The North Carolina Mason

January/February 2019 The North Carolina Mason Page 13 Everyone has a story: Art of fraternalism By Walt Clapp Grand Secretary I recently received a call from a brother Mason named Jim. He asked about my health and family, then apologized for troubling me. He said he needed some help. Jim is a retired machinist, a deacon in his church, a former Scout master, and a 60-plus year Mason. Due to his health, he has not been able to attend lodge in about a decade. He does not have internet, email or a cell phone. He called because he had been excluded from his lodge for non- payment of dues. After a little talking, I learned that no one from Jim's lodge had called him in at least five years. Jim reached out to his brothers when he could, but most with whom he was close have now traveled to that undiscovered country. Jim doesn't know the new master or anyone in the lodge in which he swore to uphold the tenets of friend- ship and brotherly love. Jim's plight is not unique among the aging, displaced, and discarded members of Freemasonry in North Carolina. e fraternalism of Freemasonry cannot be scrapped because we find it inconvenient or an afterthought. is organization is based on relationships. From the moment your petition for membership is signed, you begin what should be a lifelong journey of friendship and fellowship. At the end of each year lodges begin purging their rolls of "lost" brethren. Some have died. Some have moved away. Some are infirm. Some are going through personal and financial struggles. Did you know he was sick? Did you know he was struggling? Why not? Are we a club … or a fraternity? Friends and brothers know each other. ey should know if one of their own is sick or in distress. We as a society have forgotten how to communicate. We don't talk to each other anymore. We text (as I tell my daughter, texts and talking are two distinct things). We scroll through social media feeds. But we don't take time to talk to each other. When we fail to talk to our brothers, the only contact he receives from his lodge is a dues notice. Nothing can replace the human voice. Or a handshake. Brethren, this is a part of our declining membership. Too often, when we receive calls about restoring membership or conducting a Masonic funeral, we find the brother in question has not heard from his lodge for years. I am disappointed by lodges that exclude 50-, 60-, and even 70-year members because, "we couldn't find him," or "we thought he was dead," or "he doesn't care about his membership." is problem is not generational. We see it among survivors of the Great Depression, Baby Boomers, Gen X'ers, and Millennials. Now, we know there is a problem – and we know how to fix it. Our institution is built on communica- tion and friendship. We just have to take the time to renew our faith in our ritual, allegories and tradition. Let's recognize that our lodges are probably too big. Ideally, we can keep up with about 50 people. In England, lodges limit membership, keeping their lodges manageable and interconnected. Any more than that starts to overwhelm a man's ability to interact effectively with his brothers. Many of our lodges have 100 or more members. How can we divide the task so we can best work and best agree? e Master of a lodge should endeavor to know or at least talk to all his Masons. In larger lodges, the Master could delegate such contact to his Wardens or a committee. Progressing officers should know their members — it's a part of their responsibilities — to pay the Craft their wages and see that none go away dissatisfied. is is not a job that should fall squarely on the Secretary, though the Secretary should play an integral role in making sure our contact informa- tion for that brother is current. Call your members, visit their homes, get to know them. Help them feel wanted and relevant. is is true for the 99-year-old shut-in and the 33-year-old father of four trying to make ends meet. Ask them if they need help. Make sure you get contact information for a spouse or relative in the case he goes "missing." Keep track of your brethren's widows. We take a man away from his family for years to attend meet- ings, fundraisers and dinners. What cost do our companions bear? Is it not our responsibility to keep up with those brave women who put up with our drive to improve ourselves over a lifetime? Visit our widows. Do something special for them. Last but not least, if you need help, call the Grand Lodge office. at's why we're here. We have tools and technology to help track people down. We want to help you and we want you to be successful. For me, the most rewarding part of this fraternity is building relationships and knowing as many of you in this great chain as I can. It makes me a better person. By the time Jim and I finished talking, we were friends. We're both woodworkers. We both love spy novels. We both have daughters. We both used to give the Fellowcraft lecture. He had a story to tell. So did I. Let me know your story. And, thank you, brother, for listening to mine. Are we a club… or are we a fraternity? WHAT'S YOUR LODGE'S STORY ? Have you made special efforts to reach out to absent members? Or to widows? Share your story with other lodges. Tell us what works and what maybe hasn't. Send your stories to The North Carolina Mason by email at ncmason@glnc.us, give us a call at 919-607-7441 or drop a letter in the mail to The NC Mason, 2921 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, NC 27608.

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