agree with both of you that the story is outlandish, but I didn’t call BS on it. Interestingly, he had told me that story more than once! And I think both times I told the Brother I’d thump the person who would try that stunt. In fact, I remember during that argument that I’ve drank beer in the presence of one of our members who was sober for many decades, and there was no problem. The Brother then chastised me for tempting him. I DID call BS on that one, saying that we’re both adults, and your buddy is the one with control issues. That didn’t help solve the argument, of course, but at least we were able to move on from the topic, and we’re still friends to this day. Cameron knows this Brother, by the way. In fact, my take on topics 7 and 8 are based on the same Lodge. A Lodge that self-destructed, threw in the towel and consolidated with a successful Lodge. So what both of you said makes perfect sense.
Yeah, I knew who the storyteller was. A good guy, but got a little carried away with that one I think!
I have found when consuming alcohol myself, others become way more interesting. In two weeks from now, I'll have 6 years of sobriety. This was my path at becoming a better person and closer to mastering myself and emotions. Regardless of opinion on serving alcohol, it is up to each lodge to discern or advice. I for one believe drinking leads towards forgetfulness - forgetfulness leads towards ignorance- and ignorance is being in darkness. Who goes to lodge to for this?
I think that these things are individual choices, and I commend you for making the choice that is right for you. That, in my view, is the proper way for our Craft to be. To ensure that all have the freedom to do what is best for themselves.
I certainly know people who drink far too much and harm themselves with it. Including one of my friends in Masonry.
And I know Masons who enjoy an occasional drink or two, with seemingly no harm at all.
We surely all seem unique when it comes to its impacts.
Thank you