Making the Links Recruitment in East Lancashire

1. Making the LinksRecruitment in East Lancashire Click on the icon to continue Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire (2012)

2. Making the links… • The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate how and where the thread of Recruitment appears within Freemasonry • This approach not only emphasis the vital position Recruitment has in our future but moreover, that it must be a golden thread in all aspects of Freemasonry if we have a hope of meaningful survival • This provides us with a structured message which will in turn, will assist the Brethren in having a more joined-up appreciation of Freemasonry, of what matters but moreover, what matters more • The objective is that this ‘appreciation’ will assist us all in • how we explain Freemasonry • how that understanding will assist in Recruitment • how all the component parts need to work together to benefit the whole • In simple terms, we then need to make sure that Recruitment is on everybody's agenda, stays there, is routinely discussed and planned for and vitally, opportunities for it are actively pursued within all settings.

3. How does this presentation work? • The next screen will look like this: • Click on any of the graphics on the following screen to read the ideas behind it • This icon will appear at the end of each. Clicking on it will return you to the main screen…click on it now to begin.

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5. Recruitment • It must be an active, not a passive process • It must be planned for • And before beginning I must: • Know who I am approaching: why himand why now? • Fully understand what Freemasonry and specifically, my Lodge has to offer him • Have an appreciation of what he might bring to it • Ensure my description of the Order matches the reality of the Lodge I plan bringing him into: do we really offer what we say we are offering? • Be totally comfortable in my explanations, my terminology and what Freemasonry really means to me. Essentially, it is the personal story of my journey that will inspire his • Be fully conversant with the facts, the figures and the commitment required • Have a clear plan within the Lodge of his future care and Mentoring. • Realise that: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got”… so doing nothing and relying on fate and good luck is no longer sufficient.

6. Halls • For potential new members, our halls must: • Be our showcase, our window on local FM • Have a mechanism in place for referring ‘cold callers’ to an agreed District contact • Have appropriate materials/resources on hand to inform and engage the general public who use them concerning, who we are, what we do and how to contact us • Be warm, welcoming, inviting, friendly, well maintained, approachable • Create a controlled environment to appropriately ‘advertise’ FM, its values, its objectives, its appeal • Represent a unique resource that selectively benefits the locale at a time when community facilities are rapidly disappearing • Provide an environment which allows Family and Freemasonry to come together • Demonstrate a commitment to all our diverse communities and truly evidence Freemasonry Universal • Be working towards the same objectives as the Lodges meeting there and support each other in striking a balance between ‘business and brotherhood’

7. Community • In respect of potential new members: • Existing members are our best adverts • Our next best adverts are our actions • If we engage with the community, we illustrate through our involvement, our value to that community, our placein that community and the benefits to potential members withinthat community of joining us • By prioritising our charitable activities and giving intelligently, we can also engage those hard to reach elements of our communities who are underrepresented in our existing membership, thereby opening up new opportunities for recruitment • We therefore need to be constantly tuned into and creating opportunities for recruitment and consider the potential for it in all that we do in the community

8. Mentoring • Mentoring must be at the heart of a lifelong relationship with FM • New members must understand the principles and objectives of Mentoring so as to fully appreciate its importance and what it affords them • All members of a Lodge need to engage with Mentoring, understand how they might apply its principles and be prepared to take an active role • (Vitally) all members must respect Mentoring and those performing it so as to not undermine it • New members should be encouraged to introduce the concept of Mentoring in FM in discussion with their non-Masonic friends. It evidences the positive elements of structure, of planning and the importance placed on ‘needs and nurture’.

9. The Festival • For potential new members it: • Provides an excellent example of how we help others in need • Evidences the work that Freemasonry (for example) does to assist vulnerable, elderly people: securing their future, providing them with dignity and caring for their needs for life • Provides a fantastic role-model of how Freemasonry looks after its members, their families, their loved ones – even when they may no longer be Freemasons • Clearly illustrates our core values • Provides a clear way to become involved through direct fundraising and/or giving whilst readily illustrating that pounds help people • Demonstrates how their own family and loves ones are part of the greater Masonic family i.e., a family that cares for more than the member • Is a transferrable association, be it the RMBI, NMSF, MTGB, GC or in the future, ‘Freemasonry Cares’. Festivals are Freemasonry in action.

10. Family • Potential new members • Have supportive families who are well informed and appreciative of FM • Have had the opportunity on a number of occasions with their families, to meet existing members both within and outside of a Masonic context • Have explained to their families with the assistance of their proposer/seconder/mentor, the commitment and progression involved and that FM is a long term investment

11. Charity • For potential new members: • It is an expression of what it is to be a Freemason • It allows its members to practically and easily illustrate the principles of FM and how it benefits others • We must give simple examples of local and national giving. They make FM tangible and comparable, thus demonstrating its uniqueness • We equally must provide local examples of hands-on projects which involve local FM helping local people. This illustrates the accessibility of FM and the opportunity afforded to give something back in a hands-on way • (Vitally), That charity provides a useful link between the message of ritual and its practical application outside of Lodge • It affords potential members a digestible context from which to relate FM to their own values and vitally, explain FM to their family and friends • It is an excellent example of FM’s unique blend of morality, social awareness, commitment and desire to take the initiative in making a difference in the lives of others…in essence, much more than just raising money and giving it away.

