Freemasons Look to the Youth

Freemasons look to the youth

Gordon Robertson, leaders of Bucks Freemasons

Published on Saturday 10 November 2012 12:53
 

The past year has sped by for Gordon Robertson since he was appointed the head of Aylesbury and Buckinghamshire Freemasons.

Much of the time has been spent talking directly to members of the 12 lodges and six chapters at the Masonic Hall in Ripon Street, Aylesbury, to see how they plan the organisation to develop.

He says: “My approach has always been to cultivate ideas from the ordinary members. I have to be accountable to them in many ways, not least because of the large amounts of money they donate to charity every year.”

Gordon, 58, who runs a West London electrical contracting business, joined the craft, as it is known among its volunteers, in 1981.

“I originally became a member because I enjoy meeting people. My wife, Fran, liked going to social events organised by the freemasons and getting involved in supporting charities.

“Only later did I start to understand the symbolism of the ceremonies that freemasons perform in their lodges.

“ It’s so uplifting, and engaging – for many of us, a lifetime’s work.

“It’s similar to joining the scouts, or the armed forces, or getting your university degree. A celebration, but also a formal undertaking to act appropriately. You agree to uphold the values of the organisation – friendship, decency, and charity – and to promise to help your community.”

“We have given more than £1 million over the past 20 years through the Bucks Masonic Centenary Fund, with donations to the Bucks and Milton Keynes Community Foundations and many other charity groups.

“I am very proud of that achievement, as virtually every penny we raise comes from the back pockets of our members.”

Around 60 of them are based at Buckingham Lodge, the oldest Masonic unit in the county, which began at the White Hart Hotel in Aylesbury in May 1852. It has since moved to Ripon Street and, from that start, 119 lodges now exist throughout Buckinghamshire.

Aylesbury Freemasons also devote much time to community activities. One example is the iHelp contest, which provides £14,000 every year to encourage teens into voluntary work.

“Whether (the young men) choose to join freemasonry when they are older... The important thing is that they are living our masonic values – of friendship, decency, and charity – 
every day. They are the future of Aylesbury. And I am proud that we have given them a lead early on in their lives, to encourage them to serve their community.

“That essentially is what freemasonry is about.”

Missing the Mark: Why Didn't They Come Back?

WHY DIDN'T THEY ADVANCE?

Why do candidates fail to advance after becoming Entered Apprentices? Answers to this question can provide much information which helps to understand the problems of declining membership and lack of interest in the activities of a Masonic lodge.

The question has been frequently answered by guess work or snap judgments. Recently, however, the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin undertook a serious study to find factual answers to the question. A Research Committee headed by Past Grand Master Edward W. Stegner sent out a questionnaire to 729 "defaulted Entered Apprentices" to learn the reasons for their failure to advance.

To the concerned Mason, there is much food for thought in this report.

The questionnaire was sent to each individual with a letter over the Grand Master's signature, with a stamped, self-addressed envelope for the reply. Of the 729 men contacted, 204, 28%, returned the questionnaire - a surprisingly large response for such an inquiry. Even more significant is the fact the 190 responders signed the questionnaire, although that was optional. 155, or 77%, made personal comments or suggestions, which indicates that one out of five of the defaulted Apprentices still had considerable interest in the fraternal organization he had become a part of if briefly.

Do you feel you had sufficient direct personal contact with members of the Lodge prior to the acceptance of your petition?

(80% ) -sufficient

(14%) -insufficient

(21/2 %) - made comments

Do you feel you had sufficient direct personal contact with members of the Lodge between your acceptance and initiation?

(83 % ) - sufficient 24
(12 % ) - insufficient

(1 % ) - made comments

What was the attitude of the Masonic Brethren to you?

(83 %) generally positive and accepting

(2 %) generally neutral

( 8.3 %) generally negative

1 - made a comment

Were you able to identify with the Masonic Fraternity?

(40%) - Yes, enthusiastically

(42%) - Yes, generally

(15%) -No strong feeling

(3%) - Negative

(1% ) - Made comments

What were your feelings about the teachings of Freemasonry?

