TODAY'S
LODGE NEWSLETTERS
NEW WORKING TOOLS
by
W:.Tim Bryce, PM, MPS
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
"A Foot Soldier for Freemasonry"
"We write to communicate, not to put people to sleep."
- Bryce's Law
I have seen a lot of Craft Lodge newsletters over the years. Most are
as interesting
as watching grass grow and are useful for nothing more than lining bird
cages.
Most say the same tired things over and over again. For example, here
is typically
what you find:
January - "Gee, I want to thank the Craft for electing me into the
East."
March - "Boy, wasn't that spaghetti dinner great last month?"
May - "Wow, I can't believe the year is already half over. "
July - "We had a lot of fun at Grand Communications. Hope you have a
safe summer; see you in a few months."
Sept - "I hope everyone had a great summer."
Nov - "Well, I can't believe the year is coming to an end. I want to
thank everyone and their Brother for helping out."
For most newsletters, you can take the same copy year after year and
just change
the names of the officers. Nobody would notice.
When I lecture on newsletters, I tell the audience you should talk about
the future,
not the past (what's done is done, let's keep looking forward). I also
tell them to keep
it positive and upbeat. And by all means, include a clear and
understandable
Calendar of Events for people to schedule their time. I see a lot of
newsletters
where they pad the copy with the names of the Past Masters, which is
nice once
in awhile, but not every issue. Instead, how about including some
Masonic Education,
news, or even some humor?
However, with the advent of desktop publishing and the Internet, there
have been
some substantial improvements in Lodge newsletters lately. Two
excellent examples of
the progress that has been made in Lodge newsletters can be found at:
Buck Creek Lodge
No. 410 F.& A.M.
Alabaster, AL, USA
"Between the Pillars"
Editor: Bro. Danny McHale
Rural Lodge
A.F.& A.M.
Quincy, MA, USA
Editor: Bro. Graeme
Marsden
http://www.rurallodge.com/2NEWS/newsletter.htm
Both are delivered via the Internet as standard Adobe PDF files. The
editors of these virtual
publications add much more than the same tired Lodge officer reports.
They include news,
essays, trivia, Masonic Information, and humor. By using their
imagination and skills in the
use of desktop publishing, the publishers have made reading Lodge
newsletters meaningful
again. There is more content (more meat), and much better design.
Newsletters such as these
are unofficial ambassadors for the Lodge and promote attendance,
participation, visitation and
membership. For example, I have never visited these specific Lodges,
but I definitely would if
I visited their area.
Best of all, such electronic publications slash production
costs since no paper is involved.
They are delivered by e-mail to their members and interested parties or
through Internet
discussion groups. This means they can deliver more information, more
frequently to their
constituents, at a fraction of the cost. Grand Lodges could well take a
lesson from these
Craft Lodge publications.
Aside from Craft Lodge publications, a number of independent
publications have emerged
that are equally ambitious, if not more so, than the Craft Lodge
newsletters:
LODGEROOM INTERNATIONAL
W:.Theron Dunn,
PM - Editor
THE ARGONAUT - USA
MASONIC
MAGAZINE
Bro. Stephen Dafoe -
Editor (Canada)
ON
THE LEVEL
W:.A. Singh Roy, PM
- Editor (India)
THE RISING POINT
International Masonic Review published by Bonisteel Masonic Library.
THE
TRACING BOARD
Independendent newsletter for the Freemasons of Thailand
THE WORKING TOOLS
Bro. Cory Sigler - Editor (USA)
Again, because they are virtual publications, they are no longer
restrained by the
confines of a paper publication and can offer more content, more frequently.
There are a number of tools now available to produce such publications.
First, the standard
for such publications is Adobe's PDF file format (Portable Document
Format) which just about
every computer operating now supports. For a free copy of the Adobe
Reader utility, see:
Adobe Reader (free)
Nor surprising, Adobe offers their own desktop publishing solution which
is perhaps the premier product in the industry:
Adobe
InDesign
To combat Adobe's dominance, Microsoft offers its Publisher product which,
until recently, had problems producing PDF files (a problem that is supposed
to be resolved with the latest version):
MS Office Publisher 2007
MAC users primarily make use of Quark Xpress, but there is also a
version for MS Windows:
Quark Xpress
MS Windows users who cannot afford a desktop publishing solution make active
use of MS Word; although it may not produce as graphically appealing a publication,
it can be used to produce a reasonable newsletter in either DOC or PDF
formats:
MS
Office Word 2007
But the question remains, can a simple newsletter truly impact a Craft
Lodge? You betcha.
First, it reflects the personality of the Lodge (tired versus
stimulating; lethargic versus
ambitious). Second, it gets the word out as to the plans and activities
of the Lodge.
I would wager you this: those Lodges without a newsletter or offer
nothing more than
a "bird cage liner" are probably the same Lodges that are suffering from
apathy, lack of
attendance, and a decline in membership.
Keep the Faith.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not
necessarily represent the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic
jurisdiction
or any other Masonic related body. As with all of my Masonic articles
herein,
please feel free to reuse them in Masonic publications or re-post them
on Masonic
web sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add the following:
Article reprinted with permission of the author and www.FreemasonInformation.com
Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.
Copyright © 2007 by Tim Bryce.
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