In my treatise for a new kind of lodge I wrote 8 years ago now, I suggested raising dues to the level that would sustain the lodge financially to cover the costs needed to maintain a building and put on catered dinners, fellowship events, and other such needs. In 1933 when chehalis lodge 28 built their new building in the midst of the depression they charged dues of $7/yr. That is 7 silver dollars. At roughly $75 per ounce of silver these days, that's $525 of today's money.
I also suggested a requirement for attendence. Non volunteer Presence at least once a month and volunteering to put in wortk for at least 2 masonic activities a month. It could be as an officer at a business meeting, organizing or setup for a fellowship meeting, kitchen work for a dinner party, helping to clean or maintain the building, etc.
I insist on the attendance at least onceva month. Even if it is just dinner. Even a busy man must eat. Once a month he can eat with the brethren.
But for the money and volunteering I recognize that there are good men who are lacking one or the other. The busy executive that cant pull away from work but who is wealthy. Or the disabled veteran on a fixed income who lives on beans and rice but has plenty of free time, so I also suggested a man could fulfill the time or money requirements by paying more or participating more. If we give equal weight to time and money than 24 volunteering = $525. So to participate without paying the dues might require volunteering at 24 events per year. And to pay without working would cost $1050/yr.
As our Lodges existed at a time when precious metals were currency in this country, I think we do very well to ponder what dues were in metals, and what that would represent in fiat dollars today. Years ago I learned what my Great Grandfather paid in Initiation fees, in metals, and what those metals would cost in fiat dollars today. It is quite eye opening.
One Lodge in our Jurisdiction prints its own 'funny money.' Come to this event, get this many 'Lodge Bucks.' Help with this project, get these 'Lodge Bucks.' And so on. This 'funny money' can then be used to pay one's dues. It always seemed to me that it was a neat way to encourage participation, and to help those Brothers who are active in the Lodge but have less available financial resources.
According to the US Inflation Calculator, those $7 would technically only be $177.81. The dollar, no matter its composition, was only worth a dollar. Bank notes were merely promissory notes to "pay the bearer the value of one dollar in silver on demand". Further, nothing said that Dues couldn't be paid in paper dollars/banknotes, or even by cheque- another form of promissory note.
As I recall, my great grandfather's initiation fees, around the turn of the last century were $20. A $20 US dollar coin from that time is worth a fairly large sum today, just in the value of its metal. To my mind, that's the value of the dollar falling against the value of gold over time.
While I think Brother Jack below is a might overboard on manditory once a month... some sort of manditory attendence is not amis. Personally I went well over a decade without attending lodge. A vast number of reasons, I had small children and a demanding job, plus a part time job as a cop... Before that I was Active duty on submarines, so... and yes, I know and agree that we could make exceptions. The other reason, less spoken of, was that I just wasn't getting anything from the lodge. At the time we had a small clique of brothers that passed the seats around to the same old same old.
"The old guard has this boy, just sit on the sidelines and watch. We'll pay the bills, drape the alter and then go down and eat. Then we'll go home, and do it again next month."
This behavior was not conducive to getting anyone to attend, except the old guard. And so I didn't. Sure I had other reasons, but that's excusing my behavior, not quite as honest as I would like to be. If I had REALLY wanted to be there, I would have found a way.
During Covid the lodge reached out to me, and asked if I was willing to sit a chair and start the line, would I meet with the WM and talk about it?
I attended every month, and every side thing that we did. Oh I didn't have kids at home anymore, and I had hung up my duty belt for the last time, so I had time to dedicate, but the reality is, I was wanted, needed and appriciated. My wages were being paid.
Here in TN while there are a few things slightly more difficult for a non Christian brother, my wages are paid, and paid with bonuses. And so I give freely of my time.
Maybe instead of requireing attendence, you might make people want to come to lodge?
