As in the past, here is my Message from last night in Berne.
Would you please distribute this as widely as possible in your Lodge.
We do not communicate enough with all of our Brothers. I have said this before. In my messages, we have an opportunity to address this situation. Here is a perfect vehicle to let our Brothers know we are thinking about them.
Please use it as such.
Thank you and
Most Fraternally

Peter Kermani, DDGM

A FRESH START
George Peter, the Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York has said it best. “One of the major problems in the Craft today is that we are boring too many of our Brothers to death.”
I remember when I was Chairman of the American Symphony Orchestra League, the trade association for orchestras, and got myself into difficulty when I made the same kind of statement. The meetings were much like those of Grand Lodge except that each year they were held in a different city. About 2000 people attended. One year, much like George, I stood before the association and said, “part of the problem with symphony orchestras in this country is that we are collectively boring our audiences to death.”
What I meant was simple. Even if an orchestra is performing music as familiar as Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, there is always someone in the audience who is hearing it for the first time. It makes no difference if it is the New York Philharmonic or the Schenectady Symphony. My point was that if music is not performed to the best of an orchestra's ability each and every time, audiences will be bored and not return. If the conductor is not properly prepared, people will be bored. They may not understand the reasons for they are complex, but they will be bored and not return.
Now, back to Brother George. Today many of our Masonic Lodges, just like many of the orchestras in my example, are boring their brothers to death. Think of each Lodge meeting as a Beethoven's Fifth. It too is familiar to many brothers, in some cases too familiar. So, just as it is the conductor's job to consistently present music in a way which is fresh, vibrant and exciting, so too it is the Worshipful Master's job to consistently present Lodge meetings in ways which are fresh, vibrant and exciting. If he fails to do this, he will bore his Brothers to death and just as with the concertgoer who has paid money for a ticket, so it is with the Lodge brother who has paid money for his dues: if either one thinks he has not received full value, he will feel cheated and stop paying. Sadly, this is what is happening in far too many of our Masonic Lodges.
Brother Peter gives many examples of boring meetings: the meeting that runs on pointlessly for too long; the meeting that does not start or finish on time; the meeting where democracy rules and anyone speaks on any subject just to hear the sound of his own voice. I could go on, but most likely you know precisely what I am talking about and could give me examples of your own.
The average human being will give his undivided attention for an hour. After that, unless the subject is riveting, his mind will wander. The fact is that with proper imagination, it is surprising just how much which is interesting can be packed into a one hour program. In the Masonic Fraternity we are fortunate in that The 24 Inch Gauge gives any Mason more than enough guidance in this area.
Now, if the work for the evening is the presentation of a Degree, it is a different story. The greatest vehicle Masonry has to make Lodge meetings interesting, a vehicle no other organization on earth has, is the proper presentation of Degrees. There is no more interesting, less boring Lodge meeting, than a Masonic Degree preformed well. This, in itself, makes a meeting riveting because good degree work refreshes the brothers, and refocuses them on why they became Masons in the first place.
But it takes candidates to have degrees and herein lies the Catch-22. It is interested, enthusiastic Masons upon whom the Craft must depend to bring to Lodges interested, enthusiastic candidates. If the Brothers in the Lodge are bored then the entire Masonic mechanism for success grinds to a halt because boring meetings will never motivate them to bring new men of quality into their Lodges. This is the Catch-22. For Freemasonry to succeed, Lodge meetings must not be boring. When they are, our Masonic system breaks down. The well organized program is the foundation upon which a successful Masonic Lodge is built. This is what George Peter knows.
Now I can repeat that your meetings must be interesting, exciting, vital, focused; but you know that. To be safe and on stronger ground, I will simply say that the person in charge of a Lodge meeting must never allow it to become boring. I will leave it up to the Worshipful Master to define the phrase “not boring” in any way he sees fit. At the same time, it is hoped that his Brothers will advise him and let him know if he is becoming boring.
In my role as District Deputy, I can give some basic advice about what is “not boring” based on what I have observed over the years. To be not boring, a meeting must be organized in advance. There should be no surprises. The Worshipful Master must know precisely what will take place at all times. When there are exceptions to this, chaos rules. If there is a controversial subject on the agenda, the Worshipful Master must have done his homework. If he wants a difficult motion to pass, he must line up the votes in advance to make sure there are those who will speak convincingly for it. Conversely, if he wants it to fail, he must do the same. Surprises in Lodge meetings in the form of contentious, aimless talk, no matter how sincere, alienate more Brethren than any of us would ever like to admit.
If your meeting is routine, begin it on time. Not starting on time is boring, not to mention rude. Make sure your officers know their Ritual. In a Masonic Lodge, the poor recitation of ritual is boring and unbelievably counter productive. Perform the business of the Lodge in a timely fashion. Make sure the main portion of your meeting is focused and interesting. Make sure to include Masonic education for there should always be something compelling to remind your Brothers why, as I have already said, they became Masons in the first place. Let me repeat one last time, the best example of Masonic education in my opinion, is the superb performance of a degree, or even better, the superb performance of many degrees which are required because your Lodge is overflowing with candidates who want to join because your Lodge has earned a well deserved reputation for being not boring.
I know that the Worshipful Master must work hard to make sure his meetings are not boring. He may even have to learn from experience the truth contained in some of the examples I have just given. Never forget though, Freemasonry is not a democracy. In a Masonic Lodge, there is a reason the Worshipful Master has the ultimate authority and he is expected to use it for the benefit of the Craft. Democracy in a Masonic lodge, if not administered honestly and decisively by the Master, will lead to boredom. The Masonic Constitutions invest this ultimate authority in the Master for good reason. They command him to lead, not bore his brothers to death. How he chooses to accomplish this is his decision, but it takes hard work. The product of this hard work is success; meetings which are not boring.
For sake of argument, let's say Brother Peter is correct. In Masonic Lodges today, we are boring our brothers to death. Well you know what, terrific, because now the problem has been defined and once a problem has been defined, it can be solved. The solution to this one is easy. Stop holding boring meetings! That's it! Reflect! Here is a huge problem which is in the hands of the Master to fix. After all, he is the great communicator. His job is to keep his customers happy; to keep them coming back for more. His job is to make sure they bring their friends as well as other Brothers to meetings and when they do this and do it consistently, their Lodge will prosper. I agree with our Grand Historian. One of the reasons the Craft is in trouble today is because we are boring our brothers to death. Fix this, and the membership problem the Craft faces will begin to correct itself and so will the problems you might be having in your own Lodge.
Thank you so much my Brothers.