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Freemasonry in the News: Bristol

Winter

Premium Member
Always nice to see another flippant article about Freemasonry by someone who could really care less about us but who wants to join so he can skip all the silliness and sit in the big chair. This is what open houses and being able to submit your petition to join on the website get you. The West Gate isn't unguarded, we've installed an expressway with a toll booth. We deserve everything that brings us.

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Scoops

Registered User
As articles in the press over here on freemasonry go, I felt it was alright. Whilst it won't be winning any awards for journalism, it certainly attempted to portray us as regular people. The humour was enough to bring some levity to a subject normally spoken of in the media here in hushed, conspiratorial tones. And at least he didn't go looking for "balance" with any quotes from the likes of Stephen Knight. All in all, a "fluff" piece that won't really have harmed the public image of us.

As for the comments, they're always good value for money in these kinds of articles!

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Bloke

Premium Member
Always nice to see another flippant article about Freemasonry by someone who could really care less about us but who wants to join so he can skip all the silliness and sit in the big chair. This is what open houses and being able to submit your petition to join on the website get you. The West Gate isn't unguarded, we've installed an expressway with a toll booth. We deserve everything that brings us.

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Brother
Our WM, JW, JD are men who submitted a Petition via the Website. Great Freemasons.
In another Lodge
Our JW, SD and IG are men who submitted a Petition via the Website. Great Freemasons.
In that same Lodge - our JD is a man who walked into an Open Day. He is our Newsletter Editor, has done our Esoteric Course, and is organising events.

We have PMs like this - once is currently leading a Mark Lodge, another a Chapter...

It generally take 4-6 months to get them in and 40% of my Mother Lodge comprises such men. We guard the West Gate - but it's still open to Worthy Men.. Only about half of such inquiries proceed to Initiation - but they will help carry on our traditions and get the same benefits you and I do from Freemasonry, if they are properly mentored, developed and cared for... we had three such men in our last South - once of which we just balloted for after a 4 months process. One we were not sure about took 12 months, coming to Dinner and two Committee of Inquiries - he was recently Initiated as the members became satisfied he was Fit and Proper.

Bro Chris Hodapp is such a man.

One day, I am sure we will produce a quality Grand Master from such an Inquiry about Freemasonry.
 

Winter

Premium Member
I may have been unjustly harsh about the Lodge in the articles's use of new technologies to attract new members. Likely due to the author getting my hackles up with his obvious disregard for what he was reporting on. it seemed to me from the article that a person could lodge a petition using the website without ever having met with the Lodge. I have no doubt many areas still use good vetting techniques even if the initial contact is online. But I also have no doubt that others have added online petitioning to their "fog the mirror" repertoire. use
 

Bloke

Premium Member
I may have been unjustly harsh about the Lodge in the articles's use of new technologies to attract new members. Likely due to the author getting my hackles up with his obvious disregard for what he was reporting on. it seemed to me from the article that a person could lodge a petition using the website without ever having met with the Lodge. I have no doubt many areas still use good vetting techniques even if the initial contact is online. But I also have no doubt that others have added online petitioning to their "fog the mirror" repertoire. use
You can log an Application online without having met someone here.
From there, it is checked, and if okay, then you would be phone interviewed.
Then you would meet with someone from District in a face to face who would check you out.
Then you would be referred to Lodge (currently 3 which you should visit before the applicant chooses) and the Const kicks in.
Your details need to be read out in what might become your Mother Lodge.
You need 4 referees, to sign a Code of Conduct and supply a Police Check. Then the Lodge must interview you. Most smart lodges will not ballot for you unless you have come to dinner a couple of times. Constitutionally, you cannot be balloted for for less than 2 months after your first reading - but I have read men five times (over 5 months) while we check them out and make sure we are happy with them, and they are right for us, and us right for them.
Then the lodge ballots.
From there, you proceed like anyone else...

Freemasonry is not a right - it is a privilege, and it is better to miss 10 good men than let one bad one in.. but you need good systems to identify which is which.. and personal contact is key.

There is always two questions with these men
  1. Are they fit to be Freemasons
  2. Are they a good fit for your lodge (and vice versa, is the lodge a good fit for them)
One thing many lodges are not willing to do, is if 1 is a YES and 2 is a NO, is to refer them on. We do that, and it has been a good move for the applicants and lodge, indeed one is currently sitting as WM in a lodge we referred him to.. (bearing in mind I am in a large city with multiple masonic centres - and most have several Craft Lodges meeting in them - it is not so easy in the country..)
 

Winter

Premium Member
Those sound like great practices. Sadly, I have seen many Lodges here in the US laser-focused on acquiring new members at any cost as a solution when their Lodge is struggling. What ends up happening is someone is interested and the first thing they know a petition is shoved into their hands and two Brothers they may have never met are collared to sign it. 30 days later they are voted on after only the most cursory investigation and likely having never attended a Lodge social function. And to make sure they don't lose this new source of dues, the Lodge gets a dispensation to do a ODC or M2M so they can make them a Master Mason in less than 6 hours. And we wonder why they feel no connection to the Lodge and never return after their first business meeting. To clarify, this is not the normal practice in every jurisdiction here. Many have excellent processes for making new new Masons. But sadly, the opposite still happens far too often.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
Those sound like great practices. Sadly, I have seen many Lodges here in the US laser-focused on acquiring new members at any cost as a solution when their Lodge is struggling. What ends up happening is someone is interested and the first thing they know a petition is shoved into their hands and two Brothers they may have never met are collared to sign it. 30 days later they are voted on after only the most cursory investigation and likely having never attended a Lodge social function. And to make sure they don't lose this new source of dues, the Lodge gets a dispensation to do a ODC or M2M so they can make them a Master Mason in less than 6 hours. And we wonder why they feel no connection to the Lodge and never return after their first business meeting. To clarify, this is not the normal practice in every jurisdiction here. Many have excellent processes for making new new Masons. But sadly, the opposite still happens far too often.
I see a bit of it, but is really rare.. it is not really part of our lodge culture (where we cannot raise someone for 52 weeks after initiation...)
 

bro.william

Premium Member
I see a bit of it, but is really rare.. it is not really part of our lodge culture (where we cannot raise someone for 52 weeks after initiation...)

We're not dissimilar here. There's no rule in my neck of the woods (as far as I know) stipulating 52 weeks – I think it was 11 months for me – but the practice is consistent. I've got no problem with people making enquiries through the internet; looking stuff up on the web is how people do things these days, and we'd be silly not to provide a contact point there for honest seekers who may not have (or may not know they have) prior masonic connections.

But it's also perfectly reasonable to expect people to invest in us, and us to invest in them, in both time and energy. My proposer and seconder are both masons with decades of experience and who did not take the proposal lightly. They didn't make it the least bit hard – I had the benefit of knowing them both pretty well – but they did both make it clear that, over the years, they'd proposed relatively few people, because they would only propose someone they were prepared to believe was committed to taking part. They weren't just going to nominate someone on a lark. That message, to which was added the time, friendships, and experience I gained before being raised, made a difference. It wasn't too hard, but it wasn't too easy, either; it added value to what I was and am doing.
 
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