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Thinking of joining the Freemasons

Lumberg

Lumberg

Opus Lover
Joined
Oct 25, 2003
Messages
3,708
Location
Maryland
Seems that lots of important people have been Masons. I have always thought it woudl be cool to be a member of a secret club where I could band together and do good things for society. Do we have any Masons on this board?
 
Ummm if people actually said yes, wouldn't it go against the whole secret brotherhood thing?

:sign:

Sam
 
You have to be a practicing Christian and be invited. Get those two things out of the way and somebody will fill you in on the rest.
 
Lumberg said:
Seems that lots of important people have been Masons. I have always thought it woudl be cool to be a member of a secret club where I could band together and do good things for society. Do we have any Masons on this board?
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Ever see the Simpson's episode that featured the "Stonecutters"?

I can see Lumberg dancing around singing their internal song, featuring such gems as, "Who keeps the metric system down... we do!!!" ... and ... "Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star... we do!!!"

By the way - if you do actually want to join the stonecutters... just go to this page. All you have to do is find one, and then openly express an interest in joining and ask that they give you some advice. One tip for you... you won't get far by declaring your motivation is to acquire massive amounts of PPPOOOWWWWEEERRR!!!! Note that most chapters don't follow the "must be invited" rule...

I know a few masons from business dealings that invited me to learn about the first step (whatever that means) - but I declined. Aside from it conflicting with my overall personality/life-philosophy/value-system/etc - the last club I belonged to was the He-Man Woman-Haters Club* when I was 5 yrs old... ;)

Cheers,

- Oak

* Little Rascals' reference
 
oak said:
Aside from it conflicting with my overall personality/life-philosophy/value-system/etc - the last club I belonged to was the He-Man Woman-Haters Club* when I was 5 yrs old... ;)

* Little Rascals' reference
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I'm sorry Spanky, I gotta live my own life!

-The Immortal Words of Alfalfa
 
I'm a Master Mason [3rd degree]. My Blue Lodge is Jacques De Molay No. 1390, here in Houston. My dues are in arrears, and I have not been to a meeting in years, largely due to my travel schedule, business, etc.

It is a fun thing to do, but don't think it is a place to get "connections" at. The whole thing about Masons and "connections" has been a myth from the beginning. It's just a place for guys to get together, and gets some relief from societal bull**** and nagging women.

There is a lot of memorization work to go thru the ritual. The only thing "secret" about Masons is the ritual, but even those words are published in some books at your local library. And no, it is not a secret if one is a Mason.

4A
 
If I were you Lumby, try the Elks or the Moose club. They all have nice bars and your a member for life. What could be better, drinkin' while your havin' your monthly meetings..... :D :thumbs: :p
 
Ok is there a bar at the Masonic temples as well? Maybe the elks or the moose...or maybe the rotary? What's the skinny on those?
 
No bar. And we have like one of the biggest temples [Scottish Rite, York Rite, and Shriners] in the country. However, we usually have a pre-meal before the lodge meetings, as we have dining rooms/kitchens in the temples. After the meetings we usually all go to a bar/restaurant, drink, cigar smoking, chase skirts, tell dirty jokes, act rude to women who look at us funny, male-bonding type BS, etc.

Nice thing about Masons, is there is no judging allowed of fellow members, and you never rat out a fellow Mason. I hear Elks are pretty good. They are an offshoot of Masons I believe in their origin, but not affiliated as such. You can get a lifetime Mason membership also, or pay by the year.

4A
 
well it would be nice to join a club that at least has some kind of redeeming social value, like does some charity work. do the Elks or Moose do that?

I'm pretty sure the Rotarians, Shriners, and Knights of Columbus all do.
 
Lumberg said:
well it would be nice to join a club that at least has some kind of redeeming social value, like does some charity work.
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Lumberg...if your looking for charity work, a group to socialize with, make contacts, and better yourself through...it's probably be worth looking into the Jacyees. They are an organization...not a club...and have Offices...not a bar. They do tend to be quite the party people...and offer alot of social events. You'll probably get everything your looking for. Here's link to your local chapter: Click

Another option to look at anyway. :)
 
TheBeast said:
Lumberg said:
well it would be nice to join a club that at least has some kind of redeeming social value, like does some charity work.
Click to expand...
Lumberg...if your looking for charity work, a group to socialize with, make contacts, and better yourself through...it's probably be worth looking into the Jacyees. They are an organization...not a club...and have Offices...not a bar. They do tend to be quite the party people...and offer alot of social events. You'll probably get everything your looking for. Here's link to your local chapter: Click

Another option to look at anyway. :)
Click to expand...
I thought the Jaycees were women only. Shows what I know.

I'll look into it.
 
Lumberg said:
well it would be nice to join a club that at least has some kind of redeeming social value, like does some charity work. do the Elks or Moose do that?

I'm pretty sure the Rotarians, Shriners, and Knights of Columbus all do.
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They all do charity work. To be a Shriner, one has to be a Freemason first. The burn centers are unique as a Freemason charity. Scottish Rite also has hospitals that specialize in assissting children that are physically handicapped.

My own lodge sponsors a college scholarship program in addition to contributing funds to the Shriner and Scottish Rite hospitals. This charity work goes hand-in-hand along with the "5-yr. old he-man women-hating club" ethos that Oak referred to. :D

4A
 
Wow very interesting thread. First off Masons are not a secret club or organization. In order for that to be true the membership roster would be a secret.


You do not have to be of a certain faith to be a mason. You could be muslim or what ever else, as long as you believe in a supreme being. You can't be an atheist.


Mason's do not have bars. That would be controlled by the shriners side of the house. They may reside in the same building. But no PROPERLY operating Masonic lodge has a bar.

Once you are a mason you will always be a mason, weather you continue paying dues or not. You are just not an active member.

My advise would be for you to look at organizations in your local area. See what type of community service work, or bar hopping if you so choose, goes on. Join what fits for you in that area. You will be a more satisfied with your choice if you make it based off what you see and learn, rather than a known name.


Hope this helps

M3

Master Mason
Scottish Rite Mason 32 degree
Holy Royal Arch Mason
Shriner
 
You want charity, you want companionship, fellowship, membership, recognition and clean fun. To be a mason you have to believe in a supreme being. Since that's the case, why not just skip all of the hullabaloo and go to church? You'll get all of the above without a secret ritual and memorization.
 
you know that's not a bad idea.

I don't want to get too deep into it but haven't had much luck with organized religion so far (in the faith in which I was raised). Not against it per se, but I think lots of corruption happens in the high ranks of just about any powerful organization. Now that I think of it that doesn't except any of the clubs mentioned in this thread.....hmmmm.
 
I don't know, I always thought it would be kind of cool to join something like the Elks, Moose, or Lions clubs. I kind of picture the older WWII generation as being more cut out for that kind of thing, but the more I age(like my cigars) the more I am really intrigued by joining such groups.
 
SFG75 said:
the more I age(like my cigars) the more I am really intrigued by joining such groups.
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Yup, me too.

Maybe the WWII generation was more cut out for it cos they were already older!

Also as society progresses I think men and women are relate to each other better, or it's more socially acceptable to appear to. Back then the man liked to be out and have his buddies and social activities separate from the wife.

I'm not married so I don't know how it works but it seems like that is a plausible explanation.
 
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