Grand Lodge Quarterly Communication
Digital futures In his in-person September message, Deputy Grand Master Jonathan Spence shared his excitement about the digital developments in Freemasonry
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rethren, I am delighted to see so many of you here today as we continue to move towards a more normal rhythm in our meetings. We all very much hope that things will continue to improve as more and more of our Lodge and Chapter meetings are able to take place and our members return to a fuller enjoyment of their Freemasonry. Having stated what I am sure we all hope may be the case, none of us are in any doubt that there is a continuing level of uncertainty on how things will develop with COVID-19 over the next few weeks and months. There will undoubtedly be a few alarms along the way, but as we move from a pandemic situation to one where we have an endemic infection in the population, we need to adjust and adapt our responses, especially in our Lodges and Chapters. I mention both Lodges and Chapters as what I am about to say will surely apply to both the Craft and the Royal Arch. A significant number of Lodges and Chapters have already met and more will do so over the next few weeks. I am sure you will all experience, as I have, that individuals respond differently to the current situation. Some of our members in meetings will just carry on as normal, but others will wish 46
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to wear a mask or sit at more of a distance from others than before, and I am sure there will be other responses. It is vitally important for every member of a lodge or chapter to feel comfortable in a meeting and we should all be entirely supportive of the choices individuals make to be able to attend. The important thing is for everyone to want to attend, be supported to do so and to be engaged with their Freemasonry. We should also be understanding of those members who may not yet feel able to attend a meeting in person and ensure they are very much supported in their continued membership. Such an approach will very much live up to our values. As you will realise from the numerous communications over recent months, a great deal of work has been done over the last year or so in developing and enhancing our approach, both in engaging with existing members and in attracting new members. I would like to thank all those who have been involved in this work, particularly the Metropolitan, Provincial and District Grand Masters, as it is only with their support, encouragement, and sound advice that we have been able to make as much progress in these trying times. Brethren, I think we all appreciate it is every bit as important to engage with those who are already members as it is to attract new ones. It is you, our members, through your enthusiasm, who are the best advertisement and ambassadors for Freemasonry. One has only to think of the extraordinary levels of engagement in our communities by Freemasons, particularly in recent times, to realise how critical this is for any organisation that wishes to thrive. Very shortly an updated Members’ Pathway will be rolled out across the Provinces and individual Lodges and you have all seen the material sent in preparation for this. This is an exciting development and enhancement to what we have done over the past three years or so and has been warmly welcomed by Provincial Grand Masters and Provincial Membership Teams. I am sure it will be equally well received in Lodges. Brethren, as you will also be aware, we are going to launch a national digital marketing campaign. This is a first for us. This campaign will be promoted under the auspices of ‘Why Freemasonry?’, with memorable sentences that capture the essence of Freemasonry. This builds on the mission statement published with the annual report in April. Creating ‘Why Freemasonry?’, in other words why become a Freemason and why remain one, was not as straightforward a task as some
FMT Winter 2021
15/11/2021 19:22
