I've been asked to join the Freemasons
Discussion
21TonyK said:
The Mad Monk said:
Do you believe in a god?
Whether that be God, Allah, Buddha, etc., etc.
You need to believe in a god.
Not a specific being or entity, no. If you mixed all the worlds religions and picked the best bits out... that would be me.Whether that be God, Allah, Buddha, etc., etc.
You need to believe in a god.
Hey... that's an idea... could I be a new supreme being?
All joking aside, no. I really follow no religion as such although I believe that Buddha was real and the philosophy is not one I would disagree with.
https://pglm.org.uk/robert-lomas-article/
Robert Lomas, who is a physicist and a prominent author on masonic matters, says in the article - "Freemasonry is not a religion, it is a philosophical system. It asks only one important question of anyone who wants to join it: do you believe there is some sort of supreme order and purpose to the universe? It does not ask the nature of your belief, as that is a private matter for you alone. But if you do not think there is any purpose to the cosmos then there is no point in your joining Freemasonry because its main objective is to enable you to meet like-minded individuals to share your ideas about the nature and purpose of life."
Thread bump here...
I have been in freemasonry 7 years now, initiated at 21, innerguard whilst still a FC and went into the chair in February at the tender age of 28.
As I’m sure you can guess we don’t have a large number of members, probably 35 subscribing but realistically less than 20 in regular attendance, many of those being in their later stages of life and having gone through all offices multiple times.
We are an old school lodge which seems to make recruitment harder but a few years back opened up to anyone who wished to join.
So I’m after a bit of advice really around how to increase our membership. I know we aren’t alone in this problem so would be interested to hear how others have approached it.
I have been in freemasonry 7 years now, initiated at 21, innerguard whilst still a FC and went into the chair in February at the tender age of 28.
As I’m sure you can guess we don’t have a large number of members, probably 35 subscribing but realistically less than 20 in regular attendance, many of those being in their later stages of life and having gone through all offices multiple times.
We are an old school lodge which seems to make recruitment harder but a few years back opened up to anyone who wished to join.
So I’m after a bit of advice really around how to increase our membership. I know we aren’t alone in this problem so would be interested to hear how others have approached it.
Shepster said:
Thread bump here...
I have been in freemasonry 7 years now, initiated at 21, innerguard whilst still a FC and went into the chair in February at the tender age of 28.
As I’m sure you can guess we don’t have a large number of members, probably 35 subscribing but realistically less than 20 in regular attendance, many of those being in their later stages of life and having gone through all offices multiple times.
We are an old school lodge which seems to make recruitment harder but a few years back opened up to anyone who wished to join.
So I’m after a bit of advice really around how to increase our membership. I know we aren’t alone in this problem so would be interested to hear how others have approached it.
I am a member of a lodge in the Home Counties. We are trialling a new "system", which as I understand it, involves advertising which varies slightly depending upon the age group of the potential readership. The prospective candidates are then invited to a series of social events, with their partner, in order that they can meet the lodge members in an informal setting. Only then are they put before the committee.I have been in freemasonry 7 years now, initiated at 21, innerguard whilst still a FC and went into the chair in February at the tender age of 28.
As I’m sure you can guess we don’t have a large number of members, probably 35 subscribing but realistically less than 20 in regular attendance, many of those being in their later stages of life and having gone through all offices multiple times.
We are an old school lodge which seems to make recruitment harder but a few years back opened up to anyone who wished to join.
So I’m after a bit of advice really around how to increase our membership. I know we aren’t alone in this problem so would be interested to hear how others have approached it.
I will let you know how it works out.
The Mad Monk said:
I am a member of a lodge in the Home Counties. We are trialling a new "system", which as I understand it, involves advertising which varies slightly depending upon the age group of the potential readership. The prospective candidates are then invited to a series of social events, with their partner, in order that they can meet the lodge members in an informal setting. Only then are they put before the committee.
I will let you know how it works out.
That sounds like a really good idea, especially the invitation with their partner, as we all know how important it is to have your partners support. I will let you know how it works out.
I will be interested to see how you get on with it.
Bebee said:
^^^ Facebook promotion?
We have tried that with little success sadly. We did get one candidate but after their 2nd they decided it wasn’t for them.It’s a fine line between getting new members and members who have friends/connections to the lodge and are more likely to go the journey.
Bebee said:
^^^ Facebook promotion?
We have tried that with little success sadly. We did get one candidate but after their 2nd they decided it wasn’t for them.It’s a fine line between getting new members and members who have friends/connections to the lodge and are more likely to go the journey.
Swampy1982 said:
How about directly approaching people? I know if join but don't know anyone who is in the freemasons in order to get a foot in the door.
If try linked in personally, set up your lodge in there, then start connecting with people.
Very good point, I hadn’t thought of LinkedIn to be honest.If try linked in personally, set up your lodge in there, then start connecting with people.
Shepster said:
Swampy1982 said:
How about directly approaching people? I know if join but don't know anyone who is in the freemasons in order to get a foot in the door.
If try linked in personally, set up your lodge in there, then start connecting with people.
Very good point, I hadn’t thought of LinkedIn to be honest.If try linked in personally, set up your lodge in there, then start connecting with people.
P.s. for "if", read "I'd" phone keeps autocorrecting!
