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Emron posted:Just got elected WM...gulp Congrats and good luck!
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Nov 7, 2017 13:50
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Hey I believe in you brother, and I know you'll do a great job 
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Nov 7, 2017 14:47
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Thanks, guys. I’m as ready as I can be, I guess, but still really nervous. Installation is in two weeks. I’ve already talked to my DDGM and will be installing my officers. I intend to do it from memory, so I have to get cracking on learning the officers’ charges.
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Nov 7, 2017 16:30
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When was the peak of masonry's popularity and what caused its decline?
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Nov 8, 2017 11:29
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Probably the just before Industrial Revolution, which is also probably the major reason for its decline. There was a resurgence in the post-WW2 era, but then in the 60s kids didn't want to do what dad did.
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Nov 8, 2017 13:18
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An older brother expressed to me the notion that men these days just don't like dressing up in fancy clothes. I find it an unlikely motive for the decline of our noble institution.
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Nov 8, 2017 17:45
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Well, just got elected WM for what will prove to be an interesting year, we are selling our current building and consolidating with another lodge at their location since they are in danger of folding. Going to be a bumpy ride
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Nov 9, 2017 02:40
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Colonial Air Force posted:Probably the just before Industrial Revolution, which is also probably the major reason for its decline.
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Nov 9, 2017 10:17
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Loomer posted:An older brother expressed to me the notion that men these days just don't like dressing up in fancy clothes. I find it an unlikely motive for the decline of our noble institution. Honestly I suspect it's more along the nature of how fraternal organizations manage communications that's keeping down growth. People don't like static hierarchies these days, and to use a local example, my state Grand Lodge has awful awful communications, especially electronic based. E: not criticism of the people or the fraternity. Some things just don't transfer to modern communication as easily. Immanentized fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Nov 9, 2017 |
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Nov 9, 2017 22:47
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Animal-Mother posted:When was the peak of masonry's popularity and what caused its decline? I recently attended a masonic leadership conference where this came up. 1964 was the peak year for membership. The speaker made the connection to the decline afterwards with the 60's counterculture movement and the societal shift away from churches and traditional activities outside the home.
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Nov 12, 2017 00:30
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If 64 is when membership numbers dipped, new member enrollment would have dipped much before then. Attrition isn't immediate. A lot of the reason people joined fraternities was insurance, basically. Got to worry about the widows and orphans, especially the potential your own wife and children could become them. So I'd argue that social security ultimately has a much larger impact than something like the 60's counterculture. IOOF had it's largest membership in the mid 1800s IIRC (once had larger membership than Freemasonry in the states) and it fell because reformers made it more important to actually show up to lodge and take part / couldn't just see it as a literal insurance plan.
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Nov 12, 2017 00:55
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This graph compiled from Masonic Service Association figures, illustrates what I'm talking about. There were peaks and valleys (high hills and low dells) prior to the early 60's. A great dip is seen following the market crash in '29 and subsequent depression in the early 30's, then an increase during WWII and after, followed by a steady, steep decline, continuing to the present. The lodge as insurance plan model began to die out with the industrial revolution and eventual rise of unions, and better wages, insurance, etc. I'm sure that Social Security, Medicare, etc was a contributing factor, but probably not a major one. http://bessel.org/massta21.gif 
Cholmondeley fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Nov 13, 2017 |
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Nov 12, 2017 14:29
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I wanted to share a story from my installation with you guys. When I was a child, my dad was the WM of his tiny lodge in our small town in WV for three consecutive years, before the lodge folded due to size and money, absorbed back into its mother lodge. In its final few decades, every Master of that tiny lodge passed a small pin of a square onto the next master, so the same pin could continue as a badge of the office. Last night, my dad gave me that pin, so his lodge wouldn’t be totally dead and could live on through my lodge. It caught me totally off guard, and was really emotional. Emron fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Nov 21, 2017 |
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Nov 21, 2017 20:23
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Your dad rocks.
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Nov 21, 2017 20:26
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Any North Dakota/Western Minnesota Brothers in the thread? I'm relocating to Fargo, ND shortly and if the GL website is to be believed, they have four lodges in town. I'd be interested in thought about lodges in Fargo and Masonry in the region.
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Dec 2, 2017 19:31
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You guys are doing a really poo poo job of keeping the Bitcoin system down. I am severely disappointed in your vast conspiracy powers.
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Dec 3, 2017 03:28
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I am happy to see our plan is working.
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Dec 4, 2017 11:59
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Question for the Knight Brethren across the pond: What the hell is going on with your Templar regalia? What's with the feathery chapeau, and why don't you wear a proper tunic or gloves?
