UGLE's New Outreach Program

by Christopher Hodapp

In July, London's METRO newspaper went inside the Great Queen Street headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England. In a surprisingly sympathetic article, reporter Luke Alsford and photographer Nick Edwards toured the Art Deco Freemason Hall near Covent Garden. His guides were two younger Freemasons, Mitch Bryan and Nando Cicada, who explained the fraternity's ceremonies, traditions, charitable activities, and the friendships that keep members coming back. Rather than discovering sinister conspiracies or secret plans for world domination, Alsford encountered something considerably less alarming: men enjoying fellowship, elaborate ceremonies, and the occasional decent dinner.

Imagine that.

When quizzed about that all-sinister "dodgy handshake" business the English seem constantly terrorized by, Mitch called it one of the dullest aspects of the fraternity. Far more important are the personal connections and sense of belonging Freemasonry provides. Nando observed that London can be an extraordinarily lonely city, but his Masonic friendships have given him a community he hadn't found elsewhere. The article also discusses the fraternity's substantial charitable giving, its prohibition against discussing politics and religion in lodge, and the tarted up controversy over forcing Metropolitan Police officers to disclose their Masonic membership.

This is part of UGLE's strategy to attract a younger generation of members through social media advertising and a more open public image. Young Mitch and Nando challenged the standard trope that Freemasonry is exclusively populated by rich, powerful, cranky old men shouting at clouds, rigging elections, and controlling banks.

It's refreshing to see a mainstream UK newspaper discover that Freemasonry's greatest attraction isn't our spooky secrets, but the enduring friendships and sense of purpose it offers its members. These outreach programs to attract a new generation of members has been attempted many times over the decades. In the current age of growing isolation, loneliness and social media anonymity, perhaps this time the message will get through. The press over there has been remarkably snarky and downright libelous at times toward the Masons since the 1980s. Maybe a new crop of young reporters struggling with their own sense of loneliness these days can lay aside the old anti-Masonic biases and see us for what we are. 

That'd be refreshing.

Read the complete Metro article here: Secret rituals and symbols on lattes: Metro goes inside Freemasons Grand Lodge.