What does "Public Relations" mean in Masonry?

In April 2008, W.B. Curt Edic, Chairman of the Grand Lodge Public Relations Committee asked “How do we let people know what we do?”  He followed that question with what the committee has been charged with by the Grand Master and what we will be doing over the next few months as we look at this important work for the Fraternity.

However, when you think of this venerable Fraternity, the last thing that crosses your mind is public relations.  Those who have been members for many years may remember when the local paper highlighted and wrote stories about the activities of the local Lodge.  I would be willing to say that the local publisher of the newspaper was probably a member!  The Fraternity was so interwoven in the community that getting the word out was easy as the civic and business leaders of the village, town and city were also Brothers.  That was public relations and boy was it easy. 

Of course, there was a great change in the fabric of America starting in the 1960s and a decline of membership took place across the Fraternity (it is unnecessary to revisit this part of history as we have heard it over and over again when asking “what happened” and “now what”).  We went through a variety of “schemes” to get people to join the Fraternity to get the numbers up.  Those met with various levels of success.

What we did not remember through all of this change was that the work of the Fraternity in the local community still continued.  The tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth were still exhibited in the charity work and philanthropy that went unabated.  What we did not recognize was that we didn’t have the luxury of being the primary institution in town.  We now have to compete with the many other things that demand time and attention.

The good thing is that there are many more ways to communicate and get the word out.  Email, text messages, Internet, media and many other forums make it easier to let folks know what is going on.  The hard part is how to make it a part of your regular habits in Lodge.  The committee is exploring the PR kit for Lodges to give resources in doing public relations.

With all of that said, the question that is being asked – What does Public Relations mean in Masonry – still needs to be addressed.  I believe there is a very simple and effective answer that is usually overlooked and I will probably make my colleagues in public and media relations unhappy, but the answer is simple:  Live the wise and serious truths that are transmitted through our lessons.  As I read recently in the “Scottish Rite Journal,” when someone asks what you are doing, let your acquaintances know the many things you are doing as part of the Masonic Fraternity.¹

Public Relations is communication.  By living the tenets of the Order, you are a living, breathing example for bringing attention to what the fraternity is doing.   You also need to let your brothers know what’s going on through an email or newsletter.

Keith Neisler, Member

Public Relations Committee

May 2008