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How long is your lodge process for being Entered,Raised and Past

Bro. Staton

Registered User
I see that as being the average but I know some to take much longer depending on the candiate and the instruction class.
 

amaya14

Registered User
it took me 5 month but it would have been 6 if one of the our brother was not ready for the second degree and I took his place. but yes the avarage is six months
 

pointwithinacircle2

Rapscallion
Premium Member
Do you mean just the degrees? Once a candidate has been balloted on he becomes the priority and we usually do one degree per month. So from the first degree to the third could be as little as 60 days. We have great mentors and motivated candidates. In fact, by special dispensation we are taking our Lodge out to an island this Saturday to do an EA degree for a man who lives there.
 

vangoedenaam

Premium Member
A year for each degree. So you'll be mm two years after being initiated unless you're not ready, then it takes longer.
Thats pretty much standard in my country (the Netherlands).
 

Bro. Staton

Registered User
I see that it ranges from location but it does appear that the average is about 6 months and it's truly dependent on the candiate desire to learn what is being taught to him.
 

Bro. Staton

Registered User
A year for each degree. So you'll be mm two years after being initiated unless you're not ready, then it takes longer.
Thats pretty much standard in my country (the Netherlands).
After that time each MM should be well prepared and ready to be effective in the lodge.
 

Roy_

Registered User
Van Goede Naam said:
A year for each degree. So you'll be mm two years after being initiated unless you're not ready, then it takes longer.
Thats pretty much standard in my country (the Netherlands).
Yep, other obedience, same country, same deal. In my lodge it usually takes longer because it is so tiny that it is hard to schedule everything really tightly.
 

Bro. Staton

Registered User
Yep, other obedience, same country, same deal. In my lodge it usually takes longer because it is so tiny that it is hard to schedule everything really tightly.
Smaller lodges with limited attendance face a huge task as well and I can see why it would drag out longer then normal.
 

phulseapple

Premium Member
Our current class (8 total) were just initiated on November 8 this year. We have been meeting with them since April or May of last year. Their FC is scheduled for February 2015 and the MM is slated for April 2015. We are adopting more of an Observant approach so we are not rushing our candidates through. We are contemplating the use of a research paper as well and all 8 are willing to do it.
 

Roy_

Registered User
Bro. Staton said:
Smaller lodges with limited attendance face a huge task as well and I can see why it would drag out longer then normal.
It's not that. As 'Van Goede Naam' can probably confirm, the Grand Orient has 60+ member lodges and they also take a year per grade. The year per grade is more the norm over here. Perhaps 'Van Goede Naam' knows if the same goes for neighbouring countries like Belgium or Germany (or France)? I have the idea it is. Maybe this is a US vs Europe difference?
 

baldeaglecolonel

Registered User
Initiated 10-Mar-1969; Passed 28-Mar-1969; Raised 18-Apr-1969. Rising Virtue Lodge No. 4, F&AM, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Additionally, my being Passed & Raised was only after demonstrating proficiency in the EA and FC lessons learned by rote and recited in open lodge. The application process was somewhat lengthy since I was a college student not from the local area for the lodge; however, though I do not live in Tuscaloosa, AL, I maintain membership there, and my emotional attachment to No. 4 is strong.
 
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cemab4y

Premium Member
In Kentucky, a man must spend 30 days as an EA before he can take the FC, and 30 days as an FC before he can take the MM. And there is a maximum of one year between the degrees. If a man takes longer than one year, then he must drop out, and re-petition.

I spent some time in Indiana. In the Hoosier state, a man may pass to the next degree, when his coach is satisfied that he knows the material (for his current degree).
 

Companion Joe

Premium Member
In Tennessee, from submitting the petition to being raised, the minimum would be portions four months. The petition gets read and an IC assigned at a stated meeting; it is balloted on at the next started meeting; and there is a minimum of 28 days between degrees. Most people take 5-6 months if they are truly interested. We had one young guy this year who was all fired up and got his degrees in the minimum amount of time. We read his petition at the June started meeting, voted on him and did his EA in July, passed him in August, and raised him in September. He was the exception rather than the rule.

Way back when, I could have gotten my degrees in that amount of time, but I got my EA late in 93, and our lodge doesn't do degree work in December, so I had to wait until Jan and Feb of 94 to finish. Not that I'm bitter or anything ;)
 

vangoedenaam

Premium Member
It's not that. As 'Van Goede Naam' can probably confirm, the Grand Orient has 60+ member lodges and they also take a year per grade. The year per grade is more the norm over here. Perhaps 'Van Goede Naam' knows if the same goes for neighbouring countries like Belgium or Germany (or France)? I have the idea it is. Maybe this is a US vs Europe difference?

I do not know how this works in other European countries, but my intuition sais it'll be similar (for what that's worth)
Note that the UK is also part of Europe.

Theres another perspective here. In my country, EA and FC are seen as masons, and full members. And they pay dues like everyone else.
 

Roy_

Registered User
Van Goede Naam said:
Theres another perspective here. In my country, EA and FC are seen as masons, and full members. And they pay dues like everyone else.
In my lodge (obedience) you are a Mason, pay dues as EA and FC, but you are not a 'full member' until you are MM. (No right to vote, etc.)
 
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