The Front Page – September 2020

Brethren, as you all know very well, we have been discussing how to attract new and worthy members to our lodge for some time. I am positive that this is an ongoing issue that has been discussed for many years by many lodges and surely, Washington #46 is no different.

Conventional wisdom suggests that, to make ourselves known in the community, we should advertise. We have discussed advertising with the Portland Pickles, placing an ad with a local newspaper and other activities. These are all worthy endeavors for
a normal enterprise. To exemplify the principle of a man joining of one’s free will, we do not recruit. We cannot even afford the appearance of recruitment. I honestly think we can advertise without breaking this rule but maybe we don’t need to.

I think that we would need to approach this problem from a different angle. I would like to draw a distinction between advertising and being attractive. If we were to make ourselves attractive without advertising, what would this look like? What would attract the attention of men and the community to Freemasonry and our Lodge?

The vast majority of us do this already. For example, I’m proud to wear a masonic ring. I wear it not only to remind me of my obligations and to follow the lessons that the square and compasses embody but also to mark me as a mason. I hope people ask me about my ring and we have a discussion about the craft. For similar reasons, I have a bumper sticker on my car. I know that of us have some sort of masonic decal or license plate holder.

So, if we were to take this one step further, what would it look like if we did some kind of decoration of the lodge. This could be the interior or the lodge room or even an external wall. I expect you will are aware of how beautiful Kenton’s lodge room is and as chance would have it, the latest edition of The Oregon Masonic News features an article about a Royal Arch recently placed in the East at Eugene #11.

I’m not advocating that we should copy these ideas but I do think it is time to start considering new ways to approach this problem. Not only does this type of work generate interest, it also adds a level of depth to our rituals making it well worth pursuing.

 

Matthew Cox
Senior Steward, Washington 46