membership numbers

greetings,

the msana have just released the latest membership numbers for usa and canada - see here...

http://www.msana.com/msastats.asp

robert streeter.

Its amazing to see the movement of numbers over such a period of time.
In Australia we have over 12,000 members in total and between Dec 2012 and Oct 2013 we had over 200 new initiates join the fraternity.

More bad news. I cannot understand why so many Masons in the USA (and Canada) are not convinced that there is a problem. And I really do not understand why so many Masons do not wish to discuss solutions.

We have no membership problem in my jurisdiction. We have a retention problem.
We lose more members from NPD then from death. I think this is true in many places

The answer??? Your guess is as good as any.

I agree that there are problems associated with this on both the local and jurisdictional levels in some places but I think they could be minimized by wise leadership on both levels. I don't think it's a problem for Freemasonry in the grand scheme of things, our ideas have been around for a long time.

There are many Masons who are convinced the the continued loss of membership is not a problem. No problem at all. I could not disagree more. As the number of Masons declines, the number of lodges will also decline (Two lodges that I belonged to in the past, are gone, closed, never to be seen again). As the number of lodges declines, the opportunities to participate in Masonry will also decline. The "visibility" of Freemasonry will decline. Fewer lodges, fewer masons, fewer opportunities to petition and take the degrees. The spiral downward, will continue and accelerate.

We are basically faced with a choice, do something about it, or do nothing about it.

I believe sincerely, that Masonry can reverse the trend, bring more men into the fraternity, and stabilize the loss, and see genuine growth. And we can do this, without compromising our standards. We can keep true to the ancient landmarks, attract good men, and turn this disaster around.

The first thing that Masons, lodges, and Grand Lodges, must do, is to recognize that there is a problem. Until this happens, there will be no serious discussion.

Sometimes I feel like I am taking a ride on the "Titanic" or the "Hindenburg".

cemab4y said:

Sometimes I feel like I am taking a ride on the "Titanic" or the "Hindenburg".

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...neither of which had a "problem," but a single catastrophic event. Poor analogy, IMO.

I still argue that a year-old, single-line statistic does not tell the entire story. Yes, the bottom line was smaller in '12 again. But how many men were Raised that year, especially compared to '11, or '10? Not only do people not want to discuss the problem, they don't seem to want to take the time to tabulate useful statistics.
All of the Lodges I'm associated with experienced growth in the form of Petitions and Degrees this year. This is over four Jurisdictions, so it's not a local phenomena.
Lodges are going to close, buildings will be sold, and the old guard (joiners from the "glut") will continue to go on to the undiscovered country. There is nothing we can do about that, no matter how many men we bring in. Property taxes and other bills are higher, extravagant buildings impossible to maintain, and Death will take us as we've known it will since the day we were Raised.
Yes, we need to look to the future. Yes, we need to address the men of the 21st century and how we appeal to them. No, the "Chicken Little Syndrome" is not the answer, nor is it helping. Neither is selling the soul of Masonry and throwing the West Gate open wide. Our Craft will persevere as it always has.

trysquare said:

I still argue that a year-old, single-line statistic does not tell the entire story. Yes, the bottom line was smaller in '12 again. But how many men were Raised that year, especially compared to '11, or '10? Not only do people not want to discuss the problem, they don't seem to want to take the time to tabulate useful statistics.

Click to expand...

Also the table shows under a century of data. It shows the rise and fall of one glut but not of the two gluts from two world wars. It only shows the post-WWII glut of membership. Without plenty of data from before the WWI glut of membership the perspective is limited. The farther back the data, the more it shows the ebb and flow of membership that has happened forever. Plus sa change, plus sa meme chose. It's just that the wave is so slow you need to be a history buff to know it happens.

As a result history buffs go "No problem. Objects in mirror are closer than the appear. It is a trend that has reversed many times over the centuries and is always reversing right now." while brothers who only know the meetings they have seen go "We are shrinking. We have been shrinking ever since I joined. Lodges are closing. This is a disaster. It is a trend that can not reverse because I have never seen it reverse".

It's like being a climate change scientist who only has access to 13,000 years of climate records. One unending trend in where the climate is moving.

All of the Lodges I'm associated with experienced growth in the form of Petitions and Degrees this year. This is over four Jurisdictions, so it's not a local phenomena.

