Transience of membership is a trend across the English speaking Masonic world.

The startling discovery was the rapidly decreasing period of time from Initiation to Resignation or Exclusion - deaths excluded - down from over 20 years in the 50's to around 10 years in the mid 1970's and then to 4-6 years in the 1980's or early 90's.

Where the trend has been bucked it is in individual Lodges or in innovations which give Lodges very specific characteristics. In short it is that individuals in some Lodges have been able to exercise a degree of choice in how they choose to operate - that they are non conformist to the extent that they have adapted to a style that suits the members rather than any standard style the organisations might promote - and that they have not allowed those things that started as 'Custom and Practice' and moved through being 'Traditions' to become 'Landmarks' to impede sensible adaption.

If those who join do not find it to be "Value for their Time and Money" then they will leave.

While things can be suggested and proposed, even forced into Lodges ONLY a wholehearted acceptance by the Lodges members that they have SMART Objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed) will produce any reasonable chance of commitment and success. This will require "Internal Openness" not only about the scale of the problem itself, but about what has been done and what might be done.

We all live in an age of communication, surrounded by it, bombarded by it - let us use those skills and enthusiasm to enable others to hone their thoughts and ideas for the good of the Craft!

There are good and worthy younger men out there looking for a set of 'values for life' - something that Freemasonry should be able to offer, but that they will only join and stay when the total 'Masonic package' fits their needs.

We will need Brothers of vision to lead us, and we must allow Lodges and Brethren of vision to experiment with new styles. Permitting the enthusiasm of Brethren appropriate free rein will bring with it greater success and allow us all to feel more positive about the future of the Craft.

summary

In English speaking lodges around the world there has been no change over the last fifty years in:

• the average age of men joining freemasonry - about 40
• the average time masters have been freemasons - about 10 years
• the average resignation rate - about half the men who join resign (range 30% to 70%)
• the average number of candidates in a lodge - about 10 every five years (range 5 to 15)

The number of men affiliated with freemasonry around the world is declining because the average number of years between joining and resignation has declined from 20 to 5.

full address by John Belton, "The Missing Master Mason".

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