Appendant Bodies should stop...
As a fresh Master Mason, I have my choice to leave my Lodge and join an appendant body. York Rite, Scottish Rite, Shrine, and Order of the Eastern Star are just a few of the nearly one dozen bodies that a Master Mason can get lost in.
It was said at a meeting that every Master Mason should be given an application to one of these bodies (intentionally not naming the body), and that the Mason should be, under the power of the Grand Master, ordered to fill it out and turn it in.
No.
The problem with this is that you pull away from where a Mason calls home. Their Blue Lodge is their home, they should remain there for a few years, and help their Lodge that helped them become said Mason before venturing off. The ABs should not be trying to pull bodies in, and if they do, they should help make said Mason STRONGER, and that AB should be giving back to the Blue Lodge district in which they reside. ABs should be aware of events going on in the Blue Lodges and should be reaching out to see what they can do to help the Blue Lodges.
The Growth of the AB depends on the Blue Lodge
As more and more men become Masons, the more they can venture out to the ABs that those men find interesting. If the AB is supporting the Blue Lodge, then it will help grow the AB in the long run, because people will want to be part of ‘cool kids club’ to be able to help other Lodges out, and do other functions outside of their Blue Lodge.
Appendant Bodies should wait…
If there is not a change to Blue Lodge, then an Appendant Body should wait one to years before looking to ‘court’ a Mason in its rankings. This will make sure that the Blue Lodge maintains it’s numbers, and increases it’s Lodge presence, and that the Mason in question is comfortable with everything that Blue Lodge has to offer, and that they can open their mind up to more information in the bodies that offer additional Masonic education.
Just finish this last paragraph before you get upset.
Listen, I know that as a member of an AB, it might be hard to read my opinion. Think about it though, if you had that chance to spend a little extra time in your Blue Lodge before joining an AB, would you still continue to visit MORE to your Blue Lodge than you do now? Would you have felt more comfortable with the extra information you got? Do you think it would have helped your Lodge or hurt your Lodge with my idea?
In the end, all of this is just my personal opinion. I’m just trying to make sure we don’t get lost and lose hold of our Cable Tow that binds us to our Blue Lodge. If not for the Blue Lodge, we wouldn’t have our amazing appendant bodies.
This is exactly correct in my view. I didn't join any appendant body until I had been a Mason for a good number of years. I firmly believe that by waiting, I got my Masonic career off to its best possible start.
I advise the new Masons I mentor to hold off a minimum of one year, and they would be better off holding back even longer.
It is disturbing to me when I watch members of appendant bodies grasp for brand new Master Masons. They are doing so out of desperation. Here where I live, not long ago, an appendant body tried to snag two new Masons who weren't even Master Masons yet.
I've been a Mason for 2.5 years. The more I think about AB's, the more I don't want to join, and the more I don't want anyone to join them. In my opinion, they just pull Master Masons away from their Craft (Blue) Lodge and that weakens it. There is so much to learn in the teachings of Craft Lodge, that in all honestly, could last a lifetime. Our society is so caught up in more, more, more. There's no need for more. It's all right in front of you in Craft Lodge.