I know that I’ve told this story a number of times through the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever written it here. If I have, what can I say, I’m an old fart now and sometimes us geezers repeat ourselves.
I grew up with a Mason in my chosen family. Not my blood family, but the family I chose as a little kid. And I really admired him, so I always knew that I wanted to be a Mason someday.
And that someday came, I guess, pretty close to twenty years ago. I looked into it a little bit online, and from that decided that I wanted to be a Scottish Rite Mason. From what I could see, the Scottish Rite was where all the interesting stuff was happening.
So, I wanted to become a Freemason, and I wanted to become a Scottish Rite Freemason.
I did the only thing I knew to do. I waited to be invited to membership.
And I knew that the invitation would come, because I knew that we had a Masonic Temple in our City, and I was, at the time, the Mayor of my City.
Every service club and other organization in town was inviting me to come speak with them, and each of these speaking engagements included some form of hint that I should join.
I didn’t join anything else though. I was focused on becoming a Freemason.
But no invitation to speak to the Lodge in my City ever came.1
Nor did any invitation to join Freemasonry.
Honestly, I decided that the local Masons just must be morons. Every other group in the City from the historical society, to the Rotary, to the Chamber of Commerce, to the Garden Club, and the Economic Development Council had extended invitations. The Masons had not.
Time passed. I kept looking, and one day I saw one of those bumper stickers that said:
2B1Ask1
Well, hell, I had it figured out. I realized that I’d been waiting for an invitation to join that would never come.
So, once again, I did the only thing I knew to do. I decided that I’d ask a Mason if I could join.
That presented a bit of a problem though, because I had no idea who might or might not be a Mason in my City. (My chosen family member had died while I was still a child.)
I did though know a fellow, who I knew to be a Mason, a couple of Cities over. So, I talked with him, and I joined his Lodge. Not the Lodge in the City in which I was serving as Mayor.
From there, I was off.
But let’s think about this a little bit.
Our Craft insists that people ask us if they want to join us. We are prevented from asking them. I suppose that is A-OK, if they actually know who is a Mason. Seventy years ago this was easier. The Masons marched in parades, Mason halls were open to the public for public events. People generally stayed in one place. They knew who the Masons were.
How do the people in our area know who the Masons are today?
And let’s take this a step further. I hear laments from time to time about the fact that very few elected officials are Masons today, in contrast to the past. Well, does our Mayor know who the Masons are in the City? Have we invited the Mayor to come talk with the Lodge? The City Councilmembers? The County Commissioners? Our State Legislators?
No?
Well then how on earth do we think they could join us, even if they wanted to do so?
But this isn’t just about politicians, it’s about the community as a whole. How do the people in our area get to know who we are, so that they can ask to join if they decide that they might like to do so?
If we don’t figure out how to solve that problem, we’ll have a hard time building a thriving Lodge.
How about you invite one of your locally elected officials to come speak with your Lodge sometime this fall? Get the local media to cover it?
I can assure you that every other community organization is doing just that. Why don’t the Masons?
Hell, I never got an invitation to speak to the Lodge in my City even after I was a Freemason. They had a Mason as their Mayor and apparently didn’t notice or didn’t care. No invitation was ever forthcoming until I had become an elected Grand Lodge officer.
Several years ago The Grand Lodge of Ohio took a more liberal approach to solicitation. Here is the method they allow lodges to use:
Recommendations for Selective Invitation
Section 34.01 (b) of the Ohio Masonic Code states: “It is Unmasonic Conduct to use mass media techniques to openly invite the general public to petition for Masonic membership; however there is no objection to selectively identifying a man whom you believe would make a good Mason and explain that you would be proud to sponsor him for membership in a symbolic lodge. After the procedure for obtaining membership in a Masonic Lodge is explained, the potential candidate should be left to make his own decision and come of his own free will.”
One of the core tenets of our Order is that people must come to the Fraternity of their own free will and accord. It is a path that every man must choose to take and choose to follow on his own. We cannot beg or beseech someone to take that path, but we can offer to help them find it.
The Key is Being Selective
· In the course of our daily lives, we encounter many good men; but would they be good Masons?
· When you became a Mason, you were taught values and tenets that are important to the Fraternity and your Lodge, be sure that you selectively invite someone who also finds these important.
· Don’t recommend a man for Masonry until you know them and can truly vouch for their character and commitment.
· When it comes to membership numbers, ten of the “right” men can accomplish what a hundred of the “wrong” men could never start.
Be Able to Answer “Why”
· When you tell someone that you think he’d make a good Mason, expect that he will ask you why.
· Tell your Masonic Story: why did you join, why do you stay, what do you get out of it, why is it important to you?
· Most importantly, what do you see in him that makes you think it would be a good fit and that he would enjoy it, as well?
Be the Personal Connection
· Think about how you joined. Most Masons join because of a personal connection.
· Don’t ask him to join, but offer to talk to him if he wants to know more.
· Don’t pressure, but invite him to an upcoming open house, monthly pancake breakfast or annual fundraiser, so that he can meet other members, ask questions, and hear their stories.
· Some seeds take longer than others to grow
Be Ready for the Question
· Live your Masonic values every day; let him know by your words and actions what it means to be a Mason.
· If and when he asks, have a petition available and proudly be his top-line signer.
· Mentor him as he starts down this path.
MWB Bailey, you know I'm a bit of a gadfly about things, so I'm going to have to buzz around your ears again.
"How about you invite one of your locally elected officials to come speak with your Lodge sometime this fall? Get the local media to cover it?
"I can assure you that every other community organization is doing just that. Why don’t the Masons?"
Yes, every other community organization is doing just that... Now, let me ask you, how is that doing to gain them membership? And not just people on the rolls but useful members?
Take a look at the rolls. It's not helping them. Every community organization is suffering from the same drain that we are, with one or two notable exceptions.
Lets look at them. The VFW is actually growing in most places, where the Elks, the Eagles, the Moose, the Rotary, the Rotarians, etc are floundering. The NRA is growing again, where those same organizations, along with any political organization that doesn't have the state mandating you join in order to work in the field is dying (Yes I am calling unions a political organization, it's a hill I'm willing to fight and die on. They once were something else, but that day has passed.)
So, what are those organizations doing, along with the other very few organizations that are growing, that the dying organizations are not doing?
I'm a fan of teaching by allegory. One branch of the military never has problems with recruiting. Now admittedly all branches are meeting and exceeding, right now, but that's a different topic for a different time. One branch NEVER has problems.
The USMC.
Why?
The Army will tell you all the great programs they have, how you can do all this cool stuff. The Navy will tell you about all the training opportunities, the adventure, and so on… The Airforce will tell you about their high tech, and their advancement opportunities, how great life in the AF is. I have no idea how the Space Force recruits, other than just “Dude, we’re the SPACE FORCE.”
The Marine Corps looks at potential recruits and says “I don’t see it, I don’t think you have what it takes, you’re too soft, too weak, too much of a candyass. But we’ll let you try if you want.”
Then they'll tell you how they're relevant, and why they matter.