(70% ) - generally understood 

(22 % ) -generally vague 

(4% ) - no strong feeling 

(2 % ) -made comments

What problems did you encounter in completing the degree work? (Number in order of importance. Add any in unmarked spaces.) (The following numbers indicate the frequency with which the problems were ranked first. )

(55%) -time involved

(30 % ) -memorization

(14%) - other activities

(12%) - business or profession

(7 1/4 % ) - personal attitude

(5 % ) - family

(Other problems added to the list)

14- "lost interest

1O - mentioned "work." Same as business?

3 - entered the Armed Forces

9 - objected to the "posting" (choice of lodge)

7 - mentioned "health"

Do you hold membership in other civic or fraternal organizations?

12 (6 %) were Elks

9 (4 1/2 %) American Legion

6 (3 %) Lions

4 were members of the Junior Chamber of Commerce; 

3, of the V.F.W.; 2, were Moose; and I each of the Eagles or Knights of Pythias.

(Over 20%)

In summary what is reflected is that it only takes a small amount of negative contact and lack of communication to lose members at this stage. Fifteen percent of people feeling that there was a negative or cold reception, fifteen percent more who feel that there was a negative or cold follow up and lines of communication outside of the lodge...  These quickly add up to loss of members. 

What is also obvious is that people have competing requirements on their time, effort and resources in their lives. Most seem to feel that Freemasonry was irrelevant to their work, their daily associations and their family.

Many expressed that they were posted with people whom they had no affinity with.  Freemasonry was once built around lodges of people with shared affinity, friendships and business relationships outside of the lodge.  The new lodge culture, subsidiaries of Grand Lodge Incorporated, a top down structure, seems to be exactly the opposite of the old lodges with affinities and overlapping relationships and relevance to all facets of life, and this new lodge structure obviously turns people off and turns them away.

A very large number of people did not see the "point" of Freemasonry or were vague at best and many also did not see or accept the point of rote memorization.  Those who did understand seemed to feel that Freemasonry as it was presented was irrelevant to them and their lives.  This is a huge point since Freemasonry is essentially very personal and also very much molded by the experience and culture of the lodge.  

Many new men did not see that they had either personal affinity or a place in the lodge nor did were they presented with something in the wide world of Masonic thought and interests that could be personally attractive or interesting to them.

The largest loss even then is the matter of TIME.  Freemasons have often countered that the problem with the Craft is that it is not as time intensive as it once was.  Everything that people seem to say is that the BIGGEST PROBLEM is just the opposite- it is too time intensive and is seem as delivering nothing relevant to the rest of the life and priorities of the individual. Pointless ritualized business meetings is not a good investment of time.

Intelligent men with full lives are not going to pay and spend valuable time to be part of something that they feel they do not understand, and they see as offering them nothing in their internal, social, professional or familial lives. If they do only a few will even dream of coming back and giving it another try at cost. This is perfectly understandable.  This is why only one of five of the obviously good willed and responders gave their advice for a change in the Craft and expressed their feelings but ultimately said, "No thanks."

Many of these men were fraternal and community involved men by disposition and activity so the idea that the men were the problem is simply not true.  Nor is the problem our times or the alignment of the stars or any other thing outside of our control.  After 400 years we know that Freemasonry cannot be the problem, inasmuch as it is the same that it once was (and there is every indication that it is not). The Craft has changed but has not responded to the needs and concerns of people today. The true problem lies within those of us who now mold the Craft.

LinkedIn v Freemasons: It's not either-or.

 

LinkedIn v Freemasons

Joining the club

Networking websites are booming, but they have not supplanted more traditional business networks

 

Eyevine

FRANÇOIS PÉROL, the adviser whom Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, controversially appointed in February to head two merging mutual banks, is not known as a champion of transparency. But Mr Pérol has let it be known that he intends to reduce the influence of freemasons at Caisse d’Epargne and Banque Populaire. He has refused an invitation to a tenue blanche ouverte, a masonic meeting that non-freemasons may attend. And he does not want senior posts shared among the banks’ various rival lodges.

