"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
- Andy Warhol
What is the average age of your Lodge members? Interestingly, very few Lodges
take the time to calculate this figure which I consider to be a rather important
indicator of the Lodge. Fortunately, the average age of my Lodge has dropped to
64.1 years old. This is down from the high 60's just a few years ago (we never
did hit 70) and this is because we have been blessed with several fine young
men who have joined our Lodge and replaced some of the "Greatest Generation" who
we recently lost.
The "average age" number itself doesn't tell us much. It is when we compare it
to prior years and plot increases or decreases which tells us something about the
Lodge. Whereas an increase means we are not getting much in the way of younger
members, a decrease means just the opposite. This is also indicative of Lodge
programming and public relations. Perhaps the reason why the average age is
increasing is that the Lodge has become somewhat lethargic and set in its ways
and is no longer regarded as a viable institution in the community.
Our current average age also tells me that "Baby Boomers" represent the lion's
share of members in our Lodge. This leads me to believe that the average age
will inevitably rise again as this substantial generation (which includes yours
truly) gets older and grayer. The only thing that can prevent this is a major
influx of young members, but I do not see this happening anytime soon. I am
certainly not suggesting we open the floodgates and allow anybody in with a
pulse, but we should renew our efforts to reexamine our image and position the
fraternity into something for younger people to seriously consider.
Thanks to modern medicine, we're living a lot longer than our predecessors. It
also means the Boomers will inevitably raise the average age of our Lodges over
the next 10-20 years. As such, now is the time to take action to make our Lodges
fun, interesting and meaningful. Surely we do not want to abandon our heritage,
principles, or degrees, but we need to exercise our imagination and make Freemasonry
more contemporary with the times. If we don't, it won't be long before we're
sitting in a Lodge where the average age is 90 (and nobody will be able to make it
up the stairs to the Lodge room).
Keep the Faith.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not
necessarily represent the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction
or any other Masonic related body. As with all of my Masonic articles herein,
please feel free to reuse them in Masonic publications or re-post them on Masonic
web sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add the following:
Article reprinted with permission of the author and www.FreemasonInformation.com
Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.
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Copyright © 2008 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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