generation y and freemasonry

This past February, an article was written in the Seattle Times by Jennifer Sullivan about the revitalization of fraternal organizations. She used the Elks Club as a case study. I spoke with her about the article, and found that her research supported my first hand experience, that those of us who are members of what is called the millennial generation, or gen-y (those currently between the ages of 16-30), are starving for a sense of grounding. This may be because we feel that our lives are changing constantly and so we want something consistent, or it may be because we are looking for an in-person social network, or it may be that we are just looking for an inexpensive and enriching place to have a drink and feel we belong. Either way you can be sure you will see more of us.

            Jennifer’s article didn’t give an answer for why they come, but suggested that at the Elks Club she visited it was for the great view and cheap food. I suspect that next to no one of my generation actually has this as a primary motivation to come, that it doesn’t hurt to keep us there. We can get cheap food anywhere.  Most of us are either in college, recently graduated into the great-recession, or are under or un-employed, we know how to pinch a penny, and we do so at coffee shops or through groupon. No Lodges of any kind are more about the people you meet there than the food you consume.

            Other fraternities are not lacking of interesting people. It is true that we are constantly looking for ways to meet people. Between work, and leisure we spend over 12 hours a day in front of a computer, even when connecting with people. We have tried to push online connection to the outer world through sites like meetup.com, or even online dating. We are not recluses, we like experiences, most of which we discover online, but the best ones we know are not online at all. So when we find a network of people off the radar, and has a low resistance to new members, we are intrigued and it is naturally attractive. This draw is universal across all fraternities for us Millennial.

            However, its been said over and over again that what makes Freemasonry different is ritual. We, after all are virtually unchanged in our traditions since before George Washington was entered. One of the most profitable online businesses in the world is ancestry.com. This is because people today are looking for meaning both in what we do with our lives and in our very existence. We want roots that we can take on as an identity. Knowing our family history is one way, another way is by belonging to the worlds oldest fraternity.

            Regardless of what the motivation is to cause a Millennial to walk into a lodge, we will stay for all the same reasons. We are looking for a good time, we want to connect with people, and, and we want to be part of something that really matters and has meaning.

-Daniel Done, Queen Anne Lodge