French business may be particularly full of networks, but every country has its cliques, whether based on education, social background or spiritual beliefs. In Spain, Italy and Latin America as well as France, businesspeople speak of the influence of Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic lay order which supports a number of business schools. America has its Ivy League alumni groups and Rotary clubs. Chinese businesspeople often rely on guanxi, or personal connections.

At the same time online professional networks such as LinkedIn, headquartered in California, Viadeo, a French-owned website, and Xing, a site with a strong presence in German-speaking countries (formerly called OPEN Business Club), are surging in popularity, thanks in part to fear of lay-offs amid the recession. A year ago it took LinkedIn over a month to win 1m new members; it now takes about 15 days and the site has 42m members around the world. Online networks, in contrast to the old kind, are open to all and easy to join.

Old-style networks, however, are usually stronger than online ones, and the trust between their members facilitates transactions of all sorts. They can be particularly helpful for young companies in emerging markets. A study of entrepreneurship in China by Yusheng Peng of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, for instance, showed how kinship networks helped firms protect their property, obtain reliable information and identify opportunities. Social networks can also be speedier than formal systems: in July 2002, for example, when Vivendi, a French conglomerate, was weighed down with debt and needed to raise €3 billion (then $3 billion) in three days, its chief executive at the time, Jean-René Fourtou, turned to a group of bosses who were fellow rugby fans, including Claude Bébéar, then the chairman of the AXA Group, an insurance firm, and the money was secured.

Some old-style networks aim to bring an ethical dimension to business. Not all students at IESE, a leading business school with campuses in Barcelona and Madrid, are aware that it is “an initiative” of Opus Dei. But many of them, particularly those of Spanish origin, are invited to join the order, says one graduate who was approached during his time there. IESE has a network of 15 business schools in developing countries, some of which explicitly state a goal of bringing a Christian perspective to business. Combining family with work, for instance, is the special subject of Nuria Chinchilla, a professor at IESE.

But networks can also have baleful effects. They sometimes abet crimes. At French firms there is often pressure to hire or promote people based on their connections, businesspeople say. A study by Francis Kramarz and David Thesmar published in 2006 by the Institute for the Study of Labour in Bonn looked at three French business networks: former civil servants who graduated from the École Nationale d’Administration, former civil servants who graduated from the École Polytechnique and École Polytechnique graduates who went straight into business. These two elite schools, which produce 500 or so French graduates a year, dominate the boards of France’s biggest companies. The study showed that firms run by former civil servants who maintained their links to government markedly underperformed those run by executives with purely private-sector backgrounds.

Competition suffers, too. Nicolas Véron of Bruegel, a think-tank, says networks make it hard for new firms to emerge in France, since established ones are conservative about whom they do business with. As a result, he says, “you often see that successful young firms are business-to-consumer rather than business-to-business.”

On the face of it, networks are less important in more meritocratic America. Only 11% of bosses at big American firms received their undergraduate degrees from an Ivy League college, according to a survey last year by Spencer Stuart, an executive search firm. That suggests that performance matters more than the old school tie. But a 2007 study of mutual funds by Lauren Cohen and Christopher Malloy of Harvard University and Andrea Frazzini of the University of Chicago found that American fund managers invested more money in firms run by people who attended the same university as them. Moreover, membership of Rotary “service” clubs, which started in Chicago in 1905 and have since spread across the world, is by invitation only, and women were not admitted until the late 1980s. The Lions Club International, also based near Chicago, may be the most global offline business network, with 1.3m members in more than 200 countries. A third business network is the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, members of which must be Christians.

Will technology and globalisation undermine old networks?  Swiss banks’ hierarchies, for instance, used to bear a resemblance to those of the country’s army, with strong connections between the two. But the network has largely disappeared, thanks to globalisation and a decline in the army’s role in society, says a Swiss banker. Guanxi are different from Western networks: they are much more personal, informal and subtle.

“An active, open online network is far more competitive in today’s globalised business environment than local, closed networks such as alumni groups or freemasonry,” argues Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn. Online networks’ most compelling advantage, in addition to openness and efficiency, is the chance they offer to connect across borders and among different sorts of people. Traditional networks, by contrast, tend to be strongest in domestic industries, such as construction. About two-fifths of LinkedIn’s members are female, whereas offline networks are usually dominated by men. And online networks include more entrepreneurs than traditional groups: they make up 30% of Viadeo’s subscribers, according to Dan Serfaty, the website’s co-founder.

