I haven’t attended Lodge in quite some time, at least a year and a half. This is quite unusual for someone who devoted his first fifteen years actively participating in Lodge affairs, not just my own, but at the district, zone, and state level. I stopped going when it became blatantly obvious Freemasonry was operating […]
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Who is the Better Mason?
BRYCE ON FREEMASONRY Who is the Better Mason? The individual or a Lodge officer? I have been wrestling with a conundrum lately regarding Freemasonry: Who is the better Mason, the person who is properly initiated, passed and raised a Master Mason and disappears shortly thereafter, or the Mason who becomes an officer of the Lodge? […]
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Keeping Masonry on the Path
A Masonic Perspective Esoteric, Spiritual and Religious Traditions all around the world have referred to their teachings, methods and attitudes as “the Path”. The word “Path” implies action, movement, and an eventually destination. It presumes that willful action must take place before completely understanding the doctrines of the Path. It implies development and change, and seems […]
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When Membership Declines
The answer is NOT to raise dues.BRYCE ON NON-PROFITS I have been around nonprofit organizations of all kinds for several years. I don’t know about you, but I have found far too many in decline due to such things as apathy, lack of relevance, or just bad public relations. Regardless of the reason, when membership […]
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Grand Lodge Of Arkansas On The Warpath Again
The seemingly prejudicial Grand Lodge of Arkansas is at it again. Once again a Grand Lodge, this time the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, has taken steps to make Freemasonry exclusive rather than inclusive; parochial instead of universal. In past moves around the Masonic spectrum we have seen African Americans blocked, Pagans and non Christians ejected, […]
Continue readingIncreasing Membership The Right Way
Once again the cries of a “membership crisis” resound across the Masonic landscape. The question is will Freemasonry double down on what has failed its ability to add new members? Will it continue to try to market the Craft in order to bring in new members? Will it continue to corrupt Masonic charity by making […]
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When Is It Necessary To Change?
Among the nonprofit organizations I belong to, there is one where I serve as secretary of the local branch. Like any nonprofit, there are records to be maintained, dues notices to be issued, reports to be filed with headquarters, minutes to be taken, and different mailings made to the membership. It’s not exactly rocket science. […]
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Freemasonry and the Great Depression
This was originally published in January of 2009 on the Masonic Traveler blog. Freemasonry moves through periods of ups and downs. Like the stock market, there are periods of increases and periods of decreases. Peaks and valleys, plateaus, and depressions, which is normal for any system, especially as nothing remains static, motion is a constant. […]
Continue readingThe Great Canopy of the Heavens is falling.
I was plugging in some numbers from the MSANA recently to update myself on the trend in membership from my original analysis in 2007, the results of which I published in the piece “So what? The Dynamic of Masonic Membership.” In it you may, or may not want to, recollect the trend of membership numbers […]
Continue readingWhy Did You Join Freemasonry?
I had the pleasure to meet a elderly gentleman today who was a neighbor of a family member of mine. He was a very polite fellow, with a good measure of mirth and authority, tempered only by a touch difficulty to hear. In the conversation he dropped that he was 78, but you’d never guess […]
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