HOW DO I GET THEM
BACK TO LODGE?
I was asked the
question “How do we get our brothers back to lodge?”
The most important answer to that question is: Make sure
that we are giving our Brothers a reason to attend! If your lodge is opening,
doing a little business, and closing, it’s time to move on. Here are some ideas
other lodges have given me during my visits.
Get out and travel
to other lodges. Bring your new Brothers along and help them see how much
bigger our fraternity really is! You will have some fun with the host lodge and
you will bring excitement to their meeting. On the trip home, you get a chance
to visit with your Brothers, get to know them better and have a few laughs. It’s a great time visiting other lodges.
Consider changing
your meeting times to an earlier hour so your visitors can get home earlier in
the evening. Also, your younger Brothers can get home in time to tuck the kids
in and say good night!
If all your
fundraising is designated to maintaining your old building, consider getting
rid of it and find something you can rent. Lodges that have sold their building
have invested their proceeds and are using the interest to make their rental
payment. Take a look at some of the lodges and see how they are doing. They are
now growing in membership, having more excitement and no longer spending all
their energy on trying to save that old building. Then if you want to do some
fundraising, find a good cause in your community along with the Act of Kindness
and show your community that we are an important part of it. Make sure to get photos
and a write up in the local newspaper.
Go and visit your Brothers
in the nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Actually, why not have a
lodge meeting with those Brothers at the facility? You won’t believe how much
they will appreciate it until you experience it for yourself! Many of these
places are willing to provide coffee and cookies for your lunch. What a great way to give a Brother something
to live for. If you want to see Masonry at work, just give it a try.
Have a dinner for
your Brothers and their families who have an anniversary of 5 years, 10 years,
and so on. Give out certificates to those Brothers and thank them for being a Brother
of our fraternity. Certificates are a very nice way to say thanks, so give them
out every 5 years. One brother told me he was about to leave Masonry until he
received his 5-year certificate. Now he is one of the main stays of his
lodge.
Try inviting your
ladies to a dinner before lodge and have a good program that would be enjoyable
to them as well as our Brothers. Have the ladies continue discussing the
program while you go into lodge and do your business. You will find that your
lodge business will not take so long and your meetings will be more popular for
all.
How about your
lodge as a group all going out for dinner with your ladies to a restaurant of
their choice? Invite your widows and make it a lodge treat. These widows will
be all smiles and the conversations will make your night.
Talking about
widows, how about delivering fruit baskets, cookies or candy to them at
Christmas time, maybe a lily at Easter? That way you are checking on them twice
a year. This is a great time to show our new Masons that we take our obligation
to heart by looking after them. Make sure to include the new Masons in the
deliveries and watch the difference it makes with your new Brothers. Don’t
forget to ask them for a report when they’re back in lodge at your next
meeting.
Continue or start
using the wellness calling to check on a Brother. Tell them you are calling to
say “Hi!”, “How are you doing?” and thank him for being a Brother of our great
fraternity. Look out for your Brothers and, if they need help, remember, we
have the Service and Assistance fund available to help them out. Let’s get back to watching out for our Brothers
and knowing our Brothers again.
Take new Brothers to
visit a Brother that we know longer see at lodge. If you have never met the Brother,
isn’t about time to do so? If we have a Brother that hasn’t been to lodge for
three straight meetings, maybe we should call on him and ask him if he is okay.
Maybe that will be all it takes to get him back to lodge. Don’t wait too long or it won’t be so easy to
get him back.
Have a new Mason
and his mentor be the “meet and greet team” when Brothers arrive for lodge. Reach
out and shake his hand and say “thanks for coming” or “it is great to see you”
and don’t forget to smile. Make him feel welcomed and glad that
he came to lodge. You want him to say to himself on the way home, “I’m sure
glad I went to lodge tonight, I had a great time.”
Remember, a great
attitude along with motivation will also help make Brothers want to come to
lodge. Try it, what do you have to lose?
My brothers, I
need your help keeping this fraternity doing the right things, so please,
“Share the Cement of Brotherly Love” with those around you especially your Brothers.
I thank you for all you do for our fraternity and remember to let the important
people in your life know that you love them.
“Love you my Brothers!”
