What first made you think about becoming a Freemason?
man thinking
I ask for two reasons. First, I think it should make for an interesting discussion. Secondly, I think that if we consider the answers received here, it might help us to know what we should focus on when communicating about our Ancient Craft with non Masons.
So, what first made you think about becoming a Freemason?
1. I come from a Masonic family - my maternal grandfather was a Mason, and his father an Odd Fellow; my grandmother's father and grandfather were both Masons, another g-g-grandfather was a Mason, and three of my Revolutionary War grandfathers were Masons in military Lodges during that war.
2. I was interested in the esoterics and research opportunities as well as the ritual structures and the interface with my own psyche
3. Josephine Baker was a Mason and I've always been interested to find out more about her Lodge and the other women who joined the French Resistance and possibly Polish resistance as well.
4. We have a story in our family from the Civil War that one of my g-g-grandfathers on one side of that war was assisted by a Brother Mason when he found himself in a bad spot. I'm intrigued by the many stories - perhaps apocryphal but perhaps not - of Brother-to-Brother fraternity across fraught societal lines.
5. When we came to England the opportunity presented itself. But then COVID happened and.... :(
I was DeMolay in my teen years....so because of our Masonic mentors & leaders I wanted to become a Mason. It took me until I was to actually petition, go through the degrees
After becoming a Master Mason, I quickly fell into lodge leadership. 6 months after becoming a Master Mason I was installed for the first time as Worshipful Master.
The reason I stayed around was the most excellent work our lodge does with it's community.
Like Kathleen, I came from a Masonic family. My paternal grandfather, several uncles, and my step-father were all masons. Once I completed my military service, I began my Masonic journey in 1974 and have enjoyed years of fellowship with brother masons across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Looking forward to receiving my 50th year certificate from the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York.
I had interest for a long time from pop-culture references, friends who were members and beautiful architecture (particularly the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis, IN, US). Isolation brought on by the Covid pandemic really pushed me over the edge, though, as I found myself lacking community and I had time to really investigate and discover what the organization was all about and how much it aligned with the way I already lived my life and how I wanted to continue improving.
Nov 13, 2023·edited Nov 13, 2023Liked by Cameron M. Bailey
To be honest, I'm not quite sure why I joined. I had overheard one evening my daughter talking to her boyfriends dad, who was remarking to her that he had to go to a freemasons meeting that night. On an impulse, I asked how do I join? At that point in my life I had no idea what the freemasons were. No one in my family were freemasons. I never met one in my entire military career. No one at my work were Masons.
But at that point of my life I was basically alone. My wife ran a restaurant and was never home. My daughter had moved out of the house. My brother lived in NJ. All of my co-workers live in and around Seattle while I was hours away in Port Orchard. So, I spent my evenings alone playing video games or watching TV. I very much missed the camaraderie of military life - not the job mind you, but the bonds I had with made with my friends and co-workers. I could have joined the VFW, but they had a bad reputation of not treating younger veterans very well.
So, I had no idea what I was getting into, but I guess I was desperate for something outside of my house. I guess you could say I was just looking for fellowship and that bond I was missing.
Since that time, I've grown to want something more out of the lodge. I was a travelling fool at the time, spending 2-3 days a week either at my lodge, or visiting others. As an EA I saw 12 EA degrees before becoming a FC. But as time went on, I started to get tired of the endless boring meetings, the terrible food, and even worse ritual work that some lodges displayed. The epiphany for me was reading the book "Observing the Craft" by Andrew Hammer, which very much laid out what was wrong with masonry and what we should be doing to fix it. That changed my entire trajectory (for better or worse) with my lodge experience and why I continue to belong.
My Dad was a Mason as well as several other relatives so it is a family tradition. Also, I wanted to get involved with community service and helping other people. My only regret is that I waited too long to join.
My father and grandfather were Masons and G. Grandfather, GG Grandfather etc going back several generations.
But really aside from my Grandfather wearing his Fez I didn't really know much about Masonry. My father joined after he and my mother divorced so no influence there.
Tbh, I joined mostly because I was lonely. I have found my community to be extremely cliquish........if you aren't born here you will NEVER be considered a local...or equal. Add their economic snobbishness and I really do not feel a part of my town. I was looking for ways to meet open minded men and end my isolation while maybe making a difference in the world around me.
Interestingly, I was led to Freemasonry by a Star. An Eastern Star to be exact. The Eastern Star was hosting the Maytown coffee stop and I had just stopped for a cup of coffee. Lady Lorraine and MW Charles Wood were running it that time and I started reading the signage and started talking with MW and by the time I finished my coffee Charles had peaked my interest. I often think were I would be today had I not stopped for that cup of coffee. He took my number and told me someone would be contacting me.
