# Making meetings more interesting



## Mosaic (Jun 25, 2014)

We're all familiar with meetings that trend to the mundane nature of reading minutes, paying bills, eating & going home. I'm curious of ideas to make meetings more interesting. 

Do you incorporate masonic instruction into your meetings? If so, is there a committee to handle various things such as lectures/instruction?


----------



## Brother_Steve (Jun 25, 2014)

AmigoKZ said:


> Excuse me, can I clarify -- you mean outside-lodge meetings?


I would assume Mosaic means after business, the lodge is put on a tiled refreshment for a presentation.

We have a ritual advisory committee that does education and leads degree/general rehearsals. Sometimes they do a piece in tiled refreshment.


----------



## Brother JC (Jun 25, 2014)

We have two meetings each month. One is the Stated, and is all business. We do not have dinner or degrees, we fulfill our contractual obligations. The other meeting is a Lodge of Instruction, where papers are read and presentations given. It is also when we confer Degrees. This is always followed by a formal, catered dinner, filled with ritual toasts and fine fellowship.


----------



## pointwithinacircle2 (Jun 25, 2014)

Mosaic said:


> Do you incorporate masonic instruction into your meetings? If so, is there a committee to handle various things such as lectures/instruction?


Well, sometimes I stand up and talk about something that interests me.  One time I stood up during Lodge and gave a brief Masonic biography of Rudyard Kipling and then read his poem "If".    Another time I told the story of the first Mason to land on the moon and how this led to the founding of the first Lodge on the moon.  (you can read about it here: http://tl2k.org/history.htm )  No, we don't have a committee that approves such things.  Just me walking up to the WM before the meeting starts and explaining that I would like a few minutes of the Lodges time to tell a story.

I only tell stories about stuff that interests me, or fascinates me, or inspires me and is Masonic in nature.  These really aren't lectures.  They take less than five minutes and give the Brothers something interesting to think about.  So far no one has complained.  And there has always been one at least Brother who comes up to me after the meeting and wants to discuss the topic a little further.


----------



## Warrior1256 (Aug 19, 2014)

At this point in my short Masonic association I find all of the meetings interesting, even those discussing paying the bills!


----------



## dfreybur (Aug 19, 2014)

Warrior1256 said:


> At this point in my short Masonic association I find all of the meetings interesting, even those discussing paying the bills!



I find all meetings deeply comforting because of the fellowship, even those meetings where we pay the bills then leave and some go for a mug of "evening holy water" together.

In neurolinguistic programming that's called "reframing".  Start - boring meetings.  End - deeply comforting meetings.  Difference in action - none.  Difference in viewpoint - vast.


----------



## Warrior1256 (Aug 19, 2014)

dfreybur said:


> I find all meetings deeply comforting because of the fellowship, even those meetings where we pay the bills then leave and some go for a mug of "evening holy water" together.
> 
> In neurolinguistic programming that's called "reframing".  Start - boring meetings.  End - deeply comforting meetings.  Difference in action - none.  Difference in viewpoint - vast.


And I hope that I always feel the same way.


----------



## JamesMichael (Aug 19, 2014)

Our meetings can be pretty dry. We set record last week open and closed 29 minutes. Would have been sooner if I realized they were timing it,I was SD.


----------



## Tx4ever (Aug 28, 2014)

I met a brother a couple of weeks ago at an OES meeting, I asked him how his lodge was doing he stated and I quote " Some of these NEW guys are standing up and talking about Masonic, and our lodge history , sometimes for 15 minute's, we got brothers walking out ,they need to quit " I don't think we will ever make everyone happy.


----------



## JJones (Aug 28, 2014)

Tx4ever said:


> I met a brother a couple of weeks ago at an OES meeting, I asked him how his lodge was doing he stated and I quote " Some of these NEW guys are standing up and talking about Masonic, and our lodge history , sometimes for 15 minute's, we got brothers walking out ,they need to quit " I don't think we will ever make everyone happy.



I can't imagine why anyone would sit through the minutes and bills without batting an eye but leave after 15 minutes of Freemasonry.


----------



## Tx4ever (Aug 28, 2014)

I think it goes back to the old joke, How many Masons does it take to change a light bulb? Change did someone say change.


----------



## Levelhead (Aug 28, 2014)

Our meetings are allways 1-2 hours. We do have masonic education and its informative. Last meeting we went over masonic etiquette. Now my problem with all of the speakers time is.... He reads everything printed off a paper so it sounds like a stuttering robot. THAT makes you want to fall to sleep. Id rather him read it over and give a presentation in his own words.

I think walking out during a presentation because its boring is disrespectful.


----------



## Arnold71 (Oct 12, 2014)

Levelhead said:


> Our meetings are allways 1-2 hours. We do have masonic education and its informative. Last meeting we went over masonic etiquette. Now my problem with all of the speakers time is.... He reads everything printed off a paper so it sounds like a stuttering robot. THAT makes you want to fall to sleep. Id rather him read it over and give a presentation in his own words.
> 
> I think walking out during a presentation because its boring is disrespectful.


That is very disrespectful and that isn't brotherly love of any kind


----------



## Companion Joe (Oct 12, 2014)

Our stated meetings are generally all business (because we fortunately have quite a bit) and last about an hour. We have enough degree work that the "Masonry" part of it comes in there. We have an EA coming up next week, and that will be our 30th lodge opening and our 32nd degree conferred this year. Our attendance at stated meetings just for the business is really good because there is good fellowship before and after. We had 28 at the October meeting, and that was with four regulars missing because they were out of town. At our stated meetings, people start arriving an hour to 45 minutes before, and many remain long after the closing gavel has fallen.


----------



## Levelhead (Oct 12, 2014)

Arnold71 said:


> That is very disrespectful and that isn't brotherly love of any kind


Wasnt saying i would walk out lol. Was saying that people have walked out and i think its disrespectful!!

Sory worded it wrong!


----------



## Arnold71 (Oct 12, 2014)

LOl...I was ssaying in general .......


----------



## Levelhead (Oct 12, 2014)

Oh like if someone did that! Gotcha


----------



## Angus (Oct 12, 2014)

My Lodge meets twice a month for one hour, to do business. The first meeting the Stewards cook the second the wives do pot luck. On the second and fourth weeks there is a meeting where Degrees / practices are done.  This schedule is the best I have seen.


----------



## cemab4y (Nov 21, 2014)

Maryland has a tradition of interesting meeting.s


----------



## Bro. Staton (Nov 24, 2014)

My lodge meets twice a month one business and one instruction. The meeting times can range from 1-5 hours at times we tend to stay on the same subject much to long. However, I am trying to come up with a new format which details the topics of the meeting before hand and how long each speaker and topic will be discussed. I don't know how the craft will feel about it but I would like to submit it to the craft. If anyone is interested in the format let me know and I can send it via email.


----------

