Lodge Leadership ~ Member Education

The Purpose of an Education Program is to educate men, old and young, to the Fraternal Experience The prosperity of a lodge largely depends on its leadership, but more especially on the education of its membership. The general absence of education in the standard goings on of the average lodge is the root cause of a lack of interest and poor attendance. An effective approach to lodge education has two distinct focuses: Education of new members and education of the existing membership. The education of new members is known under many names: Intender Program, Mentoring, Posting, etc. The making or breaking of a new Mason is dependent upon how he is brought through the three step process of gaining admission into our great Institution. The purpose of an intender program is to facilitate the assimilation of new members into the lodge and to ensure that the new men will be beneficial to our lodge. If this process fails, the result will be a rapid loss of interest and within a couple years we will be voting to suspend them for non-payment of dues. The responsibility of guiding a candidate through this process usually falls on the person who took it upon himself to sign his name first on that candidates request to join our lodge. It is incredibly important to understand that by doing so, you are taking upon yourself a vital duty. The relationship between a candidate and a mentor/poster/intender begins at the receipt of a petition

and does not immediately end when he is raised, but should continue for some time afterwards. A mentor should take a personal interest in the new member. While the new call 'em all and calling post reminder systems are a nice convenience, a personal phone call to a brother to remind him of a stated or special meeting goes a long way. Simply calling and saying, "We are having a first degree Friday. You planning on coming out? I look forward to seeing you there" will make it clear that we value his interest in our fraternity and his presence at our assemblies. We should make every effort to make our newer members feel welcome and at home in our lodge by seeing that they are introduced to the brethren. We all remember how it was to show up to events when we were new and did not know anyone. In order to further assimilate the new brother into the lodge, we must assist him in getting acquainted with the usages and customs of the lodge (decorum/etiquette, dress code, gavels, crossing the east, etc). While the candidate is getting his degrees, a mentor should be actively working with the brother on his proficiency. This isn't limited to sitting across a table and going through the catechism; it is nice to take the brother to see degrees at other lodges. This will allow the new brother to put his catechism in context while experiencing fellowship with other brethren from neighboring lodges. Additionally, if there are masonic events or schools going on, the mentor should take it upon himself to make them known to his candidate and encourage attendance. Finally, after the candidate has been raised the mentor is not quite finished. Even though it is not required, the completion of the final proficiency should be encouraged. There may not be another Symbolic Lodge degree to advance to, but it is still important that the brother be able to demonstrate his

understanding of the final degree. At this point, if all has been attended to, our new Master Mason will be well prepared to be a productive member of our lodge. It is now that a mentor can encourage the acquisition of a book of standard work and ascertain if there is anything in particular he is interested in learning. Also, an overview of the lodge officers and committees will provide him with a range of ways he can become directly involved with the lodge's many aspects of work. To sum up the importance of this role, a good mentor takes an active part in bringing a candidate from "profane" to a fully integrated brother by taking a personal interest and being available to the candidate. Naturally, the largest part of becoming a member in our fraternity is advancing through three solemn degrees of initiation and is at the heart of the Grand Lodge's official mission statement for the blue lodge, which is "to make Masons." It is essential that a candidate is initiated, passed and raised in a dignified, timely and impressive manner in strict accordance with official ritual. Strict observance alludes to not only the austere conveyance of Masonic Symbolism and allegory, but also to the practical need of ensuring the physical safety of the candidate! Our ritual is the basis of all Masonic instruction. Our three degrees are not simply formalities to make full voting members, but rather are solemn rites of passage. The journey from elected candidate, to apprentice, fellowcraft and finally Master Mason builds a man into something greater than he was before. The rough becomes perfect through a sincere journey through our Mysteries and should not be infringed by unprepared or uncaring brethren conferring the degrees. The candidate should be convinced of the sincerity of those conferring the degrees and feel that they

believe the solemn truths which are being imparted to him. In this modern society, there are a multitude of things that may take up a person's time. If a candidate does not have a good first impression, it will not seem worth the time to continue. Our work is what sets us apart from other fraternal groups, and for good reason. They are not a means to an end, but the beginning of a life-long journey of Masonic Enlightenment. Finally, in order to facilitate a brother's passage through our work in a timely manner, blue lightnings and short-form catechisms do satisfy a practical need. However, for the best experience of a candidate these options should not be abused and used for their purpose which is long unfinished work, and should always be the decision of the candidate himself. In fine, the initial surge of enthusiasm of a newly elected candidate can be short-lived if we, the existing members, are not actively supporting their journey towards Masonic Light and reciprocate their passion for it. The second facet of lodge education is the education of the existing membership, for we don't only want to make better Masons out of new members, but also put our existing and older members to work! The purposes of educating the membership are many: a) educating members of the duties of the officers, chairmen and committees; b) provide a working knowledge of the Grand Lodge Constitution, By-laws or local lodge by-laws; c) appreciation of the history, traditions and esoteric concepts of Freemasonry; d) role of the Fraternity in the general community; e) acquire a sense of brotherhood; f) give brothers a new skill (i.e. public speaking). The variety of topics to be covered are (and certainly not limited to): a) Masonic History; b) Masonic Symbolism; c) Masonic Philosophy; d) Biographies of Famous Masons; e) Masonic

Charity; f) Masonic role in the constitutional, political, military and economic history of our country; g) history of local lodge. The context of such programs can be done in many different ways/times: a) Masonic Education/Good of the Order portion of monthly stated meetings; b) Special Presentation for Holidays (i.e. Veteran's Day, Washington's Birthday); c) Special Masonic festival dates (i.e. St. John the Baptist's Day); d) Special "Masonic Elements" nights; e) Table Lodges; f) Education Committee/Research Society. The format of the programs may come in the form of MSA short talks/films or an original presentation put together by a member. When one travels as a Mason to other lodges it is evident that the most successful lodges regarding ritual proficiency, attendance, membership retention, active participation and lodge productivity have programs of this kind in place. Through the successful enactment of such programs, a lodge will be thereby the better enabled to be a Beacon of Masonic Light to guide the brethren that have already gained admission within it's walls and draw good men from without to become true and faithful brothers among us.