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Masonry in Today's and Tomorrow's Society

by Lcwis J. Blackwell, MPS, PGM (DE)

[This is an abridged version of a longer paper--Editor.]

We are living through a crisis of mean-
ing and uncertainty about our directions
and goals. That which has been promis-
ing has lost its meaning. This paper of-
fers information and a guide for those
who recognize that changes in Masonry
must be made in this changing world.
We must keep in mind that Masonry is a
fraternal organization based on the Fa-
therhood of God and the brotherhood of
man. It is a voluntary association to
which application is made of one's own
free will and accord. Rings, pins and
other types of identification are worn or
displayed, so it is not a secret society.
Masonry is not a religion, although Ma-
sons must believe in God and observe the
moral law. We do not teach a particular
doctrine, we do not go to lodge to wor-
ship God, and we accept worthy men of
any faith which believes in a Supreme
Being. The principles of Masonry have
not changed, but the world has changed,
and people have changed. We must find
ways to interpret the Book of the Law
and the ritual so that men can under-
stand and become interested in them in
a changed world.

         Today's World

In our century we have gone from the
horse and buggy to the moon. We have
seen almost all of our solar system. We
have become a part of television, frozen
food, xerox, and plastic credit cards. At
the start of the twentieth century, there
were few cars in the United States and
fewer miles of concrete pavement. Ev-
eryone ate natural foods. Air was rela-
tively unpolluted and there were no cans
Iying on the side of the road. There was
no atomic waste or PCBs. The average
life span was forty years. We got married
first, and then lived together. The wives
stayed home. Today's social and eco-
nomic conditions and progress in all
fields have brought the home and frater-
nity to today's conditions. The world in
which our children are growing up is a
world of slick, glossy cars, designer
clothes, TV comedy with laugh tracks
that tell you it is funny. It is also a world
that may be known as the century of
"greed," and as the century when the
home was sacrificed. Our fraternity will
be affected by all the changes affecting
the family. We must face them if we are
to survive.

          Today's Family

The full-time working mother juggles a
career, marriage, and children. The fa-
ther plays a larger role in family life.

        Today's Fraternity

We view with concern the lack of atten-
dance at stated meetings and Masonic
functions that result in empty seats and
newly raised Masons' drifting away.
Some of the excuses given for not attend-
ing lodge follow: "I have not been to
lodge for so long, I would not know how
to get in. " " My lodge meets on my
bowling night." "My work is too de-
manding." "I'm a little hard of hear-
ing." "I need to spend more time with
my family. " " The meetings are dull and
uninteresting. "

Thus social reasons such as television,
changing family roles, and the impact of
work and community on family life are
also respansible for low attendance and
membership decline. Declining atten-
dance at stated lodge meetings is also due
to boring ritualistic repetition at meet-
ings, and late lodge hours.

Another problem we need to consider
is greeting the newly- made or visiting
brother:
I see you at the meetings,

But you never say "Hello."
You're busy all the time
You're there, with those
You already know.

I sit amongst the people,
Yet I'm a lonesome guy,
The new members are as
Strange as I, and the
Old Timers pass me by.

I'll be at your next meeting
Perhaps a nice eve to spend
Do you think you could
Introduce yourself?
I want to be your friend
And Masonic brother.

To overcome some of these problems,
we turn to the leadership of the lodge. In
defense of the officers, we must remem-
ber they, too, have family, business, and
other responsibilities.

We must get more involved in educat-
ing our candidates as to what the degrees
teach. Masonry's message must be car-
ried to the home, church, workplace, and
youth of today. We must become recog-
nized as Masons, not by the pin or ring
we wear, but because we show it by our
actions .

We must depend on the lodge officers,
prospective officers, and past masters to
divest themselves of the notion "that
unless a Mason memorizes, recites and
delivers lectures or works in the C raft, we
have nothing to offer. " We must find a
place for these brothers now on the side-
lines, whereby they will become a work-
ing part of the lodge. More effort should
be put into fellowship, good conversa-
tion, the exchange of ideas, and the fes-
tive board.

        The Future of the Family

More adjustments will be necessary in
the home. Because of later years of child-
bearing, there will fewer children in the
home; and children will be in their teens
when their parents are in their mid- to
upper forties. When the children start to
college, the parents will be in their fifties.
With the advent of computers and other
technology, mothers may be able to work
at home, finding the opportunity to
make a living, continue their careers
and hold the family together. Fathers
may be still more involved in taking care
of children and daily chores.

The Future of Masonry

What has this to do with our fraternity?
A Chinese proverb says, "If you don't
change direction, you'll probably end up
where you are heading." If the Craft is
to perpetuate itself, we must adjust to
change. We must constantly invest in the
next generation, for we will be drawing
from the youth of today in the future. Let
us consider--how must we then prepare
them to be our future members? We can
volunteer to help children with school
problems, read to them aloud, and assist
them in sports. We must act to develop
DeMolay, Job's Daughters, Rainbow
Girls, and Boy Scouts in order to have
good Masonic timber for the future.

To develop fellowship, we need to get
away from the old bogeyman of puritan-
ism that to "eat, drink, and be merry"
is sinful. Let's find again that which was
lost--companionship.

The idea that nothing can be changed
is not true. At one time catechisms were
short and lectures long. This led to elab-
orate rituals and ceremonies. The next
change was the requirement of in-depth
proficiency examinations. Today, many
think that a good Mason is one who can
quote the catechism and the lectures.
Parroting of words will not help to gain
the value of the initiation, nor will it help
to gain the inward truths that are to
influence our thoughts and lives. Ma-
sons are not made merely by working
degrees in a lodge, but by making the
teachings of the fraternity a part of their
lives .

