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It’s one of the tougher challenges we face: How can we successfully promote Freemasonry to others? How can we most effectively communicate to others the deep enrichment we receive by being brothers—and the enrichment we bring to others in our community?

Let’s take a couple of minutes to shine light on a few of the very best ways for you to help promote Freemasonry.

Identify Your Best Prospects

Like an archer roaming through the Maine woods, there’s no point having a great bow and arrow if you don’t know what your target is. So grab a cup of coffee, sit down in your favorite easy chair, and start brainstorming: Who do you know at work … at church … in your neighborhood … or in another organization … who shares your values? Which of your male colleagues seems to have a passion for empowering others and the local community? Who do you know who may benefit from the values-centered friendship and brotherhood he would gain by being a Mason?

Inviting Prospects to Learn More

Once you’ve identified likely prospects, begin to reach out to them in a variety of ways. One of the best ways is to simply talk about your experiences with them. Remember that speaking simply, openly, and honestly is ALWAYS more effective than engaging in “hard sell” techniques. Simply say something like, “I’ve been involved in Masons for X years, and it has really enriched my life … in a way that also enriches others. Would you like to hear about my experiences sometime?” If your prospect says, “Yes,” be sure to let him know about The Valley of Portland website (ValleyofPortland.org) as you speak to him.     

Community Events Promotion

Another great way to promote Freemasonry is by using various community events to help spread the word. Consider hosting a “What Are Masons All About?” event at your lodge, and invite male prospects from around your local community. If the event will be held in Portland, use the FREE “Events listing” feature offered by the Portland Press Herald to get the word out to many potential prospects at no cost. This free advertising method can, of course, be used to promote any other Masonic events to which the public may be invited, as well.

Social Media Power

In this day and age, “it’s all about social media,” so be sure to use such things as blogs, emails, and posts to achieve maximum outreach. After you talk with prospective Masons at your workplace, church, civic organization, etc., about your personal experience, ask them if they would like to be placed on The Valley of Portland’s email list. In this way, they will receive our monthly blog, plus other news and updates. Use all social media in which you are engaged (Facebook/Meta, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube) to spread the word about your personal experiences as a Mason and about upcoming events that could attract new brothers. You never know who will see something you’ve posted and say, “That sounds great—exactly like something I’d like to be involved with!”                                                                                                                                  

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland can be found on the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction Scottish Rite website and on our membership page. Interested in learning more about local events? Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in joining the Valley of Portland can do so by completing this online application.

When you think of “Maine men,” what do you think of? The stereotype might be a guy with a northern New England accent, wearing a plaid shirt and expertly handling a lobster roll. But it goes way beyond that. Maine men come from a distinctive culture—with a distinctive set of values—that makes them perfectly suited to becoming Masons. What is that culture? And why does it so perfectly serve as a foundation for Maine men to become Masons? Let’s take a couple of minutes to explore this.

Thinking for Ourselves

In a world where we are bombarded by social media, cable TV, and all manner of things designed to get us to “think like the group,” the best Maine men and Masons refuse to go along for the ride. We take pride in thinking for ourselves—whether it’s to elect a Governor or U.S. Senator who is NOT a Democrat or Republican (as we’ve done numerous times)—or to elect FAR more women to important political positions, and to have done it far earlier than most other states. (Exhibit A: Margaret Chase Smith).

Thinking for yourself means daring to resist tribalism and all the toxic elements it can bring into a society, including intolerance, disrespect for others, and a refusal to “walk a mile in the other man’s moccasins.” In this way, thinking for yourself is a foundational value that perfectly aligns with the values of Masons and their affirmation of brotherly love, kindness, and honor.   

Uplifting and Empowering Our Neighbors & Our Communities

Maine men come from a centuries-old culture that “walks the talk” regarding genuinely manly, courageous, loving serving to those less fortunate. Have you heard of Elijah Lovejoy—who was born in Albion, Maine, graduated from what is now Colby College, and wrote passionate anti-slavery editorials in the 1830s that were admired by people like Abraham Lincoln? Or how about Harold Alfond—who organized the first private foundation in Maine and who, between 1950 and 2003 alone, contributed more than $100 million to charitable causes across Maine? Lovejoy and Alfond are merely two examples—out of thousands we could mention—that illustrate how the best Maine men build their lives on a firm foundation of loving, manly service to others. In that way, they are perfectly suited to becoming Masons, who raise more than $2.6 million EVERY DAY worldwide to help those in need.

