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The
answer to that is no. You must ask
to become a Freemason. Hopefully, if the concepts
and principles of Masonry as enumerated on this web
site interest you, you will not need to be asked to
join.
Becoming a member of our Fraternity is not a
difficult task , if you look around you, you very
well may discover that you are already in the
company of Masons. Just look closely for bumper
stickers or medallions with the "Square and Compass"
insignia, look for rings, tie tacks and/or lapel
pins with the insignia of a Freemason, and if you
find one amongst your acquaintances, make inquiry
with him about joining "the Craft" .
If you don't find a friend who is already a Mason,
look in the telephone directory (in the white pages
under "Masonic Lodges" or in the yellow pages under
"Fraternal Organizations"), and pick a Lodge near
you. Call the Lodge on the telephone, and leave a
message - someone will get back to you. Or another
way would be to make note of their next scheduled
meeting date and time, and drop in about a half hour
before the meeting starts - locate the "Tiler"
(whose job during meetings is to act as an "outer
guard", to insure that no non-member is allowed to
disturb the meeting), and talk to him, and it will
probably flow from there into him presenting you
with a "petition" for membership. (You should, of
course, pick a Lodge whose meeting nights pose no
conflict with your current activities!)
Once a petition is submitted, the following things
happen, in the following order:
The petition is read, for the benefit of the
membership, at the next regular Stated Communication
("Business Meeting"), and the Master of the Lodge
(the "C.E.O. of the organization") will appoint an
investigating committee (usually several senior
members of the Lodge), who will contact you and
decide with you on a mutually convenient time to
meet and talk with you, mainly to determine if you
meet the prerequisites for membership (which are
generally that you are an honest and upright man,
who conducts his affairs with dignity, and treats
all mankind fairly and decently). They in turn will
then report their findings to the Master. (Since it
is not practical that you meet each person who will
be balloting on your petition, the "committee"
interviews you and reports their findings, through
the Master, to the entire Lodge.)
The petition will be read at the next Stated
Communication, and it will be voted on by the
membership present. If you are accepted as a member,
you will be contacted by the Secretary, and
instructed as to when and where to report for your
"First Degree" - that of "Entered Apprentice" - at
which time the Lodge, in full ceremony, will confer
the ancient rites and rituals of that Degree.
After the Degree, there will be some study on your
part, to commit parts of what happened to you and
with you that night to memory and recite it before
the Lodge, or in front of an examining committee of
some sort, and then on to the Second Degree (that of
"Fellowcraft" - or in the terms of our ancient
brethren, "Fellow of the Craft") and then on to the
Sublime Degree of a Master Mason.
You can meet no finer group of men than those you
will find in a Lodge of Free Masons - and, in our
opinion, no higher ideals to hold yourself to. |
