Mentoring

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Circular No.16/2005

24.10.2005

Dear Sir & W Bro/Bro,

MENTORING PROGRAMME IN LODGES

In a recent speech in a Grand Lodge Meeting, M W HRH Duke of Kent, M W Grand Master has stressed on the mentoring aspect in lodges. He has stated very rightly that we need to retain members who join our lodges by proper motivation and mentoring so that they get to understand masonry in its true light and also in what we do in our lodges in respect of ceremonial workings etc. Mentoring would be the only way to keep members' interest in our activities which otherwise could be viewed as repetitive and dull.

Recently W Bro M S Duleep of Kerala Lodge has sent us an extract from a UGLE letter on this subject. He had further written that he planned to attend a Mentoring Programme in London to get a first-hand knowledge of the way the programme was put to work. RWDGM is very interested in such a programme being introduced in our lodges to effectively impart to new and old masons alike, the various aspects of masonry and the role that each mason needs to play in furthering the interests of our great Order.

I am enclosing Bro Duleep's message which is of great interest to all of us. It gives an insight of the need for mentoring and the way in which this can be put in action. It is suggested that Masters, Secretaries, Directors of Ceremonies and other senior members of lodges study this programme and bring the same to the knowledge to others by way of a speech in open meetings of lodges at the earliest. It would also be necessary for each lodge to discuss the matter in their own Permanent Committees and take steps to appoint one or two senior and knowledgeable masons as "Mentors" to take on this mantle and disseminate information to the new masons and hence forth contact individuals proposed for membership through their proposers or seconders and create an interest in them much before they go through the process of ballottIng and Initiation.

To make this system effective, RWDGM desires that each lodge inform the District Grand Secretary within two months from the date of this letter the action taken, the name or names of Mentors nominated and thereafter send periodical reports on a half yearly basis on the activities of the Mentors.

It is very essential that we take immediate steps in this direction since with the limited number of lodges in our District and the consequent restrictions on our membership growth, mentoring would prove an effective methodology in maintaining the quality of membership.

Please therefore do take necessary action and report to the DGL at the earliest on action taken.

With greetings,

Yours faithfully & fraternally

K V SRINIVASAN
DISTRICT GRAND SECRETARY

To All Secretaries of Lodges

MENTORING PROGRAMME FOR MASONS IN LODGES

The Craft has a responsibility to provide new members with opportunities to meet and interact with others, to help them to do their share, and to provide knowledge about the Fraternity. This requires a mentoring programme and must be a team effort aimed at developing each Brother to his fullest potential. But what usually happens in most Lodges between the request of someone to join and the initiation? The scenario goes some-thing like this: the Lodge committee receives an application which is turned over to a visiting committee, which does its job and return their report. The Lodge ballots on the application for membership and, if accepted, the candidate is eventually informed of the date of his initiation. Is there something missing here? This is where a mentoring and education programme should begin. It provides the necessary methodology to guarantee that every new Brother, even before he actually joins, is properly instructed in the basic fundamentals of the Craft. The mentoring programme consists of assigning each candidate an experienced Brother to act as his mentor, educator and companion, who will be with him throughout his journey through the Craft degrees. He will also be provided with appropriate literature to explain each of the three degrees. So, from just being a candidate, he will become an active, motivated and educated Lodge member. Many new members do not stay active in the Lodge after the Third Degree because they are not stimulated enough to keep them interested. Usually it is because they do not even understand the Fraternity they have just joined. Every candidate is a stranger to Freemasonry and Freemasonry is a stranger to him. It is not merely a Lodge that he joins, but a great Fraternity with a history stretching back over many centuries. A candidate has every right to expect that the Lodge will provide much of the information he needs. But many Brethren never receive this information and are permitted to come-and perhaps go- undirected and uninstructed. For years responsible Craft leaders have been only too aware of these problems. It has been largely through the efforts of a few enterprising Provinces over recent years that things are beginning to happen. Failures incur the danger of weakening the whole structure by attempting to "build enduring walls with rough ashlars and untempered mortar." Moreover, it is not solely a matter of teaching the new member about the ceremonies, but to imbue them with the spirit of Freemasonry so they can believe in, and understand its purposes and ideals. It is not only the candidate who profits by mentoring. The Lodge itself is strengthened from having new members who, from the beginning, can take part in its activities.

It is therefore necessary to ask four key questions:

1. Do we allow new Brethren to pass through the three degrees uninformed and uninstructed? Do we fail to encourage special items at Lodge meetings to educate the regular attending Brethren?

2. Is the Lodge allowing those in the junior officers to come unprepared to the Master's chair?

3. Do we fail to recognise that leadership qualifications are unobtainable if we ignore the vital need to become Masonically educated?

If the answers to the above are 'Yes', then the Lodge needs a mentoring programme. On receipt of a petition, the Master should appoint a small committee and one of these will continue as the mentor. They meet with the candidate and his family at his home and answer any questions. On being approved and proposed, the Lodge mentor serves for a term as part of a Lodge education team, or the mentor may work alone to enact the programme. The Lodge then sends the candidate a congratulatory letter, including the relevant literature. The mentor will contact the candidate and advise him of the tentative Degree schedule and invite the candidate and his lady to any open Lodge, or social functions. The mentor will maintain contact during the candidate's progress through the degrees and will assist him in preparing for each stage, find out if the candidate has any Masonic friends or associates who would like to attend the various ceremonies. Above all, the mentor will make the new Brother feel that he has become a part of the Masonic family. The new Mason needs to know and understand his duties as a Master Mason and what are his rights and privileges. He needs information about the traditions and work of the Craft as a whole. A properly educated, oriented and invested new Mason is an active member of his Lodge. The mentoring programme is the first step to membership retention and expansion. Combined with a carefully structured Masonic education programme, it provides a coherent system of Masonic education and membership retention.

From UGLE magazine

S&F W. Bro. M.S. Duleep