Well my friends, the letter arrived today. My E.A. has been scheduled for St. Patrick’s day and a more auspiscious day a Son of Erin’s Isle couldn’t ask for. Again I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to all who engaged with me on this forum. For your advice and support in helping me to get this far, thank you.
I wish I could take a few days off, travel to Cuyahoga Falls, OH and attend your EA initiation. It is going to be very special, and a very memorable experience for you.
Keep in touch here if you can. I am so far away from Boston that if I went any further id be in the ocean, but I still find this forum to be one of the nicest places to talk with others of a like mind. This is where my beginning started aside from a few run ins with Masons before hand.
Best wishes and make sure you pay attention! There are a few things that only happen once in life, this is one of those things! :)
Well my friends, the letter arrived today. My E.A. has been scheduled for St. Patrick’s day and a more auspiscious day a Son of Erin’s Isle couldn’t ask for. Again I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to all who engaged with me on this forum. For your advice and support in helping me to get this far, thank you.
Out of sheer curiosity, can you tell me how long it took from the time you “asked” until the time of your EA being scheduled? Thanks…JC
Certainly JC, but this may not be representative of the Lodge you are interested in petitioning or of your Grand Lodge Jurisdiction. I am in Ohio.
I sent an email to the Lodge through their “Contact Us” link on the Lodge Website on Thursday Dec 10th. This email was really just a feeler, I actually asked for the titles of some books to read in order to get a fair view of the Fraternity. The response was an invitation to visit the Lodge and meet some of the brothers.
Wed Dec 16th I visited the Lodge to meet with the brothers. It turned out to be the Worshipful Master, a Past Master and the current secretary (also a Past Master) At the close of this meeting they offered me a petition to fill out which I happily accepted.
Mon Dec 21st I mailed the completed petition to the Worshipful Master. (Typically this would probably have been mailed to the Secretary but the Worshipful Master asked me to send it directly to him)
Wed Jan 6th (Regularly Stated Meeting is 1st Wed of the month) my petition was read out at Lodge and the investigating committee was formed to review my application.
Wed Jan 13th I met with a the three member investigating committee who conducted an interview. At this time I provded ten character references. My Lodge contacts the references by regular mail so I asked my references to reply (also by mail) as swiftly as possible.
Wed Feb 3rd The investigating committee presented their findings at the Regularly Stated Meeting and returning a favorable opinion of my application, my peition was balloted on and the affirmative vote was unanimous.
In my experience, the wheels of Freemasonry turned very slowly. I suppose it wasn’t as long as I remember.
It took 5 months to get hold of someone.
It took 3 days to schedule my first meeting.
It was a week after that my group showed up at my home.
It was 2 weeks after that I was initiated.
Sometimes it is fast, and sometimes it is not. Godspeed!!!
My experience was like MO’s, except substitute SEP, OCT, NOV, in place of his DEC, JAN, FEB, and I didn’t have to supply 10 references though like MO did. Also, my lodge didn’t schedule anything for DEC, so I had to wait until January to get my EA initiation.
MO….Congrats on getting your A scheduled. I for one felt a bit of relief when mine was scheduled….. but then the excitement/nervous energystarted to build up…Its ALL worth it though. If I had my MM before then, I would make a road trip….
It is funny that you mention the sense of relief. I expereinced exactly the same. I tihnk the longest part of the process was waiting for the EA to be scheduled. Even though I knew that my petition had been balloted on without a black ball, it took some time to schedule so I was wondering if maybe they hadn’t changed their mind. I also had to wrestle with the temptation to call and call to see if I had been scheduled yet. Once or twice my impatience got the better of me but fortunately my Lodge Secretary is a great guy and a patient one to.
MO…..
I will have to say the patiences has been one of the greatest virtues/lessons learned so far. My EA (once scheduled) & FC have moved along very smooth but getting my MM scheduled caught a glitch with my WM having to be out of town for a few weeks which inturn pushed me back a few weeks on the MM too. But it is all good, my mentor and I have had the time to get to know each other a bit more too so it is all good. I am the first person he has mentored so it has been an adventure for both of us. I work 24 hrs every third day and he works a rotating shift so it has been kinda tricky getting the work done… luck for us both, his mentor has been a huge help too….
I have no doubt that you will enjoy your journey!!!
I am jealous! I have submitted my petition but am in a holding pattern until I hear anything…I too want to call but I will wait. I am just starting and I find myself having to put the brakes on. Without delving too deeply, I also and finding out more about the position of the Church…Catholic, Christian, non-denom.. To me, it should be of no concern to the Church! Just my opinion though. I am anxious to get moving on my journey. JC
It does take some time, from when you first handed in the petition until the time you are initiated as an EA. But, it all works out and you get notified of your petition (almost always unanimous).
NH FireFighter, from what I understand, the Catholic church does look down upon Freemasonry for reasons unknown to me (I’m not Catholic). In my lodge there are Baptists, Methodists (like myself), Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Lutherans, etc… One of the past masters in the lodge is very active in his church and is a deacon or an elder. I think one other guy is actually Catholic, but I am not sure.
I went through some difficult times recently relating to my faith. I was raised a Catholic in Ireland. Being a Catholic is something very much a part of my cultural heritage. I have done a great amount of research and soul searching about the compatibility between Catholicism and Freemasonry. The Roman Catholic Church holds that a man cannot be a Catholic and a Freemason. The Catholic must remain obedient to the teachings of the Catholic Church. I have heard many arguments why and why not. Essentially I find no incomparability other than the RCC decrees that a man who is a Freemason (while no longer being automatically excommunicated) is not able to participate fully in the sacraments of the Church. He is living in mortal sin because he is knowingly contradicting the teachings of the RCC, The sin is not that he is a Freemason but that by being so he stands on contradiction to the RCC’s ruling on the matter. I have been unable to find a suitable explanation on why the RCC takes this stance, other than some vagaries about oath taking. After marrying my wife and moving to the United States I had decided to find a church to belong to. My wife is not Catholic and dislikes the RCC greatly. I wanted to find a Church to which we could both belong comfortably. We ended up joining an Episcopal Church. I am first and foremost a Christian, but going through all that wasn’t easy.
I am sure the moderators do not want this thread to turn into a discussion on religion but since the topic was broached I felt I could address it at least from my experience and the inquiries I made prior to petitioning. I will happily edit or remove this post as the request of the moderators.
If I had my MM before then, I would make a road trip….
If you want to attend his initiation, you should be able to. The lodge will only be opened on the EA level, so it’s my understanding that anyone with the EA degree can attend. Someone correct me if I’m wrong on that.
Depending on rules in each jurisdiction, you may be right or just partly right. In Maryland, an Apprentice is not yet a member of his lodge and thus has no dues card or other evidence of his being a mason in good standing. In order for an EA to attend a meeting of another lodge, even when it’s open in the EA degree, he must be accompanied by a Master Mason of his lodge to vouch for his status. Rules may be different in other jurisdictions of the US.
REYoung-
It is my understanding also, that as a FC, I will need a MM to vouche for me if I wish to attend either a EA or FC even in my own state. Since I would have to cross state lines to visit MO, I definately would need a MM to vouche for me and just might need one from the state too?? Not sure about that one.
