Period of time before Lodge resumes contact?

[CONVULSE]

Hi, I am looking for a bit of advice regarding the general timescale of initial approach to a lodge until when things start to proceed further....

I'll try to explain.....

I made initial contact with my local lodge secretary (by e-mail) , he responded enquiring about my age, home address, profession etc and asked me to give him contact phone numbers, saying he would contact me to progress with my application...

This I did, but have had no further response from him and it's been almost 3 weeks........... ?? Is this a normal period of time? could the lodge be checking me out before further progress?

or

should I try to re-contact lodge secretary? - I really don't want to seem pushy, as becoming a mason has gained real importance in my life.

Any advice would be really helpfull, thanks guys.

 

[Bob Franks]

If it's been 3 weeks, I think it would be OK to call him.
Not email. Phone him, still a lot of lodge secretaries who are not totally comfortable with internet communication.

Good luck!

 

[Azpir8king]

And welcome to the first "unwritten edict" of masonry...Nothing moves fast. everything happens at its own speed.

I personally waited 2 months for a response of any kind..gave up, called the Grand Secretary and found another lodge in minutes. Hopefully you are not at that point. You might also want to consider looking at other Lodges in your area. Just a suggestion.

 

[rbryantr]

It will also depend on when the Lodge meets. Most lodges in our area only meet once per month. Nothing can proceed until it is brought up in a lodge meeting.

 

[Windrider]

It will also depend on when the Lodge meets. Most lodges in our area only meet once per month. Nothing can proceed until it is brought up in a lodge meeting.

From the original post, I got the impression that he had not yet submitted a petition and was waiting for it to continue his journey into Masonry. If that's the case, it may take a meeting cycle simply to get someone to be a sponsor of sorts and get him a petition.

 

[PatrickWilliams]

Hi, I am looking for a bit of advice regarding the general timescale of initial approach to a lodge until when things start to proceed further....

I'll try to explain.....

I made initial contact with my local lodge secretary (by e-mail) , he responded enquiring about my age, home address, profession etc and asked me to give him contact phone numbers, saying he would contact me to progress with my application...

This I did, but have had no further response from him and it's been almost 3 weeks........... ?? Is this a normal period of time? could the lodge be checking me out before further progress?

or

should I try to re-contact lodge secretary? - I really don't want to seem pushy, as becoming a mason has gained real importance in my life.

Any advice would be really helpfull, thanks guys.

My friend, there's SO much that could have happened in 3 weeks! When I first petitioned a Lodge, the Senior Warden (who was dearly loved by all the members) suddenly passed away (of course, I did not know this at the time). After a month or so, I re-contacted the Lodge secretary, asking what was up. He apologized profusely ... because of his own grief, my petition had gotten buried in paperwork. Anyway, they acted on petition as quickly as they could, and the rest (as they say) is history.

Three weeks of waiting? Give the Secretary a buzz. Ask him to send you a petition as quickly as possible.

 

[Ashlar2006]

I did not hear from anyone for about 2 1/2 months or more . I never gave it a thought as I knew they only met once a month and I did not know how things worked so I just went with the flow .

All I know is that it was worth the wait .

 

[CONVULSE]

Thanks for all the replies, I've found out when the lodge meets and will give it another week or so before calling the secretary personally.

Many thanks guys.

 

[hawkeyedan]

many lodges hold meetings to discuss business only once a month. these are the meetings in which your petition will be discussed/voted on. so if it's only been 3 weeks, chances are you may hear from some one within the next week or two.

 

[Brother_Father]

I can't speak for all Lodges, but here in South Dakota, the following procedure is used. Usually you ask someone you know who is a Mason to join. They give you a petition, which you fill out, and you return it either to him or to the secretary of the Lodge directly. The form we use in South Dakota looks like this: http://waynespies.com/mygrandlodge/structure/3-Fold_Petition_rev_5-09.pdf

If I am reading the first comment on this thread correctly, it sounds like you petitioned the Lodge directly (and not a friend who is a Mason). This is not unheard of, but a bit unusual. If the secretary has never dealt with a petition in that manner, he may have forgotten or gotten confused. If you haven't filled out a written petition, the secretary may have forgotten about you, or did one for you and took it to the next lodge meeting. In either event, it is completely legitimate to touch base with the secretary, particularly in person, so he can put a name with a face. Never hurts to check. Sadly, some secretaries are more "with it" than others.

After the petition makes its way to the secretary, there has to be 2 readings at subsequent lodge meetings. Ours are once a month, so it will take two months. Usually after the first reading, the Master of the Lodge appoints a few people to come interview you informally. Mainly, this is just to get to know you, answer any questions you have about Masons, etc., and ascertain whether you would be a good candidate to receive the degree. They report back at the next Lodge meeting, and after the second reading of the petition, a vote is taken, and you should be contacted to schedule your Entered Apprentice degree.

From the scenario you suggest, he may have filled out a petition for you and is waiting to read it at the next Lodge meeting, but it never hurts to check to see where you are at in the process.