Time and money are truely the same thing. It's an old adige, but true for all that, TIME IS MONEY. Or more accurately Money is time. Money is that book keeping marker we use to recognise hours of our life spent in work or service to someone elses wants, needs, and desires. That wage you get is litterally hours of your life, that you will never get back, doing something that you may not have wanted to do, if there wasn't a paycheck.
Being a mason, being able to wear the ring, and to maintain continuity with a family background and legacy is worth those hours of life that I worked to get the money and pay the dues... But just sitting on the sidelines listening to the same old same old, not being allowed to be involved? That wasn't worth the lack of wages.
I've been pondering this as well, because I'm inactive in three Lodges that I'm a member of. All three due to distance. I keep my membership simply to keep some sort of connection, and in the hope that my dues are of some help to the Lodge, but perhaps that's unfair on my part. Perhaps it is better to simply demit.
More generally, your point is extremely well taken, as a Lodge we do have to give a man a reason to attend. In my own similar case, when I first became a Scottish Rite Mason, I was super active in the Valley I joined for a couple of years, but then completely stopped attending because I didn't feel that there was anything at all for me in that Valley. I was a non-attending member for a lot of years, but eventually demitted from that Valley when I found another that better suits me.
I remember a report on a missing Brother in Webster Masonic Lodge No. 548 (near Rochester NY). He was bedridden in a Sr Citizens Rest Home. A Brother visited him, and raised a motion that a hat be passed to pay his dues to NY State Masonic Grand Lodge, and that the local Lodge part of Dues be forgone. So he was not removed for NPD (Non Payment of Dues)!
That is certainly the right thing to do for Brothers who are unable to pay, and I hope that we all take the time to do it instead of just dropping guys NPD Willy Nilly.
If you really get down to it, our Code has provisions to require the Secretary to send out NPD notices in September and the WM to create committees to interview delinquents in November. The Willy-Nilly is essentially violating the Code through ignoring certain sections. I did bring this up with one of our Lodges that was doing that, and the WM at the time, when he became Secretary, was quite diligent about reminding succeeding WM’s to follow these sections of the Code. Sure enough, the number of members in threat of NPD dwindled down to never more than you can count on one hand by the time Thanksgiving came around. I’ve even heard some Lodges not have to drop anyone at all for NPD come New Year. It’s frustrating to think of how many members get dropped from our rolls because the Lodge never bothered to reach out to them except at most a postcard saying “Pay up or we’re dropping you.”
Yeah, I'm not a fan of dropping a guy NPD until we are absolutely sure that he doesn't want to pay his dues. Lord knows that I've forgotten to send a check in the past, particularly because I pay virtually every other bill electronically.
The system exists for a reason, we do well to follow it. And also to be very free with the remission of dues for those Brothers who can't afford them.
When I became a Mason I joined the Shrine. I was amazed that I knew so many of them from my work world. I had no idea they were Masons. What I found most interesting was the push for new memberships, that came from the Blue Lodge, from the men that I had never seen in lodge. I became a believer that if you were going to join a concordant body, then you needed to attend your Blue Lodge a certain percentage of time.
I completely agree that if we are going to be active in a concordant/appendant body, we have a responsibility to also be active in our Lodge. To do otherwise is to be working to kill the very root of the body we are active within. That sort of behavior has never made any sense at all to me. And I've heard about it a lot.
I have no idea why this might be, but I do think that it is different from Lodge to Lodge. In my own Lodge we don't really have a bunch of active Shriners who are not active within the Lodge, but a Lodge to the south of us that I'm quite familiar with has a lot of guys like that.
When I first came to Washington, I maintained my membership in the Grand Lodge of California. I was active there, but I was not participating in any Masonic activity here. It was almost 4 years after I arrived that I started visiting a lodge in Washington and finally became a member in Centralia. I have been active since. My point is what happens when you leave your home lodge state, with the intention to return, and are inactive for a period of time?
I understand your point quite well, because it is almost the same position as I am in with regards to my Home Lodge. I've always retained my membership there, but haven't been able to attend in years. I like to think that someday I'll be able to be active there again, but that is probably nothing more than wishful thinking.
