Freemasonary....

1. Depends on the lodge. Ours meets 4 times a year, some meet every month.
Bigger lodges tend to meet more often to allow more people to attend, but not always.

2. We have a meeting just like any club, read past minutes, any communications from the lodge members or outside (grand lodge etc)
If we have a new member joining we have a ceremony, like a little play, where he's welcomed into the lodge and told "The Secrets" lol :-)
The form of the ceremony is mainly what is kept secret, but it's just basically allegorical stories that teach him to try and be a good human being.
Mainly it's kept secret because it would spoil the experience of the candidate if he knew what was going to happen.

3. Depends some lodges have only 30 odd others, well into the hundreds.

4. If you know a mason, ask him, he'll probably be overjoyed to have you join. You can even email grand lodge and they can put you in touch with a local lodge.


skippi90 said:
Thanks for that.


1. How often are the meetings or whatever you call them?
2. What would go on in the average meeting?
3. How many members would each lodge have on average?
4. What is the process of joining?


:)
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Goblin,

What degree are you?

Do you have to "Study" for your degree's or is it really down to how long you have been there ? :confused:
 
goblin357 said:
1. Depends on the lodge. Ours meets 4 times a year, some meet every month.
Bigger lodges tend to meet more often to allow more people to attend, but not always.

2. We have a meeting just like any club, read past minutes, any communications from the lodge members or outside (grand lodge etc)
If we have a new member joining we have a ceremony, like a little play, where he's welcomed into the lodge and told "The Secrets" lol :-)
The form of the ceremony is mainly what is kept secret, but it's just basically allegorical stories that teach him to try and be a good human being.
Mainly it's kept secret because it would spoil the experience of the candidate if he knew what was going to happen.

3. Depends some lodges have only 30 odd others, well into the hundreds.

4. If you know a mason, ask him, he'll probably be overjoyed to have you join. You can even email grand lodge and they can put you in touch with a local lodge.
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Again, thanks for that. :)


I'm really interested in all of this. Not to the point of wanting to join though. Don't think it's my 'scene'. :p

But I had a nosey at the site and the booklet they have on there. I like the idea of the offices and how members progress through them. Also noticed that the application sign up only has English and Welsh counties listed?
 
yes i know a person whos in the masons now . he basically got in through all the charity work he did for many years and other countless kind acts for nothing.
 
eddiemcgarrigle said:
Freemasonry and the Orange Order go hand in hand in Western Scotland. To be a member of one is almost certainly a given that you are a member of the other. No place in modern society for either of them.
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To people who have no clue what goes on in either, maybe. But not in the real world. There may be several people who are members of both, but in no way does that mean its linked in any way.

Personally, i am pretty much disgusted by the orange order. It seems to be competely sectarian for the fun of it, doesnt appeal to me in the slightest. However, i have a masonic application sitting in front of me, trying to decide whether to join or not.
 
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3rd degree (master) mason.

There are only 3 degrees in masonry.

The highest you can be is a master mason (3rd degree)
There are other side "degrees" you can do once you are a mason, the Americans number them i.e. "32nd degree" but we don't over here.
They are not superior to the 3rd degree, just additional, and basically carry on the stories and teaching after the 3rd degree.
You don't have to join them, and a lot don't, it depends on the number of evenings you have free and how many big dinners you can manage LOL.

The progression through the degrees is pretty much automatic, (everyone enjoys the ceremonies and want the candidates to experience them). The time taken really depends on the candidate and how busy the lodge is.
Some lodges you can go from initiate to master mason in a year, others with more candidates can take longer.. you can only have one ceremony a meeting due to time, so they'll spread the ceremonies around so everyone has a turn...
There is some "studying" to do, mainly to understand what the ceremony you last did was all about. It can be a bit overwhelming when you are a candidate and it's all happening around you, so it's better to have someone explain everything to you afterwards anyway.
It's not hard and can be done in an evening over a few drinks with another mason, usually your proposer...

Scottish lodges come under a different grand lodge

http://www.grandlodgescotland.com/


E1T5Y said:
Goblin,

What degree are you?

Do you have to "Study" for your degree's or is it really down to how long you have been there ? :confused:
Click to expand...
 
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It is basically time that stops progression. In our lodge we meet 7 times a year so we have to fit everything in that amount of meetings.

I went to 3rd in about 2 years.

The committment is as little or as much as you want. There are no attendance issues.
 
eddiemcgarrigle said:
Freemasonry and the Orange Order go hand in hand in Western Scotland. To be a member of one is almost certainly a given that you are a member of the other. No place in modern society for either of them.
Click to expand...

Fortunately, most of what is termed 'modern society' in this country isn't divided in the same way that the West Of Scotland is, and hence the Freemasons can exist quite happily.
 
My beloved OH and his dad were masons. His dad loved all the ceremonial stuff and became quite high up and was highly thought of as he 'performed' so well. OH has not been to a meeting for ages as he doesn't have the time now, but is intending to re-join in the furture.

We have benefitted from the charitable side of the Masons. Our daughter was lucky enough to be offered a sixth form place at the Royal Masonic school for 2 years. Our 2 eldest kids were treated to a PGL holiday for a week some years ago and my mother-in-law finished her days in a Masonic home. She had been in a private home for about a year, but the level of care was awful. The staff at the Masonic home could not have treated her with more care and attention if she had been royalty. Anyone can apply for aid, they just have to be a genuine deserving case.
 
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