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!

I have asked now what?

Willh1990

Registered User
Can i get advice i am nervous about the process can i get info which can be give on the process and how i can better my chances. Lodge 89 Annapolis,MD

Freemason Connect Mobile
 

JKC84

Registered User
Can i get advice i am nervous about the process can i get info which can be give on the process and how i can better my chances. Lodge 89 Annapolis,MD

Freemason Connect Mobile

Have you been to your local lodge?


Entered Apprentice
Oxnard Lodge #341
Oxnard, CA
 

JKC84

Registered User
So according to your title of this topic.. Whom did you ask?


Entered Apprentice
Oxnard Lodge #341
Oxnard, CA
 

Willh1990

Registered User
The
Grand lodge who contacted the best lodge for my location which was lodge 89.

Freemason Connect Mobile
 

JKC84

Registered User
Okay if you don't hear from them in the next few days I would go to their website and see when their next meeting is and go down an introduce yourself in person and start from there. Ask if they have any events or dinners coming up and see if you can come as a guest. Get to know all the brothers there and show genuine interest and be honest if they ask you questions. And when you feel your ready, ask for a petition. Once you do that who ever sponsors you will give the instructions from there. I hope this has been of some assistance.


Entered Apprentice
Oxnard Lodge #341
Oxnard, CA
 

JKC84

Registered User
Feel free to contact me anytime I'll help as much as I can. Good luck with your journey!


Entered Apprentice
Oxnard Lodge #341
Oxnard, CA
 

Willh1990

Registered User
I have no family in MD and I know that they will want to interview me and my only friend in MD is my priest and he wouldn't condone the Mason path.

Freemason Connect Mobile
 

JKC84

Registered User
Will my friend Masonry is about your own personal journey. Make them aware that you have no family in the area but still provide references of friends and family even if they are in a different state. If your accepted you will have a new fraternity of brothers who will support you for the rest of you're life my friend.


Entered Apprentice
Oxnard Lodge #341
Oxnard, CA
 

Michael Hatley

Premium Member
Don't be in a rush. That is one of the things you'll hear several times, no doubt. In my lodge, most of the fellas visited for months before getting a petition. And you would be wise to wait until one is offered rather than asking for one, in my opinion - or at least, do not open the conversation with that.

Keep in mind that Freemasons aren't permitted to recruit - which runs contrary to the public perception that you must be invited to the lodge and to become a member.

Browse for the lodge's website, find out when they meet. Go to the lodge. Dress in a suit if in doubt about attire. Meet the men there. Shake hands. Expect to repeat this every time they have a meeting for several months.

Personally speaking, if someone showed up and requested a petition straight out I'd give them one, but sign it, no. Neither would any of the other men at my lodge. Maybe some lodges in different states are different - but your best bet is to see this as a process where you are building friendships first, brothers second.

Most of the men at my lodge spent months attending the meal before our lodge meetings before getting their petition signed. That is normal. The men who sign for you are putting their honor on the line for you, and one day you may do so for others. You yourself will want to know the man you are signing for, just as they will.

Whats more, there will have to be a vote on your petition once you get to that stage. An investigative committee will be assigned and their findings presented to the lodge prior to the vote. Depending on the state, one, or a very small number of negative votes is all it takes to end your candidacy. Better by a long, long way for every man who will be voting to know you, personally, prior to the vote. And I don't mean being introduced, I mean knowing you - what you are about, getting a sense of the sort of man you are. Otherwise they are voting on a nameless, faceless person to them and anything in the investigative committee report that raises their eyebrow will guide their vote entirely.

Look at it as a six month or so process from the time you visit the lodge till the time you are initiated. If it happens faster than that, great. But set your time frame realistically. This is not an organization you should hope to show up, get a petition, get it signed, and get initiated all within a couple of weeks or the like.

Focus on learning the names of the men at the lodge. It isn't one interview. Its many.

Good luck!
 

CStevenson

Registered User
I agree with Bro. Michael. This is a lifelong journey. I too was very eager to join and the wait to be initiated was long. But now I completely understand why. My first advice to you is to visit more than one lodge if you have more than one in your area. Though you will join a worldwide fraternity of brothers, you will most likely deal with your lodge brothers much more regularly. Each lodge has a different group of brothers which makes each lodge a little different. My hope is that you will find a lodge that fits you. So like Bro. Michael said, go to a lodge, and meet the brothers. You can look up the lodges around you using a variety of web sources and it sounds like you are using the best, the Grand Lodge of your state. Most lodges have webpages which say what days they are open. If not email or call and leave a message and the secretary will contact you back letting you know when you can come and visit. You can wait for a meeting to attend or just go when the lodge is open. Good luck to you in your journey.
 

Willh1990

Registered User
Thank you. I talked with one of the people on the committee today he was very helpful. I fully understand the need to slow down. I'm one of those people that when I commit to something i do it quickly. I start gathering information quickly to understand it. But I now understand this process will be at the brothers pace and I guess I should apply the brakes a little. :)

Freemason Connect Mobile
 

tbcrisler

Registered User
Manassas, VA here....
Manasseh # 182 here...I agree with the other Brothers here, go to as many dinners as you can,
Shake all the members hands, let them see you and then they will know you are interested
And not just someone who is just curious...
I went to the dinners for at least 6 months before I became a EA, then I continued to go
To the dinners until I was raised to MM....


Freemason Connect Mobile
 

Willh1990

Registered User
I have my first dinner here on Monday. I have already talked to the W.M. and he seems to like me and said I'm a good candidate in a email to people so I guess that's a good thing.

Freemason Connect Mobile
 

DJGurkins

Floresville #515
Premium Member
Good luck Willh1990. I wrote a short blog in the blog section of this site about the process from contact to initiation. Give it a once over and remember this is how it happened for me here in Texas. Again good luck and enjoy the journey.
 

Willh1990

Registered User
Just got Freemasons For Dummies by Christopher Hodapp so far a great book. I want to be as Prepared as i can be.

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Benjamin Franklin

Freemason Connect Mobile
 

tbcrisler

Registered User
Good Luck!
I hope to call you Brother soon!
Tell about your experience here...
Will love to hear it!

Brother Ben


Freemason Connect Mobile
 
Top