The North Carolina Mason

January/February 2022

North Carolina Mason

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The Mason Official Publication of e Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina Volume 147 Number 1 Oxford, North Carolina January/February 2022 NORTH CAROLINA Finding new paths toward Masonic revival Willpower, alternative approa es could ensure the future of lodges By Beth Grace Mason Editor It's not easy being a Freemason in North Carolina these days. e chatter is everywhere: membership is down, lodges are merging or closing, brethren are aging out, and new blood is not flowing in as fast as it once did. at sounds like bad news. But depending on how you crunch the numbers and your view of what will fuel the future of Masonry, there may be an entirely different inter- pretation. First, some numbers. In the last 12 months, 10 lodges have merged or surrendered charters (one charter was arrested). at's a loss of 3 percent of lodges in a year. Currently, there are 365 lodges in North Carolina, although that number changes frequently. For example, two new lodges have sought dispensation or opened in that time. e number of brethren is drop- ping, as it has for many years. North Carolina logged its highest number of lodges in the 1920s. at number rose significantly after World War I, dropped again during the great Depression and bumped upward post World War II. e number of lodges in North ■ see REVIVAL, page 2

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