Masonic Public Relations

Written by Bro. Eitan Isreali

 

After his installation as Grand Master our new Grand Master pointed out among others, two targets, that he plans to achieve during his term of office. These targets have direct connection to this lecture. One target was to enlarge and broaden the rows and was quoted as "Many people act as Freemasons and we are not able to dress them with an apron." and the other target was enforcing the awareness of the community to Freemasonry while distinguishing between advertisement and Public Relations.

 

This lecture, was given in the lodge last year, and is posted in our web site (in Hebrew), followed by a full scale debate where Brethren had a lot to say for and against the ideas. I regret that we didn't have enough time to finish the discussion and hope that we will be able to do so tonight. My intention tonight is, to briefly sum up the main idea and address the responses of brethren which arose in other Masonic gatherings.

 

Information and Public Relations require two sides: the explanatory side and the public or target audience. The best "salesman" of Freemasonry was, and still is, the strict moral and behavior of the Mason.  Our target audience is very special and does not include everyone. Outlaws and people who do not care for the good of others, won't find their place among us. Since there were many changes in society, in the methods of communications and one's priorities, we need to broaden the horizons and adjust to the new scenarios. We need to address Public Relations in a very dignified manner.

 

There were voices within Freemasonry which called for a change of methods and adopting tactics of other organizations in order to attract new members. These well meaning Brethren didn't count on the fact that Freemasonry is different from other organizations and is unique in the way it carefully picks its members. Thus there should be an unambiguous distinction between advertisement and Public Relations.

 

Masonic Public Relations, is an educational process. Information should be spread to brethren, their families and to the community at large with emphasis on our activities concerning the community. Due to the fact that Freemasonry lacked Public Relations for a long time, and was somewhat secretive. public impression was, that Freemasonry is a secret organization which undermines the government or religion. Many anti-Masonic groups took advantage of this and feed the community with false accusations against us. These days we witness in books like “The Da Vinci Codeor movies like “National Treasure” that try to present a distorted picture of Freemasonry. The picture is intended to add secrecy to the plot.

 

Advertisement of Freemasonry in order to attract new members is against Freemasonry’s rules. We ask a new candidate in his initiation if he joins “unbiased by the improper solicitation of friends against your own inclination...” On the other hand, good information and right Public Relations can stimulate people’s thoughts and make them seek us as partners. These people will be happy to put on our apron. 

 

Today's world, using newspapers, radio, TV, Internet and many other means of communications, report constantly of events and deeds of groups within society. Using Public Relations we should integrate in a positive way in these reports and pass the correct message to the community. In meetings and talks with Brethren we marked two target audiences. One was inactive brethren and the other was university students. We should approach these two audiences in different ways and I'll address this later.

 

If we'll try to "take good men and make them better",  we need to define what are "good men". In my previous lecture I claimed that it pointed mainly to the social aspect, like, a good family man, a strict moral man, a good friend and so on. Thus the scale for measuring the "good" in men must be by the social standards of the society we live in.

 

The reasons a man does good to his fellow men are many, and may vary from the need to survive as a society, through his culture, the rules and regulations around him and one's beliefs.

 

In my previous lecture I presented Dr. Abraham Maslow’s (1908-1970) Hierarchy of Needs theory, and arrived at the conclusion that in order to become a mason, a man should be in the social recognition stage of the hierarchy or up.

 

Assuming a man is a social animal who relies upon other people, then his moral standards and behavior are derived from the norms of the society he lives in.

 

I mention again the need for belief, and that is for the reason of moral obligation. If one sets his own moral rules, he can change them as soon as time goes bad. Once these rules are set by his belief, it is stronger than he is, and he obeys.

 

I think that Freemasonry emphasizes the social good in men. We can see this in the symbols of Freemasonry and declare that our doctrine sets brotherly love, help and truth as it's values. We do charity in the lodge and also for the community.

 

As an answer to the question "What can we offer the new candidate?" I suggested we offer him becoming a part of a well known organization which is involved in activities which are for the good of the community. We can also offer a unique way of life and high moral doctrine.

 

The ways to accomplish these goals:

1.       Information, explanation of who we are, what are our goals and how we plan to achieve them.

2.       Deep involvement with the community on a personal, lodge and order levels, when all the deeds are done under the flag of Freemasonry.

3.       Checking each new candidate very carefully, how well he fits the well oiled machine that should be better for the community.

 

I claimed that we spend the 24 hours of the day in a wrong way. We spend too much time in “prayer to Almighty God” i.e. doing the ritual work and Masonic lectures, and too little time is spent “serving a friend or brother in time of need” - doing good to ourselves and unto others.

 

In order to act as Freemasons and prove that we are better men we should treat the lodge as a single entity, set goals that are accepted by all and "go get them" while each and every one participates to the best of his ability, forgetting ego-trips.

 

With every goal we set, we need to check how we can do it in the best way, and not point at past failures explaining why it can't be done. We should fully utilize the skills and connections of every brother who can aid in achieving that goal. Each successful task adds positive recognition and respect of the lodge and Freemasonry.

 

Another issue that caused different responses was the rivalry between lodges. Had it been competition it may have been productive and added to the common cause, but rivalry causes harm to the lodges and to Freemasonry as a whole.

