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THE ZOOM BOOM
We Know: You're Sick Of Staring At Screens But Get Used To It,
Because They're Here To Stay, That's Actually A Good Thing
By Graham Hacia, Grand Lodge of California

Adam Hanin broke into a smile as he violated the fi rst Going virtual also levels the playing fi eld for remote
rule of public speaking: Lay off the groaners. “Marty,” lodges, many of which struggle to bring a quorum
he said into his laptop, “I’m thinking you need to turn of members together. And online, these lodges have
up the AC, because you’re on fi re!” Th en Hanin— access to the same resources as their big-city brethren,
acting on this night as emcee—read the next question including guest speakers.
for his lodge’s virtual trivia night, pausing just long
enough to cue the Jeopardy-esque music. Meeting online has also put the fraternity in a better
position to respond to real-world issues. In May, more
It was a brief moment of levity for the members than 1,000 Masons signed on to hear Dr. Oscar Alleyne,
of Acalanes Fellowship Lodge No. 480 during an an infectious disease expert and New York Mason,
otherwise oppressively disheartening year. It was also discuss the nation’s response to the coronavirus. And
a scene that’s become familiar to us all since March: over the summer, the Masonic Family Civility Project
people gathering online to stay in touch and, hopefully, led discussions on racial injustice in the wake of Black
to manifest some semblance of human connection. Lives Matter demonstrations. In cases like those,
Groaners included. diverse groups of Masons were able to come together
online.
But as Zoom fatigue settles in aft er months of screen-to-
screen communication, and Masons begin dreaming Th en there’s the new Online Masonic Speaker Series,
of a return to in-person meetings, it’s important to rolled out over the summer, which attracted more
consider how transformational these online tools than 12,000 registrants, with another 3,000 watching
have been for the fraternity—and how they’re likely to lectures aft er the fact.
reshape lodge life even aft er the pandemic has passed.
No, meetings won’t be held via screens and speakers Of course, there are things that can’t be replaced by
forever. But remote meetups are here to stay, in one a smartphone or a laptop. “I hug every brother and
form or another. How lodges learn to absorb them shake their hand at every stated meeting,” Ismail says,
into their day-to-day operations will have important referring to his lodge’s Circle of Brotherhood ritual. “I
consequences for the future of Freemasonry. don’t think anything can replace that.”
Th ere’s also the absence of Masonic halls and lodge
Before you dismiss that as technoid poppycock, rooms. “For new guys coming in, that physical space
consider how going online has helped close equity is important to the solemnity of our ceremonies,” he
gaps within lodges—namely, that physically getting to says. “Th e sense of tradition and the weightiness of the
lodge can be harder for some than for others. Th at may fraternity is impossible to replicate.”
be because a member lives far away, or age or health
prevents them from leaving home. Th ese are valid concerns, and digital connection should
be thought of as a “plus-and” rather than an “either/
Perhaps they moved out of the area, or have a young or” issue, Ismail says. While virtual meetings will
family and can’t spare four hours on a school night. never subsume physical meetings, they can augment
“We have more than 300 members, but only 125 or 150 how Masons conduct business. Says Hanin, “We’re
live within an hour of the lodge,” says Doug Ismail, actually going to come out of this season with more-
master of California No. 1. engaged members than when we went into it. Th at, I
think, is the point of what we’re trying to accomplish
Virtual meetings have helped address that problem, here—to stay relevant and build our membership.”
allowing more members than ever to participate,
which in turn livens up meetings that can easily grow Hanin, for one, plans on holding monthly calls even
stale. “We’ve had brothers from Saudi Arabia, England, aft er the world returns to normal. “We had a brother
and Belgium on at the same time,” Ismail marvels. At in England who joined us at two in the morning just
Hanin’s Acalanes Fellowship lodge, members used to to say hi,” he says. “I’m not going to stop that.”
arrange carpools for elderly members who could no
longer drive to attend stated meetings. Now attendance Permission to reprint the article the "Zoom Boom", Ian A.
is only a few clicks away. Stewart, the California Freemason magazine, DEC/JAN 2021
issue, granted from the California Freemason, magazine.
Montana Freemason Page 6 March/April 2021 Volume 97 No. 2