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Dec 20, 2017 06:55
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Wiley Scribner posted:Are there any goon Masons in NYC? I'm gonna be moving down there next summer, so I'll be looking to join a new lodge. I'm taking my first degree on wednesday in a lodge upstate, and while I like a lot of the guys in the lodge, they're mostly old Republicans. Are there any lodges in the city that have more young people or a bit of an intellectual bent in its focus? Join Garabaldi lodge! They do all their ritual in italian, and their 1st degree is something to behold. I live on Long Island, so i dont know of any lodges in NYC, but there are I think 8 Masonic districts for Manhattan alone.
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Dec 20, 2017 19:58
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Cimber posted:Join Garabaldi lodge! They do all their ritual in italian, and their 1st degree is something to behold. Hot dang, I'm home in NYC this week, though i doubt they have any rites going on.
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Dec 20, 2017 20:20
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nope, nothing this week. next stated communication is Jan 5th. http://www.garibaldilodge.com/ But if you are around, make sure to come see the first degree. Its....different. Masons come from all around to see it. I went last year and saw brothers from VA who chartered a bus for the day to come see it.
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Dec 20, 2017 20:33
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The last few months, I discovered a downside to the masonic life. You see, due to this being a brotherhood of men, you get to know many men and most of them are old guys or at least, older guys. You swap stories, you crack jokes and you can ask for real advice. In short, with many of these men, men you would have never met weren't it for Freemasonry, you develop a bond of understanding. And then they die of old age. In the past, I held a belief that death left me indifferent. People die and those who live, move on. Since summer, I have discovered this belief to be incorrect.
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Dec 20, 2017 21:47
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I'm gay, and I wish my GL didn't hate me for that.
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Dec 21, 2017 02:53
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Keetron posted:The last few months, I discovered a downside to the masonic life. My condolences for your loss, brother. Mourning for many brothers is the fate of every man who chooses to join the Brotherhood at this point in time. Recognize the pain for what it really is - a testament and tribute to the brothers who've gone on before you to meet the M.H. and collect their dues. When our hearts break because our chaplain will no longer be in his seat every month, our tears and sadness speak well of him. And don't be afraid to lean a little on your brothers - there's a reason we used to always hold a lodge of sorrow for every departed brother. Every brother there, no matter how well composed, will mourn with you. And remember the teachings of the sprig of a. - it isn't just about when you make that last journey, none of that degree's stated purpose is. It's about every man in that room every single time it is delivered. It teaches us how to deal with others as well as ourselves. Loomer fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Dec 21, 2017 |
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Dec 21, 2017 03:42
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jonboy8871 posted:I'm gay, and I wish my GL didn't hate me for that. Your Grand Lodge is in error. A brother once told me (on the day of my initiation, actually) the most important maxim he could think for a mason to bear in mind. Paraphrasing, it was something like this: "Masonry makes good men better men. But you can't make an rear end in a top hat anything but an rear end in a top hat." Your GL is infested with the latter for now, but eventually the better men will take their place.
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Dec 21, 2017 03:54
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Loomer posted:"Masonry makes good men better men. But you can't make an rear end in a top hat anything but an rear end in a top hat." Not gonna lie, this cheered me up a little. Thanks for the laugh, brother.
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Dec 22, 2017 05:15
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Happy new year, Brothers around the globe. May the souths be festive, the masters kind and condescending, and the brethren in good harmony.
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Dec 31, 2017 19:24
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I’m presiding over a meeting tonight, but my school is playing in the national championship game an hour after the meeting starts, so I’m going to have to hustle the meeting along. The only problem is that I’ve moved, to another college town for a college that hates mine, so my membership is probably going to give me no end of poo poo about it.
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Jan 8, 2018 20:39
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Emron posted:I’m presiding over a meeting tonight, but my school is playing in the national championship game an hour after the meeting starts, so I’m going to have to hustle the meeting along. The only problem is that I’ve moved, to another college town for a college that hates mine, so my membership is probably going to give me no end of poo poo about it. Well, you can now ask your lodge what it is about Georgia and blowing leads in championship football games.
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Jan 9, 2018 17:58
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I don't know if any of you are in the area or would be interested, but the first cornerstone laying ceremony in over 100 years in Arkansas is coming up later this month. Continued growth brings new lodge
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Jan 16, 2018 20:08
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Just received my invitation to initiation into the Swedish Rite next month, really excited.
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Jan 21, 2018 15:26
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Got my royal arch last night...that’s a hell of a degree.