 

I mentioned that in June 2003 a lecture was given in the lodge on "Can Freemasonry still contribute today?" and "Why do people join Freemasonry". In that lecture our brother Danny Doron showed that Freemasonry contributes two major principles: universality and equality. He talked about joining Freemasonry, and touched the issue of the dropping of Brethren. The following general discussion called for a deeper involvement and better coverage of our actions within the community.   

 

Brethren called for stronger leadership which will set goals for the community, utilize as many brethren as they can and publish our activities in such a way, that everyone will know what is done and by whom.

 

Public Relations should be done according to the size of the community and the connection to local media. We should decide if we work on a lodge level or a district level of some lodges. There should be a man or a committee in charge of Public Relations. The job should be given to a celebrity or someone who's close to the media, and he should have a very good verbal skills and knowledge of Freemasonry.

 

After my previous lecture, some remarks were made that led me to realize I wasn't clear enough, and the message I was trying to pass was not received. I will try to clarify the message and bring some operative suggestions for addressing Public Relations.

 

Some Brethren got the idea hat we have to show the public everything about Freemasonry, and that is NOT what I intended to say. I will try to clarify.

 

The secrecy of Freemasonry is ours for generations and is a basic part of our legacy. This is an essential part that makes us unique and builds a solid foundation for Freemasonry. Public Relations does not deal with the way of life within the lodge and does not intend to post it for general knowledge. We talk about brotherly love, help, truth and charity as our way of life and it's OURS, and ours only. All of this is no one's concern but ours. The analogy in this case is to a married couple who does not make their privacy public domain and it's no one's business.

 

The ritual and educational bounds of our doctrine are also our own affairs and making it public may harm us. We should not let the media cover our gatherings like we did on our joint "Rosenfest" assembly in 2003. This is not good Public Relations.

 

Now, when I said what NOT to do, I'll try to say what should be done, why and how.

 

Having the lodges exist as they do, don't let new candidates look for us and the only way to get them is if we "pull" them in. One problem with this way of recruiting is that it's against Freemasonry rules, as we "convince" prospective candidates to come. I may exaggerate here but I do it to emphasize.

 

Another problem is the age factor. In 2003, brother Haim Brotman, surveyed the age in our lodge and found out it increased through the years. As an explanation, an example was given of a new brother in his 30s who joins and a few years later achieves his third degree and then wants to "convince" his friends (who are at his age), the same process begins again with a man in his 40s now, and when he's at this point, we're talking about new Brethren in their 50s etc.

 

An older member has his benefits of experience and knowledge, but these people are mostly retired, their financial means are limited and their connections to the community are weaker.

 

Where should we point the Public Relations then ?

 

We should enlarge the knowledge and give more information to our families and close friends. We do this by behaving morally and being an example in our daily lives.

 

I mentioned before two target audiences, "inactive brethren" and university students, and now I'll elaborate a little. An inactive brother often became inactive due to non-maonic reasons like employment, family matters etc. In one of our discussions a suggestion was made to assemble as many inactive brethren and raise questions concerning their inactivity. Maybe the reason is not valid anymore and the brother will rejoin and become active again.

 

In another discussion about university students, we mentioned the relative high social and moral levels that may be found in this audience, also that these people can be good ambassadors of Freemasonry in key positions when getting their jobs.  The suggestion was to organize general knowledge lectures, sponsored knowingly by the lodge in which they will also get some general idea of Freemasonry and it may stimulate them to join if their goals are similar.

 

We should be more involved in the community declaring that we are Freemasons every time. We have brethren who do charity work for the community and it is important that the receiving party will be aware that we're Masons.

 

We can also join other organizations and municipality activities and while there show the flag of Freemasonry as we march.

 

One of the advantages of this kind of involvement can be, that people who are pillars of the community may find us attractive and will ask to join. If these people join we can revive the lodges and the order. Years back we used to have Mayors, judges and shipping tycoons in our lodge, and the order was then flourishing.

 

The answer to "What should be publicized" is deep community involvement, with or without other organization, but always carrying Freemasonry’s flag up high.

 

The answer to "Why" can be summed in one word: survival, which means making the lodge younger in age and spirit.

 

When planning the way to accomplish Masonic Public Relations, we face many challenges and obstacles. We first need to establish Public Relations strategy, to appoint brethren responsible and get professional support. Next we should break the strategy into targets and goals which are achievable. 

 

This way sounds very much like the text books, but this is just the beginning, and as it is, we need time to overcome each obstacle on the way. If we have Brethren who are close to the media, we should recruit them for the job and help them present Freemasonry in a favorite manner.

 

In previous discussions someone said that Freemasonry has a street named after them in a remote part of the city while Rotary club has flourishing squares in Haifa and Kiryat Motzkin. I agree with this statement, and think we should take this fact as a challenge to become known and admired in the community as they are.

 

I will end this session by repeating and emphasizing the community issue. We are part of the community and as human beings need the recognition. When talking to the average non Mason, we’ll find out that he knows what is the Rotary club or “B’nai B’rith” but when it comes to Freemasonry, he doesn’t know how to define it and if he does, the definition will have negative connotation.

 

Let’s set big goals, work forcefully and united to accomplish them and make sure we publicize the successes. All the while we should decorate these tasks with Masonic education and rituals.