Brethren all –

Another Lodge Officer Installation season has come and gone here in the 16th District, and another promising Masonic Year has begun.  What is the state of our Fraternity as we begin 2012 in earnest?

Some of the District's Lodges have installed a full line of 2012 Officers, while others have not. Among those who haven't, it was sometimes just a matter of a scheduling conflict between the officer and the Installation ceremonies; for others, it may have been a shortage of Master Masons willing to serve. Why?

Like many of our fellow Americans, most of the Craft lead busy, hectic lives, struggling to support ourselves and families in these difficult economic times.  Both of these elements, among others, place such demands on our time that perhaps some Brethren simply cannot dedicate the proper attention that successfully serving as an officer demands.

Indeed, in many cases a Brother’s financial situation may not allow him to pay his dues, or might cause him to not participate in Masonic activities that he would otherwise take part in.

Or, such manpower shortages may simply be a reflection of today’s culture. Across the spectrum, social and fraternal organizations have seen a sharp decrease in membership and interest in recent years, and even Masonry is not immune. The sad fact is that in the current “electronic age” of the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, fewer and fewer people either need or want the social interaction that once induced so many to join the more personal social organizations.

However, there is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel we as Masons find ourselves in. As everyone knows, Freemasonry is the world’s oldest and biggest fraternal organization in the world, a fact that we owe to what we have often referred to as the eternal, universal and immutable “genius of Freemasonry”.  By that we mean that the principles of our Fraternity are such that while we will be affected by the cyclical nature of every society, we will always survive, and no social force of the outside world can bring us down.

Witness the recent fundamental change in the membership levels in our Fraternity. Instead of continuing the pattern of a declining membership of recent years, we have begun rebuilding, and renewing our Fraternity. The numbers of new Masons coming into our Craft are increasing, and I truly believe that we are on the upswing side of the cycle. This bodes very well indeed for our future!

Brethren, as always, the genius of Freemasonry is at work preserving and growing our Fraternity. Let us all work for the benefit of the Craft, serve in whatever role we are called to, and dedicate ourselves to leaving a better Masonic world than the one we inherited.

So mote it always be!

W:. Stephen J. Tilley, PM