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Document TitleSTB-85-03 SERIOUS ACCUSATIONS
STB-MR85
Music by Brother J. L. F. Mendelssohn.
SERIOUS ACCUSATIONS
By
Right Worshipful Raymond E. Petersen
Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge A.F.& A.M.
of Colorado
How the matter of suspensions for nonpayment of dues is handled by the various
Grand Lodges is a matter of continuing interest. This Short Talk Bulletin discusses what
the Grand Lodge of Colorado encountered.
Prologue: In 1984 The Most Worshipful
Grand Lodge A.F.& A.M. of Colorado sent
the following Ietter to all Masons who were
suspended for non-payment of dues.
"The Grand Lodge Office has received
notice that you have been suspended from
Masonry for non-payment of dues.
You have spent considerable time and
money in becoming a Brother Master Mason.
We wonder why you have chosen not to
continue your membership in the Craft.
If you would answer the two questions on
the back of this letter and return it to us in the
enclosed stamped and self-addressed envelope
we would be most appreciative."
The two question.s on the back were:
1. I have decided to discontinue my
Masonic membership because:
2. I would be interested in renewing my
affiliation with Masonry if:
A similar letter was mailed to all candidates
who became non-affiliated because they had
not advanced in the prescribed time frame (2
years). The replies received form the basis for
this paper. (It should be noted that nearly 40%
of the inquiries mailed were answered. Another
10% were returned by the post office as "addressee unknown").
Why do Masons quit? Each year in Colorado (as well as in other Jurisdictions) we lose
nearly as many members through non-payment
of dues as we gain through degree work. Nearly
a third of all men who are initiated into
Masonry are never raised to the sublime degree
of a Master Mason. Why?
From the replies our Brothers have given us
these are the reasons:
I. Non-understanding of Masonry
2. Lack of money.
3. Lack of communication
4. They're dead
5. We don't eare enough
6. We're boring
7. Complaints against Masons
1. Non-UNDERSTANDlNG OF MASONRY
The replies made it evident that there were
many Masons who just didn't grasp what
Masonry was all about. Some should never
have been initiated. A Brother who responds,
"Masons is not what I'm looking for in a lodge I have become an Elk' probably had no preinitiatory education. The investigating commitee's work might be questioned also. It does us
great harm to initiate members who will later
feel they joined under false pretenses. We must
give an honest assessment of what we are and
what we do to a prospective candidate. It is better not to initiate them than to lose a Brother
through disenchantment. (See STB
5/83-"Diligent Inquiry.")
We have harped on lodge meeting attendance so long and hard that we are now losing
members because they cannot attend meetings.
Witness these replies: "Bad health and have
been unable to attend meetings." "I moved to
(blank) where I know no Masons." "I haven't
attended a meeting after joining the lodge, so l
feel that it would be best to discontinue my af
liliation with Masonry." Who first decided that
to be a contributing Mason you had to attend
meetings? Well it seems that point has been
made--but instead of getting increased meeting
attendance, we're getting drop-outs with
"meeting guilt" complexes.
Some replies show how very little continuing education we have-- "I didn't get my
25-year pin which was due in 1979." DUE?
"We live in (blank) and use the facilities
there." I would be interested in renewing my
affiliation with Masonry if: "I were needing the
social contact." "I couldn 't see any value to retaining my membership."
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: First, more
training of investigating committees--and
critical selectivity of applicants. Second, an
honest and comprehensive pre-initiatory education, if you will, explanation program. Third,
continuing education past the Master Mason
Degree. We need to re-emphasize that the selfmaking of a Mason is never complete and does
not necessarily need to take place in a Lodge
room .
2. LACK OF MONEY
Surprisingly, there were far too many
answers to this category: "Out of work for two
years." "I just cannot afford it." "I live on
$449.00 a month." "I have not been able to
work since 1981." "I couldn't find a job at my
age, it is pretty hard to do but I am still trying."
