A Mark Book

HOH people” Dougie says. “It’s embarrassing visiting lodges having to constantly ask people to pull down their mask and sometimes you’re not even quite sure they’re talking to you. I’m glad they’ve been slowly phrased out but I can’t see them going away completely. I’ll just have to adapt to this new world, just like Freemasonry is.”

St Conval have gained praise in the province for their youth system. Dougie estimates they have around 25-30 members under the age of 45 with more in the pipeline. “4 of our next 5 masters are under the age of 36 and our 3 candidates this year so far have been 30, 24 and 23” he states proudly “and it’s always a race to see who volunteers for the apron and tools first whenever we have a degree. It’s actually starting to become a concern that we won’t be invited to confer enough degrees to quench the thirst of the ‘Young Team’ who are desperate to get out and about as well as potentially running out of available office spaces. We’ll worry about that when the time comes, I guess.”

What is the secret to keeping these younger members involved? Dougie credits the atmosphere within the lodge as well as how approachable the more experienced brethren are. “We’re all good mates and the fact there’s so many of us encourages newcomers to want to stay involved. There’s no egos amongst the old guard either - they happily step aside to allow us to do our thing whilst remaining in the background to reign in any potential overexuberance!”

The Grand Master Mason himself has taken note of what’s going on at St Conval. “The GMM has been vocal from the start of his term about making Freemasonry more appealing to younger men and whilst staying true to its established values and I feel he’s done an excellent job in that respect. I actually reached out to him to tell him about my story when I first went into the chair and I was delighted he responded. Ever since then, he’s shown a keen interest in my progression and is making the time to come and see St Conval for himself which has caused great excitement.”

Dougie believes the future is bright in PGLRE and for Freemasonry in general. “There’s other lodges in the province with a decent amount of younger brethren like Houstoun St Johnstone 242, St Barchan 156 and St John’s Operative 347 whilst William Insch and Graham Hay have been doing fantastic work with the New Mason’s Forum over the last few years in engaging with younger brethren from different lodges and getting out to support them.

Freemasonry can add a lot to anyone’s life and it’s allowed me to mingle with people who I would never normally move in the same social circles with as well as forcing me to think about my life and actions outside the lodge because I wanted to be just like the gentlemen I met within lodges instead. For young men seeking a sense of belonging, I don’t think there’s anything better than Freemasonry for aiding in their development as a human being.”

For those thinking of taking the step from darkness to light, Dougie has a simple message: “Freemasonry has given me so much in life. Will you allow it to do the same for you?”

Thanks to Bro. Dougie for this article and hopefully an inspiration to many young brethren.