Hmmmmm. Well, this conversation has taken such an interesting turn that I am no longer sure that the message I hoped to convey in my original post was clear. I was trying to say that if we don’t treat our new Brothers like Brothers it might be our fault if they do not return.
Perhaps this belief is based on my personal experience. When I was raised I attended Lodge religiously. It was a small rural Lodge so it was just me and a bunch of GOPM’s (Grumpy Old Past Masters). After a year I really felt like no one cared if I showed up or not. No one talked to me unless it was to ask me to perform some task. Quite honestly I began to think “I know what it means to be a Mason and these guys don’t”. (My father and grandfather were Mason’s, so Masonry was something very meaningful to me) I almost quit attending Lodge.
But then something interesting happened. The next time a petition was read in Lodge I recognized the man’s name although we had never met. (It was a small town) So I sought him out. I introduced myself, told him I had heard his petition read in Lodge, and that if he was accepted we would be Brothers so I wanted to get to know him. I invited him to my home. I showed him my Masonic books and offered to loan him one if he wanted. I fixed him lunch. All this happened before he was raised. After he was raised I sat next to him in Lodge and explained things like whose column was up and why, J&B, and the reasons behind why certain things happened in Lodge. In short, I treated him like a brother.
Interestingly, when the next petition was read in Lodge he treated the petitioner the way I had treated him. Apparently because he thought that’s how Masons acted. So yes, I have an attitude. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe ignoring the new guy is some kind of traditional Masonic hazing that I just don’t know about. Either way I am going to keep doing what I do unless I am told not to. I hope that’s clear.