Sunday, February 13, 2011

An Amazing Lodge Newsletter - The Rural Lodge Newsletter


Recently, I came across the Rural Lodge Newsletter via a Facebook Masonic Group. Rural Lodge is a Masonic Lodge in Quincy, Massachusetts and their webmaster/ambassador RWB Graeme Marsden produces a weekly newsletter. This newsletter is available digitally and is typically twenty pages or more long. Currently, more than 4000 people internationally subscribe to this lodge newsletter!

Check it out here.

So, how does a single lodge newsletter get a subscription list so large? Here are several of the items that make it unique.

  • It's very frequent. This newsletter is weekly and if you're on the mailing list, you'll receive an email notifying you that a new edition is out. This makes it very current and very relevant.
  • It's packed with content. In addition to listing the activities of Rural Lodge it has a calendar that encompasses all of their district with dates going five months forward. After the calendar, it's has stories and pictures from the happenings around their district. It also has several pages of stories from all around the Masonic world, making it interesting to more than just MA Masons.
  • It's in a universally readable format. Unlike many digital newsletter that created in a digital format that is windows/mac/linux-specific. This newsletter is in the PDF format that is viewable by all systems, allows for the compression of images and isn't a potential digital security threat (like viruses in an MS Word Doc).
  • It's bright, colorful and fun. It's not dry and boring. It shows that Masonry is alive and well. People are doing things in their lodges and enjoying themselves.
  • It's digital only. RWB Graeme doesn't have to worry about costs or postage or stuffing envelopes. He posts it to the web and emails his list a web address. That's it. Cheap, fast and easy to distribute.

I am absolutely amazed that RWB Graeme can put out such a great publication ever week. I enjoy reading the articles within and seeing the different kinds of events going on with my brothers to the north. This is a great example of a brother who has adopted the technology of the information age and is using it for the betterment of Masonry.

For a free subscription, contact Graeme Marsden (graeme0marsden@gmail.com). Include your name, title (RW, Wor, Bro), Blue Lodge (city and state) and your email.