The Leader
July 2019: Bring Masons Back into the FOld

Membership in the Masonic fraternity is a lifelong commitment, but as we all know, over the course of a man’s life priorities change and issues arise that demand their time and attention—and make attendance at lodge meetings difficult. The fact is that most absentee Masons aren’t kept away by a lack of interest, but rather by everyday obstacles and busy schedules.

That doesn’t mean we should simply lose touch with those members, however. With a little planning and forethought, officers can keep absentees from straying too far away, as Doug Ismail, the Worshipful Master of California Lodge No. 1 explains—and remind them of what attracted them to the fraternity in the first place.

Planning for Success

One of the most important methods of keeping in touch with members who’ve missed lodge meetings is through an annual Roll Call dinner, Ismail says. As the name suggests, Roll Call is a chance to bring as much of the lodge membership together as possible at once. The event began as a way to bring Master Masons back to lodge for a stag night, and has since become an annual lodge tradition.

The agenda for these evenings is straightforward, Ismail says. After a nice dinner, the Master of the lodge begins roll call, starting with the newest Master Mason and continuing to the most senior. Following roll call, a presentation is given honoring those brethren the lodge had lost over the previous year. “It’s really a chance to bring guys back into lodge and reintroduce them to what is really an anchor of the fraternity: the concept that we make and keep life-long friendships,” Ismail says. Each year, Roll Call attracts a majority of those members who live within driving distance of the event; for Lodge No. 1, that means between 90 and 110 members.

The effect is twofold, Ismail explains: For one thing, the event is a reminder of the importance of fraternal friendship—and typically one of the biggest reasons members joined up in the first place. That tends to spur some Masons who’ve been scarce to start coming back to lodge more frequently. The other important aspect of an annual roll call is that it’s a way to keep in touch with older members, some of whom simply have a hard time coming to events. “Roll Call is a way for them to come back to lodge without having to worry about remembering the signs or modes of recognition—it’s basically a light-touch reentry into the Fraternity,” Ismail says. Even for those who are unable to attend, many brothers send written apologies along with an update on their own lives. These letters from absentee members are read during roll call.

The night ends with the singing of Auld Lang Syne and one final toast. Then, breaking off into casual conversations over coffee, the membership eventually disperses until they meet again—for some, at the next stated meeting, for others, perhaps until the next Roll Call. All members, however, walk away refreshed and once more mindful of why they originally joined the fraternity