Nevertheless, the old structures will not fall away soon. Indeed, Mr Serfaty argues that online networks can reinforce offline ones. A graduate of HEC (École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris) might use the school’s own website to look for any alumni working at, say, Google, he says. But using Viadeo’s tools, he can also do a broader search for anyone who attended HEC and knows someone working at Google, so the network becomes more powerful. Online networks make it easier to gather information on firms and their employees, argues Jean-Michel Caye, a specialist in human resources for the Boston Consulting Group in Paris. But if you want to influence a big decision or secure a job, he says, “it’s still the old networks that really count.”

Taking Liberty: Restoring Freemasonry by Returning to it a Virtue it Once Gave Us

In the Masonic Dictionary article 'Kakistocracy' Brother Dale Sabin presented a summary of the problems that beset Freemasonry, with the withering but undeniably true verdict that Freemasonry has become a kakistocracy.  We propose that it become, or rather return to what it once was, an organization that gave us the template for Liberty, reinvigorating the Craft by doing so.

Kakistocracy definition: government by the least qualified, from the Greek kakistos; worst, superlative of kakos; bad. (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition.)

As it is, Freemasonry is turned upside down.

Post- WW II Freemasonry has seen a de-evolution of the Fraternity from a grand Philosophical Order, to a pseudo- mystical public charity, under the management of men who not only misunderstand the philosophical and esoteric aspects of the Craft, but attempt to correct their irrelevance by increasing membership of like- minded individuals, and boosting public support by concentrating their efforts into charitable fundraising, which it does poorly.

To the young Candidate, we promise Philosophy; what we actually deliver is politics, bad food, incredibly boring business meetings, and badly done Ritual. The new Mason, disappointed by this subterfuge, either fades into the background, quietly and individually studying and practicing Masonry as it was meant to be, or simply becomes inactive, if he doesn't actually demit. The latter will never be seen again, the former makes himself a Master through his individual effort and study, but will never ask, or be asked, to serve in a managerial capacity.

Why? Like calls to like; incompetence breeds incompetence. In business we refer to this, usually with a chuckle, as "The Peter Principle:" an individual rises to his own level of incompetence. In Masonry, we refer to this, in all seriousness, as "advancement." The only Mason who will be tapped to serve in a Grand Lodge capacity, or would even desire to do so, under these circumstances, is the Mason who probably shouldn't have passed through our West Gate in the first place.

Of this type of Mason, Manly P. Hall says: "They can never do any harm to Freemasonry by joining, because they cannot get in ... Watch fobs, lapel badges, and other insignia do not make Masons; neither does the ritual ordain them. Masons are evolved through the self- conscious effort to live up to the highest ideals within themselves ..."

Brother Hall, usually a fairly accurate and insightful commentator on Masonry, is dead wrong in this, at least as it applies to the physical body of Freemasonry in the last half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. They have done nothing but harm.

There is yet a second problem contributing to our current poor leadership: lack of education. This can take a potentially good Mason, and make him worse, through no fault of his own. A Brother once said "today's inept DDGM is tomorrows incompetent Grand Master."

I would add: today's uneducated Master Mason is tomorrows inept DDGM.

Fortunately, the cure for this incompetence at the top is largely the same cure as for the rest of the problems in our Fraternity.

§

We resurrect liberty or we shall have death.

Without outlining them, the solutions that were presented in Brother's Sabin's article* are of limited use to reduce the problems in the Craft.  They have worth for individual lodges.  Indeed any of the familiar prescriptions as a remedy for all lodges, to be instituted by mighty Grand lodge authorities are bound to produce failure.

I suggest something else, a thoroughly Masonic (and American) idea: Liberty.

We should free the Craft from onerous and suffocating top-down authority.  Let Freemasonry return to what it was, i.e. individual lodges, sovereign, with connections to communities and built by a groups of men who are true fellows.   Give them freedom to look within the rich traditions of Freemasonry to build lodges with characteristics that suit them. 