I like to think that remaining a dues paying member holds a connection for me with the Lodge, and that the dues money does help it at least a touch. But, perhaps it would be better to demit, I'm unsure.
If you have the ability you could demit and continue to send your dues as a "donation" to continue helping that lodge. This would continue to financially help the lodge, make their books more accurate as to what the membership really is, and form a way for you to have a connection with that lodge.
Perhaps another alternative could be a method whereby Lodges could have two classes of membership, Active and moved away (or some better name) as I do know that lots of Masons who move do retain their membership in their Home Lodges.
There have been natural disasters around the world that I wished to be of help. I did not have the time to go there in person and dig out rubble or hand out water. But my dollars were there for me.
If we make provision for those who can't afford dues, shouldn't we make provision for those who don't have time, but may have the financial means to contribute to the work?
I've visited many Brothers to give out 50-year Aprons, or even 60-year, etc.. More than one broke down in tears that they have been a "bad Mason" and don't deserve it because they had to work second shift most of their lives and almost never attended Lodge. I told them that the Mason's work is what he does with his life -- his family, his job, his community -- by contributing our principles to society.
Then I know Masons who go to every Communication and event, but outside of Lodge, wonder if they have been of any benefit to the world, or if they have done fair dealings.
I will never judge a man for where he is, only what he does, and how he does it.
I think that if there were requirements about attendance put into place, there would also need to be an easy process to excuse a Mason from those requirements. Just as we have easy processes to excuse a man from paying Lodge dues and Grand Lodge fees.
Because you are certainly right, some men just can't attend Lodge. I am extremely fond of a fellow Mason who works nights, so hasn't been able to attend Lodge in years (he lives quite a few hours away from the nearest daylight Lodge) but I know that he wants to attend Lodge, and he does what he can within his work schedule. As an example of that, he served on a Grand Lodge Committee for a number of years which had meetings and duties that didn't conflict with his work schedule.
And, of course, you'll get no disagreement out of me, there are certainly inactive Masons that live exemplary lives.
I would always welcome a brother's time over anything else. But a lodge must make the effort to make that time spent worthwhile to that brother.
My old lodge used to hold a breakfast once a month that I looked forward to. I happily spent hours washing dishes - even though I hate washing dishes - because I felt I was doing something worthwhile to both the lodge and the community. For years this went on, until the temple board decided to quit doing it. I was really bummed they did. I suspect I know what the real reasons why they cancelled it, but I've never voiced my thoughts on the matter.
Our districts Lodge Officers Association does a monthly breakfast that I never miss. I don't wash dishes anymore, my back can't handle being stooped over a sink for hours, but I contribute my time and money instead.
My current lodge doesn't really do anything in the community, we just don't have enough active members to spread the load around. We have to be careful to not burn out brothers who are asked to do everything, but on the flip side we really should make some efforts to be involved in the community to at least keep the younger members engaged and feel like we are contributing, much like my dish washing days.
Read "Autopsy of a deceased Church" for signs a lodge is going to die. The same issues faced with churches across America also face lodges.
I do completely agree, we need to give our Masons a compelling reason to attend Lodge. It would be unreasonable to expect a man to attend a Lodge that offered him nothing of value in return.
But, I think there is a caveat to that. I think that each member of the Lodge has a responsibility to do what he can to ensure that compelling reason exists. We can't rely upon the Master, Secretary, Wardens, or anyone else to give us the Masonic Experience we want, rather we must do our part to help create it.
That, I think, helps to prevent burnout, because everyone is pitching in, and it also ensures that the Lodge Experience will be better for everyone than it would be if the Lodge instead totally relied upon just a tiny number of Brothers.
Sadly, we seem to create many of what I refer to as "paper masons": brethren who join and never attend their Lodge. Some join Appendant adn/or Concordant bodies, but still neglect their Craft Lodge and see nothing at all wrong with that, forgetting that without the Craft Lodge, there can be no Concordant or Appendant bodies.