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I've seen lodges fail because they could no longer field a degree team to handle the sudden influx of candidates. We sent a degree team to confer a third degree as a courtesy and ended up with a request to absorb the lodge we visited.

Lodges are going to close, buildings will be sold, and the old guard (joiners from the "glut") will continue to go on to the undiscovered country. There is nothing we can do about that, no matter how many men we bring in. Property taxes and other bills are higher, extravagant buildings impossible to maintain, and Death will take us as we've known it will since the day we were Raised.

Click to expand...

We can do something about buildings - Refuse to purchase any building that does not produce a positive cash flow after taxes and maintenance allocation. If you can't afford that you honestly can't afford a building. Any lesser building eventually becomes an albatross imposed on a future generation of lodge members.

Being a tenant lodge is NOT a bad thing. We seriously need to discuss meeting in taverns again the way it was at the foundation. Straying from that foundation has yielded mixed results.

Yes, we need to look to the future. Yes, we need to address the men of the 21st century and how we appeal to them. No, the "Chicken Little Syndrome" is not the answer, nor is it helping. Neither is selling the soul of Masonry and throwing the West Gate open wide. Our Craft will persevere as it always has.

Click to expand...

I want long term data on membership in those jurisdictions which practice membership by invitation. There are some in Europe. That's on the input end.

I want more data on what new brothers want at lodge. I can't tell if it's nebulously "quality" because they have not yet had time to realize their actual needs or if it's nebulously "quality" because their actual needs are so diverse it's the closest we can find to a least common denominator. That's on the retention end.

I wonder how many brethren drop out because their lodge turned into one fundraiser after another and never had anything educational?

Most men do not join Freemasonry for fundraising/charity. Anyone can do that on their own from the comfort of their own home.

I've been to 6 stated meetings since being Raised. It gets old hearing the same, "we need money or we're in trouble" speech.

Brother_Steve said:

I wonder how many brethren drop out because their lodge turned into one fundraiser after another and never had anything educational?

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I would imagine a lot lately.

We've had ALOT of brothers go to the way side due to they don't feel like brothers they get there MM then it's like ok your in now pay dues and I'm hearing it from brothers from different lodges not just mine it's as if that brotherly love and affection is dieing and freemasonry is becoming a business and the education part as well yes I've had ALOT say they would come to meetings if it was justifiable to leave there family for the night


Sent From My Freemasonry Mobile App

Brother_Steve said:

I wonder how many brethren drop out because their lodge turned into one fundraiser after another and never had anything educational?

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I have multiple reactions to that.
1) I have been surprised at the percentage of brethren who are disinterested in educational topics.
2) "You get out of Masonry what you put into Masonry". Why aren't these brothers on the agenda doing a presentation?
3) I go to lodge every bit as much for the fellowship as for anything else. If a letter about fundraising as all there was on the agenda the fellowship was still the belle of the ball.

dfreybur said:

Also the table shows under a century of data. It shows the rise and fall of one glut but not of the two gluts from two world wars. It only shows the post-WWII glut of membership. Without plenty of data from before the WWI glut of membership the perspective is limited. The farther back the data, the more it shows the ebb and flow of membership that has happened forever. Plus sa change, plus sa meme chose. It's just that the wave is so slow you need to be a history buff to know it happens.

As a result history buffs go "No problem. Objects in mirror are closer than the appear. It is a trend that has reversed many times over the centuries and is always reversing right now." while brothers who only know the meetings they have seen go "We are shrinking. We have been shrinking ever since I joined. Lodges are closing. This is a disaster. It is a trend that can not reverse because I have never seen it reverse".

It's like being a climate change scientist who only has access to 13,000 years of climate records. One unending trend in where the climate is moving.



I've seen lodges fail because they could no longer field a degree team to handle the sudden influx of candidates. We sent a degree team to confer a third degree as a courtesy and ended up with a request to absorb the lodge we visited.



We can do something about buildings - Refuse to purchase any building that does not produce a positive cash flow after taxes and maintenance allocation. If you can't afford that you honestly can't afford a building. Any lesser building eventually becomes an albatross imposed on a future generation of lodge members.

Being a tenant lodge is NOT a bad thing. We seriously need to discuss meeting in taverns again the way it was at the foundation. Straying from that foundation has yielded mixed results.



