|
I will answer the parts I feel it is possible for me, as a western european mason, to answer. Everything below is my opinion and it has little value as such. With regards to your mental health, if you take meds and be open about this and still two masons will vouch for you, there should be little problem. Just yes or no is all that is needed here. People who judge you on whatever content your belief has are assholes. Unless you are a furry, then I'll be the judgemental rear end in a top hat. A book is a book is a book. It is not about the book itself or it's content, it is about what it represents at that point in the ritual. Therefor the actual belief in the book is unimportant, you can swear on whatever. Personally I let it be the default bible, no reason to act special in a group I have little knowledge on. Considering you join a brotherhood of men, sociable is a useful trait but not required. It is also an opportunity to practise groups of people as masons are very forgiving. And names... here is a trick: If you are sure you met someone, apologise and ask their name. They will say "Jack" or something and you can reply with "No, I knew that, I meant you last name!" I suck at managing masonry with children as do many others. The lodge should be understanding that you will be present less. In general, I would go further and suggest you wait a few years till the kids can dress themselves before applying. Discuss with the masons who would sign you petition?
|
#
¿
Jul 29, 2018 15:34
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 21, 2024 05:26 |
|
|
My response to that question was: "That is an acceptable metaphore." We never talked about it since as it was no issue.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 30, 2018 05:53
|
|
|
It is not about religion or politics, it is about discussing things that can lead to disrespectful disagreements and those two topics have a tendency to lead to that. What country are you in? If you do not wish to disclose publicly, I have PMs?
|
|
#
¿
Jul 30, 2018 11:26
|
|
|
Progress? Oh my! You left out the bit where they mention that any person who is classified by the law as a woman, cannot join the male Freemasonry. But still, this should silence a bunch of discussions about gender so we can talk about dinner and traffic again. Or about how the lodge building is in dire need of repairs and why not everyone is paying for their drinks!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 1, 2018 17:57
|
|
|
Sub Rosa posted:Cannot join, but also "A Freemason who becomes a woman is not required to resign from the Craft." My point is that a man who was born a woman but lives in a place where the law does not allow for gender reassignment, cannot join. But I guess the line has to be drawn somewhere and this is way further than expected. Edit: it also cuts the definition short to: "What is in his passport?"
|
|
#
¿
Aug 2, 2018 15:51
|
|
|
I had something made.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 6, 2018 09:24
|
|
|
OscarDiggs posted:I checked with Paramemetic first and they said this was okay to ask, so; The freemasons situation in France is hosed up, the have been numerous schizma's over higher ups in the FM organisations snuggling it with politicians. Same in Belgium, to the point where the Dutch GL had to revoke recognition for a while. I did some quick googling and this was in 2012 for the France thing and 2016 in Belgium. A fine example of an individual mason who went wrong is of course Anders Breivik who was kicked out immediately after poo poo went down.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 26, 2018 06:09
|
|
|
I am travelling to Portland, OR in January. Any MM from that area here, I would like to attend lodge as it is a business trip so plenty of time to visit. Basically, do I need to pack my stuff and tux? As a developer I have no formal clothing but my tux...
|
|
#
¿
Nov 21, 2018 07:00
|
|
|
SimonChris posted:"Svenska Frimurare Orden" (The Swedish Masonic Order) is a legit masonic grand lodge recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England. "Sirius Orden" appears to be a Swedish fraternal order with no connections to freemasonry. It's normal in small-town Scandinavia for several fraternal orders to share the same building, since they need more or less the same kind of facilities (a big hall and a bar). Our building is way to large for us, dwindling numbers and so on, and we rent to whoever wants to, we seen the birth of several groups who call themselves Masons and are not recognized but we enjoy their rent money keeping our beautiful temple up and running. https://goo.gl/maps/zR8pUeenmyN2
|
|
#
¿
Dec 10, 2018 11:34
|
|
|
Stumbled upon this thread again, which predecesser helped make me a Mason. Attended my first temple meeting in a year and a half last week. The attendees were capped at 35 due to covid regulations, almost 40 brothers showed up, nothing unexpected there. Good times, some people did not recognize me, it was funny (I lost a lot of hair and weight over the last two years). Then I forgot my apron at the temple, I hope someone put it with the other stuff. Good thing I marked it with my lodge and initials. Something worth mentioning is that a former WM of our lodge took the Dutch rituals, translated them to English and got a charter from the Grand Orient of the Netherlands. We now have an English language lodge in Amsterdam, regular and everything. Keetron fucked around with this message at 12:45 on Sep 27, 2021 |
|
#
¿
Sep 27, 2021 12:42
|
|
|
BONESAWWWWWW posted:I think I've even seen those initiation fees waived for hardship as well. I've not really seen a lodge that's "in it for the money" even a little bit. Same, but only after someone had been a member already and showed he ran upon hardship after joining. If you have trouble paying your membership fees, you need to focus on other things as it is not that much money.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 4, 2021 20:43
|
|
|
Lovable Luciferian posted:Greetings brothers and fellows. So I have a bit of an embarrassing problem. I had some financial difficulties a while back, they went on for a few years. I owe my lodge dues/past dues and every time I tried to pay them some sort of catastrophe happened I had my check bounce. I am 100% sure they are sick of me and ready to do things to me that are from our oaths. That said I love Masonry, it is among one of the best things to ever happen to me. Give the wm a call and explain your willingness to pay but for reasons this keeps going wrong and ask how to make it right. Then leave it up to your brethren to decide how sick they are of you. It will be fine and no matter what happens, if you are true the outcome will be as well.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 6, 2021 14:17
|
|
|
