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Texas Grand Master's Conference

relapse98

Registered User
Attended the one this past Saturday at Al Zafar Shrine (followed up with dinner with the Grand Master and a few of the Grand officers at the great mexican restaurant down the street from our lodge before he presented our Centennial Certificate).

Was going along great until he hit upon the plan of bringing in lapsed EA and FC. Anyone else catch note of that at their conferences?

Gist of the plan is (and it only applies to those who have been gone for a year or more).. the lodge votes if they want to join this program. If they do.. they contact the lapsed EA and FC and give them a deal: We'll let you complete your degrees in 1 day. No memory work except for the Master's degree. 1 example candidate at the degrees. The idea is that there just isn't enough time for them to complete the memory work and do the degrees so that this would get them over the hump and they can then become active in the lodge.

I asked one of our brand new Master Mason's (we did 2 or 3 last month, and we are doing 3 this month). His response was along the lines of ^%&*%^(*&)(*^*&%^&%*&(&(*^. And I tend to agree. So they don't have enough time to do the degrees and memory work but they will then have enough time to come to lodge on a regular basis? BS. They know where we are, they visited us for weeks on end before petitioning and becoming a mason. They were told there is a time commitment before we vote on them. I just don't buy that they don't have enough time for that but will now. It was also sold as it could increase the revenue for the lodge because (here's the unstated part) you'll have yet another dues paying brother that doesn't visit. I appreciate that some brothers continue to pay their dues and don't visit for decades at a time. I appreciate your cash. But I would much rather you be an active part of the lodge and get more out of masonry. And you should want that for yourself.

I'll think long about this program, but it will never be approved by my lodge while I'm a member. That is ridiculous. 1 day Master, meh.

Thoughts?


SIAP.
 

MRichard

Mark A. Ri'chard
Premium Member
First, I have heard of this. I agree it will be very unpopular. If a guy didn't want to make an effort, then he just waits long enough and does this program. We already have enough brothers that don't know the work.
 

relapse98

Registered User
Unfortunately, the Grand Master's conference in Houston was 2/13. There are some upcoming ones, closest to you is probably Waco on 4/2.

I imagine our DDGM will be speaking about this at their fall visits, I'm pretty sure this is going to be submitted as a recommendation. And I'd love to hear the Committee on Work's thoughts. I imagine it goes along the lines of No.
 

MRichard

Mark A. Ri'chard
Premium Member
I knew about it, just didn't have chance to go. If this is voted on at Annual Communication, I doubt it will pass.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
Attended the one this past Saturday at Al Zafar Shrine (followed up with dinner with the Grand Master and a few of the Grand officers at the great mexican restaurant down the street from our lodge before he presented our Centennial Certificate).

I was there as well.

Was going along great until he hit upon the plan of bringing in lapsed EA and FC. Anyone else catch note of that at their conferences?

In Illinois this is called Blue Lightning. It works. The brother behind me the time I went through the line in Illinois is a Blue Lightning graduate. He has since been through the Grand line for the Jobs Daughters.

Thoughts?

I get that it will fail at GL. Stuff happens at GL and three are times when the reason is very simple. It will be voted down specifically because it works. "We've always done it that way." "That's not the way we did it my year."

Another brother in my Illinois lodge didn't even show up at his scheduled FC night. A year later he was sent the invitation to attend a Blue Lightning and complete his work. He showed up at that event. He ended up active in lodge.

My examples are not flukes. As reported those who complete their work in Blue Lightning programs have a higher average attendance at lodge than those who took individual degrees. You noticed that part of the presentation, right? It works so it will be voted down in spades.
 

relapse98

Registered User
I respect your (and his) views Doug. I just don't see how a man that did his EA degree (and was coming to our lodge every week beforehand) and suddenly disappeared because <insert excuse> is suddenly going to find the time to come to lodge and become active. Sure the memory work is hard, but that is part of the camaraderie, we all had to do it. Its what helps build those relationships with other men, you are spending hours with them.

And not even getting to participate in your own FC or MM degree? That just doesn't seem right. Wasn't that the least bit interesting? The fear of not knowing what was going to happen? Having to rely on another man? I think watching the degree from the sidelines instead of being the central part of it, you might lose a bit of the experience.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
I just don't see how a man that did his EA degree (and was coming to our lodge every week beforehand) and suddenly disappeared because <insert excuse> is suddenly going to find the time to come to lodge and become active.

Dave Ramsey often talks about stuff he doesn't understand why his wife wants . He says "I don't have to get it, I just have to get it".

I don't have to understand how it works. In fact I don't understand how it works. I just have to see that it did in fact work. I have watched it work. I didn't have to understand; I just started showing up to the events so the EA Brothers there have more mentors. I walked into crowds of candidates and picked one to hold his Bible during his obligations at each of these events. And then I watched the Brothers show up at lodge. I don't even think the new Brothers understand why it works for them.

I don't have to understand why it happens. I just have to see the data in more jurisdictions than my own that do it and see that the attendance among those who graduate in FC/MM classes have higher attendance than those who don't.

For me, data wins. I know it's going to be voted down but let's be honest about the denial involved in voting against the data. Voting against something successful because you don't understand it is still voting against success. Which is exactly what's going to happen. Argh.
 

JJones

Moderator
The idea that men suddenly are too busy for lodge is nonsense. 50 - 100 years ago men made time to go to lodge and they had just as little, if not less, free time than we do now. Men were just as busy and just as distracted.

Times change but people stay the same. Men make time to do what's important to them.

Instead of saying men don't have time, maybe we should take a step back and re-evaluate what we're doing during our meetings that make brethren decide it's a better investment of their time to stay home than to go to lodge. Most men didn't join our fraternity to attend business meetings and host fish fries.
 

JJones

Moderator
I don't have to understand why it happens. I just have to see the data in more jurisdictions than my own that do it and see that the attendance among those who graduate in FC/MM classes have higher attendance than those who don't.

It's always been my understanding that large classes like this (ODC's in particular) don't have any higher retention than those joined in the traditional way. If classes created higher attendance then our Yorkrite bodies should be flourishing.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
"Like this" does not apply. These are not One Day Classes in that sense. Each and every brother had his first degree at his own lodge and then did not advance. Do not confuse the two. Different idea, different results. Different Brothers, different data.

It isn't even true that all Brothers in attendance failed to advance. One year one of my Illinois lodges was so busy alternating among 2 and 3 candidate 1st and 2nd degrees there was not room for 3rd degree events on the calendar. We even farmed some out for guest 3rd degrees so less busy lodges in the district could qualify their degree teams and there were still so many FCs there was no room on the calendar. Each Brother in the pipeline was asked if he would rather complete his degrees this year or wait at least a year for his 3rd degree. A few waited.

It's easy to assume that all of the Brothers at such an event failed to advance for bad reasons, but sometimes a lodge is too busy. It's easy to assume that all of the Brothers blew off a degree of their own then showed up because of some change because I actually saw that happen. It's easy to assume lodges send their candidates because they can't pull off a degree. Brothers end up in these completion events for more reasons than just those.

I don't understand why this system works better than the One Day Classes. I don't have to understand. The data speaks for itself.
 
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