12. Quality Initiates • Are men who understand our standards, our moral code, our values, our principles • They see something of themselves in those who are members and readily have an affinity with them • Are identified through constantly scanning our relationships in whatever context, actively looking for the next new member, measured against a standard we must strive to maintain • Are enquiring and eager, have a capability to learn and a commitment to do so • Have the ability to understand the place of ritual at the heart of our Order and the ‘life lessons’ that it affords us • Have the means and the intention to satisfy and honour their long term membership • Are men who are able to bring something to FM, enrich a Lodge and the experience for the existing members • Have been identified, assessed, profiled, planned for, before they have been approached and Mentoring has been at the heart of the process • Quality Initiates stay and are a catalyst for success. Poor initiates leave, but can also cause untold damage before doing so be that through absence, apathy or attrition. • (Vitally) Quality Initiates seek out their peers, pass on their experiences and know what they are looking for in other potential members

13. Quality Ritual has the capability to: • Define who and what we are and our uniqueness, our standards, our ideals and our commitment to the bigger society • Challenge allmembers, not just the newest, to achieve, to improve • Make good men better men and therefore has repercussions outside of Freemasonry in our non-Masonic lives • Provide a unique discipline in thought and action that can be found nowhere else in life • Instil a sense of achievement, accomplishment, teamwork • Provide moral lessons, self awareness and an understanding that affords men of all faiths a unique opportunity to meet together • (Vitally) Inspire new members to share their experience and the value of membership with their friends, whilst at the same time dispelling myths about the fundamental basis of ritual in Freemasonry. • Quality Ritual

14. Quality Masons only exist if we: • Have taken a personal responsibility for ensuring retention; it is not owned exclusively by ‘The Lodge’, as we all have a role in making each other feel valued and involved • Ensure the overarching principle of quality not quantity is applied • Revisit past members, the reasons why they were lost and the benefit for both sides of their returning • Appreciate that unless we engage with non-Masons they will never become Masons. The initiative must be a personal one and the responsibility rests with us all • Seek support from each other in identifying and approaching candidates. In that way there is Lodge involvement, interest and team a commitment • Ensure that the principles of Mentoring are employed from that first conversation and are life-long • Appreciate that membership is long-term and we only have one opportunity to get it right • Ensure that Mentoring should be visited and reported on at every Lodge committee meeting and at regular intervals in Lodge • Make sure that all our members – including the newest - have the skills to ‘Talk Freemasonry’. Recruitment requires a vocabulary that we all need to develop • Quality Masons

15. Always have a purpose which is never just administration and process • Are inspiring, engaging, educational, instructional, rewarding and above all else, fun • Are repeatable and make those attending eager to come again • Involve all members in some small way so that all are valued, all have worth, all feel at home • Are welcoming occasions where new members and visitors are only strangers once • Ensure new members feel a part of the experience by being fully prepared for the role that they have and in time, understanding the roles others have performed • Are planned and structured and are the product of well-run practices and additional tutelage that has ensured all are prepared sufficiently and that Mentoring has been a key component within that success. • Provide a positive experience which new members want to talk about to their friends who are not Masons • Quality Meetings

16. Are positive environments • Are supportive and enjoyable • Are inclusive and work hard to ensure all members feel a part of the team • Have a life outside of meeting nights which allow the opportunity to engage with their families and with their communities • Are places where politics and personalities are dealt with and not allowed to fester and therefore, do not endure inappropriate behaviour/attitudes • Are involved, interested and supportive of the place where they meet • Are committed to supporting their District and Province • Give intelligently to charity and prioritise accordingly • Have new members who feel at home, are proud to be members and are equipped with the confidence, the experiences and the vocabulary to share their passion for Freemasonry with those who are not Freemasons. (Vitally) In time they are capable and comfortable being Ambassadors for their Lodge and for FM • Quality Lodges

17. Some final thoughts • If your Lodge had to be reduced to 15 members, would you be selected to stay? • If your membership was valid for 12 months, would you be voted back in? • If everyone did as much work as you do, would your Lodge survive? • If I asked you to stand up now and tell a non-Mason the following, would you feel comfortable doing it: • Why did you join Freemasonry? • Why have you stayed? • What has it done for you? • What have you done for it? • What does it do for others? • Why is it still relevant today? • Why will it be relevant to him?

18. Recruitment The future of Freemasonry depends on it … and Freemasonry is depending on you. To leave this presentation press ‘Esc’