In the 18th and early 19th C., a brother could be fined for not attending his Lodge, without having provided a reasonable excuse to the WM. Maybe it's time to bring that back, and make it a suspendable offence if he refuses the fine.
I also believe that we set dues too low. Many Lodges have dues that are as low as, or even lower than, the cost of a round of golf. Perhaps if dues were raised to $500-$600, more brethren would attend, seeing value for money. It would, of course, prevent some from continuing their membership, but the circumstances (GENUINE "poverty or distress") could be reviewed by the WM and the Treasurer, and if a member attends regularly, an accommodation could be made. But in the case of the nonattender, what loss to the lodge if he leaves? We should be less concerned about the number of members on the books, rather than the number of empty seats in the Lodge.
Often, the excuse for keeping dues so low is that many of the brethren are in various Concordant and Appendant bodies. But, again, what benefit is that to the Craft Lodge? Also, if he hasn't got the time for his Craft Lodge due to his commitments to other Masonic bodies, then maybe higher dues would give him cause to re-evaluate that time and those other commitments.
When you mentioned it here, I do remember reading that long ago Lodges could/did fine Masons for missing meetings without a good excuse. I'd forgotten that, so thank you for the reminder.
I also know, simply because I found a big stack of them some years ago, that at least some Lodges used to send a Summons to their members prior to each Stated Meeting, and in my Jurisdiction (I don't know about others) a Summons can't be ignored without consequence. The ones I found were postcard sized reminders and included a note about what would be served for dinner, and some highlighted piece of business to be discussed. It seems that one Brother kept all he received, years and years worth of them, and then somehow they made it up to the attic of one of our buildings.
I agree wholeheartedly with you that our dues are too low in the vast majority of our Lodges, and I have certainly heard the excuse you mention when discussions about raising them come up. I fear that we do ourselves and our Lodges a huge disservice by keeping them artificially low, and ultimately what harms our Lodges will eventually harm the appendant/concordant bodies as well.
In my treatise for a new kind of lodge I wrote 8 years ago now, I suggested raising dues to the level that would sustain the lodge financially to cover the costs needed to maintain a building and put on catered dinners, fellowship events, and other such needs. In 1933 when chehalis lodge 28 built their new building in the midst of the depression they charged dues of $7/yr. That is 7 silver dollars. At roughly $75 per ounce of silver these days, that's $525 of today's money.
I also suggested a requirement for attendence. Non volunteer Presence at least once a month and volunteering to put in wortk for at least 2 masonic activities a month. It could be as an officer at a business meeting, organizing or setup for a fellowship meeting, kitchen work for a dinner party, helping to clean or maintain the building, etc.
I insist on the attendance at least onceva month. Even if it is just dinner. Even a busy man must eat. Once a month he can eat with the brethren.
But for the money and volunteering I recognize that there are good men who are lacking one or the other. The busy executive that cant pull away from work but who is wealthy. Or the disabled veteran on a fixed income who lives on beans and rice but has plenty of free time, so I also suggested a man could fulfill the time or money requirements by paying more or participating more. If we give equal weight to time and money than 24 volunteering = $525. So to participate without paying the dues might require volunteering at 24 events per year. And to pay without working would cost $1050/yr.
As our Lodges existed at a time when precious metals were currency in this country, I think we do very well to ponder what dues were in metals, and what that would represent in fiat dollars today. Years ago I learned what my Great Grandfather paid in Initiation fees, in metals, and what those metals would cost in fiat dollars today. It is quite eye opening.
One Lodge in our Jurisdiction prints its own 'funny money.' Come to this event, get this many 'Lodge Bucks.' Help with this project, get these 'Lodge Bucks.' And so on. This 'funny money' can then be used to pay one's dues. It always seemed to me that it was a neat way to encourage participation, and to help those Brothers who are active in the Lodge but have less available financial resources.
According to the US Inflation Calculator, those $7 would technically only be $177.81. The dollar, no matter its composition, was only worth a dollar. Bank notes were merely promissory notes to "pay the bearer the value of one dollar in silver on demand". Further, nothing said that Dues couldn't be paid in paper dollars/banknotes, or even by cheque- another form of promissory note.
