Beginning of a journey

[Wfd38383]

As the title reads I began the journey of hopefully one day entering the ranks of masonry. I have wondered about the Freemasons for some time and recently began doing some more research on the group. To my knowledge there are no masons in my family and none of my close friends are masons, again to my knowledge. However, yesterday in speaking with my supervisor regarding my interest in the Freemasons he stated that an old work colleague of ours was part of the Freemasons, and proceeded to contact the former employee which ended up being my previous regional manager. I went to the open house this afternoon to meet with him and he is the Worshipful Master of that particular lodge. I had only met the man a handful of times in my professional career, but he brought me around the lodge and we spoke for roughly 45mins to an hour. He was very open and honest with his answers and answered all of my questions. He stated that he will be speaking with some of the officers this week and will hopefully be scheduling a pre-application interview in the upcoming weeks. I am very excited and nervous as the same time. Hopefully all works out and my journey will begin soon.

 

[Bob Franks]

Welcome.
Jump in and stir up some discussion!

Let me say that I too was a 'Masonic orphan' 35 years ago, although a couple of years ago, I discovered the usual masonic symbol [the Square and Compasses] on the gravestone of an uncle I had only rare contacts with. It's good that you ran into your former manager, as people you have just met might be reluctant to sign your petition-it's a deep responsibility to vouch for a man to enter the fraternity.
Tell the forum a little about yourself, as much as you are comfortable with. As there are about 100 regular masonic jurisdictions in the US alone, if you would have any questions, the answers might vary according to the grand lodge you might petition, things like minimum age to offer a petition, length of time between masonic events in your process, and the like.
It would also be nice to know what to call you, as Wfd38383 doesn't have enough vowels for me to pronounce, not being Polish or south European!

Keep us posted on your progress.

Sincerely and fraternally,

 

[goomba]

Welcome to the site and good luck with the fraternity!

 

[Wfd38383]

Tell the forum a little about yourself, as much as you are comfortable with. As there are about 100 regular masonic jurisdictions in the US alone, if you would have any questions, the answers might vary according to the grand lodge you might petition, things like minimum age to offer a petition, length of time between masonic events in your process, and the like.
It would also be nice to know what to call you, as Wfd38383 doesn't have enough vowels for me to pronounce, not being Polish or south European!

I am 29 years old and reside in Southeast Mass. Oh, and my names Bill

 

[Bill_F]

Welcome to the forum Bill!

 

[KSigMason]

Greetings and welcome aboard. I hope your journey goes well.

 

[Gary2112]

Welcome to FMH, and best wishes on your journey!

 

[Duncan1574]

Welcome Bill. You will find Masons are two things, good friends & unique (we are not cookie cut people).

 

[Wfd38383]

I just heard back from my local lodge and my pre-application interview has been scheduled for this coming Tuesday night. I am excited, nervous, and anxious all at the same time. Any advice for going into this interview?

 

[Duncan1574]

Be yourself, answer honestly, ask questions.

 

[Wfd38383]

Be yourself, answer honestly, ask questions.

Thank you for your response

 

[nevburt]

Hey Bill and welcome. Advice... As Bro Duncan said above and relax as best as possible. If the interview is to be at your house you may want to have some cookies ready to offer and something non alcoholic to drink.

 

[Wfd38383]

Had my pre-application interview this past Tuesday and it must have went well as they offered my an application which i completed. I was informed my name will be published in the December newsletter and if no one opposes then I will be balloted in January. If all goes well there I should begin my first degree work in February! Cori is already completed with no issues now just waiting in the call about the investigative committee which should be in December sometime. Thanks for the replies and the advice, much appreciated

 

[Wfd38383]

I have my investigative committee tomorrow night at 630 at my local lodge, as this is where the committee told me to meet them. I will be brining my fiancé along with me as part of the process. Any words of wisdom or advice anyone can offer myself or my fiancé? Thanks in advance.

 

[Duncan1574]

Answer truefully.

 

[Wfd38383]

Well had my investigative committee tonight and I think it went really well. I brought my fiancé along and the team was very happy to see her with me. They asked her some basic questions (ok with the fees, supreme being, etc) and answered truthfully. It is nice to have the worshipful master if the lodge support me in my application process. The members of the team said they were impressed with my application answers as to why I wanted to become a mason. Hopefully they weren't pulling my leg or blowing steam. They are going to be calling my references soon, so hopefully no hiccups

 

[Wfd38383]

Also, my fiancé is completely supportive of my choice to join the masons after speaking with members from the lodge. All is falling into place.

 

[goomba]

That's great. It can be a stressful process, but it is worth it!

 

[jaya]

Good news (and a late welcome to the forum). It is important to have the support of your fiance. I doubt that the members of the IC were blowing smoke. They should be honest with you. I would suspect that the voteing will go rather smoothly. As you are noticeing, nothing im masonry moves fast. Being open and honest is always the best course. Good luck and keep us informed of your progress. If you have any questions, please ask. Also, please do not read the degrees ahead of time online. They are most likely not completely correct to your jurisdiction since there are some differences between states. It would also spoil the experience for you. I will tell you that there will be nothing in there that will harm you or degrade you in any way.

 

[Wfd38383]

Good news (and a late welcome to the forum). It is important to have the support of your fiance. I doubt that the members of the IC were blowing smoke. They should be honest with you. I would suspect that the voteing will go rather smoothly. As you are noticeing, nothing im masonry moves fast. Being open and honest is always the best course. Good luck and keep us informed of your progress. If you have any questions, please ask. Also, please do not read the degrees ahead of time online. They are most likely not completely correct to your jurisdiction since there are some differences between states. It would also spoil the experience for you. I will tell you that there will be nothing in there that will harm you or degrade you in any way.

Thanks for the welcome! I work for the state so I am very use to slow moving systems lol. They began calling my references today as a few of my references called me and told me. I'm assuming the vetoing process will happen at the January meeting. Getting married the same week as the vetoing so hopefully both go well and when I return from my honeymoon I will begin my first degree a weeks later.