Your Prediction: Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Bill_Lins77488 said:

Selling the GL building is a good idea. All we need is leased office space for the Grand Secretary & Grand Treasurer, and the Library & Museum. The Grand Communication could rotate among different cities in the state yearly.

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Exactly! Nobody wants to see our facility go to the wayside, but I think it would be a smart move.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

My hopes are:

1. Full recognition for PH Masons.

2. More public image type activities.

3. I don't see us selling the GL building.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

My lodge elected its officers this past December 27. All of them with the exception of the SW,Secretary, and Treasurer are under35 years old. All of them look to me to teach them the degree work. Now, I am a long ways from Albert Pike, but I do have over 30 years of Masonic Degree work experience. While I don't expect perfection (because nobody is perfect), I am a staunch advocate of persistence and enthusiasm. The younger craft is not always does not always agree that the best way to spend an evening at lodge is to make sure the bills are paid, Brother Gall Bladder is sent a get well card, and the cook gets proper instruction on hot dog making. Well. I don't care that WII's are better than PS2s. Yes, I am rambling, but here is my point. As long as my lodge continues to make Master Masons in a proper and regular manner, who should care how the activities change. As long as my young Brothers practice Masonry, i could care less how many XBoxes they bring to the lodge or how many Rap Stars they may invite. And as long as they are Brothers, I'll still be able to get a Hotdog with chili and onions once in awhile.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

blake said:

Exactly! Nobody wants to see our facility go to the wayside, but I think it would be a smart move.

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Does anyone know the exact operating costs of the building?

I think it could benefit from getting a more public image. Kind of like Masonry itself, it kind feels more like a forbidden building if you aren't a Mason instead of a learning center.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

How many lodges could actualy facilitate a GL meeting? Wouldn't moving it around the state reduce participation since Waco is pretty central.

Some of the Appendate bodies are dying quickly from what I hear. The SR isnt on of them...

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Wingnut said:

Some of the Appendate bodies are dying quickly from what I hear. The SR isnt on of them...

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I think this goes back to visibility. York Rite isn't very visible publically. SR is always visible because of the Children's Hospital and all the work it does. I think we all need to take a lesson from SR and get ourselves and the work we do in the community noticed again.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Well I think when you start putting people in groups... ! like going to Grand Lodge and seeing all the Gray Hairs that it in some why is a direction on how everyone will vote.. ! because everyone know that the old guys just don't want to change and the younger want to change for the better... ? I have seen old gray hairs sit in lodge and think they run it because they have been there longer and everthing the lodge should meet their approval.. ! have seen younger guys who run thru the door like "Thumper" the rabbit and they know all, see all and have a new and better why to do everything... ! I think this is where the "feel good" decisions are coming from about the PH Masons.. ! I have been in Lodges where the Master was black, have been in lodges where the EA was black.. ! and did NOT see anyone pay any attention to their skin color.. ? don't know where all the "Thumper" attitude is coming from.. ! where the young one tap their foot on the floor and say we have to change..?

Think reconization of the PH Masons is something we should do... ! but we should NEVER visit between lodges because we have no way of checking dues cards.. ! or anything else.. ! and any black who wants to be a Mason in our lodge can just ask.. ! and he should be judged just like any white who walks to the door.. !

I think state wide we have a problem with the big buildings that were constructed in the 40' thru 60's ... ! maintenance on these buildings are very costly.. ! old materials crumble with age.. ! roofs go bad.. ! and there is an attachment to these buildings because its where their husbands, fathers and brothers were raised .. ! There is one lodge in our district which is a big lodge, built in early 50's .. it has a very bad roof leak.. the original construction type was poured concrete roof with tar over.. ! now the replacement cost could run 60,000 to 70,000 dollars.. ? and the question becomes how much money do you put in these old buildings... ? no easy answer...?

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Just to throw an idea out, I've recently been searching myself about what appendant bodies if any I would like to join, and have consequently been discussing the matter with some other Brethren. I've heard a few guys say that they favor or have favored the Scottish Rite over the York Rite because they feel like if they try to join the York Rite, someone's going to come and interrogate them about their detailed theological positions. I'm exaggerating, but the point is that it seems that at least a few guys feel uncomfortable about joining the York Rite because of its more stringent religious criteria for its applicants. (Of course, a handful of Brothers that I know doesn't make a very good statistical sampling.) Since the Scottish Rite advertises itself as being as religiously accepting as the Craft Lodges, they've gone towards it instead.

Do you guys think this has anything to do with the decline of the York Rite over the Scottish Rite, or is it just a matter of visibility as Bro. Dave has suggested?

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Bro. Quinten,
You might want to start a new thread for this - but I'll tell you, your comments are on point as to why I joined the Scottish Rite first and have no immediate plans for the York Rite. I think its compounded by the public face of Christians in Texas as being more fundamentalist (or ultra) so someone outside of that range of Christianity might not jump in.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Wingnut said:

How many lodges could actualy facilitate a GL meeting? Wouldn't moving it around the state reduce participation since Waco is pretty central.

