What a great honor it is to represent the Freemasons of Ohio as your Grand Master! Let me begin by saying thank you for the confidence you have vested in me. While it is difficult to put into words the honor and pride I feel, let me assure you this is one of the greatest moments of my 44 years of life. Kelly and I have thoroughly enjoyed our travels throughout the state of Ohio and the country meeting and getting to know so many of you. We share your passion and enthusiasm, and I hope, together, we will move Ohio Freemasonry forward in many areas during the year. I pledge to you my unwavering support in protecting and promoting the best interests of Ohio Freemasonry.
Building on the foundation of our Brotherhood of Values statement we adopted several years ago, I chose the theme INVEST to carry the message forward in the 2018-2019 Masonic year. Why INVEST? Because investing is the act of using your resources according to your values to accomplish your goals; in short, it is putting your values
into action.
There are four key areas of INVEST that I consider important: investing in yourself, your Lodge, your community and our Fraternity.
INVEST in Yourself: It is critical as a human being we continually strive to be a better person in all aspects of life and Freemasonry reminds us that we are always striving to smooth the rough stone into the perfect ashlar. We can do this by increasing our Masonic knowledge through education, traveling within the Fraternity, knowing the reason we are a Freemason, and being proud to share our reason outside the Fraternity through words and actions.
INVEST in Your Lodge: Lodges are relationships, and relationships take time and energy. Being an active member in your Lodge, working to maintain or even improve the Lodge relationships, developing leaders, replacing ourselves with the right people, encouraging others to rediscover and re-engage with the Lodge is vital to the Lodge’s longevity.
INVEST in Your Community: The most successful Lodges in the state are those which are invested in their community. They are sponsoring little league teams, hosting community breakfasts, providing scholarships, and connecting with their communities. There are many examples of the great things Freemasonry is doing, and I plan to share those to both celebrate the amazing work done by Lodges and as an opportunity for other Lodges throughout the state to gain new ideas and explore additional opportunities to invest in their communities.
INVEST in Our Fraternity: Finally my Brethren, it is time to invest in our Fraternity. This is our Fraternity, and we are the ones who will craft our Fraternity now, and for generations to come. For too many years, we have sat back and waited. We have quietly waited for men to knock on the door, been silent about our good deeds, and have not shared our wonderful experience with those outside our Fraternity. Brethren, it is time. It is time to put our values into action. Not to gain members or to earn an award, but because that is what Freemasons do. We must share our pride of Freemasonry with others, allow light to be shone on the good deeds we do for others, and we must raise awareness of what Freemasonry is and does. Brethren, it is time; time
to INVEST!
My fellow Grand Lodge officers and I decided on a new membership management system, Grand View, which was implemented earlier this year. It is much more robust than our previous system, and every Mason has access to his membership record with the ability to maintain contact information, pay dues online, and stay engaged with the local Lodge. I encourage you to visit
oh.grandview.systems to establish your membership portal and set your communication preferences. We are developing many additional features which will be added in the coming months including online Masonic education and closed social networking where you can communicate with Masons in good standing who are verified by their Grand Lodge.
We are also embarking on a public awareness campaign to educate the public about what Freemasonry is and the good deeds we do across the state. We have worked with CerconeBrown, a public relations firm from Boston, Massachusetts over the last several months to adapt some of the ‘Not Just a Man, A Mason’ campaign materials which were developed by the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. Our work led us to establish a campaign titled, “This is Ohio Freemasonry” featuring five Ohio Masons from different backgrounds representing the diversity of Ohio Freemasonry. I am proud to be included in the campaign and thank the other four Ohio Masons who stepped up to share their story of why they are a Freemason. Our goal is to raise awareness of Freemasonry in the state of Ohio, showing we are common, ordinary men from all walks of life who enjoy a common bond.
My brothers, this is only the beginning and certainly not the solution to propelling our Fraternity into the future. We, as individuals and as Lodges, must answer the call, understanding what makes our Lodge unique, understanding what men joining our Lodge are looking for, and creating a Lodge experience they will want to come back for time and time again.
To provide multiple opportunities for men to join Ohio Freemasonry, I have authorized multiple Grand Master’s classes throughout the year. The schedule will be released soon for one-day events across the state that will start as early as January 2019. The idea is similar to the traveling we do in Scottish Rite to witness the various degrees not offered in our area of the state. In our case, we travel with our candidate to an area of the state to bring the man we have recommended to light. Look for the schedule soon on our website freemason.com.
My brothers, we have many successes to celebrate, but we can no longer rest on our laurels. The values of Freemasonry are needed in today’s society more than ever, and it is up to each of us to demonstrate to our fellow man why Freemasonry is so transformative and such a power for good. Invest in yourself, your Lodge, your community, and OUR Fraternity. I am honored and humbled to represent and serve you as Grand Master.
Please join with me and INVEST in Ohio Freemasonry.
Fraternally,
Jess N. Raines, Grand Master
