From the West – April 2021

Back in the 1990’s, my wife and I belonged to a small 200 seat community theater in NJ. I was the Technical director, and she was the artistic director/producer.

She was also the President of the Board of Directors. When it came time to pick the shows that we were going to produce that year, my wife suggested ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Well, some of the older members told her, “No, no. We tried that back in the 60’s and it was a
flop! You need a Shakespearean Director, and it has sword play and we just can’t do it!” Our response to that was simply “That was then, this is now. Let’s Try!”

Among our membership we had a gentleman who was one of the premier Shakespearean directors in the Tri-state area. He used to be the director of Plays in The Park, located in Central Park, New York City. He agreed to direct the show and that year “Romeo and Juliet” was put on for 8 performances. Every performance was sold out and we had to add 2 shows due to popular demand. Sword play and all!

We also wanted to do a Children’s show that year, and again, we were told “No, No. We have never done a children’s show here. We only do adult shows.” The younger members who had small kids had for years been trying to get a Kids show done. That year my wife directed “Cinderella” and had about 30 kids, ranging from 3 years old to teenagers in the cast. Again, every show was sold out and we even had a matinee performance, another “first” for the theater. It was extremely exciting as we had never worked with kids before and both cast and crew loved learning new things. It was one of my proudest moments.

My point to these stories is that this lodge, as is any lodge, is like that theater. We need to listen to our members and keep taking chances on ideas, old and new. Just because we have never done it before or we tried the idea back 25 years ago, does not mean that it is a bad idea, or it wouldn’t work now. Let us change our attitude and be more welcoming to new members and their ideas.

Let us be honest, Masons love tradition and ritual. Tradition is a good thing, but it should not stop progress or forward thinking. If you have an idea on something, please, speak up. Come out to a stated meeting or an officers meeting and present your idea. While some members may look at you like you just suggested painting the lodge pink, we will always listen. Who knows, it might become a new tradition here at Washington #46!

This is 2021 and we must adapt to the Changing times. We must listen to each other, especially the younger members. For they are the future of the lodge.

 

Take care and Stay Safe.
WB Jim Van Anda – Senior Warden