Is Masonry too cheap?

Re: Is Masonry too cheep?

I think Masonry (at least at my lodge) is a bargain. My annual dues are $65 per year. This includes local lodge dues, grand Lodge assessment, and a subscription to the statewide masonic newspaper.

My grandfather paid $25 per year in 1920. That was more than a weeks wages.

I attended a lodge in Fredericksburg VA last week (as a visitor). This lodge voted to peg their dues increases to the federal consumer price index. That way, the lodge dues will increase (or decrease!) each year, without having to come back to the members and vote. The lodge has set aside a reserve fund to assist anyone who cannot pay dues because of unemployment, infirmity, etc.

Masonic lodges dues vary widely all over the USA. Old lodges, with no mortgage to pay, have a lower expenditure, than new spiffy lodges with a fancy building. Urban lodges have higher overhead costs, insurance, etc.

IMHO- Each lodge should charge a dues rate, adequate to meet their costs, and provide a reserve to cover the costs of replacing the roof, new water heater,etc. A reserve fund can be maintained to cover the dues costs for any distressed brother.

Also- Fund raisers are a valuable way to raise operating costs. Fish fries, grapefruit sales, etc. can bring in the cash. They are also fun, for those who choose to participate. And there are non-cash benefits as well. Fund raisers get Masonry into the "public eye", and increase the public's awareness of our fraternity. They also peak interest in the Craft.

 

I know this may sound cruel, but if Masons cannot or will not adequately support their lodge, have a funeral because it is already dead.

 

Very well put Brother RedTemplar

 

A few years ago during the Fall District Communication, the Sr. Grand Warden did the math for every Lodge to show what dues and initiation fees were when each Lodge was founded, he shows what they are now, and what they would have been if they had followed inflation through the years. It's quite astounding how not much in terms of money we have changed. I personally feel we should raise, at least in my Lodge, our dues by at least another $100.

I am also a member of a local Kappa Sigma Chapter and our dues alone are $600/year plus the pledging and initiation fees.

 

Over here it would cost you approximately $310 dollars to join a Lodge and the annual test fee is approx. $46.50.
Royal Arch Chapter would set you back $232.50 and a annual test fee of $18.
Fortunately ever order I've joined I've taken out life memership.(Life membership is 15 times your annual dues.)

 

I belong to two lodges. Bowling Green KY charges $80 per year. Macedonian lodge (Quincy Mass) charges $73.50. I also belong to Alexandria Scottish Rite, about $65 per year.

 

These are some very good ideas Bro. Blake but one that I believe that really needs to be addressed is the Grand lodges website as well!

All I ever see (and please to the older wiser brethren don't take offense) is all the pics scream "old mans club!" We need to find a happy medium that freemasonry is not just for men 50+ but for every man of lawful age and we need to reflect that on the site!

If we don't do something about this soon masonry will slowly fade away! As my current master of the lodge said to all of our younger brethren at our last stated meeting we are the future of masonry and when I looked around the room sadly there were less than a handful of us that we're sitting there!

 

Here are membership statistics for 2009/2010

U.S. Grand Lodges Membership
STATE MEMBERSHIP 2010 MEMBERSHIP 2009 GAIN/LOSS
ALABAMA * 28,684 28,386 298
ALASKA 1,935 1,935 0
ARIZONA 8,651 9,023 -372
ARKANSAS 14,429 15,027 -598
CALIFORNIA 57,267 58,889 -1,622
COLORADO 10,356 10,742 -386
CONNECTICUT 12,895 13,432 -537
DELAWARE 5,110 5,150 -40
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA * 4,341 4,312 29
FLORIDA 45,940 47,471 -1,531
GEORGIA 43,578 44,523 -945
HAWAII * 1,742 1,643 99
IDAHO 3,962 4,191 -229
ILLINOIS 65,564 68,308 -2,744
INDIANA 65,443 66,006 -563
IOWA 21,695 22,466 -771
KANSAS 23,074 24,091 -1,017
KENTUCKY ^ 46,362 47,747 -1,385
LOUISIANA ^ 21,004 20,070 934
MAINE ^ 20,294 19,968 326
MARYLAND 16,235 16,477 -242
MASSACHUSETTS 35,944 36,518 -574
MICHIGAN 37,709 39,189 -1,480
MINNESOTA 14,721 15,182 -461
MISSISSIPPI 19,341 19,774 -433
MISSOURI 50,500 51,000 -500
MONTANA ^ 5,990 6,342 -352
NEBRASKA 12,716 13,038 -322
NEVADA 4,225 4,316 -91
NEW HAMPSHIRE 6,898 6,928 -30
NEW JERSEY 24,775 26,073 -1,298
NEW MEXICO * 5,553 5,227 326
NEW YORK 45,801 48,051 -2,250
NORTH CAROLINA 45,096 45,685 -589
NORTH DAKOTA 3,055 3,151 -96
OHIO 106,870 108,332 -1,462
OKLAHOMA 25,739 26,572 -833
OREGON 9,541 9,970 -429
PENNSYLVANIA ^ 113,279 114,447 -1,168
RHODE ISLAND 4,213 4,326 -113
SOUTH CAROLINA 39,927 40,798 -871
SOUTH DAKOTA 6,094 6,262 -168
TENNESSEE 44,691 46,156 -1,465
TEXAS 91,632 92,656 -1,024
UTAH * 2,035 1,920 115
VERMONT 6,444 6,466 -22
VIRGINIA 38,498 39,238 -740
WASHINGTON 15,369 17,109 -1,740
WEST VIRGINIA 21,643 22,078 -435
WISCONSIN 12,694 13,328 -634
WYOMING 3,899 4,070 -171
1,373,453 1,404,059 -30,606

 

@TexMass

I belong to a lodge on Cape Cod and am only there a few months out of the year plus being a member of a lodge here in Texas as well as the Shrine. I plan on demitting depending of dues go up or not in mass.

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I used to pay $600 a year to belong to a motorcycle club (have since left it). I think paying $130 a year in lodge dues is WAY better, and for better quality fellowship, I might add. (I would gladly pay $150-$200 a year to be a member of my lodge.)