What's new
By:
Advanced search…
My Freemasonry | Freemason Information and Discussion Forum

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

White apron

drw72

drw72

Premium Member
Here in Florida we are presented with our apron, a bible, and certificate after we are raised. We too are told not to wear the apron as we are to be buried in it. We can purchase our own apron for lodge, funerals, etc. however it has to be plain white. Unless you hold an office, past officer, appendant degree officer, or past appendant officer, we are not allowed to wear one with any design or ornamentation...just plain white.
 
Canadian Paul

Canadian Paul

Registered User
In Newfoundland and Labrador, in all lodges, both those formally under the UGLE and the GL of Scotland and now under the GL of NL, as well as those still under the GL of Scotland, MMs usually buy their own MM apron. The design of these aprons is laid down by the governing jurisdiction so all brethren wearing one will be 'on the level'. These are known as 'dress aprons'. Lodges will have a supply of simpler 'working aprons', usually plain white with three rosettes in the appropriate colour, for visitors who come without their own aprons.

The custom of presenting a new MM with an apron is unknown. The custom of presenting them with a bible was, I am told, common years ago but is not followed today in most, if not all, lodges.

Reading threads like this one on this site have made me realise the huge variety in customs followed in different jurisdictions. We tend to assume the way things are done in our own lodges is the only 'proper' way! It is useful, I think, to discover that others may 'do it differently' - but in essence it is the SAME freemasonry.

At any rate, brethren - rest assured,that if you visit a lodge here without an apron, we will find you one! It might even be a 'dress apron' - most lodges have one or two around that have been donated back to the lodge.
 
Bill Lins

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
drw72 said:
Here in Florida we are presented with our apron... after we are raised. We too are told not to wear the apron as we are to be buried in it.
Click to expand...
Here's the pertinent part of our Apron Presentation to the new MM:
"This Apron, the special gift of this Lodge, is yours to wear upon all proper occasions throughout an honorable life, and at your death, is to be placed upon the coffin that contains your lifeless remains and with them shall be laid beneath the silent clods of the valley."
I occasionally see Brethren wear their lambskins on special occasions, particularly when receiving service awards and the like.
 
B

Brother JC

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
And here is ours:
"It is yours; yours to wear throughout an honorable life, and at your death to be deposited on the casket which shall enclose your lifeless remains, and with them laid in the grave."
 
C

Carl_in_NH

Site Benefactor
In my jurisdiction, an EA is presented with a white apron during initiation. It is expected that he wear the same apron when passed and raised. Whether he chooses to wear his apron at meetings from the sidelines or simply keep it rolled up in a tube in his closet until his Masonic funeral service after he passes to the Celestial Lodge above, is his concern. The Apron we provide the candidate has a record under the flap for vital information, such as the Brother's name, and the dates of initiation, passing, and raising.

There's no Bible presentation which is formally required in my jurisdiction, however sometimes a special Bible is purchased by a mentor in the Lodge and the candidate is obligated upon it. After raising, this Bible is presented to the candidate as a special gift by the mentor to the newly raised Brother. I've seen this done not only in my Lodge, but other Lodges in my jurisdiction as well.

I was presented with such a Bible upon my raising by my mentor in the Lodge; he had purchased it for me and I was obligated upon it without knowledge that it would be presented to me after raising. As far as I knew at the time, it was the standard Lodge Bible I'd been obligated upon. It's a really special gift, with records of the degree dates and signatures of the officers involved in the degrees.

Years later, when I was elected and installed in the East in my Lodge (the same Lodge I was raised in), I took that special Bible with me to Installation and took my obligation as Master upon it. Quite the gift, and a great reminder of a continuing journey, and friends and Brothers that are very important to me.
 
E

Elexir

Registered User
The whole bible presentation thing makes me a bit curious. How does that fit in with being neutral when it comes to religon?
Would a non-christian brother recive his VSL instead of the bible?
 
B

Brother JC

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Elexir said:
The whole bible presentation thing makes me a bit curious. How does that fit in with being neutral when it comes to religon?
Click to expand...
In NM the presentation quickly explains, "Howsoever men differ in creed or theology, all good men are agreed that within the covers of the Holy Bible are found those principles of morality that lay the foundation upon which to build a righteous life."
 
MarkR

MarkR

Premium Member
Carl_in_NH said:
...or simply keep it rolled up in a tube in his closet until his Masonic funeral service after he passes to the Celestial Lodge above, is his concern.
Click to expand...
Just a bit of advice that I got from some older brothers. Don't store it it a tube; if it sits in there for 40-50 years, the brothers doing your funeral may well find that it will no longer lay flat and will keep rolling itself back up. I moved mine into the flat box that one of my personally-owned aprons came in, since I put those into apron cases.
 
C

Carl_in_NH

Site Benefactor
MarkR said:
Don't store it it a tube; if it sits in there for 40-50 years, the brothers doing your funeral may well find that it will no longer lay flat and will keep rolling itself back up.
Click to expand...

I agree. Not only will it want to remain rolled-up and resist efforts to flatten, it will crack when someone attempts to convince it to be flat after all those decades rolled up in the tube. That's sound advice.
 
Descartes

Descartes

Registered User
My apologies if this is necromancing an old, tired thread.
Here as an Ea we wore white aprons every meeting - supplied by the lodge but not 'ours'.
Ditto with the F.C apron.

Then when raised, we were given M.M aprons the night of and a cert once we later proved up.
Bibles were optional if we wanted it, but supply costs recently went up so some things became 'as need or desired'.


Sent from my LG-D852 using My Freemasonry mobile app
 
R

Rinesh Hegde

Registered User
The lodges under the Grand Lodge of India, provides only the Master Mason apron (lambskin apron with three rosettes) to the the member as and when he completes the Master Mason degree, till then the EA apron (plain lambskin apron) and the FC apron (apron with two rosettes) are given to them to be worn only during the meeting but both these type of aprons are lodge's property and are taken back from the member after the meeting.

I would love to have both these aprons along with the MM apron with me for the rest of my life, but as per most of the seniors in our lodge, it's the MM apron that is going to be with you till the rest of your life, provided you don't become a WM cause than you have a similar apron where instead of the three rosettes we have three triple tau.
 

Attachments

  • MM Apron.jpg
    MM Apron.jpg
    156.9 KB · Views: 394
EVG Yumul

EVG Yumul

Registered User
Brother JC said:
In NM the presentation quickly explains, "Howsoever men differ in creed or theology, all good men are agreed that within the covers of the Holy Bible are found those principles of morality that lay the foundation upon which to build a righteous life."
Click to expand...

I strongly disagree with this, Brother. How would you feel if you're a Christian and were given a Quran? It doesn't align with your own beliefs at all. There's a reason why they're denominated as the VSL in our work. I sincerely hope that brothers there were obligated on the VSL of their own faith otherwise their SO wouldn't be as solemn as they thought it would be.
 
Glen Cook

Glen Cook

G A Cook
Site Benefactor
EVG Yumul said:
I strongly disagree with this, Brother. How would you feel if you're a Christian and were given a Quran? It doesn't align with your own beliefs at all. There's a reason why they're denominated as the VSL in our work. I sincerely hope that brothers there were obligated on the VSL of their own faith otherwise their SO wouldn't be as solemn as they thought it would be.
Click to expand...
I would compare it to the one I have now.

It does in many ways align with my beliefs.

Would you explain why the VSL makes a difference in the solemnity of the ob.? What about those who accept no particular VSL? Are they doomed to a less than solemn ob.?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top