We must instill in those Masons who
have knelt in our lodges the desire to find
real meaning. Too many of the Craft are
ill-informed, misinformed, or unin-
formed concerning true Masonic philos-
ophy. A greater involvement in a pro-
gram of Masonic education is badly
needed. The process of being brought
from darkness to light is an on-going
search. We must find ways to proclaim
the message of Masonry, and then chan-
nel the Masonic philosophy of friend-
ship, morality, and brotherly love into
the mainstream of today's society. We
need to have awakened in us the still
deeper power of consciousness, and ed-
ucate our initiates and members about
the meaning of the degrees and lectures.

Although we should not make changes
just for the sake of change, here are a few
of the questions to be reviewed by a lodge
facing a changing world:

What does the lodge do for its widows
(not only flowers at Mother's Day or
fruit baskets at Christmas, or a ticket to
Ladies' Night). Do they know whom to
contact to take them to the doctor or to
do an errand?

What does the lodge do for youth
(DeMolay, Job's Daughters, Rainbow,
Scouts)?

What do we do for the older Mason?
Do we make an effort to call him to come
to the lodge, and to get him if he needs a
ride? Many times we forget him. He may
have been a regular attender but some-
thing has forced him to stop coming.
When was the last time that the lodge
helped a brother or his family when they
needed help?

When did the officers get help in pre-
siding, conducting, or administering the
organization? When did the officers lis-
ten to the thoughts and ideas of the mem-
bers?

        Preparing for Tomorrow's World

As we stand on the threshold of a new
decade, many social, economic, and
technical changes are predicted, all of
which have repercussions for Freema-
sonry. We, as Masons, must show our
principles by living them daily, by prac-
ticing in public what we have vowed in
private. Freemasonry teaches that man
is to improve himself morally and spiri-
tually. When we reflect on how well we
are practicing our Masonry, we should
realize that we are someone else's im-
pression of a Mason. Our deeds must
outweigh the critics. The outside world
judges us as they perceive us, and a good
impression will lead others to want to be
a part of our fraternity. If we survive in
the future, we will develop ways and
means of making Masonry more visible
to the outside world by our actions.

I also believe the resurgence of the
Craft depends on whether lodge of ficers,
prospective of ficers, and past masters are
able to divest themselves of the deadly
notion that unless a Mason memorizes,
recites and delivers lectures, or works in
the Craft, we have nothing to offer other
than sitting on the sidelines or carrying
chairs .

Again, we need to get away from the
puritanical belief that to eat, drink, and
be merry is not to be condoned by the
Craft. Fellowship and conviviality were
a part of Masonry from the beginning,
and will be increasingly so in the future
if we survive.

Lack of attendance must be addressed.
Does an older brother need a ride to the
lodge or other Masonic function? Many
others are absent also. What reason do
they have? Is it the way we hold our
meetings? The meetings offer very little
enlightenment to many brothers; they
find them boring. Opening the lodge,
reading minutes, paying bills, and con-
ferring degrees (if there are any) may
become monotonous.

Have we asked our members what they
expect from the lodge? What functions
do they want the lodge to perform? To
make the meetings more interesting, we
can continue to serve (and not merely by
the parroting of words) the well-
grounded interests of the brethren be-
yond ritual. Recent studies suggest that
Americans are hungry for deeper per-
sonal relationships and wish to share
common bonds with others.

"But we've never done it that way be-
fore" is said by many members. True,
the past gives us experience and memo-
ries, but the pres~nt gives us challenge
and opportunities. The future gives us
vision and hope. As we take a closer look
at where we have been, where we are,
and where we are going, we should con-
sider leadership and programs. Officers
of the future should have some idea of
management. The lodge of the future
will have a program to develop leaders,
improve their organization, help develop
team work, aid, follow up, and advice in
order to have a smooth and effectively
runnmg organization. This takes im-
agination and effort. The leader will sit
down with his officers and talk, get or-
ganized, create togetherness, dream,
and plan. This leads to the necessity of
teaching the Craft about Masonry, and
what can done by giving instruction on
the purpose and principles of Masonry;
by challenging our members to achieve
moral and ethical experience in life. We
must never allow ourselves to forget that
it is the Masonic message placed deep
within a man that makes him a Mason.
Carrying a membership card in our wal-
lets is important, but carrying the Ma-
sonic spirit in the way we live is essential.

By explaining the Working Tools more
effectively and offering a set of Masonic
rules to live by, lodges can stress the pur-
pose of Masonry. Then when a Mason
looks into his mirror, he can judge his
conduct by certain guidelines.

In this manner the candidates will have
food to sustain them, should hard times
come, as come they will. They will be
better equipped to help others as well as
themselves .

Our strength is not in numbers alone,
but also in Masons' practicing the prin-
ciples of the Fraternity. It is within the
power of every Mason to glorify or nul-
lify the institution. Judgment by the pub-
lic falls back upon the character of the
men who are supposed to exemplify Ma-
sonic teachings. The Masonic order
needs spiritual aspirants, not just mem-
bers. P.G.M. William C. Carpenter has
quoted, "Freemasonry is a self to live
with, a faith to live for; it is a pursuit of
excellence in the making of your tem-
ple. "

Masonry is a beacon of light, a lace of
moral virtue in a decaying society. There
is no better time to strive for a rebirth of
Masonry than by stressing the purpose
and principles of Masonry.

Remembering that Masonry is con-
cerned with both the spiritual and the
material well-being of man, let' s put Ma-
sonry in Masons.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Modern Maturity
The News Journal
Delaware Cooperatiue Extension
S. A. Weekend
W.G.M.D. Sunny 2
Knight Templar Magazine
Newsweek
AARP Bulletin
The Philalethes
U: S. News and World Report
Reader's Digest
The Northern Light
California Freemason
The New Age Magazine


The Philalethes, April 1993
