Friday night our Lodge had a Double EA Degree. This is the 5th and 6th EA entered in our lodge in the last 30 days, and the 12th and 13th in the area that I know of (and Im sure there are more I missed)! Not only did we have a Double EA, but I got the honor of helping out in the degree by doing the part of the Master of Ceremony! In our GL, and maybe others, the MC is one that prepares the candidate prior to the degree, does the pre-degree reading, and is the friend that leads them to the door of the lodge. As Im still working on my EA proficiency, I was honored to be part of the ceremony, and I wasnt prompted or corrected so Im sure I didnt materialy err. We had a very large turn out for this degree and there were over 10 EAs in attendance!
Another highlight for me was seeing one of my fellow EAs turn in his proficiency! He did a wonderful job and the speed at which we did the long (88 Q&A) proficiency was amazing! I hope someday to do my half as good as he did his!
Saturday morning I had the great honor of going to the Texas Grand Masters Conference in Fort Worth. WOW! It was an amazing experience. Our Grand Masters major theme this year is the EA and FC. The Grand Lodge put on an outstanding skit called Runaway Lodge which was a staristical look at how things happen in lodges and how bad they really look from the eyes of a newly entered candidate. One thing our GM is pushing this year, and I of course strongly support, is to have all lodges opened at the EA level and if needed closed and reopened at the MM level with 2 exceptions: when District/GL officers are making their official visits and on the rare occasion when a quarum can not be made so it can be opened on the MM level. One thing I noticed is that when he brought up the idea, there was a loud round of applause from a very large portion of the audience (almost 300)! There was a small group of older Masons that didnt appear to be very happy about it and sat on their hands.
There was also a great paper presented on the State of Masonry in the State (my title not theirs). It was basicly showing the difference between 1965 Masonry and Masonry today. The amount of Masons that go from EA to MM is not near what it should be. In 1965 it was around 97% average in Texas. In 2006, there was a 36% loss rate!!! In some districts it was as high as 50% loss! Recent surveys and polls had a surprising (to many) results. They contacted many of the 'dropouts' to find out why. Many it was because they didnt feel they were getting what they expected out of Masonry. It wasnt the large memory work etc, it was being ignored, lodges not keeping in contact with them, not showing them the brotherly love and fellowship that is advertised!!!
Our lodges Worshipful Master has taken the charge of the GM to heart and has been opening our stated meetings on the EA! We are being not only asked to participate but strongly encouraged! Maybe this is why our lodge/district is growing while others are lossing members. What a great time to be involved in Masonry!
The lessons come from the journey... So Mote It Be!
