Brethren,

I am very honored and humbled to serve you, my Brethren, and this great Fraternity as the 102nd Grand Master of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Illinois, and I thank you for this privilege.

As we continue the path to growing our Fraternity in Illinois, you, the members of this great state, can decide what that path is and where we are going together. The previous theme of “Choose the Future” by Most Worshipful Brother Michael E. Jackson stressed the importance of Lodge activity and personal accountability along with advancing Illinois Freemasonry. By implementing an innovative marketing plan to tell and share our unique fraternal story to broad audiences in Illinois. Moving forward, “Plan the Future” is my theme for Illinois Freemasonry. With that theme, we will continue fueling the positive momentum that is energizing our Brethren and attracting membership prospects across the state.

Now is the time for each Lodge and each member to plan the future of prosperity, respect, and fun that we want as members of a vibrant Illinois Freemasonry. That planning work starts with you and your Lodge! It is time that we roll up our sleeves and get to work as informed and useful Freemasons. The current activities that your Lodge plans for and are successful each year should continue.

The key question is, what new activities can your Lodge try in order to achieve better results in bringing Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth to the lives of our Brethren, families, and local communities? Remember, your Lodge consists of the collective names and talents on the membership roll today; it is not the same Lodge that existed 10 or 20 years ago. We need to quit saying “We don’t do it that way or we tried it and that didn’t work.” Keep in mind that Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, had many failures that he learned from before eventually becoming one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the world. In the drive toward improved results on any topic, it is known that you learn from making mistakes, and he who learns effectively from those trial-and-error experiences wins.

As we embrace the bright future ahead for Illinois Freemasonry, we have newer and younger members joining our ancient and honorable fraternity who are hungry for self-improvement and being useful to others. These men add to our talent pool and ability to tackle the opportunities and challenges ahead. They, along with some of our current members, may have new and different ideas that can attract many men, especially younger men, to our fraternity and improve Lodge operations. Do not discourage them; instead, encourage them to try out some of those ideas, activities, and events.

Learn and grow together as Brethren and friends. Becoming and maintaining an active and vibrant Lodge requires planning and teamwork. We want our Lodges to grow, attract quality men to join Illinois Freemasonry, support all Brethren to become better versions of themselves, help them make life-long friends, and have fun together. That valuable membership experience of fellowship as a Freemason is meaningful here in Illinois and through the connection that we enjoy with our Brethren around the world. I encourage all of you to look back and remember why you became a Freemason; also, think about why you continue to invest your time, talents, and resources as an active member.

 The important work that we accomplish today and in the future for our beloved fraternity looks different now than it did 20 years ago. We are taught through our ritual experience that to avoid confusion, we need to have designs on the Trestle Board for the building work to continue and for the architect’s plans to be realized. Said differently, achieving success is not magic; it comes from planning and teamwork. Specifically, create a plan, get the Brethren involved, execute the plan, and celebrate success together. Your Lodge needs you to volunteer and help execute its plans. Through getting involved, you will unlock some of the best experiences of being a Freemason and hopefully, it will bring back some who have not been to Lodge in a while when they see the things that your Lodge is doing.

Throughout Illinois Freemasonry, we provide our members and Lodges with best practices, guides, programs, and reference information to help us all work smarter and achieve repeatable success. In the Grand Lodge Program Book, we highlight several topics and resources to help you and your Lodge. Look and add this information to your personal and Lodge planning activities. Through the guidance provided, especially with the Grand Master’s Award of Excellence Program (GMAE), your Lodge can implement several learning, development, community engagement, and other activities to help Freemasonry flourish in the lives of our Brethren and local communities. Also, many of these activities build confidence, encourage teamwork, and are just fun to do with your Brothers. If your Lodge has already incorporated the GMAE into your plan, then that is great, and I applaud you. If you received a bronze award then strive for silver, if you received silver then strive for gold. If you have not participated in the GMAE, then now is the time to update your Lodge plan to include the GMAE activities. We have more Lodges in the state using the plan and enjoying the activities.

Next, to inspire Lodge Officers to step up their ritual work proficiency together and encourage respect and pride in the Lodge, we have brought back the Lodge Officer’s Competition with a different format. It will be an Area competition, not a Statewide competition. The Lodges that win their respective Area competition will receive an award at the Grand Lodge Session. If you win your District competition, then you will receive a certificate to recognize that achievement. As Freemasons, we build some of our deepest friendships and relationships by working together on a worthwhile goal or project; this competition taps into that need and provides valuable membership experience. I look forward to seeing your Lodge’s name as a participant in this competition. Next year it will be put on the GMAE. It is still being worked on by the Board of Grand Examiners.

The future of your Lodge is YOU, so start planning for it. The planning that we do, the teamwork that we exhibit, the work that we execute, and the joint celebrations of success enjoyed regularly will continue moving our ancient and honorable fraternity forward. The future is ours to shape and enjoy. Illinois Freemasonry will be a treasured sanctuary to support the growth and development of good men for future generations because of what we do now to plan our work and work our plan!

As I move into this new journey in my life, I am looking forward to serving our great Fraternity and meeting as many of my Brethren as I can on my travels.

Fraternally,

David P. Lynch

Grand Master

Plan the Future