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!

Do I wait to get right with my home lodge, or start over as an EA

  • Wait

    Votes: 3 100.0%
  • Start Over

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    3

Kyle Gonzalez

Registered User
Good afternoon everyone,

I need some advice, but first Ill give you a little background.

I joined the lodge around the age of 21 (im 32 now). I started in New York, but then moved to Kansas due to being in the military. After some inquiries from the Masonic lodge there, I decided to take up membership with their lodge. Shortly after, I was discharged from the military and moved back to Michigan. Once there, I took up membership at a lodge in my hometown. Heres where the problems start.

First, I think the path I was guided down was probably not the best approach. When moving from my home lodge that I was raised in, I signed the paperwork for Kansas, and stopped paying dues in New York. (to be fair, I was young and under the impression that I no longer needed to pay dues since I "transferred"). When going from Kansas to Michigan, under the impression that it was the correct thing to do, I took the same approach. This meant that in the end, I was only paying dues in Michigan.

Shortly after taking up membership, I fell on hard times (no job and homeless). I was unable to afford dues, so I stopped paying. Everything seemed hopeless at the time.

Fast forward several years, I attended and graduated college and took up residency in yet another state. Now that I am in a good financial position, I am able to afford to get back in (i was VERY active in the past. Sat in chairs, conferred degrees, etc). I spoke with a local lodge and was instructed to get right with one of the lodges i've attended. This was in November. So I started with Michigan since that was the last lodge I attended. However, even with the dues card and number on it, i was finally told two months later that they can't find me and to get right with my home lodge in New York.

I finally got in touch with them after multiple attempts, and its looking like I may be waiting several more months before reinstatement would occur (having to wait over the course of multiple communications for voting and whatnot).

*breathe* Ok, so heres where I need the advice. Although its starting to look like it may be possible to get back in, it looks like itll take several more months. I am very eager, and ive already been working on this for several months. I have several friends who'd like to join and I can vouch for, but, you know, I have to get right first.

Another option was pitched my way. Once I heard it, my heart sank as i've worked so hard to not only accomplish and finish blue lodge, but york rite as well. But this other option, is to start all over here in Kentucky. As a MM and Knight Templar, to hear that I would have to restart as an EA is a heartbreaking option. I cant say that everything about that option is bad, because doing it that way will give me a much needed refresher. But I can get that simply by studying, so..... I'm sure that my fellow brothers can understand the dilemma and how having to go back through the degrees all over again would feel. To add to it, not being able to attend meetings until you obtain something that you've already obtained. To be fair, I'd totally jump on this option if all three degrees were conferred in a day, but that doesnt appear to be the case.

Ok, so for all those that skipped to the bottom to get to the point, I joined the Lodge, fell on hard times, but am now square with my personal affairs and want to rejoin. Do I wait several months to be reinstated as an MM from my home lodge, or should I just suck it up and restart from Day 0? Why?

Any advice would be helpful
 

Warrior1256

Site Benefactor
My advice is to do the right and moral thing as I see it. Get right with BOTH of your former lodges before starting a Masonic journey here in Kentucky. I believe that you will be much happier in your Masonic life if you start with a clean slate behind you. JMHO.
 

JanneProeliator

Registered User
I'm with brother Warrior on this one.

Seems that you want to do everything right and that's how it should be done. Get square with your old lodges and talk with your brothers from the past lodges and the lodge you want to join. After that you can let all that be history and you can focus on bettering your self eaven further.

Plus taking the degrees to start over would be kinda funny because you already have taken the, and conferred them. There is no experience anymore.
 

Kyle Gonzalez

Registered User
I'm with brother Warrior on this one.

Seems that you want to do everything right and that's how it should be done. Get square with your old lodges and talk with your brothers from the past lodges and the lodge you want to join. After that you can let all that be history and you can focus on bettering your self eaven further.

Plus taking the degrees to start over would be kinda funny because you already have taken the, and conferred them. There is no experience anymore.
I agree wholeheartedly. I mean I love conferring degrees, but if I had to do it again I'd be wondering "why am I doing this?" while kneeling at the alter taking the MM OB for the second time. But communication with my home lodge has been rough at best, so theres no telling how thatll play out

Sent from my SM-N950U using My Freemasonry mobile app
 

Warrior1256

Site Benefactor
But communication with my home lodge has been rough at best, so theres no telling how thatll play out
Just do the best that you can to "square" things with your home lodge. No one can expect more. If you can not get them to communicate with you that is not on you.
 

jermy Bell

Registered User
Ok, I'm confused. I thought once you was raised to the sublime degree of MM. You was always a master mason. How is this possible to start all over as a EA ? or did I miss something somewhere ?
 

Brother JC

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
“Regularity is in the eye of the beholder.”

Indeed.
And like any large organization there is red tape. Sometimes far too much.
 

Glen Cook

G A Cook
Site Benefactor
Actually, I’m not sure I do understand the dilemma. First, it’s hardly a laborious process to take the degrees. More importantly, upon what do you place the greater value: being a mason, or the masonic rank you perceive

You’ve not told us the grand lodges involved. That may change our view.
 
Last edited:

Kyle Gonzalez

Registered User
Just do theres no confusion, I AM a regular mason. I was suspended for NPD (re read the original post). I'm trying to get back in, but I'm having trouble getting in contact w my home lodge. So my options are to wait it out and hope they can help me get reinstated, or start over with the lodge in the state I'm currently in and retake all my degrees. As far as not understanding what grand lodges are involved, that's also in the original post. NY, MI and KS

Sent from my SM-N950U using My Freemasonry mobile app
 

Kyle Gonzalez

Registered User
Sorry if it seems like I'm snappy. This is something that I've been wanting to do (get reinstated and start participating in lodge functions again) deep down in my heart, so the fact that this "process" has been taking so long has been really bothering me.

Sent from my SM-N950U using My Freemasonry mobile app
 

Mike Martin

Eternal Apprentice
Premium Member
As a Freemason and therefore (hopefully) a man of honour who is upstanding and honest you must surely wish to put right what went wrong and I am sure that you will remember the lesson learnt (about not rashly rushing forward) when you entered the Lodge for the very first time.

Nuff said!
 

Kyle Gonzalez

Registered User
As a Freemason and therefore (hopefully) a man of honour who is upstanding and honest you must surely wish to put right what went wrong and I am sure that you will remember the lesson learnt (about not rashly rushing forward) when you entered the Lodge for the very first time.

Nuff said!
I definitely would like to correct the mistakes. It's not that I rashly rushed through, but rather was misguided and misinformed

Sent from my SM-N950U using My Freemasonry mobile app
 
Top