By Brady Brown: for full story fallow the link to the Ottawa citizen at the bottom of this story.
Everything changes and usually for the better, but one change that worries me is the falling membership in service clubs. If society loses the great contributions made by these voluntary organizations, will it be able to absorb the damage?
That’s why on Jan. 9 we were watching men in Arab robes, clown suits and familiar red fezes gather for ceremonies kicking off another year of operation for Tunis Shiners. We’re at the Ottawa Masonic Centre, and for those who’ve never been in the place, it’s a surprise.
To the uninitiated, of which this reporter is one, it at first seems spooky, but then it becomes clear. This is a boys club for men who still want to have fun.
Peter , a researcher at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, is being formally installed as Tunis’s “potentate.”
The Middle East flavour of everything stems from the organization’s name at its 1870 founding in New York City — The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
They were Freemasons who decided, maybe just for the hell of it, to establish a club that would encourage a little nonsense, as long as it was fun. It would be fraternal and philanthropic, like the organization it sprang from.
The fun spread and today there are 350,000 members in North America, raising $735 million annually to run 22 children’s hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
In Ottawa, there are 735 members contributing to a national budget of $15 million.
The service begins with a farewell to 18 “nobles” who died last year. In Shriner talk, they don’t die, but are “visited by the black camel” that helps them pass through “the invisible forest.”
Like everything else, Shriners have changed.
They used to be a rowdy bunch. In full party mode they were known to ride motorcycles into hotel lobbies and party hearty. Now the emphasis is on its main philanthropic thrust aimed at children.
Like all service clubs, the main aim is giving back — supporting the community that supports them.
To be a Shriner, one has to first be a Mason. The Shriners are starting a major membership drive, and don’t appear to be worried about topping up their ranks.
Things are different for other major service clubs, and there’s talk of merger. At this point nobody seems to want to go on record. Kiwanis Club of Ottawa, founded in 1917, has always been one of the biggest and busiest. In 1995, it had 248 members. Last year, it was down to 161. There are exceptions. Manotick Kiwanis last year saw a leap in membership to 50 from 16.
Ottawa Rotary at its peak had about 150 members, and is now down to less than 70. But it wouldn’t be fair to rely on a head count, says president Brian Barr. As the city grew, the Ottawa club established other clubs in suburban communities. Like executive level members in other clubs, he agrees there’s pressure from shrinkage. He also sees irony. “It’s happening at a time when the need (for volunteerism) was never greater.”
Everything changes and usually for the better, but one change that worries me is the falling membership in service clubs. If society loses the great contributions made by these voluntary organizations, will it be able to absorb the damage?
That’s why on Jan. 9 we were watching men in Arab robes, clown suits and familiar red fezes gather for ceremonies kicking off another year of operation for Tunis Shiners. We’re at the Ottawa Masonic Centre, and for those who’ve never been in the place, it’s a surprise.
To the uninitiated, of which this reporter is one, it at first seems spooky, but then it becomes clear. This is a boys club for men who still want to have fun.
Peter , a researcher at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, is being formally installed as Tunis’s “potentate.”
The Middle East flavour of everything stems from the organization’s name at its 1870 founding in New York City — The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
They were Freemasons who decided, maybe just for the hell of it, to establish a club that would encourage a little nonsense, as long as it was fun. It would be fraternal and philanthropic, like the organization it sprang from.
The fun spread and today there are 350,000 members in North America, raising $735 million annually to run 22 children’s hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
In Ottawa, there are 735 members contributing to a national budget of $15 million.
The service begins with a farewell to 18 “nobles” who died last year. In Shriner talk, they don’t die, but are “visited by the black camel” that helps them pass through “the invisible forest.”
Like everything else, Shriners have changed.
They used to be a rowdy bunch. In full party mode they were known to ride motorcycles into hotel lobbies and party hearty. Now the emphasis is on its main philanthropic thrust aimed at children.
Like all service clubs, the main aim is giving back — supporting the community that supports them.
To be a Shriner, one has to first be a Mason. The Shriners are starting a major membership drive, and don’t appear to be worried about topping up their ranks.
Things are different for other major service clubs, and there’s talk of merger. At this point nobody seems to want to go on record. Kiwanis Club of Ottawa, founded in 1917, has always been one of the biggest and busiest. In 1995, it had 248 members. Last year, it was down to 161. There are exceptions. Manotick Kiwanis last year saw a leap in membership to 50 from 16.
Ottawa Rotary at its peak had about 150 members, and is now down to less than 70. But it wouldn’t be fair to rely on a head count, says president Brian Barr. As the city grew, the Ottawa club established other clubs in suburban communities. Like executive level members in other clubs, he agrees there’s pressure from shrinkage. He also sees irony. “It’s happening at a time when the need (for volunteerism) was never greater.”
Is it a sign of a citizenry becoming more self-centered and falling away from the idea of giving back?
“Society is changing and there are new pressures and responsibilities.” But there are still many willing to keep payback on their list of things-that-must-be-done.
This is not intended to be an-depth look at the future of service clubs. Some are doing better than others, but most are being squeezed in the membership department.
When I started writing a newspaper column in the capital in 1966, I tried to make sure service clubs got more attention than they had before. That they worked hard and performed wondrous service for their communities became taken as a given, so it wasn’t news anymore. Members can’t be blamed for feeling they’ve been working in the dark.
In another bit of irony, they’ll make headlines if we lose them.
brady.brown@bell.net
“Society is changing and there are new pressures and responsibilities.” But there are still many willing to keep payback on their list of things-that-must-be-done.
This is not intended to be an-depth look at the future of service clubs. Some are doing better than others, but most are being squeezed in the membership department.
When I started writing a newspaper column in the capital in 1966, I tried to make sure service clubs got more attention than they had before. That they worked hard and performed wondrous service for their communities became taken as a given, so it wasn’t news anymore. Members can’t be blamed for feeling they’ve been working in the dark.
In another bit of irony, they’ll make headlines if we lose them.
brady.brown@bell.net
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Brown+Changing+society/4117903/story.html#ixzz1BJpAyLxt
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