Lovable Luciferian posted:I'm 100% sure they will welcome me back with open arms. I'm just beyond embarrassed.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 6, 2021 14:32
|
|
|
wrt rituals, for some reason we have multiple people in our lodge that are rather active members of my country's ritual board / group, at least one of them is an opera singer and thus well versed in stage work and how to make things look. So as you can expect our rituals are near perfectly performed and staged but I don't know any better as it has been like this for well over a decade. People from all over the country come to see our rituals to find inspiration on how to improve theirs. A side effect is that when I went and visited other lodges, I was a bit shocked by the mess. Took me a while to realize ours is just very well done.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2021 08:22
|
|
|
Ataxerxes posted:I'm kinda sad I had to resign from my position as a scribe on our lodge, but too much work stuff getting in the way and I don't want to half-rear end a position with some actual responsibilities. Thankfully the WM was very understanding. We all have been there, brother.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 8, 2021 12:02
|
|
|
shame on an IGA posted:what on earth I'm not even a mason Well, what is keeping you? Obviously facebook thinks you should be and they know EVERYTHING.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 1, 2022 08:59
|
|
|
Cimber posted:Any non facebook sources? I've been off FB for a few years now and intend to stay that way. Same for me, wrt the being off facebook and when I was in Portland in 2019 I tried to visit the Lodge there but there was no way to reach them without FB.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2022 17:20
|
|
|
However, I failed at that a year or so ago when a brother here asked me for advice on how to advance his business I helped him out, pointed him to a possible client and then he took that client and thrived. It really helped him turn his thing around and made it possible for him to continue with his passion job as well as pay the bills. Hereby I offer my deepest apologies, it will not happen again. (or will it, I got a call this weekend...) Basically this: Cimber posted:But in all seriousness, Freemasonry isn't for networking. If networking is what you are looking for join the Rotary Club. Freemasonry is a men's fraternity that provides social interaction, charity, moral lessons and fun.
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2022 08:11
|
|
|
Head Bee Guy posted:Also, has anyone been to a clandestine lodge, accidentally or intentionally? Not from NY, cannot help you there. I have been to a clandestine lodge when a friend joined a mixed gender lodge and she asked me to be there. It is always cool to see another lodges work and some people there seems to have more problems with my presence than I did. Everything considered, I would never join one mostly for the international ties we have with recognized lodges and with clandestine lodges this is always a bit of a crapshoot.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 17, 2022 20:44
|
|
|
Bargearse posted:I was trying to explain Freemasonry to my girlfriend, she ended up describing it as “a bunch of nerds cosplaying the Illuminati”. She’s not exactly wrong. This is more correct than I am willing to admit.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 18, 2022 15:43
|
|
|
drat, I did not see that FAQ before or I forgot what it was like...UGLE posted:One of our members is living as a woman – what should we do? Loving that entire document. quote:One of our members has indicated that he will blackball a male candidate because the candidate lives as a woman/ wears female clothing/ is perceived by that member to be female/ has stated that he will transition to become a woman. Thank you for linking those documents, they shifted my perspective and made me more open to my fellow humans.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 8, 2023 09:21
|
|
|
so is there a specific meaning to this? is there a difference to this?  And does anyone know if Mr Bill is still alive and would one of the brothers here have his contact details? Yes, dragging up ancient forums history.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 27, 2023 19:23
|
|
|
the guy from Semisonic posted:I'm sorry to say that mrbill passed away. I was afraid this was the case, I hope he found peace. deported to Canada posted:Unless you were asking about the meaning behind the symbology, in which case you better be raised to the sublime degree of a master mason or else gtfo Considering I drive a motorbike, I'll be content in thinking this is otherwise not limited in use and will consider it, with some small modifications, as an upper arm tattoo.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2023 11:32
|
|
|
Cimber posted:Well, there are differences, yeah, but those differences are not _that_ big, unless your 3rd degree didn't talk about GMHA. We did talk about that just not with that symbol but I can see how it works that way. deported to Canada posted:Sorry if that came across as me being a bit of an rear end; If you have been raised you should hopefully be aware of the importance of the skull and crossbones without thinking *shudder* pirates or the SS (which I have heard people/cowans confuse it with). quote:That being said mate I have seen it on plenty of tattoos so its generally a good choice, I've also seen parts of the third degree tracing board on tattoos or people have incorporated parts of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their own little artistic style, maybe with the working tools hidden within. I've also seen it on lapel pins worn again by plenty of brothers. Good to know, thank you. My upcoming tattoo in May is nothing masonry related, this is for the one after the one after that. Chubby Henparty posted:Which countries out there besides Scotland AFAIK do the MMM and HRA as part of craft?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2023 18:48
|
|
|
Bargearse posted:There very much seems to be a changing of the guard happening in Freemasonry in my jurisdiction. Like, everyone in my lodge seems to agree that for Freemasonry to stay relevant some things have to change, but for it to remain Freemasonry some things must never change, but nobody can agree which is which. What it needs to remain is pretty clearly written and when it comes down to it, it is very little. At our lodge we have a few younger Brethren who run this side of things and the elderly are mostly happy to sit and watch the show. We had some people leave to other lodges over it but we also had quite a few come to us for the exact same reason. As a lodge I think we are doing well, as an order, I am not so sure.
