Warrior1256
Site Benefactor
Exactly!...ummmm....ok, this is just....
Exactly!...ummmm....ok, this is just....
You forgot a few things...Step One: Take a new candidate
Step two: Perambulate vigorously.
Step three: Add light..
What is your lodge doing for programs?Can we survive? I'm worried, fellows. I'm worried. There's been a lot of merging of lodges around here. I'm scared that my lodge, which has been around since the late 1800s, will close or merge. We initiate a guy every three months. After that three months, they're gone. Never seen again. It hurts. Makes me sick, sad. We cannot sustain ourselves!!! Nobody wants to make extra meetings. It's down to about a consistent 9. When these older, awesome elder-statesman decide to hang their aprons up, what will happen? Seems like we're fading. Hurts me to say it!!! Back in day we had 60 guys at an extra meeting and now we have nine. I'm worried. I'm thinking merging might be the best thing. I'm sad but HOPEFUL of our future.
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Ugh also forgot to read the minutes!You forgot a few things...
1. Take new candidate.
2. Perambulate vigorously
3. Add light
4. ???
5. Profit
I think somebody has already pointed this out but the reason we are losing members soon after they join (especially the younger ones) is that we are not living up to their expectations they had prior to joining... .
Ok, I've heard this took a turn for the worst in 1717. How long ago was that ? Most of the older brothers I have talked to said their lodges was jumping in the 1960s through the 1980s. The lodge was the place to be. Now, we can' get them in or keep them coming back. We need to get back to those times and recreate what was lost. Not dwell.>After that three months, they're gone. Never seen again
This is a common problem. In my view the candidates feel drawn by the mysteries of Freemasonry but when they get into the lodge they cannot find what drew them and cannot find any brother to discuss those mysteries.
In my view Masonry took a wrong turn in 1717. Now we are coming to the end of this cycle and Freemasonry needs to be reinvented - and probably not by current brethren who generally have so little interest in Masonic Science.
Freemasonry is one of many social institutions that have come to the end of a cycle. Many will not survive and the worthy members will migrate to new institutions that provide more value.
Ok, I've heard this took a turn for the worst in 1717. How long ago was that ? Most of the older brothers I have talked to said their lodges was jumping in the 1960s through the 1980s. The lodge was the place to be. Now, we can' get them in or keep them coming back. We need to get back to those times and recreate what was lost. Not dwell.
Membership numbers are going DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.
Still there are many Masons who are convinced that there is no problem.
Historically we've had our ups and downs but we've never had a swelling of membership like we did in the 50's and 60's. In the short term, this was probably pretty exciting but this caused a lot of long-term problems, such as the creation of an infrastructure that couldn't be supported by a smaller membership (some Grand Lodge buildings, for example) and a decrease in quality members that came with a rise in quantity. It's logical to assume that many of these men later rose to leadership positions in the organization as well.
I've come to think of the 50's/60's era as not a good time for Masonry. But hind sight is always 20-20.
Historically we've had our ups and downs but we've never had a swelling of membership like we did in the 50's and 60's. In the short term, this was probably pretty exciting but this caused a lot of long-term problems, such as the creation of an infrastructure that couldn't be supported by a smaller membership (some Grand Lodge buildings, for example) and a decrease in quality members that came with a rise in quantity. It's logical to assume that many of these men later rose to leadership positions in the organization as well.
Shrinking membership is to be expected and it can be reasonably predicted that it will keep declining until an equilibrium point has been reached. That being said, having fewer members isn't a problem on its own, it's the complications that arise from having fewer members which will (and is) causing problems.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, T.O. is the future of American Masonry I think. There is a lot of enthusiasm in T.O. lodge development than your run-of-the-mill BL. It was the best BL experience I've ever had and it is my ultimate goal to be a member of one of them. My dad and granddad's generation and version of BL is what is dying off. Masonry is likely going back to healthy numbers in a lot of ways. At least I hope so with the emergence of T.O./Euro lodges.
See for yourself:
http://www.msana.com/msastats_14to15.asp
Membership numbers are going DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.
Still there are many Masons who are convinced that there is no problem.
The cause is not entirely lost. We could upgrade and modernize Freemasonry, (while still holding on to the ancient landmarks), and make our Craft more appealing to young men.
Since we've been talking about membership numbers, I did some math based on the data provided by the MSANA to find out what percentage of the population of the USA were Freemasons. Can someone double check this for me?
In 1924 we had a population of 114,100,000 and about 3,077,161 Freemasons. If we say about half the population was male then that gives us a percentage of about 5.4%.
In 1959, which was our highest membership year based on the data given, we had 4,103,161 members. The US population was 177.8 million, so if we take about half that and calculate the membership percentage we get 4.6%.
The last year we have data on was 2015 so looking at the math of 1,117,781 members with a population of 320.9 million * .5 we get .69%.
TLDR: So we had a higher percentage of membership in 1924 but we have more members overall in 1959. As of 2015, about .7% of the population are Freemasons.
Does anyone know where we can find membership statistics prior to 1924?
Can you give examples of how you would accomplish this?
Need to multiply the resulting ratio by 100 to convert to percent.
I figured I was missing a step....lolNeed to multiply the resulting ratio by 100 to convert to percent
See for yourself:
http://www.msana.com/msastats_14to15.asp
Membership numbers are going DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.
Still there are many Masons who are convinced that there is no problem.