I recently became a MM, and was wondering about SR and YR. How long should one wait til joining one of these? Is this my next step? Is there another order that is better to join first? Where do I go to join one, or is it thru my Lodge?
I agree with Brother Winter, dedicate yourself to your home Lodge, spend the right amount of time (for you) determining if you even NEED to join any of the appendant bodies. You may find that your Blue/Craft Lodge has more than enough work for you to do.
I agree and disagree . One should never allow any of the other bodies to get in the way of their Craft lodge as the Craft lodge should always come first before the SR , YR and the Shrine . But , if you DO have the time and think you can handle it and when you think you are ready , then you can go into either the YR or SR . I would suggest the YR over the SR myself , but that is me . BUT , do not allow anyone to pressure you into joining any of the other bodies , learn the word NO and learn it quickly , and do not go into them simply to say you are in them . There are far to many title/degree hunters out there who do not care about the message , but rank and title . As you are newly Raised , I would sit back and dedicate your time to your Blue Lodge right now . You have all the time in world to go into the other bodies later down the road .
A Mason I admire greatly told me that as soon as I was Raised, there would be guys waiting for me outside the door of the Lodge room with petitions for every appendant body there is. His advice was to wait a year before making the decision to join anything other than the Blue Lodge. They waited until we got to the game room after the meeting but he was right. My choice was to get in the officers' line. That will keep me busy for, at least, the next five or six years. I'm enjoying it more then I imagined. I got my cipher book on Thursday and have been studying most of the weekend. I'm ready for my job, SS. I've go the JD opening lines memorized and am working on the degree lines. Once I can deliver those, It's on to the SD and the dreaded MC lecture. I haven't enjoyed myself so much in a while For now, I have no plans to do anything but serve my Blue Lodge as best I can. They will certainly keep you as busy as you let them. I'm SS, webmaster, on the Widows' Committee, organized a fund raiser in the Spring and am in the process of organizing another in the Fall. I'm having a ball
Your question of whether you should join the SR or YR, and how long to wait, really has no answer. Or, it is better to say, that the answer varies with the individuals. There are over 100 (one hundred), appendant and concordant bodies, associated with Freemasonry. No one is going to participate in all of them . I like to think of the appendant/concordant bodies to be a "cafeteria plan", where each man can find the group or groups, which best appeal to him. Some men choose to focus solely on the Craft Lodge. They study the Fraternity, and often serve in the line (become officers). Some men will wait for some months, or years, and then join one or more appendant bodies. Some men are anxious to increase their knowledge of Freemasonry right away. If you are desiring to increase your understanding of the esoteric and historical underpinnings of Freemasonry, you should go into one or more of the rites. The Scottish Rite, is a non-sectarian organization, which will teach the member, the historical and esoteric backgrounds of Freemasonry. The York Rite is an organization which teaches the continuance of the Hiramic legend, and also teaches a Christian interpretation of Freemasonry. The YR is split into three groups: Chapter/Council/Commandery. To participate in the Commandery, a man must profess faith in the Christian religion. The Shrine is a "fun" organization, and easily the most visible and public of any of the appendant bodies. You can join the Shrine, immediately upon becoming a Master Mason. But getting back to your original question: The answer varies with the individual Mason. You need to decide how much time and efforts you can devote to any of the appendant bodies, and make your decision accordingly. May the Great Architect of the Universe, guide your steps.
Even better, thanks for the further input. I will wait awhile. I think I may end up in the line, so I will go as far as I can with the Blue Lodge before preceding. Again Thanks.
It's not that bad , it only took me 6 months to put the Middle Chamber lecture to memory . That was a joke , The MC lecture was a pain to put to memory ! So , BEST OF LUCK .
Give yourself a couple of years, and watching several FC Degrees, to get familiar with it. You don't learn the whole thing at once. I worked it any where from 5 to 15 words a day [tho the part about where the pass to gain admission originated I galloped through], and had the whole thing in 4 months, as I did with the other two lectures. It's not hard work, it's persistence that it takes. I find the lectures easier than floor work! S&F
It's not as bad as I make it out to be . I have a bad habit of putting several different lectures to memory at once so I make it harder on myself . When putting the MC lecture to memory , I was also working on a few York Rite lectures also . As Bro. Bob stated , give it some time . After you get a few FC degrees under your belt and watch it done , it will come easier .
I joined the York Rite first, but I didn't get involved until the next year as I busy with being WM. I have had an amazing time with the YR and I am obviously going to be slightly biased towards it. I tell all who are MM to join the YR as the Royal Arch degrees portion really complete the MM degree