"I don't draw enough Social Security to live
on." Our lodges have an obligation which
these replies seriously question. Not knowing
who among us needs help is nearly as bad as
knowing and not helping.
SOLUTION: Somehow we must be more
thorough in caring for each other. Brothers
who need help must be found and helped. The
techniques are simple--teaching Brothers to
care for each other is not so simple. But if
Masons do not love one another then Masonry
can never teach the Brotherhood of Man. If
they do not communicate, they cannot know.
3 . LACK OF COMMUNICATION
There were far too many replies stating:
"Send me what I owe in dues." "Not realizing
that my dues were past due."' "Let me know
what I owe to catch up." "I thought I had paid
my dues." "Please send me the amount of dues
I'm behind."
Granted the postal service leaves much to be
desired; granted some Brothers ignore their
mail or don't write the checks, but still these
Brothers were suspended N.P.D. The depth of
interest in their membership on the part of the
lodge has been questioned.
SOLUTIONS: 1. The telephone--"reach
out and touch some one."
2. Personal calls and the
right hand of fellowship.
3. Bright colored envelopes
or stickers, or a stamp of
some sort saying
"Masonic--Open Now."
In short, positive communication before
suspension .
4. THEY ARE DEAD
It is possible for a lodge to lose contact with
a member, but many statements from widows
such as, "ill for a long time," "after a long illness," questions the integrity and concern of a
lodge for its members. Too many times each of
us shirks our duty and blames the Secretary or
the Master or the Senior Warden. How can a
Brother be ill for a long period of time, die, and
then be suspended N.P.D. if we care for one
another?
5. WE DON'T CARE ENOUGH
The solutions are the same as for the
preceding category. The conditions are as
pitiful. A letter received from a Brother's wife
saying her husband was proud to be a
Mason--was in an Adult Blind Home undergoing rehabilitation. How can a whole Lodge of
Masons either not care or not know?
6. WE'RE BORING
A passel of replies stated simply, "lost in-
terest." Either we didn't teach well in the first
place or we didn't offer enough additional
material to retain interest. In either case, the
solution rests with lodge programs, study
groups, discussion and an exchange of ideas.
Communications are what we call our
meetings. Often we communicate nothing.
Which of us can truthfully say we haven't from
time to time been bored with Masonic meetings
ourselves? Imagination and initiative are the
keys to solving this problem. Also remember
the most interesting thing we have to offer is
Masonry, not entertainment, social welfare, or
socialization. Self-improvement and enlightenment are our goals.
7. COMPLAINTS AGAINST MASONS
Some people, of course, enjoy finding fault.
Not all complaints are valid, but all complaints
are worth considering. Reoccurring reasons
received were:
1. Members do not live by the rules of
Masonry.
2. Masonry is anti-Christian.
3. Masons do not visit the sick and shut-in.
4. Lodges are "cliquish."
5. Politics take precedence in lodges.
6. Non-monetary brotherly support is lacking.
True or not, these are serious accusations
and each of us should examine our own actions
to see if we might stand suspect of any of these
complaints .
And so we arrive full circle.
Why the drop-outs? It appears we have no
one to blame but ourselves. Perhaps our
Masonic practices must be better than those
who came before us. Perhaps society now is
more critical than it was then. Few question if
Masons are good people; but are we good
enough, in this day and age to, with credibility,
convince society we are what we say we are?
Each Mason who drops out denies our
claims and is more harmful to the Fraternity
than if he had never heard of us.
The solutions are simple: live and act as our
principles teach we should. The enactment of
the solution is an obligation incumbent on each
of us. For Masonry today is the sum of all who
today are Masons.
Right Worshipful Brother Peterson's address
is: 1130 Panorama Drive, Colorado Springs,
CO 80904.
ADDITIONAL RELATED READINC
1. STB 3/66 You Signed His Petition
2. STB 5/71 Why Didn't They Advance?
3. STB 5/70 Creating Interest
4. STB 5/83 "Diligent Inquiry"
5. STB 12/66 Great Expectations
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