Grand Lodge of Colorado Meeting in Pueblo

(Photo from the Pueblo Chieftan)

The Grand Lodge of Colorado is gathering this week in Pueblo for their annual communication. Grand Master Brian L. Cotter is enthusiastically quoted in an article by Jeff Tucker in the Pueblo Chieftan ("Masons rebuilding ranks"):

"We're in a great place right now," Cotter said. "The beauty of it is they're coming back because we haven't changed anything we've taught in 300 years."

According to the article, in 2008, just 67 people contacted the Colorado Freemasons through its website, seeking information on joining the fraternity. In 2009, that number jumped to 497. It could be that Freemasonry has turned a corner. It could be the Dan Brown effect, the explosion of social media, or just an unprecedented amount of exposure in media to Masonry that has resulted in these kinds of increased contacts. Maybe the Grand Lodge of Colorado simply improved its website last year. But whatever the reason, everywhere I go, every lodge I talk to tells me initiations are up all over the country.

We stand on the edge of a unique period in time. Men knock on the doors of our lodges for a thousand different reasons, but it is up to the individual Masons in our lodges to make sure they get the best possible experience and keep coming back. That can only happen at the local lodge level, from brother to brother. Grand lodges don't keep members from coming to lodge next Thursday. It's what you and I say and do, what goes on before, during and after the meeting, that makes a man decide whether lodge is worth attending next week.