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has been growth in the use of online platforms, such as Zoom, for membership education and fellowship.
Furthermore, Lodges have been implementing outdoor venues to encourage member activities, while practicing
social distancing. Brothers, there are numerous ways to ful ll your Lodge’s responsibilities during these
unprecedented times. Please consult with your Grand Lodge District O cer to discuss details and nd out how
you can implement these ideas in your own Lodge.

Finally, I want to brie y discuss my thoughts regarding our responsibilities as Masons in Montana. In the
Entered Apprentice charge, we are tasked to “be faithful to the trust committed to your care”. Brothers, we
have all been entrusted by our predecessors to strengthen our Fraternity, and they have given us a signi cant
responsibility to promote Masonry now and in the future. Our success, however, is completely dependent on
the service of each and every Brother. Not all will rise to the task, and for those that do, the path can be di cult.
However, your commitment is needed now more than ever.

e rst area that I will address is the need for good men to step up and commit to becoming quality ritualists.
All of us received our degrees from Brothers who devoted themselves to learning our beautiful ritual. Many of
these Brothers, however, are now at risk from the pandemic and are not able to provide their skills at this time.
Brothers, please consider doing the right thing and learning a part of our ritual so as to relieve the burden from
our at-risk Brothers. ey have given tremendously of themselves to make your Masonic journey meaningful. It
is time we honor these men by taking up their roles, giving them a well-deserved break, and carrying the Light
on the path for others who come knocking at our Lodges’ doors.

e other area I will address is the signi cant need for Masons to nd innovative ways of ful lling their
Lodge’s second requirement of keeping Brothers engaged and growing through education and involvement.
Your Grand Lodge O cer Team is willing and excited to help you in making your Lodge successful; however,
the recipe for success is speci c to each Lodge and must be created by the Lodge’s active membership. One
way of creating this recipe is to have an open discussion in your Lodge and ask the following questions of
each member present: Why are you a Mason? Why do you come to Lodge? Each Brother must be encouraged
to respond. ese are hard questions to answer and some Brothers may need additional time to think about
their responses. e answers given to these questions may be surprising, but they will give insight to the Lodge
members’ needs and desires. at information should then be used to de ne a speci c path forward for the
Lodge that will be embraced by its membership.

We will work together to overcome the challenges facing us both externally and internally. e pandemic is
causing us to be creative in our practices. Good men have already come up with strategic ways to adapt our
methods so that we can continue ful lling the Lodges’ responsibilities. Similarly, good men will work together
to nd internal solutions to address our ritual needs and to assure the Lodge experience is meaningful to its
membership. It is my goal, Brothers, that we work together to strengthen our Fraternity so that we will have a
more enriching experience for ourselves and for future Masons in Montana.

Sincerely and Fraternally,

Most Worshipful Brother Alan Frohberg
Grand Master, Grand Lodge of AF&AM of Montana

Montana Freemason Page 5 Sept/Oct 2020 Volume 96 No. 5