Shepster said:
The Mad Monk said:
I am a member of a lodge in the Home Counties. We are trialling a new "system", which as I understand it, involves advertising which varies slightly depending upon the age group of the potential readership. The prospective candidates are then invited to a series of social events, with their partner, in order that they can meet the lodge members in an informal setting. Only then are they put before the committee.
I will let you know how it works out.
That sounds like a really good idea, especially the invitation with their partner, as we all know how important it is to have your partners support. I will let you know how it works out.
I will be interested to see how you get on with it.
Seemed to work well
Swampy1982 said:
How about directly approaching people? I know if join but don't know anyone who is in the freemasons in order to get a foot in the door.
If try linked in personally, set up your lodge in there, then start connecting with people.
Sorry, I am not sure if i understand all of your post. If try linked in personally, set up your lodge in there, then start connecting with people.
If you are interested in joining you can make contact here:-
https://www.pglcambs.org.uk/index.php/contact-us.h...
pmanson said:
We held a Sunday lunch a few weeks ago with partners and children invited. We had a couple of prospective members there too.
Seemed to work well
How did you decide who to invite? Was it people who have previously expressed an interest, friends of brethren or generally to the wider public?Seemed to work well
Shepster said:
Thread bump here...
I have been in freemasonry 7 years now, initiated at 21, innerguard whilst still a FC and went into the chair in February at the tender age of 28.
As I’m sure you can guess we don’t have a large number of members, probably 35 subscribing but realistically less than 20 in regular attendance, many of those being in their later stages of life and having gone through all offices multiple times.
We are an old school lodge which seems to make recruitment harder but a few years back opened up to anyone who wished to join.
So I’m after a bit of advice really around how to increase our membership. I know we aren’t alone in this problem so would be interested to hear how others have approached it.
Social membership would be of interest to me.I have been in freemasonry 7 years now, initiated at 21, innerguard whilst still a FC and went into the chair in February at the tender age of 28.
As I’m sure you can guess we don’t have a large number of members, probably 35 subscribing but realistically less than 20 in regular attendance, many of those being in their later stages of life and having gone through all offices multiple times.
We are an old school lodge which seems to make recruitment harder but a few years back opened up to anyone who wished to join.
So I’m after a bit of advice really around how to increase our membership. I know we aren’t alone in this problem so would be interested to hear how others have approached it.
V8 Fettler said:
Social membership would be of interest to me.
If you are interested in joining, this is a linkhttps://www.ugle.org.uk/becoming-a-freemason
I tried a targeted ad on Facebook last year. Only cost a tenner. We had a few people 'like' our page but only one turned into a candidate. I met up with him socially a few times over about a 6 month period before we initiated him, including meeting up with other members. He really enjoys it, so I'd say it was worth a punt.
I also keep our website up to date, and worked heavily on the SEO. Google 'Freemasons near me' when you're in the area, or '*town name* Freemasons' and we're the top result. We didn't get anything through it for a long time, but I added an 'Interested in joining? Contact Us' link in the header at the start of the year and we've now got two seemingly good guys waiting in the wings through that. Again, they've met the guys and have been for curries and beers a few times already.
Twitter seems pointless. We've over 1800 followers and had zero interest.
I've also got a social function organised for October. It's a comedian rather than a Ladies night.
The worst thing, for me, is that everyone in the lodge acknowledges we need new members, but I'm the only one proactively doing anything about it.
I also keep our website up to date, and worked heavily on the SEO. Google 'Freemasons near me' when you're in the area, or '*town name* Freemasons' and we're the top result. We didn't get anything through it for a long time, but I added an 'Interested in joining? Contact Us' link in the header at the start of the year and we've now got two seemingly good guys waiting in the wings through that. Again, they've met the guys and have been for curries and beers a few times already.
Twitter seems pointless. We've over 1800 followers and had zero interest.
I've also got a social function organised for October. It's a comedian rather than a Ladies night.
The worst thing, for me, is that everyone in the lodge acknowledges we need new members, but I'm the only one proactively doing anything about it.
We formed a daylight lodge about 5 years ago; we're about to close the books to new members as we're full!
It's a past masters lodge, but we hold a White Table event every year. We normally invite a guest speaker - we've had a representative from the Royal College of Surgeons, the master mason from Liverpool cathedral(!) and Mike Neville the author. We then hold the festive board as normal, but without the toasts.
We normally get three or four new candidates for the local lodges, and a good time is had by all!
Might be worth a try.
It's a past masters lodge, but we hold a White Table event every year. We normally invite a guest speaker - we've had a representative from the Royal College of Surgeons, the master mason from Liverpool cathedral(!) and Mike Neville the author. We then hold the festive board as normal, but without the toasts.
We normally get three or four new candidates for the local lodges, and a good time is had by all!
Might be worth a try.
Both really good ideas and both have obviously worked to a degree (no pun intended).
Has definitely given me some food for thought.
We desperately need members, not just for the numbers but for the ceremonies as well and I’m really keen to make an impact in my year in the chair. How time flies though, I’ve already been in for 6 months and only have 3 meetings left!
Has definitely given me some food for thought.
We desperately need members, not just for the numbers but for the ceremonies as well and I’m really keen to make an impact in my year in the chair. How time flies though, I’ve already been in for 6 months and only have 3 meetings left!
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