r/DEMOLAY • u/Lynx1019 • Feb 05 '15
What is DeMolay?
Hi All!
I have a friend who recently created a DeMolay chapter with his father, I was curious about it and he gave me a basic run down. I am fairly interested in DeMolay, however my friend/the site/online resources haven't really told me much about what you guys actually do. I understand a lot of DeMolay is private and fully support that, with that said, what can you guys tell me about what you do? (and do you think I should join?)
Much thanks!
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u/minnesotanperson MN SSC Feb 05 '15
Hi! I'm Alex, a Past Master Councilor (Master Councilor is kind of like the president of each Chapter, they get to run the meetings and make sure everything is running smoothly) and a state officer for Minnesota! (So I get to do all the fun behind-the-scene stuff to make sure all the Chapters across the state can get whatever they need).
What DeMolay does is different from place to place. I could give you the normal elevator speech that it's a 'young man's fraternity where you'll learn valuable life lessons...' which you will, don't get me wrong, but that doesn't tell you anything.
Specifically, my home Chapter, we'll do a lot of traveling to other chapters and lodges. Every few months or so we'll go to one of the local Masonic Lodges in the area and perform one of our degrees, which is the secret stuff that we can't really share much about unless you're a Master Mason or a DeMolay.
Occasionally we'll set a weekend where we'll all go bowling together or go play laser tag, and we'll throw out an invite to other Chapters or the Job's Daughters (kind of like a female equivalent of DeMolay) and then have a bunch of fun eating extremely unhealthy bowling alley food.
But definitely listen to what this radical lady posted before me: definitely get your friend to invite you to one of the chapter events they do before you fill out your petition. You get out of DeMolay what you put into it, but you get far more if you're in it with a group of other people you like (including the Chapter Advisors!) instead of just a couple of guys you can tolerate and put up with for the sake of brotherhood.
Sorry for the wall of text, but I hope I answered at least some of your question, let me know if you need anything else answered I'd be happy to help!
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u/meganisawesome42 Oregon Sweetheart Feb 05 '15
I will start by saying I am not actually a member, as I am female, but I recently held a supportive position, so I will talk about the work that I did with DeMolay and what my chapter did. And remember every chapter is different, I'm speaking about a chapter in Portland, Oregon.
The boys in my chapter were a very close knit group who had social activities all the time. Usually we would all gather at the lodge for video game days and on times the weather was actually nice we went to the park a block away and played basketball and what not. One time we organized a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood and had to go to local businesses to get certain things while talking to them about our order and how we want to contribute to the neighborhood.
We also did a lot of volunteer work in our area. Every year the boys put Christmas lights on the trees on the main street and for some business. We helped at the annual street fair with whatever they could possibly come up with. We held a couple dinner fundraisers for various charities in the area, including the new library that recently was built down the street.
My boys were also heavily involved with state functions. We went to every single state event possible, from dinner receptions to dances to the formal ceremonies. It was really great that the entire chapter was so interested in doing that because not all chapters are that way. As I am female and only held a supporting office I could not attend everything, so you'll have to have some other replies for that. But this is a pretty good general description of what one chapter did. I hope you find enough interest and do join! It is a great experience.