VOLUME 7- JUNE, 2009

Brethren,

Below is the second of a four part article I wrote in 2006 in response to the Scottish Rite leadership
conference. Again, your comments and opinions are encouraged.

I visit a lot of Lodges. Not just for degree work, but for stated communications too.  Almost all the
lodges I visit have two problems in common; attendance, and money. The money problem is often
alleviated by either renting out portions of their buildings or by having a resident Eastern Star chapter.
The attendance problem is a little more difficult to address. It begins when Mr. A.B. asks that first
question. What do Masons do? That is a hard question to answer. Even for the most knowledgeable
Mason this question is hard because Masonry is something that must be experienced. Instead of the
cookie cutter answers about our many charities, about the fellowship, etc, etc, we need to make clear
that Masonry is first and foremost an educational society. After all, how can we expect a new Mason
to keep and preserve our fraternity if he doesn’t understand it? All the members in the world could not
keep this fraternity alive if they did not understand what it is all about. Our investigating committees
need to explain that Freemasonry is not the Lions Club, or the Kiwanis, or the Moose Lodge. Let him
know a little of what he is getting into, about the time that will be required to progress through the
degrees and become proficient. Masonry is not for everyone. I would rather see our sidelines empty
than see them filled with men who have gained nothing from Masonry. We are proud of the fact that
there are about 50,000 Master Masons in our state. But think of this, How many of our members are
active? I think 10% is a conservative guess. That means we only have 5,000 active Master Masons in
this state. Of that 10%, how many are proficient enough to correct an erring brother? Our lodges range
in membership from less than 40 to well over 250 members. Most lodges don’t even have enough
seating to accommodate the members they have. Yet we spend a lot of time thinking of ways to get
more men to join. Shouldn’t we spend this time thinking of ways to get our members to show up? If
every Master Mason in North Carolina showed up to the next stated communication of his lodge the
fire marshals would come in and shut these lodges down. Even the lodges that have had these huge
surges in membership still have 10% of the members doing 99% of the work. Those of you who have
seen the per-capita charity reports know exactly what I mean. I think the per-capita average gift to the
MHCO was about $16.00 last year. That doesn’t sound like a lot. But consider this; this number is
based on an average of all 50,000 Master Masons in North Carolina. If we take that amount and divide
it among those that actually attend lodge, it suddenly jumps to $160.00 per member. If we could get all
our members to give even half that amount, we would have given 4 million dollars to our children’s
home in Oxford last year. This is the obligation we took as Master Masons, What makes you a Master
Mason? We need to focus more on teaching the members we have instead of thinking of ways to get
more. We need schools of instruction, round table discussions, etc., we need input from our brothers
on what we can do as a fraternity to improve. When we do this, the members will come. We need to
take masonry back to what it was during the foundation of this country. We should lead by example.
When we talk about Masonry to outsiders, we talk of the great Masons of our past who have led men,
and built nations. The problem is that these men lived 200 years ago. Masons today need to step up to
the plate and lead. Very little of Masonry is secret; the rest should be shouted from the mountaintops.
We should be pillars of light, a shining example that the world would want to emulate. If we teach this
to our candidates, and more importantly, instill this in our members, petitioners will flock to our west
gate. There would be no need to advertise. “A diamond does not seek, but it is sought”.



Part 3 to follow next month…

Sincerely and fraternally





Jason D. Strucinski
Master, Balfour #188
(336) 824-2552
jstrucinski@uniquetool.net



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CLICK HERE TO READ THE VOL. 2 (APRIL, 2008) EDITION

CLICK HERE TO READ THE VOL. 1 (JANUARY, 2008) EDITION
From the East - A Message from Wor.: Jason Strucinski
Balfour Lodge #188 AF & AM
Chartered December 2, 1856 - Grand Lodge of North Carolina
Balfour Masonic Temple
632 Sunset Ave.
Asheboro, NC  27203
(336) 625-5363
info@balfourlodge.com
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