Starting anything new is bound to give somebody some nerves. No matter if its a new job, a first date, or just going to a new place – its a part of human emotion to be nervous about the unknown. Masonry over the years hasn’t done itself a favor here. We don’t openly talk about what we do and over time people have added jokes about hazing that can scare people away. Hopefully this will help quiet some of those fears.
How to join?
One of the biggest misconceptions for Freemasonry is that you must be “asked” to join. This could not be further from the truth. Currently code states that we are to never “ask” for an individual to join. Our motto is “To be one, ask one” meaning that to join our fraternity – all you need to do is ask.
Once you ask to join, each lodge has its own process. Below you will find Avery’s process so you know exactly what to expect. If you don’t know where to ask or don’t know a member of our Lodge to ask either Contact Us or check out our Become a Freemason page.
I have asked, now what?
No matter if you decided to petition right away or just asked what this whole masonry thing is about – at Avery our process is the same.
First – if you use the contact form or just ask a member – one of our Lodge officers will give you a call just to introduce themselves and see if you have any questions.
Second – you will be invited to attend at least two of our open events. This is typically dinner before a meeting. Here you are welcome to a free meal with the members of the lodge and will have a chance to sit and talk with each of us to your heart’s content.
Third – Once you decide to petition and have attended a few events, we will assign a committee to meet with you (and your family if you would like) to cover any additional questions you or your family has. At this point if we decide to continue, you will be asked to complete a background check before you can be considered for membership. Made a mistake years ago? Just let us know, own it, and be open about it. At this time we only explicitly bar felons from membership.
Once the above criteria has been met – the membership will meet to determine if membership should be granted.
Dinners
Dinners are open to all men who are interested in joining our fraternity and requires no commitment. Our lodge members dress business formal on meeting nights (suit and tie), but that is not expected of those just visiting the lodge. Just got off of work and still in uniform? Come on in! Been working in the yard and still in shorts and a t-shirt? Thats fine too!
The internal, and not the external, qualifications of a man are all we care about.
First Meeting
If you have made it all the way through the process, your first meeting is typically called a “special” meeting. This just means it is on a different night than our monthly business meeting. On these “specials” we will provide degree work for our incoming members where we educate you on what it means to be a Mason.
At your first meeting you will be asked to arrive in formal dress and about 30 minutes early. Once you arrive, our Lodge Education Officer will sit with you to explain the process for the night and provide a light overview of our history.
As you are not a member yet, you will be asked to remain downstairs with a member or two of our lodge while we open for the night and once we are opened you will be escorted to the lodge room to become a junior member of our lodge – called an “Entered Apprentice”.
After your first meeting
After each meeting, we like to meet downstairs for social time. Because its your first meeting – we understand you are probably going to have a LOT of questions and that is GREAT. We are happy to sit and talk about any questions you have,
Like many fraternal organizations – we will ask that you take some time to learn the basics about us and will have some slight memory work for you before you become a full member. If memory work is hard for you – this is fine! We have other options as well.
After your first meeting you are welcome to attend any business meeting and any social event. You can also attend other lodges that have stated they are opening in the same “degree” you are. We have three degrees for your standard Lodge – Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. Masters are able to attend any meeting at any lodge and will have full voting rights inside of Avery Lodge.
What the first meeting is NOT
One of the mottos of Freemasonry world wide is “Making good men better”. Things you will not need to expect:
- Hazing – any form of hazing inside of our Lodges is strictly prohibited. Each degree incoming members receive is identical to the next. The intent is to provide time for self-reflection and understanding and not to have fun at your expense.
- Religion – Freemasonry requires that you be religious, but we do not dictate the religion. Furthermore, conversation around politics and religion is strictly prohibited in our lodges.
- Secret Society – Freemasonry is not a secret society. We have large, visible buildings – typically with light up signs. We have websites and public calendars. We have open social media for people to learn more about us. We will not ask you to keep a wealth of secrets from your friends and family. What we do expect is that you will keep our select secrets to yourself. These are generally things such as how we identify ourselves and private conversations from friend to friend – things that most people would consider private to begin with.
Still have questions?
Did we miss something you want to know about? Contact Us and let us know!