Maine Men, Masons: Cut from the Same Cloth

The distinctive culture of Maine, and its great impact on shaping Maine men, puts a firm foundation under a man’s life here. Day in and day out, the culture imparts to Maine men the old-fashioned yet timeless values of love, brotherhood, and “the need to help those in need.” Is it any wonder that Maine men and Masons are so often on the same wave-length, and that Maine men are so perfectly suited to the “love in action” values of Masons?

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

In the Gospel of Mark (12:28), a scribe asks Jesus, “What is the most important commandment?” Jesus answers: “You shall love your God.” But then—very importantly—Jesus says there is a related commandment that is also of utmost importance: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” How do Masonic values help bring power and impact to this teaching? Why is there such a powerful cause-and-effect between Masonic values and charitable giving?

The Meaning of “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself”

In today’s pop psychology world, too many people have focused on the “love yourself” part of “Love your neighbor as yourself.” While that is vital for your wellbeing, many Biblical scholars have pointed out that Jesus’ statement really places the emphasis elsewhere. When you are hungry, do you need food? When you are thirsty, do you need water? When you are wet and cold, do you need shelter? When you grieve or suffer, do you need comfort?

Well, just as you need these and other things, so does your neighbor. And just as you seek these things for yourself, you should seek to offer them to your neighbor, if he or she is not able to do so for themselves. That’s the kind of mindset and devotion Jesus was talking about when he said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  

Masonic Values in Action

From its earliest days, Freemasonry has been empowered precisely by that values-centered mindset, as demonstrated by its ardent focus on care for orphans, the sick, and the aged. This devotion continues today—more powerfully than ever. Each day of the year, Masons worldwide raise more than $2.6 million to help those in need, through large donations to national and local charities.

Uplifting Souls and Communities in Maine

Here at the Valley of Portland, we join each day with our Masonic brothers worldwide to empower each other and support our neighbors in need and our local communities. The Valley of Portland’s Mission Statement calls for “teaching and emulating the principles of Brotherly Love.” That’s why—for more than 20 years—we have so passionately supported such organizations as the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Portland, which offers children with dyslexia the skills they need to approach learning with eagerness and without fear. And it’s why we so devotedly engage in year-round charitable giving through such efforts the Blue Envelope Appeal.  

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that “every good tree bears good fruit.” In that way, the “tree” of Freemasonry—based on brotherly love, kindness, and honor—bears the “good fruit” of charitable giving that has changed countless lives for the better.

For more information about the Valley of Portland’s charitable efforts for others, we invite you to visit here.

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Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

You’ve heard their names all your life: George Washington … Benjamin Franklin … Samuel Adams … Ethan Allen … Paul Revere. You knew these astonishingly brave and gifted men were some of America’s great Founding Fathers. But did you know they also were Masons?

As it turns out, Freemasonry had a crucial role to play in shaping the character and actions of many Founding Fathers. In fact, nine of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Masons—including John Hancock—and at least seven other signers are believed by historians either to have been Masons or people who had ties to the brotherhood.

But things didn’t stop there. The profound influence of Founding Fathers who were Masons continued well beyond 1776. As we fought against the British in the Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783), 33 of the 74 generals of the Colonial Army were Masons. And when America created its Constitution—a beacon of hope to all who cherish freedom—13 of the 39 signers of the great document were Masons.

A Foundation of Character That Helped Create a Great Nation

While they had a critical role in helping to launch America, the Founding Fathers who were Masons—particularly the most famous ones, such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin—rarely, if ever, talked openly about the connection between their political views and their masonic association. Nonetheless, historians almost universally assert that it was Masons—famous Founding Fathers plus more obscure brothers—who were the ones pushing their American homeland to break free from Great Britain and become its own constitutional republic. As historian James Brown wrote about Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries: “What influence Freemasonry may have had on the life and character of Benjamin Franklin can only be conjecture, but that it did influence him and his contemporaries in the great struggle for American independence seems beyond doubt.”

Ideas and Values That Were Ahead of Their Time

What is also beyond doubt is that the Founding Fathers who were Masons were men ahead of their time, deeply committed to living and sharing values and ideas that would become cornerstones of democracies around the world. One succinct way to describe what Freemasonry is all about is: “Creating better men and a better world.” America’s great Founding Fathers who were Masons did this by fighting for separation from Great Britain, which they saw—correctly—as the one vital way to create religious freedom and other liberties throughout America.

