Massachusetts Masonry – A New Hope

I’ve just returned from the immensely successful and invigorating Mason Con 2017, hosted by Ezekiel Bates Lodge A.F. & A.M. on Saturday. It was a wonderful day of fellowship, a large number of top quality speakers, a Masonic Panel Discussion, more vendors than I could count spread across the sprawling 4-story building, followed by initiations into Tall Cedars, Shrine and Grotto in the evening.

The organization was incredible: somehow managing to convey a friendly and almost haphazard atmosphere, while one knew the immense amount of planning which went into it; and the late organizing and setting up the tables, chairs, meals, collectibles, facilities, as well as the electronic backbone underpinned the entire operations, providing smooth audio-visuals for the speakers, podcasts, filmed interviews and a documentary-style program – all of which will, no doubt, start to appear in the next few days once the editing is completed.

Their work on this Symposium will speak for itself soon enough. But the aspect I wanted to mention was my deep admiration for a small team of young men who, balancing families and work, have enough to do without taking on the huge responsibility of not just joining a Lodge, but turning it completely around. Their enthusiasm for what they do is contagious!

The enormous Masonic Temple in Attleboro, MA was built in the early 1900s, at that age when so many huge Masonic edifices went up around the country, buoyed by optimism in the high membership numbers. It was also victim of the same problem as most Masonic buildings of that period: never believing that membership could do anything but continue to grow, all the money collection focused on building, and never maintenance. After all, future generations would be able to pay for the upkeep of the buildings, wouldn’t they? We all know the sorry outcome. As the years passed, the membership dwindled, the members ignored maintenance chores, and soon the buildings were in such a state of disrepair, it was too late to save most of them as there was no money available for restoration. Many were sold, some pulled down, and only a very few survived.

Attleboro Masonic Temple was no exception. By the early 2000s, this once impressive and stately structure was little more than a pile of decaying rooms and falling plaster, waiting to be put out of its misery. Enter a group of young, enthusiastic young Masons. They persuaded the older members to hand over the reins (there’s a moral in that, too!), and took to revitalizing both the physical and the spiritual building they now inhabited. Fast forward, and the building has become a central player in the life of Attleboro. An amateur theatrical group puts on productions in the basement. There are regular Open Days, and the Brothers reach out into the community in many ways by hosting events, and becoming actively involved in local charities (no mere ‘checkbook charity’ for these Brothers). Their Lodge’s website Calendar boasts a fuller schedule than most Grand Masters’ diaries. There are regular talks (tiled and open) on a whole host of topics. Esoteric Masons work side by side with Shriners and the Grottoes. This building is used!

I think you get my point! For once, instead of seeing the Past Masters at war with the Young Turks; the Observant Masons ignoring the BBQ Mavens; the Esotericists collaborating with the ‘lighter’  Orders; everyone pulls together, and they all work together to become relevant in their local community. And all the time they are raising money and the skill sets needed to restore their Temple.

I thoroughly enjoyed the two days I was a guest of these wonderful Masons. But in a way, my take away is far more than a professionally run Symposium. It is about a model for the future of Freemasonry and its relationship with the community in which it functions.