Theos-Talk Archives (March 2011 Message tt00131)

While browsing around in Internet, I was surprised to learn that the TS
Lodge in Atlanta was downsized to a Study Group in September 2010.

The Lodge was chartered in 1916 and for one with such a long history,
downsizing is an event that should raise red flags as far as the future of
lodges in the USA.

Atlanta is the capital of State of Georgia and the metropolitan area has
more than 5.2 million people, & is the third largest in the Southeastern
United States and the ninth largest in the country. The Atlanta Combined
Statistical Area, a larger trade area, has a population approaching six
million and is the largest in the Southeast. Like many urban areas in the
Sun Belt, the Atlanta region has seen increasing growth since the 1970s, and
it added about 1.1 million residents between 2000 and 2008.

Lodges are formally organized groups consisting of at least seven members
and Study Centers consisting of at least three members. If a metropolitan
area with 5.2 million population cannot sustain a 94 year old lodge with at
least seven members, then there is something seriously wrong. At this rate,
we can expect lodges in cities large and small to be shut down (either
voluntarily or involuntarily) and it would not take too long for Study
Centers to disappear.

We have discussed the basic issue of continued decline in the membership
around the world except in India.

Some of us expected this to be the top item in the (secret) agenda of the
last GC Meeting; but to the surprise of many members, nothing was discussed
at the meeting.

After spending all the money of TS and traveling to Adyar, not discussing
ways and means of drumming up membership is shocking the say the least.

Unless members wake up and get personally involved in this important topic,
nothing is going to change. It is a real pity that there appears to be no
real interest in the elected leaders to tackle this serious issue.

MKR


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