REPORT OF THE MENTORING COMMITTEE
Mentoring is a vital part of each candidate’s education as they become Master Masons. When Mentoring candidates, we need to make sure their expectations of Masonry are met. Men have expectations of what Masonry will be when they knock on the door to join. Mentoring is one tool to ensure we meet their expectations.
The Mentoring Committee has uploaded the binder content into Grandview. Updates to the binder were also made last year. The biggest thing of note is the parts of reflection for the candidates. Having them reflect on the degrees gives them insight into their journey and adds a part to the degrees so they can think about why things are happening.
Along with the updates being in Grandview, the physical binder is still for sale and has all the updates. If you have yet to see the Mentoring Binder, you will find it an excellent product. Created by the Mentoring Committee for Lodges to take and adapt to what they are doing to Mentor their candidates. If you currently do not have a Mentoring Program at your Lodge, this will give you the tools to kick-start the program. If you have a Mentoring Program and are wondering what you could do differently, we recommend looking at what we have created to see if it would add to your program.
This year, the Mentoring Committee was present at the One Day to Masonry Event and discussed with Lodges how to implement or grow their Mentoring Programs. Great discussions included how to help Lodges ensure they retain members throughout the degrees. We discussed the importance of determining why the candidates were chosen and ensuring the Lodge could meet that goal. Another part is explaining what the lodge is and isn’t to the new members, so their expectations are clear.
We know that the Mentoring Committee will look different in the next couple of years. However, we will still be here with our Binder and helping Lodges grow their mentoring programs. We want to ensure their success. When we strengthen one Lodge, we all become stronger.
If you have comments or suggestions for the committee, you can reach us by email (mentoring@grandlodgemn.org) or by phone (612.564.0583).
Respectfully Submitted,
WB Garrett Aalfs, Chair