r/freemasonry • • Jun 20 '21

For Beginners Welcome to /r/freemasonry - Interested in Joining Freemasonry? Ask your questions here!

532 Upvotes

How can I become a Freemason?

First of all, welcome to r/freemasonry! This is a weekly thread for you to ask questions. Being one of the largest online communities on the topic of Freemasonry, we hope that you won't find difficulty getting information you need to decide if you would like to join your local lodge.

General Information:

  1. Requirements for membership vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but generally if you're a man 21 or over (18 or 19 in some states), believe in a Supreme Being, are of good character and reputation, and ask to join, you're eligible.
  2. To get started, email or call a local lodge. They would love to hear from you, every lodge welcomes new candidates. They'll set up a meeting to get to know you a bit (we're careful about who we admit as members). Also to tell you a bit about the fraternity, the lodge, etc.
  3. To find your local lodges, first, find the Grand Lodge website for your state, province, or country. This is a good resource for the US: bessel.org, or just use Google. They should have a way to find out what lodges meet near you. Then check out your local lodge's websites. If you have a choice of lodges, try to pick one that meets on a weeknight that would be convenient for you, and that appears to be active.
  4. Nothing happens quickly in Freemasonry, so it might take awhile to hear back from a lodge after you make contact. Every step takes quite a bit of time.

Have something you want to ask?


r/freemasonry • • 1h ago

Apron and Medal identification

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• Upvotes

I was wondering if anyone could give me any information on my Great-Grandfathers regalia. I am not sure of the physical location of these items now, this is the best picture I have come across of his apron. I remember my father saying that he was a Shriner and "quite into it".

A little background information if it is of any relevence- He emigrated from the north of ireland around the turn of the century as a young man, lived in canada until the late 60's in Ontario, BC, and then Alberta.

Edit: I beleive this photo would have been from between 1960 and 1965


r/freemasonry • • 19h ago

Article LIFE magazine. October 1956. 'The U.S. Masons - A Pictorial Essay in Color

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325 Upvotes

r/freemasonry • • 14h ago

Can you guys help me figure out what this could be?

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40 Upvotes

r/freemasonry • • 9h ago

Potentially new mason

6 Upvotes

Just put in a petition a couple of weeks ago after wanting to join for years now and never got around to officially asking and I got a call back today to set up a meeting for the initial investigation and I’m nervous but I do think I’ll be okay. Please wish me luck gentlemen as I’m hopefully accepted and get to begin my journey.


r/freemasonry • • 17h ago

Question Demit or affiliate then demit?

10 Upvotes

I haven’t been to lodge in a hot minute - well over a year. Have not received my dues cards for last year or this year. I have receipts and can see my paid status on Grandview. (I have received my Scottish Rite Dues cards without issue)

At this point I don’t want to go back to my mother lodge. I am open to a different lodge, but want to make sure I do this correctly. Would it be better to affiliate with a different lodge and then demit, or just demit and find a new lodge when I am ready?

As I understand it, demitting without first affiliating will automatically terminate my membership in the southern jurisdiction.

I am not seeking advice or input regarding masonry at large or my lack of desire to affiliate with my mother lodge. Please try to limit responses to relevant requested information.


r/freemasonry • • 16h ago

Commissioning two pillars

3 Upvotes

My lodge has done a lot of remodeling and the building is looking fantastic. However J&B are a little worse for the wear!

Does anyone do good handy work? We want to get new ones or have them built for us. Any leads would be greatly appreciated.


r/freemasonry • • 21h ago

Tomorrow evening

7 Upvotes

Good evening,

tomorrow evening I am meeting with a few members in a pub in my area from a local lodge after showing interest in joining. I am 26 years old, ex military and trying to find community, comradery and I want to learn.

Can someone please tell me what to expect? I am feeling somewhat nervous but I know this will be a good step in the right direction for me.

Thanks


r/freemasonry • • 1d ago

THE GOAT RIDE

16 Upvotes

Well I didn’t fall off the goat last night I am a entered apprentice it was a wild ride and I am happy to be a brother any advice moving forward would be greatly appreciated
(YOUR NEW BROTHER)


r/freemasonry • • 1d ago

Discussion Just don't connect with my lodge.

16 Upvotes

Hello, now I have been with my lodge for some weeks and Io be honest I just can't get the gist of their interaction and I just don't click with them. Now this could be because I am socially awkward or there is a big lack of common sense in the social matter.

But at the same time, I don't wanna quit being a freemason, so for the time being I am thinking of just not attending the meals and drinks after doing our work.

But what do you brothers think I should do or could do?


r/freemasonry • • 1d ago

My year as WM

35 Upvotes

With my year as WM is coming to a close, I have been reflecting on it. Its alot of work making all the final decisions and running all the things. We did a few fundraisers and had some community dinners. We had some good degree work and completed some projects the GM laid out. Probably the most satisfying thing was the Brothers working hard with whatever projects I assigned. No questions, no bickering. I had full support from my lodge. It was a great year


r/freemasonry • • 1d ago

How would I join the brotherhood?

4 Upvotes

Hi I’m 24 yrs old and am having my second kid and have been thinking about joining. Was just curious on your guys opinion is it worth it. And would it be sum I could tech my boys or no?


r/freemasonry • • 1d ago

Why I Think Freemasonry Matters More Than Ever

51 Upvotes

The longer I’m involved in Freemasonry, the more I realize it’s something I wish more men could experience.
I didn’t join because I thought I had everything figured out. Far from it. I joined because I wanted to learn, grow, and surround myself with good men who challenge me to be better.