As I recall, my great grandfather's initiation fees, around the turn of the last century were $20. A $20 US dollar coin from that time is worth a fairly large sum today, just in the value of its metal. To my mind, that's the value of the dollar falling against the value of gold over time.
While I think Brother Jack below is a might overboard on manditory once a month... some sort of manditory attendence is not amis. Personally I went well over a decade without attending lodge. A vast number of reasons, I had small children and a demanding job, plus a part time job as a cop... Before that I was Active duty on submarines, so... and yes, I know and agree that we could make exceptions. The other reason, less spoken of, was that I just wasn't getting anything from the lodge. At the time we had a small clique of brothers that passed the seats around to the same old same old.
"The old guard has this boy, just sit on the sidelines and watch. We'll pay the bills, drape the alter and then go down and eat. Then we'll go home, and do it again next month."
This behavior was not conducive to getting anyone to attend, except the old guard. And so I didn't. Sure I had other reasons, but that's excusing my behavior, not quite as honest as I would like to be. If I had REALLY wanted to be there, I would have found a way.
During Covid the lodge reached out to me, and asked if I was willing to sit a chair and start the line, would I meet with the WM and talk about it?
I attended every month, and every side thing that we did. Oh I didn't have kids at home anymore, and I had hung up my duty belt for the last time, so I had time to dedicate, but the reality is, I was wanted, needed and appriciated. My wages were being paid.
Here in TN while there are a few things slightly more difficult for a non Christian brother, my wages are paid, and paid with bonuses. And so I give freely of my time.
Maybe instead of requireing attendence, you might make people want to come to lodge?
Time and money are truely the same thing. It's an old adige, but true for all that, TIME IS MONEY. Or more accurately Money is time. Money is that book keeping marker we use to recognise hours of our life spent in work or service to someone elses wants, needs, and desires. That wage you get is litterally hours of your life, that you will never get back, doing something that you may not have wanted to do, if there wasn't a paycheck.
Being a mason, being able to wear the ring, and to maintain continuity with a family background and legacy is worth those hours of life that I worked to get the money and pay the dues... But just sitting on the sidelines listening to the same old same old, not being allowed to be involved? That wasn't worth the lack of wages.
Things to think on.
I've been pondering this as well, because I'm inactive in three Lodges that I'm a member of. All three due to distance. I keep my membership simply to keep some sort of connection, and in the hope that my dues are of some help to the Lodge, but perhaps that's unfair on my part. Perhaps it is better to simply demit.
More generally, your point is extremely well taken, as a Lodge we do have to give a man a reason to attend. In my own similar case, when I first became a Scottish Rite Mason, I was super active in the Valley I joined for a couple of years, but then completely stopped attending because I didn't feel that there was anything at all for me in that Valley. I was a non-attending member for a lot of years, but eventually demitted from that Valley when I found another that better suits me.
I remember a report on a missing Brother in Webster Masonic Lodge No. 548 (near Rochester NY). He was bedridden in a Sr Citizens Rest Home. A Brother visited him, and raised a motion that a hat be passed to pay his dues to NY State Masonic Grand Lodge, and that the local Lodge part of Dues be forgone. So he was not removed for NPD (Non Payment of Dues)!
That is certainly the right thing to do for Brothers who are unable to pay, and I hope that we all take the time to do it instead of just dropping guys NPD Willy Nilly.
If you really get down to it, our Code has provisions to require the Secretary to send out NPD notices in September and the WM to create committees to interview delinquents in November. The Willy-Nilly is essentially violating the Code through ignoring certain sections. I did bring this up with one of our Lodges that was doing that, and the WM at the time, when he became Secretary, was quite diligent about reminding succeeding WM’s to follow these sections of the Code. Sure enough, the number of members in threat of NPD dwindled down to never more than you can count on one hand by the time Thanksgiving came around. I’ve even heard some Lodges not have to drop anyone at all for NPD come New Year. It’s frustrating to think of how many members get dropped from our rolls because the Lodge never bothered to reach out to them except at most a postcard saying “Pay up or we’re dropping you.”
