A Call to Action for the Brethren:
Seventeen Declarations to Revive the Craft

My Fellow Masons,

Today I write to you not as a leader, but as a Brother, one who has knelt at the altar, taken the obligation, and walked the path of Freemasonry alongside you. Across this country, in Grand Lodges and small-town halls, in whispered counsel and public action, we carry a tradition older than most Lodges. But now we face a question: not of whether Freemasonry will survive, but whether it will thrive, whether it will stand for something enduring in a time that too often prizes the fleeting.

We are living in a moment of consequence. The world rushes past us, frenzied and forgetful, seduced by convenience and spectacle. Yet Freemasonry is not built for haste. It is built for eternity. It is not a relic of a bygone age—it is the blueprint for an enlightened one. And though the winds of modernity blow fierce, let us anchor ourselves to the pillars of virtue, fortitude, and truth. Let us not abandon our traditions, we must rise to fulfill them.

This, then, is our charge:

1. Leadership Must Inspire. We require Masters who do not merely occupy the East but elevate it. Men who labor in learning, who speak with clarity, who lead with dignity. Our meetings must not be obligations.…they must be opportunities to spark awe, to stir hearts, to call each brother to a higher standard.

2. Keep the West Gate Strong. Our doors must remain open to all who seek the Light but not ajar to those who would defile it with apathy. Not all who knock are ready to enter. The sanctity of the Craft must be guarded by wisdom. Let every petition be met with thoughtful inquiry and serious measure.

3. Masonry Must Be Earned. Let us abandon the era of quick succession. Let our degrees demand time, reflection, and transformation. What costs little is esteemed little. But what is earned through struggle becomes sacred.

4. Quality Over Quantity. We must reject the false idea of “big is better.” The strength of a Lodge lies not in its roll call but in its soul. Ten dedicated Brothers working in harmony shall accomplish more than a hundred indifferent names on paper. Let us build Lodges of commitment, not collection of names.

5. Keep the Blue Lodge First. Before there is Shrine, before there is Rite, before there is Star, there is the Craft. The Blue Lodge is our heart and our home. Let us tend its fire with utmost care, lest all other bodies become extensions rather than the soul.

6. Charity Begins With Character. We must not confuse visibility with virtue. True Masonic charity is discreet, dignified, and deliberate. When a brother lifts another with no witness …. there lies the purest form of relief.

7. Restore the Festive Board. The Lodge is not only a place of work, it is a place of warmth. Let us once again raise toasts, share song, and kindle fraternity around the table. For in the breaking of bread, we bind our hearts. There is power in the fellowship of a shared meal, where hearts open and bonds are sealed.

8. Teach and Learn, Always. Our Lodge rooms must become sanctuaries of wisdom. Let the initiated be instructed. Let the elder be challenged. Let the curious be fed. Freemasonry is not preserved in silence, it thrives in dialogue. It grows in the open light without ridicule for the question asked but rather applause at the question.

9. Bring Back Dignity. We must clothe our meetings, literally and figuratively, in reverence. Let our attire speak of respect. Let our language carry gravitas. When we gather, let the atmosphere affirm that something profound is unfolding. Let us have a Lodge room that is of awe and an experience that is what we expected when we joined this brotherhood.

10. Freemasonry Is Enough. We are not a club. We are not a networking group. We are not a charity. We are Freemasons. And if we truly live our Craft, there is nothing more the world could ask of us.

11. Now Is the time. There are moments in history when the burden of duty cannot be postponed. This is such a time. Let us not pass the burden to the next generation. Let us act now. Be bold Brothers..

12. Let the Lodge sing again! Let music return to our gatherings, not as performance, but as a meditation. Music stirs what words cannot reach. It softens the stone. It lifts the soul. It focuses the attention towards the lights in our opening and closing. A Lodge without music is Lodge without a soul.

13. Diversity Is our strength. A Lodge is not a mirror of any one man but a mosaic of many. Black and white, rich and poor, conservative and liberal…..we are united not by sameness but by shared pursuit. Let us model for the world what unity through difference looks like.

14. Mentor the Young. No man should be raised and then left to wander. Every new Mason is a stone ready to be shaped. Let us guide them. Let us be to them what someone once was to us.

15. Embrace digital tools! Let technology assist us, but never define us. Let it serve the Craft, not substitute for it. A digital calendar may remind a man when Lodge is but only his presence can remind him why. With the tools at the modern man’s reach, we have a Lodge that can impact the senses like no other generation could before.

16. Serve with meaning. True service is not found in publicity but in proximity. Let us go to the places that hurt.Let us relieve the distressed with comfort, bring peace into the chaos of the world. Let our deeds and actions to those who need it define who we are.

17. Strive for ritual perfection. The Candidate cannot see, he only hears. To him, our ritual is not a TV show but a radio show! It must be reverent. It must be precise. It must be worthy of the Light it conveys. Practice is not an inconvenience. It is a vow.

Brothers, this is not about nostalgia. It is about renewal. Let us not restore the past but fulfill its promise. Let us meet this moment not with hesitation, but with purpose. The world is looking for men of integrity, of wisdom, of peace. Let them find us.

Let us walk upright, speak truth, build boldly, and leave behind a Craft more luminous than we found it.

So let us build.

So mote it be.