FUTURE ACTIVITY P R D

The future is challenging because it involves change. How we adapt to change for improvement depends on what we have learned from the past. If we recognize our strengths and weaknesses, along with the opportunities, we can over come any downward trends. Thus, we need to keep an open mind and not be shackled by the past.

Masonic accomplishments. They will then be willing to recommend Freemasonry and their lodge to others, and they will stay active within their lodge during the present, and future years.

Local lodge officers are leaders who need to demonstrate their respective roles as stewards or guides of their lodges, to develop activities (ritual, social, and community) that will not only help their lodges to flourish in difficult but also in good times. These actions contribute to establishing an esprit de corps or pride in being a Mason and in their specific lodge.

When local lodge officers and members share positive experiences, they develop a mind set that contributes to a good perception of pride. I.E., pride in the officer corps, pride in what has been accomplished, pride by being a member in a specific lodge, and pride in Freemasonry.

Successful lodges have unified and shared visions and values which all the members understand, and those visions or values contribute to a perception of being part of a team which is accomplishing positive goals for their lodge, all the brethren, and their local communities. Thus, when all the factors come together, all lodge members feel an extraordinarily strong bond of personal and

To have successful long-range goals, our local lodge officers need to align lodge activities, decisions, and connections with their brethren. Those local lodge officers should be looking for new ways to revitalize their actions with their brethren and to make the lodge more pro-active for their members and communities. This means knowing what the members are really looking for from their lodge officers, their lodge in general, and how to relate or interact with their community besides just seeing members once or twice a month at a lodge meeting. Whenever we have positive activity, we contribute to the element of pride which drives a positive future.

Lodge officers need to acquire as much data as possible about their brethren, and to develop a strong communications network and activities with them which will also respond in a positive manner to what the brethren are looking for from their lodge, as well as from their pro-active lodge officers. By implementing this type of process, lodge officers are going to be able to develop and deliver a system of twoway communication exchanges which are more relevant to their membership. All those activities lead to building and understanding member journeys within the lodge and other Masonic Bodies, as well as being more focused on lodge members, and contributing to their community or public image.

However, innovative, and motivational activity alone will not provide a strong and lasting member relationship. We really need to go deeper and truly know our members through continuous two-way exchanges of valued information. Our local lodge officers need to be the voice of their lodge brethren because they understand the positive organizational working that contributes to the member experience or what detracts from it. Experienced and successful lodge officers gather, interpret, analyze, and act on member insights/suggestions. They build and focus on sharing challenges, which are constantly changing, and applying decisions based on all collective strengths to solve issues. They need to truly listen and not just hear their member’s opinions. Periodic surveys can help with these endeavors, along with constant communications regarding activity failures and successes. No one has all the answers to every challenge; therefore, lodge officer actions or decisions need a sharing basis between the officer corps and the rest of the lodge brethren. When this activity is accomplished, a sense of pride is developed, and that leads to a better future. It becomes a proof of properly invested time and energy that strengthens Freemasonry.

We will always have differences of opinions on about anything, especially on activities. The approach of how we manage those differences in a negative or positive manner will determine a lodge’s future.

The purpose of lodge relationships is not to get the members to do just what the lodge officers want but to do what the members need, want, and value balanced with “Masonic Teachings.”

Becoming more member centric focused is a necessary element of lodge activity that leads to pride, and a stronger future. To become phenomenally successful in providing superior lodge, member, and community relationships, the local lodge officers need to become the voices of their members. They need to constantly update, as well as communicate their periodic research findings to all their members. It is necessary to provide a value-added aspect to our lodges which also extends into constant community activities and image building which are needed. Some of the components are based on:

- Continuous relationships and surveys throughout a member’s “Masonic Journey.”

- Feedback along with analyzed data as to what causes satisfaction or dissatisfaction among the lodge members.

- The sharing of positive or even negative information with the lodge members.

- Lodge member relationships that are aligned with strategic goals.

- Activities that are supported by researching what local lodge officers and members consider of value.

Thus, if we plan and implement balanced activities that the majority of the members value, they will become positive spokesmen for and develop both personal and community pride in their lodge. This brings us back to the original concept that:

ACTIVITY + PRIDE = FUTURE

RWB John Loayza Grand Chancellor