March 2024:
Supporting the Youth Orders

March 2024 is Masonic Youth Orders Month, a time dedicated to renewing our commitment as Masons to serving as role models to young men and women, and to celebrating these important and historic organizations. There are lots of ways for Masons and lodges to recognize the youth orders, but if you really want to make an impact in these young people’s lives, consider taking a more active role. That’s what Ralph Shelton did more than 40 years ago. Now, four decades of service later, he looks back on the impact DeMolay and other youth orders have had on his life and Masonic career.

Just Show Up

The members of Job’s Daughters, the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, and DeMolay International are the future leaders of tomorrow—and in many cases, the Masons of tomorrow. That was certainly the case for Shelton. “Soon after maturing out of the program, I became a Mason and haven’t looked back since,” he says. Today, Shelton is one of the most active and highly decorated Masons in the state; he’s a past master of Orange Grove No. 293, a founding member of Ye Olde Cup & Ball No. 878, an inspector at large for Division IX, and a past grand chaplain of the state. On top of that, he’s a trustee of the California Masonic Foundation and the chair of the Youth Orders Committee for the Grand Lodge—proof, in other words, that many of the young people involved in Masonic youth orders tend to make their way into leadership positions within the fraternity. “It’s not an understatement to say these young people are a major part of our fraternity’s future,” he says.

So, what can individual members do to help support their local youth orders? Simple, according to Shelton: “Just show up.” Attend their meetings, go to their installations, and above all talk to them. “Show up and strike up a conversation with one of the young people,” he says. “You’ll be surprised how much you’ll both get out of the conversation.” That works the other way round, too: Shelton says he routinely asks members of the youth orders what the fraternity can do for them. The number one answer is always that: just show up.

That works on both an individual and lodge level. Many groups already lease or donate their space to the youth orders. “But that’s not enough,” Shelton says. “It’s important to make them feel welcome, not like they’re an imposition.” Do this by inviting those groups to a shared meal, keeping in regular contact with them, and making the lodge calendar more open to host their events—yes, even if that means forgoing a rental! Lodges can also encourage their new members to take on advisory roles in the youth orders in lieu of directing them immediately into a lodge leadership position. “Take that guy from the third-degree you just did and get them involved with the kids,” Shelton says.

The benefits cut both ways. “These young people really look up to [Masons] and respect them, and that makes you more aware of how important it is to model what we preach in the fraternity,” Shelton says. Not only does that make you a better Mason, it makes you a better person. “Working with these young men in DeMolay has certainly changed my life.”