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What should we do with new Master Masons?

What should be done with new MM's?

  • Encourage them to seek an officer's chair

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Get them involved in lodge activities immediately

    Votes: 9 69.2%
  • Give them a "calling", to serve the lodge in some way

    Votes: 6 46.2%
  • Give them 6-12 months "off limits", before approaching them about an appendant/concordant body

    Votes: 4 30.8%
  • Contact their wife and/or children about appendant bodies

    Votes: 1 7.7%
  • Leave them alone

    Votes: 1 7.7%
  • Require them to attend a class in Masonic history and lodge practices

    Votes: 1 7.7%
  • Encourage them to consider the appendant/concordant bodies immediately

    Votes: 1 7.7%

  • Total voters
    13

cemab4y

Premium Member
I have been kicking this around in my mind for some years. What should we do with newly made Master Masons? I believe that if we work with new MMs during their first year in the craft, we have a better chance of keeping them in for a lifetime career. We need to realize that we are losing more MMs to resignations and demits, than we are to deaths.

I believe that it is important to make each new MM feel that he is special, and as much a member of the lodge, as all of the old timers.

Should we involve the new MM in lodge activities right away? Should we encourage the new MM in seeking an officer's chair. Should we steer him to one or more of the appendant/concordant bodies right away, or should we leave him alone for 6-12 months, before approaching him?

Should every new MM, be given a "calling", or some way to contribute "sweat equity" to the lodge? Should we approach his wife about the OES? Should we approach his children about DeMolay/Rainbow/Job's Daughters?
This is an important topic, and I would like to get your input.
 

Pscyclepath

Premium Member
Having gone through a whole lot of that, the first thing I recommend to all of our new brethren is to get your feet firmly planted and feel comfortable in your blue lodge before you run out to any of the appendant bodies. Now, this past year, I conferred one fellow's MM on Monday night, and he was in the Scottish Rite reunion class that Friday ;-) But he's still staying active in his lodge and picking up well. Once an MM, if he's a family guy, is an appropriate time to mention that his family members are eligible for OES, Rainbow, DeMolay, and whatever. I would let the family members take it from that point forward ;-)

Stay in touch... get them traveling with you, if you have a lodge school going, invite them to get involved. After all, there's still that MM lecture out there that needs to be learned (in many jurisdictions, anyway)...
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
More than one of the selections overlap in this survey. I tried to select the most general one - Get the new brother involved in some activity, any activity.

You'll notice that Stated meetings usually have a lot of PMs in attendance. We're the ones who got active by going through the line. By no means the only path to getting active and staying active. Their are brothers who work the fundraiser breakfast every year, the publicity booth at the fair every year, at the community service events, you name it.
 

ebojones

Registered User
Where do one find these MM classes, or lodge schools at ? We need something or someone official to teach us from my lodge. We were raised and litterally DROPPED....No teaching at all. Needless to say there are no proficiency test or requirements to pass or be raised.
 

Sammcd

Premium Member
After I was raised in October 2013 my mentor and I continued to meet on Saturday mornings. During which times he taught me to open and close the lodge in any degree from any chair. He wanted me to be able to sit in any chair the WM needed to fill. We now have two more new Master Masons coming to the Saturday morning sessions. For me at least it made me feel as though I'm part of the lodge. I served as Chaplin last year and Senior Deacon this year and am teaching a student his lectures myself. I foresee big things for our lodge this year.

So to get to the the question of what to do with new MMs. Put t hem to work.
 
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pointwithinacircle2

Rapscallion
Premium Member
After I was raised in October 2013 my mentor and I continued to meet on Saturday mornings. During which times he taught me to open and close the lodge in any degree from any chair. He wanted me to be able to sit in any chair the WM needed to fill. We now have two more new Master Masons coming to the Saturday morning sessions. For me at least it made me feel as though I'm part of the lodge. I served as Chaplin last year and Senior Deacon this year and am teaching a student his lectures myself. I foresee big things for our lodge this year.

So to get to the the question of what to do with new MMs. Put them to work.
Please allow me to re-phrase your conclusion for the sake of clarity. Your mentor did not put you to work, he worked with you. The difference is huge. The vast majority of Masons already want to put their new Brothers to work. What most Masons aren't willing to do is to work with the new Brother. Your mentor demonstrated to you that he was willing to commit one morning a week to Masonry and asked you to do the same.

