Dear Dedicated Members for Change,
Change is hard. I understand that.
As progressive members who want to see our Order strengthen and grow in the coming years, we’ve all experienced meetings where new ideas, new concepts and new proposals are criticized, even ridiculed, and often shot down by long-time members who abhor any change to the status quo to which they have become accustomed. And even in the face of diminishing membership, the status quo adherents continue to cling to their conception of fraternity. I still vividly remember the long-time member who once told me (and this is an actual quote): “I would rather see this Order die, than change.”
Well, forgive me if I don’t subscribe to that view of our fraternal world. Personally, I believe that our Order must evolve to survive.
The resistance to new ideas and change is not limited to Odd Fellowship. We see it in other fraternal orders and clubs. Tom Barton, a progressive member of the Odd Fellows from San Francisco, recently sent me the clip, below, from Lions Clubs International. Have you heard these sorts of comments mentioned in your Lodge?
F – L – T
Dave Rosenberg
Past Grand Master
Jurisdiction of California
