Membership

[globalspark]

The membership is slowly dying in Australia and local lodge building was sold to the Catholic Church.I was asked to join over 30 years ago but failed to attend the initial meeting and there was no more follow up by the lodge which is fair enough.Maybe time has come to activity recuite members or the lodge will completely die.I have friends who are members but have dropped out.

 

[Winter]

Are you a Freemason? Sounds like you never took the plunge. Many of us see the shrinking not as a bad thing, but a correction. And while some progressive jurisdictions have eased the restrictions on recruiting, many still hold to the traditional method that a man must ask to begin the process "of his own free will and accord" and eschew any form of recruitment. Lodges that are not healthy with good leadership die. That is the natural order of things. Throwing fresh bodies at a dying Lodge serves nothing but to give a whole new generation of men a poor experience in Freemasonry who will not speak well of it when someone asks.

 

[Mike Martin]

If you wish to become a Freemason you should contact the State Grand Lodge where you live but don't worry about Freemasonry "dying" that is not what people are talking about it's the extra stuff that our huge growth in the 20th century brought about.

 

[Bloke]

The membership is slowly dying in Australia and local lodge building was sold to the Catholic Church.I was asked to join over 30 years ago but failed to attend the initial meeting and there was no more follow up by the lodge which is fair enough.Maybe time has come to activity recuite members or the lodge will completely die.I have friends who are members but have dropped out.

This is a potentially interesting post.
When you say "initial meeting" was it a just a first catch up or supposed to be an initiation ?
Freemasons can be funny, if they think you are unreliable, they will not welcome you because it might reflect on your character. However, I know, often good men need a few nudges and encouragement to join.
The reality is, if you are of good character and in reputable circumstances, meet the requirements and follow up, just inquire via a Grand Lodge and you'll become a Freemason...

What I am wondering, is as a non-Freemason, why do you care ?

It also reminds me of a story, two of my lodges best members was close to giving up because the lodge did not get back to them. For one, the Sec has died and I called him. He is now Lodge Treasurer. Another, applied elsewhere, and the lodge took months to get back to him, he is now a PM of the lodge.

If your interested in joining, just approach the Grand Lodge where you live. The only place likely to be tricky is Tasmania at the months. South Australia, NSW and Vic are all working to recruit men... The only other complication would be if you were in a location in WA or QLD miles from a lodge.. If you ask, I can give you a link...

 

[Pscyclepath]

This is a little lesson that I put in our monthly news letter, and used it as a Masonic education presentation erly last year... It's taken directly from a presentation at Shriners International's 3rd Marketing & Membership conference last February...
---------

THE MAGIC PILL OF MEMBERSHIP​

Long, long ago, a study was conducted….

What was everyone looking for in their life??

Answer: To be happy.

They wanted:

-- Fellowship

-- Friends

-- Role with the family

--Role with the community

--Chance to be a leader.

Today…

--Masonic membership has been declining since 1950.

-- Shriners membership has been declining since 1979.

Loneliness among men has been increasing. Today, 20% of men have no close friends – not one!

Who really cares if men are lonely?

Because, we are all social creatures… The closer your relationships are, the better your life will be.

What difference does it really make if men have friends or not? With friends, everything goes better.

--You’ll live a longer life (>30%)

-- You’ll have fewer illnesses

-- Friendship triggers positive, mood-enhancing chemicals in your brain

-- You’ll be less stressed

-- Lower blood pressure

-- More resilient

--More optimistic

--More likely to have a healthier weight

Is your temple (or lodge) lodge in motion, or at rest?

What happens when your core membership declines to a point when you can hardly do the things you want to do?

If men are so lonely, why don’t they just make new ones?

-- Frankly, men stink at building social relationships. How long is the average phone call for a man?

-- Men struggle to maintain current friends, much less make new ones.

-- Worries about daily life and requirements

-- “I just don’t have time to socialize.”

-- Increased turn to alcohol or drugs

-- Isolation: working from home, Reliance on Social Media

-- Isolation: TV/cell phone addiction

Start doing things at the Lodge or Temple that build/strengthen relationships. Social excursions with the brothers & families; game playing, golfing, fishing, hiking, biking, etc. Time spent doing something in your club, group, or lodge. Good example, the old Laurel & Hardy movie, “Sons of the Desert”. You can be a fool if you want – you are among friends!

We can make new friends!

Calculate, and budget some time to spend with a friend.

“I am XX years old… I have about 20 years left. How do I want to spend the time I have left?” Spend it with friends!!

In 2019, the average American spent 11 hours EACH DAY involved in “media” – either broadcast or social – 70-80 hours a week. What part of your remaining hours does this comprise?

FOCUS ON BUILDING/MAINTAINING FRIENDSHIP

The “Magic Pill” is FRIENDSHIP.​

Are there any side effects – Unintended consequences?

Freemasonry, and the Shrine are places where we meet friends and deal with people on a person-to-person, face-to-face basis. You can’t join on-line, or sign up to a Facebook group.

Our members (Shrine, Scottish Rite, and other appendant bodies) come from Blue lodges. We ae fishing in a very small pond.

If you want to pick an ear of corn, where do you go? You go to a cornfield – where corn grows. Same principle works here, you go to a corn field if you want to pick an ear of corn. You go to a blue lodge if you want to make a Shriner.

DON’T WAIT -- YOU CAN’T WAIT FOR THAT EAR OF CORN TO COME TO YOU.

MAKE MEMBERSHIP MORE THAN JUST A CONFERENCE THAT YOU ATTEND NOW AND THEN.

-- Ask questions – be curious.

-- Put time in with people.

-- Find common ground with people.

-- Check in with people.

-- Sing your heart out… The old club of Chanters was probably the best relationship-building group ever.

-- Make your lodge or temple a place where men can find friends, make relationships, and end loneliness.

-- Open your doors!

May Peace be with you....

 

[Glen Cook]

Good stuff, but let’s talk about that whole weight thang.