Congratulations, James.

Here’s the steps on what goes on (from my own experience like what MO posted up).

1) You seek, you ask, you knock on the door, (so to speak…)
2) You fill out a petition and hand it in.
3) The petition gets read at the next upcoming lodge meeting and voted on.
3a) If favorable (99.9999% it is), they form an investigating committee.
3b) If not favorable (very doubtful), then you are not to be a Mason.
4) The investigating committee schedules a time to visit you at your home to chat.
5) The investigating committee reports back to the lodge at the next meeting.
5a) If the report is favorable (99.9999% it is), then they contact you with the good news.
5b) If the report is not favorable (very very doubtful), then you are not to be a Mason.
6) You get a phone call when to report to the lodge at their next meeting to be initiated as an Entered Apprentice.

Back to JamesB:
With all due respect to the numerous advice givers, and many experiencing The Journey into the craft, every State may have nuances that make that jurisdiction unique. In a time line, one major issue is the posting of the Candidate’s name and pertinent information to all membership prior to the voting on any petitioner. In some states, residency requirements must be met. What this all means is the proper Officer with all the correct facts boils down to the Lodge Secretary. He is the Executive Officer on the Masonic “Guided Missile Frigate”. When the questions arise, it is the Secretary that every officer turns to. So should the prospective Candidate. He will have the dates, the times, the process, and the explanations. Oh yes, and it is one of the most enjoyable jobs in the Lodge.

Ronald Doucette - Forum Moderator

Members of the Forum

Brother Ron makes a good point. Every country, every state, every district, and every Lodge will have differences in the process.

But everyone should know that Membership in this Fraternity starts with that Knock, but it is not an open door. Freemasonry is becoming more and more about quality, not quantity. We are proud of our Fraternity. We don’t want it diluted with those who don’t care, or someone who says they will do something and doesn’t.

Not every applicant will get in. Not every application is accepted. Not everyone is voted on. And some that are voted on do not get in.

This is not to discourage anyone. Once it comes down to a vote, the blackball is rare. But before that it is not uncommon to be told that your petition will not go forward. It happens much more than .00001 :), that members of a Lodge will feel an applicant is not right for their Lodge. I find this most often happens with “know it alls,” arrogant men, those who just talk too much, individuals who are just too pushy, or those transparent individuals who are looking for material gain out of the Fraternity. It especially happens to those who think they can “buy” their way in with their wealth or fame. As we have said many times, Greatness is not about that, but about a Man’s character, his values, his integrity—his actions.

And I’ve said this before many times. If people don’t want to be around you outside the Lodge, what makes you think Freemasons are going to be any different?

My point is. Even after you put in a petition, if you really want to become a Mason, be humble. Be sharp. It might even help to remember names. Listen a lot. Remember what you hear. Be on time. Read a little Ben Franklin, and emulate him. And let that Secretary know that you are committed to helping his Lodge in any way that you can.

Very few of those guys get turned away at the door.

Bob Heruska
Boston, MA

With equally due respect to the moderators, since it is impossible to answer these questions unilaterally we forum members are reduced to sharing our personal experience of the process. I can only speak for myself, but I have attempted to make it clear that my comments are based entirely on my own experience of the petitioning process and are not necessarily representative of the Fraternity as a whole.

Intending no disrespect to Butch, I at no time felt that the process was a formality. In fact the news that I had been accepted was met with equal measures of excitement and relief. The fact that the Fraternity is selective in its membership is one of the factors that attracted me to it. I feel a sense of pride at having being accepted by a group of men who count among their number such notables as Arthur Conan Doyle, Benjamin Franklin and countless other giants of history.

It is certainly not my intention to post responses that are counter to the aims of this forum. I appreciate that it’s primary intent is to provide information for men seeking membership specifically in MA. It might be useful to those of us who have already been accepted into Freemasonry or are in the early stages of membership to receive some guidance from the moderators as to what to comment on and what not to, or how to contextualize our posts so as to avoid any misinterpretation.

Hmmm…  Thinking back to my thread (and reading/re-reading the other threads), I didn’t mean to be all formal or say that the example I wrote up is what is carved in stone, regarding entrance to Freemasonry.  The experience was based on my own and that of my lodge here in Virginia.

When I got the phone call from the lodge secretary, letting me know that the lodge voted 100% unanimous on me, I was thrilled and was almost at a loss for words!

Hello all.

I want to thank everyone who is posting on this thread - especially new members.

As Brother Young said earlier, one of the things that makes this Forum different (and if I don’t say so myself, more helpful) than others is it combines the experiences of Masons in every stage of their Masonic journey. Anything that helps prospective members in their endeavor to become Quality Masons that enhance our Fraternity is welcome here.

Because this is a Forum sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, however, our Ambassadors have a bit of a duty to let everyone—especially those in Massachusetts—know that one person’s experience in another state may not always mirror those here.

Please, please do not take umbrage at our comments. These are not corrections to your experience or a request for clarification. I think all the new Masons, especially on this thread, have gone out of their way to state that they are relating their own experiences.

As I said in the the first post in our Forum, only the Ambassadors listed above are authorized to speak for Massachusetts. But others in Mass have great posts, and others, like Brothers Young and Bros Martin, are obviously affiliated with their Grand Lodges in their respective states and countries and have a lot of wisdom to instill.

I certainly don’t want to put hamstrings on any comments.

Thanks again to all.

Bob

i thank everyone for their input and information. this has become an interesting read since i originally posted regarding petitioning.
i stongly agree with one of the members who quoted… - The fact that the Fraternity is selective in its membership is one of the factors that attracted me to it.
i cannot wait until i hear back from the lodge after i am voted on. i will post again with the results when i am contacted.

i am now a candidate! i was told i was balloted on and accepted. i am waiting to hear more from someone at the lodge on the date of initiation.

Yeah!!  Congratulations, James!  :)

James,

Thats great news. Congrats and let us know how everything is going for you.

jamesb - 01 February 2010 11:12 AM

I petitioned the lodge a few weeks ago.
I was invited back to the lodge and two masons spoke with me for a while. I thought it wouldn’t be long, ended up talking for two hours. i didn’t want to leave!
They gladly signed my petition and said they would hear from them after it is presented and an investigation committee is sent to my house to meet my family.

I am sorry that I am not posting a question, I just wanted to update the post.

I thank everyone for their answers and support.

James-

Im glad to hear that you are petitioning again. Though I went ahead with my petition (about a year ago) I did exactly what you did which was to listen to the hogwash on the internet (no need to name names or sites, we all know who they are) and I began to think, gee, is this what I was looking for. But I trusted in the fact that I came from several generations of Freemasons and no one in my family would have been a part of something like the most virulent of anti-masons described.

Good for you. Im glad you had a nice long talk and hope you got all of your questions answered.

Do keep us up to date on your progress.