Page 24 - 2017 Summer

ashingt
on
e of W
and Lodg
Gr
Grand Lodge of Washington not supported the Plan. I can assure you, your Deputy GM
Masonic T r ibune has agreed to support this Plan. Your Sr. Grand Warden
Masonic Tribune
Volume XCVIII No. 4 - Summer 2017 Issue - Page 24 has agreed to support this Plan. Your Jr. Grand Warden
Volume XCII No.1 - Summer Issue - Page 3
has agreed to support this Plan and all 3 Candidates for the
Grand South have agreed to support the future of this Long
Range Plan. Please take time to familiar-
(Continued from page 23) Long Range Planning Committee ize yourself with the current Plan or Vi-
sion statement as it is currently written.
http://6supports.weebly.com
with all parts covered by the CURRENT members of our
Lodge? This is the basic need. Fraternally submitted,
2. Once we can make new Masons, then we can consider VWB David W. Colbeth, Chairman
the next level of development. Safety needs; security, law Long Range Planning Committee &
& order, stability as Maslow suggests. How does this trans- Task Force on Long Range Planning
late to Masonry?
What experience are the Members having when the first
ask, then go through the Degrees and more especially af-
ter the Degrees are finished is there more for these newly Concordant Bodies
minted Men to embrace? This is where the Membership
Experience element becomes critical; Engage and retain
members and their families through an enhanced, sustain- Youth & Youth Committee
ing, and relevant membership experience.
3. If our Members are enjoying a quality Membership Ex- Engaging Our Brothers in the Ma-
perience, then naturally the next step is to develop a deep- sonic Experience
er understanding of themselves and their Lodge Brethren.
This relates to Maslow’s element of Love & Belonging; The Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdic-
friendship, trust & acceptance, affiliation, part of a group. tion determined nearly three years
We can enhance this through Masonic education; Educate ago that we needed to find a new for-
members and communities about the Fraternity’s intriguing mula for engaging our members and
and enduring history, values, practical application of our Meeting their expectations when they
principles, and relevance to society today. sought membership in the Order. Our
experience had been that a significant
4. Once our Members are educated, what is the next logical number or our Brothers would join,
step? Maslow suggests that it is Esteem needs; indepen- spend one or two years and then be
dence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, respect dropped for non-payment of dues or take a demit. At three
from others. Our Lodge officer experience is perfectly suit- regional workshops throughout the Country, the member-
ed for this element. But what if a man does not want to be ship was asked to provide ideas, suggestions, and concepts
an officer? That man can be provided with other opportuni- to engage and integrate our members. Over 400 items
ties to show his leadership abilities through mentoring, giv- were identified. A committee of rank and file members was
ing training sessions, and outreach to the Community. This formed to sort, categorize and publish the results. The pub-
would certainly satisfy the LRP plan element of Leadership lication was entitled the Valley Membership Achievement
& Management; strengthen our leaders and cultivate new Project.
ones; strengthen management and governance effective-
ness at all levels. Valleys embraced the Project and used the ideas to provide
members an opportunity to be involved in new areas or the
5. While we spend a lifetime developing ourselves and expansion of existing practices. The results of the Project
hoping to attain that perfect ashler status, it alludes us until are just now being tabulated but the results over the last
the GAOTU calls us home. While we are still here on Earth, two years show significant reduction in the percentage of
Maslow suggests that Self actualization is our next high- members leaving the Rite.
est ability; self-fulfillment, personal growth, achievement,
Mastery. Again our Fraternity provides many interesting The foundation of this project is based on the bottom-up
opportunities to fulfill this Human need. concept. The Scottish Rite leadership recognized that for
us to be successful we needed to receive buy-in from the
The LRP provides at least 2 elements that can help in this general membership. They indeed have a vested interest
area including Beyond the Lodge; Instill a wider Masonic per- in the Project’s success as it was developed by them and is
spective, inside and outside the Fraternity, by deepening the administered by them.
connection between members, lodges, the worldwide body
of FreeMasonry, concordant organizations, and the Public at There is a parallel here with the effort of the Grand Lodge
large. And, through Philanthropy; focus our philanthropic ef- this year, in development of the Strategic or Long Range
forts through Washington Masonic Charities. Plan. Brothers from throughout the Jurisdiction have been
enlisted to develop a road map as to where we are headed
You will be voting to implement the Long Range Plan at the in the next three to five years. Our current and future leader-
next Annual Communication. This plan is for the future. In the ship has indicated full support of their efforts.
words our Grand Master, “while the words have been written
today, the song will be sung after his term has concluded”. I believe the key to both these endeavors has been the will-
ingness of the membership to help find a solution to mem-
One of the stumbling blocks of Long Range Plans in the bership retention or in my perspective the fulfillment of the
past is that successive Elected Grand Lodge officers have Masonic experience.
(Continued in page 26)
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