Members of the Masonic order from three states gathered in Tallahassee over the weekend. They were in town to celebrate the 200-year-old agreement making the local organization the "mother lodge" for the state of Florida.
Tallahassee's Jackson Lodge on Apalachee Parkway was filled with delegates from Florida, Alabama and Georgia on Saturday. Visiting Georgia Masonic Grand Master Mark Bradley said the challenge now is attracting young people to Masonry. He thinks more community outreach is the key.
"This year, we've challenged every lodge in Georgia, 377 of them, to hold at least one blood drive. We do a child identification program where we provide packets to the parents and guardians of children in the awful case that one of them goes missing. We engage in our youth through DeMolay and Rainbow for Girls programs, which are traditional Masonic programs, but also through our boy scouts and other youth organizations."
Numbers from the Masonic Service Association show there are fewer than half the number of Masons in Florida, Alabama and Georgia than there were 15 years ago.