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available on our about page.  New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

If you’re like most Masons, you feel you are on an earthly and spiritual journey to become everything you can be as a man, a friend, a family member, and a member of your community. How can you deepen and enrich your understanding of that journey—and your place within it? One of the most appealing and valuable ways is to listen to freemasonry podcasts and read Masonic blogs. Here are some of the best!

 

PODCASTS

Masonic Central Podcast

Billed as “the podcast about Freemasonry by Freemasons,” Masonic Central Podcast features illuminating, character-building conversations with some of Freemasonry’s most engaging thinkers, writers, leaders, entertainers, and other newsmakers. Featuring both one-on-one interviews and round-table discussions, the podcast helps the listener delve into many of Freemasonry’s most engaging and interesting intellectual and spiritual aspects, including its meaning, works, and ideas.

The Freemasons Podcast

Begun in 2019, this podcast features members of various lodges in Connecticut offering sometimes-edgy, often-playful discussions of a wide variety of topics of interest to Freemasons. Most of the guests are younger brothers who specialize in needling themselves as well as some of the other Masons who appear on the program. This Freemasonry podcast is hosted by Right Worshipful Brother George Mudry. To watch the podcast and its memorable guests—rather than simply listening to it—you can visit its YouTube channel here.

 

BLOGS

Freemasons for Dummies

This highly enriching “read” is the official blog of author Christopher Hodapp, author of the popular book Freemasons for Dummies. Since first arriving on the scene in 2005, Freemasons for Dummies has been the top-selling introductory guide to the Masonic fraternity and its many related organizations. Among other topics, Mr. Hodapp’s blog features some of the material featured in the revised 3rd Edition of his best-seller, including updated information, statistics, websites, and more.

The Midnight Freemasons

This blog features a group of Master Masons illuminating key topics of Masonic interest—each from his own unique perspective. Among the many interesting and eye-opening topics you’ll find discussed in the blog are history, trivia, travel, book reviews, and great quotes. More often than not, things are spiced up with a bit of humor!

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

There’s no doubt about it: From George Washington to Mark Twain to Louis Armstrong to Cy Young, Masons have contributed mightily to American culture. But the most lasting contribution of these Masons—and countless others—is the Masonic values that helped govern their lives, and which, in turn, helped shape the great nation whose story they are such a part of. Let’s take a moment to explore just how Masonic values have impacted our beloved country.

Foundation Values for the American Colonies

Though national bestsellers such as Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol have spun fanciful versions of Masons’ contribution to American history, the actual impact has been much richer. As a values movement that emerged from the Reformation, Freemasonry was the first highly influential organization to espouse religious toleration and liberty—core Masonic values that Masons helped spread throughout the American colonies.

“Yearning to Be Free”

Even prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Masonic values were fully taking flight—in ways that often were impressively ahead of the times. To cite just one example: Freemasons in Boston in 1775 were part of a British garrison that granted local Black freemen the right to affiliate as Masons under the banner of African Lodge No. 1. Its leader, a freed slave named Prince Hall, later signed some of the nation’s earliest anti-slavery petitions. In this way, African Lodge No. 1 represented the first black-led abolitionist movement in American history. Nearly two centuries later, Masonic values and membership were embraced by both the father and grandfather of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as the quest for civil rights in America deepened.

Masonic Values of the Founding Fathers

It is no coincidence that some of America’s greatest Founding Fathers—including not only Washington but also Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and seven other signers of the Declaration of Independence—were Freemasons. All these heroes rejected the European notion that one overarching authority should dominate the exchange of ideas.

To this day, this revolutionary new outlook is found in one of the greatest symbols associated with Freemasonry: the eye-and-pyramid of the Great Seal of the United States, as seen on the back of the one-dollar bill. Begun on July 4, 1776, The Great Seal’s design commenced as an order from the Continental Congress. Its Latin maxim—Annuit Coeptis Novus Ordo Seclorum—is commonly translated as “God Smiles on Our New Order of the Ages.”

An Enduring Legacy and Impact

The Masonic values that served as such a profound influence on our Founding Fathers and our early republic have endured and been strengthened by later Masons–who became everything from Presidents of the United States to musical giants to great athletes to great writers and thinkers. Just as they all owed a debt to the Masonic values that helped shape their lives, we now owe a great debt to them for the ways in which their values helped forge and shape America.

