Theos-Talk Archives (August 2009 Message tt00062)

Well, if we could stop calling them lodges it might be a good idea.   Lodge 
sort brings to mind the image of Ralph Cramden with the dead animal on his  
head.
 
Chuck the Heretic
 
 
In a message dated 8/9/2009 12:51:24 A.M. Central Daylight Time,  
mkr777@gmail.com writes:

 
 
 
One of the unfortunate patterns one sometimes see in many lodges is  that
even though they are located in large metropolitan areas and have  been
active for a long time, they have a small membership, around a dozen.  Some
times, these lodges may own substantial assets. Over time, these  lodges may
tend to go down in numbers and activity and finally if the  bylaws are
properly drawn up, their assets go to the custody of Wheaton.  And then 
comes
the question of Wheaton using its discretion how the money  gets spent. 
Human
nature being the same everywhere, there is potential for  tweaking how it is
spent.

This is a sad situation that needs to be  addressed. We do not know if the
top leaders make it a point to personally  visit the lodges which fit into
the pattern and see how they can be helped  to make them more active and 
more
involved locally so that the lodge can  attract new younger members.

The actual situation in these lodges and  their special problems can only be
understood by personal visits where one  can see and talk person to person
and get a feel for the situation. No  email or snailmail or telephone talk
works.

Many successful business  entrepreneurs know a simple secret. They have a
policy of periodical  visiting their branches to get a first hand look at
what is going on. I  still recall that when Sam Walton, the founder of
Walmart was alive, he had  a policy of visiting each branch at least once a
year. He had several  thousand stores. Early in his career, he use pilot his
own plane and travel  so as efficiently spend his time. When he visited the
store, he will put on  the Walmart jacket and greet the customers and talk 
to
them as well as the  employees and got a feel for the local issues.

I think a plan like this  should be tried by TSA. Traveling can be done very
economically and there  is no need to spend any money on hotels and food and
transportation. These  can be taken care of by the local lodge members. All
one has to do is to  ask.

When HPB & HSO started TS, they traveled a lot. They did not  stay in
Fivestar hotels serving three martini lunches, since they did not  have the
money. They were guests of the members and public interested in  theosophy
and ate whatever food that was available. They were very  successful in
spreading theosophy.

I think it is time to think about  some actions in the above lines and
quickly implement a plan without  waiting for an elaborate plan to be
developed with all the academicians  giving their unworkable inputs. We need
some real immediate action. That  perhaps can help a lot of lodges and in
turn the  TS.

MKR

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