There is an old saying that goes "Nobody cares what you know until they know that you care". Until we, as a fraternity, begin to demonstrate that we care about new Masons, they are very quickly going to stop caring about us.

P.S. your poll left off the most obvious answer: Treat them like Brothers
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Where do one find these MM classes, or lodge schools at ? We need something or someone official to teach us from my lodge. We were raised and litterally DROPPED....No teaching at all. Needless to say there are no proficiency test or requirements to pass or be raised.
My Brother, you may need to contact your District Deputy or your Grand Lodge directly. There appear, from your posts, to be some irregularities in your Lodge that need to be corrected and they are the ones to do it. If I understand correctly, you are in the Mexia area? If so, the District Deputy listed for that region is Karlous R. Morgan, Sr. His email is karlous.r.morgan@gmail.com and his phone number is (214) 986-8426. Hope this is of help to you.
 

JJones

Moderator
I'm under the impression that trying to shoehorn a new MM into an officer's chair or committee before they are ready or interested does more harm than good...and usually results in the brother becoming inactive. Trying to recruit him into every appendant body he's qualified to join has the same affect.

I like the option of 'leaving them alone' but that's because encouraging them to continue their masonic education isn't an option ('requiring' them to take classes in a volunteer organization seems silly to me). If you really feel like you have to be proactive then help them to pursue whatever they joined the lodge to do. I'd assume that their intentions/desires have been made known, since there's an interviewing process, so take that into consideration. If a man joins to become a better man, help him to improve himself, if a man wants to become a ritualist, teach him ritual, if he wants to conduct fundraisers, direct him to the Lion's Club, etc. etc.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
My Brother, you may need to contact your District Deputy or your Grand Lodge directly. There appear, from your posts, to be some irregularities in your Lodge that need to be corrected and they are the ones to do it. If I understand correctly, you are in the Mexia area? If so, the District Deputy listed for that region is Karlous R. Morgan, Sr. His email is karlous.r.morgan@gmail.com and his phone number is (214) 986-8426. Hope this is of help to you.

Not all jurisdictions require the MM proficiency so there might not be any instructors in that. One of my jurisdictions considers it mandatory. One only requires it for elected officers but waives the requirement for officers who are current in their office ritual). One has it optional so I've only heard it at district schools of instruction. So without knowing how that jurisdiction treats the MM proficiency I can only echo the referral to the DDGM.

Every district should hold schools of instruction. Often they are at the district level. Often they are scheduled at lodge with a district instructor showing up. There exist healthy lodges that do good ritual where the instructors are members certified at the GL level so they mostly ignore district events. There also exist sick lodges that ignore district events as a part of their institutional illness. Sick lodges see poor attendance at Stated, do poor ritual, ignore district schools, fail to instruct their pipeline in their proficiencies, fail to hold events out in the public, pick some or all of these.

Is it worth resurrecting a sick lodge? If it's the only lodge in town I say so. A small number of active brothers can do so but there would need to be experienced brothers in that mix. Is it worth switching lodges to a more healthy one? If there are other lodges in town maybe. Especially as a new brother you'd want to experience an active lodge before working to resurrect a sick/dying lodge.
 

mrpierce17

KOP Council director / Lodge instructor
Premium Member
My Brother, you may need to contact your District Deputy or your Grand Lodge directly. There appear, from your posts, to be some irregularities in your Lodge that need to be corrected and they are the ones to do it. If I understand correctly, you are in the Mexia area? If so, the District Deputy listed for that region is Karlous R. Morgan, Sr. His email is karlous.r.morgan@gmail.com and his phone number is (214) 986-8426. Hope this is of help to you.
I would advise you to speak with your WM in private let him know how you feel give it a meeting or two then if things don't change or you are not presented with a reasonable excuse of why I would agree with bro Bill's answer peace and blessings in your travels brother
 

ebojones

Registered User
Very well put brothers, and I thank you for such good advise. Our lodge does have the Flu, but there is a cure for it if caught at the right time. There are no other lodges in my town nor in Mexia Texas, but there are lodges in Waco. I have a passion for finishing what I start, but also know when to say UNCLE. As far as talking to WM that has fallen on deaf ears, but several of us will approach some things at next meeting. Hopefully if can be resolved or work toward a better running lodge.
 
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