Yeah, I'm not a fan of dropping a guy NPD until we are absolutely sure that he doesn't want to pay his dues. Lord knows that I've forgotten to send a check in the past, particularly because I pay virtually every other bill electronically.
The system exists for a reason, we do well to follow it. And also to be very free with the remission of dues for those Brothers who can't afford them.
When I became a Mason I joined the Shrine. I was amazed that I knew so many of them from my work world. I had no idea they were Masons. What I found most interesting was the push for new memberships, that came from the Blue Lodge, from the men that I had never seen in lodge. I became a believer that if you were going to join a concordant body, then you needed to attend your Blue Lodge a certain percentage of time.
I completely agree that if we are going to be active in a concordant/appendant body, we have a responsibility to also be active in our Lodge. To do otherwise is to be working to kill the very root of the body we are active within. That sort of behavior has never made any sense at all to me. And I've heard about it a lot.
I have no idea why this might be, but I do think that it is different from Lodge to Lodge. In my own Lodge we don't really have a bunch of active Shriners who are not active within the Lodge, but a Lodge to the south of us that I'm quite familiar with has a lot of guys like that.
When I first came to Washington, I maintained my membership in the Grand Lodge of California. I was active there, but I was not participating in any Masonic activity here. It was almost 4 years after I arrived that I started visiting a lodge in Washington and finally became a member in Centralia. I have been active since. My point is what happens when you leave your home lodge state, with the intention to return, and are inactive for a period of time?
I understand your point quite well, because it is almost the same position as I am in with regards to my Home Lodge. I've always retained my membership there, but haven't been able to attend in years. I like to think that someday I'll be able to be active there again, but that is probably nothing more than wishful thinking.
I like to think that remaining a dues paying member holds a connection for me with the Lodge, and that the dues money does help it at least a touch. But, perhaps it would be better to demit, I'm unsure.
If you have the ability you could demit and continue to send your dues as a "donation" to continue helping that lodge. This would continue to financially help the lodge, make their books more accurate as to what the membership really is, and form a way for you to have a connection with that lodge.
That's an interesting idea, thanks for it.
Perhaps another alternative could be a method whereby Lodges could have two classes of membership, Active and moved away (or some better name) as I do know that lots of Masons who move do retain their membership in their Home Lodges.
There have been natural disasters around the world that I wished to be of help. I did not have the time to go there in person and dig out rubble or hand out water. But my dollars were there for me.
If we make provision for those who can't afford dues, shouldn't we make provision for those who don't have time, but may have the financial means to contribute to the work?
I've visited many Brothers to give out 50-year Aprons, or even 60-year, etc.. More than one broke down in tears that they have been a "bad Mason" and don't deserve it because they had to work second shift most of their lives and almost never attended Lodge. I told them that the Mason's work is what he does with his life -- his family, his job, his community -- by contributing our principles to society.
Then I know Masons who go to every Communication and event, but outside of Lodge, wonder if they have been of any benefit to the world, or if they have done fair dealings.
I will never judge a man for where he is, only what he does, and how he does it.
I think that if there were requirements about attendance put into place, there would also need to be an easy process to excuse a Mason from those requirements. Just as we have easy processes to excuse a man from paying Lodge dues and Grand Lodge fees.
Because you are certainly right, some men just can't attend Lodge. I am extremely fond of a fellow Mason who works nights, so hasn't been able to attend Lodge in years (he lives quite a few hours away from the nearest daylight Lodge) but I know that he wants to attend Lodge, and he does what he can within his work schedule. As an example of that, he served on a Grand Lodge Committee for a number of years which had meetings and duties that didn't conflict with his work schedule.
And, of course, you'll get no disagreement out of me, there are certainly inactive Masons that live exemplary lives.
