cub scouts

I really wish we could have a DeMolay weigh in on this. I will just have to disagree with you on this topic. I just feel as soon as Lodges allow Boy Scouts in we can kiss the DeMolay bye. Of coarse they would compete. The reason Church groups don't compete is their parents take them to Church with them on Sundays, or what ever days they meet. It is convieniece for the families. You mean to tell me that if you had a DeMolay Chapter and a Boy Scouts Troop you wouldn't choose one or the other? Of Coarse you would they conflict with activities too much. I know that you don't have a choice at this point but a lot of area do have both. I just think that if there are enough kids to have a Boy Scout Troop then why not start asking if they would be intrested in a DeMolay Chapter. Start heading it up. Sure it will be hard work but if we are that dedicated I think we could accomplish having a DeMolay Chapter installed. If you are saying that membership is down in the Lodge and you can't get this to happen, I feel the least of our worries is with the kids. We need to find out how to get Memebers we have active. We are combining two issues that we really shouldn't. Again I will just have to disagree on this on Brother.

owls84 said:

You mean to tell me that if you had a DeMolay Chapter and a Boy Scouts Troop you wouldn't choose one or the other?

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This isn't about the Boy Scouts and DeMolay co-existing, at least from my perspective. I just want the choice left to the Lodge. With your argument, a Lodge cannot open it's doors to a wonderful organization because of DeMolay, which in our case is over 75 miles away. While things may work out well in the larger cities, it is a much larger hurdle for us rural folks.

owls84 said:

I just think that if there are enough kids to have a Boy Scout Troop then why not start asking if they would be intrested in a DeMolay Chapter.

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That's a wonderful idea but you need Brothers who can take on that responsibility. In many small Lodges, there may be 60-70 members, but 5 do most of the work. As much as I would love to have a local DeMolay Chapter, it would be almost impossible to find the people to get one started. Think about this, if we did allow scouts use of the facility, not only could we leave a good impression of Masonry on them but their Fathers.

owls84 said:

If you are saying that membership is down in the Lodge and you can't get this to happen, I feel the least of our worries is with the kids.

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That is absolutely true, however give my Lodge the power to invite the Scouts in. Just because one thing works well in a certain area, doesn't mean it will work in another. By denying the Scouts use of our facilities is another way we Masons can continue the generation gap we see today.

owls84 said:

. Again I will just have to disagree on this on Brother.

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I enjoy all viewpoints whether I agree with them or not. Without debates things would get pretty bland..

Is DeMolay like a Masonic boyscout?

I have 3 boys and 2 girls, Wharton County does not have DeMolay-they use to- Furthermore i would have to wait until my boys reach the age of 13, before i would even think about the process of starting a chapter-if i even could-.
My oldest son is 8 and is active w/cub scouts, he will then become a boyscout@ 10yrs, with that being said the cub scouts are always switching locations for meet.
In other words if no Demolay in area than maybe each lodge should have the option to allow cub/boy scouts within the lodge.

RJS said:

Is DeMolay like a Masonic boyscout?

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I have no idea never heard about DeMolay untill a year ago.

LRG said:

In other words if no Demolay in area than maybe each lodge should have the option to allow cub/boy scouts within the lodge.

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Exactly. We have to face reality here. We can wish for DeMolay Chapters all we want, but unless we have the manpower, it ain't happening. I look at DeMolay as a relative to Masonry, while the Scouts are merely a guest at the house.

Brethren,

I am new to this forum. I can tell you that our Pack and Troop is chartered by our Lodge. The Boy Scouts meet at the lodge. Not during our stated meetings obviously. I am an active leader in the Cub Scout pack. My son is 9. I do not know of a Demolay Chapter here. I can tell you that if you look at the Cub/Boy scouts, there are many similarities. You must believe in a God or you cannot join. Take a look at the cub Scout hand shake.

brwdmason said:

Brethren,

I am new to this forum. I can tell you that our Pack and Troop is chartered by our Lodge. The Boy Scouts meet at the lodge. Not during our stated meetings obviously. I am an active leader in the Cub Scout pack. My son is 9. I do not know of a Demolay Chapter here. I can tell you that if you look at the Cub/Boy scouts, there are many similarities. You must believe in a God or you cannot join. Take a look at the cub Scout hand shake.

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Great insight Brother.

Honestly - Slowly coming around to the idea. Still would love to get some DeMolay's opinion. I asked some from the forum to comment.

Some of the brethern said they wanted the "DeMolay opinion" on this subject. I hope I can help. I'm a Past State Master Councilor of Texas DeMolay, which is like Grand Master of the Grand Lodge for those who aren't familiar with DeMolay. I'm also a Master Mason, York Rite Mason, and Scottish Rite Mason. 3 out of 5 of my other State Officers were also Master Masons during my term (2007-2008). the last 9 State Master Councilors of Texas have also become Master Masons, and many more before them have too. I'm only 19 years old. I'm still an "Active DeMolay".