My own story is that when I was a little kid, I somehow decided that the older people who lived next door to us were my grandparents. They weren't, but as they didn't yet have any grandkids of their own, they took me as such. So, I ended up with what I thought was three sets of grandparents.
Well, I didn't know about Masonry when I met them, but he was an extremely active Shriner, and super proud to be a Shriner. He was a handy guy, and I have very distinct memories of being out with him in his workshop as he would create and repair things for the Shrine Circus. I also have distinct memories of him heading out to Shrine meetings, and of the glass case in the living room that he used to store his fez in.
He passed away when I was perhaps ten, and from then on I figured I wanted to be like him.
So now his fez lives in a glass case in my living room.
Nov 14, 2023·edited Nov 14, 2023Liked by Cameron M. Bailey
I wanted to be a Shriner. That is the only reason I became a Mason. When I joined there was no such thing as Master Mason in a day (thank goodness). And returning proficiency was the only way to move from one degree to the next. I began my journey in July 1988. Three months later I returned my Master Mason proficiency and petitioned the Scottish Rite. I sat through two Saturdays listening to who knows what as I advanced from the 4° - 32°. Then petitioned the Shrine in December of 1988. I never went back to my Blue Lodge (to my regret). Flash forward five years. I was now living in a small town a long way from my Shrine Temple and my new wife asked me why I belonged to the Masons if I wasn't going to be active. I agreed to start going to meetings and fell in love with Freemasonry. It has now been 35 years since I first became a Mason. I have been the Worshipful Master 3 times and am an authorized instructor in all ritual. And have NOT been a Shriner for over 30 years.
I joined primarily hoping for esoteric education, and a community of men with a similar goal. A secondary reason was that several of my great grand fathers had been Masons, none of who I ever met, and it felt like a way to connect with them. I wore my G-Grandfathers Masonic Ring when I was installed as WM of my Lodge.
My first born was an outpatient of Shriners Hospital in Honolulu in 1995. To become a Shrine and help out, like how the Brother Noble in Honolulu helped out my Son is what brought me into our Craft.
You change a man you change a family, you change a family you change a community, you change a community you change a city, a state,a country...........the world. Things need to change and the place to start was within me. I joined so that I might be a living example of growth for those in my life. I wanted to change my family tree and maybe just make help create a greater change. The foundations of Masonry provide one of the best templates I’ve encountered to created that change.
1. I come from a Masonic family - my maternal grandfather was a Mason, and his father an Odd Fellow; my grandmother's father and grandfather were both Masons, another g-g-grandfather was a Mason, and three of my Revolutionary War grandfathers were Masons in military Lodges during that war.
2. I was interested in the esoterics and research opportunities as well as the ritual structures and the interface with my own psyche
3. Josephine Baker was a Mason and I've always been interested to find out more about her Lodge and the other women who joined the French Resistance and possibly Polish resistance as well.
4. We have a story in our family from the Civil War that one of my g-g-grandfathers on one side of that war was assisted by a Brother Mason when he found himself in a bad spot. I'm intrigued by the many stories - perhaps apocryphal but perhaps not - of Brother-to-Brother fraternity across fraught societal lines.
5. When we came to England the opportunity presented itself. But then COVID happened and.... :(
I was DeMolay in my teen years....so because of our Masonic mentors & leaders I wanted to become a Mason. It took me until I was to actually petition, go through the degrees
After becoming a Master Mason, I quickly fell into lodge leadership. 6 months after becoming a Master Mason I was installed for the first time as Worshipful Master.
The reason I stayed around was the most excellent work our lodge does with it's community.
Short Answer: Associating with people who share my values.
Like Kathleen, I came from a Masonic family. My paternal grandfather, several uncles, and my step-father were all masons. Once I completed my military service, I began my Masonic journey in 1974 and have enjoyed years of fellowship with brother masons across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Looking forward to receiving my 50th year certificate from the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York.
I had interest for a long time from pop-culture references, friends who were members and beautiful architecture (particularly the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis, IN, US). Isolation brought on by the Covid pandemic really pushed me over the edge, though, as I found myself lacking community and I had time to really investigate and discover what the organization was all about and how much it aligned with the way I already lived my life and how I wanted to continue improving.
To be honest, I'm not quite sure why I joined. I had overheard one evening my daughter talking to her boyfriends dad, who was remarking to her that he had to go to a freemasons meeting that night. On an impulse, I asked how do I join? At that point in my life I had no idea what the freemasons were. No one in my family were freemasons. I never met one in my entire military career. No one at my work were Masons.