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I was thinking more of either a Shrine facility (available in most of our larger cities) or a hotel meeting facility (tilers would have to work for a living ;-). As to participation, it might actually increase. It works for OES & Rainbow, why not us?

Wingnut said:

Some of the Appendate bodies are dying quickly from what I hear. The SR isnt on of them...

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SR in Houston had to cancel one of their Reunions last year due to lack of interest. YMMV

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Wingnut said:

How many lodges could actualy facilitate a GL meeting? Wouldn't moving it around the state reduce participation since Waco is pretty central.

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Central in Texas is relative in my opinion. Once you get past a certain point in driving Texas, might as well keep going.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Bill_Lins77488 said:

SR in Houston had to cancel one of their Reunions last year due to lack of interest. YMMV

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Could that have also been related to the storm damage/recovery?

Valley of Dallas is very different our 3 day reunions are actually increasing in new Candidates and when combined on the final day with the 1 day class we are getting well over 50 at our last reunion. (Spring 3 day, Fall 3 day and Summer 1 day. There is also a 1 day on the last day of the 2 three day reunions.)

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

drapetomaniac said:

Central in Texas is relative in my opinion. Once you get past a certain point in driving Texas, might as well keep going.

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HA very true! The drive from Dallas to El Paso is an all day affair and a real beating.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Personally, I like GL where it is. Of course I may be a little biased since it's just a couple blocks down the street from work for me.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Wingnut said:

Could that have also been related to the storm damage/recovery?

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IIRC, it was scheduled for before Ike showed up.

Wingnut said:

The drive from Dallas to El Paso is an all day affair and a real beating.

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That's why they make airplanes! :wink:

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Dave in Waco said:

Personally, I like GL where it is. Of course I may be a little biased since it's just a couple blocks down the street from work for me.

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I felt the same way when I lived six blocks away.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

blake said:

My revised prediction...

• The Grand Lodge facility in Waco will be up for sale (we can't afford it). This would allow us to be a smaller, yet more nimble organization.
• Prince Hall Brothers will be fully recognized. No merge, but dual memberships and visitation rights will be permitted
• Hundreds of rural Lodges will demise due to lack of membreship and/or funds
• Masonic License plates will be available
• Not only will codebooks be allowed during practice, but meetings.
• Appendant bodies will experience a significant decline in membership....bordering on catastrophic.

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These are almost exactly the points I was going to predict. You beat me to it.

I think that the combination of endowed/life memberships not contributing to local accounts, as well as the overhead of maintaining physical infrastructure will be the biggest problem for lodges. Ditto that about overhead/maintenance for the GL facility. The ad valorem tax exemption is certainly going to help, but that doesn't mitigate the expense of physical repairs or insurance.

Solution? Massive influx of new members. Likely? Probably not, particularly in rural areas.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

I believe that the reason you see "a sea of grayheads" at Grand Lodge is because we younger Masons are busy raising families and providing for them. I'd be willing to bet that if we travelled back in time to say 1950 we would have seen a sea of grayheads there as well. It's harder for a younger Mason to arrange their schedules to attend Grand Lodge while the older retired Masons can attend. I wouldn't worry about the sea of grayheads at Grand Lodge, our generation will be moving up into their present positions all in due time, it is the circle of life. How do I see Masonry in 10 to 15 years? I think that one thing we'll see is less lodges, there was an explosion in Masonic membership after WW2, this was an aberration in our history and is not likely to occur anytime soon, we'll shrink but we'll also have more committed members, more is not always better. We have got to do something about Prince Hall recognition, the general public doesn't understand Masonic law and the complicated issues of recognition, all they see is that a predominant caucasion GLT doesn't allow visitation with a predominately African American PHGL and all they perceive is racism, this is an embarassment to Masonry and must be sorted out, in 5 to 10 years I hope it will be. I think that the next 10 years will be an exciting time to be a Mason.

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

I think that there will be some rual Lodges that have to close or (more likely) merge with other Lodges that are somewhat close to them and perhaps be reopened later.
I dearly hope to see cross visitation with PH Lodges (I have discovered several PH Brothers that I would love to be able to sit in Lodge with)
We do have an extra large generational gap to cover, but I think it is closing as members of that generation start to join late in life and the younger generation has started to look around at their technological toys and think "yeah, this is all neat and stuff but isn't there something more?" (I fit in that demographic if maybe on the older end of it) and as they come in they will bring their tech tools with them and aid in the spread of the Craft.

I believe that we are on the upswing already, and that we have be prepared to keep the new Masons engaged while we (and so we) continue to grow.

We have the foundations on which to build our Masonic edifice, if we use the working tools as we were taught, and perhaps learn to use the new versions of them.
these forums and the new Grand Lodge of Texas website give me hope that we can learn to use these new tools, and reach out to the young men that are looking for "something more" and aid them in becoming better men while aiding the Craft to grow and thrive.


enough of my ramblings.
Fraternally
Mitch Newstadt, MM
Panther City #1183

Re: Your Prediction: Texas Freemasonry in 5-10 Years

Bump for continued discussions...