First and foremost, I would like to say that this is the first forum where I actually feel comfortable posting questions and not expecting rude answers or misinformation. I am a Fellow Craft Prince Hall Mason, and should be raised early next month. I reside in San Antonio, TX. I have a few questions and would like to thank you guys in advance for taking the time to look over my questions.

1. Since I am of mixed race, I was led to believe that I was required to petition a Prince Hall Lodge. Was this information correct? I have been unable to find any guidance or answers regarding this.

2. Since I am in Texas, will I be recgonized as a regular Free Mason? Can I visit another lodge? The lodge that I am a part of is regular, and is chartered. That being said, am I missing anything in regard to the rituals, lessons and information I am receiving.

3. Once I am a Master Mason, and I do decide that I would like to be part of a non Prince Hall Lodge, would I have to petition them, or being a Master Mason, can I become a member of a non Prince Hall Lodge and not just a “visitor”? Also, would I have to enter as an Entered Apprentice and start all over?

Those questions being asked, I would like to point out, that as it stands I have no complaints about the the lodge that I am currently a part of. My main interest in becoming a part of a non PHM lodge is that once I am a Master Mason, I would like to be a part of and participate in degree work. I am not sure if it is a lack of interest or lack of commitment but my lodge admittedly does not do degree work very often.

Again, thank you guys, and please, I will be very appreciative of any answers that can be given. I am very interested in Masonry and have put 110% into my degree work so far and lately I have found myself worried that it may all be for nothing if I cannot fraternize with other Mason’s and explore Masonry to its fullest extent.

I have never seen any written membership requirements from any Grand Lodge of any state in the Union that have any sort of race requirement.  I would like to think that if a white man wanted to petition a Prince Hall lodge, he would be welcomed. I would also like to think that if a black man wanted to petition my lodge here in South Carolina, he would be welcomed. In fact, if I ever learned that there was some sort of “unspoken/unwritten” requirement that to join you had to be white, I would probably abandon the Craft. For what I know of Masonry even at this very early stage of my journey, excluding someone because of the color of his skin is not in keeping with what the Craft is all about.

Esquire, Thank you for your response;
I have learned that the Texas Grand Lodge does not recognize Prince Hall Lodges, so this is another point of great concern for me. Do any of you have any guidance that you can give me? I am to be raised soon. Should I just wait until then, and decide upon my next course of action? I do not want my “Masonic experience” limited to just Prince Hall lodges and Prince Hall Masons. I am slowly getting discouraged and starting to think that perhaps I need to try to petition another lodge.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my concerns in this post and the first.

Other (and wiser) Brothers will hopefully chime in with some helpful advice.  I will say that if the Grand Lodge of your state doesn’t recognize Prince Hall lodges, and you want to pursue Masonry in lodges that are recognized, then your course of action seems pretty obvious.  However (and equally obvious), there are thousands of Prince Hall Brothers who are perfectly happy being solely affiliated with the Craft through the Prince Hall branch of Freemasonry.  Only you can know for sure which path is right for you.

Edit: On further reflection, what would be the problem with belonging to both a Prince Hall lodge and a recognized lodge? Surely you’ve already developed burgeoning relationships with Brothers in the lodge where you passed to Fellow Craft? Do you really want to abandon that? Why not go on and be raised in that lodge and then pursue membership in a recognized lodge? I can only think your Masonic experience would be that much richer by being actively involved in both a Prince Hall and recognized lodge.

I whole heartedly agree. I would love to participate in both types lodges. It just seems, here in Texas at least, that there may be some conflicts and/or complications doing both. I do hope others have some suggestions. But thank you for your insight. I agree that the best possible outcome would be to be accepted in both kinds of Lodges.

Chis.PHM - 21 July 2008 03:55 PM

1. Since I am of mixed race, I was led to believe that I was required to petition a Prince Hall Lodge. Was this information correct? I have been unable to find any guidance or answers regarding this.