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

Here at the Valley of Portland, we join our masonic brothers around the world in being serious-minded about becoming our best selves and in offering caring, devoted service to others. As we discussed in our recent blog “What is Masculinity? A Valley of Portland Response,” we emphatically believe the world needs more men of honor—more men whose lives are grounded on unwavering values and principles. For Freemasons, there are 3 Great Principles of Freemasonry that are absolutely crucial to a man becoming all he can be: Brotherly Love, Relief (Charity), and Truth. Let’s take a few minutes to look more closely at each of these 3 Great Principles, and at how membership in the Valley of Portland helps you uphold them.

Brotherly Love

Every true Freemason will show tolerance and respect for the opinions of others, and behave with kindness and understanding to his fellow creatures.

Relief (Charity)

Freemasons are taught to practice charity and to care not only for their own, but also for their community as a whole, both by charitable giving and by voluntary efforts as individuals.

Truth

Freemasons strive for truth, requiring high moral standards and aiming to achieve them in their own lives.

When you join and become fully involved with the Valley of Portland, you’ll see every day how these 3 Great Principles of Freemasonry “combine forces” to empower you and make you all you can be—to yourself, your family, your community, and to God. You’ll see that—by living these 3 Great Principles—you can work to bring about loving kindness in the home, honesty in business, courtesy and civility in society, fairness in work, pity and concern for those less fortunate, resistance of evil, help for the weak, forgiveness for the penitent, love for one another, and—above all—reverence and love for God.

A Special Word about Relief (Charity)

As you go deeper into your Freemasonry journey, you’ll be struck—time and again—by how much the 3 Great Principles of Freemasonry complement and empower each other. Without a true embrace of Brotherly Love and a courageous embrace of Truth, your efforts at Relief (Charity) might lack the passion and effectiveness they otherwise would have. But when you DO embrace all 3 Great Principles, you’ll see how life-changing your works of kindness and charity for others can be.      

You’ll also see specific ways we here at the Valley of Portland “walk the talk” to lovingly help those in need. As we discussed in our recent blogs “Valley of Portland Urges Support of the Blue Envelope Appeal” and “Valley of Portland Partners with Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation,” we remain actively focused, year-round, on how we can better serve our local communities and our neighbors living in them. It all comes down to building your life on a firm foundation of principles and values. That’s the Freemason way.

 

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.

 

The debate has raged since the 1960s, if not before: What is masculinity? What should a man do and be? What is a “real man” versus a man who embodies “toxic masculinity?” One look at national bestseller lists reveals that, if anything, interest in the topic is growing stronger by the day. Titles that tackle the subject include The Masculinity Manifesto, The Mask of Masculinity, Reinventing Masculinity … it goes on and on. So here at the Valley of Portland, we wanted to take a few minutes to look at this deeply important topic and share our perspective on it.

A Foundation of Values

Abraham Lincoln famously said: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” But is also cannot stand if it lacks a strong foundation. Here at the Valley of Portland and among our Masonic brothers worldwide, we believe that foundation is comprised of the enduring values we’ve cherished and upheld for centuries—as they apply to today’s men and today’s world. Think about it: We are living—sadly—in a world where lying … bullying … cheating … demonstrating a lack of respect for women and/or for people from other cultures, and more … are too often met with male silence or with outright male affirmation. One critical way to battle this tide is by men stepping up and rejecting it. And we believe one clear pathway for doing that is by actively embracing the Masonic values we lay out in our Mission Statement, which reads:

It is the mission of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, to improve its members and enhance the communities in which they live by teaching and emulating the principles of Brotherly Love, Tolerance, Charity, and Truth, while actively embracing high social, moral, and spiritual values, including fellowship, compassion, and dedication to God, family, and country.           

“The World Needs Men of Honor”

As discussed in the video “Not Just a Man. A Mason,” we Masons have, for 300 years, helped men become the best version of themselves. We don’t do that by giving them a gym pass or changing their diet, or helping them navigate the business world. We do that through our fraternity and by inviting each man to take an oath of Service, Integrity, and Brotherly Love—placing THOSE values at the center of what they embrace as true masculinity.

A Final Word

In his book Understanding Manhood in America: Freemasonry’s Enduring Path to the Mature Masculine, Robert G. Davis asserts that the road to the “mature masculine” is not an easy road; it involves work, perseverance, and a commitment to personal responsibility. Stated another way, it involves a deep commitment to living a values-centered life. Here at the Valley of Portland and throughout the Masonic world, that is exactly the kind of masculinity we strive to manifest each and every day of the year.

Want to Learn More About the Valley of Portland?

Additional information about the Valley of Portland is available here and at our website here. Interested in learning more about local events? Visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date and informed about upcoming events.

New brothers interested in completing the application process can do so by filling out the online application here.