I want long term data on membership in those jurisdictions which practice membership by invitation. There are some in Europe. That's on the input end.

I want more data on what new brothers want at lodge. I can't tell if it's nebulously "quality" because they have not yet had time to realize their actual needs or if it's nebulously "quality" because their actual needs are so diverse it's the closest we can find to a least common denominator. That's on the retention end.

Click to expand...

The Morgan affair.

- Vermont outlawed oath bound societies. Freemasonry became illegal overnight. Masons had to truly meet in secret until the laws were repealed.
- Three grand lodges had to be reconstituted after several years because those original grand lodges fell apart or stopped meeting alltogether.
- New Jersey's Grand Lodge had at one point 3 dollars to its name.

Granted This was a "shock and awe" event that got the northeast's attention but it did prove that Masonry could recover from adversity.

dfreybur said:

I have been surprised at the percentage of brethren who are disinterested in educational topics.

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Interestingly, I've been reading through Esoterika by Pike and even in his day, he was ranting about the huge number of masons who never bothered to ever inquire further or crack a book about the Craft. He makes no effort to disguise his disgruntled-ness about how few seem to want to practice our art.

I think there is definitely something to be said about older members passing away, but that's not the root of the problem. Membership was on the uptake through 1959, which speaks a lot to the social revolution of the 60's. The Baby Boomers just didn't follow in dad's footsteps, and that includes just about everything outside of Freemasonry as well. Our social landscape has changed a lot in the last 10 years, and is in stark contrast to the glory days of fraternal organizations.

Back then, community was a big thing. You knew your neighbors, and people on your block were almost like family. It was all about backyard barbecues and keeping up with the Jones'. People didn't lock their doors at night. I mean, even if you judge pop culture by television shows, contrast Andy Griffith with any of the junk that's on tv today. Today we're slaves to handheld devices and the internet. Most of us don't even know our neighbor's names, much less associate with them outside of the occasional wave as we're passing by.

That said, all of that is one of the reasons I joined. I miss those old fashioned values and handshakes. Before I joined, I can't even remember the last time I sat down to play a game of cards that wasn't digital. Freemasonry is competing with Angry Birds and Facebook and all the crap we have to keep ourselves "busy" with. I grew up in a small Ohio town, which shares a lot of old school values that seems to be prevalent in more conservative areas of the country. I'm still one of the youngest members at the Lodge @ age 38, and it's not like there are petitioners lining up at the door.

Freemasonry will always be "cool" to the right men. I don't think there needs to be any wide-sweeping change in the fraternity that will encourage growth. I would imagine that Kiwanis, Eagles, Moose, etc. are all experiencing a similar crisis in dwindling membership, just as with the Boy Scouts and other similar social organizations. The main reason I joined was to become a better man. It isn't about the social aspect or the charity, though I do value those things.

I'm here seeking Light and education. I'm here for the Craft. I think if there was more of a focus on those aspects of Freemasonry, it would become a lot more attractive as a whole. I think there should be more focus on individual and group study of how to apply speculative Masonry to everyday life and improving yourself. There should be more focus on the working tools and symbolism and life lessons built around them. In short, I think promoting more of a learning environment versus social/charity would attract more new members.

Browncoat said:

...

I'm here seeking Light and education. I'm here for the Craft. I think if there was more of a focus on those aspects of Freemasonry, it would become a lot more attractive as a whole. I think there should be more focus on individual and group study of how to apply speculative Masonry to everyday life and improving yourself. There should be more focus on the working tools and symbolism and life lessons built around them. In short, I think promoting more of a learning environment versus social/charity would attract more new members.

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As the youngest Entered Apprentice at Jephthah Lodge No. 222, A.F.&A.M. in Essex, MD, I can vouch for that sentiment as well. I came to Masonry seeking Light, as the Brotherhood was more or less dropped in my lap at a very important time in my life. Like Browncoat it is more about the Masonic Education to me than it is about Charity -- though, again, that is a highly important aspect of it.

---R. Walk

dfreybur said:

I have multiple reactions to that.
1) I have been surprised at the percentage of brethren who are disinterested in educational topics.

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I find that there is a lot of "lip service" paid to the wish for Masonic Education. Most around me couldn't care less.