I can’t speak for Texas, but that is not a rule, written or non, in Massachusetts.

Chis.PHM - 21 July 2008 03:55 PM

2. Since I am in Texas, will I be recgonized as a regular Free Mason? Can I visit another lodge? The lodge that I am a part of is regular, and is chartered. That being said, am I missing anything in regard to the rituals, lessons and information I am receiving.

As far as I am aware, Prince Hall masons are recognized as regular and welcome to visit other lodges in all but a handfull of Southern states and one Canadian province.  You would certainly be welcome in Massachusetts, assuming that the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts recognizes the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas.

As to what you may or not be missing in the rituals and lessons, I can not say.

Chis.PHM - 21 July 2008 03:55 PM

3. Once I am a Master Mason, and I do decide that I would like to be part of a non Prince Hall Lodge, would I have to petition them, or being a Master Mason, can I become a member of a non Prince Hall Lodge and not just a “visitor”? Also, would I have to enter as an Entered Apprentice and start all over?

I can only speak for how things are in Massachusetts, and specifically my lodge, but here in Massachusetts you can not be a member of both a Prince Hall lodge and a Grand Lodge of Massachusetts lodge.  You can certainly visit, but not formally affiliate.

As far as I am aware, if your mother lodge is recognized and in amity and you are premitted to affiliate, you would not be made to retake your degrees.

Chis.PHM - 21 July 2008 03:55 PM

Those questions being asked, I would like to point out, that as it stands I have no complaints about the the lodge that I am currently a part of. My main interest in becoming a part of a non PHM lodge is that once I am a Master Mason, I would like to be a part of and participate in degree work. I am not sure if it is a lack of interest or lack of commitment but my lodge admittedly does not do degree work very often.

At least in my neck of the woods, visitors of appropriate degree who are visiting my participate in degree work, with the permission of the Worshipful Master.  I was honored to have a Prince Hall Past Master assist with my raising.

Bros. Chris, Esquire, & Other Forum Readers,

Thank you for your questions and your participation on the forum.

The question of regularity, recognition, amity, etc. between Grand Lodges, and in particular between Grand Lodges and Prince Hall Grand Lodges, is one of the more complicated and confusing topics in Freemasonry. It is also a very important subject that countless hours have been spent exploring, discussing, and writing about.

I point this out because it is one of the areas that has the potential to go beyond the purpose of this forum. As it has been stated, the goal of Ask a Freemason LIVE is to share information with non-Masons who are exploring the the fraternity, and to provide guidance to those who are interested in pursuing membership. 

Questions about recognition and about Prince Hall Masonry are well within the parameters of this forum, but please keep in mind Ask a Freemason LIVE is not a forum for debating issues or trying to solve problems. It is important to have venues for tackling challenging subjects, and fortunately, there are several good outlets devoted to Freemasonry for this purpose.

Finally, when discussing the issue of regularity, recognition, one Grand Lodge vs. another, etc. it is important to remember one of the earliest lessons we learn in Freemasonry: that we were first prepared to be made a Mason in our hearts. All these other things are mainly bureaucratic distinctions that we have developed over time to help govern ourselves. In general they work well. They evolve over time, and where there are problems they hopefully get better.

C&F,
-Robert

Chris,
Congradulations on becoming a Fellow Craft.  I am a MA Mason and have been for 4 years.  I am originally from San Antonio, born and raised.  I was raised a Freemason in Waco Lodge #92 in Waco, TX in 2000.  The GL of TX does recognize PH but has not allowed visitation or cros membership at this time.  MA also recognizes PH and DOES allow visitation.  I am presiding Master of my lodge in Duxbury, Ma.  I was installed as Master by a suite from PH consisting of, among others, a Past Grand Master of PH.  It was a very historical night for my little lodge complete with 64 lbs of brisket from flown in from TX.  If you are ever in MA you should look me up and we will sit in lodge together.