This year has been one of termoil and disappointment. we have seen brothers
pass to the grand lodge above and join with our other brethren whom have came before us. We have seen some of our projects
not do as well as one would hope and we see a continued decline in membership. these times are tough for all unemployment
is high and money is tight. the economy is not doing very well and things just seem to go wrong. lodges are closing all over
this great country of ours and we see time creeping up on us.
what are we to do? this question puzzles all of us and also haunts
us.
We have allowed ourselves to seek prestige for ourselves instead of what is best
for the lodge and freemasonry. are we motivated by mercenary reasons for seeking what we seek or are we doing it for the best
interest of freemasonry?
Does everyone in our lodges feel welcome or do they feel like
outcasts? How many newly raised masons discontinue to associate with lodge members? I feel it is time for us to stand up and
be seen to be the best we can be, for the betterment of freemasonry. We need to increase our family, not just by raising new
members but also by keeping the ones we have. Get them interested, give them a call just to see how they are doing. Live up
to the obligations we have taken.
This is a challenge to all masons, remember who you are and what
you are. be proud. In most lodges the older brothers are passing the gavel to the younger members eventually most lodges leadership
will be the newly raised brothers. that is why masonic leadership is so important as well as education. So these new officers
do not feel diserted and left to stumble. begin by teaching what you have learned.
and pass it on. if we dont our decline will continue and freemasonry will become
a thing of the past. like knights of pythias, odd fellows etc.
I got an email from the shrine about membership and declining
numbers. the shrine hospitols are in need desperately and so is all the other concordant orders. If you know of a fellow mason
who would like to be a shriner, scottish rite, york rite etc. introduce them by sharing your experiences. All of us need to
look within ourselves and do what is best for freemasonry, not what is best for us. remember no matter what grand lodge we
serve we will go to the one grand lodge in the sky. therefore we are all brothers and masons.
God bless all of you and be safe.
I would like to share this poem, in rembrance of our brothers who have gone before
us:
Don't stand by my grave
Don't stand by my grave and weep,
For I am not there.
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand
winds that blow,
I am the diamond's glint in the snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn's
rain.
In the soft blush of the morning light
I am the swift bird in flight.
Don't stand by my grave and cry,
I
am not there,
I did not die.
Mary Frye
