january - Grand Encampment, Knights Templar

target Brethren and those in the dark without. One can quickly see how thisby the activities and occupations that questionnaire would benefit both theare most common among members in a Commandery and the Lodge and couldcertain area.easily spill over into the other appendantbodies of Freemasonry. Growth inIt should begin with the usual questionssuch as your age, when you joined any one of them means growth withinyour Lodge, a brief reason why you the Fraternity, and this growth will undoubtedlyinclude collateral growth in alljoined including choices such as familytradition and the number of family bodies. You never know, your gin rummymembers that have been or are members,your occupation at the time you tell him how he can begin his journey.partner may just be waiting for you tojoined, and if you are retired. The same Next door, her grandmother may havequestions can be posed as when you been in Eastern Star, but she and herwent into the York Rite such as why you husband know nothing about how towent the York Rite. Here again, choices join. The Lodge Brother that works incould include family tradition, an obligationto payback, or to expand your ManentCommander. These are some of thethe bay next to you may be a future Emisonicknowledge. What were you lookingfor, and did you find it? Space should of life, the countless things that havemany things that are the commonalitiesbe provided to elaborate and to give a pulled us together as a society and flowview of commonalities, what impressed over into our Fraternity.you most about the degrees, and what At the beginning of this article, Ido you enjoy about your membership spoke about the counterculture of theand activities in the York Rite?late 1960s. As I pointed out, it wasPayback, that was my original reason there that I believe the problem originatedand became the source of today’sfor going the York Rite. Franklin ChapterNo. 8 sponsored our DeMolay Chapter, membership problems at both ends. Aan organization that turned me around. generation that rejected membershipI am a Past Master Councilor of Alton has raised a generation that does notChapter, so for me it was a “no-brainer.” appreciate membership which in turn isThen would be a list of questions that one raising another generation centered onwould find on almost any questionnaire self. No history exists of seeing otherssuch as your present occupation, your off to meetings or participation in children’sChristmas parties at a Lodge oreducational level, if you are a Veteran,the hobbies and past time activities you Post. There are children who do not experiencethe thrill of advancing in theirenjoy, your church and community work,activities in which you enjoy participatingsuch as hunting or fishing, etc. By of those achievements by peers, parents,own right or the positive reinforcementhonestly completing the questionnaire, and other like minded adults. All this isthe demographics will appear, showing compounded today by the cyber maladythe greatest likelihood for membership of mind-numbing video games and thebased upon the greatest number of internet. As you read this, somewhere,commonalities within a particular area. another Knight passes on to final formation.You will turn on the news tonightRemember that commonalities withinthe Fraternity are also common to those and see a killing or some other act of28 january 2013