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Who owns your lodge ?

Bloke

Premium Member
Answer: All yet none.

For me, its about creating a sustainable environment and culture where men want to come and the warrant can be passed onto the next generation.

I just read this on reddit
"Honestly, I'm tired of trying to be a caterer to brothers. It's their lodge too, they should be helping make it interesting and keeping it "entertaining" I'm not a clown, I'm not a theater major. It's everyone's lodge... men join for a reason... not to look for a reason. If they still don't know why they are there.. then we didn't do our job of filtering that."

https://www.reddit.com/r/freemasonry/comments/42xyx8/the_worst_words_you_want_to_hear_from_a_newly/

So many guys seem to turn up and just passively grumble that their lodge is not as they wish, but whose responsibility is it to make it so ? The Master ? The Secretary ? Perhaps is it yours ?

As a Past Master, I see my sole job is offering support, by performing ritual but also encouraging guys to realise they need to take ownership of the lodge and support the current and future Master by making the lodge an enjoyable place to be and a group of brothers who offer fellowship, support and growth.

Who owns your lodge ?

Do certain people resist experimentation and exploring new ways to have fun and grow the group and grow the man ?

Does your lodge have a progressive and optimistic culture?

If not, how can you change it ?

If so, how do you preserve it ?
 

Brother_Steve

Premium Member
The building is a place to meet as a Lodge. The building is a place to pay bills, make and advance Masons.

The problem with Education in Lodge is that not all Masons prefer the same kind of 'Education.' Most of my education has come in the form of talks over dinner before a meeting, or over a glass of scotch after a meeting. Rehearsals, being mentored, mentoring, interacting with other Brothers is another way education comes into play.

Basically, you need a venue where those with like minded interests in masonic conversation can come together safely and talk. A tiled lodge is a safe place however it doesn't fit the like minded category concerning education.

I think good ritual is one key for lodge. We all say ritual doesn't matter but it is kind of embarrassing when it isn't done right.
 

pointwithinacircle2

Rapscallion
Premium Member
One night when I was eight or nine, and my father was getting ready to leave for Lodge, I asked him "Dad, what is Masonry?". His reply was simple, "Masonry is work". So I ask (what to me is) the critical question: Is Masonry something you know or something you do?

I used to sit on the sideline while I waited for someone to teach me. Finally I got frustrated and decided that any education that I provided would be better than the "no education at all" that was being provided in my Lodge. So I found something that I that was cool about Masonry, wrote it up, and read it in Lodge. One Brother came up to me after Lodge and thanked me for my effort, that was enough to encourage me to do it again.

It turns out that (for me at least) Freemasonry isn't something that I know, it is something that I DO! Freemasonry is like muscle building. You can read all the books and have all the knowledge about how to build big muscles, but that does not make you strong. One dumb guy with no knowledge of biology or physiology who is doing the work of lifting weights will become stronger than the smartest guy who never works out.

Sure, when I started providing education in my Lodge I was anxious, worried, and afraid, I mumbled, fumbled and stumbled. But I got over it. The Brothers think I am providing something for them, but I keep the secret truth in my heart. I am divesting myself of my imperfections.

Who owns my Lodge? I DO.
 

Zack

Registered User
[QUOTE="Brother_Steve, post: 155272, member: 10030

I think good ritual is one key for lodge. We all say ritual doesn't matter but it is kind of embarrassing when it isn't done right.[/QUOTE]

We don't "all" say that. Our Ritual is what makes us different from all other organizations. Without our Ritual we are just like the Lions Club or Rotary Club except we wear Aprons.

Ritual teaches us what to do to become "better men". What better way to instill the lessons of Masonry firmly in the mind than through
repetition and memorization.

Poorly done Ritual is not "kind of embarrassing". It is embarrassing.

Around my area Masonic Education is paid a lot of lip service.

Just my 2 cents and that is what it's worth.
 

Warrior1256

Site Benefactor
We don't "all" say that. Our Ritual is what makes us different from all other organizations. Without our Ritual we are just like the Lions Club or Rotary Club except we wear Aprons.Agreed!

Ritual teaches us what to do to become "better men". What better way to instill the lessons of Masonry firmly in the mind than through
repetition and memorization.
Agreed!
 

flipster

Registered User
I find it helpful to listen to words in work, and silently speak them. It's good practice. We make some mistakes, but we work at it. A couple weekends back I spent about 10 hours cleaning out a room that was 4 foot deep in stuff. I put up shelves, and got it organized. One new guy thought the room hadn't been touched in 30 years. Nope, I did it 4 years ago. Our building was built as a museum for art in 1865, so it is a lot of ongoing restoration, maintenance, and cleaning. Still, I love the building, and enjoy driving by. All the guys want to help, they just need a little leadership as to when to go. Pointwithinacircle is spot on: I own my lodge.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
The lodge building is owned by the temple corporation. The temple corporation is usually owned by one lodge but a small number of temple corporations have stock owned by more than one lodge and appendent body - My mother lodge's building is huge and was funded by selling stock two all of the nearby bodies back in the 1920s. For many years we have tried to gather back all of the stock because GL tells us to but the process never completes.

Be cautioned that lodges usually want to buy a building as soon as they can afford it, but small buildings eventually become maintenance nightmares. Many lodges have lost their buildings. The key is to only build or purchase a building that turns a positive cash flow from commercial rentals. Extremely few lodges own such a build but every one of these few lodges is the solid core of its district.

The lodge is its members, so a lodge is owned by all of its members including the dead ones who purchased endowments. Those who do not show up effectively cede ownership to those who do show up. In the end the building and the organization are owned by us regulars.
 
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