Dave in Waco
Premium Member
Bill beat me to the punch. My lodge took part in 2 parades this past year, and we are planning on adding more this year.
...an anti-Masonic convention in St. Louis. They said that the Shriners set up the hospitals, so that they could have access to children for sexual abuse. They said that the Rainbow Girls are prostitutes for Masons.
I would like to see us forbid the use of the words "fund raiser". Members should pay enough dues to meet the lodges expenses, with a comfortable margin. We shouldn't need to find ways to bring in outside money. Fund raisers almost always mean that the same people who are always active in the lodge are putting in even more time to maintain the lodge for the ones who never do anything.
Robert, we would probably lose half of Mina's members. Fundraisers make it affordable for our fixed income brothers.
When you look at the dues as a monthly expense, you can easily see that we simply don't pay enough.
That's an excellent idea. No doubt, it will be (has been) met with no small amount of noise (mostly of the "we've never done it that way" variety) from certain quarters, and ti might require some Lodges to adjust to a different cash-flow picture if it catches on, but on the whole it's a very good thing, if for no other reason than that it will make higher dues more palatable.Your question is more timely than you realize. Pennsylvania now has the ability for all of their members to pay dues online. The GL of Penn has an arrangement with www.payliance.com 1/12 of your annual dues are deducted from your bank account, each month, and electronically transferred. I think this is great, and hopefully more Grand Lodges will latch on to electronic dues payments.
(if I am speaking "out-of-turn" or have a misconception let me know)
A higher attendance, is a change (a good change!) . How would you make this change occur?
Give the Brethren a reason to attend. Reading the minutes & paying the bills don't get it done, especially with younger men. Lodges which are active with programs & offer Masonic education don't seem to have problems with attendance.