A Paper for…
Sequoia Council No. 228 (AMD)
… to better serve the Craft
through the medium of study and research…
WHY REMAIN A MASON
By Rudy Olano
25Jan07
In the 1925, the distinguished Brother Carl H. Claudy wrote a beautiful commentary titled, Why Men Loved Freemasonry. The article though long and requires reader's concentration is a good representation of the time when the Craft doesn't really have competitions against other diversions. It was about this period when Monday Night Football was unheard of and a quality family time usually means eating together at the dinner table. Our renowned Brother-writer was obviously a product of his time. His view of the Craft was filtered through the lens of his era as he dismissed the question, “Why do men wish become a Freemasons?” Brother Claudy was more focused on the cause why Freemasons remains in the Fraternity and what the Order made us to be.
Relative to our contemporary times, I propose that the question of "Why do Freemasons remain such-why do freemasons loved Freemasonry" query is less important than "Why do men wish to become a Freemasons?" Considering the current population, the later inquiry could be argued as one of the most important subject the Fraternity is facing today. With membership declining as evidenced by consolidations of Lodges, wide range of ideas to addressed this issue takes us from innovative "membership packets" to as some brothers described, as "hare-brained" one-day conferrals. This is an organization that does not actively recruit its members and do not give an iota of idea of what the candidate will swear about because it is supposed to be secret. Freemasonry is explained as "a system of morality, veiled in allegories and illustrated in symbols." No advertisement and relatively low profile in terms of public relations.
The reasons for men joining our Craft can be as varied as the number of men who called themselves Masons. However, the rationale of why men remain to be Freemason can be narrowed down to a belief that they found what they are looking for. It's that plain and simple--- detail explanation can be as diverse as the brothers who composed the Fraternity. Each man found something that he is comfortable to be or share with, be it may camaraderie, community involvement, personal enlightenment or belief in Deity. Each Masons found a common thread that binds him to the Craft through his desire to be with his brethrens. When a brother ceased to actively participate in Masonic activities, it is because of physical limitations such as old age. If the brother is still capable of climbing the stairway of his Lodge room, the mostly likely cause of non attendance is that he lost his comfort zone. Did not feel that he still belongs--- a tragic raison d'ętre for an organization especially of ours.
The most effective way to encourage participation to any voluntary activities is to make the participant to feel comfortable, wanted and appreciated. The reverse is the answer to the question of why brothers dropped out from the Fraternity.
/rmo