But at that point of my life I was basically alone. My wife ran a restaurant and was never home. My daughter had moved out of the house. My brother lived in NJ. All of my co-workers live in and around Seattle while I was hours away in Port Orchard. So, I spent my evenings alone playing video games or watching TV. I very much missed the camaraderie of military life - not the job mind you, but the bonds I had with made with my friends and co-workers. I could have joined the VFW, but they had a bad reputation of not treating younger veterans very well.
So, I had no idea what I was getting into, but I guess I was desperate for something outside of my house. I guess you could say I was just looking for fellowship and that bond I was missing.
Since that time, I've grown to want something more out of the lodge. I was a travelling fool at the time, spending 2-3 days a week either at my lodge, or visiting others. As an EA I saw 12 EA degrees before becoming a FC. But as time went on, I started to get tired of the endless boring meetings, the terrible food, and even worse ritual work that some lodges displayed. The epiphany for me was reading the book "Observing the Craft" by Andrew Hammer, which very much laid out what was wrong with masonry and what we should be doing to fix it. That changed my entire trajectory (for better or worse) with my lodge experience and why I continue to belong.
My Dad was a Mason as well as several other relatives so it is a family tradition. Also, I wanted to get involved with community service and helping other people. My only regret is that I waited too long to join.
I came from a Masonic family. Then when all the men I were are masons and appeared to be real quality men, it just seemed natural.
My father and grandfather were Masons and G. Grandfather, GG Grandfather etc going back several generations.
But really aside from my Grandfather wearing his Fez I didn't really know much about Masonry. My father joined after he and my mother divorced so no influence there.
Tbh, I joined mostly because I was lonely. I have found my community to be extremely cliquish........if you aren't born here you will NEVER be considered a local...or equal. Add their economic snobbishness and I really do not feel a part of my town. I was looking for ways to meet open minded men and end my isolation while maybe making a difference in the world around me.
Interestingly, I was led to Freemasonry by a Star. An Eastern Star to be exact. The Eastern Star was hosting the Maytown coffee stop and I had just stopped for a cup of coffee. Lady Lorraine and MW Charles Wood were running it that time and I started reading the signage and started talking with MW and by the time I finished my coffee Charles had peaked my interest. I often think were I would be today had I not stopped for that cup of coffee. He took my number and told me someone would be contacting me.
My own story is that when I was a little kid, I somehow decided that the older people who lived next door to us were my grandparents. They weren't, but as they didn't yet have any grandkids of their own, they took me as such. So, I ended up with what I thought was three sets of grandparents.
Well, I didn't know about Masonry when I met them, but he was an extremely active Shriner, and super proud to be a Shriner. He was a handy guy, and I have very distinct memories of being out with him in his workshop as he would create and repair things for the Shrine Circus. I also have distinct memories of him heading out to Shrine meetings, and of the glass case in the living room that he used to store his fez in.
He passed away when I was perhaps ten, and from then on I figured I wanted to be like him.
So now his fez lives in a glass case in my living room.
I wanted to be a Shriner. That is the only reason I became a Mason. When I joined there was no such thing as Master Mason in a day (thank goodness). And returning proficiency was the only way to move from one degree to the next. I began my journey in July 1988. Three months later I returned my Master Mason proficiency and petitioned the Scottish Rite. I sat through two Saturdays listening to who knows what as I advanced from the 4° - 32°. Then petitioned the Shrine in December of 1988. I never went back to my Blue Lodge (to my regret). Flash forward five years. I was now living in a small town a long way from my Shrine Temple and my new wife asked me why I belonged to the Masons if I wasn't going to be active. I agreed to start going to meetings and fell in love with Freemasonry. It has now been 35 years since I first became a Mason. I have been the Worshipful Master 3 times and am an authorized instructor in all ritual. And have NOT been a Shriner for over 30 years.
I joined primarily hoping for esoteric education, and a community of men with a similar goal. A secondary reason was that several of my great grand fathers had been Masons, none of who I ever met, and it felt like a way to connect with them. I wore my G-Grandfathers Masonic Ring when I was installed as WM of my Lodge.
My first born was an outpatient of Shriners Hospital in Honolulu in 1995. To become a Shrine and help out, like how the Brother Noble in Honolulu helped out my Son is what brought me into our Craft.
You change a man you change a family, you change a family you change a community, you change a community you change a city, a state,a country...........the world. Things need to change and the place to start was within me. I joined so that I might be a living example of growth for those in my life. I wanted to change my family tree and maybe just make help create a greater change. The foundations of Masonry provide one of the best templates I’ve encountered to created that change.