Sort of like pausing for a moment, takng inventory of the situation, assessing the information, and then continuing on with our sojourn.  Only we are now armed with a little more information to help us carry out our long range plans.

At the recent installations where I have been called upon to speak, I've included comments and observations on where the members of the Lodge live relative to the geographic location of that particular Lodge.

These observations were prompted in part because, shortly after I was appointed the Deputy of the Grand Master in District Four, I began to wonder how many Lodge members in the District live in the immediate neighborhood of their own home Lodge.

What began as a somewhat casual observation on the addresses listed in the Installation program eventually evolved into more serious bit of "numbers crunching" of looking at where the 35 elected Lodge Officers in District Four live.

For me, I began my own sojourn in the Masonic Fraternity 30 years ago when I lived in North Seattle and became a member of Green Lake Lodge Number 149, and have remained a member there ever since.  However, about 20 years ago my family and I moved to Snohomish County (to the City of Lynnwood to be precise).

(Granted, it's a bit like reading tea leaves, but I do believe they can say something to us.  By looking at the information and translating them into meaningful statistics, they can lead to revealing insight — if we choose to interpret them so.)

For example, all of the Lodges in District Four, save for one, are nestled quite comfortably in a rather small geographic area in the Neighborhoods of North Seattle, just north of the canal. Yet, in looking at where the Masters and Wardens in District 4 for the year 2000 live, some intriguing information about the numbers appear.

More Worshipful Masters live outside of Seattle than in it — with most of them being neighbors of mine in Snohomish County. Three live in Snohomish County, two live in other parts of King County, and only two live in Seattle.

Looking at Masters and Wardens "combined" - again, more live outside of Seattle than in it - and again, with most of them coming from Snohomish County.  Eight live in Snohomish County (for nearly 40%), seven live in Seattle (or 33%), four live in other parts of King County (or 20%), and two commute from other counties (Kitsap and Pierce).

Looking at the other two elected Lodge officers, Secretaries and Treasurers "combined," the statistics do not change very much. Eight live in Seattle, five live in Snohomish County, and one lives in a part of King County.

Well, you may think, "So what!" What could possibly be interpreted, or even inferred, from this compilation of numerical data? Well, I think quite a lot.

For example, can the garnered information be extrapolated and applied to Lodge membership at-large?

And, though we may think of our Lodges as "neighborhood Lodges," they indeed may not be so.  We may come together and meet in "neighborhood Lodges," but we travel to them from parts of a larger community; much like any other "mobile society."

And the new Brethren we bring into our fraternal membership also reflect this larger community.  They often do not necessarily come from the neighborhoods of our Lodges, but from "neighborhoods" of the larger community in which we all live.

It is probable that the member Lodges of District Four are but a microcosm of the society we live in as a whole.  And while modern means of travel have made the work become smaller, so too has the world of our Fraternity.  We are, therefore, indeed a part of the "mobile society," rather than "neighborhood Lodges."

A host of other such observations and conclusions can be drawn, if we choose to interpret it.  And, just perhaps, if Lodges in other Districts were to make a similar assessment of where their members live, they may too discover strikingly similar observations.