Dear Brethren,

As Master, I have become aware of a disturbing trend that is developing in our Lodge.

In 2003, we lost fourteen Brothers. In the first six months of 2004, we lost another seven. The loss of these twenty-one Brothers represents approximately twelve percent of our total membership. During this period we raised only one Brother to Master Mason.

It is these facts that prompted me to make an unofficial survey of present membership, and these are my findings.

Based on a roster of one hundred and seventy-five members, one hundred and five Brothers (approximately 60%) have been members at least thirty years, seventy-six Brothers (approximately 43%) have been members at least forty years, and twenty-five Brothers (approximately 16%) have been members at least fifty years.

Assuming these Brothers were raised at an average age of thirty, this puts 60% of our membership between the ages of sixty and eighty. We have become a Lodge of elders.

It is obvious where this trend will take us if left unchecked, and although there is no quick fix, the fact that we are now aware of it is a step in the right direction.

Due to the nature of our Fraternity we are limited in the paths that we can take to alleviate the situation. We cannot go out and recruit directly, but we can have "friends" nights and invite prospective members to join us socially.

Another road we can follow, which we are already doing, is to actively support the one-day class. I know there are many who oppose this, but if this is the wish of the Grand Lodge, then we should give it our fullest support.

A third approach would be to merge with another Lodge, and here again, there is much opposition to this. It should be also noted that our Lodge is not the only one having these problems.

The solution to all this could take some form of each of these ideas or could very well encompass all of them. But, in any case, we must take steps soon if we are to keep our Lodge viable and active.

Fraternally,

Robert James Rawding
Woshipful Master