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Feb 2, 2018 17:11
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Greetings brothers. I'm about to take my second degree in my mother lodge (upstate NY), but sadly I will be moving to NYC a few months after my third degree. Do any of you guys have any experience with the numerous blue lodges in Manhattan and Brooklyn? How would you describe the culture and approach to Masonry of them? While I appreciate the brothers of my mother lodge, it is a rural area so they're predominantly conservative older guys. Masonry has been a great way to break down the toxic political barriers that would otherwise have ensured we'd hate each other (I'm a socialist), but ideally, I'd like a lodge with a higher concentration of more progressive young people. Or maybe even something wacky. Like I heard that Shakespeare (?) lodge is primarily for actors, and while I'm not an actor per se, I'd love to attend a degree to witness the more refined theatrics. Edit: Damnit I forgot I already posted this. Cimber posted:Join Garabaldi lodge! They do all their ritual in italian, and their 1st degree is something to behold. My mentor told me about that! Sounds wild.
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Feb 6, 2018 04:55
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I'm an anthropology student and I'm conducting my ethnography on my local lodge. I've mostly been focusing on gender performance in the lodge room, during cook outs, and during poker nights, but I also connect the development of a Masonic identity with an American national identity. Also, if any of you are familiar with anthro, Victor Turner's Rites of Passage is so drat on the nose when applied to the first degree. Anyway, would any of you be interested in reading it in a couple months after it gets published? In the meantime, here are some dope ethnographies on Freemasons that have expanded my understanding of the brothers I hang out with and the fraternity overall. Freemasonry as a playground for civic nationalism by Danny Kaplan. About Israeli Freemasonry and the power and limits of a "universalist" organization. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nana.12066/abstract The World is a Forest of Symbols. About Italian Masonry, secrecy, and women in the lodge. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1548-1425.2012.01373.x/abstract
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Feb 6, 2018 05:04
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Wiley Scribner posted:Anyway, would any of you be interested in reading it in a couple months after it gets published?
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Feb 6, 2018 07:28
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And yesterday we had our night for non-masons and I made some platters and I want to show them off. Become a mason, have some meat and cheese with us! That was more or less my message. I think they got it.
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Feb 7, 2018 16:57
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Emron posted:Got my royal arch last night...that’s a hell of a degree. Yes it is. Mark Master is a favorite of mine.
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Feb 17, 2018 19:08
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Keetron posted:And yesterday we had our night for non-masons and I made some platters and I want to show them off. drat that looks nice. My lodge mostly busts out a supermarket platter of cheddar slices and chex mix. They got wonderful whiskey though. However, they drink it out of Dixie cups. Anyway, I just had my second degree at a neighboring lodge, and I did it with a few other stand-up guys. I was really pleased that one of the brothers was a person of color. I live in a rural, predominantly white area, and the local lodges are sorely in need of more diversity. My mentor told me that the first black guy to petition my lodge did so in the 1980s, and a few of the brothers had a problem with it. But he said "This guy is a hard-working S.O.B, I don't even see him as black" (yikes!). The lecturer was really on his game that night too, but the Junior Warden flubbed his lines a bunch and an old Mason next to him constantly corrected him, which was pretty funny. I'm really interested, both for my thesis and in general, in how the ritual has changed over time. The wording seems to be constantly re-negotiated in each lecture, and I've noticed some brothers knowingly and willingly modernizing their language, much to the chagrin of some of the older guys. I was surprised that we didn't need to recite the first lecture or prove our proficiency. The Worshipful Master just took our Masters' word for it. Have you guys experienced something similar? Also, I don't quite understand the purpose of the passing grip and the true grip. Should I use the passing grip if I'm unsure if the hand I'm shaking belongs to the Mason and only use the true once that's been confirmed?
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Feb 21, 2018 20:40
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Wiley Scribner posted:Anyway, I just had my second degree at a neighboring lodge, and I did it with a few other stand-up guys. I was really pleased that one of the brothers was a person of color. I live in a rural, predominantly white area, and the local lodges are sorely in need of more diversity. My mentor told me that the first black guy to petition my lodge did so in the 1980s, and a few of the brothers had a problem with it. But he said "This guy is a hard-working S.O.B, I don't even see him as black" (yikes!). quote:The lecturer was really on his game that night too, but the Junior Warden flubbed his lines a bunch and an old Mason next to him constantly corrected him, which was pretty funny. I'm really interested, both for my thesis and in general, in how the ritual has changed over time. The wording seems to be constantly re-negotiated in each lecture, and I've noticed some brothers knowingly and willingly modernizing their language, much to the chagrin of some of the older guys. In light of this, here’s a question for some masons: Do you guys ever really worry about your tradition losing the subtext to your text? Or the text for your subtext? Edit: After posing my question, I think I got my answer. Why pursue the degree if you don’t have to has always been my philosophy. Thanks for your time. Servoret fucked around with this message at 16:28 on Feb 24, 2018 |
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Feb 22, 2018 22:03
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Servoret posted:In light of this, here’s a question for some masons: Do you guys ever really worry about your tradition losing the subtext to your text? Or the text for your subtext?
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Feb 22, 2018 23:31
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