First, let me apologize for the lack of a post on Monday;
with the weather and what not, the blog was not the first thing on my priority
list. But, now we’re back action, hopefully with another thought provoking
piece. As with before, this piece is entirely my own opinion and does not
represent the opinion of the officers of PA DeMolay in any way.
In my last post to this blog I discussed the idea that
DeMolay needed to get back to its roots of helping guys who aren't the all
stars of the school, but rather those who have great potential which is being
under valued. I also coupled this idea with a socio-economic piece that posited
that DeMolay has more potential for lower income youths. This is the piece I
want to expand upon.
When DeMolay was founded, Louis Lower and his friends could
walk to the Scottish Rite building in Kansas
City . They didn't need anyone to drive them there.
They were members of the local community and their meeting place was a
convenient gathering point for all involved. Had the Scottish Rite been in the
“rich” part of town, or otherwise inadequately located, one of two things would
have happened – the boys would have met elsewhere or DeMolay wouldn't exist.
Thankfully, it does, but we have a lesson to learn from this.
The Masonic fraternity is a huge supporter of DeMolay. Many
Chapters get the benefit of meeting in a Masonic Lodge, often for free.
However, what good is a building if no one is willing or able to go to it? I’ve
heard, more than once, Advisors complain about having to bus kids from their
homes to the meetings. This begs the question of “Why?” The answer I hear most
is that the parents are unable or unwilling to transport their son to the
meeting, even if he really wants to go. So, what is a Chapter to do?
The answer seems pretty simple to me – move your meetings!
I can hear the hew and cry now – “Heresy!” But, let’s take a
step back and analyze everything that is at stake here. Louis Lower and his
friends were from lower middle class and lower class households. DeMolay gave
them something they didn't have elsewhere – a safe place to belong. Today,
DeMolay often exists in middle class and upper middle class neighborhoods. I
don’t mean to say that it is exclusively the territory of these groups, but it
predominantly is. DeMolay grew because it tapped into a need for a group
catering to young men in an under represented area. These kids weren't “bad,”
they just didn't have as many opportunities. So, with that in mind, it would
seem only reasonable that recruiting this type of young man would be beneficial
to the organization. Where do we find this new recruit? Why, different
neighborhoods of course!
DeMolay needs to take up the banner and go into these areas,
as that is one way that we can grow. The Hispanic population in America is on
the rise and will be for some time. Yet, there are few organizations for young
people operating in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods. What if a DeMolay
Chapter formed and met in a church that was within walking distance for all of
these kids? How popular would that be? The chances that those young men would
be able to go to a Masonic building on the other side of town is pretty slim,
but a local church of community center might just do the trick.
I challenge you – rethink the DeMolay program. You can have
Lodge support without meeting in a Lodge and you can be DeMolay anywhere. Frank
Land and the original nine knew that, so why don’t we?
Frat ~ “Dad” Seth Anthony
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