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Post by corab on Aug 19, 2007 18:05:36 GMT
Brothers, friends, We are organising an Open Day in Southampton on 1st September 2007. Work is under way to found a new Craft Triangle in Southampton, and this Open Day is intended to give publicity to that fact, and to inform the public about co-freemasonry in general. I would be delighted to meet any one of you there on the day! WHAT: Open Day WHO: International Order of Co-Freemasonry "Le Droit Humain" - British Federation WHERE: Edmund Kell Unitarian Church, Belle Vue Road, Southampton, SO15 2AY WHEN: Saturday 1 September 2007, 11am-4pm For further details, see our website www.droit-humain.org/uk or download the promo poster Hope to see some of you there on the day! Cheers, S&F, Cora
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imakegarb
Member
One wee, sleeket, cowran, tim'rous beastie
Posts: 3,573
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Post by imakegarb on Aug 20, 2007 21:08:46 GMT
Oh, I wish I could be there.
I hope all goes well ;D
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Post by leonardo on Aug 20, 2007 22:11:12 GMT
I hope to attend but as a gigging musician it is sometimes difficult to get week-end days off, especially at short notice. If I had known earlier there be a much better chance I could attend. As it is I may still be able to, it would after all be a great opportunity to meet those from the forum who attend.
Best of luck with the day anyway.
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Post by corab on Aug 22, 2007 21:59:52 GMT
Blimey Leo, that would be wicked! Southampton Airport is only 15 minutes down the road, so who knows ...
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Post by leonardo on Aug 22, 2007 22:41:30 GMT
Who knows is right Cora. It would be great to meet you and Steve and others from the forum who attend. The problem is musical commitments and contractual issues, which usually can be gotten around when there's sufficient notice.
I'm still working on it, though. Fingers crossed!
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Post by gaslight on Sept 2, 2007 4:53:00 GMT
So how did your Open Day go, Cora?
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Post by leonardo on Sept 2, 2007 7:43:39 GMT
I couldn't make it after all but I'm sure it went well for all who attended. Looking forward to hearing the details.
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Post by middlepillar on Sept 2, 2007 9:18:23 GMT
Cora and Steve
I hope you had a wonderfully successful Open Day? Please let us know how it went.
I hope you found many inquisitive people asking the right questiions!
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Post by lauderdale on Sept 2, 2007 9:34:56 GMT
It worked out very well! I will leave it to Bro Cora to give a fuller account. I did enjoy taking people round the Temple which we had set up and explaining the significance of the Pedestals, Altar, Ashlars, etc, though obviously not disclosing any of the Signs, Tokens or Words, (I wasn't asked to in any event).
Leo, it was a pity you weren't able to attend but we all realise that you have a very busy schedule in your profession. Perhaps yourself and Bro Chris may be able to attend one of our Open Meetings in the future?
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Post by leonardo on Sept 2, 2007 9:50:56 GMT
Steve, I am delighted to learn everything went so well. It really is such a shame I could not on this occasion attend but I certainly do look forward to attending the next one, for sure. As long as I know when it is about about a month in advance then there should be no problem in me making alternative arrangements to cover any musical commitments.
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Post by corab on Sept 2, 2007 22:28:03 GMT
Howdie all,
It was AWESOME! ;D
As Bro:. Steve said, we had a great day -- I'm still buzzing from it, which is quite something considering how hard we all worked.
I was among the lucky few, living within 30mins distance from the temple -- the majority of us had to travel 1.5-2 hours, meaning they had to get up at an unholy hour to be there.
We had the hall set up as an exhibition space, and the chapel as temple, and the latter was just a fantastic experience for us as founders -- it was simply amazing to see what it will look like 'for real'.
As this was a first for us all, there had been many unknown variables in our preparation, so it was a bit of a fire proof -- passed with flying colours. We ended up with 3 confirmed applicants, with a potential 3 more 'in the wings', all of whom struck us as high-quality candidates, and truthfully, that was much more than we had expected.
Apart from the immediate results, we made some very promising contacts with the very real potential of increasing public awareness of (co-)freemasonry and possibly offering a continuing source of further applicants.
All in all my first impressions are that small-scale, localised events like these are certainly worth the time and effort. I believe a very important aspect was that none of us actively tried to recruit -- the prime purpose was to inform and enable our visitors to make up their own mind. Judging by the responses, that was a most fruitful approach!
It's a bit early to say any definite, but I would like to think that this was the first of more to come -- watch this space!
S&F,
Cora
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Post by gaslight on Sept 2, 2007 23:24:05 GMT
Cora: Congratulations! I'm delighted the event went so well for you. I have tons of follow-up questions. I'm involved in the PR side of Masonry and your experience in Southampton is of intense interest. We had the hall set up as an exhibition space, and the chapel as temple, and the latter was just a fantastic experience for us as founders -- it was simply amazing to see what it will look like 'for real'. I think you've just answered the first of my questions, but I'd like to confirm: so you'll be using the same chapel as your regular meeting place? How did you make contact with the church and/or choose the location? What I mean by that is, which came first? Were the confirmed applicants walk-ins, or did you have contact with them before? Did you get some idea of how much background knowledge they had? How do you deal with petitioners who are not known personally to members of your lodge? Some jurisdictions insist that the proposer and seconder vouch for the candidate on the basis of a fairly close personal relationship, but in the lodges I know that would result in no candidates at all. We have to set up a getting-to-know-you period, but the length and circumstances of the period are a close call. Did you take a quick poll of your visitors? Would you have some idea of how they heard about the event -- the most effective method of advertising? Word of mouth? Web? Posters? On the basis of my own experience, enthusiastic recruiting usually results in unsuitable candidates. At best they drift off after only a few meetings; at worst they cause tremendous problems in the Lodge. I think the key is answering all questions openly and leaving it at that. If I see that a questioner is eager to take the next step, I usually try to draw his/her attention to other possibilities -- other lodges, other jurisdictions, other fraternal societies. I'm already watching it! And sorry for the salvo of questions.
