"It's now time for all of us--those
who supported the merger and those who opposed it--to
pull together for the benefit of the company."
- Carly Fiorina
President of Hewlett-Packard Co. in 1999
Let me give you two little words that scares a lot of Masons: "consolidations" and
"mergers." As the fraternity continues to recede in terms of membership and finances,
Craft Lodges inevitably face the question of these two dirty words. But let's be clear,
the two are not synonymous; consolidation means to move multiple Lodges into a single
building, and mergers represent the combining of multiple Lodges into one. Mergers
are probably considered the worst of the two as Masons fear they will lose their identity
and will be overshadowed by the other Lodge they are merging with. Nonetheless,
both are viable alternatives and, from a business point of view, makes a lot of sense.
For example, companies have long known that if a franchise is struggling, it is better
to cut your losses and combine it with another. But unfortunately, most Masons do not
think from a business point of view and have developed emotional attachments to their
Lodge buildings. This is understandable to a point, but if the Lodge is operating
on the edge, you have to seriously ask yourself what a Lodge is anyway. Is it the
physical building? More likely it is a Brotherhood of men who share common values
and are interested in improving themselves, their community, and the world at large.
The building, therefore, is nothing more than a venue for the Lodge to meet. So,
when push comes to shove, which is more important: the Lodge or the building?
Those Lodges struggling to make ends meet financially would be well advised to
consider this.
Interestingly, a lot of Grand Lodges do not provide guidance or leadership in terms
of assisting Lodges in considering the question of merging or consolidating. Instead,
most Craft Lodges have to fend for themselves and only consider it when it is too
late. As a small example, I know of a Craft Lodge that lost its way and quietly
went out of business, selling its building and donating its remaining funds to local
charities. The Grand Lodge did not find out about this until two years later. Had
the Grand Lodge been studying Lodge trends, they would have surely spotted a
problem and offer advice to the Lodge. They didn't, and the Lodge went under.
Obviously, there are some simple indicators to measure the pulse of a Lodge,
such as finances, membership, attendance at Lodge functions, and the average age
of the Lodge members. They could also examine Lodge officers, e.g., do they have
enough members to open the Lodge? Do they routinely re-circulate Past Masters
through the East? Are they proficient in their degree work and Masonic knowledge?
Such analysis may very well have detected the problem of the Lodge that quietly
went defunct.
I have discussed this topic with many a Brother, both locally and far away.
Sure, we would all like to have large Lodges, but there is nothing wrong
with small ones either, as long as they are thriving and actively operating to
the satisfaction of the Craft. But we may not know this if we do not study the
problem and pay attention to the trends of the variables mentioned earlier.
Further, if a Craft Lodge is indeed in trouble and is interested in consolidating
or merging, the Grand Lodge should grease the skids in order to help the Lodge
make the transition as painlessly as possible.
Some Brothers stubbornly want to hold on to their Lodges for sentimental reasons.
As the fraternity continues to decline, we have to look beyond our emotions,
as difficult as this may be, and do what is practical in order for the
Lodge to survive. For those of you who possess an emotional attachment to
your Lodge building, I will remind you that there is only one word worse than
the other two: "closure."
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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