OFFICIAL VISIT –
NICKEL LODGE
MARCH 2, 2016
Brethren:
My
theme for the year deals with membership, attendance and participation.
I have
talked at length on this subject at 6 official visits and at the DDGM reception
last September.
Tonight
and over my other two remaining Official Visits I want to try to tie some of my
themes together and to reiterate and reinforce the messages I have been trying
to convey.
Tonight
I would like to refocus on the subject of the new member and how we get them
involved….in other words how do we get them to become an active participant in
the activities of the lodge?
In my
visits to the various lodges in the district I have seen many positive signs
that give me confidence that in most cases our new members are being supported
and included in the activities of the lodge.
I have seen entered apprentices and fellow-craft Masons delivering a
number of pieces of work….and I’d like to stress that the delivery was done
extremely well.
I believe
that the new mason has to be immersed in the lodge as soon as is possible. If this is done early, the chances of him
becoming a regular contributor are far greater.
Think
about it brethren….why did the person join…..so he can walk around and tell his
friends that he is a Mason…to show of his shiny new Master Mason ring….to feel
that he is now somehow part of the intrigue that was started with the Da Vinci
Code….I think not….and if any of this is true, there are other issues at work
here….some of which I talked about at my Official Visit to Algonquin Lodge when
I talked about the suitability of the applicant at the West gate.
There
are a number of good reasons a person becomes a Mason, but I believe that the
basic human trait….the desire to be part of something good…. is the single
biggest draw to joining and keeping a new mason involved. Using Nickel Lodge as an illustration, there
are new Master masons here tonight that have shown a commitment to the lodge
and I am certain will be assets to the lodge today and in the future So why is this so? There are a number of reasons, but the most
important is that the lodge got them involved.
I commend the lodge for their efforts in this regard. As I said earlier,
I have seen the same in other lodges and it makes me excited for the future in
that these Masons will be contributors to the well being of their lodges. In these brethren I see a willingness to
commit, to give of their time and abilities, but the lodge needs to “open the
door” and “invite them in”.
I have
said I see examples the lodges getting their new members involved….then why am
I talking as if there is a problem? The
issue is simple….WE ARE NOT DOING IT ENOUGH!
We are still losing too many Entered Apprentices, Fellow Crafts and new
Master Masons. They were initiated,
learned their work and were passed, were raised, but that’s when we lost them;
Why? And what can we do to reduce this?
I do
not want to belabor this point, so to put it simply…we need to determine far
more what the new member is looking for and provide them with opportunities to
find their niche in the lodge, to do what provides them with the satisfaction
they desire.
The
need for creating opportunities to be involved cannot be understated. Fat too often these opportunities are
somewhat limited, as the role, the ritual or the responsibility often
continually lies with the same people; they do not or are not allowed to give
it up. We need to plan for today in
giving the new member a role and thus we are also planning for the future.
Simply
put, I believe we are all guilty of not putting enough effort into keeping or
getting our new members active. I would
hazard a guess that if a lodge were to look at the last dozen or so initiates,
less than half would be what could be termed, regularly involved. This is not a good percentage. The lodge needs to expend more efforts on
getting them out
Yes it
is a two-way street, the new Mason has to want to be involved, but this begs
the question, if he does not want to be involved then why did he join? I believe that in most cases the new member wants
to be involved to some extent. It is
incumbent on the lodge to determine what this entails and to provide
opportunities for the new member to become involved under the auspices as
necessary of an experienced brother.
Mentoring,
the relationship with the sponsors, the Master of the Lodge, the Past Masters,
the members all have roles to play in getting and keeping a new member
involved.
We
spend a great deal of time and effort in getting the new member through the
degrees, but we sometimes forget that effort is needed outwith the degree in
getting the new member involved, increasing his Masonic knowledge and finding a
role for him within the lodge.
The
analogy here is that if a professional athlete only participated in the regular
game, with no thought to training, tactics, or health, he would not be a very
good athlete.
Masonry
should not be a part time sport….to fully benefit for all Masonry has to offer,
we need to be committed to partaking of its teachings. That does not mean that the new mason needs
to immerse himself 100% in masonry, but it does mean he needs a certain level
of commitment to the craft and with respect to the new mason this starts by
getting him involved, part of the team, from the day he walks through the West
gate.
I
believe that if we get the new Mason involved early, we will have gone a long
way to ensuring the long term commitment that is needed to succeed in his
Masonic journey and to provide the lodge with the Mason that will enhance its
endevours in the future.
Worshipful
Master....this is a special night for me in that it is my Official Visit to my
Mother Lodge. I thank you for your indulgencies this
evening and my Brethren I thank each and every one of you for your kind
attention.
R.W.
Bro. Clive D. Stephenson FCF
District
Deputy Grand Master
Sudbury-Manitoulin
District
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