|
|
#
¿
May 22, 2023 10:08
|
|
|
deported to Canada posted:My biggest gripe was last year when we were told to put up a placard on our building identifying it as a lodge; I really liked the 'hidden in plain sight' element of the building and now it looks like it has a tourist information sign on the wall. Clearly that isn't enough to make me consider my membership though. The most drama I seen was the part where the lodge building was in disrepair due to ... well, reasons of incompetence and money and then it had to be fixed. All was sorta well in the end but yeah, I kinda stopped caring about the building and now care more about the people. We don't need many bricks to be a lodge, we need brethren. Anyway, look up the UGLE building and then reconsider how hidden that is. (https://goo.gl/maps/QMyND3jsHxGKnRs26) This is the Amsterdam building, also not very hidden: https://goo.gl/maps/swMbqywniwqwX3pRA or this one in Singapore: https://goo.gl/maps/ESHPSquBhdjQn1Qs6 So yes, I understand your point and to be honest, I think making our craft more known to people is not a bad thing in itself.
|
|
#
¿
May 24, 2023 16:28
|
|
|
deported to Canada posted:You are absolutely correct of course, and the signage was to make our building more obvious and raise awareness to potential new members. The three examples you posted are good looking buildings that were purpose built with the symbology incorporated into the construction. Our signage has the same logo as the Masonic Charitable Foundation (https://mcf.org.uk/) which I suppose I'm not a big fan of the more modern design. Hah, you are right about the buildings looking nice. The small town lodge here simply has a sign out and people still keep referring to it as "The Old Butcher Shop". https://goo.gl/maps/1UFy5mXREkStydSb7
|
|
#
¿
May 24, 2023 18:14
|
|
|
Chubby Henparty posted:I came in after noticing the big FO masonic hall, down the road from the slightly older one on my daily walk and wondered what that was all about. Well, yeah, but better they do it now than later?
|
|
#
¿
May 24, 2023 19:15
|
|
|
vortmax posted:I think the overall decrease in religious beliefs is a problem. I'd be interested because one grandfather was a Mason, but I don't believe in any kind of higher power. One of the best known members of our lodge (well, inside the lodge anyway) is a staunch atheist by now. He doesn't mind other peoples faith system and others are not bothered by his lack of it. We have at least one shaman, a few jews, christians, agnosts, muslims, at least one hindu and a whole bunch of people who appreciate the metaphor, like me. There is a big divide going from "I accept the metaphor of a higher power." to "I reject any form of belief and will feel uncomfortable when this is mentioned." and it is the difference in how you yourself feel about it. My position is that a lot of modern rejection of faith comes from the rejection of people behaving badly in the name of organized religion. Fundamentalists have been showing so badly while waving their religion around that faith got tainted something fierce. Globally society is struggling with how to shape their religious lives now that choice in belief is abundant and then you can either follow or turn away from those yelling in the name of their so-called gods. Those following will not come to freemasonry, it contains too many free thinkers. Those who turn away will not come as it is too much based on some form of faith. So what I mean to say is that you get to shape yourself and your own beliefs. I found a group of fellow seekers in my lodge but your mileage may vary and if you find yourself in the Amsterdam region, feel free to knock my door.
|
|
#
¿
May 24, 2023 21:00
|
|
|
Animal-Mother posted:So it's pretty much this, right? I'd like to say we are not in black and white but that would be untrue.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 6, 2023 18:54
|
|
|
Bargearse posted:And that’s fair. All I can really say is that my belief in a supreme being is much stronger than it was before I got involved with Freemasonry. Same for me. Nessus posted:Caprine Technology 
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2023 13:03
|
|
|
Cimber posted:I wonder how many of those brothers have laid down their working tools vs having been NPDed out? Either way, there was not enough new members to fill the ranks. But with the US population at 339M and 875K members, it is still higher than my country with 18M and 6K members.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 21, 2024 22:26
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 21, 2024 05:26 |
|
|
Sir Joseph Banksy posted:Bro Keetron, for some reason I always thought you were an Aussie until I read your member numbers (Nederlands, maybe? Nederlands indeed, La Bien Aimée no 2, Amsterdam. Are we Bbr?
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2024 09:26
|
|
)