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Post by leonardo on Sept 3, 2007 7:18:29 GMT
This is great news Cora, and thank you for taking the time to relate things in such detail. The fact you had some genuine enquiries, with three definitely interested in joining the Order, in itself made it all worth while, but the seeds that were sown that day will eventually yield even more interest. Just goes to show what can be achieved with the right effort. Information allows people to make choices, And as things stand not everyone who has an interest in joining the Craft is aware that there is an alternative to Malecraft Masonry and this is why such events as yours is so important. Informed people make informed choices. Looking forward to attending the next one
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Post by middlepillar on Sept 3, 2007 7:50:26 GMT
Cors, Steve
Many congratulations on a wonderfully successful weekend
I will try to attend the next one (Especially if Leo will buy me a beer after!)
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Post by leonardo on Sept 3, 2007 7:55:07 GMT
Cors, Steve Many congratulations on a wonderfully successful weekend I will try to attend the next one (Especially if Leo will buy me a beer after!) ;D ;D It will be my pleasure Chris.
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Post by Midlander on Sept 3, 2007 18:07:07 GMT
Glad you had a great day Cora and Steve, and that you have potential Candidates already!
S+F Midlander
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Post by corab on Sept 3, 2007 21:00:13 GMT
I have tons of follow-up questions. I'm involved in the PR side of Masonry and your experience in Southampton is of intense interest. I thought it might be of some use to Brn:. elswhere ... let's see what I can impart. It's all very fresh, some of the data is still in analysis and we haven't debriefed yet, so what you have here is my personal impressions only -- might still be of some use. INTERNET! I simply searched for function halls/rooms in Southampton, made up a shortlist and went for the one that I believed to be ideal. I always had a preference for a consecrated space, if you know what I mean, and apart from the venue's description matching my needs, I knew the Unitarians to be ideologically close to our approach to life -- total absence of dogma; absolute freedom of conscience. I phoned the contact number, explained the situation, and was told by the caretaker he would need to put it before his council, which was only fair enough. 50-50 I'd say. I'll pass that one over to Bro:. Steve, who was more intensely involved with that side of things. My role was to co-organise the event and take registration on the day, so I didn't get to speak too much with our visitors. The same way we always do -- we ask them to come to a Festive Board to get to know them. Answer their questions, ask some of them, and then its over to them to indicate whether or not they wish to apply. If they do, they need to find a Proposer and Seconder within the lodge -- so basically the ball's entirely in their court. We will not ask them if they wish to apply; it's for them to make that known. We are also very lucky to have a dedicated Membership Officer who coordinates queries from the public and acts as liaison between potential applicants and the lodges. Yes -- we asked all visitors to complete an exit questionnaire; results have not yet been analysed. We formally advertised via posters, local radio stations and newspapers; in addition to that the founders committee spread the word on a personal basis, which also seems to have done extremely well. I haven't seen that happen, thankfully. In general our lodges are not given to aggressive recruiting, although I've seen some Brothers acting too upfront for my taste, resulting in good potential candidates being completely and utterly turned off -- which is a horrible waste, if you ask me. Matches my own approach. I am keenly aware of the insular nature some lodges are given to, and I don't play that game -- I work to the greater picture of Federation and Order, and the best interest of the enquirer. I've received many queries via this forum and others, some national, some international, and all I care for is that the individual finds the lodge that's right for him/her. Sometimes that means passing the query over to AFHR or the Eastern Order and I'll quite happily do so -- I don't do territorialism. Hope you found that useful! Cheers, S&F, Cora
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Post by Cambuel on Sept 3, 2007 21:02:41 GMT
How exciting! Great to read about your successful endeavor as I hope to eventually help establish a Co-Masonic Triangle in my area as well.
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Post by corab on Sept 3, 2007 21:10:07 GMT
How exciting! Great to read about your successful endeavor as I hope to eventually help establish a Co-Masonic Triangle in my area as well. The more the merrier, Vroiko! It's a lot of hard work, but very rewarding. Which Order are you in? HGW, Cora
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Post by lauderdale on Sept 3, 2007 22:31:58 GMT
"I'll pass that one over to Bro:. Steve, who was more intensely involved with that side of things."
Indeed so and I had the pleasure of showing people round the Chapel which we had laid out as a Craft Lodge.
These visitors varied. There were two Brethren from UGLE, one of whom was accompanied by his wife who was a Lady Mason, an Anglican Clergyman and his wife , a young couple in their twenties, and one gentleman who whilst not himself a Freemason was very knowledgeable about the subject. Our Most Puissant Grand Commander gave a most interesting Talk about Le Driot Humain and answered questions from the visitors.
All in all it was a very enjoyable and I feel beneficial exercise.
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