Just an update to some info, the age was changed from 13 to 12 almost a decade ago. I joined 3 days after I turned 12.

I'm strongly opposed to opening the Lodge doors to a non-masonic youth group. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with Boy Scouts. I think its a great organization. A good friend of mine served as SMC of OK the same year as me, and he was an Eagle Scout. Its a GREAT organization. But, DeMolay and Masonry are tied together in ways that Boy Scouts could never be. It prepares the youth to become Masons. If you can, go to a DeMolay Chapter and watch the degrees. If there isn't one close to you, you can always attend the State Conclave in July every year and see the best of the best. There is also Competition in Arlington every year where Chapters and boys all of the US come to compete in. If you witness the degrees, you can see why DeMolay is such a great organization for the Lodges to support. Also, a Chapter might also be willing to travel to your lodge and do the degrees for you.

For those of who say tat there aren't enough guys in your area to have a Chapter, that's fine. The boys can still get in, and they can start a "DeMolay Club" and still enjoy the benefits. This also helps with the "problem" that some Lodges don't have enough help from its members to support a Chapter. It only takes about 2 or 3 dedicated men to serve as Advisors. If your Lodge has 70 members, and only 5 are active, maybe two of the 65 inactive ones would serve as Advisors and perhaps get back into being active in the Lodge. Just a thought.

DeMolay and Scouts would compete. They already do. Its just like how York Rite, Scottish Rite, Grotto, Shrine, OES, and all the other bodies compete. That's just the nature of the two organizations.

As for having kids "too young", DeMolay has a younger version called Squires of the Round Table. It is for 10 to 12 year olds.

There is also a group of DeMolay called Priory. IT is for 16-21 year old DeMolays, and it is closely related to the Commandery of the York Rite. There are always plenty of options for DeMolays. If you have a small group of 3 guys or a large group of 30 guys, DeMolay can exist in your area if you choose to let it and help it.

I'm not putting down Boy Scouts or saying its a bad organization. I couldn't disagree with that line of thought more. I just firmly believe that DeMolay is the answer in bringing in a younger generation. If you want ANY information, please feel free to message me or visit www.demolay.org and www.texasdemolay.org. I hope this sheads some light on to the subject.

Hey thats great and thanks for your knowledge

That is very valuable information brother ... Thank you for sharing

I don't want anyone to be offended by anything I said. I hope no one feels otherwise. Just trying to say that even if you have 1 man who can be an Advisor and 2 boys, DeMolay can exist in some form. I hope this has help some Brethern and possibly opened the door for some new DeMolays and possibly future Master Masons.

Thank you for sharing!

Pooh! We were recently approached by an individual who asked if the Lodge was interested in supporting a new Boy Scout Troop. I wish this was changed at GL. I want my Lodge to have the ability to sponsor a little league team (Just as the elks, oddfellows, rotary and lions), cub/boy scout troops, etc. It would have such an impact and put us front and center of the community, but instead we're limited to doing our own little thing...

blake said:

I want my Lodge to have the ability to sponsor a little league team (Just as the elks, oddfellows, rotary and lions), cub/boy scout troops, etc. It would have such an impact and put us front and center of the community, but instead we're limited to doing our own little thing...

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As the Worshipful Master of a small town Lodge I cannot stress this enough. Our membership is dwindling and we are busting our humps to keep our Lodge in the public eye. The more we can do to get out there and help out our community the better.

Anson, I would like to see some of you Brothers from the rural lodges come and discuss your issues like this in some urban lodges, where we have a lot of Grand Lodge voters. As it stands, there is a big disconnect between us and y'all, where there shouldn't be one. I'd be glad to vote for something like that which I previously didn't see a point in, knowing the scope and intentions behind it that some other lodges may have.

TCShelton said:

Anson, I would like to see some of you Brothers from the rural lodges come and discuss your issues like this in some urban lodges, where we have a lot of Grand Lodge voters. As it stands, there is a big disconnect between us and y'all, where there shouldn't be one. I'd be glad to vote for something like that which I previously didn't see a point in, knowing the scope and intentions behind it that some other lodges may have.

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Totally +1 here.

I can see both sides. I have to agree with Bro Chance that we would see a better return from an investment in DeMolay than we would in Boy Scouts. But with that said I strongly feel we need to be more visible in our communities supporting "youth" activities. So what do we do? I am not sure there is a "sure" answer to this problem as long as GL ties our hands in saying what organizations we can and can't support. I think "members" of GL need to realize that what is good for Holland Lodge may in turn hurt if not kill Yellow Pine Lodge.

nick1368 said:

I can see both sides. I have to agree with Bro Chance that we would see a better return from an investment in DeMolay than we would in Boy Scouts. But with that said I strongly feel we need to be more visible in our communities supporting "youth" activities. So what do we do? I am not sure there is a "sure" answer to this problem as long as GL ties our hands in saying what organizations we can and can't support. I think "members" of GL need to realize that what is good for Holland Lodge may in turn hurt if not kill Yellow Pine Lodge.

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This is exactly how I feel on this one.