First Masonic Monday

So, I am a part of several fraternal organizations. One of them is Freemasonry. Specifically, I am in a subordinate lodge of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I was Raised in January of 2023, so I am a relatively new Mason but I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience so far. 

I figured I would share some things about Freemasonry on this blog to demystify some things and also talk about some of the reasons I am involved in the organization. I actually have a post from when I was Raised from earlier in this blog where I touched on this a little bit. Since then, a lot has happened for me both in Scouting and in Freemasonry. 

One thing of note is how much the National Jamboree really made me want to work to improve these ties between our organizations. Both Freemasonry and Scouting have seen declines in recent years tied to an overall decline in civic and fraternal organization memberships. With so many shared values and history between the two, I have been working to strengthen those ties. In Virginia, at least, every meeting should involved some sort of program. This can be Masonic education, something from an outside organization, or really anything the Worshipful Master would like. So, with that in mind, I created a program around the connections of Freemasonry and Scouting and offer it to other lodges. I go, in uniform, and present this to them.

I also created a trifold brochure directed as Masonic Brothers outlining the connections and encouraging participation and/or support of Scouting. This brochure is being used by the National Association of Masonic Scouters, now, as a way to spread awareness. 

The last thing I did recently was wrote something called a "Short Talk Bulletin." This is something put out by a group called the Masonic Service Association and is used all over the country by lodges to supplement their programs. I wrote an article and also recorded a podcast where I read the information. This is all hosted on the NAMS website as well. 

Both of the organizations mean a lot to me and trying to bring them closer together is something I think will be an important thing for me for a long time to come.