Becoming worshipful master of your lodge

I belong a lodge that I really enjoy being apart of. We have our senior warden come back to lodge after 20 years and will be master this coming masonic year. We have exhausted most of our savings, and need to think about fund raisers, and also trying to become a thing in our community again. But we have one member that wants to spend money we don't have, but when we need to fix something or replace something, this member becomes Mr technical, and trys to make it sound like we are spending more money than we really would be. We have a new young member who has watched to many you tube videos on freemasonry, yet they let him waste time yapping about nothing during business meetings. When asking the new master coming in about any of this or old business that he will inherit, we get, well, I don't wanna step on anyone's toes, and all I'm here for is the friendship etc,etc. If you can't fix or choose to not address problems why become master ?

 

>all I'm here for is the friendship

This is common in my local lodges too. It is rare to find a brother interested in the deeper aspects of Masonry.

>why become master

Some like the social status of being a PM - and for those that look for Masonry to teach them genuine secrets, the installation ritual confirms that they can now relax. Masonry is not going to teach them anything beyond morality and moralizing legends.

Still, those that find real friendship in a lodge usually continue membership

 

First of all, congratulations.

I'm talking here with some experience managing groups. I had a similar situation where one member was taking up a disproportionate amount of time. It is not rude to politely bring back the conversation to where it belongs and invite the talkative member to postpone some of points to the "social" part of the evening. With tact of course.

Anybody can run their personal financial affairs as they like and run up their credit card debts if they so wish.
Check the budget and see if some funds can be moved around to allow some repairs.
However, if the money is not there, the money is just not there and you have to opt for a more thrifty solution.

When you're in charge of a group, you're never going to please everybody. Make sure you listen to them, and also ask questions 1-on-1 to show that you're listening. Unfortunately when you're in charge, you cannot be everybody's best friend and sometimes you have to show just a pinch of assertiveness.

 

Have you guys considered raising dues? If the business model isn't working and the members don't see any value in raising the dues (with inflation) then it may not be able to withstand the financial hardships and ultimately close shop. If the building is dilapidated then new members are less likely to show interest. It's funny, dues in most lodges have been about the same for the last 25 years thinking that'll keep members active and paid up but it has actually backfired to a degree.

This is all assumptions, your dues may be perfectly suited and it could actually just be other issues. But just out of curiosity, what are your dues cost and how many members do you have that are paying dues annually(roughly)?

 

Endowments are what backfires IMHO. Members get one and then never pay dues again.
Lodges loses out on everyone.

IMHO an Endowment is for when you lay down your working tools.
Get the endowment if you must have one, but continue to pay your dues.
Doing so allows you to tell the lodge what you want your dues to be used for.

 

That seems to be the quickest answer. Raise the dues. We are at $55. And some say I pay over $200-300 . for that kind of money I hope your getting entertainment with dinner. If we keep raising dues to fix all the problems, it'll be like grand lodge. You will only have maybe 2 lodges in your state with a handful of 80 year olds. And the death of freemasonry dying with them. What gets me is that in today's world if you wanna play, how much are you willing to pay, then with no new members or interest, you have nothing but a memory. So start thinking outside your deep wallets

 

Yes, they were an ok idea at one time but longterm they certainly have failed.

 

That's the hope. A good lodge experience is key. Only way to make that happen is more money. As for the 2 lodges and 80 year olds; that's sort of where we are headed now anyways with low dues.

 

If you are paying high dues and looking to keep raising dues, then maybe we should send people to our grand lodges, and say we are closing the doors, and here is your charter back. Because no one is making 100k a year for unattainable dues to go to a lodge to pay bills and nothing more.

 

Either raise dues or close lodges. The latter seems more common now... Masonry has to maintain a standard and it's simply not for everyone. It shouldn't be a burden on anyone financially but it also can't be cheapened down to dilapidated buildings/lodge rooms and Little Caesars on paper plates for the sake of staying open. That's where the image starts to hurt and people view it as a boring, supper club with funny handshakes. That's the image most younger non-masons view it as that Ive asked. It needs to feel special not a boring, time burden.

 

If I understand correctly, there is a building involved. Selling the building is not the same as closing the lodge.

 

Define High.... Some think $120/yr is plenty but some think $350-$500 is the norm.
I beleive there is one lodge in the Dallas area that has what I call extreme fees and dues and is doing great. (Name escapes me tho...)

 

Very true. Do you mean also absorbing lodges or just selling the building but then sharing a building with another lodge (or two) somewhere else? I've seen several buildings that share up to three different "Lodges" which when you think about it, is sort of silly or odd...to me anyways.

 

I know of buildings with multiple lodges in them. The SLC Masonic Temple has six lodges. I can’t tell you how many are at Great Queen Street. Bunches. My HRA chapter in Cheshire meets at a building with at least three lodges. My Cheshire lodge meets in a building with four other Lodges.

But does it need to be a dedicated lodge building? My UGLE lodge met for about 100 years at pubs and inns. One of the Cheshire lodges meets st the Alma Hotel.
Eltham Palace Lodge meets at the Eltham Palace Hotel. Christopher Diehl Lodge (Utah) sold their building and meets at a hotel. St Andrew’s lodge (Utah) meets today at the Alta Club.

 

I was curious, so I googled it:

Approximately 1800 lodges and chapters meet regularly in London, and a high proportion of these meet at Freemasons' Hall. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasons'_Hall,_London)

 

This citation includes lodges and chapters, and even accepting a a wiki cite, I’m not sure where “a high proportion “ gets us, but it definitely sounds like bunches. .

 

Oh my! There have been quite a few pubs that hosted Masonic Lodges in the UK. Most famously the St Dunstan and the Devil in Fleet Street, often referred to as the Devil Tavern.