District Meeting to Discuss Redistricting

Brethren,

We will be having a District-wide meeting to discuss the upcoming redistricting process, how it may affect our District, and to plan for the future of our Lodges and District.  The meeting will be held at 9:00 AM on the morning of Saturday, April 16 at DeRuyter Lodge.

The results of this meeting will be submitted to the Deputy Grand Master and Grand Lodge for their review as they continue to plan for redistricting.

Whatever your feelings on the redistricting process may be, it is happening and this may be one of your last opportunities to have your voice heard and to have your suggestions considered.  As such, this meeting is open to ALL Masons who belong to one or more Lodges in the District.  Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts are welcome and are encouraged to attend as this process will affect your future in Masonry, as well.

This will not be a tiled meeting and the dress code is to be casual, but tasteful.

For the purposes of voting, should any need to occur, each Lodge will be entitled to one vote (regardless of the number of its members present) and the Master of each Lodge will be considered to be the voice of his Lodge.  Should the Master be unable to attend, he must designate a Brother to act as his proxy in writing and prior to the meeting.  Proxy designations will be accepted only from the Master and should be sent to Scott Cary at caz616@mac.com as soon as possible.  In the absence of its Master or his properly designated proxy, a Lodge will forfeit its right to vote – please do not let this happen!

Masters, proxies, and any Brother wishing to participate in the discussion may wish to consider the following prior to the meeting:

Is my Lodge active in the community?  If not, what are we doing about it?

What Masonic activities does my Lodge participate in?

Does my Lodge have a full complement of qualified and competent Officers who have been properly elected or appointed and installed?  Do they regularly attend Lodge and participate in its activities, or are they just names filling chairs?

Does my Lodge have qualified Brothers who are interested and capable of serving as Officers in the near future?  Are these Brothers attending the various training classes offered by Grand Lodge?  What is our Lodge doing to train them for future offices?

How many candidates per year is my Lodge bringing in to the Fraternity?  Are they good candidates? Are we investigating them properly?  Are we mentoring them properly?

Is my Lodge able to perform its own Degree work to a reasonable level of proficiency without outside help? Does my Lodge routinely hold practices prior to Degrees?

Do our newly-raised Brothers stay active within the Lodge, or do they just disappear after being raised?  How long do they stay active?

How many Brothers do we NPD every year?

What is the financial situation of my Lodge?

How many Brothers attend an average meeting of my Lodge? Do we have enough to fill the chairs? Are they able to open and close competently?

Is my Lodge being propped up by dual/plural members from other Lodges?  Would we still be able to function as a Lodge if they weren’t here?

Is my Lodge being run by two or three dedicated Brothers, or is the work of running the Lodge evenly distributed amongst the Officers and various members of the Lodge?  Would the loss of one or two Brothers shut down the operation of the Lodge?

When all things are considered, is my Lodge currently viable and will it remain that way for the foreseeable future?  If not, what are we doing about it?  Is it time to consider consolidation?

Has our Lodge considered consolidation with another Lodge?  If so, which one(s) and why?  Should we be starting, or have we started, the consolidation process with another Lodge (either inside or outside of our current District)?  Why or why not?

Does my Lodge want to stay with the other Lodges in the current District, or might we find a better fit (geographically, participation in activities, travel, etc.) with another group of Lodges?  If so, which ones?

If our current District were to entirely disappear, in what neighboring District would my Lodge and its members want to be located and why?

Are there Lodges in neighboring Districts with which my Lodge regularly works or plays that may be interested in joining our District?  If so, which ones?  Are they healthy, vibrant Lodges, or are they in trouble?

Please take the time to consider the above questions (amongst others) and answer them honestly.  Only by observing things as they actually are, not as we might want them to be, will we be able to make sound decisions based on accurate information.  These decisions will absolutely affect our future as a District, and it is critical that we get them right.