New Sign on Floydada Lodge Welcomes New Faces

20220706_125328
20220706_125328

New signage along the side of the Floydada Lodge of Freemasons. (Tony St. James/FCR)

FLOYDADA – One year ago, the oldest Freemasons chapter in the Texas Panhandle sold its lodge due to declining membership and merged with the Floydada Lodge (#712).

Plainview, which consolidated two local lodges (Arch Keys #1395 and Plainview #709) and had welcomed members from the Lockney lodge that closed years ago, was originally chartered in 1890.

The decline in membership, however, is not unique to the Freemasons. According to a 2019 Congressional report, by 2032, those who never attend church will outnumber those who do. In addition, civil society, which encompasses institutions like churches, charities, unions, fraternal organizations, and the like, has seen membership fall by more than 50 percent over the past 50 years. “While institutions are central to civil society’s flourishing, foundations and corporations, no matter how generous, cannot replicate the individual’s sense of belonging and membership that result from participation in, or support of, a cause,” the report states.

The Floydada chapter appears to be reversing the trend, however, as the lodge has attracted younger members interested in advancing by “example The Principles of Freemasonry – Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.”

Even though members from Plainview no longer meet in Hale County, they are still greeted with their original sign – which hangs on the west side of the Floydada lodge – when arriving for the monthly meeting.

To learn more about Freemasonry or to become a Mason, visit GrandLodgeofTexas.org.

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