Almoner's Reflections - June 2008
People take time.
I have just finished a complete overhaul of the Lodge Almoners’ Handbook, including my suggestions for a Job Description for a Lodge Almoner. I have tried to fit well this Job Description to a central aim of our Province: ‘To retain and sustain all those masons who join us’.
The Voluntary Sector across the board is suffering declining numbers of people who are prepared to give time as volunteers; churches, charities, amateur societies, etc. all experience serious problems of recruitment and retention. UK citizens work some of the longest hours in Europe and younger, aspiring males are particularly under pressure to work late on a regular basis. Many across Buckinghamshire commute to London, thus adding many hours a week to their working time. Family relationships may well come under pressure. One instance, according to a recent survey, is a serious decline in the percentage of children whose fathers have time to read to them in the evenings.
Our more elderly and infirm Lodge members need our time. But so, too, do the younger members. They need us to understand their situation and care about the tensions they face. Masonry can surely be a source of strength and refreshment for them and, through them, for their families. It should be inspirational, confidence building, encouraging and fun. If masonry is these things, it will start to complement family and work, to support and strengthen them. We all need a bit of looking after.
The top priority, as set out by the author of the 1999 edition of the Handbook, was to seek out all those in distress or need and to provide help. That remains a central role for a Lodge Almoner. But the 1999 author has gone on to become Provincial Grand Master and to articulate his vision of a Lodge and a Province that cares for, and inspires, every mason, -and every family of every mason. When this is reality for all of us we will see a very different Masonry from that most of us experienced in the mid-20th century. And it has got to be realized. Masonry must surely remain one of the Great Institutions of our society, and not descend into a funny little backwater-cult for old chaps. If we stand still, we go backwards and we must move onwards, gently but firmly.
So this means, quite simply, the Lodge Almoner’s job can’t be done. Or, at least, it cannot be done by one man. That is why the new top priority must be delegation. The biggest task for a Lodge Almoner is to delegate efficiently and manage. This involves checking things really have been done, thanking people on a regular basis and moving and motivating them with praise and helpful advice. There is no better definition of a good Lodge than one where every member is an Unofficial Almoner.
A few more points from the Job Description. An effective telephone/email tree is essential to get news around quickly to all Lodge members. Everyone should be involved. Don’t cut members out because they live a long way away or are very old. A telephone tree means the Lodge Almoner only has to contact a few key members who then cascade the message downwards. Less work than doing it all himself and so much quicker!
Then there are the members not attending Lodge meetings. Is everyone not attending without a reason contacted and shown care? Again, a Lodge Almoner can’t take on all this work himself. Probably, he shouldn’t do any of it. But it is his job to delegate it to the relevant Brother in each case, a friend or the proposer. And it is his job to see that the contact really is made and then reported sensitively.
Finally, the mason’s ultimate taboo. No, not death; we are pretty good about that. I mean resignation. In past times, these were swept under the carpet and forgotten as uncomfortable embarrassments. How things have changed at the top, where now every resignation in our Province is followed up by a phone call from an Assistant Provincial Grand Master listening carefully and sensitively to the problems, the hurt or the disappointment. Is his work mirrored at lodge-level? Sometimes it is, but all-too-often it is not. We should not let anyone resign from our Lodge without care, concern and support. Not necessarily the task of the Lodge Almoner, so long as he checks it is actually being done by the appropriate person.
There can only be one Lodge Almoner but we can all be almoners. ‘Almonering’ is a central part of being a Mason. Please read the Handbook for Lodge Almoners, to be found in another part of this website, and ponder the issues it raises. If the Lodge Almoner doesn’t share his work with other members, and preferably all other members, either he will quickly sink under the weight of it all or whole areas of his crucial responsibilities will be left undone. If you are not a mason, see this as part of our vision and consider joining us to help make the vision reality.
People take time. If we share out the giving of our time, we really will be getting somewhere!
Don’t forget to send me comments, criticisms, corrections, additions and good ideas on the Handbook at any time.
Peter Carey