J
JEbeling
Guest
Yea.. ! Zack.. ! would you please clearify.. ! are you in Texas ..?
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- Thread starter Blake Bowden
- Start date
J
JEbeling
Guest
well have attended lodge in Florida.. ! always had a great time.. ! can't help you much on your work...
have a great New Year.. !
have a great New Year.. !
TexMass
Registered User
In MA, they have left the memory work optional and pretty much all lodges go with out it. They do have the monthly Lodge of instruction which all candidates are required to attend. They are given a scaled down proficiency in a group session for about an hour and a half and then we go to lodge. The Lodge of Instruction is three officers from differnt lodges in the district. They must be past masters and the meet at a different lodge building in the district each month. Normally a guest speaker is in attendence and the meeting is open to Masons and guest. Attendence is also required for all officers in the district. It makes for pretty good evenings with education for all.
MGM357
Registered User
TOTALLY AGREE!! Better yet, for the right amount of money anyone can but their way in. That's problem with today is that everything has to be right now whether it's deserverd or not.
Oh look...a bumped thread...
Nice bump. As Gen X, the part about being skeptical, independent, and non-traditional is true for me. Though I am not the extreme of any of these. I good education coupled with the desire to reason led me to the Masons. Logical conclusions led me to the idea that the world needs more morality. There are organizations which promote this. Church is the all time greatest injector of morals into a society. I found that Freemasonry is also invaluable and in many ways better as a uniting organization.
People like me could never be told to join in a "it'll be good for you" sort of way. Frankly, I don't think Grand Lodges ought to concern themselves with membership numbers. I as an individual will be a better ambassador than the GL simply by sheer efficiency.
People like me could never be told to join in a "it'll be good for you" sort of way. Frankly, I don't think Grand Lodges ought to concern themselves with membership numbers. I as an individual will be a better ambassador than the GL simply by sheer efficiency.
I partially agree with this. I do think that Lodges should be focused on their own membership woes and Grand Lodge should not interfere with that, but I do think it is important that the Grand Lodge offer guidance and assistance should a Lodge need some. I think it should be focused on creating quality programs that are regularly tried and proven to still be practical for the needs at that time. We need to be more evolving in our ways of teaching and those ways can be handed down from Grand Lodge. Pilot Programs could be used to see how certain programs work prior to an all out launch. A Lodge should not turn to Grand Lodge with the problem of we need more members but with a solution as well. We need help retaining members because people are not interested any longer in reading a 10 year old program that I keep having to correct because much of it does not apply or go with Grand Lodge Law. It is time that Lodge gives feedback to the representatives on what it needs to succeed and not accept some of the answers we are receiving. The bottom line is the Lodges need to take ownership of Freemasonry and make sure that WE are doing everything we can to survive. It’s time to think outside of the box a little and do things differently because if we continue to do things as we have in the past we will get the same results as we have in the past. To think otherwise is insane, literally.
Preston DuBose
Registered User
I am fascinated by demographics, and I would love to get my hands on state-wide statistics about the ages of our EAs, FCs, and MMs by year. I'm in my late 30s and have been a Master for nearly 10 years. One of the things that I noticed in meeting folks at the Wardens retreat was how many men in their 50s and 60s had been in the craft less time than me. I think *some* of the boomers who rejected their father's ways as young men are coming around to the idea closer to retirement age.
There's a body of research demonstrating that the generations are more alike than we think. While the generation you were born in does influence the way you think, equally important is the phase of life you're in. Young unmarried people are about finding their place in the world and making a mark upon it. At a certain point in your life you become less concerned about material possessions and start focusing more inward on personal growth and developing meaningful relationships with others. That holds true whether you're a boomer, gen x, gen y, or gen whatever. There's a LOT more to the theory than that, but that's it in a nutshell.
I'd be really interested in seeing the demographics of our applicants. We as an organization could learn a lot about ourselves (and consequently how to improve and grow) with that kind of information. Does anyone know if that kind of research has been done recently? Maybe the Texas Lodge of Research?
There's a body of research demonstrating that the generations are more alike than we think. While the generation you were born in does influence the way you think, equally important is the phase of life you're in. Young unmarried people are about finding their place in the world and making a mark upon it. At a certain point in your life you become less concerned about material possessions and start focusing more inward on personal growth and developing meaningful relationships with others. That holds true whether you're a boomer, gen x, gen y, or gen whatever. There's a LOT more to the theory than that, but that's it in a nutshell.
I'd be really interested in seeing the demographics of our applicants. We as an organization could learn a lot about ourselves (and consequently how to improve and grow) with that kind of information. Does anyone know if that kind of research has been done recently? Maybe the Texas Lodge of Research?
Dave in Waco
Premium Member
I think this says it all. I think that's why the Grand Lodge is having such a hard time retaining and communicating with us younger brothers. They don't understand or relate to us. As a Gen X'er, I am a bit independent and non-traditional, but I see it as where my strength lies. It means I have the much needed abilities to adapt and think outside the box.