What I’ve come to appreciate most isn’t just the history or traditions. It’s the friendships, the lessons, and the reminder that Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth should mean something outside the lodge.

Is Freemasonry perfect? Absolutely not. We can barely agree on what’s for dinner half the time.

I’ve still got plenty of rough edges to work on, and probably always will. But that’s why this journey means something to me.

I don’t think Freemasonry needs to prove that its past was important. We need to show people why it still matters today.

I’m curious, what has Masonry meant to you personally?


r/freemasonry • • 2d ago

Great grandpas ring

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129 Upvotes

Just found great grandpas ring, wondering if anyone has any info on it? New to this


r/freemasonry • • 13h ago

Would you marry a Freemason? Why or why not?

0 Upvotes

Personally, I don’t know if I would have married my husband if he was a Freemason before we got married. His commitment to his lodge is priority #1, then work, then his Freemason brothers, then our marriage. Sucks spending anniversaries alone when lodge falls on the same day.


r/freemasonry • • 1d ago

Mentoring System

1 Upvotes

Is there a mentoring system in every jurisdiction?

Can you describe how Mentoring works in your lodge?


r/freemasonry • • 1d ago

Masonic Interest Anyone here from EU (Benelux area)?

0 Upvotes

I have been wanting to join a lodge for more than five years but I never took the step.

Would love to have a conversation over a coffee with a mason.


r/freemasonry • • 1d ago

Masonic Interest NYC lodges

4 Upvotes

I had reached out to GLNY awhile ago and had a phone call but that conversation fizzled out. I have found myself around the Masonic building more regularly recently renewing my interest.

I understand that a lot of lodges meet at the Masonic building but I’m unsure how to parse out which ones could be a good fit. I’m in my 30s with an interest in camaraderie among my peers as well as service. Was looking for advice here on either lodges to consider (or to be told that the best thing is to just reach out to GLNY again which if that’s the case so be it).

Additionally I was curious one what dues/initiation fees etc might be. I get that this fluctuates depending on where you are. I’m not in a financially precarious situation but NYC is expensive and if dues here are similar then the reality might be that this isn’t for me unfortunately at this time.


r/freemasonry • • 2d ago

Fun find in a West Virginia ghost town.

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190 Upvotes

r/freemasonry • • 2d ago

A Brotherhood

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160 Upvotes

Recently did two Initiations at my small lodge in southeast Kansas. Everybody in the picture, besides the initiates, is a brother but also family. Everybody that set in a chair, and did the lectures was related in some way to each other and the initiates. All but two in attendance that day were family. The one in the black shirt is 4th generation and the one in the blue shirt is 5th.


r/freemasonry • • 2d ago

For Beginners These should be familiar to you

12 Upvotes

The lessons you learn in freemasonry, brotherly love, relief and truth should be first learned in kindergarten or at home. And when further encountered in the craft should feel like a reminder of your school years.

You learn integrity by not cheating on your exams and following the rules.

You lesrn to keep your promises to your friends and teachers and parents and know there are consequences when those are broken.

You learn to respect the elderly and others also because there are consequences if not done properly.

You learn to tolerate your peers but judge based on what is correct or wrong in your conscience before you do report if it truly is worth reporting.

You learn self restraint where you dont just bully others or try to pick on people or just do whatever you want.

You learn to lead your classmates in team work activities.

You learn that you can speak well with practice and write well too.

You learn to soldier on and to face the consequences.

My point is if you a brother; it should be like these but if you joined and the lessons are new to you; then maybe that's one of the reasons why there's so much problems with the world.

As a father, a brother, and a son; I wonder with the new generation. What are they learning? And for those joining our family, are the lessons new to you? Or it's a reminder of the past?

❤️


r/freemasonry • • 2d ago

Masonic Interest A fantastic meeting at Oxleas Wood

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71 Upvotes

A fantastic meeting at Oxleas Wood yesterday. A double celebration 60 year citation for our longest serving brother the second initiate, on the 60th birthday of the lodge.

We celebrated with a demonstration of a 1700's initation with the Edward Jenner demonstration team from Gloucestershire


r/freemasonry • • 2d ago

Cool 10 years of work and 553 pages later...The College of the Consistory from Guthrie Scottish Rite is completed

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67 Upvotes

What a tremendous program from the Guthrie Scottish Rite. Could it have been soon quicker, sure but life got in the way and other obligations. If you want to really learn about the deep meaning of the degrees of the Rite - this is your course.


r/freemasonry • • 2d ago

What Became of the Brotherhood?

4 Upvotes

With Freemasonry having once maintained a presence in Peshawar and across the region, several questions remain. What ultimately became of the local members following the ban in 1972? Did the fraternity’s traditions, personal networks, and charitable activities quietly fade away, or have any of these connections endured in other forms?

For those who were once part of this brotherhood, or whose families retain memories of its presence, does Freemasonry survive in any capacity in Pakistan today, or has its chapter in the country’s history truly come to an end?

And for those familiar with its history, what prompted the fraternity’s disappearance from Peshawar beyond the political circumstances of the time? Was its dissolution a complete severance from the past, or did the legacy of its members and institutions continue elsewhere?

The history of Freemasonry in Peshawar is a chapter worth remembering, but its conclusion remains less clearly understood. Those with firsthand knowledge, family recollections, or historical records may yet be able to shed light on what became of a once-established institution and the people who sustained it.


r/freemasonry • • 2d ago

What is this for?

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30 Upvotes