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Where does he get off....
- Thread starter owls84
- Start date
I don't think this is what anyone is saying here. I think the thing that we are questioning is, with a lodge on the brink of closing how could the brethren not come to the aid of the Lodge? There are so many ways to get the Lodges to raise money. What are some of the reasons a Lodge can not pay the minimuim dues to Grand Lodge. That is the issue. If all avenues have been exausted then yes extend it if they have reason but if a lodge has 66 members and all 66 refuse to raise dues or do any fundraising then they are not adhering to the Laws of the Grand Lodge of Texas by not paying its annual returns, which happens to be a Masonic Offense, to just say I'm not paying and I don't plan to do anything, I believe is wrong I personally don't care if you have been open 500 years.
It doesn't matter if it is 20 members or 2000 the rate is still $14.25 a person. What do we do when GL can no longer function at 14.25 because it is coming soon and the rate goes up? It is sad that our database that we secretary's use and has become my lifeline could do so much more but we don't have funding for it. Or we have to cut down on our publications of Texas Mason to two a year. We have all made many sacrifices already and if Lodges just keep not paying it will only get worse.
It is a catch Brother Shelton, but one that we need to look at and determine how to correct the situation.
I concurr...
If a lodge where to fail and have to be closed it would be nobodies fault but the members. It is the same as taxes of our goverment if we decide not to pay someone will come get our stuff. Same thing here if a lodge breaks GL law or cannot pay their masonic taxes then they have to be shut down no matter how many years they have been around. These rules I did not make just took the obligation to uphold them. As said before though all Brothers I am sure would love to see all Lodges continue and thrive no one wants to close doors but just as life somethings have to die.
With that in mind, have any of these lodges in arrears contacted the LAMP committee and requested assistance? There are channels out there to seek help. Are they being used?
I agree. The Grand Lodge has rules that were set up and have worked well for over 150 years. If Lodges need to close, close them. But "Where does he get off...... wanting to make rules that if you miss 3 meetings you will be suspended. I know sometimes things need to change. That is life. But we need to make sure that Masnory lives on. I don't know the answer. Like was said earlier, wiser men than I, will have to come up with a solution.
I joined Masonry because of it's rich history. This fraternity has been around a long time. I want to see it continue forever.
I really believe there is a misunderstanding. I was asking "Where does he get off...." because it was a funny title. I knew something gave the GM power to allow lodges not to go suspended I just wanted to know. As far as the statement of manditory 3 meetings you took that out of another thread and it is totally taken out of context. That was stated for brainstorming, and even states that. I know it would never work but the question was asked what is the proper size of a lodge. It was a hypothetical question so it got a hypothetical answer.
We seem to all agree on the same thing here. Agreed?
We seem to all agree on the same thing here. Agreed?
I will ask the chairman ( Gary Alexander) of the committee that question this weekend and give you an answer later.
Brother Josh, I think that we all agree that losing any lodge for any reason is something that is not good for our fraternity. I also would have to assume from most of the comments, that the one thing that most of us would not excuse is apathy from the membership of any lodge. If the members do not take it upon themselves to take whatever action is required including utilization of existing Grand Lodge programs and committees, then there really isnt any necessity of keeping their lodge open.
Wingnut
Premium Member
we dont need more men and lodges in Texas Masonry. we need more MASONRY in the men and lodges of Texas.
I submit that if a lodge only has a handful of dues paying members and they cant come up with $14 each to pay GL, masonry in that lodge died well before the dues issue came up.
I submit that if a lodge only has a handful of dues paying members and they cant come up with $14 each to pay GL, masonry in that lodge died well before the dues issue came up.
I sure can not argue with that logic Brother. I do not understand why some of our brothers just do not uderstand that it takes money to operate any business, foundation,institution and fraternity. We have discussed the fact that any lodge can hold a simple fundraiser and make enough money to pay one of the smallest percapita rates in the entire Nation. I do understand that many of our brothers are in their Golden Years and are living on fixed incomes, but even they can contribute to a fundraiser in some way, even if it is simply working on a telephone committee.
yeah..!
Before we go and padlock those Lodges that don't meet our expectations, maybe we should treat them just as we would a Brother in arrears- find out what the difficulty is & see if there's a way that we can, in some way, help solve the problem.
JMHO-YMMV
Ask it shall be given. I was always taught if you do not ask then you already know the answer. I want to help and save them all but why would we save something that does not really want to be saved. There have been far bigger monuments of antiquity laid to waste because of humans failing to meet their responsibilities.
The point I was trying to make is that we need to make sure that they don't want to be saved or are not willing to work toward being saved before we lock their doors. If they do want to be saved & need help I think it is our duty to do what we can for them.
Now why do you think the Grand West made it harder for Lodges to help each other?
Art. 484. (518). Dispensation Required for Financial Aid
Appeals. No Lodge in this Grand Jurisdiction shall appeal to any
other Lodge or Lodges, wheresoever situated, for financial assistance
of any character without the consent of the Grand Master.
Request for such consent must be by action of the Lodge voted at
a stated meeting thereof.
Art. 484. (518). Dispensation Required for Financial Aid
Appeals. No Lodge in this Grand Jurisdiction shall appeal to any
other Lodge or Lodges, wheresoever situated, for financial assistance
of any character without the consent of the Grand Master.
Request for such consent must be by action of the Lodge voted at
a stated meeting thereof.