I would always welcome a brother's time over anything else. But a lodge must make the effort to make that time spent worthwhile to that brother.
My old lodge used to hold a breakfast once a month that I looked forward to. I happily spent hours washing dishes - even though I hate washing dishes - because I felt I was doing something worthwhile to both the lodge and the community. For years this went on, until the temple board decided to quit doing it. I was really bummed they did. I suspect I know what the real reasons why they cancelled it, but I've never voiced my thoughts on the matter.
Our districts Lodge Officers Association does a monthly breakfast that I never miss. I don't wash dishes anymore, my back can't handle being stooped over a sink for hours, but I contribute my time and money instead.
My current lodge doesn't really do anything in the community, we just don't have enough active members to spread the load around. We have to be careful to not burn out brothers who are asked to do everything, but on the flip side we really should make some efforts to be involved in the community to at least keep the younger members engaged and feel like we are contributing, much like my dish washing days.
Read "Autopsy of a deceased Church" for signs a lodge is going to die. The same issues faced with churches across America also face lodges.
I do completely agree, we need to give our Masons a compelling reason to attend Lodge. It would be unreasonable to expect a man to attend a Lodge that offered him nothing of value in return.
But, I think there is a caveat to that. I think that each member of the Lodge has a responsibility to do what he can to ensure that compelling reason exists. We can't rely upon the Master, Secretary, Wardens, or anyone else to give us the Masonic Experience we want, rather we must do our part to help create it.
That, I think, helps to prevent burnout, because everyone is pitching in, and it also ensures that the Lodge Experience will be better for everyone than it would be if the Lodge instead totally relied upon just a tiny number of Brothers.
Thank you for posting your thoughts! I truly appreciate it!
I certainly appreciate everything you do for our Craft!
Sadly, we seem to create many of what I refer to as "paper masons": brethren who join and never attend their Lodge. Some join Appendant adn/or Concordant bodies, but still neglect their Craft Lodge and see nothing at all wrong with that, forgetting that without the Craft Lodge, there can be no Concordant or Appendant bodies.
In the 18th and early 19th C., a brother could be fined for not attending his Lodge, without having provided a reasonable excuse to the WM. Maybe it's time to bring that back, and make it a suspendable offence if he refuses the fine.
I also believe that we set dues too low. Many Lodges have dues that are as low as, or even lower than, the cost of a round of golf. Perhaps if dues were raised to $500-$600, more brethren would attend, seeing value for money. It would, of course, prevent some from continuing their membership, but the circumstances (GENUINE "poverty or distress") could be reviewed by the WM and the Treasurer, and if a member attends regularly, an accommodation could be made. But in the case of the nonattender, what loss to the lodge if he leaves? We should be less concerned about the number of members on the books, rather than the number of empty seats in the Lodge.
Often, the excuse for keeping dues so low is that many of the brethren are in various Concordant and Appendant bodies. But, again, what benefit is that to the Craft Lodge? Also, if he hasn't got the time for his Craft Lodge due to his commitments to other Masonic bodies, then maybe higher dues would give him cause to re-evaluate that time and those other commitments.
When you mentioned it here, I do remember reading that long ago Lodges could/did fine Masons for missing meetings without a good excuse. I'd forgotten that, so thank you for the reminder.
I also know, simply because I found a big stack of them some years ago, that at least some Lodges used to send a Summons to their members prior to each Stated Meeting, and in my Jurisdiction (I don't know about others) a Summons can't be ignored without consequence. The ones I found were postcard sized reminders and included a note about what would be served for dinner, and some highlighted piece of business to be discussed. It seems that one Brother kept all he received, years and years worth of them, and then somehow they made it up to the attic of one of our buildings.
I agree wholeheartedly with you that our dues are too low in the vast majority of our Lodges, and I have certainly heard the excuse you mention when discussions about raising them come up. I fear that we do ourselves and our Lodges a huge disservice by keeping them artificially low, and ultimately what harms our Lodges will eventually harm the appendant/concordant bodies as well.