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Meeting Brothers in public.

jharmon79

Registered User
Just a question that i've been wondering for awhile. How do you carry on a masonic conversation in public with someone who is also wearing a S&C emblem? For example: I was in a store this past Saturday, as I was checking out I noticed the cashier was wearing a S&C necklace. I politely complimented him on it and his reply was " Thank you, something I picked up on my travels to the East." I just wondered how I would go on to carry on a conversation with him. I had on my ring but i'm not sure he saw it.

Bro. John S. Harmon
 

Brother JC

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Once all the jewelry talk finished I'd find out what lodge he was from. You might have some friends in common and not know it.
 

MarkR

Premium Member
Yeah, I'm more for the direct "what lodge do you belong to." Too many of the other, more arcane, questions can lead to confusion. Not everybody has heard things like the 15¢ question.
 

mrpierce17

KOP Council director / Lodge instructor
Premium Member
I would ask are you a mason then what lodge are you a member of , that will usually let me know if I need to further intercourse with you masonicly or be off the subject, its certainly not offensive in my opinion to simply ask A suspected brother are you a Mason
 

Brother_Steve

Premium Member
I tend to not speak masonically in public.

I understand that to be talking about what goes on behind a tiled/tyled door.

I would just ask him what lodge he belonged to if I'm just going to shoot the breeze with him.

exchanging dues cards to talk about a certain section of the MM degree while paying for items is kind of awkward to say the least!
 

cemab4y

Premium Member
I have had masons say "Nice Belt Buckle", or ":Nice baseball cap". When I see a man wearing a masonic (or Shrine or Scottish Rite) ring, I say "I see you are a Mason (or Shriner,etc). Then I usually ask "What lodge do you hail from"? I have no problem at all, with discussing Masonry in public. You should be discreet, in discussing esoteric items, like the signs/grips/passwords, etc. We often show each other our dues cards.

Before I was a Mason, I once observed two men "talking the talk", and I said- That must be some Masonic thing. The man responded, "that is correct". Next thing, I was asking him about Freemasonry, and I was on the way to asking for a petition.

You never know what might happen, when you discuss Masonry in public! Most Masons forget, that the (mostly) only contact that people will ever have with Freemasonry, is when they observe a Freemason in public. We are own best advertisement.
 

Warrior1256

Site Benefactor
Things like: "Hello, brother" or "What lodge are you from?" work really well. :)

I've also heard brothers been asked "Are you a travelling man?"
When I was first raised I asked a brother how I should start a conversation with someone who was wearing a Masonic symbol. I thought it would be some thing elaborate. The brother informed me that I should simply stick out my hand and say something like "I'm from lodge so and so, what lodge are you from." He also advised me against talking in depth about Masonry with someone that I had just met.
 

Rifleman1776

Registered User
Just a question that i've been wondering for awhile. How do you carry on a masonic conversation in public with someone who is also wearing a S&C emblem? For example: I was in a store this past Saturday, as I was checking out I noticed the cashier was wearing a S&C necklace. I politely complimented him on it and his reply was " Thank you, something I picked up on my travels to the East." I just wondered how I would go on to carry on a conversation with him. I had on my ring but i'm not sure he saw it.

Bro. John S. Harmon


Happens frequently. That is why we wear rings or other Masonic items. Easy to discuss things without giving away any secrets. I wear a Shrine buckle and occasionally get approached by someone who has been helped by the Shrine hospitals. We don't need to hide our lights. Nice to meet a Brother and chat.
 

Warrior1256

Site Benefactor
Happens frequently. That is why we wear rings or other Masonic items. Easy to discuss things without giving away any secrets. I wear a Shrine buckle and occasionally get approached by someone who has been helped by the Shrine hospitals. We don't need to hide our lights. Nice to meet a Brother and chat.
Absolutely agree!
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
I wear a Shrine buckle and occasionally get approached by someone who has been helped by the Shrine hospitals.

Incidentally that's a perfect opportunity for second hand invitations. Explain to them that all Shriners are Masons and that Masons not allowed to invite people to become Masons. That means we can't invite people out of the general public to join us as Shiners. Then explain to them as non-Masons they are not restricted against inviting people to become Masons first and then Shiners second (Arkansas caveat here can be skipped with non-Masons). We can end up with a lot of really good ambassadors this way.

Also point out to them that you can't invite them to become Masons but if they ever decide to you're happy to help them through the process.
 

Rifleman1776

Registered User
"all Shriners are Masons and that Masons not allowed to invite people to become Masons. "
Those are not universally correct statements. In Arkansas, and I believe one other state, Shrine membership is open to non-masons. In some states, like Missouri where my Lodge is, we can invite men to become Masons.
 

Ripcord22A

Site Benefactor
With the shrine being open to nonmasons can shriners from there attend shrine meetings in other states......sorry for hijacking the thread
 
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