Let the moribund lodges that have failed pass and new lodges rise or take up retired charters.  Supporting decay and failure only helps rot the Craft and place undue burden.

Encourage Freemasonry to reach out to the professionals, universities and men from groups who are given to share fellowship.  Right now lodges and grand lodges collude to keep these men from the doors of Freemasonry.  Step aside and let these men in.  This again is a question of removing the shackles from Freemasonry.

Facilitate membership or let the folks start a new lodge.  Facilitate those new lodges, find a Past Master to help get them started.

Let lodges acquire a character that they choose.  In these days we are apt to speak about diversity, though not achieve it, at least in Masonry.  There are so many ways to be diverse that all lodges will not be able to accomplish it but one place to start is a diversity of lodges!

Let the lodges develop activities of their own devising that responds to the interest of their membership.  Rather than trying to determine ways to restrict Masons or to dictate a calendar beside their essential meetings for rituals, why not leave the Masons to see how often they need to meet and what else they want to put on the calendar. 

Lodges could consider becoming centers of activity in the community again- coming out dances, baby showers, talks, memorial services, etc.   Lodges should not be forbidding and distant from the community.  That was not the character of Freemasonry during its zenith. 

Let charity return to being the work of the lodge, and let charity exist within the lodge and in endeavors of its choice.

Let Masonic education become something Masons in the lodge take upon themselves.  If you want people who will pursue Masonic education, urge lodges to select educated men!

Masonry is a system of allegory expressed in ritual and symbols, not a system for employing the underemployed or jobless at the grand lodge to act as incompetent teachers usurping one the most crucial Masonic process, i.e. the individual's processing and interpretation of the ritual and symbols!  The Mason is given resources, he is guided to where he might FREELY make his own pursuit or inquiries, he is not "taught"!   

If you want to get rid of politics don't force divided lodges to turn on themselves.  Let them part amicably and multiply!  If one group's ideas were better for lodge growth and quality we are sure to find out this way.

Grand lodges, make yourself useful!  Serve Freemasons and lodges, don't try to make Freemasons and lodges serve you.  Put materials online so Masons can read them, learn about the Craft, history, constitutions and the business conducted in their name.  To share the wonderful experiments of lodge types such as European Concept, Traditional Observance, various historic rituals, etc. make information available. To see exemplary ritual work, put it on!

Let us recall that Freemasonry is thus named because it was made of FREE men, Masters, in a time when much of society was bound in servitude.  It is therefore important for the Grand lodge and Freemasonry in general to refrain from claims of ownership and control of men.

What Thomas Jefferson said about government applies to Masonic governance as well, the government that is best governs least; Grand lodges should be afraid of failing its constituents and the constituents should never be afraid of governance.  Don't forget that it was the failure of the British colonial authorities to heed these words that caused the people to wage a revolution and start anew.  

---
*For the full article cited please see the Masonic Dictionary article.

Something for the Ages and the Connaught

Those active with the Level Club are aware that the Club, while in  reduced strength, focused on drawing a base of younger men to ensure its future as an initial measure in a larger design.

What is a young Mason? In the U.S. the average age of an active Mason is over 60. So is "young" in this context less 60 years of age?

What is a young for a person who is interested in Freemasonry but has yet to become a Mason? The average man today tends to be much older than in the past when contemplating and eventually approaching a lodge for membership. Should young relative to Masonic interest be seen as anyone below 50?

There is an important consideration regarding this youth movement.  Fraternalism benefits from having those with different and complementing experiences, concerns and energies come together and share of themselves.  With continuity such an environment happens.  In recent decades fraternalism, and Freemasonry in particular has not had this continuity of either participation or frankly speaking, of quality of participants.  The youth movement itself is excellent in terms of addressing issues of revitalization and reorientation toward healthy brotherhood and away from some of the damning problems that typified the nadir of the past several decades. One would hope that though that a wider range of recruitment and continuity would lead to the beneficial state described.  

But do young men need subset events or clubs within the larger organization to make Freemasonry more relevant to them by catering to say, men 35 and under exclusively?  The lodges of the UK which have been successful in revitalizing the Craft through specialized programs for young men and reemphasizing affinity lodges, including school (and university) lodges. They have  also
struck up a club for young Masons.  

