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Lodge attendance

Bro. A

Registered User
Greetings Brethren,
This question has probably been addressed before, but I'll still ask it.
What could be possibly be a reason why brothers don't attend lodge and how would you go about getting them back?
 

TXStrat

Registered User
There could be any number of reasons. More focus on other bodies (York Rite, Scottish Rite, Shrine), personal issues, work issues, family issues. Would recommend contacting the brother and just asking him. From there, you could find out what the reason is, and see what, if anything, can be done to welcome him back to the Lodge.
 

Bro. A

Registered User
There could be any number of reasons. More focus on other bodies (York Rite, Scottish Rite, Shrine), personal issues, work issues, family issues. Would recommend contacting the brother and just asking him. From there, you could find out what the reason is, and see what, if anything, can be done to welcome him back to the Lodge.

Thanks Brother and I hear what you're saying. It is our duty to check on the well-being of our Brothers.
 

CLewey44

Registered User
Greetings Brethren,
This question has probably been addressed before, but I'll still ask it.
What could be possibly be a reason why brothers don't attend lodge and how would you go about getting them back?
Does your lodge have a good education portion? Such as a powerpoint on some esoteric topic. Something along those line. Many brothers need a better reason to show up for lodge than just to vote on paying the bills or not.
 

Bro. A

Registered User
Does your lodge have a good education portion? Such as a powerpoint on some esoteric topic. Something along those line. Many brothers need a better reason to show up for lodge than just to vote on paying the bills or not.

We do have some educational and esoteric discussion. I find some of the topics very interesting being that I'm a newly raised MM but some brothers don't seem that enthused about it.
 

CLewey44

Registered User
We do have some educational and esoteric discussion. I find some of the topics very interesting being that I'm a newly raised MM but some brothers don't seem that enthused about it.
Thats good, maybe some new members will continue to come but alot of the older members may not care about that sort of thing.
 

Mark Stockdale

Premium Member
I know of a few instances where a Brother no longer attends his Mother Lodge due to a clash of personalities with Lodge Officers, but they regularly attend other affiliated lodges, these can be the hardest ones to solve as neither party wants to be seen to back down, but I have seen both time and content of what the Lodge has on at meetings help break that barrier.

I think we are lucky in Scotland in that most Lodges will rarely have a business only meeting, there is always a Degree or a presentation on a Masonic subject at every meeting, so it keeps our own Lodge Brethren interested and attracts visitors, especially as every Lodge has their own version of the Degree work, and these can vary wildly.
 

Bro. A

Registered User
I know of a few instances where a Brother no longer attends his Mother Lodge due to a clash of personalities with Lodge Officers, but they regularly attend other affiliated lodges, these can be the hardest ones to solve as neither party wants to be seen to back down, but I have seen both time and content of what the Lodge has on at meetings help break that barrier.

I think we are lucky in Scotland in that most Lodges will rarely have a business only meeting, there is always a Degree or a presentation on a Masonic subject at every meeting, so it keeps our own Lodge Brethren interested and attracts visitors, especially as every Lodge has their own version of the Degree work, and these can vary

One business meeting a month sounds like a good idea. There's no need to go over the same issues or paying of bills twice a month. I would rather do floor school and learn more about lodge etiquette. Practice, practice and more practice
 

Winter

Premium Member
In my experience, the number one reason that Brothers are not attending Lodge is because it is not offering a meaningful and engaging experience. You show up, maybe have some hotdogs, pay some bills, read some correspondence, complain about how much Lodge upkeep costs, and go home. It's a wonder some Lodges get anyone to show up. We sucker these men in with a promise of enlightenment and then trick them into an officer position before they even have the catcecism memorized and then focus on recruiting the next batch of suckers, I mean Brothers.

Thankfully there is a growing trend of Lodges and Brothers that are changing the paradigm by focusing more on education and fellowship.

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Bro. A

Registered User
No brother is a "sucker" Brother Winter. Every man made the choice to want to join the brotherhood. But I do understand what you are saying. Like you said there should be more focus on education and the well-being of other brothers. I'm just trying to get some ideas on how to bring brothers back into lodge. Im not trying to bash anyone for not coming. Everyone has their own reason.
 

Winter

Premium Member
According to my observation and limited experiments, the brethren have to work much harder now to draw the amount of Light that used to flow with little effort.

This may indicate that the GAOTU is looking for more efficient social forms through which to cultivate humanity. If so, I have yet to see them. So I stay with Freemasonry but reduce my commitments there.

I doubt the GAOTU is tinkering with anything. I have no doubt the current state of the Craft is completely our own making.

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Bro. A

Registered User
The other day at the local library I met a brother from another lodge that I had not seen around for a couple of years. He said that he had stopped going to lodge. I said that I had surveyed quite a lot of elderly brethren about the ritual experience and they all said that the ritual is less intense than when they first joined. This brother said that that was why he had stopped attending.

It seems to me that the Light does not flow into lodges nearly as intensely as when I joined 35 years ago. This diminishment does not seem be the fault of the brethren. They seem to be of a similar quality as when I joined.

According to my observation and limited experiments, the brethren have to work much harder now to draw the amount of Light that used to flow with little effort.

This may indicate that the GAOTU is looking for more efficient social forms through which to cultivate humanity. If so, I have yet to see them. So I stay with Freemasonry but reduce my commitments there.

The ritual HAS to be intense. I know it was for me. From Initiation to being raised, I can't describe the emotion I felt afterwards. It meant ALOT to me during each degree. If a candidate is being coached or is searching on the internet trying to find out what's going to happen, it's going to ruin it for him.
Like I've said before, there needs to be more Masonic education, more floor school, and the brethren really need to be more helpful towards each other. It's the only way we as Freemasons can survive. I know we as Freemasons can do ALOT better.
We talked about this at lodge tonight and I will be on a committee to reach out to the brothers who have stopped attending and see what would they like to see done differently in lodge. I personally would like to meet these older brothers and sit down and talk to them. There's so much to be learned from these guys. That's just me....
 

Elexir

Registered User
I think its easy to blame it on lack of education or boring stated meetings.
If this where true attendence should be close to 100% in juristictions wich dont hold stated meetings and focuses a lot on education from the 1°.

I think we honestly need to look at how society has changed to understand a big part of the problem.
 
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