This club, the Connaught serves primarily those professionals of the London area, no small number of whom were active in their university scheme.  It is worth noting that the successful Connaught Club has given rise to an associated revitalized lodge, Burgoyne 902, which is not thankfully, age exclusive. 

Unlike the Level Club, the Connaught Club is open only to those who are already Masons though we are told there are events where members are encouraged to bring guests. It also should be noted that the Connaught has occasions on their calendar that may be of interest to the traveling brother and its members' lodges encourage visiting Masons. 

From the  Connaught: 
 

ABOUT THE CONNAUGHT CLUB

The principle of the Connaught Club originated in June 2007 when the Metropolitan Grand Lodge held a reception for Freemasons under the age of 35. The evening, hosted by the Deputy Metropolitan Grand Master, was deemed a unanimous success. Owing to the reception’s enjoyment, further events were planned and the Connaught Club was born. In its first two years of activity, the Connaught Club has grown to become the focal point and central meeting place for young Freemasons living in and around London. In the last few months, the Club has seen exciting new developments as membership continues to rise and further events hosted. The Club now has its own dedicated lodge with all the principal offices being filled by brethren under the 35 year old threshold.

Connaught Club Objective

From the onset, the purpose of the Connaught Club has been to give young Freemasons in London a means to socialise with like-minded people of similar ages within Masonry; whilst bridging the large geographic area and diversity of London’s many lodges.

Aside from social functions, the Club acts as a representative body for the views of the younger generation of Freemasons. Theses views and further suggestions from brethren within the club are then referred to Metropolitan Grand Lodge through the appropriate channels.

We endeavor to encourage and support participation in our lodges and in Freemasonry. We promote openness and pride in our membership of the Craft and stress the contemporary role Freemasonry plays in modern society, with particular emphasis placed on its relation to the younger generations.

A Freemason's Christmas Wish

 

A Freemason's Christmas Wish  

-Bro. Andrew Bradley

It is the time of year when the Brethren rejoice,
and sing carols of praise in resounding voice.
Days of merriment and long nights of cheer,
as we all await the "Happy New Year!".
It is a time of family and life long friends,
a time of happiness and to make amends.
Roast turkey and baubles and the Nutcracker Suite,
we each have our own way to make Christmas complete.

As we stroll through this happy month of December
find time to pause and take time to remember
that distinguishing sign of a Freemason's heart -
those acts of Charity. How great they are.
As your family gathers 'round your Christmas tree,
and the children play with giggles of glee,
spare a thought for the poor, the man with no shoes,
whose money for food is less than your dues.

Remember also the Grand Lodge above,
and the Supreme Great Architect's act of love.
And practise those virtues we hold so true.
Have some fun! But let Temperance chasten you.
And during this season of peace and joy
look well to our future - the girl and boy.
Then wonder what lessons you may them teach,
and with your guidance what heights they may reach.

So, to all of my Brethren from far and wide,
whether your Christmas be snow, or hot and dry,
may the Architect grant his celestial boon
and keep your good health 'til we meet again soon.
Take care of yourself and those you find dear.
Keep this festive spirit throughout the next year.
Look toward your next date with our happy band.
'Til our next merry meeting. Apron, heart, and hand.

Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction by Stewart W. Miner, PGM, GLDC

A Presentation on Masonic Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) by RW Stewart W. Miner, PGM of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.  Mr Miner notes that far from being rooted in the Constitutions or landmarks or even customary practices of Freemasonry from the Grand Lodge of England, that the practice is instead one based on pragmatic policies and politics in the American Masonic landscape.  Here in America the speaker notes, ETJ has never been uniformly practiced historically nor is it in modern times, and that such practices have come both with and without the approval of various grand lodges.  Mr Minor also expresses in an amusing personal anecdote that (prior to his research) he too, as Grand Secretary of the District of Columbia was upset to find that his grand lodge's "territory had been invaded". 

For those interested in further information we recommend this piece by noted Masonic scholar Paul Bessel. You will also find the text to Mr Miner's speech above here.